I am writing from Busan, South Korea for the first time since my arrival on March 4th. I had so many preconcieved notions and expections of this place and it truly has surpassed all of my thoughts more than I could have ever imagined. The day of departure Jace, Gabe and myself were to jump on a plane in Windsor and fly to Toronto. Due to the weather however the flight was cancelled and then began our mission upon missions. We found ourselves driving from Windsor to Toronto at precisely 6pm through hail and snow to make our flight from Toronto to Seoul, South Korea with just 3 hours time to make it for our departure. Despite all our reservations to drive in such dangerous weather we prevailed making the first turn of events on our journey all the more interesting. Our employer in South Korea at the school we are teaching at called to inform us that there were no flights from Windsor to Toronto in the next 24 hrs and that it was imminent we leave from Toronto that night in order to arrive for orientation. I am thankful for one thing and that was the rush and chaos left me no room for anxiety. I would have assumed the mission would make me appreciate my relaxing life I left back in Windsor, Ontario, Canada but it definitly was not so. We arrived at the Toronto airport just in time to make our flight. Despite the first bump in the road it added some excitement to day 1 of my Busan, South Korea mission. As our bagage check in and boarding ran smoothly however the preceding several hours showed no sign of light shining at the end of the tunnel quite yet. We found ourselves sitting on a dorment plane for a hellish 6 hours because of mechanical problems. I continued to be hopeful that we would still press on and make it to South Korea in one piece. The 14 hour flight ahead was now 20 hours and took a toll on us all patience wise, and not to mention Jace's since it was his first time on a plane. It was extremely unsettling to know that we were flying in the same plane that was experiencing problems. Despite a long and dreadful flight we made it to our destination safely. The next 365 days are going to be an experience of a lifetime from meeting new people to traveling, hiking, working, and adjusting to culture shock its going to be such an amazing time and life changing!

Amazing group of people hard to come by

It's been just two weeks since I finished taking the TESL course at the University of Windsor to prepare myself for teaching english as a second language. I took the course initially to gain confidence as a teacher and prepare myself for the difference in culture. I found that it was certainly not the sole purpose for taking it, and I most definitly took alot more away from the course than I anticipated. I met some really incredibly inspiring people of all ages with very similar interests in life. I took away from it a much more open mind, so much more confidence and most importantly amazing friendships with some very talented people. I never knew how close a group of people could become in such a short period of time until now. All of the people from the course got together last night for what I must say was a really SOLID dinner party hosted by Anne Bastien. Wow! so much delish food...stellar live acoustic jam sesh care of Chris and his band and James. In light of my trip in the next 5 days to S. Korea it was definitly a great Canadian send off. I have so much to bring with me over seas that I learned from not only the duration of the course and all of the people I met, but also the experience of the party last night! I hope that everyone else can say the same... that so much was taken from last night...and not just a hangover...haha...and truly how lucky a group we are. I wish them all the best of luck and I look forward to keeping in touch with everyone. Cheers..........

Less than one week till departure!

Well it's February 14th, 2006 and there is just 10 mere days left until I fly out for the beautiful southeastern region of South Korea...Busan. I will be situated right near one of South Korea's most beautiful beaches, Haeundae beach. I needless to say am very excited...anxious and scared all at the same time! I am anticipating my first arrival into the city to be extremely overwhelming and quite confusing with loads and loads of korean signs and language being thrown at me. I thankfully love being in new settings and experiencing something totally new. I am trying to come to terms with the fact that I am going to not only have to adapt to a new culture but teaching and working in a new culture as well. I am trying to prepare myself in any way that anyone could possibly begin to prepare themselves for a country that could quite very well be the exact opposite of the country that I am from and used to...good old Canada. I think that this journey could very well be a very mind opening and inspiring experience. I am taking each day by stride and I actually am considerably relaxed. It has not quite hit me yet that I will be on a plane to Asia in less than two weeks. I am so excited for everything from hiking to hitting the beach...meeting all kinds of other foreigners and just letting it all sink in. I hear the food is quite bizarre...so thank goodness I like trying new and intereting delecacies! Ok so I might not try dog buuut I hear the raw LIVE squid could be quite delish! Anyways ill keep this one short and i'll keep you all updated on my travels.