Countdown

Nick's arrival on Friday night has colored my outlook for the past week with pleasant shades. I can't wait to see him and be with him again. I also think I'm due for a break! I started counting at twelve days to go, and I've been counting ever since.

• Being in the mood for romance, I found myself thinking more about the wedding than I have in a long time, surfing through theknot.com and browsing bridesmaids dresses and flowers. We've been trying to find a good first dance song, though there are probably other wedding decisions which are more pertinent.
• I skimmed my "Lonely Planet: Korea" guide for things to do in Seoul and made a short list in my little pink notebook. A couple weeks ago, I reserved tickets for us to see Nanta--a famous Korean comedy/percussion show. I called Ju to find out how much time she would have to be our tour guide.
• An innkeeper in Jilyang shut the small, sliding door in my face today after I tried to ask for a reservation for Nick, using my Korean-English dictionary. Feeling offended, I went to the motel across the street to try again at Hwang Jae Jang Motel. It was about 5 bucks more than the first place but a lot less sketchy in appearance. A nice gray-haired man took me immediately to look at the room, which included a bed, bathroom and good-sized TV. As it turned out, he didn't take reservations either, but I'm more inclined to give him my business based on his courtesy.
• I asked my friends at Dongshin to pray for Nick's stomach. I really hope the Korean food doesn't make him sick. In the meantime, I've been making mental notes of western things we can eat. There are a few pretty good places to get spaghetti in Hayang. There's a KFC in Kyungsan.
• "Just one more Tuesday," I told myself on the way to work today. I was mean to the kids today. By that I mean I didn't hesitate to yell and finally stuck to my guns about not always playing games in class. It was tough, but I felt so much better about five or ten minutes of hangman when I knew they had focused for 45.
• One of my students whined when I told her I would be gone on Friday, and they would probably have Justin teacher instead. She said Justin teacher is scary. Haha! At first, I liked the idea of being missed. But then I realized that I could use a little fear factor.
• Minwoo asked me to play UNO with him and his friend last night. Again, he wanted to enforce a flicking punishment for the loser. I lost...twice. (I covered my forehead with a blanket to absorb the sting.) Then I actually suggested that the lose run outside barefoot, feeling confident that I wouldn't lose again, but I did. And the cold stone pathway in front of the church hurt my feet. I don't know how my response time got so slow. I must be distracted by a certain someone coming to visit soon.
• I had a dream last night that I chipped one of my front teeth really badly, and my first thought was, "O no! Nick is coming to visit on Friday, and I can't hide this from him!" Nick said he learned somewhere that a chipped or broken tooth in a dream means concern about relationships. So weird. It's also pretty weird not seeing my fiance for 3 months!

I promise to take plenty of pictures of our adventures together and share them here on my blog.