Last night we went out for Ryan's birthday, It was lots of fun and the Korean teachers from school all came as well. I really like all of the people I have met here so far. It sucks that Andrea and Ryan are going home in September. Ah well, what can you do? The Korean teachers will of course be here for the length of our stay. They are a lot of fun.

We came home and watched the opening ceremonies this morning. They were incredible! The first time we watched, the announcer was speaking Korean. The second time we watched it was on NBC with Katie Couric and Bob Costos. It was everything I hate about American Olympic coverage. First Costos said that everyone knows Suriname isn't really here to win a medal. Then he proceeded to discuss the colorful (and might I say, beautiful) traditional costumes of Azerbaijan and said "If you are gonna wear something like that you better be prepared to just strut your stuff because that's all you can do" and then, when the IOC President addressed the crowd good 'ol Bob commented, "...the speaker has switched to English, much to the audiences relief." Right because of all the 202 countries in attendance, who would speak French? What a jerk.

Anyway, back to a more positive perspective. The ceremonies (sans Bob) were just stunning. I can't even imagine being able to conceive of something so elaborate, let alone implement it! It made me cry (because the Olympics always make me cry) and I felt so proud to be...alive. I know, it's weird. But with the emphasis on Greek history I sat in awe watching how far humanity has come and how much we have accomplished and it made me feel proud to be a part of it. It's nice to focus on the all the good man has done, because we are often bombarded with all the bad. It was very moving and I am glad I got to see it.