Articles by mgedwards

For the shutterbugs

Dear Reader, I haven’t had much time to blog while on vacation in Hawaí’i.  It has to do with having wireless access for my laptop in the guest bedroom.  Í haven’t spent much time there, so I haven’t been online very much.  That’s OK–I’m on vacation.  I have however found time to take photos, organize them, and shrink them for the Web.  I posted four new photo albums for you viewing pleasure.  Three are from goodbye parties–The Nunchuks’ farewell concert on January 21, our son’s goodbye party on January 27, and our Noraebang Night on the evening of January 27.  I also posted about four dozen photos from our recent trip to the Polynesian Cultural Center on O’ahu Island, Hawai’i.  Enjoy!
 
Blog Note:  Bob, thanks for reminding me I still have a blog reader.  Sorry, we won’t be back in Virginia until March; we’re on the road throughout February.  See you in March (I hope)!  Also, Dear Reader, I wanted to give you a public service message–15 power sunscreen is not enough for a day on the beach!  Try 45.  My face is very red.  In addition to my Hawai’ian shirts, I now look like a tourist more than ever! 

Aloha, Hawai’i

Dear Reader, we made it to Hawai’i after a long, arduous packout and move.  We arrived yesterday and still have not quite adjusted to the time difference (+4 hours).  Jetlag hit us less than it would have if we had flown directly to the Continental U.S.  Hopefully by stopping halfway in Hawai’i we will ease into the time transition.  Well, so here we are…in paradise.  The weather isn’t so good here right now with rain and high wind warnings, but it feels good to me.  While the locals bundle up, we’re dressing in shorts and cheesy tropical, floral Hawai’ian shirts.  Some homes on the Windward side of O’ahu Island lost their roof, but otherwise, things don’t seem too out of the ordinary to me.  A large palm frond landed in the green space outside my brother’s apartment, but fortunately no one was hurt.  I’ll take bad weather in paradise anyday over a nice winter day in Korea any day.
 
What a difference two years makes.  Two years ago we arrived here for a week’s vacation on our way to Korea for a two-year tour.  Two years ago, we arrived sick and with bad memories of Delta Airlines (check the February 2005 archives to read about our ordeal).  Two years later, we feel much best and have a lifetime of memories from Korea.  People say that returning from a multi-year assignment can feel like a dream–you lived it, but the memories leave you feeling like you were never there.  It’s especially true returning to the same place you left just two years ago.  Korea is quickly becoming like a dream; a good and bad dream, but a dream nonetheless.  And it’s only been two days since we left!

Anyeonghi keseyo, Korea

Goodbye, Korea.  Tomorrow is moving day, and my computer will be boxed up and shipped to the U.S.  The Internet router goes back to Korea Telecom on Tuesday.  This is probably my final blog entry in Korea before we depart for the U.S. on Wednesday.  We will head to Hawai’i for two weeks–two years after we last visited on our way here.  After Hawai’i, we will be in Seattle for about a week and then in Idaho for another week before heading to Virginia.  We will head to Paraguay next July. 
 
The goodbye parties are over, and all that’s left to do are check-out meetings and inspections.  When I have more time in the U.S., I will post some photos and tell you more about them (at least to the point where I don’t embarass someone–some photos are pretty crazy).  We had a wonderful tour in Korea.  Most people who serve here leave with mixed feelings.  Some love it, some hate it, but most enjoy it with caveats.  I really enjoyed my time here, so you can put me in the group who loved it.  My family enjoyed it with caveats.
 
In spite of spending a large portion of my life processing visas for 36,530 individuals, I leave Seoul with great memories.  I am thankful that I will probably never have to do another visa again (I did more than my fair share), but I will remember the time fondly–even at the visa window.  My family and I are looking forward to new challenges during Spanish training in Virginia and in Paraguay, but we leave with two years of great memories from Korea. 
 
And with that…hello, Hawai’i!