Party Time

Well this Saturday we had a school social that was co-sponsored by another international school here in Seoul. It was at a groovy bar called "New York Bar". It had cool features like a huge fish tank in the ceiling and a bird cage surrounded by a fish tank.

When it comes to going out we have been switching babysitting duties. One weekend Julia goes out and one weekend I go out. It works out well unless we want to hang out together. We have had numerous offers from other teachers willing to babysit but the only problem is that they all go to the socials as well. So this weekend we took the plunge and hired a service. The school researched a couple places and passed on their numbers to us. I called up and talked to a gentleman who spoke great English about the ins and outs of his service. He was very accommodating and informative and was able to schedule a sitter to arrive at our house at 5:30. We were not leaving until at least 7 but we thought it would be a good idea for all of use to hang out and get to know each other. Especially Quinn. I wouldn't want him waking up only to find a complete stranger in the house.

He seemed to like her right off the bat. She seemed to have that natural ability with kids and I think that put him at ease as well. He also like the fact that she paid complete and total attention to only him. It was nice because we were able to get some stuff done and get ready while she kept Q occupied. We told her we would be back by 11 and headed out.

It was great to get to go out together and hang out with our new friends and colleagues. We arrived at the NYB after wandering the block for a couple minutes feeling lost. One of the first people we ran into was our principal who was carrying around a bottle of tequila. A great way to start a party! It was great to be out and enjoying time with our new friends together. We stayed until about 10:15 at which time we hopped back on the subway and headed home. We arrived at our door at almost exactly 11:00. Not bad.

The sitter said that Q slept well. She seemed happy, we were happy, Q was happy.

The next morning I went for a bike ride in search of some trails in my area. After searching and climbing for a little over an hour I actually found some trails. As it turns out I climbed around the backside of the mountain and came up on the mountain top from the opposite direction of the trails. I chatted for a bit with a nice Korean man who spoke good English about the trail network. I got a general understanding of what went where. I took pictures of the trail signs so I can translate them and find out where they lead. I had a great ride down, down, down and was popped out not 2 miles from our apartment. Now that I know where to access the trail system I will definitely be exploring it in the upcoming months.

Today I was able to ride the fixie to work. It took about 30 minutes to get there and 20 to get back. As always it was a pleasant way to begin and end the workday. The kicker is climbing the hill to the school. The school is built on the side of a hill and it is a pretty steep climb up.

We had a great outing to Yuldong park. We hung out on the grass and watched the bungee jumpers leap off and bounce around. We decided that we need to get together a "Park Pack" that is stocked with all the essentials needed for a successful outing. There are a ton of cool parks in the city to take advantage of. Of course I forgot to bring my camera. Julia reminded me...on the subway...a little late. Next time.

4 days to vacation!!