Aloha!

Sorry that I haven't posted for a while! Things were pretty busy over here as I was gearing up for my family vacation. A quick update of my goings on before the vacation: Lots of festivals! Spring has arrived and I have taken every opportunity to get outside in the nice weather. I went to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Yeouido, an island in the Han River, and spent a lovely day walking amongst mobs of Koreans looking at thousands of cherry blossoms. I went to a Wine and Spirits expo at COEX, a gigantic underground mall/entertainment complex, where my friends and I got in for free on the good fortune of being foreigners and had a blast trying wine, beer, and spirits from all over the world. The next weekend I went to the Seoul Friendship Fair at City Hall where a hundred or so countries performed music/dances and sold amazing national dishes. So to sum up, lots of festivals, crowds, sunshine, food, and friends.

Cherry Blossom Festival

Wine and Spirit Expo

Friendship Fair with some fair friends!

I spent the last 9 days with my family in Hawaii! Hawaii is pretty much halfway between Virginia and Korea, which makes it the perfect reunion spot (not to mention the beaches...). We started in Honolulu where, with all the time/date changes, I had a 43 hour Friday. We stayed in Waikiki, which was really nice, if not overly congested. I took a much anticipated trip to Target and went insanely slightly overboard buying shorts, dresses, and toiletries. We spent the next day driving around the island and visiting the North Shore, which was again wonderful expect for the traffic. Sunday morning was a trip to Pearl Harbor, some pool time, and then off to the airport to head to Maui.

Maui was much more our speed and we had a great time relaxing at the resort. There was a great reef right off our beach which meant we could snorkel anytime. Some highlights from the trip include watching the sunrise at the top of the volcano followed by a bike trip down to the base, watching a sunset cliff diving ceremony and then proceeding to jump off said cliff the following day, and visiting multiple scenic overlooks such as a blowhole and "Dragon's Teeth". I also ate some AMAZING food, pretty much gorging myself on seafood and fruit. We went to a nice luau with food from Hawaii, New Zealand, Samoa, and Tahiti. A sunset cruise was also a great time spent looking at rainbows and taking family photos.

Sunrise over Haleakala

Ready for the ride!

Switchbacks above the clouds.

Sunset cliff dive. Kim and I jumped off it the next day (she took a lot of persuading...)

So happy to see them!

The whole family!

I'm so happy I had the chance to see my family. Nearly 8 months was far too long, no matter how often the skype dates are. It was great to relax and enjoy each others company (and some time off work). Speaking of work, I have been swamped the past few weeks! We franchised, yay!, and are planning on opening a new center in June. This means that I've been crazed writing lesson plans, setting up interviews, and teaching a bunch of new classes. Despite the workload, I'm really excited to have more responsibility at work and start having a more administrative role in the centers!

xo Julie