farewell

my last days in seoul have flown by. there were so many last minute details that needed to be taken care of. first, packing. packing is not fun. i lived in the tiniest apartment that was bare when i arrived and somehow over the course of the year i accumulated many many things. i avoided packing for days because everytime i started i didn't know where or what to do with something, so i'd just stop and watch tv instead. but when i was told i finished work at 2pm on friday, and had to move out of my apartment by noon on saturday, i knew i had to get down to business.

my last day at school was great. the new teacher taking my place, alfie, was with me all day. the kids were in a very excited, but sad mood, so i'm sure they terrified him a bit. we've all had a "why did i come here moment" when we first meet our kids here. i told my kinder kids on monday that friday would be my last day, which led to me being attacked and the center of a group hug and lots of questions and "don't go's." everyday we'd talk about it, and go through the same thing. one day we were reading a story about a girl who had a special backpack. she had this red button that turned her backpack into a rocket and my class decided they were going to get one of those to come to my house in america.

on friday all the kids gave me cards. most of them just read something like, "mallory teacher, i love you. don't go." lucia's said "have fun with your mom in usa." justin's card read, "i love you mallory teacher. i like you. you are so pretty. i miss you." when it was time for me to say goodbye and unleash them to alfie, my little favorite eric was all over me. and even cara, who is so unemotional and even keeled wouldn't let go of me. i was sad to say goodbye, but it still hasn't all sunken in yet that i'm leaving.

it took my 5 hours, with a post office trip included, for me to organize and pack for my trip and also for what i was sending home. on friday night i attended my last yoga class at mikyung's studio, and had my last night's sleep in my tiny little korean apartment.

saturday morning i skyped a bit with friends and family before carting all my belongings to jacki's apartment, where i'm staying until we depart on tuesday morning. luckily, her apartment is not as small as mine. we spent most of saturday lounging before we figured it'd probably be a good idea for jacki to pack too!

on sunday night we went to our friend's john and beth's apartment and they cooked us a fantastic farewell meal. it's a bit of a hike to get to their apartment (1 hour and 30 minutes by subway), but it was well worth it for the meal and the company. jacki and i have been lucky to meet a lot of great people here in seoul. many that we'll stay in contact with when we're all back in the states.

here's a few photos from my last week:

a note from lauren.

mikyung's homemade tteokbokki..yum!

spring.

the old men by my apartment put their chairs out since they weather's been nice.

how does she do that? and, walk through car and pedestrian traffic?

me with brenda, tina and clara. these girls are my oldest students (13 years old). they were not happy about getting a male teacher because they think boys are "oily and ugly." clara asked if i could move chicago to korea. on friday, i thought i was going to teach all day, but i only had to do kindergarten, so when i didn't show up for this class, brenda called me, "teacher, where are you?"

farewell dinner with the korean teachers

back row: may, katie, connie

front row: kaylah, me, amy, scarlet, jenny

it's been a great year here in korea. i've gone back and forth this whole month on how i feel about leaving. but i've decided that i'm ready to come home. there are many things that i'll miss, and a lot of people, but i'm very excited for my upcoming travels, and also very excited to land in chicago in a few short weeks.

because i'm not carrying my computer with me through southeast asia, i won't be able to upload any photos, but i will still be updating my blog with text when i can. the pictures will have to wait until i'm home. thank you to all of those who've kept up with me and my adventures this year. i really appreciate your support, and interest, and can't wait to see all of you when i get home!!

안녕히계세요 대한민국

(goodbye korea)