83% of the way there

Man, this year has been going by pretty fast out in Korea.

I know that a lot of things have been changing at home. Nieces and nephews are getting bigger, more babies are coming into the family, our friends are moving on to new things (and hopefully some of them moving out here).

This year has been quite an amazing journey. And it' safe to say that the journey is far from over for Sarah and I.

We're thinking of multiple places to go and teach next here in Korea, looking at what would be our best options, all while continuing to see many things and make new friends.

We are expecting to be heading back around the 31st of July. We'll be back home for a month or so, eating all of those delicious foods that are non-existent here, and of course to spend time with our loving family and friends.

I love how close Sarah and I have become out here. I think that's been the best part about Korea. At the end of the day, it basically comes down to just us, and we are really happy.

We hope everyone back home is doing well. I hope my new baby nephew Zavier is healthy and well.

Take care, and see you sooner than you realize!

- The Harkins

Teacher's Day

This is a lot like Children's Day.

Teacher's Day, celebrated this year on May 15th, is an honored holiday for teachers. Most public schools have the day off in order to prevent the teachers from receiving very lavish gifts, up in the $100s range.

Sarah and I have already started receiving gifts like bone china cups, chanel perfume, some nice after shave. Other teachers have received clothes, soaps, and lotions.

It's really nuts! Apparently a lot of teachers get underwear and undershirts because that means they are really respected.

Let's see what happens tomorrow. But so far, we are doing pretty good!

Happy Teacher's Day everyone!

- The Harkins

Oh, and for all of our friends and family back home who are mothers, Happy Mother's Day too! We love you!

Incheon International Airport - The Best Airport in the World

This is a little long, but I figure it's worth it! Especially if anyone wants to come out and visit us.

Check out the article on:

http://www.airport.kr/notice/NoticeView.iia?functioncode=46&bulletinid=3946

Here's the main part

Category:

Best Airport Worldwide - Incheon
Best Airport in Asia-Pacific - Incheon
Best Mid-sized Airport - Incheon
Airport People Award - Asia - Incheon
****The Airport People Award is given to one airport per continent


So, if anyone ever wants to come out and see us, you can see that it'll be a nice trip!

Take care!

- The Harkins

Climbing Fun!

Sarah and I found out something since we've been here in Korea. Well, ok, we found out a lot of things, but one thing in particular:

WE LOVE ROCK CLIMBING!!!

Since the weekend trip in Namhae, Sarah and I have gone rock climbing the past 2 weekends. First, we went to this little place called Haegol Bawi, located in a small city called Byeongpung Am. It was there that Sarah and I climbed to the top for the first time on a natural face of rock. It was amazing!

So, this past weekend, we went with our great friends The Rileys (Mark and Clare), The Furlongs (Bob, Reba, and Eddie), and Melonjewels (Mel and Julian) to a small place near Gurye called Yeonseopokpo. We climbed, we camped, we climbed some more. It really is a wonderful experience.

Since Sarah and I are getting a lot better at climbing, we are going to get ourselves some climbing gear. We figure it will be worth it, and we'll have a lot of fun too!

Here are some pics of our climbing adventures.






























Since South Korea is 75% mountains, we figure there are lots of places for us to climb and hike.

Less than 3 months now till we're home.

Take care everyone! We love you!

- The Harkins

Children's Day = Trip to Namhae

To start off the warm weather right, Sarah and I travelled down to one of our favorite spots, Namhae, to party with 30 of our good friends on the beach at Mr. Shim's.



Children's Day, celebrated on May 5th, is an actual government holiday. All the teachers get off, and it is like another birthday celebration for children all over Korea. A lot get $$$, or go on trips, or get a nice meal for dinner...they really do get spoiled.

We, however, get a great 3-day weekend.

Sarah and I camped on the beach in our tent, but during the day, we played volleyball, went swimming, played a game called "Boxes" (It's like Washers, but with beanbags and boxes), lit off some fireworks, made nice campfires, and ate a lot of food. Sarah and I also took a couple of our friends out of some cash during a Texas Hold em tournament. Good times indeed!

It was really nice seeing all 6 continents represented by our friends again this weekend, and because the weather was so nice, it made the weekend all that more fun.

Here are some pictures.


























Hope everyone is well back home! Love you and Miss you!

- The Harkins