Moving Forward in 2018.

As I sit here on this cool summer morning listening to the rain I'm grateful for the moment to just sit and write to people that are so dear to my heart but just so far away.  I go back and forth with living abroad.  The hardest part is that I miss my friends and family.  I miss being able to hug their necks, I miss being able to look them in the eye and have a conversation, I miss the easiness of being together, I miss laughing so hard that we cry, I miss sharing our lives, I just miss THEM.  

We have now been in Tauranga, New Zealand for over 2 ½  years!  This is the longest we have been in one place since leaving our home in Lubbock, Texas for the Race back in 2011.  That's over 7 years of travels.  Over 7 years of constant change and adaption. Over 7 years of our community changing and saying tearful goodbye's more often than we say anxious hello's.  Over 7  years of new places and cultures. And, most importantly, over 7 years of growing and changing as individuals and as a couple. 

The road has been a beautifully bumpy one.  Sometimes it is wide and inviting other times it is narrow and shady.  It is a road I would journey down again  time after time, through highest of highs and the lowest of lows.   A road that has lead from one road to the next like a maze that takes me all over this beautiful world to unknown and exciting places.  It takes me to places where I'm overly stimulated and way out of my comfort zone and to places where my breath is taken away by the beauty and the people.  My heart is spread out over the 39 countries and 100's of people that we have come into contact with around the world.  They are in my thoughts often which is sometimes hard knowing that the reality of me seeing them again is not always likely, but I have to choose to remember all those wonderful memories that we shared.  The awkwardness, the language barriers which lead to some confusion, the interesting foods both good and bad, the smiles, the serving in selflessness and most importantly the love and companionship.

 I wouldn't change our last 7 years for anything.  Although, it is weird to think about what life would be like for the Hanes had we not quit our "career" jobs and left Lubbock, Texas back in January of 2011.  We will never know.  

So what are some things that have been brought to our minds through this crazy journey we have had?  Funny you ask.  I think the main thing is that our world view has been broadened.  (This should happen to everyone by the way.)  We have experienced love, compassion and generosity in so many places, through so many cultures and by a wide array of religious beliefs.   We have met Hindu's in India that just saw us walking down the street and invited us into their homes for food, gifts and to share our stories.  We worked with atheists in Korea who had no spiritual backing but would gladly give you the shoes off their feet, the food off of their plates and drop everything to help a person in need.  We have opened our home through Couch Surfers and Air B&B and hosted people from all walks of life:  From the new travelers who were 18 year olds from Europe who had never been on an airplane before coming to visit Korea.   And the young man from Turkey who was traveling around the world without using airplanes and who was on an almost nonexistent budget.  And the 70 year old American man who has been travelling the world for the last 20 years with nothing but his low social security payments and his girlfriend from the Canary Islands.  HA.   All the way to a 60 year old woman who kite surfs almost every day and lives life to the fullest here in New Zealand!  The list goes on and on.  We have shared our lives with so many people through conversations over wine, guitar playing, cooking and sharing our favorite meals and excursions.  This has been very eye opening for two kids from the "Bible belt" who grew up with parents that worked in the church.

A friend of mine once said this about traveling and experiencing other cultures. "They taught me that there is a bigger world out there that my privilege can blind me to. They taught me the true meaning of hospitality and joy."  -Crista

So now as I sit trying to plan my life.  Possibilities are really endless which is one thing we have learned over the last 7 years.  It’s not always easy but it has taken us on this incredible journey.  

With that being said we have decided to make New Zealand our “home” for the time being. We have now been here long enough to feel settled and we feel that we want to continue our life here.  We have met and continue to become close to people, we have friends!!! And we are enjoying life here at Mount Maunganui.  We have started the long and time consuming process of applying for residency and will hopefully hear something before our current work visa expires in April of 2018.  It will be nice to not have to plan our lives in just months at a time.

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.  They must be felt with the heart.  Wishing you happiness. -Helen Keller.

A Long Overdue Update

As I sit here in my little apartment listening to Christmas music, eating chocolate chip muffins and drinking coffee I realize how grateful I am for my life in New Zealand.  It's amazing/crazy to think that we have already been here for 18 months.  The first 8 months in NZ did not go as planned, but it's cute how we even thought we had a plan.  You think by now we would know better.

I'll start with a few things that didn't go as planned:

Justin had a hard time finding work and didn't work the first 5 months we were here. Only after temping for 2 1/2 months did I finally find a part time job. Our car was stolen then was found 7 hours later by some cops who got a call that two 13 year olds were doing doughnuts in a parking lot.   The inside was totally trashed, all of our beach gear that was in the trunk had been emptied and it was almost all the way out of gas. 

We were scammed by our neighbor promising to give Justin a really good job collecting repo vehicles among a few other things.  Turns out he was a convicted conman with over 100 counts of fraud!  We lived next door to a man with a bit of a drinking problem. While funny and sweet most days, he would sometimes yell and cuss at us for hours when we wouldn't give him money for alcohol.  Needless to say, some days we were really questioning our move to New Zealand.

 

But around December of last year things started slowly getting better. First of all we were able to celebrate our 10 year anniversary on December the 10th!!  Justin surprised me with tickets to see Ed Sheeren. It was so much fun!!

  

Justin also started working for a bakery.  Yes, I said bakery!! We were happy he finally found a job.  (Even though it was kind of nice having a house husband who would do everything!)  But with working at a bakery he had poor working hours.   He worked the night shift and we would often switch places in bed.  I would crawl into bed at 10:30pm and he would be getting up to go to work.  Some days working almost 12 hour shifts on his feet with very little breaks.  Needless to say it was very wearing on Justin's body, our social life and our marriage. He would try to make me feel better about it by reminding me that he's making lots of "dough".  It didn't help. haha   The great thing about working for the bakery is that we did get lots of free bread and Justin met some really good people while working there. (He has since changed jobs but we will get to that shortly.)

We also changed our housing location.  We were grateful to have our old apartment.  It welcomed us to New Zealand and was our home for the first 8 months but it was just really worn down and sometimes gave us more headache than comfort.   So in March Justin found us a really good deal on an apartment in a prime location.  I'm reminded daily that I'm so fortunate to be living in this spot! We were already living in one of the prettiest places on the north island, but now we would be living in the place where a lot of Kiwi's come for their summer vacation...Mount Maunganui.  It was only about a 10 min drive from our old apartment but it feels like worlds away.

  

With the new apartment came a roommate.  We are not able to afford to live in this area on our own. So we welcomed Will to the "family." He's a 23 year old Ausi that we met through some mutual friends.  He's a bad A barista so now we are coffee snobs, thanks Will.  He is a really good flat mate, that is what they call them here, and also a good friend.   We've already been living all together for 9 months. Wow time sure does fly. 

   

     

Our new apartment is great for so many reasons. We are about a 3 min walk to the ocean in one direction and a 5 min walk to the bay in another direction.  We are close to so many cool restaurants, coffee shops and a strand of cute little boutique shops.  With the summer weather approaching there will be more and more to do around the area.

 

Justin quit working for the bakery back in June and has now been working for Aqua Synergy Group, a water filtration company who deals with residential, commercial and rural filtration.  He now drives around in a snazzy van all day doing sales, service and maintenance in the whole Bay of Plenty area. It has its ups and downs but it gives him more freedom and we have our social life back!

I've been working at a dental practice for over a year...it's called Tooth Fairy Dental Centre, cute eh?  Check us out here if you want.  And no we don't wear fairy wings, thank goodness, that would be a little too festive.  I've been working full time now for the last 9 months, so that is helpful for surviving!!   I've worked for 8 different dentists at this practice over the last year, so they are keeping me on my mental game considering every dentist works a little bit differently and you have to remember all those differences.  I have a lot of good co-workers and have been able to make some friends while being there so it is nice. I also work for a great boss who was willing to help me/us get our work visas.  Our visa's have now shifted from working holiday to a work visa through Tooth Fairy and we are now able to stay and work until April of 2017 before having to figure something else out.

We go back and forth with knowing what that something else is.  Do we stay longer in New Zealand?  If so, do we apply for residency or just another work visa?  Will they grant our visa request?  If not, what is next?  More traveling??  We've never been to South America.... Or do we go home back to Texas!!??

Time will tell, we are just working on being content with being in this beautiful place and are trying not to take it for granted as we often do.  We miss our family and friends and think about you all often.  None of us know what 2017 will bring but...

"This is my wish for you: peace of mind, prosperity through the year, happiness that multiplies, health for you and yours, fun around every corner, energy to chase your dreams, and joy to fill your holidays!"  - D.M. Dellinger 

Love and hugs sent to you from New Zealand!!

Holiday Spirit!

Hello friends and family near and far.  Some of you we get the pleasure of talking to and seeing on a regular basis, while others we unfortunately haven’t seen or talked to in a long time.  Through traveling we get the awesome opportunity to meet and become friends with so many wonderful people!  The down side to that is we always have friends that seem so far away. 

During this holiday season we have been away from our family for the first time.  Although we have traveled a lot these last 3 years we have always been able to be back “home” in America for the holiday season.   So this season I have been doing a lot of thinking about those who we have come to love from all reaches of this beautiful world. 

Although we have not seen some of these people in over 5 years our love and admiration for them still grows stronger with each passing year.  (Disclaimer: these are just a few of the many people who have affected our lives in a positive way through knowing them.  If you are not on this list know that I’m grateful for our relationship and that I’m blessed to know you.)

The Guerra Family, Guatemala:

A more recent group of friends are those that we met in Guatemala in the summer of 2012.  It is hard to believe that it has already been a year and a half since we were in Central America for the summer.  The wonderful Guerra family  took us in under their wing and took care of us non-stop for 3 months.  They were our personal tour guides, chefs, and most of all our friends.  We love and miss every one of you.

Asha Orphanage, India:

A group very dear to our hearts are the residents and orphans in New Deli, India who work and live at Asha Orphanage.  We worked at Asha (which means "hope" in Hindi) for a month while on the world race in 2011.  (For more stores from our travel around the world or our time in India please visit our old blog: world race blog)  These vulnerable children and humble servants that took care of them were some of the most amazing people I have ever met.  Their life, no matter how difficult it was, was full of love and humility.   We learned so much in that short time in India; how to better love each other, how to be content and grateful no matter the circumstances, and how to take joy in the little things.  Thank you Asha for opening our eyes.  For more information about Asha or ways to help please visit their website: Asha Mission.

 

The Conways, Kenya:

Our first place to visit abroad as a couple was Kenya in the summer of 2007, and since that very long and eventful summer our love for Kenya and its people has filled our hearts.  Some very special missionaries have been in our thoughts and hearts since that summer.  Larry and Hollye Conway have devoted their lives to missions and currently work for Made in the Streets in Nairobi, Kenya.   Their loving hearts and servant spirits have changed so many lives of people who have passed through their home or received a big hug from Hollye or a witty joke from Larry. ("That's right, girlfriend!")  These two are the epitome of love and compassion.   Thank you for being that example.  For more info or ways to help Made in the Streets please visit their website:  Made in the Streets

Our families back home:

None of our travels would be possible without the love and continual support from our families back home.  They love us enough to let us pursue our current passion of serving, traveling and exploring the world!  We miss them so much while we are gone and cherish the memories we have with them both past and present.  Tears fill my eyes as I think of the love I have for these amazing people.  I know they say you can’t pick your family,  so I think we lucked out big time with this crazy cool bunch! 

If you want an update on 2013 for the Hanes’ please feel free to read the previous blog entries or skim through the photos.  We hope that 2014 finds you healthy, happy, and humble.   Love sent your way from Busan, South Korea.    

Living for the Weekend

As life in South Korea passes by I find myself living for the weekend and this is not ideal.  Let’s just say I think I’m having a HARD time adjusting to my new LIFE.  I don’t know whose idea it was to work 8+ hours a day for 5 days a week?  But whoever decided this must HATE LIFE.  OK, that was a little dramatic, but let me explain.

Justin and I have been living a crazy, unrealistic, free, nomadic life for the past 3 years.  Although sometimes I've complained, or felt homesick, I’m so GRATEFUL now more than ever that we were able to travel and serve in the ways we have.

Not having “real” jobs gave us so much freedom to do WHATEVER we wanted.  We served, we rested, we played, we smiled, we swam in the ocean, we missed Mexican food, we got really skinny, we got frustrated, we went on vacations, we sweat a lot, we took cold showers, we got attached to people, we loved, we grew, and ultimately we CHANGED.

Although we are still traveling, this experience is a lot DIFFERENT than anything we have experienced in our previous travels.  We are committed to live in one place for at least a year, we are working (which is over rated), and we are living a pretty “normal” life.  We have our own apartment, we work separately only seeing each other for short times during the day, and we are finding ourselves LIVING FOR THE WEEKEND, like any other American.  No offence Merica.  If you are not familiar with this term please click on the link for the very funny definition!  http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Merica  

I think that this is a good lesson for me.  I need to learn how to be more adaptable, I need to re-learn how to have a good work ethic, I need to be reminded that life is hard for people and that despite my grumbles I have it PRETTY DARN GOOD!  
(Fine, fine thanks for the reminder.)

I need to be reminded to LIVE FOR THE MOMENT.  Every minute we have here on earth is a blessing.  It is a chance to make a difference, to love, to learn, and to BE HAPPY.
(No matter the situation.)

With all that being said, I want you to look at your life, to find a joy in little moments, to take a deep breath and look at how beautiful your life really is.  Sometimes it takes a slap across the back of our head to realize this.  So here is a gentle slap. 
LOOK AT YOUR LIFE PEOPLE…
OPEN YOUR EYES AND SEE THE BEAUTY NO MATTER HOW SMALL IT IS. 
Realize you are not here to work, you are not here to fight, you are not here to complain, and mostly you are not here so that the world can revolve around you. 
Sorry, but it is TRUE.

As I step down from my soap box I will leave you with some photos from our last 4 weekends.  Here is to living like every day is the weekend!  PEACE and LOVE my friends.

Teajongdae Park

 

Eating a dinner of grilled shellfish, that we grilled ourselves.

Our view of the sunset while eating dinner.

On the subway to the fireworks festival.

Random pot luck dinner while we wait for the show to start.

Amazing firework show at Gwangalli bridge.
There was a million people on the beach watching this show, we were lucky to watch it from inside a hair salon. 

Our wonderful hosts and new friends that we watched the show with!

Justin surprised me with a date night...starting off at the beach!

We went to the aquarium,
it was my first time do ever go to an aquarium.

It was amazing...but look at this very creepy shark.

After the aquarium we ate at a fancy Italian restaurant.
Here we are on the subway going home.

Naejangsan National Park

Our sweet friends, tour guides, and photographers.

Such a beautiful and cold day!

Working and Living…in South Korea.

We have now been LIVING in South Korea for a little over a month.  This is the first time we have “lived” overseas. The first time we have invested in a place of our own, the first time we have had to get a foreign bank account, and the first time we have had to find a dentist.  (Yes a dentist, I’m in the middle of getting a root canal done!!)  We have TRAVELED all over the world but knowing that we will be in one place for at least a year is a different feeling.  It is hard to explain.  

At the dentist about to start the root canal!

We found an apartment, finally!  And each day it is feeling more and more like home. The apartment is in a good central location in the city and is closer to Justin's work. Therefore Justin is walking about 15-20 minutes to work and I’m mainly riding the subway for 25-30 minutes a day!  That has been a challenge in and of itself, and a definite reminder that we are not in west Texas anymore. The city is very clean and safe which has been a nice change from some of the other places we have been.

Riding the subway one night to work.  This picture doesn't even do it any justice.  

Lets just say it was a little crowded.  

We just finished our first month of teaching.  At Pagoda the classes are a month long with 20 teaching days per month.  This is both the good and bad thing about working here!  Each month we have to get used to a new work schedule, new students and new levels of teaching.  I guess it keeps us on our toes and work is never boring.  Also, we get our new schedules/students/and class levels the night before the new month starts.  So planning ahead is really not an option. 

We will be teaching an average of 7 hours a day, in a variety of different classes.  Last month I had both Level 1 and Level 2 classes as well as a one on one English student. Justin had 5 different classes he had to prepare for.  We are still learning how to manage our time throughout the day.  

After class one night! 

Some awesome things about our apartment:
 

- We live on the 10th floor, so we have a good view!

- We have no roommates…no offense mom ;)

- We have glitter wall paper that makes me think of the stars.

- 400 square feet!

Some NOT so awesome things about our apartment:
 

- 400 square feet.

- Elephants live upstairs.  Well, at least as far as we can guess from the sound of heavy walking 24/7!

- Our neighbor across the hall smokes and likes to leave his door open. 

- We have sweet purple and gold wall paper, which was cool in the 70’s!

We are having trouble uploading the video to see it go to: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGXe0yZMgAA.

Some have asked about our mailing address:

 Send envelopes here:

Justin and Tiffany Hanes

Topopilia 1011

Jeonpo-Dong 643

Busanjin-Gu

Busan 614-865

SOUTH KOREA

Send packages here:

Pagoda Seomyeon

Justin and Tiffany Hanes

Bujeon-Dong 232-2

Busanjin-Gu

Busan  614-032

SOUTH KOREA

Kickin' it Korean Style

It is hard to believe that we have already been in South Korea for a little over three weeks.  The transition has over all been a smooth one; we are adjusting to our new routine of life rather quickly.

Busan is a place full of energy.  People are constantly going, there are coffee shops on EVERY corner, and every Korean woman has on the shortest shorts/skirt you could imagine.  (Ok, not every woman, just every woman under the age of 30 or maybe 40….they all look so young!) And when you think smiling at that cute old lady (aka: adjama) is a good idea, think again.  Because she will give you a “why in the hell are you smiling at me” look back.  It will just warm your heart!

At the Bujon market near our apartment.

I must say it feels good to be in another country again, to be uncomfortable and awkward for most of the day!  To constantly be thinking and unsure of things is good for me!    Don't get me wrong, I have had my "this is dumb" moments along the way, but overall I think South Korea will be a good fit for the Hanes’!

The first week in Busan was spent being jet lagged and finding a place to live, along with the occasional class observation and Korean cuisine. Unfortunately, in the first week we ate more Dunkin’ Donuts and McDonalds than we have in our entire life.  Oh, comfort food you hate to eat at home and crave when you are not!

An all you can eat raw tuna restaurant, complete with hot saké.

The next two weeks were busy with work.  We had to prepare for our new classes, teach students of a new culture, and adjust to our crazy work schedule.   We work mornings, afternoons, and evenings.  With random breaks in-between.  Not the best set up.

About to go back to work one evening.

We are already looking forward to having a vacation during the 18-22 of September.  It is the South Korean equivalent to Thanksgiving.  It will be nice to rest, catch our breath and then maybe go to the beach.

Some fun facts about Korean/Busan we have learned in the first three weeks:

1. Korean’s have a Korean Age, which basically added a year to my life as soon as I got here.  Hello 30!
2. My name has been many different things through the years and here in Busan it is “Teppany.”  (Korean’s in general have a hard time with the F sound.)
3. As if there are not enough people on the sidewalks, motor bikes feel that they are pedestrians too, so they drive on the sidewalks.  Yikes.
4. I will never lose my keys again.  Everything in Busan has a key code, so to get into work and our apartment we just need the 4 digit code!  I love this!
5. The emergency number is 119.  Tricky.
6. They make you recycle every single thing, which is a hassle.  But, I guess if you can’t beat ’em, join ‘em!

Mistakes some students have made that will make you blush.  See if you can guess the pronunciation mistakes.  Here are the correct sentences….I will highlight the mispronounced word…..have fun….

I love coke.        

I really like the beach!

One Week...

As most of you know, we have been trying to leave the country to teach English for about 9 months.  Well, the time has finally come and we will be leaving in ONE week.  Yikes! 

We started this process back in November of 2012.  We signed contracts to work at universities in Saudi Arabia, and started our visa process.  Well, after 5 months of going back and forth with the Saudi government it was decided we would not be teaching in Saudi.  A week later we started applying to teach in South Korea.  So now after 3 and ½ months we just got the news a week ago that we would be leaving Lubbock on August 21^st!  

We will be working with an organization called Pagoda.  To find out more info you can visit their website here.  We will be in South Korea's second largest city, Busan. It is coastal and beautiful!!!

Some fun facts about South Korea:

• The country is roughly the size of Indiana.
• The countries population is 48,486,823.
• That means there are 1,200 people per square mile.  Yikes.
• The peninsula is surrounded by aprox. 3,000 volcanic islands
• Fruit is a luxury item.  (this is very sad.)  
• Watermelon is one of the most expensive and can range from $15-30 USD.
• Tipping is not required in Korea.
• Most homes in Korea are equipped with heated floors.
• The number “4” is extremely unlucky.
• Religion: 46% no affiliation, 26% Buddhist, 26% Christian, 2% other.

Some fun facts about Busan:

• Busan population is 3.7 million, the same as LA.  However it is half the square miles.
• Busan has the world’s largest department store.
• Busan borders low mountains on the north and west, and the seas on the south and east.
• Busan is the fifth busiest seaport in the world.
• Busan has 17 universities and 9 colleges.
• Busan has FREE public restrooms!

So it's ONE WEEK till we…

are out of our comfort zones again.

are working again.  (this is a big one.)

are leaving our friends and family.

have our own place.

start our new adventure!!!