$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.

Too much meat, not enough flowers

I'm beginning to miss the nasty coffee smell my hair used to have after working at Luna Vinca. Tonight it smells like meat. After eating (salad for me, thanks) at a Korean barbecue for Kirstin's birthday, I now reek like a Texan with the meat sweats. Gross! All was not lost, as it was fun to sing Happy Birthday in Korean...except I don't really know the words, so I just sang a bunch of vowels loudly and it seemed to work.

I realized tonight why I think Rosa is so cool. No matter what she's doing (playing, eating, drinking, doing her duty in the litter box) she always makes things fun. Sometimes it means more work - like when she purposely sits behind a door so has to shimmy her arm underneath just to reach her toy. She also likes to shove her water bowl across the floor because its so much more fun to drink under the table. She doesn't care we're in Korea, she's going to have fun wherever she is! Her outlook helps me accept my apartment just a little more.

From the pictures, you might be able to tell my apartment is small. It's also shaped like a trailer. You can see from one end to the other with ease. I even have a shower/sink/toilet combo! (the toilet is behind the curtain, kind of like the Wizard of Oz). I can clean the entire bathroom with my shower 'wand'. And yet, even with such a small space, its messier than I'd like it to be. I can't imagine how this happened...

Warning, the following paragraph is not for the easily offended:

Tomorrow I get to meet the parents of my students. At the beginning class this year, I asked kids why they were taking Physics. It seemed like 80% of them replied with "Because my mom/dad is a Physicist." Crap. At least they'll get my dumb science jokes! I'll probably try to say something in Korean like "Hi, my name is Meredith. How are you? Nice to meet you" but actually end up saying "Hi, Meredith is a grocery store. She is right here. Sleep well, soy water, thank you!" (These are the only words I know.) Speaking of language mishaps...the other night at cross country practice, we played ultimate Frisbee. After the game, one of the other coaches was giving high fives to the kids saying, "Good game, good game, g-g, g-g." Whoops. FYI - if you're ever in Korea, 'Gi gi' means tits. YIKES!

Notes on things Korean

I have decided to quit speaking Korean. Not really, but I've been super frustrated lately when trying to communicate. For instance, I asked my friend, Christine for the Korean word for water. She told me and I repeated it to our waiter. (this is a pretty simple word, sounds like moole) He looked at me like I was fresh off the spaceship from Planet Gyzone. Christine kindly ordered water for me. When I'm in a taxi and ask in Korean for 'foreigner's school' or 'Hannam University' they just say "Uhn?" Seriously?!!

I'm also going to pick a bone with Korean ATMs. Yeah, you read it right, I have some beef with the ATMs. After a longer-than-it-should-have-been cab ride (in which the driver insulted my Canadian/Korean friend's Korean grammar and then asked us if we were Russian prostitutes) I stopped by an ATM to withdraw some cash. Still recovering from the ride, all was well until the pin #. Apparently in Korea, you don't need to hit the Enter or OK button after you type your pin, because just as I hit OK, the screen changed to that big screen with withdrawal amount options. I just kept thinking, 'Crap...it had a five in it....it had a five in it...' It sure did. I heard bills piling up in the ATM like coins coming out of a slot machine. Mind you, there aren't any bills over 10,000 won. So 500,000 won later, my cab buddies looked at my wad of cash and said, 'Must have been a good night, eh?' (see prostitution reference above).

I love Korea, but dang it, their cups just don't cut it. Restaurant water cups are SO SMALL. Tonight I had to fill up my cup at least 9 times and I was still thirsty! It's only 80 degrees with 90 percent humidity but no worries, you can have a shot of water.

There is a little store on my way to school that has a big sign with a sun on it and it says something to imply that it is an early morning shop...except I've never seen it open before 10am.

I just called home and was reminded that my mom's answering machine still has my brother's voice on it with one option to leave Meredith a message...I haven't lived there for 3 years! I also tried to leave a message but the inbox is full because she never deletes her kids' messages. :) Cute.

So instead of getting advice from my mom, I called my Aunt Jeanie. She helped me reflect on how God has truly planted me here. I shouldn't worry about things like marriage, but should instead be praying for my future mate and trusting that God will introduce us when we're both ready. It's amazing how God directs you to people who tell you exactly what you need to hear. I'm so grateful for Aunts!

A few pictures above are from my walk home from school (the trash might be why it stinks so much) my apartment, my team for TCIS Family Fun Day, and Rosa and her window with a "view" (of the next building). :)

Oh Seoul! "I looooove you!"

Our taxi driver in Seoul thought he would try out his English on 5 American ladies stuffed in his cab. "I am boy! You are girl! Good day! Good evening!......I love you!" He was probably 75 years old. We loved him right back.

Since my camera sucks battery life as quickly as I suck down my new found Aloe juice, my Seoul pictures will be arriving shortly via my traveling buddies' cameras. Until then, a quick description should suffice.

Seoul is big. Like London big. (I really have no idea how those two compare, but whatever.) To get anywhere, you have take a bus, take a train, or take a cab. Of course, instead of visiting historical sites or going to museums, we went shopping. However, I am thoroughly accessorized, at least for now. :)

On one particularly long, boring, hot, bus ride (who knew you can squeeze 800 people on a bus?) we passed a huge group of Korean swat guys gathered around a building. Apparently there was, or was going to be a demonstration which had the potential for being violent. There were at least 30 buses that brought all of the swat guys to the site - it was incredible to see that much security gathered in one area. We decided not to get off at that stop.

Most of our time was spent in the touristy district and the cultural shopping district, Insadong. There, Christine got chased by a tin man and Kirsten helped a man hammer out rice. I was interviewed in English by Harold, a nine year old boy who keeps a journal of all the tourists he meets. He even writes "At Insadong Market August 19th" at the top of his journal. Cute :)

Rosa missed me and I missed her too. Hostel bed are not the greatest, especially when you stay out too late - who knew Seoul never sleeps?

The pictures are from the Eagle's baseball game in Taejon. It was really fun because the crowd is as pumped up students at an NCAA Final Four Championship. They even have cheerleaders. Rah!

First day

Today was the first day of school at TCIS. I didn't have the normal sleepless night before, but I did get a little anxious after waking up late, wishing I would have hired the cleaning lady to iron my clothes YESTERDAY, hustling to work to find out that my new shoes = new blisters.

My first class was a Physics class of 8 Juniors. Three boys thought they would be funny by trying to switch their name cards sitting in front of them while I wasn't looking. Teachers are always looking. I walked by and in one swift movement, switched them all back and said "Hm. Nice try." They replied with a roar and smiles. I think I won.

At the end of the day, my younger class was listening to me lecture a bit and the last bell rang during the middle of my sentence. I expected them to jump out of their seats, start yelling and run away. They didn't! It was crazy! They were all staring up at me, still listening, and I finished my sentence and dismissed them. I almost fell over from shock.

Overall, it was a fantastic day. Only 63 kids to get to know, only a few classes a day. It seems like a dream right now but I'm sure I'll wake up soon and the sunshine and daisies will be gone. For right now, I'm going to bed to enjoy it!

(the first pictures are of downtown Taejon, norabong (karaoke room!), me and Jen at the dirtiest bowling alley on the Earth, and TCIS high school)

Jal Ja

When asked for the translation of "goodnight" my Korean friends looked perplexed. Instead of goodnight, they say 'jal ja' which means sleep well. It seems like Koreans are constantly wishing one another well. When you say goodbye to someone, whether you are leaving or they are leaving, each person wishes the other person to stay or go in peace. There are also situations where you tell people to "go do ____ (your job) well". It seems intentional and seems to mean more than 'goodbye' or 'goodnight'. I like it.

There is still a lot to do at school so I have to go in on Saturday. It's ok though, because everyone else will be there too, frantically planning, copying, and thinking that their first day just isn't quite good enough. Its funny that we spend so much time worrying about it, but who really remembers the first day of school anyway? It only sets the tone for the rest of the year, so I'm just planning on talking about how much fun the rest of the year will be. :) I can't wait to meet my kids.

At the end of the day, Korea still stinks a little, but I don't mind. Every place, every situation, and everybody has their own element of stinkiness. I can deal with a little trash.

Jah Ja ~