why do i sit at my desk all day long?

Sitting at a desk in not really my idea of a good time. I don’t think I am quite cut out for this line of work, which requires a lot of time staring at my computer and sitting stagnant, waiting for the hours to pass. But I do know this, taking this job and making the move to Korea has been a really good situation, regardless of my gripes or minor (or major) complaints. This move and decision to take a job as a public school teacher in the major metropolis of Seoul has opened up a plethora of new doors for me and opened my eyes to a contrasting way of life. Learning another culture is not easy, and has been in general a fun and quirky adventure. I never could have learned the small and large things that I have by simply being on vacation here, and these small and large pieces to our “Korean experience” are what make my time here seem worthwhile, and fill me with new knowledge and openness to other ways of life. It also makes me seriously dig where I am from!

In addition to the higher level of understanding I am gaining by being here, and the new and old relationships I am building, there is the paycheck, steady and plentiful and allows for us to live a luxurious life and also save save save for the year of serious round the world travel that is planned and also for setting up home again when we are done. So while I sit here perusing random websites, learning from the random massive collection that the world wide web has to offer in an attempt to stave off my boredom, I remind myself of all the reasons why we chose to move here, and all the plusses that we couldn’t have even planned for, made possible by these hours spent sitting at my desk.

Want to see where we went this past weekend? On an epic long walk through Myeongdong, Namdaemun, Dongdaemun, Cheongyecheon, and Iteawon. Perfect weather. We came across some pretty interesting stuff, including a festival to promote the end of violence to women and human trafficking, as well as a celebration of the Guinness world record of the most countries to band together to support a country at war, I think it was sixty two countries, on display on this 60^th anniversary of the start of the Korean war. Also saw a pig rotating over open flame, unattended, on the side of the street. And a seriously ugly mannequin. And lots of other stuff as usual. Love love love, Nicole 

hot fall day in iteawon

a lazy sunday in iteawon, josh and i spent hours at a coffee shop in haebongchong after a late breakfast with nate, ira, jenya, and kilm. the air was warm and clean (for a change) so we walked and walked through alleyways of slums and emerging in an upscale gated community, making an effort to notice the small thing, the little things that seem so normal now, but are unique to this city. we even made our modeling debuts on this sunny afternoon... actually that white wall just looked like an inviting back drop. we walked and talked and also endured long silences before settling down outside for an late afternoon/evening round of playing cards at the mini mart.

on our bus ride home across the long banbo bridge i glanced out the window to see a truly remarkable night sky, the clouds created a nice depth and there was a nice clear view of the floating buildings. it was a quick decision but we disembarked and stood in the middle of the bridge with the fast, cool fall wind whipping around as i got this shot:

Viet Nam (part 2)

Another take on our trip to Vietnam...(from the non-HD camera's)

Vietnam time from waraexists on Vimeo.

Viet Nam video #1

i have taken a stab at video editing using footage from our trip to vietnam last  month. here for all of your to enjoy! love, nicole

Busan part II. beach, beach, beach

The clouds disappeared and the sun heated things up real good for our final days in Busan, and what a relaxing perfect beach bum kind of time it was. we had a whole host of leisure activities; badminton, volleyball, wiffleball, frisbee, card games, go/stop, guitars and the wonderful ocean! the waves were fun, the water warm, the beach hot.... i love the beach. we swam and played for hours each day and sipped on cold beer and ate kimchi and kimbap on the beach when we could drag ourselves out of the water.

we were having a jousting match at one point, you know when you hop on the shoulders of someone else and fight another duo to see who falls into the water first. me and josh were well on our way to win when the unfortunate happened... my ring came off! plopped into the beautiful water never to be found, despite our efforts. it is silly to think that we could find a turquoise ring in the teal water with huge waves coming each two or three seconds. bummer. but this is a reality, things get lost and others get found, so i will not mourn too long! plus now i have to get another one... r.i.p. special ring.

the beach was beautiful day and night. after playing in the sun all day we would clean up and have dinner with the others and usually head back to the beach, just to hang out and tell stories and enjoy the constant sound of the water and the full moon overhead. 

as always it is good to be home, time to settle into a routine for a few months.

time to catch up on saving money and planning for our next adventures, which are not too far off! wow time flies. as summer comes to a close it is a good time to reflect on the recent seasons. the metaphor of life as having seasons is rich and widely used, for good reason! we blossom at times and in contrast we lie dormant, each season can be beneficial for it's own reasons, as long as we are aware of it!