Portland

This is a travel blog, so I'll keep my discussion of my visits home to a minimum.

I arrived in Portland and attended Renn Fayre, to the surprise of (most of) my friends. I had told them I had renewed my contract and was still in Korea. This led to some of my favorite moments of self validation I've ever experienced as my friends demonstrated exactly how much they missed me. Stacia stopped traffic when she spotted me, leaving her car part way up Woodstock and running over to hug me. Judith and Gabe gave me great bear hugs, and Kelly jumped into my arms and couldn't speak for a few minutes. One of my favorite photos of myself only has the back of my head in it, but more importantly shows Jess' reaction at the moment she saw me. I had an awesome time at Renn Fayre, and I'm thankful that Stacia took photos, even if I didn't.

The summer of funemployment continued to be a fantastic time. From the C.A.V.E. founders reunion barbecue that lasted for two days to the nonstop adventures of the Holgate House to Mark and Morgan's wedding, it was one of the best summers I've ever had, which is saying something.

At the end of it I decided to return to Korea instead of teaching in Japan as I had originally intended. The after school programs in Japan are more closely tied to the school year and I only had a three week window if I was going to be gone for a year and attend both Mark and Morgan's wedding before I left and that of Ben and Elana when I got back. Thus my Korean adventure continued.