Yeah for William & Mary '05 in Korea!

my wonderful weekend began with esther spending the night friday night. we watched the second half of Pride and Prejudice (the long one), stopping after every major plot development for me to explain or clarify. :) it was great to spend time with her!

yesterday afternoon daniel, emily and i went to costco. this was daniel's first time there, and his first time tasting wheat thins. he said, "WOW!" i laughed. i stocked up on more cheese and peanut butter, as well as a big box of cheez-its to satisfy my american junk food craving!!!

after costco they dropped me off at the subway and i made my way to City Hall for the long-awaited William & Mary '05 Reunion in Korea! mike jeter, lauren wenger and i met up (mike brought his canadian friend helena along) and we went ice skating. it was a great time! at times i showed aggressive tendencies.. mike and i decided 10 points for every individual we took out, 15 points for breaking couples' hands, and 20 points when two go down together. (LOL!) it was a blast. helena tried to help mike and me improve our backwards skating, since she had taken a skating class back in school.

this small shot is of a giant TV screen in the square above the skating rink. in many of the major parts of seoul you can see these screens amidst the tall city buildings.

Ridiculousness!!!

right afterwards we met up with bennet (also from WM) at a Dunkin Donuts. bennet was in my adventure games class my last semester at WM. (good, good times) and mi young - a korean friend from WM who was an exchange student two years ago! what a wonderful surprise to see a friend so randomly.. this time on her home turf. anyway, we all commented on how posh dunkin donuts is here in korea... just as nice (and expensive, if not more so) than starbucks back home.

among our topics of conversation the subject of korean cuteness made its' grand and glorious entrance... and stuck around long enough for ben and i to make fools of ourselves. ben, we look ridiculous.

i left the others quite late (to be on the other side of seoul), but the Lord was kind to me. not only did He help me make all my subway changes, but He squeezed me on the night's last run of the yellow (bundang) line to arrive in migeum. at thirty minutes past midnight - midnight is when the buses stop running - strangely, there was my bus # sitting along the road, waiting for stragglers. after all my quiet worrying in the subway... i sensed the Lord's gentle chiding. does He not always make a way for His beloved children?



~ more pictures of my students to come

LOL! such strong feelings.

in any case, this is wendy's writing. she has definitely improved, hasn't she?!

the artwork of emily and ruth... spending hours in the jiguchon church cafe.

1,000w for a teabag that can be reused 2 or 3 times. not bad, eh? ^^

phil's 13th birthday was yesterday, and ally's 14th (?) birthday is on friday, so i am thinking about doing something special on friday for their class. they also have been assigned pair presentations on friday, where they have to talk about their hobbies/free time. this is the one assignment where both jackie and annie are extremely animated in class, so i'm looking forward to it.

NOTE: i do not currently have 4 classes. the picture i posted earlier showed a potential roster starting in april. as of right now i still have the 3rd period free for grading journals and planning.

Happy 3rd Birthday to my nephew, Micah! and Happy Birthday to my oldest, dearest brother Josh! I love you!

spring hasn't arrived yet. although it's much warmer than the 7°F (and negative gusts of wind) from earlier... it's still winter. if it doesn't snow again, i hope it will hurry up and be spring! i am longing for the sight of the sun and flowers, and the sound of birds. even to the most cheerful of people korean winters can be dreadfully gloomy. -.-

a head cold has left me on the hunt for tissues and warm fluids, so i have tried to stay low the past week or so. please pray for complete healing!

changes in my classes are not definite yet. pray for wisdom and that mothers would STOP calling mrs. kim and giving her a headache. (i'm DEAD serious!) decisions need to be made in the next few days, if not tomorrow.

i can hardly believe it has been almost 6 months. how long and yet how short it seems. an eternity and yet a blink of an eye. dear friends, i am missing you! hope to hear from you soon....


O let Thy sacred will
All Thy delight in me fulfill.
Let me not think an action mine own way,
But as Thy love shall sway,
Resigning up the rudder to Thy skill.
GEORGE HERBERT

the birds are out...
the sun is shining...
the air is warmer, bringing cool, fresh gusts (of Suji's pollution)....

i can feel it.

Spring is in the air!

a few poems for love.... ^^

Emily Dickinson
LoveXLVII
HEART, we will forget him!
You and I, to-night!
You may forget the warmth he gave,
I will forget the light.

When you have done, pray tell me,
5 That I my thoughts may dim;
Haste! lest while you’re lagging,
I may remember him!

Shakespeare's SONNET 116
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

an excerpt from a letter by amy carmichael to the dohnavur fellowship about love:

I cannot rest because of the distress that comes to me as I think of a misunderstanding that need never have been between two of you who love the Lord Jesus and are wholly given to His service.
And this kind of distress comes too often. It is a heavy burden to me. It is costing your [helpers] far too much time and strength, time and strength that they should be free to give to younger ones.
Often these misunderstandings are about the merest trifles. You let them grow and grow till your whole day is shadowed. This delights the devil, but it terribly injures your own soul, and it sorely grieves the Spirit of Love. Also, and this is serious, while you are yielding to such feelings you are unconsciously sowing seeds of unlove and distrust in other hearts - in the children's hearts. These seeds will spring to life and grow up to your sorrow one day.
Why don't you keep the Law of the Family and go straight to the one who has (you think) done something wrong?
You can't, do you say? You can. Love will find a way. ...
O my children, if only you would make up your minds never to doubt the love of another sister or brother in Christ, but always to think the best, to take the best for granted, and never admit an unkind thought in your heart, how happy, how heavenly life would be....
But with Thee is forgiveness, that Thou mayest be feared. Remember those last words. They are too often forgotten. Fear to sin against love. Fear to dishonor your Lord. Fear with a holy fear the least small beginning of this hellish sin. Beloved, let us love. We perish if we do not love. Let us love.


"How deep the Father's love for us, that we should be called the children of God."
- 1 john 3,1

Happy Valentine's Day!

mrs. kim and i are still busy planning who will be in which class in the weeks and months ahead. it is truly a challenge to balance classroom dynamics, academic and physical (psychological) maturity, as well as the overwhelming competitiveness some mothers have for their children's english abilities when we place the students. still, the obvious improvement of some of my children encourages me not to give up. danny in my second class has begun talking! and his writing and reading shows marvelous improvement. ally in my last class often writes in her journal of her desire to improve her english; she even apologized for not doing her homework when she knows she should. with such internal motivation she will surely overcome her korean fear and start to talk more.

 

here is the tentative roster for my classes by april. we'll see how long this lasts. please continue to pray for the timing and placement of all the students.

the past two days my step 3 class and another class watched Star Wars: Episode IV. while some of the girls seemed less than thrilled, the rest of the classes seemed to enjoy it. and of course, you just can't beat harrison ford as han solo. ^-^ amidst groans of protest, they are writing a summary of the movie for tomorrow. ahaha. sehwan and phil are anxious to see episodes V and VI, so i think they liked it very much.

this saturday was william and dianne's wedding. it was held at the bundang wedding center rather than at a church. overall, it was a rather hilarious affair. even though the whole thing was translated into english, i somehow managed to be completely lost throughout much of it.... the word hymn came out as hime, and with all the absurdities throughout the ceremony even the most sober of foreigners was overcome by a fit of silent laughter at some point . (i could tell by the shaking shoulders.) still, william and dianne were awesome... so cool and composed.

when the flutist was too nervous to play her piece, william picked up the mic and started to sing one of the song's stanzas to dianne. now if that isn't the most romantic way to save a wedding flop?! at the reception, decked out in full korean hanbok style, william said he'd heard the young lady practicing and decided he'd better look the song's lyrics up online... just in case. what a smart man! ^^

william

dianne being escorted down the aisle

a song... sung in true korean traditional style (i don't know the musical term for it, but it's lots of shaking of the voice. very dramatic. very funny.)

daniel and emily chang at the wedding reception. this weekend the three of us spent a lot of time together, and it was so wonderful. we had a blast!!! several times we have all expressed amazement that a korean man born in confucianism, a romanian girl born under communism and a loud american girl can find their hearts knit together after so short an acquaintance. they are preparing for a 3-4 month missions training course this fall, and they will return to romania to work as missionaries with emily's church. i am not sure of the exact town/city in romania - only that it is somewhere in transylvania. ... anyway... great couple. like 'em a lot.

ok... it's late...

It's Friday!

so the week is almost over. holy mackeral! a lot has happened, so let me sum it up.

1) the kids in both my first and second classes have finished the books we've been going through. for my second class, that means they have successfully completed Level 3. i made some certificates for them, and they all just glowed with pride. truly, they have achieved a lot. when i awarded caleb with his certificate, he received it with both hands and bowed to me. LOLOL. still very korean! then he went back to his seat and promptly began drawing in one of those gold circular stickers that makes the award so special... IN PENCIL. loooooooooooololol.

2) i have begun to wrestle with my advanced class. they took a vocabulary quiz on wednesday... and didn't do so hot. most of them didn't know the words. (what can i do?!?!) i told them i can only do so much ... sometimes it's a very helpless feeling, trying to wheelbarrow these older children into doing what is assigned to them. today is the test on Black Beauty and passive voice. pray for them. even with all the help i try to provide, i think they're going to need every bit of it.

3) it snowed! taught esther on the way home from work what a snow angel is... ^-^ i think i want to wear my columbia boots forever. so so comfortable. in the future, you may donate money to the ruth for columbia sportswear fund. ;)

4) found out L'Oreal mascara is $18/bottle here. my heart almost stopped beating. what!? ridiculous...

5) have been reading in genesis. God's awesome, i've decided. the way God patiently deals with cain is absolutely amazing. truly an object lesson of a parent working with, instructing, loving, forgiving, patiently waiting for his child... or a teacher with her students!!!

6) that's all. as bonquisha would say, merry christmas to all. the end. :)

Jeju Island pictures, cont'd....

the fresh air was revitalizing, and the water was beautiful - not the turquoise blue i see in postcards or pictures of more "tropical" islands, but just blue and clear enough to remind me that i wasn't at virginia beach. :)

a great shot of lauren on the ferry. this submarine outing was just perfect for her :)

so cool to see the fish, the coral, the anemone swaying in the water... i was content that i wasn't swimming in it, actually. it was just right.

so.. a diver and his friend the shark. eeeeeek. nemo fills my thoughts. poor nemo! would this shark be his friend or enemy?

the volcanic cliffs and rocks were absolutely breathtaking.

i had a hard time deciding which sunset shot to pick. i must have taken 10 of them... oh, the sun was this great red circle in the sky. just brilliant.

mrs. kim and her son shared a room, while lauren and i shared another. i cannot describe the level of service.. it was so good. i can see why the shilla hotel is the best on jeju island. and the continental breakfast... i told emily today that i think it is what heaven must be like. a buffet-style breakfast with every good thing: scrambled eggs, bacon, fresh fruit, pancakes, waffles, bagels, muffins, croissants, yogurt, cereal, fresh tangerine, orange, and grapefruit juice, milk, the most beautiful place settings, and kind waiters walking around asking if i'd like more coffee. "yes, please!"
the lobby was one of the most beautiful places in the hotel: excellent live music, a wonderful cafe where lauren and i spent saturday night over a viennese coffee and kiwi drink and slices of pie and cheese cake. the violinist was truly captivating.
for the sake of lauren's hard work in getting this shot, please notice the monk sitting in the bottom of the picture. he is holding a cell phone and had another guy try to get a picture of the musicians with it. LOLOL!
then there's me and "Woman" ... i thought it a rather ingenious sculpture, but i also think i don't have an adequate appreciation for modern art and wouldn't know quality in that realm if it was staring me in the face.


and then there's me bonding with a giant vase down the hall from the main lobby and cafe. right before lauren, mrs. kim and i went to a singing room. what great fun!!










mrs. kim took lauren and me to go riding on traditional jeju island ponies. it was hilarious and ridiculous.. and great fun! we are not talking purebred, 18hand thoroughbreds.
these ponies, bless their dear hearts, were so conditioned to their trainers' commands, they didn't even respond to our commands. mine was particularly adventuresome, and he kept ignoring my lead and walking right back to our guide. loooooooooolol. poor guys. (rebekah, the conditions made wintergate farms look like a quality facility.) ALSO.. please notice the coats. only in korea would they offer Denver Broncos superbowl jackets simply because the mascot was a horse. LOOOOOOOOOOOL
my first time near a real palm tree. according to mrs. kim, the trees are not native to jejudo, but have been imported and thrive quite well in the climate. there were big ones, miniature ones, thin ones, fat ones.... and all were quite marvelous.

these shots are of lauren and me as we were waiting for the limousine bus to take us back to the jeju airport, where we met mrs. kim and "boy" and headed on home. it was a great weekend. hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Welcome to Jeju Island!

Already the school week has passed, and I can finally sit down long enough to record the events of last weekend. Saturday morning Mrs. Kim arranged a taxi to pick up both Lauren and me and to take us to a bus station in Suwon. We met at the Suwon Hotel Castle (a limousine bus station) and took the bus to Incheon Airport. As soon as familiar airport sights and sounds filled my senses, I immediately thought of home. It was only 5 months ago that I came through this airport, having said goodbye to Mom and the girls just the day before! Lauren kept me delightfully entertained (have I ever told you how much she communicates using sounds and facial/body gestures rather than actual words?!) throughout the time in the airport and the flight to Jeju. As soon as we entered the Jeju Airport a taxi driver met us (wow. Talk about customer service.) and took us first to an oceanside spot, where we happened to meet the governor of Jeju Island. We then commenced on a little ferry to a submarine, stationed not too far off the coast. Lauren was happily snapping pictures of the underwater flora and fauna (Sarah, I know you know exactly where I got that phrase!!), me, and everything in sight.
After that we went to another park, where we were able to see close-up the ocean, volcanic cliffs, and a ,magnificent sunset. Then it was check-in at our amazingly beautiful hotel, The Shilla. which happens to be the best hotel in Korea. I confess my mouth was agape the entire time. We met for dinner and then a volcanic fire-breathing dragon display at another hotel. Later that night Mrs. Kim, Lauren, and I went to a karaoke room, where Lauren commenced laughing at my inability to keep a note. lol

The next day brought a swim in

the hotel pool (may I just say how ridiculous swimming caps are?), horseback riding, a museum visit, and then bac

k to our hotel, where Lauren and I watched The Sound of Music. yay! The next morning was the amazing continental breakfast, a walk around the area, and check-out. And so we began the long ride home.

brothers' island

our submarine... we all live in a yellow submarine... a yellow submarine.. a yellow submarine.