Economy Plus

School ended yesterday with little fanfare. Our morning was spent cleaning our classrooms and offices while dreaming of the summer.

Kristie and I had an interesting morning. We had to:

• Drop Aslan off at her summer home (a student of mine). It was sad; this will be the longest I’ve been away from her.
• Bring seven pieces of luggage to the bus stop, then bringing our car to our garage, and then returning to the bus stop. We had a taxi help with the transportation, but he picked his nose the entire time. I made sure he did not touch my luggage after that.
• Close up the house. I am obsessive about being sure there is nothing left on. I checked the electric fourteen times, each between reassurances that I did not lose my passport and tickets.

We went with friends to stay the night in Seoul before taking a taxi to the airport. Now, we are on a ten-hour flight from Seoul to San Francisco. It’s not yet 6 pm, but everyone is asleep. Perhaps I should be, too. We were on the waiting list for a business-class upgrade, but no luck. Here we are in coach. The guy behind me keeps kicking my seat. However, he has an iPod and a Mac laptop, so I tolerate him.

Here’s a summary of our year, in bulleted form.

• In August, we sold our stuff, rented our house, and I quit my job to move to…Korea.
• Enduring the same question countless times this summer: “You’re moving to Korea? Why?”
• I feel like I’ve rejoined the military
• We’ve gone to Korea, Japan, China, Singapore, Indonesia, and Hawaii.
• Even though the class sizes are so much smaller, I missed teaching at Clackamas often
• Two of the teachers I work with went through vicious divorces
• One teacher who I work with was fired. He and I were hired at the same time. I said goodbye to him yesterday (same guy who was also breaking up with his wife)
• Our principal and vice-principal both took other jobs in Germany
• Eight teachers are transferring to Eurpore (Germany, Italy, Belgium); Kriste and I are jealous
• Highlights of the year: visiting the Great Wall, Bali, and being on the quiz show
• I have two reasons to be excited: not only the summer off, but also the fact that we are going home.

We are looking forward to seeing you sometime this summer!