Shina's Sweet 7th but really 6th Birthday Party

Around here somewhere in Preschool jungle-land, celebrating birthdays are a big deal. Today, Shina celebrated her 7th but really 6th birthday.

Here are some post-worthy photos for your eyes only:

Nicole Teacher with Shina (dressed in hanbok)

Shina is shy in the spotlight

Shina with the rest of the Penguins

As shown, Shina is thoughtful and intelligent.
She has this kind of gracefulness that will transcend and help her achieve many new and exciting things...
She is my lovely sunshine.

The Girls: a non-fighting moment

When I first arrived, I was fairly skeptical about these birthday parties...they seemed tacky and annoying to sit through, but now...six months into this crazy adventure, these birthday parties are looked forward to, counted down daily during morning routine, loved and cherished.


She is my sunshine.

Look at what I made!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Isn't this coooool?!?!

Hey Heather!

I don't know if you read this at all, but here are the photos of us at dinner and work.

Every now and then, I try to do that thing I promised I would do and throw your name in whatever conversation we are having...You are never forgotten as long as we are around haha

"Hey remember that time we did that with Heather?!" or "Heather taught us that one..."

Well, whatever you are doing, I hope you bought those UGGs you wanted and soaked up the sun down there in Miami 'cause where you're going is not warm at all hahaha

Have a smooth packing experience. Remember to use baskets like I did and organize from there...

Best of luck in China! It's freeeezing there right now!!!











OH! And every now and then, I remember to read those post secret things you told me about...some of them have gotten a bit depressing over the holidays...

BE SAFE!






...and email me your email address

Hong Kong ramblings have come to an end...

haha isn't Ah Mah so cute?!?! She's so jolly hahaha

You can see Aunt 3 in the window.

My Kim Jun Do...

...for now. I do plan to revisit Hong Kong in July 2009 though. Those of you that missed the picture invitations, here they are...

Flying back and forth between Seoul and Hong Kong makes me feel extremely lucky and fortunate. I feel free to travel and explore as I please, which is how I intend to live the rest of my life--with or without a family of my own. I know some of you are concerned about that, mother.

This second trip also reminded me that my home is really where my heart is...no, that's corny. My home is between Hong Kong and Toronto. I have the holidays and the money will be saved somehow. I'll go back and forth until I've had enough of the HK airport...and the funny thing is, now that I'm living in Seoul, I feel like I could possibly settle back here as well...once the air pollution clears up.

For once in my life, I feel free to think wider and bigger than where I grew up. This kind of independence is amazing because when you think about it...some people never left. I don't feel bad for those who stayed but at the same time, I wonder...why the hell wouldn't you?!?!

Since I've reconnected with my aunts, I understand where my rage, orderliness and spunk comes from...my mother who moved us here and my dad's sisters. They gave and taught me to be like this. So when you are frustrated, you should just remember that I'm like this because I watched you and imitated your behaviour. As an adult, I choose to be the same. Knowing who I am now...it would be a terrible waste for me to just settle in one place and nest right now...

I'm grateful for what I have now because I know what it was like to be a workaholic for the past two years. Anyone who knew me prior to Seoul would say that I worked too much and spent little time thinking beyond my Korea trip...Teaching and living here is the culmination of my hard work. I planned for this, I worked for it and cried for it several times...

I've diverted from my focus here but it's just occurred to me that Hong Kong was another goal and again, I am proud to say that I have accomplished it. I made Ah Mah happy when I landed and it was amazing to see Aunt 5 healthy and hear her scolding me for shedding hair all over the floor. I just needed to write this down for the record because I have worked hard...and I let myself and other people say things to make me forget that...

In celebration, I have decided to not plan the next five years, yet. I told myself that in Korea, I would plan the next five...but I realized that I couldn't do this and enjoy what I am doing now. Hannah often reminds me that this is her selfish year...to rest a bit. I'm definitely going to do that now.

But no actually, I do want my own house. I want real estate!!!!!!!!!!!!

Around here...there are no ordinary Fridays...

...what we do have are many fights about any given things.

I took it upon myself to capture some of these fights. At first, I wasn't sure if the Penguins would cooperate and give me something to giggle about, but then the girls stepped up and really delivered.

If you work with young students, you will completely agree and laugh hysterically. If you don't, it's serious birth control.

Hope these amateur videos find you well and that your New Year is going well. Stay tune for my trip during the Lunar New Year; it should be a blast.

Here you go, procrastinate!