Cheongna Dalton School World Experience Tours 2017

A Little Vacation Time

Standing by the fire after the sleigh ride.

Being the Headmaster of a small international school is a difficult task. There is a load of work to do -- discipline cases, organizing meetings, observing teachers, organizing events, writing recommendation letters for seniors, uploading transcripts for seniors, processing student visas, WASC accreditation work, and the list goes on and on. It is very easy to overwhelm yourself by not getting rest, but it is important to recharge your batteries because being completely exhausted doesn't help anybody (including yourself). This winter we decided to visit my family for the first time during the winter holiday. It is the first time in 14 years together. Aysem has never been with my family during the holidays before, so not only was this a chance to rest, it was also a chance for her to experience something new. It was also an opportunity for her to see a "normal" Christmas in Montana.

We stopped at the railroad tracks for a photo.

The highlight so far from the trip has definitely been our sleigh ride in Trego. The Cripple Creek Horse Ranch offers a sleigh ride plus dinner and the experience is simply amazing. We were lucky because my mother read about the sleigh ride in the Mountain Trader and booked the event for us while we were still on Saipan. The whole affair feels like something out of a movie or a novel. The stillness of the forest after a snowfall was beyond explanation. Two different herds of deer watched us as we rode along through the silence. Everything was covered in a blanket of white with only the sound of the bells on the horses as they trotted along following the trial in some areas and breaking trial in others.

The Cripple Creek Horse Ranch offers four sleigh rides a day. You can arrange a simple sleigh ride or a sleigh ride with dinner. The

The mountains looked blue in the snowy sunset.

owners of the ranch are incredibly nice people and helped to make the experience even more memorable for us. If you visit western Montana in the winter, this is one event you simple must experience. You will not regret the time and money you spend!

Spending time doing these type of activities and enjoying our family and friends in Montana is definitely recharging my batteries. By the time January 5 rolls around, I will be ready to start the second semester with all of its events -- NHS/NJHS Induction, WASC accreditation work, the Spring Musical, SAT10 testing, Graduation, and 8th Grade Promotion. This was the vacation I needed to get me through until June 2016.

SkyTent -- your inflight sanctuary!

SkyTent -- your travel sanctuary!

I don't normally do product reviews or drone on about products on my blog, because that simply isn't me or what I do, but this situation is different, so please bare with me. My friend Ben Wood, who is currently teaching Art at Korea International School, has created a travel product that is very unique and totally cool for those of us who travel long distances by plane, train, bus, and/or boat. He has arranged a Kickstarter campaign to get additional funding for the product. It is a hat with a piece of fabric to cover your face. It sounds ridiculously simple, right? But it is very wonderful, because the brim of the hat keeps the fabric from touching your face, so you don't have that claustrophobic feeling you would get from a shirt, blanket, or jacket over your face. In addition, the fabric he used to make this sanctuary in the sky breathes quite well, so you can still feel like you are not being choked and you can actually see through it reasonably well, but no one can see in. Cool, right? You can still wear your headphones and use your favor neck pillow, because the SkyTent will cover it all. This is a chance to help out a fellow teacher with his dream and improve the quality of your own travel at the same time. Win-win situation in my book! Plus, if you help out Ben with his Kickstarter campaign, you are helping an average Joe launch his own business. My father owned his own business for most of his life and it was great for our family, but also for our community. Small business owners make the economy run and put jobs and money into our communities. Even if you only go and look at the Kickstarter page, but don't give any money, you are helping out Ben, because traffic on Kickstarter is a big deal. It shows that people are interested in the product which encourages others to contribute. Thanks!