Snippets

Yep, we're still here in Korea.  I've had so many fun and interesting things happen.  I'm afraid I can't remember them all.  One day I got lost in the city where my school is.  I walked for and hour and a half!  I wore a hole in my tights.  Ha!  I wore those tights today and remembered my  misadventure.  I now know which exit to take out of the subway and I know my way quite well and haven't been lost (there) since.

I met a Brazilian girl in the subway who is light skinned and looks German -- kinda wierd.  She said her grandparents were Polish and that's why she's so blond and fair.  I also met an African American woman from Maryland.  She's in her 50's or so and named Bessie.  She teaches at a local university.  What a sweet woman.  We foreigners tend to stick out, so conversation with them on the subway always comes easily.  No to mention the English factor.  Hello.  Most other folks don't speak a language that I can readily understand.

I melted into a pile of mush and tears last night when the kids ministry took us out for dinner and then sang a song of blessing over us and then handed me flowers and got Will a birthday cake made by one of Korea's most famous chefs.  (I know that was a ridculously long sentence.  I don't care.  I'm talking, not writing.)

I tried to go into a men's only spa not once, but twice.  The first time I thought it was the subway.  The second time I knew it was a spa, I just didn't know it was only for men.  That was fun and embarassing.

I stayed up til 1am last night moving furniture around.  So cathartic.

Our sweet English worship group bought Will a pair of Nikes for his birthday.  Nice! 

I LOVE the kids I work with.  I do a lot of small group work.  One student in particular can be slain by my ill-attempts at Korean.  She literally falls down on the floor with laughter.  I love it.  Her name is Sue and she makes my day super-bright.  She'll say, "TEACHER, TEACHER!!!  SAY:  blah, blah, blabbity, blah, blah (Korean)."  I do my best to imitate whatever it was she said and she promptly throws herself on the ground absolutely spasmodic with laughter or she gets tangled up in a chair and ends up laughing uncontrollably on the floor.  It's awesome.  I really don't want to know what she's trying to get me to say...

Imagery, Both Old and New

Writing here feels a little bit like coming home.  Long before the Korea move was on the horizon, this blog existed as a place to pour out my thoughts and process things.  It's good to be here. Familiar things are a comfort amidst so much change.

So,  everything is so new.  I'm sitting at a simple black desk, in an unusually comfortable black office chair.  There is a wall-sized window directly in front of me.  If I stand and lean forward I can touch it.  I am 10 stories high.  Building "B" fills my view.  Maybe 100 ft directly ahead, squares and rectangles of glass filled with various types of blinds, pots and plants are looking back at me.  It is a motionless and boring view.  To the far right I can see gigantic monitor atop a neighboring building.  I sit 1 story higher than it and it gives a continual stream of ads for the crowded lines of cars below.  I'm glad I have drapes so that I can make it go away.

Car engines revving and roaring, sirens and the sounds of noisy traffic will one day be familiar, but for now they are foreign.  I'm used to hearing the wind shrieking past window panes that are slightly askew and the comforting rattle of it whipping through our vinyl siding while lying in my cozy pillow top bed with flannel sheets and toasty down.  In the mornings I used to hear song birds, the Statham train, the squeak of the school bus brakes and the familiar whine of Lizzy, our dog, asking to go outside to relieve herself and exert her dominance over a few lingering squirrels.  I feel a little too overwhelmed with the new to miss the old right now.

As I look to the left and right I see books bursting off of bookshelves.  They are all in Korean, so I am unable to unlock their secrets and enjoy what they might have to offer. Behind me is a ruffly, pastel Korean comforter on top of a Korean style bed.  The bed is considerably harder than any American mattress and yet it provides a haven for rest and my sweet down pillow from home greets me every time I crawl between the matching blue sheets.

I enjoy hearing the familiar sounds of Samantha on "Webkinz World" and Will clacking Legos as I type.  I'm happy to be here, though I still feel fatigued from the drain of the unfamiliar and the 14 hour warp of time.

It has been especially meaningful to see Barry rise up into his role as English teacher and leader at the church.  He has such a joy and energy about him that make all the paperwork and details worth it.  Even working 5 days a week is a privilege that I know helped to pave the way for our visas so that we could be here.  Yay!  Our time with the English worship group has been very meaningful. We are reading through The 4:8 Principle as a group.  It's been a neat time to share our hearts and grow together.  I'm looking forward to getting to know them all better and see what the Lord will do.