Returning (finally!)

I think most everyone already knows this, but our airline tickets are bought and we will be making our return to the States, more specifically St. Louis, on August 17th. It's going to be an adjustment, but we're excited about what lies ahead.

On a funny side note, Birth Father has asked us twice now if we think St. Louis is pretty boring. He commented that it was too quiet and slow there and he thought Las Vegas was more his style. Guess he wasn't too impressed and won't be eager to make a return visit to our our little city in the Midwest. :)

Pieces of Korea in the Lou

So one of my fears about returning back to the States is that I won't really have a chance to use the Korean skills I've acquired this past year and will promptly forget Every.Single.Thing. After all the blood, sweat, and tears it's taken me to get the level I am now, that would be the worst thing imaginable.

Also while I'm excited to be much, much geographically closer to friends and family, I'm pretty sure I'm going to go through some major withdrawal missing this country I've called home and come to love these past two years. So, this evening I decided to do a little investigating to see if I could still find little pieces of Korea in the middle of the Midwest.

And my search wasn't fruitless! I found....

• St. Louis Korean-English Organization: This was a major shocker. This is a not-for-profit group that sponsors meet-ups, has English and Korean tutoring, and more. Um, sign me up yesterday. Oh, and interesting that they're looking for a marketing director.... ^^
• Noraebangs: These are the infamous Korean private karaoke rooms where Mark and I have spent many, many evenings. And it so happens that there are TWO in West County. Oh, and they serve soju... It may be a haul, but I have a feeling that the road trip will be necessary at some point.
• Patbingsu: Patbingsu is an amazing mixture of shaved ice, fruit, and red beans that makes me so happy in the summer. And amazingly enough, there is a Korean bakery in Chesterfield that serves it! Step aside Ted Drewes...

These little gems were found in about 10 minutes flat, so there must be even more that I'm not aware of... Next on the hunt, a hairstylist who knows how to cut (and maybe color) Asian hair... and possibly can even maintain my magic straight perm without charging me everything in my bank account plus my first born child...

At last... BOOKED!

We've gotten a LOT of questions about when exactly we're returning home. If you're one of those people losing sleep over this, you can rest your mind. :o) We picked up our tickets from our boss (one of the perks of finishing your teaching contract -- tickets home) today. We can happily report that the tickets are booked and we will be returning to the States on none other than Easter Sunday.

We'll depart April 4th at 10:20 from Korea... have two layovers in Tokyo and Los Angeles... and then arrive in St. Louis many hours later (though the time change makes it look like it isn't!) on April 4th at 5:15 p.m.

Can't wait to see everyone!

Representing the LOU!

All you St. Louisans will love this post! 

Check out this little guy... And please notice his shirt.

Want a closer view? Here ya go... 

All together now... MIZ...

Mark, especially, absolutely loved that. But when we thought it couldn't get any better, check out what he showed up in on Friday!

Isn't he a cutie? His name is June and he's in first grade. His family actually lived in Columbia Missouri for a little while and obviously he became a fan of the greatest teams in the country. Mark asked him where he got the Cardinals jersey and he said that his family took a trip to St. Louis and he went to a Cardinals game. When Mark asked if he had fun, he got a huge grin on his face and squealed... "YEAH!" He went on to say that he mostly liked the soda and nachos he had there. I have to agree... Busch Stadium has the best nachos ever! :)