56 days!

.... until Christmas! Some of you know us well and know the significance of our trip to Croatia over the holidays this year. We are both looking forward to the chance to take a step back and be rejuvenated in one another's presence. It has been a trying year but one full of blessings. Thank you to those of you who have stood by our sides. Thank you for encouraging us. For the random phone call or package here and there. We appreciate it more than we can ever express in words!

Here is a picture of Dubrovnik.

Did I mention it's only 56 days away?!

flood day 3

Downtown is buzzing with people trying to get a glimpse of it all, news crews reporting around the clock, photos being snapped, and people trying to be helpful if possible. Helicopters are circling from above, and generators are working overtime to pump water out.

One quarter of the annual rainfall for this area fell in just two days. May has quickly become a record breaking month. Nashville submitted paperwork today to request federal aid. Twenty-four hours after the rainfall stopped, the Cumberland finally crested last night and has started to recede...

The Country Music Hall of Fame is several streets in from the River...

An architecture firm that moved everything out in a hurry Monday... the building backs up to a lake now.

flood day two.

Normally there are not yachts and boats here, just the green roofed dock which would be about 60' lower, you can't even see it from the street view usually. Today, it's at street height.

These are four and five-story buildings. First Avenue, Second Avenue, and Broadway are all under water. The Hard Rock Cafe just completed a million dollar renovation, and it is under water; Big River Brewery is water logged, and several other businesses...

Sad day.

The Pinnacle Building, here on the right, has 20' of water in its basement parking garage.

The stench is half "fishy," half nasty rotting trash....

Downtown residents have no water. The water treatment facility for this area is submerged.... unfortunately, I am one of them...

"the flood of the century"

This is First Avenue, which is submerged now.....

This was at 3pm. Now it's up past the top 50' mark....

River Front Park. Where did it go?

View around 6pm from my flat...

Yesterday morning, a clap of thunder woke me up at 6am and it has been raining like crazy ever since. 36,000 people in Nashville have been out of power, they are encouraging water conservation since several of the water purification plants are down, several roads and bridges have collapsed, and multiple houses and businesses are under feet upon feet of water. The shelters are over capacity.

So far there has been about 2' of rainfall and it should continue through the night. We live on the 10th floor of an old building on a hill downtown, so we aren't in jeopardy of floating away. I did check on my car, which lives in an underground garage.... and it was still there. The Cumberland River is supposed to peak by midnight, but has already began spilling onto First and Broadway. There is a measurement pole that shows the level of the river over 50' now, even though the experts predicted 48' to be the maximum.

The National Guard is here, the military is flying around with helicopters rescuing residents from flooded homes, and the Mayor has asked for federal disaster relief.

I signed up to be a Red Cross volunteer, but am not sure I would be able to get anywhere to help. My cousin said chunks of asphalt are floating on the road, I mean, it is just unreal.

vanderbilt

I am excited to be enrolled at Vanderbilt for graduate school. I'll complete an MBA from the Owen Graduate School of Management in 2012. It is a full-time, two-year program in the heart of Nashville. Looking forward to jumping in to the academic world again, meeting people from different fields, and expanding my understanding of the world. Soon enough I'll be swamped with assignments. I have this idea that grad school may be ridiculously challenging, especially at first, but I am thrilled to have this opportunity, what a valuable learning experience.

nashvegas

So here I am, writing from my new urban flat in the heart of downtown Nashville. I feel that I often find myself in locations I never would have guessed. Like Nashville. It's been so fun to explore the city and see what adventures one can have here.

Prior to moving here, we heard numerous comments about how much we would LOVE our new home. I was somewhat skeptical. But as we have discovered areas around our new home, I'm happy to report that the comments are all true. It really is a great place with all sorts of things to do. Just eight months ago, in Korea, I remember talking with Matt about how much fun it would be to go to a show. Live music. We did find one great venue in Seoul that we went to a few times called Once in a Blue Moon. It was a swanky jazz club that drew our attention around the holidays because it was festive and just great entertainment. And now we happen to live in the live music capital of the world. I'm not exactly a country music fan, but there are a million other genres that are well-represented here.

We've noticed the quality of music everywhere here is top shelf. Even karaoke houses, for example, don't just let anyone sing. You have to try out! That's the kind of competition you're up against here - at a Karaoke bar, no less! Since every aspiring singer/songwriter spends at least some portion of their life here, the caliber of creativity and musicality is phenomenal. Even at churches that we've visited, the music isn't just a dude and a guitar, it's professional. Music to my ears. (Not to knock dudes with guitars... I mean, I can't play the guitar!)

One other interesting thing we have noticed is how every waiter, gas station attendant, grocery store cashier... are all highly qualified individuals. This probably means we've already met the next Jimi Hendrix. Speaking of musical talent... we found a guitar next to the trash chute in our building. Although the strings are missing, it's in mint condition and makes a nice addition our place. I may get it restrung or google how to do so, and take up the guitar. I'll let you know how it goes!