as it was ch'usok this past weekend (the korean celebration of thanksgiving), most families returned to their hometown for a 3 day vacation. yesterday mrs. kim invited lauren and me along with her son and nephew to the korean folk village near suwon. it was a mixture of busch gardens, colonial williamsburg, and jamestown- an amusement park with a little more history. lauren and i bumped into a very tall family from canada- the children are brother and sister and have been teaching in seoul for the past 7 months at what sounded like a very impressive hogwan. their parents just arrived a few days ago and are visiting for 3 weeks. it was pleasant to talk with people who are from the western hemisphere and have been in a similar boat. i'm finding it immensely helpful to glean whatever information i can from those who have already been on the ground i now find myself. we saw several people in the traditional garb (mrs. kim informed us that admission was free if they wore the hanboks). after 4 hours, however, i was exhausted... mrs. kim dropped me off at home and i spent the rest of the day at my apartment.
on my part, i confess i was very grateful for the extra day of rest, since the past two weeks of teaching have been stressful. i did not realize how difficult the situation has been for me until i honestly explained in detail the circumstances to lauren over the weekend. usually i deal with stress by laughing. my family knows when i'm maxed out, because i just start giggling... and the giggling is usually at ridiculous things hardly worth the humor i find in them. this time, however, i developed the hugest knot in my left shoulder, and i was dearly missing mom and rebekah's amazing massage hands. esther was so kind and gave me a few massages, but nothing to what i have needed!
the tension has come from teaching, mostly. i think the little ones are a lot of fun, but they are definitely the most stressful, because i have to develop the curriculum for them completely on my own... and i have almost no materials. also, the parents are very concerned that their children be exposed to a native speaker... but these overly thankful (AND involved) mothers are sitting in another room chatting, while i have wild hooligans squirming (and sometimes running around) in this small rectangular room with the sharp edges of the table and the cord from my laptop on the floor... you can imagine me trying so hard not to pull my hair out. Lord Jesus, give me wisdom.
while i love working with the younger age, i know from previous experience with preK-1st graders, you have to have a great deal of materials to keep them busy. entering a kindergarten room is major overstimulation - papers, colors, books, projects, posters etc, fill the room. so i am doing my best to teach with what i have and keep them content, yet keeping my time with them from turning into a babysitting club.
please pray for me as i start a new week. even now i am reminded of the Lord's promise:
This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope,
Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed,
because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
"The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!"
The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.
-Lamentations 3,21-25
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