a break from studies on monday...

my step 3 children...

usually my children shy away from the camera, but i begged them for the sake of you guys to let me take pictures... it didn't take long for them to get into the spirit of things. lol

this is phil, one of the two original step 3 program students i had. when i came to ERC back in september, our campus had 70 students total, and phil was one of my first. he used to use body a lot of body language. now he quotes The Princess Bride like the best of 'em. from him i have adopted the "dosh!" exclamation and the sharp intake of breath that koreans often use when they don't know what to say or how to describe something. (ask me to do it for you when i get home. it's usually accompanied by shaking the head. lol). i love this boy and am SO proud of him.


this is sehwan, the other of my first two students. (he and phil are inseparable.) let me see... i can hardly put into words the effect this boy has had on me. on my birthday back in september sehwan took w40,000 (the equiv. of $40) of his own money to treat me to lunch at any place. we must have made an odd couple in TGI Friday's that day. he and his family picked me up and took me to jiguchon church at migeum station the first month, introducing me to a local church family. academically he has consistently risen to meet my highest expectations in class, and i often wonder if i can actually prepare a test or quiz that he won't ace. he's an amazing kid. most importantly, since the first few days i have marveled at how much he radiates the life and presence of Jesus Christ. i can honestly say that he is one of the few boys i know upon whom the anointing of God rests.... but don't worry... 90 minutes 5 days a week for 9 months is enough time to see the failings, too. LOL.

i have pictures of the others, but for some reason my comp is acting up. will post the rest later.

eye has not seen, nor ear heard,

nor have entered into the hearts of men

the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.

- 1 corinthians 1,9

i've gotten a cold somewhere... somehow, and it's left me without a voice - again. please pray that the Lord heals it quickly. after church today pastor bob and his wife anna prayed for me. (i am so thankful for a pastor who believes in and invites the power and presence of God's Spirit. there are a shortage of men who walk in the authority and anointing of God, and i do not take his prayer of faith lightly!)

thea has spent the weekend with me, and it's been such a wonderful comfort just to have a friend nearby. as always, our conversations are a delightful flow of german and english - back and forth. one sentence or word in one language and then, switch. lol. when each of us makes a mistake, we correct one another, and we file the corrections away in our memories. we laugh and ask answer-less questions like, "why does english use that preposition?! dosh!"

surely the Lord knows me deep love for the german language and has brought a gift right to my apartment in south korea. i am continually amazed by how He knows the deep desires of our hearts and He answers them. thank You, Lord.

lauren's departure last monday has made mine feel all the more imminent. i feel the end of my time coming much sooner, and i am doing my best to make the greatest impact i can in every arena of my life here. this week my kids were really dragging, and it was so hard not to just throw my hands up in despair, but i tried to encourage them instead and tell them what my goals are for their progress during my time here. i think the awareness of my departure helps, somehow.

for those of you who have prayed or are praying for me, thank you. i can feel the effect of them. my heart is more at peace.

^ ^ love, ruth

random

the most beautiful roses are in bloom along the streets. and the honeysuckle, too. i almost didn't recognize it as honeysuckle, however, because it's pink on the outside... tastes just as good as back home, though. 

it's election year, and voting day is sometime next week. campaigning is going on full-force out on the streets, so there are double the voices shouting in korean over the megaphone. makes for an interesting experience walking the streets in suji.

did i mention that last weekend, while thea and i were walking along the street we saw a bag of trash. now there's a lot of trash in plain sight here in korea, and i've gotten so used to it that i don't pay any attention anymore. well, thea noticed this bag of trash because..... there was a whole pig's head in it. thea couldn't resist taking a picture of it, but i thought i'd spare you guys. lol

walking home from the store i was thinking.. i think living alone in korea is teaching me a lot about submission and humility... but i don't fully understand all that God is doing in my heart right now. i am praying that when i come out of this experience i will be more full of His life and presence, more equipped than ever for the life He is calling me to live.

oh, english here in korea....
there really is a lot of english here in korea; however, it is debatable how much koreans actually understand. some of my korean friends would say that they don't understand a lot of it. i think part of it is the prestige of having english words as part of their advertisements, etc, and most couldn't care less if it's actually correct. this, of course, simultaneously bothers and amuses me greatly. 


this weekend was very low-key. saturday i visited lauren and sooyeon in yeongtong, as it was lauren's last weekend. we watched sisterhood of the traveling pants, which i really enjoyed. one of the foursome's trip to greece reminded me of christa and karen's trip last year, and it renewed my longing for europe. sunday brought coffee/breakfast with stef at dunkin donuts, church, and a wonderful lunch outside at a park nearby. thea came home with me (yay!), as she needed to be back in migeum early monday morning and suji is much closer than her place in seongnam. then thea, brit, stef, and i went to a park for some sun, and then a galbi dinner and ice cream. it was a nice evening, so afterwards we went for a walk in suji. we found a park and thea and i swung on the swings. i forgot how scary it can be when you go really high! it reminded me of the hours of swinging at sunday park.


i marvel at the Lord's goodness in bringing such friends. please pray for emily, who has a sinus/ear infection, and brittany, who has also been under the weather.

i would also ask for prayer for direction post-Korea. there is some joy in having an *open world* to tackle, but in reality it can be a bit frustrating. as i told my mom yesterday, if i were not a Christian i could go and do whatever i want. but since my life is not my own, and Jesus is Lord of my life, i am submitted to Him. may He give me the grace to be patient as i wait for Him to make His will known. and pray that i can know what truly are the genuine desires (God-given) of my heart.

i love you all. ^^ ruth

asia's overscheduled kids

to read about the problem that is prevalent throughout much of asia, read this article:

http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501060327/

all is not well in this world...
this weekend stefanie and brittany invited me to join them on a tour of the DMZ. for those of us whose history classes never failed to squeeze the last 60 years of history all in the month of may, i will provide a short refresher course.

June 25, 1950 : North Korea invaded South Korea, crossing the 38th parallel (which had been established at the end of WWII)
July 27, 1953 : Cease-fire was signed and the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) was created as a buffer zone between the two sides. Technically, the two countries are still at war.
November 15, 1974 : The first of a series of tunnels was discovered, heading in the direction of Seoul.
March 19, 1975 : The second tunnel was discovered.
October 17, 1978 : The third tunnel was discovered. (We went through this tunnel as part of our guided tour; however, they made it very clear no cameras were allowed. Sorry.)
March 3, 1990 : The fourth tunnel was discovered.
Each of these tunnels can allow the passage of a division within an hour.
And to make a long story short, relations between the two countries is tenuous and relies heavily on how Kim Jong-il is feeling from day to day.

in some ways going with a tour group was a little unsettling. the south koreans are making a TON of money lauding the DMZ as a tourist spot... possibly at the expense of the north koreans they are attempting to appease, all the while kim jong-il is starving his own people. it does make one think. and pray that just as east and west germany were reunited, so will the two koreas.

this was the closest we were allowed to get in order to take a picture of north korea. with the binoculars we were able to see more of north korean lands. i think the most memorable part of the trip was seeing the opposing flags flying. it made the current situation much more of a reality to me, especially knowing that the north koreans seem to be constantly busy digging tunnels to take over seoul.



the last stop on our tour was to "Dorasan" - what appeared to be a fully equipped train station, but was in fact TOTALLY EMPTY. it has been built with the hopes that seoul and pyeongyang (the north korean capital) will one day be reunited and the first true transcontinental railroad connecting europe through to asia will begin to function. we even got a stamp in our passports. i don't know how i feel about it. tragic, maybe. hopeful? idealistic? i don't know. in any case, it was on that note that our tour ended and our guide took us back to itaewon.
when i think about it, the verse comes to my mind: "As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God" (job 19,25-26). the world is shaken by the mere whims of kings and dictators, but i cannot be afraid. i am thankful i know WHO i belong to, and long after my body is gone.. i will be with the Lord. what a comfort. what peace! what joy!
a pretty sweet billboard near itaewon. i think it's in support of korea in the World Cup. have i mentioned before how crazy these people are over their sports teams?

john's gift to me for teacher's day. i don't think i've gotten so many roses in my entire life.

last last friday's adventure with thea...

the seoul tower at night.

ok. so i was a little tired.... thea and i climbed up the mountain to the base of the tower and sat down in an outdoor cafe. it was so windy!

the view of seoul from namsan (the mountain we were climbing to reach the tower)

thea, i should mention, loves korean fashion. emily and i have stopped teasing her. we used to threaten her with clothes (jokingly) saying, "i'm going to buy you this...," but when she looked down at the ground and didn't answer, we realized that she already owned it or something like it! looooooooool.

then, that sunday (7. may) after church thea, lauren and i went to the han river. there are miles of sidewalks for biking and inline-skating, as well as fields for picnics, flying kites, and some pick-up games of soccer. it was an absolutely gorgeous day, and the three of us walked ourselves to death. we also went on a boat ride on the river - w10,00o for an hour. it was really worth all the hours of walking.

taking a rest along the way... lauren and i. by the way, this is lauren's last week teaching. she returns to the states on monday. crazy how fast the year has flown.

the dock at jamsil (where we took the boat ride)

i have no idea...

i don't know that this picture quite captures it... but thea, lauren and i worked REALLY hard to get this picture. in korea it is quite popular for couples to dress the same way. and i mean THE SAME WAY. same t-shirt, same pants/shorts, same shoes... it's rather amusing.

another angle... this couple went in one direction and then turned around. in the process they totally clocked a little girl. so we had to wait a few minutes for the girl to comfort the little one before we could snap the picture of them going by. LOL.

on the way back we found ourselves in the 1988 olympic complex...

today is Teacher's Day here in korea....
it was one of those days that reminded me why i love teaching ~ when the kids (aka their parents) gives gifts and the kids say all the nice things that somehow erase all the million and one things they do to annoy me the rest of the year. LOL.
i love those boogers. i'm hoping i can figure out how to get small video clips from my digital camera on here so you guys can see them (and me as "miss ruth") in action.
but anyway, i have a ton of pictures from the past few weekends, so i wanted to share a few with you.

LAST LAST weekend (5-7.may)... the 5th was Children's Day, so we didn't have school. emily took thea and me to this park near seollung station in seoul, where two royal tombs are. one tomb belongs to king seongjong and the other belongs to his second queen jeong-hyeon-wang-hu, from the 15th century. we walked around and just enjoyed the fresh green of SPRING!
after that, thea and i went on to myeongdong and climbed up to the seoul tower. it was a great night and we got to see a beautiful view of seoul

here's seongjong's grave

statue of a king's guard

several families were having picnics... it was nice to see koreans not stressed out.

oh, so green!

emily told me there is a worm that has come to korea (ironically, from japan) that is killing all their pine trees. how sad, especially since it is so much part of their culture.

freshening up a bit...

emily looking all cute while she's drawing.

the romanization of korean is not always to be trusted. sometimes it's just much easier to read the korean to get the correct pronunciation.

SUPERMAN!

i have a little over 3 months left. holy mackeral!

i'm a little worn out, but i will post pictures soon. i feel like i've been going - going - going.

the joys and trials of teaching

today caleb brought in a toy pistol and insisted (almost to the point of blows) to wendy that it was real.
as always, i say, "put it away. you may play with it after class!"
"ok, miss ruth."
"NOW, caleb."


but then, there are the exciting moments, when he says, "miss ruth, is this handwriting good?"
"OH, yes, caleb. VERY GOOD!" (a high five, then a satisfied smile from him)


lol. oh the joys.


the other teachers have started calling me for advice on discipline and classroom management. the vice principals at my high school came to my mind. they were always demonized as oh-so-terrible, and now here i am. ahaha!


as for jason... he has to take a make-up vocab quiz. pray he doesn't fail! i really want this kid to succeed!

 an email i wrote to a dear friend... thought it might answer some of your questions. 

Love you!

Ok, Question #1: I'm great. I'm eating a bowl of cereal and writing you in a tanktop. :) It's hot and sunny outside. YAY!

#2: Korea has been such an interesting country. There are some things I really enjoy and others that drive me completely nuts. I love my little apartment, the weather right now, the friendships I have developed and am continuing to develop with girls through church, my students. I do NOT love Korean girls fashion, the number of metrosexual men here (way too skinny and "fashionable"), the number of people who stare at me because I'm a foreigner, the number of unqualified, dreadful foreign teachers who come here just to make money, get wasted and give other foreigners a bad name in Korea. :)

#3: My classes have been good. My little ones are hilarious. I just taught them "Wassup?!" and they are quick to answer, "Nothing!!" LOLOL. I can almost not even take myself. I found the old '90s Bud commercials online and showed them to my classes. They had me rolling and my boy students love it when they stick out their tongues.... LOL. My intermediate students are growing up, but we're in the disciplines right now... so lots of small tasks and grammar. And getting them to talk more!! My advanced students are a piece of work. I love 'em. We're in Ch 4 of The Lion, the Witch.. and yesterday (because of our dictation topic) we talked about physical and mental handicaps... so it's pretty cool. These kids are 11-15 and we're discussing some pretty in-depth topics.

#4: Huge student improvement? Well, I'd say continuous, but gradual. They ARE learning - it just takes time and I have to be patient with them. Overall, I have found an atmosphere of love provides the best learning experience. I want them to know they are loved and I am proud of them. Pray for one in particular, would you? His name is Jason. Please pray that he will step up to the plate and tackle my class.

#5: Missing Korea? Yes yes yes. I'm going to miss a lot here. I think reverse culture shock is going to really hit me. I am going to miss Mrs. Kim, Esther, ALL my kids, and Emily and Thea, and Brittany and Stefanie... So yeah, I'm going to miss the people a lot. I will probably also miss the ease with which you can travel here without a car - because of the subway, buses, taxis, etc..

#6: Excited about coming home? Oh yeah, I'm missing everybody a lot (though not so much that it impairs my time here). Daniel is leaving for Southwestern this summer, Anna just learned how to do a full (a standing flip with a twist) and said she earned ~$140 petsitting over spring break. Sarah took her AP World History exam. Luke is graduating from high school, and Rebekah is ~6 months pregnant. Life with the family keeps marching on, and I do miss spending time with my parents, hearing my dad's HUGE laugh from somewhere in the house, or just going to Krogers, the bank, and the gas station to spend time with Mom.

#7: Teaching or back to school? As of right now, I find I don't have the heart for school, so I'm praying for a teaching job. It's all in the Lord's hands though. I do not have the assurance of one, and beyond that, I don't have a clear idea where I'm living or anything else. LOL. But I feel like a lot more will be clear when I get home. It's kind of exciting.

sunday adventures

i think in the past 3 weeks i've had three or four people ask me if i was feeling sick. to these concerns i have replied, "oh, i'm fine! i just need SUN." indeed, this winter seemed to last forever

as emily has said, "welcome to korea, where it's always grey, the sun never shines, and your skin will surely stay white forever."

and i, who have always looked down on tanning beds, serious began thinking i needed to find one. but then, there AREN'T ANY here... koreans hide from the sun like you wouldn't believe. the past few days - with the sun shining - women are decked out in long pants, sleeves, and sweaters. lol.

but finally it seems that spring has arrived...and possibly summer is close on its heels. the cherry blossoms and magnolias are gone, but the azaleas and lilacs' scents are wafting through the air... along with the delightful whiff of the sewer. and let me tell you, it is the most tragic combination of scents i have ever experienced.

on sunday after church i joined a bunch of other teachers from church (and friends of their friends, etc) in insaedong for the Lotus Lantern Festival. it was a great day with exhibits, free crafts, face painting, games, and a long parade in the evening. it was packed with koreans and a TON of foreigners.

the scene upon our arrival in insaedong.

the lotus lantern making tent
brittany (w/ the brown hair) and thea busy making their lanterns

i am so proud of my lantern. can you tell? (now it's hanging up in my apartment. woohoo!)

katie, susan, stefanie, and me: showing off our lanterns.

in the picture-taking booth: thea, brittany, me, stefanie.

thea und ich

the festival

a korean man teaching stefanie and susan a game with little square blocks. you throw one up in the air and try to pick up another at the same time - without letting that one hit the ground. then you throw those two up and try to pick up another, etc etc.

another child's toy. the grandmother and mother are teaching this little one how to keep the circle from falling!

some of the crowd

near a buddhist temple

buddhist temple door

stefanie and brittany, lookin' good ;)

the parade began around dusk and continued well into the night. the whole crew of us got a good view.these lanterns were beautifully lit all along the streets. i wish the pictures had turned out better for you to see. after the parade brit, stef, thea and i went to baskin robbins and got ice cream. i have settled on a new favorite flavor: Love Potion #30.. it has heart chocolates with raspberry filling, and it's to die for.

hence the reason i am meeting the girls tomorrow morning at 7:30 at the Y.

and that's my story of this sunday's festivities. the end.