을왕리 Beach
After Busan, our tans were looking so good we couldn't let them die after only a week so a group of us ventured to Eulwangri Beach near Incheon on the next Saturday morning. We started out the day with a walk to a "stair path" Anna had seen. The trail to this path took us up rather muddy and rocky cliffs that required us to use all of our spiderman abilities to climb. The other three did fairly fine, unfortunately, my broken/dislocated finger wasn't cooperating and I barely--and ungracefully--completed the climb. The climb to the "stairs" took us to the top of a hill that overlooked the water...can you say gorgeous, I can. There also was what some in our group dubbed a "bunker for Japanese attacks." Literally, at the top of this hill was what appeared to be a watch tower and an underground, sandbagged bunker. I felt like we had stepped onto the set of some famous war movie that I probably haven't seen, but it was even better because it was real and we were there. We posed for lots of pictures and in one of these poses, Anna thought grabbing my broken finger would be a good idea. It probably was a sensational pose but sadly I reacted to quickly with tears and embarrassed laughter...the pictures of that are pretty good though. After I stopped being a baby, we journeyed onward toward the illusive "stairs" and ended up walking down some more beautiful paths, slipping on the muddy path, and concluding it all by petting puppies. I'm still not quite sure where these "stairs" are or if they were the cover story to make us go climbing...but either way it was worth it. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing Frisbee on the beach, swimming the length of the beach with Anna, watching the boys sleep for hours, and seeing the sunset on what is claimed to be the best spot in Korea. Oh and there was something about getting our feet stuck in quicksand-like mud and washing it off at a nice restaurant and then being yelled at in Korean...but who wants to hear another annoying foreigner story? After a long day in the sun, we were exhausted and headed to a dvd bang in Sukdea for the final activity of the night. I've heard the movie was good but I wouldn't know as I peacefully slept through the whole thing. After that hour nap, we all went home to actually sleep although Anna and I aren't known for doing that quickly when we're together so maybe I should say: "after that hour nap, the boys went home to sleep while Anna and I talked into the wee hours of the night.


Gosu Caves, Ferry Ride, and Chungju
In honor of the great Ashley Gordon, we ventured one Saturday to the place she used to call home: Chungju. Before we could arrive in said town we had to check out the Gosu caves nearby. Some in our group were hoping for extreme spelunking in which one had to crawl and carve their way through the cave; however, in typical Korea style, these caves were safer than living in a bubble. You walked along well laid metal pathways and cushions were placed on the ceiling in places where you could potentially bump your head. Despite the over protectiveness, the caves were still quite beautiful and it's always stunning to look at God's handiwork. Plus, the company wasn't too bad. After the caves we eventually made our way to a ferry that would take us into Chungju. Ben and a group of Norwegians just narrowly made the ferry ride as well so our crew was finally complete. The views from the boat were beautiful and it felt like we had stepped into a different country with the blue water, the gorgeous mountain ranges, and the crystal clear sky. Most enjoyed some conversation, while Heidi and I in typical foreigner fashion wandered off to take photos of ourselves. While photographing, we stumbled upon a dance floor overloaded with old people...of course we had to join. We danced with any of the men that won the tug-of-war match over us until our we couldn't take the groping alone anymore and went to find our friends...who we then took to the dance floor as well. We weren't there long but really after a few butt grabs, a few chest bumps, a tug or two we were happy to check the experience of on our list and return to the views and conversation. When we arrived in Chungju we checked out a 4d ride, bought crazy Konglish shirts at a sweet shop, had what Ashley calls the best galbi in Korea, and had drinks at an amazingly cute outdoor garden shop. After an hour wait at the bus station that was filled with some excellent Duncan conversation, we ventured home exhausted.


Reuben Departs
After 3 years in Korea, it had come time for Reuben Haggar to depart this land for more adventures and students in need elsewhere (aka. Beijing). To make the most of the three days we had left with Reuben before his departure we began planning early, only, to have a tropical storm approach and try to ruin all of our plans. But we were not to be deterred. Reuben and I began Friday night with plans to finally see the 63 Building but instead took highly necessary photos for his blog (okay maybe a little deterred). We then met up with the crew for a little galbi action in what Reuben and I call "our neighborhood." Afterwards, I went home to read the luxurious hunger games while the others ventured for untold activities. At 3am, the girls and I were reunited in my house where we spent some time talking (eh, we're girls) and then we fell into glorious sleep. Bright and early the next morning, Reuben, Anna, and I met up with Shawn and Abi to mail some packages and enjoy lunch on base! After our necessary base stop, we rejoined Heidi and Duncan and began our tropical storm filled day. We weren't going to let the storm stop our planned hiking expedition...so off we went. We spent most of the afternoon exploring a mountain-whose-name-I-can't-recall, getting attacked by birds, looking at beautiful green fields, climbing fortress walls, and sharing life together. After all these adventures, we returned to Seoul for warm showers and fall clothes (yes, in late June). We then returned to the rainy streets, for some dokgalbi which was beyond delicions and gelato. Ben and the Norwegians joined us for a little 고럐방 action, in which I may have finally developed a love for the pastime due to my ability to belt out "Smack that" (thanks Angela...). And we were able to hear Reuben belt out some of his favorites while also witnessing those epic dance moves of his. And the night ended with some crazy dance moves until the wee hours of the morning followed by a 5am Mcdonals breakfast run (which only Anna and I managed to make). After an hour of sleep, we went to church in the morning and ended the goodbye activities with a tour of Gwangahmun and galbi for dinner. The goodbye weekend was unfortunately concluded. I've typed and re-typed sentence after sentence trying to summarize how hard it is to say goodbye to someone whose friendship you value so much...but my words don't do the emotions justice. So I'll just say that I am grateful for Reuben's friendship, grateful for the lifelong memories that he's now part of, grateful for the lessons he's taught me about life, and grateful for the fact that Beijing is only a short plane right away. See you in September.

You Can Prevent Accidents If You are Cautious.

This past weekend included a Monday off work in honor or Korea's memorial day. In the spirit of embracing all that Korea has to offer a group of us used the long weekend to journey to the complete other side of South Korea to the beach town of Busan.



Heidi and I began the trip on Friday night by packing at my apartment and going to bed early in preparation for the early wake up time in the morning. We had to catch the train, you see. And not the bullet train that gets you to Busan in two hours but the slow train that is half the price and takes over double the time.

We were stoked though because the saved money meant extra things for our Thailand trip in a little over a month.

Maybe Heidi anticipated how annoying a five hour train ride would be...I didn't. I was tired, it was cramped, and it got pretty hot. Needless to say, I complained. As a result, I supplied Heidi with a candy for each complaint...she got a few.

Highlight of the train trip was indeed the scrabble game, in which, Heidi should have won but the words "forky" and "weeny" earned me over a 100 points and I took the win.

Other highlight, my Korean is BEAST. This little girl stared at us half the ride. Eventually we started talking. We managed to ask the 5 or so Korean questions I know and then used our phone for a few more translations. We were so cool we were supplied milk: Heidi's allergic and I don't like it. But we managed to fake drink it well :)



Sunday, we got up early to hit up the Taejondae cliffs. The girls--Anna, Heidi, and I--were running quite late and feeling guilty because we knew Duncan would be on time. He was..just at the wrong stop, which was a considerable distance from the right stop. It got us girls out of feeling bad and became a good laugh. Upon arrival, Anna tripped off a giant tiki-like statue and messed up her ankle (that's 1 accident).

Taejondae was awesome. Beautiful cliffs, Red-pointy statues, pebble beaches, blue water, views of Busan, catch-em-and-eat-em fish restaurants, and an imagined view of Japan. We had a blast. And it was just great to spend it together.

Perhaps, the best part. We swam in the freezing cold water at the pebble beach and jumped off a rock. I got bit, Anna scraped her thigh. (count 'em that's 3 accidents now).

We headed to Haeundae Beach next. Not necessarily my scene. I definitely outgrew the stupid-drunk-college-student scene back in fifth grade...oh, wait I never really entered it. It was interesting to observe and to be thankful I was not part of it. Heidi and I enjoyed tanning and chatting. Later, she also enjoyed watching me hurt my hand (see other blog). That would now be 4 accidents FYI.

We ended the night at Fuzzy Navel for dinner. The group of us hadn't eaten pretty much all day, so this dinner was legit. We filled ourselves on cheese fries, nachos, quesadillas, burritos, and more. It was great conversation with great people. I'm pretty glad to have befriended this crew.

We then joined up with some other ladies--Lauren and Kayse--and had some fun at Gwangalli beach at night. It was absolutely beautiful. And it was lots of fun to get to spend some time with Lauren and Kayse as we hadn't gotten to see them much.



Monday, we said goodbye to Duncan. That was sad but I'm sure it was infinitely more sad for him. After all, his compliments to me include "pretty smart girl" and a group "awesome". In my mind there's commas between it all: awesome, pretty, smart, girl.

We then went to a Buddhist temple. But before we saw the temple...we shopped. That was awesome. Heidi got these cool pig statues, Anna got Buddhist bracelets, and I got flower pots. We were happy. It was set on these beautiful cliffs overlooking the ocean. Gorgeous. It was filled with beautiful rock formations and brilliantly blue water. We were all amazed. I mean talk about pretty.

As beautiful as the views and the temple were, it still hits you while you are standing there that this place is a place of worship for many: worship to a false god. I think we all made that realization while we were there and found ourselves a little heartbroken despite the beauty.

After enjoying the views and discussing our heartbreak a bit, we moved onto a lighter activity in the form of Gwangalli beach. We'd had our fill of the over-populated foreigner beach and moved to the not-such-a-typical-tourist beach we saw last night. It was great. We laid out in the sun, Anna and I swam the length of the beach (well the length of the buoys), we played Frisbee in the water, and we got annoyed with stereotypical douche bag foreigner guy (another story for a more anti-foreigners post).

During a game of ultimate Frisbee with said douche bag, I may have injured my finger even further...that's now five accidents.

We spent most of the afternoon there with a few others--Lauren and Kayse again!--and then headed to lunch. It was this great little restaurant where we chowed down on burgers and chicken sandwiches. We did a terrible job on this trip at eating regular meals so the few we did have were absolute heaven! And we got to spend our time laughing about the trip and re-quoting are favorite moments!

Then we journeyed home. Another 5 hour journey home. 5 hour journeys with tired people are awesome. This journey was awesome. We laughed, we cried, we slept...we cherished our friendship. We ate peanut butter sandwiches that Heidi had been hiding all weekend.

Trip Summary: AWESOME!

Trip Quotes:
1. "I'm going to be angry at you for 30 seconds."
2. "You're a pretty smart girl."
3. "You can prevent accidents if you are cautious."
4. "Nailed it."
5. "The average person needs 13 hugs a day."
6. "Chemical compound boy."
7. "I feel like a thousand lightening bolts are hitting my back."
8. "You've had peanut butter and bread this whole freakin time?"

Favorite Trip Memories:
1. Anna falling off a tiki statue in front of loads of Koreans.
2. Being the only ones swimming in the pebble beach.
3. Punching Duncan.
4. Frisbee, frisbee, and frisbee.
5. Heidi making us late to meet up with Duncan.
6. Spending time with awesome people.

Sadly, in finally finishing this I realize why I wish I journalled or blogged quicker. I know I'm forgetting some top moments and quotes...but let's just say it was awesome. And let's just hope someone in the crew remembers.

Funny Stories TWO

I promise I'm in the process of writing an epic post about a Busan trip a group of us took but the picture formats are proving difficult. So to appease the masses--read the two people that asked when I'd post again--I give you more funny stories that have recently occurred.

One
Sung-Joo is a new boy in our class. He is also a baby. A big baby. In fact, his constant temper tantrums make me completely reevaluate my love of small children. Every day he cries at least ten times. He also doesn't speak a drop of English nor is he learning it well. Therefore, when he cries in my classes it goes on and on and on and on and on and on. Usually, I ignore him completely in hopes that he'll realize that his tantrums do nothing to get my attention. Today, he took it further ad fell to the floor and screamed louder. In an effort to save my ear drum, I imitated him. Hoping he'd see how ridiculous he looked. I also repeatedly said, "I'm a baby, I'm a baby." Now, whenever Sung-Joo cries the class points at him and yells "baby." I'm sure in America I'd be fired, here it's working and we're keeping it. BABY!

Two
While teaching the five year olds to count to ten and recognize the written numbers we played a game where fish had the numbers written on them and they fed them to a cardboard shark I made. I had my hand through the shark (sort of like a puppet) and would grab their hand while they fed the number fish. It was love for all the kids, they found it hilarious and tried to earn more fish (by correctly identifying the number). When it was Ho-Chun's turn to feed the shark, before the shark could "bite" him...Ho-Chun bit the shark. Seriously, my shark has teeth marks.

Three
Also, while teaching the five-year-olds their numbers, I realized how much "six" sounds like "sex" when Ji-Ho started screaming "I have sex now" over and over in the hallway at me during parent pick-up. Apparently, "sex" is a universal word because every Korean in the room stared at him and then at me. I didn't realize my face could get so red.

Four
While riding the subway the train often stops suddenly and people are jerked around. One morning, while getting off at the super posh Apgujon stop, it also stopped suddenly. A woman dressed to the nines in high heels,a business suit, subtle Korean make-up, and probably five different types of plastic surgery was not prepared for this stop and she completely fell. When she fell she gave a typical Korean scream. And collectively the subway car returned this scream. She laid there, people literally stepped over her to get of at the stop (the subway car was overflowing with people), I didn't see or hear anyone offer help, and I being the typical obnoxious foreigner laughed: laughed quite audibly too. I'm sure I'm hated, but HECK that was hilarious!

Five
Minseo used to say "no I love Kara." In an effort to teach her the correct English I taught her to say, "I don't love Kara." She still thoroughly enjoys saying it correctly and I still laugh. While standing next to Minseo's homeroom teacher from last year (who still says Minseo is her favorite student), Minseo decided to use this new English ability differently than normal: "I don't love gym teacher, I love Kara." Maybe I should teach them only nice things?

Sex
While in Busan, I was on a beach talking with Duncan. Duncan likes to be mean--read he likes to pick on people which is why I like him. And he started proclaiming girls can't punch. Knowing I was more than capable of such a feet, I asked if I could punch him. He agreed. As I prepared for the punch, Duncan inserted metal rods into his shirt--read, I'm lying. And when I punched him he curled over in pain--read, didn't even flinch. I immediately withdrew my hand in pain. And dealt with it hurting the rest of the weekend. When I went to the doctor three days later, not only was the finger broken but the knuckle was dislocated (or rather knocked out of alignment). After, I cried like a baby in front of the doctor and nurse (hey now, three shots and a popped in to place manuever hurts). The doctor also wouldn't let me leave before he taught me how to punch.


Yeah, not only did I go on a rock climbing -ish escapade and knock it out of alignment again less than a week after getting it fixed, I went bowling the day I got that second fix. Only hours, after promising my doctor I'd be careful so I didn't have to get a plaster cast...I don't think he understands my desire to fully embrace ever moment I get in Korea.

What a Funk.

I've been in a funk.

I'm not sure completely why but I know it's there.

Sure there's a few things that have been hitting my heart hard but really they aren't hard enough.

I've been going through the motions of this thing called life instead of living life.

Making the better story.

And it seems that I just kept getting more funkified rather than finding some joy.

So not typically me.

Today, though that all changed.

I wish I had a video to show you, to explain how great today was.

Or I wish someone had taken some photos so you could see the frozen moments.

Alas, none of those exist.

But Just trust me it was good.

In Bible study Tuesday, we talked about being humble. This section is not going to be humble. I'm a sinner and forgiven, so sue me.

Minseo
Honestly, I share the most stories about this girl and I know that leads people to think she's my favorite. To be honest, I really enjoy most of my other students too and don't know that I could choose from amongst them a number one (now if you're letting me name the top four I could do it...). But the fact is Minseo was the child I had to work the hardest for and because of that I get quite a bit of joy out of how much she enjoys me now.

Today, we went to a children's museum. Minseo is usually pretty independent but at this museum--like the last museum--she just wanted to be with me. She wanted to show me things she found and see what I was looking at too. She wanted to hold my hand when we walked anywhere; in fact, she wanted to hold it bad enough she fought with whoever was holding it to get it. On the bus ride home she finally mastered the ability to say, "I don't love Kara." Now everyone at Haba thinks I'm weird for letting this happen but honestly, I know it's not true and I don't mind her learning the English for it instead of "no I love Kara." In fact, she even learned the idea of "I don't love" and spent some time telling me what she did and didn't love. She always ends the day with an "I love Kara" so my feelings can't be hurt.

I've noticed Minseo doesn't like the other teachers at Haba. In fact, they often try to get her to say in Korean that they are her favorite (I think they do this because they think I can't understand...I can). They offer her sweets in exchange for her saying "I love you" and they kidnap her for hugs and kisses. I've never had to do any of that. Minseo tells me all that time--and in the middle of crowded places--that she loves me. She kisses my cheek several times a day. She runs to greet me with a hug each morning. She says, "hug please" countless times throughout the day. It's a great feeling to know that a child knows you love them, but maybe even better, is knowing they love you. It's great to be loved.

I recognized that today.

Samuel
Samuel is autistic. Samuel is violent. Samuel tries my patience. Today, Samuel and I became friends. Today, I fell in love with Samuel.

Perhaps, that's ultimately why my day was so awesome. And to be honest I can't think of how it happened. At the museum I was showing all of the kids things and they were all listening and following me around until we got to a play kitchen. After that Simon, Minseo, Samuel, and I went places together. Samuel found everything so great and he got so excited about everything we saw. We found a mirror and had a good time talking to "Kara 2" and "Samuel 2." He learned the word giant and embarrassed me by calling me one in crowded places.

Maybe it was the fact that I realized he liked me today. Any time we got separated, he didn't call for the other girls as he usually did but he shouted my name until I came. He just wanted to be with me. And like Minseo, he wanted to hold my hand. And while we played great walking games, sometimes, we just walked and held hands.

Again, it's nice to be loved.

Finally, we ended our day with K-nex. Samuel and I had fun. He laughed so hard and that makes me laugh so hard. I'm not even sure what we were doing. It started out with a dinosaur on my head and ended with K-nex bombs being thrown. It was great and it made me enjoy Samuel. I finally had fun with him. And when all the other kids saw our fun and wanted to join in and thus made Samuel hit them. I took his side. Seriously, they messed with him first. And for me to defend Samuel is a big thing. Because usually I let it all be his fault.

Now that I love him, I think it will better. You work for someone you love. And I'm going to work for Samuel now.

Waygooken
In Korean, "waygooken" means foreigner. We went to a park/museum today filled with school children. Probably hundreds of them. And I was the only foreigner. I felt like a celebrity. Like Brad Pitt. Like Jennifer Aniston. Like Jeff Probst (okay, well how I would respond to Jeff). It does great things for the self esteem.

Waiting Games
I know they embarrassed Grace teacher. But honestly, that's stupid and I don't care. I thoroughly entertained my students yet again with activities while we waited for forever for the activities to being. I like this. I like that I can think of games on the spot and make them happy. I like that walking is more than walking.

I don't feel like I adequately explained.

Maybe because it's a feeling.

A feeling only I can feel.

Ultimately, I fell in love again today.

Or rather, I was reminded how much I loved.

And am loved.

Goodbye funk.

Best of Times

I've been thinking a lot about my return to the states lately. It needs to happen because I've already spent money on graduate school and I should just finish, but the idea of living in the states again with the same lifestyle I had before makes me want to cry.

Why, you ask?

Because, I love the adventures I experience here, the people I've befriended, the things I'm learning about myself, the kisses from Kinder kids, and even the challenges. It's just so great. And I honestly believe these last few months have been some of the best ever.

Why, you ask?

Let me show you:

I've laughed my way through Tandem Bike Rides
A group of us went to Yeoudio Park one Sunday afternoon. We started with a picnic lunch from pita time, I talked my way through a Frisbee game, and then we all went on a tandem bike ride. Heidi and I chose each other as partners, perhaps, sure that the other would be capable. Turns out, neither of us were capable. We spent the entire hour laughing hysterically at our ineptitude. We couldn't master the art of steering, it took us ten countdowns to ever start, we couldn't pedal ourselves up the smallest hills, we were wearing skirts not conducive to modesty on a bike ride, we got stuck on a path that ended, rode through a large concert, we're passed by babies using training wheels. An oh yeah, we ran into a woman. But the fact is we laughed. We laughed hard. And perhaps we laughed the hardest or longest I've laughed in Korea yet.



I've been placed on a fat person's boat
Again a group of us ventured to Yeoudio Park but this time for a boat ride in the swan boats. We split into three groups of four people and were eager to begin our journey. The first two groups got in their boats: one a swan, one a duck. And then our time came. My group--Reuben, Heidi, Duncan, and I--got in a swan boat and watched the man grimace the whole time. As soon as we were all settled, the boat must have looked unstable because we were moved to what became affectionately known as "the fat people's boat." It was a grand time after the duck boat became ours to traverse the river in. We beat another boat in a race by a landslide, Duncan ran over a buoy (or in his South African accent, a boy), we threw sticks and made splashes at boat number 2, Reuben and Heidi serenaded us with "I'm on a boat," and the whole time our flag--in the form of a yellow umbrella--was held high.



I've beaten people up at Suwon Folk Village
Days off are limited in Korea, so when you get them you embrace them. And embrace them we did. Reuben, Heidi, and I headed to Suwon Folk Village to look a bit at what old time Korea was like: you know commoners' houses, nobleman's houses, other houses that I didn't really look to closely at. There was also the wishing tree where Reuben and I wished for significant others and Heidi wished for new friends. Oh and one couldn't forget the contraption that was used to stop bed wetting or the manure spreading buckets. We also watched a tight rope show and a death-defying horse show. Oh and of course in the nobleman's house (I believe) there was a court yard filled with torture devices for those that were...well...being tortured. I of course had to take the opportunity to try one and Reuben became the unwilling participant...bliss.



I've joined an impromptu dance party to celebrate Buddha
Well Buddha's birthday is a big deal here. Lanterns line the streets, parades are announced, and a vacation day is given. We journeyed to the final ceremonies in Insadong one Sunday night to watch what was a spectacular parade followed by performances from the parade participants. Some of the things they could do were astounding but after a time it got old. We went to a coffee shop to watch the finale from a window and were impressed by the dance party that began breaking out in the street. Ashley, Ben, and I ran to join in and spent the next twenty minutes sweating in the streets as we were grabbed by Koreans for dance sessions, paraded through countless congo lines, had soju poured on us, were filmed or photographed by an abundance of Koreans, and laughed our heads off! At one point, I even got to be the rope in a tug of war session between two old Korean men..if only the knew how bad my dancing skills really were. At the end of the night, Ashley and I had two new--and drunk--friends (pictured). Sure, it was Buddha's Birthday and you could accuse us of worshiping him as our non-dancing friends did, but nothing about dancing in a street with soju flying makes me think Budhha and furthermore my heart is trained on God's.



I've went white water rafting with awesome friends
A band of four gals travelled down to Youngwol (remember the bus story) to go white water rafting. The rapids were small which bothered me little, but the view was astounding. Heidi pointed out that there were seven different shades of mountains to be seen. The boat guide--we dubbed Pablo--was a riot (and may have lost a shoe). And the Korean boys that joined us were good for some kicks and giggles too. Plus, it was a first day with Anna...and now there will be thousands more.



I've had lunch with an ambassador
Okay so maybe I didn't even talk to him at this lunch but that doesn't stop the fact that the ambassador for Papua New Guinea took a photo with our group and treated us to food galore. He and another friend--Holly--were leaving Korea for new adventures and our church celebrated with a group lunch. While I'm sure many are sad to see the ambassador leave, I'm much sadder to know that Holly and her ceramic cat Judy have had to leave our midst. Goodbyes are hard but the moments before are more than worth it.



I've been embarrassed at 고래벙
Noreabang seems to be the thing to do when people leave, or there is a night without plans, or a group gets together, or really anytime at all. However, my musical abilities are sadly lacking and my bravado fails in these private rooms with giant TVs telling us the words to songs. My goal in life is to completely rock out at one of these sessions before I leave, but for now I turn red when I'm forced into singing some song and others point out that I'm doing it. Maybe I'd be so much better if I could rock out to High School Musical...but alas they're not available. Despite my embarrassment, I still enjoy seeing the other rock out: Reuben and his air guitar, Holly and her hair whips, Anna and her rapping skills, and Heidi's raspy voice crooning. Oh and who could forget Dawna and her bellowing of all songs, rocking dance moves, encouragement to sing, Korean song choices, and a thousand other things that just remembering make me miss her more.

Seriously after seeing these photos and hearing small bits of the story, how could you doubt that Korea is filled with epic adventures and great friends to share them with?

Thankfully, I've got some time left and there aren't any goodbyes for another 20 days, meaning there's plenty of memories to make.

Moments.

The following is a collection of things that have happened recently. All worthy of being retold and hopefully some of you were living them with me.

ONE

Heidi, Holly, Anna, and I took a journey to Yeoungwol to go white water rafting. The trip started at 8am with us riding in the row of four elevated seats at the very back of the bus. We were excited, sharing life, and laughing with joy. At one point the bus pulls over to which Anna says, "Oh wait, why's the bus pulling over?" All of our attention seemed to shift to the shoulder we were pulling onto and then we watched as the bus driver got out of his seat, walked halfway back, pointed at us, through hand gestures told us to be quiet, got back in his seat, and re-began the journey. In the words of Heidi Stromberg, "It's been 15 years since a vehicles been pulled over for my behavior."


TWO
At a crowded museum with the kinder kids and all of Haba in one room, Minseo walked over to me and started saying, "Kara, shit bad. Shit bad. Shit bad." My reaction was to look at the teacher Grace and say, "I promise I didn't teach her that." Unfortunately, my plan to constantly annoy Minseo backfired on me because normally when I don't respond to her it's on purpose so she gets louder and louder. Because I was looking at Grace instead of doing whatever she wanted she started screaming, "KARA, SHIT BAD, SHIT BAD!" I hurriedly tried to hush her and figure out what in the world her problem was. Grace through some Korean conversation with Minseo found out that she was attempting to say, "my shirt won't button will you help me." Unfortunately, for me she knows little English and can't pronounce her 'r's.


THREE
It was Grace's birthday and the kinder kids and I were treating her to the delux party. For her birthday, I had to carry on the subway that morning a cake, four balloons, and a bouquet of flowers. For the school day plans and my after school coffee shop plans I was also carrying my computer, tennis shoes, and an enormously packed purse. At Yaksu station, I know the prime car to ride on to put me right by the only exit escalators. I got off this car and walked to the escalators and had to take up both sides with all my stuff but in my mind I was walking and one of the first on so it shouldn't have been a problem. However, a young Korean guy had other ideas as he ran past and while doing so my long dangling purse strap caught on something of his and I was pulled into an ungraceful fall. Unfortunately, I had the cake box tugged on to my wrist and therefore my hand smashed the cake in the fall and I got to have some Oreo cheesecake covering my hand. One of the four balloons also met an untimely death when in my surprised I opened my hand a bit. I could hear a Korean screaming at the runner--who did not stop--and I felt an ajuma (old Korean) wearing hiking gear help me get up and then she--along with nine others--walked me to a bench. Once I was seated three of the ladies pulled out first aid kids and bandaged up my knees. While the first aid was occurring, one woman was cleaning my cake hand with a wipe. Perhaps, the best lady was wiping my brow in a caressing move in an attempt to comfort me I assume. After all was finished, this lady then escorted me to my subway train (which she did not get on).

FOUR
While at a Korean folk museum in Lotte World, our school hired a tour director to explain to us the museum. I found the whole situation boring as I could understand nothing and had just gone to Suwon folk village which is the same thing but life-size instead of replicas. Minseo and a 3-year-old boy also found the time boring and so they became my responsibility. I was holding the 3-year-old as he refused to walk and I don't speak enough Korean to force him to do so and Minseo was holding my hand (completely by choice which is more surprising than anything else in this story). The 3-year-old was teary-eyed and saying something in Korean to me and since I wasn't understanding Minseo was trying to help by also speaking Korean to me. I was getting frustrated (already in this day the "shit bad" and escalator spill had happened) so I began to smart off in English to both the children as I knew they'd never understand. I believe my responses were to the tune of, "I don't have a clue what's going on this is utterly stupid. Yes, there were naked men with penis' and that was the best part. Shut it children, I'm not understanding you." After my tirade (which I must say I said all with a nice voice so the kiddos wouldn't think I was being mean), I heard a voice from behind: "I know just how you feel." Turns out there was a foreigner behind me the whole time.

Sometimes I wonder....

For the past several years, this idea of the "will of God" has been thrust upon my life. In fact, some of my friends have shared with me stories about hearing God's voice on the metro train, or having a dream/vision, or praying and knowing without a doubt the answer. Some of these friends had exactly what they said happen, others have been waiting for months, and others still had the opposite happen. Yet, no matter the outcome they all at one point said those things revealed the will of God on their lives.

Now, I've never heard God's voice, or had a dream/vision, and maybe once or twice I've prayed and known without a doubt what the answer was...but it's not common. Yet, I feel like these people I'm discussing have it happen to them daily. It's like one morning they wake up, God says audibly, "you should be a doctor," and two hours later they're enrolled in med school. Am I being factitious (man if you knew how long the spelling of this word took, you'd mock)? Yes. But sometimes that's what I envision it being like for them and I am so dang jealous.

Do I think God could do all of these things and more? Oh, heck yes. But do I think it's common? Oh, heck no. Now I'm sure I'll have people debate me on this but a huge part of me just can't understand why God would regularly chose to speak to Joe, Bill, and Ted but leave little 'ol me out of the conversation. I don't believe God's like that...in fact, I'm pretty sure 1 Peter talks about God not having favourites. And yet, that is the stories I'm hearing. And really who am I to doubt that God told you through a cheese sandwich that looked like him--maybe named Cheesus--that you were going to get married in the next year? Because honestly if those things happen to you...could you give God my number next time?

My point? To be honest, I'm not sure. Maybe to tell you that I don't understand this whole concept. Maybe to ask your opinion. Maybe to hear your stories. Maybe to have you tell me I'm completely wrong and that God gave you a vision about me and I'm supposed to be the next Rhianna (to which I would probably laugh and ask if you got your channels crossed with satan).

Maybe I'm wondering what to do with all this "will of God stuff." I've been praying and praying about my next steps and yet I'm not getting any postcards in the mail signed the Holy Spirit. I feel like if I wait much longer there won't be options left. In fact, I had to make a decision about contract renewal and I prayed and prayed and prayed and I definitely didn't hear anything from God on the topic. Yes, you could debate that I wasn't listening but I think that God would just get louder...or maybe I really was listening. The deadline for my decision came and I made one. Do I think my decision isn't in God's plan? No. Actually, I'm pretty sure whichever way I went God would have been satisfied.

I mean if God had decided every step I should take...would I have free will?

And more importantly is it really being in God's will to be sitting and doing nothing while I wait for him to tell me?

It's a touchy subject, isn't it?

A confusing one too.

I say all of this to say, I'm not sure where God has me going next. Perhaps, it's my free will choice and God's satisfied with wherever I go as long as it's to glorify Him. Or perhaps, God wants me to be the next Rhianna in which case God may not be glorified because my singing is atrocious!

All I know is this: I love my job. I love my kids. I love my friends. I love Survivor. I love strawberries. I love laser hair removal. I love headbands. I love Jesus.

And all of that's in Korea...so I'm staying an extra few months at least (March 2012, baby!)

And after that, I think I'll probably move on UNLESS God sends me a postcard saying something different because as much as I love everything I said above, this isn't my heart/my passion/my dream. And one of these days you'll be reading a blog post about a missionary's journey...because that's where I want to be...and I think it's where God wants me to be too.

Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Concerns? It's okay if you do...it's okay if you don't.

Catching Up.

Do you ever have that moment where you realize how behind you are? I feel like I've let this blog fall to the wayside perhaps because so much is happening in life right now and I have a million things I could post about: another Kinder student, top Korea sites, an epic photo scavenger hunt, a goodbye to Dawna Diamon, God answering prayers, and a million more things that are part of this thing I call life. I spent the last few days trying to figure out what people would want to hear about most, how do I pick one thing out of the thirty that are happening? Then I had to remind myself this blog isn't ultimately for anyone but for me...if were for you, I'd have quit when I realized I'm lucky to get one comment :). And so I'm gonna post about what I want to post about: life. And if I get no comments I'll be okay because in 20 years when I'm trying to tell my daughter a bit about Korea I'll have this blog to point her to and she can comment then ;).

So to summarize it all up:

Dawna Diamon Leaves Seoul
So I'm not sure how to adequately explain how much I'm going to miss having this girl in my Korea life. She was the first friend I made in this new country, the first person I habitually teased, the first person to invite me to an activity, the first person to invite me to a weekend away, the first person to force me to try new food, and the first person to let me just be me. I so enjoyed getting to know her the last few months and am going to miss all of the late night chats, diners out, crazy group gatherings, and even the noreabang sessions. This girl is a legit person and I know that God is going to do some crazy good things with her and through her and I'm pretty excited to hear all about them in our Skype life :). I honestly believe that if I hadn't met Dawna Diamon I might not have stayed in Korea or even worse I'd have stayed and hated it. Plus, the girls got gorgeous eyes!



Photo Scavenger Hunt
Well Heidi Stromberg had a birthday and then Dawna Diamon left Seoul so we had to have two different epic photo scavenger hunts in honor of both those events. For Heidi's birthday; Dawna, Heidi, and I went to Sadang and Sukdea to check tasks of our lists. We found ourselves some epic Korean girl earrings, kimbapchunguks galore, a bench to fall off, and an awkward Korean man to hug.

For Dawna's Goodbye Hunt we had three different teams and roamed all over Seoul for hours completing a list of 53 items. I'm honored to have been on a team with Lauren, Holly, and Jennifer. Together we jumped on an off a subway car 13 times before the car left, stripped a Korean man, got fed oysters, ate live octopus, drank soju with ajuchis, bought team sweatshirts, touched a Korean man's bum, and a million more insane things. We managed to finish all but 8 on the lists and by unanimous vote were declared the winners.



Eating New Foods
For as long as I can remember I have been picky. My mom used to say all the time that when I was an adult my eating habits would finally change...she was wrong. I'm still just as picky, in fact, because I don't have a mom forcing me to take five bites I'm probably even more picky. I just don't like the way things taste sometimes or more importantly the way the feel when I eat them. And I've given up on trying foods because really what's the point when I could just be eating chicken tenders and ranch? In fact, last night I told someone I hated pudding to which they asked have you tried it? I of course had to answer no. Alas, coming to Korea has forced me to be a little different and having new friends who find my eating habits sad has also forced me to be a little different. I've started to trying things....and to my surprise even like some! I now can say I eat strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, oranges, tangerines, seaweed, lettuce, pineapple, cereal WITH milk, and maybe a few other things I'm forgetting. I've also tried and HATED live octopus (pictured), mussels (both for the scavenger hunt), cabbage, kimchi, fish, raddish, and again maybe a few more things I'm forgetting. There's also a few things I haven't fully decided on for example I'm eating a banana solely because a student gave it to me right now but I don't actually like it at all...maybe by the time I'm finished? Seems maybe I didn't need to just be an adult but an adult living overseas!



Cherry Blossoms
And here I thought they were only in D.C. but it turns out seeing them from at least the continent they came from is so much better. There's actually cherry blossoms growing all over Korea, including one four steps from my house BUT seeing them by the river is just what you do. I braved and shoved my way through the overcrowded subway station with Heidi and Ben to get a look at these beauties. We even took lots of pretty pictures...okay maybe mine weren't so pretty. Heidi and I competed in a Rock, Paper, Scissors contest which we lost in the first round. AND best of all a group of girls asked Heidi and I for a picture AND then two ajuchis asked for one as well. I'm not sure that I'll ever get used to being "famous" just for being white but gosh it does great things for self-esteem.




Hairbands are Still Great
Seriously, I realized at the beginning of this month how much money I had spent last month and was beyond surprised. These little things are pricey but they are worth every dime. I swear I get complimented by someone every time I wear one. And they just look awesome. And jewelry here is also great. But now I'm going to have to learn how to budget a bit better...it was so much easier when I made an intern salary and had to pinch every penny...having money is way too much fun to want to pinch it!



Kinder Class Rocks
Okay I know it's a photo of only Minseo--but seriously isn't she cute. I'll take time hopefully soon to introduce you to the other three, but let me just tell you they're great. Lately, I've noticed how hard they all work to talk with me or in Minseo's case to play charades with me. They've also gotten super protective and get pretty upset when other classes are "scaring" me (granted I'm pretending to be scared but all of the kids believe it to be true.) Eric even got bitten recently when he was defending me from the Libe class kids--yes, the other boy got in lots of trouble. All four--especially Eric--have also gotten very possessive of my time and hate when I interact with other classes too much. They'll usually work together to find a way to bring me back to the Kinder room. Finally, they all always want to talk with me and show me what they are doing or making. Whenever we play K-nex after lunch, I'm guaranteed to have to tell them all several times how great they're items are! But most of all, I love all the kisses. These four have completely captured my heart. And to be honest I don't even have a favorite...they're all that great.




Making the Better Story
I've been introduced to Donald Miller lately and he talks about how it's your decision to make your life a better story or to make it a boring one. I think I'm definitely learning to chose the better story. I've seen God answer so many prayers since I've been in Korea and I'm definitely learning to trust in Him so much more. I know with out a doubt that my time here has changed me and there's no doubt that the longer I'm here, the more I'll grow. I'm so glad that I came to Korea and that God always works in our lives. I never thought I'd work with little kids, I never thought I'd read the Bible everyday, I never thought I'd eat live octopus, I never thought I'd be patient, I never thought I'd go somewhere where I know no one, and I never thought I'd be who I am right now...but I am and that's all God. And I'm sure to become even more different as I let him be the maker and myself the clay.

김민서

김민서
Kim-Min-Seo



A Kinder class student. A slow eater. A hitter. A funny face maker. A gernous mom haver. A English learner. A well-dresser. A screamer. A funny story maker. A "a is apple" repeater. A character!

I am the proud co-teacher of four wonderful kinder students this new semester and thought I'd take some time to introduce you to the four little people I get to spend the majority of my day with.

And first up is Min-Seo. She's one of the only students of which I know a last name (which in Korean comes first) as I often hear my co-teacher Grace saying it and I have started to as well. I wish I could record a video of Grace and I saying "Kim Min-SA" to adequately show the way we have learned to say this name with as much "obey me now" inflection as possible. To be honest, I don't think it ever works :).


Her English name is Eileen, which is pronounced A-lean. Needless, to say I don't like it nor does my co-teacher so we seldom use it! I wanted desperately to name her Kara (as my co-teacher named another kid in our class after her and I thought it would be fair: I got vetoed).

My favorite time (right now) with Minseo is at lunch time. I remember every summer praying for patience and I think God's really started to answer that request with Minseo! She is a slow eater and takes nearly double the time the rest of the class does. Her old home room teacher used to feed her but thankfully my co-teacher and I are both firm believers that in 6 years or kinder class these kids need to learn to do it themselves! (though Grace will shove a spoonful or two in every once in a while)

A funny story: One day at lunch I had the other three kids eating super fast by judging all of their bites as tiny, little, big, or huge. The kids thought it was hilarious to show me a huge bite and hear me say in a great voice: "OH THAT IS SOOOOO HUGE!" And occasionally they'd laugh really hard when I pretended to be so sad that their bites were tiny!

Minseo was playing the game but it definitely was just succeeding in making her eat slower as she'd make a huge bite, which would fall off her spoon before she could get it in her mouth so then she'd do the whole process (showing me too) all over again. She also thoroughly enjoyed showing me tiny and little bites!

Randomly, Minseo looked at me and said, "Kara angry?" To which I laughed, fake sniffed, and said "No, I am sad because Minseo is not eating." My co-teacher translated that into Korean so that Minseo would understand and then Minseo turned and stared at me with this I'm-not-so-sure-if-you're-lying-or-not-face-but-if-you're-not-I-should-do-something-to-help. She must have decided I wasn't lying (the whole time she stared, I fake cried) because she looked at me, looked at her spoon, looked at me, picked up her spoon, looked at me, got some rice, looked at me, smiled and shoved that rice in her mouth. I sniffed and then said "no that was a tiny bite." So Minseo rushed to grab another tiny spoonful and shove it in her mouth, then looked at me, heard me sniff again, grabbed another huge bite and shoved it in her mouth, and looked at me, and smiled so big when I smiled big and said, "I am so happy." After that any time I sniffed Minseo would shove food in her mouth as quick as she could!

I'm proud to say, Minseo finished her lunch first today and that the fake crying thing is still working and working even better now!

I'm sure to introduce you to a million more Minseo's stories as time goes on. In fact, it was super hard to stop with just one. But let me just say I love this girl. Yes, there are days when I'm frustrated, angry, tired with her but at the end of the day she looks up at me and smiles and it's impossible to not love that little face. Or when she sees me in the morning and yells, "KARA!" in her little screeching voice. Or when she kisses my cheek randomly during the day. Or even when she's telling me "no" for the fifth time when she should be saying "yes, mam!"

I love Kim Min-Seo!.

Reason #1, You're DYING to visit Korea.

So someone recently asked me what I loved about Korea (perhaps in response to a bit of a rant I had gone on about all my dislikes) and it got me to thinking about how AWESOME certain things here are. So I thought I'd share them with you, honestly, in hopes of enticing you to visit me here...as I really, really, really want a visitor (hint, hint).

So Reason #1 you should come visit me in Korea (or just come to Korea sometime):

That's right the headbands in Korea are AMAZING! I mean seriously Korean girls understand the idea of bedazzling one's hair. You can get simple headbands that are one color, headbands with little bows attached, headbands with extra sparkles, headbands with crocheted flowers, headbands with polka-dots, headbands with butterflies, headbands with textured cloth, headbands with beads, and probably a million more that I haven't seen yet but will be excited to see one day soon!

And just to show how amazing these headbands are for you doubters I shall quote Pamela Parry (a recent headband hater turned convert), "I do want more now!"

AND BEYOND HEADBANDS, Korea has barrettes galore, hairbands with all sorts of embellishments, chopsticks with beautiful doohickeys on tops (but to be honest I can barely eat with chopsticks so wearing them in my hair is just too hard!), butterfly clips of all shapes and sizes, and probably a million more hair accessories that I'm too American to understand.

And where can you get these things you ask? Well you can get them in most any subway stations, a variety of streets (especially in Apgujeong), Myeong-dong, any of the numerous malls, my bedroom mirror (yes that's right if you visit, I'd let you borrow one of my own collection), OR you could go to Dongdaemun

Perhaps, I should have named this reason #2 or used it instead as #1 and just highlighted the headbands throughout. But this place is sensational. It's I believe two buildings with floor after floor of goods: clothes, jewelry, food, purses, hair accessories, shoes, fabric, and probably a million more things I didn't even notice because I was in sensory overload!

You can go through these vendors and find anything you're little heart desires. And after this post you'll probably be dreaming of headbands. And you can find these things at all hours of the day and night as this place is open to the wee hours of the morning. And you can earn yourself some deals as you can haggle over any prices presented to you and get them for even better!

Dying to come to Korea yet?

The End

The Haba students graduate tomorrow. All but five of the five-year-old students will be moving on to bigger and more English oriented schools and I am sad. I have grown to love this group of students and have so enjoyed having these 34 boys and girls teach me just how much I love the preschool age.

In the words of Ryan:
"Ryan sad. One sleep no Haba. Ryan give Ryan heart Kara, okay?"

He has my heart too...

An Introduction to Some of My Other Friends...

So I thought it was time to introduce you to some of my other friends (besides Ryan is what I really mean). There are so many kids at Haba that I absolutely adore! And so many diverse personalities that really just make me laugh daily.

I know I talk often about Ryan being my favorite and perhaps that's because he was the first student at Haba to not be afraid of me (there's something about being the only white person they've seen that scares 'em) and he immediately made me feel welcome. But now that I've been here long enough to not scare the kiddos (well most of them), I've really gotten to know and enjoy (and probably favor) a few more! Unfortunately with over 200 students, and some I only see once a week for 30 minutes, it's hard to get to know them all well BUT some have really stood out!

So without further ado:

Alex
One day in Mont class I was writing all of the kids' names on their crafts projects and adding phrases like, "Alex is wonderful," "Amelia is beautiful," "Minseo is amazing." Well Alex picked up onto these phrases really quickly and has since spent every other class telling me, "Kara is wonderful," or "Kara is beautiful." It does my heart good!



Amelia
Amelia is in Mont class also and in my afterschool class. Julia told me a few weeks after I started here, that Amelia's mom said in a phone conversation that Amelia really like me and didn't want to quit afterschool class. When I heard this I was a bit amazed because Amelia is so quiet! However, these last few weeks she's really started to come out of her shell (perhaps because Jay--the loud boy in her class--left). She has taken to copying everything I say and always laughs while doing it (I wonder if she realizes that she's learning English so well by doing this!). Seriously, anytime I look at her during class she starts cracking up. It's so much fun to see a kid that was so shy when we first met have grown so comfortable with me!




Roy
Roy is a whiner. I once made him color a crayon yellow (when we were learning colors) and he threw a tantrum over it. I've seen these tantrums from him time and time again and have learned to ignore them completely, though unfortunately, the Korean teachers often give into these tantrums...seriously what do they think that is teaching? Anyway, one day Roy was placed in mine and Julia's bus after a fieldtrip and sat right inbetween us. I said hi, he ignored me, so I continued to play with the girls in front of me. I'm not sure exactly what made me talk to Roy again but I believe Julia mentioned dinosaurs. I asked Roy if he was a dinosaur and he preceeded to spend the rest of the ride (about ten minutes) trying to scare me. Since that short ride, it's been love. I came into the aftershchool room and Roy ran up to me grabbed my hands and led me around the room singing, "bedebomdabom" (no clue)and then every few minutes dinosaur growling at me. Everytime I see him in the hall he proceeds to do one of those things (and amazingly almost every 3 and 4 year old now copies him and does the same!). I even made a special dinosaur craft for him in afterschool class which he loved! It's amazing how figuring out his dinosaur love has ceased so many of the whining and rebellious problems I was having with him. Sadly, I've figured it out just in time for him to switch schools next week :(.



Gop-Bin
Gop-Bin was one of the many students in Bili class who would cry whenever it was time for my class. He was also the tiniest and, in my opinion, cutest in the class too. So I would often seek him out for a high-five because he seemed to find those a worthy reason to come near me. Julia told the manager how he was one of my favorites (they always ask) and so she once told him to give me a hug...it melted my heart. During Bili class we sing a few songs and during these songs a few of the girls usually fight over gettng to hold my hands. During this fight I looked up and saw Gop-Bin (who had been participitating a bit more each class) walking towards me with his hand held up and saying "dado" (me). I wrenched my hand away from some of the girls and held it towards Gop-Bin and he held it. We walked around in a circle holding hands for a bit and it was just melting my heart to goo! It's nice to see how I gradually become less scary to these kids and they start to accept the fact that I look different and talk different! I'm glad I got to have one class with Gop-Bin liking me :)!


Michael getting kissed by Angelina
Michael speaks English. I'm not sure the specifics of how but I believe he lived in the US for a while and his parents are fluent as well. Whenever I come into Shutterun class, Michael immediately begins telling me a story. Most of the time, I don't fully understand it (not because his English is bad but because it's the English of a 3 year old!). And when I try to teach the rest of the class English vocabulary, he'll interupt to tell me another story. I love getting to actually talk with a kid and hear his stories, however, I'm not quite sure why his parents had him in a school where he was studying such basic English (they've switched him for the new year). Perhaps, one of my favorite memories of this English-speaking boy is at festival. Michael hates to sing and dance (he lets me know that everytime I turn on the "hello" song in class.) So at the English festival he stood up on that stage and looked at his hands and sat down and did pretty much everything but sing. Which I just find hilarious, considering he was the only one who could even learn and sing the English song!

Honestly, there are about a million more kids I could introduce you to and maybe one day I will (I want to remember the stories about them too so I can make an epic Korea scrapbook when I finish here! But alas, my hands are getting tired, I have work to do, and most of all I had to scour the network's computer (which is completely Korean) to find these photos as my camera cord broke :(!

Rewind and Fast Forward!

I've had a lot of inquiries about my daily activities in Korea, so I thought I'd give just a little more insight into my life here in Korea and the crazy things I get to do while living in this smog-infested land! As well as take you on a journey into some future changes that are happening in my Korean life!

1. I teach a lot. I've adopted the philosophy that routine is GREAT. So I've set up little calendars and such for all the classes I teach and have things fairly well planned out until the end of the year (which is March). But the creative person in me refuses to stop there so I spend a lot of time researching and looking for new things to add to our routine. AND part of the five year old routine involves a new game every other week and a craft every week. So I spend lots of time planning new games and way too much time preparing crafts (I can't wait until I teach older kids who can cut things out themselves!)

2. I have joined a Bible study so that's exciting. We meet on Wednesdays and so far it's really the only weekday activity I have. It's a nice mid-week break and is something to look forward to while I spend Monday and Tuesday doing all my graduate school homework!

3. I do homework; being a full-time graduate student is the pits sometimes!

4. I don't do very many touristy things :(. It's cold here. And you can freeze you're little bum off if you go view all the touristy things, so I haven't done many YET. But I have grand plans!

5. I hang out on weekends. Weekends have been great. I've gotten to see a 4d movie, explore Suwon, discover all sorts of fun restaurants, have late night conversations during sleepovers, and more. It's nice to see people on weekends and just spend time with friend. Sadly, many of them are leaving soon as their year in Korea is over...I hate them for it ;)!

6. I'm working on volunteering at an orphanage regularly and teaching Sunday School at my church...both are in the ground stages. BUT I am heading to the orphanage Saturday.

7. I'm discovering God a bit more. It sounds trivial, but it's true. The challenges in being here, working here, living here, surviving here, ect. have all really helped me to rely on God and fully love Him. It's been good and definitely makes me happy to have come here and still be here!

Not much too it honestly, I'm pretty much a simple person and am not afraid to do nothing quite a bit and enjoy being alone and relishing in it!

My future is a little more complex in terms of my job here in Korea. The school year ends in March and my school has opened a 6 years program. I will be a partner teacher for this class and will lose all of my free time/planning time that I now enjoy at work. It's exciting because it means I'll have a class of kids to call my own (or to share as my own) and we'll get to be a part of everything instead of feeling like I'm in the way (as I often do now). It also means that I'm in charge of these kids so I can do what I want with them and not worry I'm offending their home room teacher. I will teach phonics to the 6 year olds and 5 year olds now and am slightly excited because this change for me means I get to use workbooks and teacher manuals. So I'll have a bit of assistance in teaching, finally. The 3 and 4 year olds will be the same thing as now (once a week) and our routine is down pretty well now, so I think that will be a simple adjustment. My concerns with these changes:

1. The partner teacher is a bit of a beast. She is really jealous of the kids that like me and I think she treats them worse than others because they show me love and she gets very angry at me for it. She gets extremely upset with how much Ryan and his parents adore me and it's looking like he'll still be here next year! So I'm sure that will be an issue.

2. The school is way overbooking me at this point...even taking away my lunch break! So I'm concerned about that. I know no matter what I'll work more as well and that concerns me because so much of my free time at school is used for planning and preparing and I'm scared my teaching will get worse because I have so much less time to prepare! Also, I do homework at work most afternoons...so losing that time means I'll be more swamped with it in the evenings (trust me when I say I have ALOT).

3. Unrelated to school, a lot of people are leaving in March and that makes me sad. I feel like the people I hang out with on weekends are all leaving (except for like 2 people) so I'm worried I'll get lonely again.

So keep those things in your prayers! And mostly pray that I'll be accepting of whatever challenges come way and embrace them with a good attitude!

To be honest with everyone, I'm extremely glad I came to Korea. I'm so grateful for the friendships I've made and we'll cherish the times I've shared with these people. I'm glad to have separated myself from the customs of the States and have grown in unimaginable ways...I eat seaweed by choice now! I love seeing how God is challenging me to grow in Him more each day, heck, I love reading my Bible in the subway each morning! I enjoy my job alot and am glad to have gotten the chance to be sure that teaching was something I wanted to do before spending all the money on a graduate program in teaching! The kids at the school are awesome and I like teaching them but also just playing with them and letting them be kids (or going against the Korean way). And seeing and learning about Korean culture has been fascinating, I'm glad I get to experience it for a bit.

And lastly, Ryan. Ryan. Ryan.

Because seriously, how can I not love a kid that looks like this?



Yes, Yes, I've heard you shouldn't have favorites. However, I truly believe that teachers can never connect on a heart level with every student they teach. And that's what I feel with Ryan, a heart connection. That doesn't mean that I don't give my all to other students, and there are many I adore a ton! I even make an extra effort to love on the students that annoy me a bit. But at the end of the day, Ryan has a bit of my heart.

Keeping Optimistic

This is actually my second attempt at writing a post for this Blog today. My first attempt began well and was written with the sole purpose of me venting all of my frustrations about my current living/working situation. But the more I wrote, the more negative I got and I really don't want to pass that negativity on to you. So, I've decided to write a list of good things that are happening to me in Korea right now and simply ask you pray for the bad things!

Good Thing #1: I've discovered several restaurants that serve ranch. It does my heart good to walk in and see it listed on the menu and be able to eat it with my fries, with my sandwich, or just with my fingers ;).

Good Thing #2: Julia is still at Haba. She is leaving soon, but she's here right now and I get to enjoy her company.

Good Thing #3: I joined a Bible Study. It's small but it's nice to have something to do during the weeknights and the girls are pretty dang awesome.

Good Thing #4: I have a macbook pro. And I could really make this into a complaint... I'm glad to have had the funds to purchase said computer and I'm glad to have gone with mac again...I love him.

Good Thing #5: Dawna Diamon. She's pretty dang cool and she's become a good friend. I really enjoy her company and am excited to get to spend a few more months with her before she journeys to another land (or her contract ends). And she's going to give me a toaster oven next weekend which I could have had this weekend but didn't due to my inability to answer texts.

Good Thing #6: Got invited on a ski trip for my next break last night, I like that.

Good Thing #7: I still have Kindle gift cards left to use :)!

Good Thing #8: I lost one black glove and one black/white glove. But they were different hands, so I still have a set!

Good Thing #9: I'm a full-time student again for my master's program and I haven't killed myself or anyone else yet!

Good Thing #10: JESUS! It may sound Sunday School but it's true. He's a pretty cool dude.

So yeah, I could come up with a list of bad things too and maybe one day I'll share them with you all via this blog but for now I'm gonna just be grateful for the good things that I do have.