Vacation, Time to Get Away

So, in the midst of the contract renewal, the summer camp program, and exams, I have been planning my vacation. This has gone though several iterations as my summer camp program of three weeks was on, then off, then on again. Grrrr!

My initial thoughts were two weeks in New York City, including meeting up with my Dad when he goes to bagpipe school in August, which became one week when I looked at prices. Still something I want to do.

Then I looked at a couple of weeks on the beach in a dirt-cheap locale here in east Asia like Thailand or Vietnam, but decided it will be too boiling hot in August. Maybe I will do this in the fall, during Chuseok/Class Trip Week or winter vacation in February.

Then I thought about visiting TB and Nancy in the City of Angels. A big plus would be free lodging on what is described to me as a "great fold-out couch." Downsides: hot there too, need a car to get around, and hopefully they'll both be employed, thereby leaving me on my own except for evenings.

Final decision: New Zealand. I was so enthusiastic about it that I talked Andy into going--he whipped up a few websites on his own and was immediately sold! So, we set the dates according to his schedule, since my summer camp classes were cancelled due to lack of participation, and I was therefore more flexible (though I only get two weeks outside Korea).

So, I turned in my flight plan to my coteacher at school to forward to the SMOE office, and she informed me that my dates were wrong--I had to teach summer camp during part of this time. Apparently, despite our "understanding" that I would not teach three classes to a grand total of five students, and so was going to be allowed to "work at home" during three weeks between semesters, someone had consolidated those students into one class, and added two more students.

Long story short, after making our broad arrangements, my school threw a major wrench into the works. I was furious. Andy is being really cool about it--way cooler than I am--despite the fact I'm screwing him out of some costs we should be splitting. So he plans to do some winter sports probably with his brother along, which I'm not all that interested in (winter sports, I mean--I don't even know his brother) before I arrive.

Why New Zealand? you ask. Well, some really cool geology, like geothermal vents, glaciers, volcanoes, gold deposits, the Craters of the Moon. Culture, like antiquarian colonial villages, aboriginal sites, Steinlager, rugby. Lord of the Rings: we are both fans of the books and the movie series filmed here, and there is a tourism industry devoted to it--Mt Doom, Hobbiton, Edoras, etc. So, how much does it cost to spend the night in Bag End? I don't know, but I hope to find out.