Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Monday, November 26, 2007

Tragedy Strikes at 9:54pm

not 5 minutes ago, while restringing my guitar in preparation for the roadtest of my delicious new whiskey-soaked-rock-star-approved-post-illness voice, one of my guitar pegs broke off IN the guitar rendering me helpless and unable. I am shocked. I am bereft. I am wondering what the word is for superglue in korean.

Wait...a....minute!!!! unless this is a sign from God that it's OKAY! to spend some real money on a nice NEWWWWWWW guitar? A better guitar??? A guitar that is worthy of my new whiskey-soaked-rock-star-approved-post-illness voice??? If this IS some sort of christmas miracle, then maybe I should promise to only play Jars of Clay and Michael W. Smith songs on the new guitar...

Who am I kidding. I will not get a new guitar and I will not ever play jars of clay. So the deal is OFF. sigh. anyone know a good luthier in Seoul?

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Thanksgiving Eve 2007

Well technically, it's not really thanksgiving eve in the western world yet, more like thanksgiving eve early morning... but here at my computer in Seoul, Korea it's as good as here.

I taught some of my students about Thanksgiving today. They weren't nearly as excited about it as they should have been, issuing sigh of boredom during the youtube video of the macy's parade and twitching around as though visably tortured during my impassioned speech about the virtues of cranberry sauce. What they did handle well was the giving thanks "game" that I invented out of sheer desperation. We went into the gym and I threw a ball at them. If they caught it, they had to say one thing they were grateful for. It came out sounding a little bit like a prayer... if we said most of our prayers after someone heaves a huge exercise ball at your head. C was grateful that he had many friends, and many many toys and candy and a big house. J was grateful for his good dad and food to eat. And me...what was I grateful for?

Here's a partial list:

I am grateful to be a teacher (to which C said, "that's not a good thing, teacher. Being a teacher is not grateful" hrmmmph. ) It's not constant, but most days I feel this pang of realization. What I mean is just that I am realized to some degree because I am able to be around children all day. I really am meant to love them.

(side story) the other day someone (I think Lumina) asked Evan, all of 5 years old if he was happy. He looked at her sideways and answered her question with another question. "Is it Halloween? Is it Christmas? It is not Halloween, so I am not happy." There.

I am grateful that tonight I will go to bed ON TIME. that means 10:30. and it will happen.

I am grateful for my calling as the District Single Member Rep. Sometimes it can feel a little strange to be defined by the title of your calling...to step into a ward you are visiting and have every "don't worry you'll get married" comment in RS addressed directly at you because you have had to introduce yourself as single. BUT, it's really expanding my horizons and giving me opportunities to work and serve that I've never had before. I am experiencing miracles and hoping for them more and more. That feels nice.

I am grateful for a warm place to sleep even if it is on a mattress made of granite. (do you notice a sleep theme here?)

I'm grateful that I can fly home for christmas to see my best friends and my family.

I'm grateful for the military base that does "thanksgiving to order" at the commissary and for military friends who bring the turkey to us. The fact that I will be consumming honest to goodness grocery store turkey and stuffing in less than 24 hours in Asia is a small but true gift.

I am grateful for costco.

I am grateful for my health. And that my fingers and toes tell me when a low pressure system is moving in...it's kind of like esp and that's cool.

And finally, I'm grateful to be living in Korea. I really mean it this time. I'm happy. I was watching some american television commercials about christmas and it made my stomach a little queasy because I am so out of touch with American Pop culture these days. I don't know what anything is anymore. I don't know who the new celebrity babies are. I don't know what Britney's been doing with her kids. I don't know what the new movies are. But it's good. It means that I'm here now. I'll go home to america as a visitor and I'll be happy to come back to my HOME in korea. WOW. Home. I'm connected to something about Asia...there are people here that I love, people who live here and will always be here in Asia. I guess I could say that I'm grateful to love korea because I never thought it would happen for me. Hangkuk e Saranghaeyo.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve friends near and far! May the Holidays see you happy where you are and may our paths cross in significant ways SOON!

Monday, November 19, 2007

Things I should tell someone...

1. I'm busy. Like, break-neck speed, working on the bus, constantly distracted busy. I feel like I'm back in college busy. Deadline busy. Work busy. Social busy. We're doing plays in each of the classes at school. I'm writing workbooks for a publishing company. I'm planning a Single Member Conference for church (this weekend!) and and and and, I'm not keeping in very good touch with family and friends. Forgive me.

2. I'm coming along slowly in my acquisition of the Korean language. 제가 한국말어를 매일 공부해요. I've attached proof that some sort of studying is happening in the photo to the left. I'm not a good student and I don't have a formal teacher so most of my learning is happening independently and with friends via text messaging. But for all my slowness, I am learning the important stuff...including a plethora of swear words thanks to my friend chansoo who has proclaimed himself my swear teacher. Don't act like you wouldn't do it too.

3. Inspired by championship latin dancers at the halloween party, I (the same girl who was once told to "stand behind that pole and just pretend to tap dance") have started to take ballroom dance lessons. May I remind you that I am neither Latin nor a champion. And yet, every saturday I go to the Mu dance studio and pay MONEY to shuffle around looking like a confused lady in a step aerobics class instead of a sleek tango machine. It's okay though. My teacher (who goes by the english name of Bruce Lee, by the way) told our group this to help our self-esteem- "You are not the dreamteam. But you are not bad." Thank you Bruce Lee. I feel much better about the 2 hours I spend in front of a wall of mirrors reflecting back my failure.


4. Finally, you should know that I've sold my soul to a secret society simply known as the "Do You Happy Club". As on friend translated it, the official document reads "My body is now belong to the club". I signed it and now I'm learning more about what it is that I've done:

  • Activities include: eating moksal, eating bbq'd shellfish, eating gray slabs of bean curd, drinking soju (or soda for the mormons among us), singing korean songs badly at noraebang, Staying out far too late (at least until ocha), teaching and then yelling out funny phrases in whatever language you choose and peer-pressuring completely upstanding citizens to join rank.
  • My body is truly belong to the club now. And evidently the test of true bravery will be to put my feet in the Cheonggyecheon River... a river that smells like rotten fish and last week's sewage.
  • To aid me in this test of bravery, I should be very drunk. But since I do not drink anything stronger than cider (korean version of 7up), I will have to face the task wide eyed and and wide nostriled.
  • You are always at the mercy of the Pimp Chief of the club. Currently that position is held by Chansoo, although he does not really know what pimp means and sometimes gets cheif and cheap mixed up. He is self-proclaimed so I'm confident that an inner-club coup could occur.

That's it. I'm busy, but happy and getting ready to make a trip home at christmas! More about the holiday's in Korea next post.

Monday, November 05, 2007

There's Something About William


I just needed you to know that this child exists in the world. His name is william. I contend that he is the korean equivalent of Jonathan Lipnicki pre- tweeness. I rediscovered this picture and realized that I had never made him the star of my blog that he was meant to be. This is dedicated to d'anniel and d'arcy.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

This is how we do it in Korea

Just in case you were worried that I wouldn't get my halloween on, here is a little tease... I relinquished my crown as the queen of the suburbs (pregant prom queen, internet girlfriend, housewife on valium) because I didn't think Korea would get the joke and instead opted for a costume concept that went something like "Here's what I have in my closet". A pirate queen. Thanks to my mom for finding a puffy sleeved daisy fuentes shirt at Kohl's and liz for handing over the striped banana republic shirt in the name of better fashion. Still, my entire closet of stripes and puffs and 8 earrings somehow did not add up to a successful costume since everyone kept asking what I was supposed to be. Fine. I'm a daisy fuentes accolite in rural iowa. ??

Lumina took some really fabulous pictures from our party at the Mu Dance Studio and since I refuse to buy a new camera and thus make everyone share their pictures with me, I won't spoil the fun by stealing her pictures to put on my humble blog. Go to Lumina's blog to check out her artistry.

Can I just say that having photographers and artists and actors and musicians for friends makes life so fulfilling?

This week alone, I have sung with pansori singers, done a little jazz jam, watched an improv comedy show and a latin dance demonstration and seen beautiful art that would make your head swim. I feel really fortunate to have such wonderful friends...all over the globe. WOO HOO!!!!