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!

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.

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!