Korea - where the elephants and buffalo roam?

There's no particular reason why the picture of a myself and a buffalo was posted other than I am having a crappy day and it makes me laugh. It was taken in the Black Hills of South Dakota 5 minutes after I claimed that anyone who suggested there were real buffalo in the Hills was a buffoon. After this one, we saw 3 more!

Today was not what you might call a good day, but it wasn't horrible. It's amazing what a lack of sleep will do to your face. I looked like I might bust out into tears all day because I was so tired. It's days like this that make me question whether or not I should have children - the thought of having this almost-in-tears-face for 18 years terrifies me.

I have also questioned this week whether or not I'm supposed to have children or even get married. Would it really be that bad? There are plenty of ways to 'have kids'; in the classroom, my brothers' children, kids that I coach, my friends kids, the neighborhood kids. All of these children need parenting and it shouldn't have to come from just one set of parents. The cheesy quote about how it takes a village to raise a child, really has some value in it.

There are lots of things that should be written and shared right now, but my face hurts from looking so sad and tired all day. I should really give it a rest or it might freeze like that guy's face in the back row. That picture makes me laugh too. The figures are Buddha's personalities expressed by different statues, except the one in the middle is so out of place! I wonder if that's what I look like to Koreans....

This is a day when it would be awesome if God would follow me into the locker room with His clipboard, throw it on the ground, get a little loud and angry with my lack of trust and patience, and then give me a pep talk. He would point out a few specific mistakes I've made, give me some suggestions and then say, "Fix it. Make the adjustment! Go get 'em!" And then I would be really inspired and fired up and run out of the locker room while God pats me on the back, calmly gathers up His clipboard and goes back to watch me try to play better.

But He did give me a pep talk through 1 Timothy 6:11. "But you [Meredith], belong to God; so run from all these evil things, and follow what is right and good. Pursue a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness." 'Don't forget to use your head fake before you drive the lane for a layup. Finish hard, but lay it up soft, like an egg.' That last part is paraphrased from memories of coach Randy. :) It's all good advice.

Quick, Like a Dust Bunny!

Since I've been here, I've rearranged my apartment at least 4 times. There are only so many ways to arrange a couch, chair, desk, bookshelf and 2 tables. I might be running out of ideas. Every time I move a piece of furniture, a sweet little dust bunny waits for me. This also seems to be a theme of my life at the moment. Every time I attempt to rearrange parts of my life, there are dust bunnies in the form of unfinished business, hard feelings, brokenness, and wasted time. It is frustrating to have to clean them up, but at the end of the day, I like my newly decorated trailer, I mean, apartment. Rosa likes it too. She is curled up in my lap and casually tilts her head back to look at me and purr. She probably can't wait to run around and make more dust bunnies. I think she just smirked at me.

I am not in any way agreeing with Buddhism, but if you have ever watched them worship, you would notice their focus. They're not concerned with how many tests they haven't graded yet, how much sleep was lost due to last nights 9pm coffee, the guilt they feel because they didn't do their Korean language homework this week, their feelings of shame because they cheated out on their devotional time, and they certainly are not worried about their biological clocks exploding next month when they turn 26. Of course they don't worry about these things, they're monks. I don't worry about those things either. Right. And Buddha is a size 6 and a natural blond.

I'm reading a book about cleaning out the dust bunnies in our lives so that we can have a closer relationship with God. I like it because it gives clear instructions. I don't like it because the author makes it sound so easy! Step 1. Get rid of distractions such as your tv. (this took me a total of 5 hours because a side affect turned out to be the oh-so-necessary rearranging of the rest of the apartment!) I'd like to go back to Udo (island pictured above. I snorkeled at the bottom of that cliff! Thanks again, DJ for saving my life...) where they don't have a lot distractions. I can't even write this freaking blog without being distracted. So basically.....I'm on step one.

Despite my minuscule spiritual progress, this week was very encouraging. It was SEW, or Spiritual Emphasis Week at TCIS. During the week we had mini concerts, devotionals, fun and fellowship, and a speaker from the states gave a message every day. He liked to say, "Precious teenager....." and then tell them something really wonderful about God's love. I liked that. Over 40 kids accepted Christ into their hearts. It was a really cool thing to be a part of.

I procrastinate sleep because I know my new Korean words will be running through my head - my name in Korean is 'Meh-ruh-dee-suh Buh-duh'. Kinda sounds like Melodies Butt. Great. 'Golgi Shilayo!' (Meat, I don't like it!) I am thankful though, that the dust bunnies under my bed (the ones that make my eyes itch and prevent me from breathing properly) have been taken care of, at least for tonight. Tomorrow, instead of getting the ones inside of my trailer apartment, I'll clean out some dust bunnies in me. Jal Ja, Precious Friend! :)

Korea is Kool

I have compiled a short list of things that I love about Korea. You may or may not agree with me. Tough luck, go eat some kimchi.

- Etiquette bells in the bathroom. Fun!
- The joy Koreans get from watching slapstick comedy
- There are 8 pieces of gum in a pack instead of 5! YES!
- The man next to me can't read what I am writing in my journal and why I'm laughing writing it
- You can buy triangle packs of rice and tuna. YUM.
- Old Korean men (most of them)
- Standing only room on long train rides.....NOT!
- Ajima visors - like a sun visor and a welding cap all in one!
- Korean kids. They are so cute and love to practice their English. The nugget above was a friend we met at Jejudo.

There are things I don't like about Korea too, but will wait until I'm really angry about it to write it. For now, I'll just be thankful for the things I've grown to love about this country.

Mashesoyo!