Sunday, January 09, 2011

Best Year Ever? Rose & Shane's 2010 Year in Pictures

Indulge me for a moment while I venture away from writing about life here in Korea and reflect upon the year now passed. 


For us, 2010 brought change and renewal, inspiration and gratitude.


Domestic travel opportunities brought us to Arizona, Colorado, and Chicago.
 All beautiful.
 Best part: spending time with Andrea, Mackenzie, and Miranda.







In one week, Shane got a tattoo, 






we signed our contracts for jobs in Korea,




and Shane proposed-- in true Wisconsin style-- in front of the Wisconsin capital building. We celebrated with hiking, wandering the farmer's market, watching the World Cup, fine dining, and soaking in sunset views. 

We both began to take better care of ourselves physically. This year, we've lost a combined 40 pounds. We also ran our first 5k. Well, Shane ran it, I "jog-walked" it. 




The 5k was a charity even for the Wisconsin Institute for Learning Disabilities/Dyslexia, Inc., my former workplace. It was a wonderful job that was hard to say goodbye to, especially when they threw me a surprise party.


Shane honed his hobby of home brewing and kept us in full stock of drinkables.


And got back on the stage, performing in Busan Night Live, a sketch comedy show.




He also got to sit courtside at a Milwaukee Bucks/Denver Nuggets Game. He high fived Luc Richard Mbah A Moute and Kurt Thomas. A very big deal for him. He also high fived Carlos Delfino, a very big deal to me.




The year was not without shenanigans....


 


Our families gave us a lot of reasons to celebrate: Sara & Nick's wedding (Shane's sister) and announcement of twins on the way, Shane's oldest brother getting engaged to Sophie, a new nephew, Baby Henry, and birthdays of nieces and nephews. We grew closer to our families and spent more time with them this summer than ever before.




Of course, the year was not without difficulty. We packed the collection of our lives tidily into boxes for storage, said temporary goodbyes to too many friends and family members before the move. Living miles and miles from home has at times left us tinged with heartsickness, and military tension on the peninsula made us question the leap of faith we had made when coming here. 

BUT YET. 
It has been the best year ever.


Leap and the net will appear. 
Be bold and might forces will come to your aid.

We hope 2011 will be your best year ever. Happy New Year!

2 comments:

  1. I didn't mention it too much in here, but we've also met a really awesome group of expats here in Korea. What a great community! I figured I talk enough about Korea and Busan in every other post. Thank you, Busan readers, for making this year so wonderful!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very beautiful scenery photos! Sounds like you've had an amazing year. Praying that the rest of your stay goes well in Korea. :-)

    ReplyDelete