We LOVE Korean coffee shops!

We happened to venture into a Korean Coffeshop the other day, having no idea what to expect. And it turned out to be one of the most pleasant surprises we have had since being in Busan. We had just passed a CoffeeBean, then walked even more slowly passed a Starbucks, before Kasey got that look in her eye that always gives away what she is going to say before she says it. “Skye, can we get a latte?” She puppy-dogged as she batted her long eyelashes. How could I refuse? Even when a latte at Starbucks will run you around 6 dollars, there is no way I can say no when she uses the eyelashes. And she knows it.

Luckily, I spotted a sign for a Korean Coffeeshop down the street, figuring it would be a cheaper way out. When we walked in, we were greeted by a waiter who escorted us to our very own private booth complete with two cushioned benches, pillows, a table and a flat screen tv. He gave us a menu, closed the velvet curtain, and all of a sudden we were alone. We both got lattes, and they were incredible! We had a private cubicle to ourselves where we could comfortably hang out and read, talk, or watch tv for hours. Awesome!

But things got even better. It was not until Kasey went to the bathroom and came back with a plate full of cookies that I realized we had hit the jackpot. There was a table full of different types of cookies, and we could have as many as we wanted!! All of a sudden, we were in Heaven. We were both laughing and smiling as the caffeine began to affect us and we snarfed down our cookies. It was bliss.

How a Coffeshop like that breaks even, I have no clue. I can say with certainty that that first day we were there, and a couple of days later when we went back, their inventory of cookies were cleared out by the end of the evening. But they have made regulars of us. We will continue to venture out there when we want to spend a few hours indulging ourselves with a good book, a splendid coffee, and one too many cookies.

Kasey's bday weekend!

Since I (Kasey) take holidays and birthdays very seriously, I was worried I would get a bit homesick and sad on my birthday this year without all my family and friends back home. Because of this, my amazing husband made sure it would be one I would not forget.

My birthday fell on a Monday and since we are in Korea and not the good ol’ US of A, I did not get work off the time my bday fell on Labor Day. Man! So, we celebrated the weekend before by traveling to Geoje Island.

The ferry ride over was so enjoyable we could have turned around, come back, and said it was a great trip. We hugged the coast of Busan for a while so we got to see the city from the water, the blaring sun plus fresh sea air made for a glorious nap, and the people watching was serious entertainment. Geoje Island holds the largest shipyard in the world. It was fascinating because you never really think of how and where gigantic ships are made, but we got to see it in action as we pulled into the port.

The first day we found a cheap motel to put our stuff in, went to Korean BBQ (of course), and then found our way to one of the beaches. Finally, a beach that did not have a thousand Korean families on it! The water was so warm and calm, it seemed as if it was a lake. We stayed there all day, reading our Kindles and swimming in the ocean. The next day we went hiking in the beautiful, green, STEEP mountains. The view on top was beautiful and we treated ourselves to a large, Hawaiian pizza when we got down and continued to explore the island. We had such a blast and feel so blessed that we get to go on adventures like this together.

On my birthday morning, Skye woke me up with breakfast in bed and he had scattered a ton of little birthday wishes from family and friends around our apartment. He then gave me a book he put together of birthday drawings and notes from all my students. He is amazing! Work was fun with the kids singing to me and gives me little presents. That night I got some nice wine (nice meaning made outside of Korea) and my favorite dessert, gelato on top of a Belgium waffle, YUM! I felt so loved on my birthday and had a great weekend!

Thanks for all the wishes and love you all!

Our life in Busan!

There is a typhoon coming through Busan so we are stuck inside. No new movies downloaded, books just finished, cooking done, so we feel it is finally time to start our blog! We are so sorry it has taken us so long, but here we go…

We are absolutely LOVING our new life together in Busan, South Korea! We live in a small studio apartment on the top floor of the school we work at. Before coming to Korea we were turned off by the idea of living in the same building as our school, but it is actually one of the things we love most. It is like we have a five-story house with an elevator! And we have the luxury of coming up to our apartment in between classes and for lunch break.

We live in a very Korean part of Busan, so there are not many foreigners passing us by on the streets. Little Korean women are chopping up fish and selling produce on the sidewalks; adorable kids are running to one of their five academies they attend each day, and men are drinking Soju (Korean vodka) while hiking up the foresty mountains in the area. The ocean in ten minutes away and the subway station, which takes us anywhere in Busan, is right down the street from our school.

Okay, the job. We work from 10-5:45 Monday, Wednesday and Friday and from 10-3:30 Tuesday and Thursday. That is with an hour lunch break each day. We teach Kindergarten and Elementary level students, and, nose picking and booger eating aside, we absolutely adore them! Teaching was difficult at first, but now we have built relationships with all of the kids and know how to make them listen to us! Working with kids every day is incredibly refreshing. Their innocence, energy, blunt honesty (every day they pull our arm hair and say we have fur like their dogs), and simple way of being is wonderful and fun to be around.

We are loving our life outside of work here as well. We often go on hikes, go to the beach, go shopping at markets, go out for foreign food with friends, and work out at the gym we joined. In August, we had a week off and went to Japan, which was a blast! Last weekend we took the ferry to an island off of Busan and ventured to beautiful beaches and cool mountains. The Korean thanksgiving is coming up this month, so we will have more time off to travel!

There is our last two months in a nutshell! We are so glad we decided to come live here and can’t wait for the weather to start cooling off haha! Every day we talk about our family and friends back home and how much we love you all. Here are a couple pics of our life here and hopefully the next post will come sooner!

At the airport!

Well, the time has finally come. Months of searching online, dressing up for Skype interviews, and waiting, waiting, waiting for any type of information about our job is up. We are in the LAX airport getting nervous about our 13-hour flight and about what will actually be when we get off that plane. No turning back. A one-year contract is signed, and we are living and working in South Korea whether we are loving it or not. But what really excites us are the unknowns. We have no idea to what our day-to-day life will be like. We have no idea who we will meet or what new passions we will discover. We have no idea what God has in store for us. We are praying that it is a time of growth for us as a couple and time of sweet adventure to kick off our marriage and working lives. We love you all and miss you already. Korea here we come!

PS. don’t worry, we are not wearing those shirts while traveling J