The Beginning of the End....

On Wednesday we went to a local school in the morning. It was interesting to see the differences and the similarities. The biggest difference is that school was still in session. No summer break here! And the kids go for a half day on Saturday. Most of our kids were thankful for the school system they belong to!
During the school visit neither Becca or Pat could attend so I was next in line for doing the speeches and giving the gifts. I received the most incredible bouquet of flowers I have ever seen. The saying in among the staff is, "If you meet someone for more than 12 minutes...you need to present them with a gift!" So I gave the principal a gift and he gave me the flowers!

Peg giving the principal his gift. Note the bowing and giving the gift with two hands. It would be offensive to give the give with my left hand, so to make sure it's done properly I always give with both hands!!

My absolutely gorgeous bouquet.

Later that night, many of the families went out to host family dinners. This is where you get a peak at life inside a Korean home. We opted out of that and had Domino's Pizza! The box was so nicely packaged we just had to share a pic!

Yep, the pizza came with a side dish of pickles!

On Thursday I took a group of people on the subway to Insa dong...my absolute favorite place in all of Seoul. It is an arts and crafts place with many beautiful shops and galleries. I just go nuts there! That took up a lot of the day and then it was time for the final dinner. The kids looked so sharp that we took lots and lots of pictures!

Kari and Maren

The "guys" of June Ties 2008

Kari and Eric Land--such a neat young man.

Kari and Amy--another Ties Staff.
She is a social worker adopted from Chile'.

Kari and Grant--another buddy
Kari and Jillian--one of the sweetest girls I
have ever met!

Kari and "the girls"

Good-byes are so hard. I am so thankful for "facebook" where these kids can connect. They have already started a Ties 2008 group! What a cool way to stay close and in contact. It's been a really fun mother-daughter trip, but it was really good for Kari to meet some new friends as well. As a mom it was fun to watch her...she was friendly to all, made good friends, yet didn't want to leave me alone too much. What a great kid!