gah! not sure if i'm gonna regret this...
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
somehow...
even when i have literally 8 hours to do it, i manage to get NOTHING done. that is what happened today... i could have planned weeks of lessons. but instead i did nothing at all. i'm a procrastinator... it's just who i am. it works for me.
so, with 15 minutes before i leave school... here is a bullet point list of things i should tell you about:
but until then, i'll just tell you this: God is so good. He is teaching me so much! i can't wait to see what else He has in store for me.
and i will leave you with this gem from my mom that i just thought about today:
before i left we were looking at my contract. part of the contract is that you get 90 days of maternity leave if you get pregnant while you're here with epik.
my mom's response to this (accompanied by an eager smile): "wouldn't it be funny if you got pregnant while you were in korea?"
no, mom. that would not be funny. who says that?
i love her :)
oh and also my dad and uncle are headed to uganda tomorrow! please keep them (and musana overall) in your prayers! i'm so excited to hear about their time there!!!
so, with 15 minutes before i leave school... here is a bullet point list of things i should tell you about:
- sport day at school. it is the reason i had 8 hours of nothing today.
- chuseok.
- climbing hallasan.
- how good i'm getting at using chopsticks.
- decorating my apartment!
- the people i encounter...
- running. on hills.
- something that hasn't happened yet but will happen in the very near future. i'll tell you about this one FOR SURE when it happens.
but until then, i'll just tell you this: God is so good. He is teaching me so much! i can't wait to see what else He has in store for me.
and i will leave you with this gem from my mom that i just thought about today:
before i left we were looking at my contract. part of the contract is that you get 90 days of maternity leave if you get pregnant while you're here with epik.
my mom's response to this (accompanied by an eager smile): "wouldn't it be funny if you got pregnant while you were in korea?"
no, mom. that would not be funny. who says that?
i love her :)
oh and also my dad and uncle are headed to uganda tomorrow! please keep them (and musana overall) in your prayers! i'm so excited to hear about their time there!!!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
1.5 hours
so... it's almost chuseok time. chuseok is like korean thanksgiving, and i'm so excited. mostly because i get 4 days off, plus the weekend. gah! i should be making big plans to explore while the weather's nice and i have the time, but if i'm being honest, i'll probably just spend my days running errands and decorating my apartment (which, actually, i'm really excited about). i am going to hike mt. halla tomorrow though, which will be good. and i'm *hopefully* going to a friend's grandparents' house for a traditional chuseok dinner with lots of traditional korean food! that will be wonderful.
it's funny... before i came (and the first couple weeks i was here), if someone would have told me i would be eating a lot of traditional korean food, i would have acted excited while really cringing on the inside and worrying about starving. but now when i hear that, i get so happy! because people... let me just tell you--this food is SO GOOD. honestly. you all know what a picky eater i used to be (especially when i was young). and you probably know that i hate all things sea food. and you also might know that i'm just not that adventurous when it comes to food... i like the things i like.
so before i came, i had never had korean food in my life. ever. i had no idea what to expect. all i knew was that, being on an island, there would probably be lots of fish. so i honestly *prayed* that i would be able to find something to eat. and God delivered. seriously... i don't know what happened. but i've eaten squid, some sort of tentacles, all kinds of fish, eel, duck... all kinds of stuff. and it's all so good! for real. delicious. koreans know how to cook. it's awesome. i'm sure it's not all delicious and i will find something that i don't like, but for now i'm just enjoying everything i've been eating! and i thank God every time i like something different, because i really think He answered my prayer.
He's so good! i'm seeing that over and over... i could write all the stories, but that would be really long.
maybe i'll write them over the break. that's not a promise... just a maybe.
ok... miss you all.
love you!
it's funny... before i came (and the first couple weeks i was here), if someone would have told me i would be eating a lot of traditional korean food, i would have acted excited while really cringing on the inside and worrying about starving. but now when i hear that, i get so happy! because people... let me just tell you--this food is SO GOOD. honestly. you all know what a picky eater i used to be (especially when i was young). and you probably know that i hate all things sea food. and you also might know that i'm just not that adventurous when it comes to food... i like the things i like.
so before i came, i had never had korean food in my life. ever. i had no idea what to expect. all i knew was that, being on an island, there would probably be lots of fish. so i honestly *prayed* that i would be able to find something to eat. and God delivered. seriously... i don't know what happened. but i've eaten squid, some sort of tentacles, all kinds of fish, eel, duck... all kinds of stuff. and it's all so good! for real. delicious. koreans know how to cook. it's awesome. i'm sure it's not all delicious and i will find something that i don't like, but for now i'm just enjoying everything i've been eating! and i thank God every time i like something different, because i really think He answered my prayer.
He's so good! i'm seeing that over and over... i could write all the stories, but that would be really long.
maybe i'll write them over the break. that's not a promise... just a maybe.
ok... miss you all.
love you!
Monday, September 13, 2010
welp...
so... i know i fail at blogging. sorry about that. i honestly haven't really done anything too exciting... i've just been working and running errands. last weekend i played in an ultimate frisbee tournament (actually i only played one of the two days... i literally have blisters on my feet from the burning sand and i wanted to go to church. also i got a ridiculous sunburn, so i figured another full day in the sun would not be a good idea). turns out i am absolutely terrible at ultimate frisbee. i guess i'm not that bad... as long as i don't have to throw it. i used to be able to throw a frisbee, but on saturday i realized that i just can't. really. like whenever i try to throw it forward it somehow magically ALWAYS goes way off to the right. not even kidding. BUT i did learn that running at high altitude has prepared me to run forever at sea level. i was the only person on my team who never had to sub for any of the games! and i wasn't even dying by the end (except in the last game because my feet were burning off, but my breathing was perfectly fine). also i can catch, so i scored some points. it was fun...
let's see... what else? nothing. i know i should write about all the different things i've learned about korea so far, but there's too much! and, to be honest, i still feel like i know nothing. i'm always messing up and doing things that are actually considered really rude here. and i can't speak more than like 8 words. but if koreans are anything, it is forgiving. especially if you are a foreigner. they know it's different and it's hard and they're always willing to help out or let it slide when you make a ridiculous mistake, because they realize that you are, indeed, not korean. this has been really nice.
probably the thing i've had the most trouble adjusting to (and still always forget) is giving and receiving with 2 hands. here, it is respectful, when you hand someone something, to give it with 2 hands, or with your right hand and your left hand placed somewhere on the right arm. and receiving is always done with 2 hands, and especially never with just the left hand. i think i have remembered this rule a total of 10 times since i've been here. every other time i forget and then remember right after i've taken something with my left hand or just handed someone something. it's the little things that you don't think about, but they are actually pretty important. i'm working on it, and hopefully it will just become a habit.
aaannnddd... that's all i have for now. lunch is almost over and it's time to go teach some kids about how "normal" americans talk :)
praise the Lord for grace and learning!
love you all!
let's see... what else? nothing. i know i should write about all the different things i've learned about korea so far, but there's too much! and, to be honest, i still feel like i know nothing. i'm always messing up and doing things that are actually considered really rude here. and i can't speak more than like 8 words. but if koreans are anything, it is forgiving. especially if you are a foreigner. they know it's different and it's hard and they're always willing to help out or let it slide when you make a ridiculous mistake, because they realize that you are, indeed, not korean. this has been really nice.
probably the thing i've had the most trouble adjusting to (and still always forget) is giving and receiving with 2 hands. here, it is respectful, when you hand someone something, to give it with 2 hands, or with your right hand and your left hand placed somewhere on the right arm. and receiving is always done with 2 hands, and especially never with just the left hand. i think i have remembered this rule a total of 10 times since i've been here. every other time i forget and then remember right after i've taken something with my left hand or just handed someone something. it's the little things that you don't think about, but they are actually pretty important. i'm working on it, and hopefully it will just become a habit.
aaannnddd... that's all i have for now. lunch is almost over and it's time to go teach some kids about how "normal" americans talk :)
praise the Lord for grace and learning!
love you all!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
**aaaa***
i just discovered something wonderful. i am excited.
so at jocheon i have been going to the different classrooms to teach the different classes. they are fine... nothing fancy. i hadn't taught the 3rd graders (9th grade... middle school grade 3) yet, so i hadn't been on the 3rd floor. so imagine my shock and awe when i was led to the *english room* that is right at the top of the stairs! it is definitely the nicest room in the school... which is kinda sad but whatever i'll take it. i'm not really sure why i didn't know about it. i think she mentioned it on my first day but then she didn't show me so i just figured it was not a big deal. but it is. it has all kinds of sweet materials i can use, and it's air conditioned! and i opened a cabinet and found like 30 movies... good ones! like harry potter and mean girls! i need to think of a way to use those... and i could actually probably have my own office up here, but i'll stick with my little desk in the teachers' room so they don't think i'm antisocial. AND i just found out that i can have all my english classes in here if i want. my head co-teacher said it echos a lot, which is why they haven't been doing it. but she said that i can try it out and if it works then i can do it! yay! i'll just have to think of a way to get the kids to be quiet... hmmmm. anyway... i'm excited.
praise the Lord for the english room!
so at jocheon i have been going to the different classrooms to teach the different classes. they are fine... nothing fancy. i hadn't taught the 3rd graders (9th grade... middle school grade 3) yet, so i hadn't been on the 3rd floor. so imagine my shock and awe when i was led to the *english room* that is right at the top of the stairs! it is definitely the nicest room in the school... which is kinda sad but whatever i'll take it. i'm not really sure why i didn't know about it. i think she mentioned it on my first day but then she didn't show me so i just figured it was not a big deal. but it is. it has all kinds of sweet materials i can use, and it's air conditioned! and i opened a cabinet and found like 30 movies... good ones! like harry potter and mean girls! i need to think of a way to use those... and i could actually probably have my own office up here, but i'll stick with my little desk in the teachers' room so they don't think i'm antisocial. AND i just found out that i can have all my english classes in here if i want. my head co-teacher said it echos a lot, which is why they haven't been doing it. but she said that i can try it out and if it works then i can do it! yay! i'll just have to think of a way to get the kids to be quiet... hmmmm. anyway... i'm excited.
praise the Lord for the english room!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
life as i know it right now...
so it's official... i have made an unbreakable vow with korea.
i got a phone today! and i signed a year long contract! my phone number is 010.8902.7432. probably you won't ever use that... but just so you know. anyway... it's bright pink and white... my co-teacher was shocked when i said i wanted the black one. then she said, "i prefer this one" and held up the pink and white one. so i went with it because she gave me a ride and stayed late away from her kids to help me. she's precious and i love her. haha everyone likes cutesy stuff here... it's pretty funny. actually only 2 of my 6 options for a *free* phone were anything but pink. but it does have an antenna on it that i can attach and watch tv... there are only 3 channels, but that perk just comes standard. i don't even have to pay extra for it... haha! some people have tv's in their cars here... just chillin on the dashboard. which is really foolish considering the way people drive. anyway... none of that is what i meant to talk about.
right now i'm in the middle of planning lessons. i'm actually really excited about this part... not so much the planning, but the execution. it's hard right now, though, because i'm not sure where all the kids are at in their books. but once i figure that out, i'm really excited to start playing fun games and hopefully making them love english class :) this week is pretty much just introductions... i'm introducing myself then filling the rest of the time with the kids drawing pictures and introducing themselves to me. it's fine, but i'm actually more excited to start teaching them real things. the "easy" things like i'm doing now are actually a lot harder than you'd think because the kids don't understand what i'm telling them. that's why i just have to use a lot of pictures and hope that they at least enjoy those. i'm really excited to get into a routine and start getting to know each class individually... i think then i will really be able to have fun and hopefully teach the kids a lot!
my apartment is slowly but surely coming along... this weekend i'm hoping to get some picture frames and stuff to decorate it and make it feel like home... then i promise i'll put pictures up. right now it's just kinda lame...
also when i have my own internet it will help. there is one spot in my room where i get some pretty reliable free internet, but my experience living in narnia made me realize how important it is to actually have internet of my own. sometimes i can actually pick up caleb's signal, but that's pretty sketchy too. anyway... once i have that i will be firmly established, and my next step will be to get a scooter! that won't be until i have a couple paychecks though...
anyway... i have stories and other funny things to share, but now i'm tired and i have to get up early.
one of these days i will have time to do a long series of catch up posts, with pictures, and it will be grand.
but until then... enjoy the little snippets.
love you all!
praise God for ways to stay connected!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
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