It's Now or Never

Well, this is it. We are leaving for Hawaii this morning to get married! I haven't slept well in days (normal before a big trip) and I feel tired and a little stressed out...but excited. Thank you so much to all of the family and friends who have sent emails, cards or who have called. We really appreciate it and we will contact you when we get back home...to Korea. Oh yeah, we live in Korea. Well, life is never perfect, but right now it's pretty damn close.

A Hen

Some of my friends threw me a Hen Party last weekend, here in Korea...what a blast! I thought, when we first decided to get married while living overseas, that I would miss out on all the pre-wedding festivities. But so far I have had the whole package deal...including the fake veil (thanks Kate!). And it's good to know that no matter how old I get, where I live or how married I am, I can still swing from the rooftops!


Me in front of Rock & Roll in downtown Daegu

Swingers?

No matter where you are...swing from the rafters!

Reflection in Blue

The bride-to-be having a moment in the bathroom at the bar.

Countdown

This is going to be one crazy week. Yesterday was Valentine's Day, today is my birthday and in four days I leave to get married in Hawaii! I have tons of packing and organizing left to do, not to mention work and extra lessons.

The actual wedding is in 9 days and I still have to find a dress, a venue, an officiant, a photographer and flowers. What we do have is a reception, invitations, guests, airplane tickets, a honeymoon suite (at the Pink Palace no less!) a bride, and a groom. We're all set.

Broken Musings

I bumped into a lawyer downtown today who spoke really good English. He stopped me on the street and starting talking to me about foreign policy. Since that never happens in Korea, I listened. First of all he thanked my country for supporting America's attempts to bring North Korea to the negotiating table. "Why, you're welcome." Then he launched into a diatribe on human rights and how much Bush is doing to help out the cause. "Excuse me?" He eventually went on to talk about how much Bush has done for women's rights, I nearly choked, "Oh, you must mean the women he liberated from the Taliban that he helped put into power. Or are you referring to his progressive ideas on abortion and a woman's right to choose?" It turns out that he was invited to America by the Clinton administration in 1993 to work as an environmental lawyer. He still remembers snippets from Bush's inauguration speech and considers America and Canada partners in "ridding the world of human rights abuses." He wants America to "de-throne" Kim Jong Il and is very happy that Canada is so supportive of US foreign policy. "Supportive? We support foreign aid and the US's attempts to hold talks and if necessary, UN sanctioned military tactics, but we do not support a profit-driven attack on already suffering countries, the removal of personal rights and freedoms within it's own borders and their disregard for privacy, fairness and the separation of church and state."

All of the things between quotation marks were thought, not said. What was said was "Yes. I agree." "Oh, really" and "Hmmm." I didn't want to argue with him because he seemed so excited to be speaking English and because I am a guest in his country. I allowed him to think that all of Canada agrees with every move the Bush administration thinks.

This made me think. Was I being polite? Congenial? In my typically Canadian response, had I crossed the line from "nice" to plain old "pussy"? What's the best thing to do in those types of situations and as a country, does Canada pride itself too much on being liked and not enough on being honest?