At the beginning of the year, I wondered how it could compare to 2012. I might have even worried a bit, thinking 2011 couldn’t get topped. Well, it’s different in 2012 but, man, has it been incredible (in the best sense of the word).
So, the list… the list of memories, quickly, from 2012:
- Announcing the adoption fund and the flurry of comments and questions that followed
- Answering “Why do you want to adopt?” dozens of times (and even three times here on Marshallogue)
- Walking and talking with Loren, about marriage, about adoption, about where life kept going
- Stepping into North Korea
- Attending Mannam cooking classes
- Staying out all night with Jina, wondering Gangnam
- Hiking to the top of Hallasan wearing Chuck’s and Crampons
- Riding the train overnight from Thailand to Laos
- Standing in front of Ankor Wat
- Riding on the back of the motorbike around Siem Reap
- Falling asleep at the theater before Batman even came on the screen
- Saying bye to David, doing the double-take hug
- Walking to the top of Namsan with Rosa
- Staying up all night at a coffee shop with friends two nights before leaving Korea
- Attending the Bennett wedding
- Getting confused by the fake border crossing into Cambodia
- Hurting my feet on the beach on Koh Chang
- Riding the ferry down the Han river with friends
- Visiting Museums with Tom, Ross, and David
- Shaking hands with Pastor Bill my last day at IWE
- Praying with the Growth Group by the subway station in Seoul, the last meeting we’d have together with me in the group
- Saying bye to my JLS students
- Saying “Farewell” to Korea, more than just a country to me now
- Seeing my family waiting for me when I returned from Korea
- Drinking orange soda out of an empty peanut can with Tom Tanzer
- Sitting against the wall of the train station in Bangkok eating street food and having that woman come up and try to get me to give her money for her son who was supposedly in the hospital (she didn’t speak English at all)
- Waiting in line to get back into Thailand from Cambodia, talking with the British guy who was studying at Harvard
- Taking Raquel to a Hot Chelle Rae concert and grabbing one of two pairs of sunglasses they threw out for the crowd
- Flying into Alaska, the turbulence landing in Juneau
- Listening to the man play “Carol of the Bells” on the organ in the atrium where Kevin works
- Sitting in Seattle in the airport, reading emails (thanks to free Wi-Fi) from friends I’d just left in Alaska, feeling how blessed I am, realizing how high life can feel
- Kicking a piece of ice back and forth on the driveway with Zach
- Drinking $.50 beer in the Cambodian guest house
- Eating fresh seafood and sweet, sticky rice on the floating market with friends from the TESOL course
- Getting a book in the mail and opening it to find my name in the dedication
- Trying out the Nexus 7 and discovering that it didn’t really work for me
- Surviving the Mayan calendar
- Compiling the list of posts from Marshallogue to include in the book version
- Imagining the pencil in the “M” for the Marshall logo
- Jamming with Ted and Will
- Remembering International Stuttering Day
- Hanging out with the Bennetts after their wedding
- Waiting for the subway at the empty station way too early in the morning on the day I left Korea, reflecting on what just happened, and then seeing Heather coming up the escalator
- Talking about my Korean year at church the week after I got back to Kentucky
- Playing chess blindfolded
- Seeing the guy crawling down the sidewalk in Bangkok
- Teaching my students card tricks at JLS
- Enjoying my birthday at the Muido park with Heather, Ashante, Suhee, Loren, Jihye, Ross, Miriam, Jung, Jina, and Gansukh
- Throwing Frisbee with Ross at Seoul National Forest (and not actually throwing much Frisbee because we kept talking so much)
- Opening my place up for couch surfers in Korea
- Watching movies with John the week I was back in Seoul after southeast Asia
- Talking with the man in the train on the way back from Laos
- Looking at paintings on the top of the second tallest building in Seoul
- Cooking dak galbi in red aprons with friends, including Loren’s mom and sister
- Skyping with Miriam
- Playing basketball at Southeast with Ted when he broke his leg
- Talking with the Korean guy in the van on the way to BKK
- Checking into JL Bangkok only to find I was staying at the wrong place
- Joking about the Zombie Hotel where Tom and I stayed during the TESOL course
- Watching all the students sneak looks back at us, the group of substitute teachers waiting to practice teaching on them
- Laying over in Seattle and sleeping on the seats with armrests
- Getting stranded in Chicago on the way back from Juneau, getting a hotel, and then giving away the rest of the food vouchers they gave me
- Giving everyone a hug when I got back to America from Asia
- Staying out all night with coworkers from JLS
- Throwing the window open on the train in Thailand
- Walking through the fair in Louisville with Momma, Raquel, Zach, and Ted
- Riding rides with everyone at Holiday World
- Bringing boxes filled with Christmas decorations down from the attic after Alaska
- Applying for teaching positions in Saudi Arabia
- Turning in my last project for the Master’s degree
- Getting my diploma in the mail
- Signing for my TESOL certificate right after video recording Oil saying the entire, official name of Bangkok in Thai
- Eating that crazy hot dish in the mall with Oil and Tom and Markus
- Hanging out and taking that cover photo with friends in Korea at that festival (sorry, I don’t remember what the festival was even called… maybe Buddha’s birthday, but I’m not sure)
- Video recording Raquel and William playing the game where the players try to get the eggs out of the nest and the dinosaur scares the players by trying to bite them
- Taking Zach to the park and playing with him on the slide
- Getting a “retirement” check from Korea
- Leaving my fake Chuck’s in Seoul
- Hanging out with Tae right before he joined the army
- Watching the Olympics and feeling more connected to the international athletes than I had before living abroad
- Telling everyone at IWE to prepare to meet back up in 2020
- Feeling disappointed about missing Momma’s birthday but still thankful I flew back for the wedding
- Eating bugs on Khaosan Road and feeling happy
- Finding out that Ted didn’t wear his leg brace for his broken leg when he went in for the job interview
- Seeing Pop’s TV clip
- Asking Lule how to say “Thank you” in Albanian and then learning it from her
- Wondering if I was about to drown on Koh Chang
- Waiting for photos to upload on Facebook
- Talking with Cann Thavy as the rain started falling again in front of the office for the vacation lodges on Koh Chang
- Hearing that the woman running the guest house on Koh Chang was from Cambodia
- Playing guitar for worship
- Having breakfast with Pastor Bill, telling him my plans for after Korea, and he telling me his
- Going to the Men’s breakfast with the Ochaki’s
- Seeing the Cohns again after Asia
- Watching Ted’s leg vibrate in his sleep and hearing Raquel giggle about it
- Searching for a fan for Grandma Jones on the arts and crafts and touristy street in Seoul
- Signing the table cloth with family for Thanksgiving
- Talking with Blaine after the movie ended Thanksgiving night
- Watching Marko try to buy cigars from the young lady not at the checkout line
- Sitting on the roof of the apartment/hotel building while chatting with Tom and Marko (in his towel)
- Rocking the sound room with Jon and Jason and Thomas and others
- Helping William choose classes
- Talking with Ted about Neustar all night
- Attending the art class with Susie and painting a sunflower
- Waking up to Zach “chumming” me
- Moving Ricky from the back to the front or from the front to the back
- Turning down beggars in Siem Reap
- Listening to music in the van waiting for Raquel’s ballet class to finish like the olden days
- Watching Raquel perform her part as Clara en pointe
- Looking through old photos with my brothers and sister all together
- Getting a verse from Jina for our New Year, Bible verse exchange
- Remembering these memories again and feeling really, really, really happy (how can I say that better?) right before the New Year ticked over
Happy New Year!
