Week 13: Details

I've got nothing. I'm exhausted. There are so many pictures of this week and so very many details I could include, but I've got nothing. World's 2nd longest week. Right now, I'm caught up on my p52, submitted my grades, and that's about all I care about.

Day 83: In spite of the fact that is was really hot in Indonesia, it was difficult to find good light because we had a lot of clouds. In the evenings, I would go on the lookout for it, and this is what I found between cabins one evening.

Day 84: On our last morning at Telunas, I caught this picture of the sunrise reflecting over the water. I like that it's framed by the straw from the roof of the cabin and the rail of the deck.

Day 85: We got up really early Sunday morning to fly back to Korea. Eric's mom left Seoul just moments after we arrived back.

Day 86: The stuffed animals that I brought the kids back from the zoo have magnetic feet, so they enjoy having them climb up and down the refrigerator. It's the little things!

Day 87: The next day, I got a shot of the detail on the giraffe. I picked them up at the zoo in Singapore.

Day 88: Cade wanted to show me the injury he had on his knee and insisted I take a picture of it...turns out it fits the prompt pretty well!

Day 89: I realized tonight that Cade is finally starting to dress himself. He got his pajamas on all by himself this evening. He was very proud!

I think my favorite is the first picture of the light between the cabins. I tried hard to capture the details of Telunas Resort (as you will see as I continue to post hundreds of pictures!), but it was hard to capture just how beautiful it really is!

If you'd like to see others' work on Project 52, check out the links:

www.styleberryblog.com

Week 12: Hunger

Alright. In spite of the fact that I still have a million things to do. (Not literally, but you know how it feels!) And even though I have thousands of pictures to edit from the trip. (Yes, literally.) One of my priorities is to get caught up on my p365. You have no idea how much it stressed me out when I realized that I wouldn't be able to keep up with it while I was gone. I s'pose I could have brought my laptop along, but it would have been pretty anti-climactic (not to mention breaking all of the rules) and I really didn't have much time for it, anyway. So, here I am editing pictures and putting together my Week 12 when I should be doing report cards, unpacking my suitcase (all I've done is dump the sweat-drenched clothes in the laundry), and any number of other things. Oh well. It will all still be here in an hour!

Day 76: One of my students while we were waiting at the gate to board the flight to Singapore. It was a rare, quiet moment for her (when she wasn't complaining about how hungry she was!) and I am happy to have caught the moment.

Day 77: A turtle at the Singapore Zoo--my first natural habitat zoo--he was right on the edge of the sidewalk looking for something to eat!

Day 78: I took this one from the dock alongside the ferry terminal. We got off the ferry from Singapore and got on small, wooden boats like these in Batam, Indonesia and then headed to Telunas Resort on Sugi Island in Indonesia.

Day 79: We were craving some cool, refreshing water after a 5K hike in the Indonesian jungle in 90 degree heat and humidity! The rock, waterfall, and (black) water were very inviting!

Day 80: We were hungry for adventure on our 2nd day in Indonesia doing the low ropes course!

Day 81: Our students spent a lot of time playing with the Indonesian kids when they weren't working on building the wall. They all had a great time!

Day 82: These kids really had a hunger for learning. We taught classes in the afternoon after they got out of school, and they all volunteered to come back. Not only that, but they stood in the windows (like this little boy) and in the doorways trying to listen to our English lessons. They were so sweet and so happy!

What an awesome week we had! I think the last one of the little boy in the window is my favorite. They were all so funny because they wanted their picture taken, but they wanted to play and run away, too, so it was a challenge to find one standing still once I lifted my camera to my face. He was really excited once he figured out that I would show him all of the pictures that I took of him!

Where to begin?

The sunset at Telunas Beach ~ Riau Islands ~ Indonesia

The reality of the situation is that I really have no idea where to begin telling the story. So much has happened in the last two weeks that I am overwhelmed at simply the thought of starting the task. I took thousands of pictures on my trip, and I did accomplish Step 1: Import. Phew! Long story short: I knew I had a ton of pictures and I needed to organize them (a little) upon import, so I finally did a little research and managed to at least put keywords on them in Lightroom. That's a step. Now, for the editing and the writing. I'm hoping to at least pick one for each day, so that I can get caught up on my project 365, but it could take me months to get through the rest of my pictures at the rate I've been going!

boats in the lagoon at Singapore Zoo

Here's the update on school: After recovering from the drama of yesterday where I walked into my classroom and discovered it to be cleaned out by the former teacher, I am feeling a little more steady today. Yesterday afternoon, I talked to our human resources director and me reassured me that no one expected me to work full time through the end of the year regardless of another's breach of contract. I was finally able to talk to my building principal this afternoon and it looks like I will continue teaching just my morning English classes for the remainder of the year, allowing me to go back to part time, and preventing my students from having three different English teachers in the course of nine months. I think it will be best for everyone, but I still have to make it through another month of full time work.

boats at the ferry terminal in Batam, Indonesia

My First Day Back

Well, I am utterly exhausted. I finally got home at about 6:00 last night, emptied my suitcase, took a warm shower (It is freezing in Seoul!!!! Not literally, but it was a big jump from 90 degrees to 40 degrees in just a few hours!), and then went to bed. I got up this morning, went to school, walked into my classroom and discovered that the teacher whose maternity leave I had been covering had completely cleaned out her room! She had taken every last personal item from the room, giving me the clear indication that she won't be coming back. I recovered from my shock and tears enough to teach my morning classes and even managed to (just barely) get through the classes that she hadn't left me any plans for in the afternoon.

Tonight, I am going to try to relax, get over the stress, and go to bed early. I know you're anxious to hear about the trip and see pictures, but I need to wait until I've recovered a bit more. I've included a couple of the shots from my phone. Above, is a building in downtown Singapore that I took from the bus. Below is the prawns we had for dinner on our last night in Singapore before heading back to Seoul. For now, I just wanted to update you that I am home and so happy to see my family!

Week 11: Eyes of March

Okay. I was totally lost on this one. Maybe because I think it's supposed to "ides of March"--I didn't really get the play on words, I guess. I think it's because I just didn't have time, energy, or thought for this week because we were so busy! I mean seriously busy. Crazy. But, here they are: my snapshots from week 11!

Day 69: Cade likes to talk on the landline phone...since it rarely rings and the operator speaks in Korean, I usually let him for a minute or two...I got this one right before bed...I'd totally forgotten to take a picture!

Day 70: I was inspired to buy "Julius Caesar" on the Kindle after doing some research for the theme. I'm really excited to read it because I'll be teaching it next year. I'm going to have to get a hard copy to write my notes all over, though!

Day 71: Cade's latest craze...playing the superhero, "Captain Underpants"!

Day 72: This week was Spirit Week at school. We started it off with Clone Day, so here are a few of my students dressed up alike and being themselves!

Day 73: We had dinner on base with our pastor and his wife. I caught a shot of Eric and the kids walking to the Dragon Gate.

Day 74: We went to pick up our first visitor in Korea on Wednesday night. The kids were pretty excited while we waited for the train!

Day 75: Yesterday afternoon, we had our commissioning service where we had a send off for all of our missions teams. Eric got a shot of me and (most of) my group...and Cade, of course.

Today, I teach 5 of my 6 classes. Kennedy has her Kindergarten interview. This afternoon we fly to Singapore. We spend a day and a half in Singapore, then we take a ferry to Batam, Indonesia, and then small boats to the island we'll be staying on. We'll be doing service projects in schools for a week, and then we fly home next Sunday. Eric and the kids will be in Seoul showing his mom all around the city. I can't wait to tell you all about our week. We'd appreciate your prayers as we embark on this "Great Adventure"!

Cardboard Box Car

Cade finally got his turn to get Daddy's cardboard box creation...

He, of course, went for a car...complete with steering wheel and GPS (created and installed by Kennedy)...

I have to say, he looked pretty cute sitting there in his car...

Can you tell that the steering wheel was mounted with a marker? Eric wanted it to be able to turn...

Then Daddy pushed him around the house like a race car!

He had a great time! Unfortunately, the steering wheel didn't last long, but it provided ample entertainment for a day or two!

Quality Time

This weekend, I got in a little quality time with my kiddos before I leave for Singapore on Friday afternoon.

We went to the park for a little while and then we just hung around the house...

playing Legos, playing cars, and playing "outside" on our unheated front porch...

I can't believe I'm going to spend ten days without seeing my babies!

I'm just happy to be able to get in a little time with them when I can these days!

Lego Zoo House

Well, you've already seen the best picture that I took of the Duplo zoo house that the kids built, but I can't help but show you all of the others too...

The Duplos are one item that we have been very grateful that we brought with us from the very beginning. They didn't take up too much room in the suitcases. (Let's be honest. It was more room than I wanted it to be.)

And the kids have thoroughly enjoyed them since the day of our arrival. We've stored them in a cardboard box for the last six months (different ones as they seem to get destroyed every couple of weeks).

I was very excited to finally get Cade some fabric boxes for the Duplos and his cars for his birthday. No more cardboard boxes for us!

I love how creative they get with them...and they definitely haven't outgrown them yet!

Week 10: Be Still

Well, it finally happened. I broke down and used my iPhone for a lot of my pictures this week. Some are better than others. I'm feeling pretty lame when it comes to the prompts lately. A lot of people put thought into it, set up the shot, and end up with some great photos that really represent the theme. I'm not one of those people.
Next week, I'll be lucky if I get my Week 11 post up before I leave for Singapore...honestly, there is pretty much zero chance of that happening! The following week, I'll still be in Indonesia...so there will be lots of pictures when I get back, but you'll have to wait patiently. I'm not sure when I'll get around to getting them uploaded, edited, and organized into a post!

Day 62: Friday night we went out to dinner at one of the neighborhood Korean restaurants with friends. While we waited for Cade and Eric, the girls played.

Day 63: We went on base on played at an enormous park after watching a movie and having dinner...felt like we were in the States for a few hours!

Day 64: Eric and the kids playing a game after nap time on Sunday afternoon...

Day 65: Kennedy didn't want me to put her to bed, but I was able to get a few shots of her being still while she laid in bed and waited for Daddy. She is usually a pretty willing model for me.

Day 66: On Monday, I took a picture of the rain from my classroom. It was a rare rainy, cloudy day here in Seoul. Reminded us a lot of home.

Day 67: On Wednesdays, we go to Ross and JJ's. They have been getting home late, so Ross gives us his keys so that we can let everyone in. Eric and the kids quickly got comfortable on the couch! Making themselves right at home...

Day 68: I finally managed to get a shot of someone being still....because my own kids certainly can't! I gave a test today, so at least my students were sitting still for a little while.

I think this week was more an example of the fact that my children simply cannot "be still". I had thought of some other ways to express the prompt (since I was already aware of that fact), but there just wasn't time. I think my favorite shot of this week is the one of Kennedy and her friend outside the coffee shop on Friday night. I love the color and the laughter on their faces!

If you'd like to see others' work on Project 52, check out the links:

www.styleberryblog.com