Alias in Korea?!

My spirits were just lifted when I stumbled across an episode of my favorite tv series of all time; Alias. The main character is Sydney Bristow, a double agent for the CIA. Sydney's heart is so pure and she cares so deeply for the people around her. She is constantly fighting evil but often gets deceived by those that she trusts. Yet she never stops trusting and believing in people. There is a little Sidney Bristow in me. I'm glad she made it to Korea too.

This week was Chusok, Korea's Thanksgiving. A huge group of mostly new TCIS staff decided to head off to Korea's Hawaii - Jeju Island. The weather was perfect and the people were amazingly generous and kind (except for the bus driver who didn't like my tube top and suggested in Korean that I wear Korean clothes. I suggested he make some that fit me, along with some other things. He's lucky he didn't understand English.)

During our stay, we spent one night in Udo, a very small island off of the main island. After a long walk around the island in the dark, a truck picked us up and took us to a seafood restaurant. A few in the group didn't want seafood, so the waitress ordered chicken from a different restaurant!! When we were finished with an amazing meal, the Catholic owner gave us a ride back across the island to our pension. The next day, we woke up early to watch the sunrise. It was very refreshing.

The rest of the day was filled with a jog around the island, snorkeling along the rocky wave ridden shore (thanks DJ for saving my life a few times) riding scooters (thanks DJ for nearly taking my life by running our scooter into a COP car) and snorkeling again along a much calmer, yet forbidden shore (who knew you're not supposed to swim near a boat landing? Not me....I can't read signs written in Korean...) I also made a new friend, SungJik who works on the island. He is also Christian so we had lots to talk about. It was a wonderful day.

The most unexpected part of my trip was the relationships that were strengthened and developed. I was nervous about traveling with so many people - group travel usually induces a gag reflex for me - but I have learned that God shows up in places where He is least expected, like Dunkin Donuts. I don't even like Dunkin' Donuts and a bagel with cream cheese really shouldn't take 15 minutes to make. But God used that time and took previous feelings and impressions I had about someone and gave me a chance to change them. I am very very grateful for that chance.

I am also grateful for the chance to read peculiar quotes on a coffee shop wall and rock out at the norabong with my new friends.

It seems that Rosa was pretty mad when I got home because I was greeted with a hiss. She forgives pretty easily though and is currently watching Alias - it is definitely her favorite show too. More people should be like Rosa (both in the forgiving and Alias aspects).

To see more of the Jeju fun, http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=5134&l=1d340&id=514913255

Off to bed - only one more day of being thankful for Korean Thanksgiving. :)

Love to my meguks! (Americans)

$100 from Aunt Merry...These are a few of my Korean things....

My nephew, Zachary, thought that it was his lucky day when he received a letter from Aunt Merry. In the letter was a 1,000 Won bill, except he thought it was $100. What a let down! Hopefully the froggie stickers made up for the disappointment. Personally, I think W1,000 sounds much better than $100...

There have been a few lessons God has taught me in the past 3 days. One of them involves a type of Korean candy that is a fusion of gum and taffy. It comes in Strawberry and Apple. It is delicious. Lesson #1: Don't eat the entire row of them at once. Just don't.

The second lesson was a little tougher to grasp. LISTEN. A friend of my mine revealed a truth that I needed to hear, but it stung. He spoke it out love and kindness, but I was too preoccupied with being defensive and scared; I didn't realize how important his words were. Instead of appreciating his honesty, I closed my ears and turned away. DUH. I'm not quite sure why I still do this, but it's annoying and is going to burn London bridge to the ground if I don't watch out.

God's heart is huge. I'm continuing to learn this and have to convince myself of this every day. Some days (like this morning) I don't feel like there is room for me to fit in His heart, but I always manage to squeeze in there (kinda like that Korean who ALWAYS manages to sneak in front of me when I'm standing in line at Home Plus or the train station.)

A good friend of mine lost her step dad yesterday. He was very important to her and was one of my substitute Dads. It is hard for me to be here and feel so helpless. I'm reminded that even though I am far away, love doesn't need a physical medium to travel (unlike sound waves). This also leads me to believe that love certainly shouldn't stop when we die. Love is like the radio station between here and heaven. It won't cease when our physical bodies are gone, and as long as we're tuned in, we can get that love station loud and clear. Poor analogy? I like it... "This is 100.7, your direct link to heaven." (You have now been exposed to the classroom humor of Ms. Bird) From an Aaron Shust song, When the world crashes down around me, I know You'll be there to pull me out from the rubble. My friend probably feels buried deep in the rubble. I just wish I could be there to help pull her out.

God provides. For me, He's provided friends who make me think (and who I hate a little in the process), friends to help me make sense of the other friend's advice, friends who teach me Korean, and friends who remind me who I am, even if we've only just met. He also provided me with a washing machine that sings a happy song to me when it is done with it's wash cycle. This is actually very important because if I didn't get praised afterward with a song, I'm not sure I would even do my laundry...

Tomorrow will be a better day, tomorrow I will water my plants, and tomorrow I will play with Rosa instead of staying up late to write a blog. :)

"Lettuce" thank Him for our Food...

I was just about to take a drink of water from a mug I left out last night, but realized Rosa probably dipped her paw in it sometime during the day. She does this. She also thinks people food is scary and won't touch it. She wants to touch it, gets really close, and then backs away like it might attack her.

It feels like college all over again, except with more sleep, less stress, and less English. I get home late from "studying", make some Korean version of fancy ramen noodles, discover that it will have to go without tofu, as it is 2 weeks expired. I don't have any of my own furniture, my dishes are probably from "EMart" and if my windows are open, I can hear the dude talking on the phone in an apartment across the alley. You might see my apartment in MTV 'Cribs' or perhaps on 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.' It's very glamorous.

This weekend I actually became Korean. I marched down to 'Kamikaze' corner (busy traffic, only blinking yellow lights) and found a Korean crush at the eyeglass store. I don't remember his name but he was so cute because he tried very hard to speak in English and say all of the scientific words during my eye exam, especially after he found out I was a science teacher. Eye exam by cute Korean man + contact lens + saline solution = 20,ooo Won. When I went back to pick up my glasses, he told my friend in Korean that my hair made me look much prettier this time. Thank you, cute man who speaks little English.

I took Mr. Glasses' comment to heart and got a hair cut. When going to a salon here, remember to bring a friend so you can give each other nervous looks while they're chopping off all of your hair. I got a Korean hair cut, which is actually very similar to what Americans like to call a mullet. Koreans can pull this off quite well but I'm not sure about this curly haired white girl. At least it was only 8,000 Won! I just watched a YouTube video of a Hillsong United song and the lead guitarist has a mullet. I feel a little better. :)

The last few days have been bittersweet. Friends at home are beginning to feel very far away, time with friends here is more limited, but at the same time, friendships are becoming more genuine. One friend and I had a great talk this weekend about how we think God wants to change us here. How refreshing it is to be able to open up to someone fairly new and not worry about whether they'll like you when you finish your sentence. I've very grateful God plopped some of these people in my lap.

I'm still thankful every day for my huge classroom (see picture above) for still having hair and being able to see well (see other picture above) and for being alive (every day I am nearly killed by a car or scooter). God is pretty good.