Fearless?

So.
This week we did a staff retreat to Mirinae Camp which is about 3 hours north and east of APIS. My understanding is that we were near the east coast of Korea and sort of near to North Korea. Normally I would have known more, but without data on my phone, I was unable to map it. Something that surprised me about Korea is that they don't really use addresses like the US. The city of Seoul has been naming its streets within the last couple years and sending notifications to people about what their new address is. So, google-ing places or trying to map stuff can get interesting. Anyway, we went out into rural-ish Korea and it was beautiful - very mountainous and filled with small towns. We did a high ropes course, which scared me WAY more than I anticipated, but I'm glad I went through with it. 30 feet up in the air, walking across a log, I was really ready to say "Uh, no thanks! I'll come back down!", but whatever. We also went white water rafting which was awesome. The guides were really similar to those I met in Colorado - biiiiiig jokesters. We had a lot of fun - swimming in the river, turning the boat over to make it a water slide, singing songs, giving the guide crap even though we didn't speak the same language. Between all the planned fun stuff, we had meetings that helped me to understand more about APIS, the people I work with, and the goals we work toward as a team. We stayed in little houses in groups of four - I was really fortunate to be staying with the other two music teachers, so we got to talk about a lot of my questions and stuff.

Traveling/ moving to another country teaches you a LOT about yourself. For instance, I've known that I'm a tad more introverted than extroverted - but I didn't know how much I don't like masses of people. When I encountered crowds at home, they were always kind of fun, like at big concerts or the state fair.... but here... it's inescapable it seems. The constant stimulation and demand of my attention is a big change from life in Minnesota. I feel a little too proud of myself for finding a great coping mechanism almost two weeks into moving here - headphones. Headphones are sent from heaven above. I went to HomePlus yesterday (sort of like a walmart or target) with headphones in. My life was SO AWESOME. Previously, I've felt like sitting down and crying in the middle of grocery aisles, but with headphones... Run DMC and I were picking out carrots. It was excellent.

We went to Everest last night, an indian restaurant near Dondaemun (the big west? gate where my mom and I went to the fabric market). It was so delicious - and I got to use a fork! (it's the little things that count) Afterward, we bought a couple beers and "hiked" up a mountain. We had some great conversations, and saw a lot of cute puppies and babies. I feel the need to explain though, that this "hiked a mountain" concept was not what I assumed it would be. It was like.... let's walk up a giant hill on a paved path, and chill at this park up here. It was beautiful to see some nature contrasted against the bright city lights. Eventually we went on to Noraebong - karaoke but in your own little rooms. I'd never seen anything like it but it was pretty excellent. Walking in was sort of like walking down a hallway of practice rooms, but the sounds coming out were NOT mozart or beethoven - it was karaoke.

Overall, things are continuing to go well. I'm still learning, and I'm sure there's more to come! We have 3 work days before students come!
I'm off to Costco with Melinda - the wonderful new general music teacher. Gonna see what's available there that I haven't found anywhere else. It's sure to be an adventure :)