random thoughts

1. steve, my boss, heads to burma on saturday and will be gone for a week. i am curious to hear what his thoughts are about the country when he gets back.
   
2. my friend stefanie is booking her ticket to come visit us in april. i miss stefanie. i'm excited to see her.
3. eu-mi was spastic last night, when sam and britt brought rustie over. i think being cooped up inside made her go crazy. intense dislike for her lack of restraint.
4. i'm fighting a cold. tired. eyes hurt. draining. must not lose my voice.
5. have decided that maybe colorado is not good for me. or maybe it's just winter weather. hard to fight discouragement and depression when it's always grey, gloomy and cold outside.
6. i have this dashboard jesus sitting on my desk... won it in a white elephant gift exchange. it's slightly sacreligious but OH so funny. haven't gotten the courage to put it anywhere, though. what would you recommend?? :)
   
7. i am not a good event coordinator. i hate major planning and volunteer/detail coordination. it stresses me so much my stomach shakes and gets sick. *sigh*
8. jody made the most wonderful stew dinner last night. i am continually amazed by his brilliant and creative cooking skills. i praise God for him.
9. it snowed last night, but i decided to wear my black flats to work anyway. that meant i was running around my car scraping and sweeping snow off my car... all the while the freezing cold snow was getting in my shoes and freezing my toes (thankfully it was only a couple of inches deep). i just didn't care. lol.
10. been meditating on this verse from lamentations: "I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope; Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." lamentations 3, 19-24
    

TO DO:

1. take honda to get repaired. took out a mailbox coming home from rebekah's. woops. :(
2. renew driver's license. dmv, here i come.
3. photography poses for jo habecker.
4. read my bible. talk with God.
5. tuxedo details. what am i going to do at the appointment?
6. get dress hemmed.
7. actively grow in trusting God.
8. keep working out 3x a week. this is what keeps me sane. :)
9. start picking out hiking/backpacking gear for europe.
10. um... start thinking about trip to europe. ha.
11. finalize music selection.
12. breathe. haha.

thank You, Lord, for carrying me through.

"first" impressions of america (reverse culture shock)

1. everyone is so friendly! people talk to strangers here. that's amazing.
2. life is much slower here. ahhhh. my stomach is slowly relaxing.
3. the air smells wonderfully sweet and heavy (currently from the humidity). where are the smells of car and bus exhaust, sewage, and garbage?!
4. there are so many trees and i can see wildlife. i forgot about the sounds of birds!
5. so much SPACE!!! i can go for stretches without seeing more than 5 people. that's phenomenal. awesome. wonderful.
6. ENGLISH! i can understand everything. it's amazing. things get accomplished so much more quickly because we speak the same language. communication IS key. but it's overwhelming. so much stimulation. where is the quiet?
7. i can't walk here very much. i miss having the choice to walk anywhere (if i wanted to).
8. my family is loud. and overpowering. and very opinionated. where is the quiet of my apartment?!
9. there are so many ridiculous and unnecessary choices here.. why is life so complicated? 50 types of cereal? come on, is that really necessary?
10. dryers and sink disposals are the best inventions EVER.

since i'm such a delinquent....

random thoughts from 2am in the morning:

1. the lack of counter space and the shortage of mixing bowls was really getting to jody tonight. but still, he had whipped up a wonderful meal of salmon, mashed potatoes, and cooked veggies by the time i got home.
2. the floors here are heated, so if you forget to push the 'absent' button, your feet will roast. that's what they're doing now.
3. it's testing time. that means lots of transition. and for my step 3 class, it means prince caspian, #4 of the chonicles of narnia series. that means reading, study questions, and vocabulary. wooohoooo.
4. i love the comic 'get fuzzy' .... you should, too. go online and google it. you'll find it amazing, too. i know it.
5. i am completely unaware of what is going on in the world. except for the fact that britney spears has shaved her head. i love how the whole universe is concerned about this. whatever happened to real issues?
6. it's getting warmer here. last night jody and i were able to walk to the high point outside of suji. we haven't done that since we were just chums oh, so long ago back in november.
7. i miss brittany. she's emailed me twice. that's more than she ever emailed me in the whole last year we've known each other. that must mean she misses me, too. i know. i'm pretty amazing.
8. there's so much going on at home. i wouldn't miss being here where i am for the world, but i wish i could be in two places at once because it'd be pretty sweet to be at home with the fam right now, too. but i wouldn't be able to do anything anyway.. just sit at starbucks and say hi to everyone i knew from working there. and run to my park and sit and talk to Jesus. because His vacation spot is my park, too. i'm sure of that. just like i'm sure His favorite football team is the denver broncos.
9. read #8 again. that last sentence. yes, you read it right.
10. tonight one of my students and i said 'yo' at the exact same time. he spent a year in canada. he's pretty hilarious. we gave each other high-fives. because how cool is that? for a short korean boy and a 23 year old completely white, un-ghetto girl to say 'yo' when it's totally wrong and uncool. we're amazing like that.
11. ramblings are completed for the night. the end.

requests from the children
those students of mine who are familiar with american wonders have put out a request. i am humbly sending a shout-out to those who love to put care packages together to send to the other side of the world. the list is as follows:

1. airheads***** <= that's 5 stars on the ruth's cool list
2. fireballs***
3. licorice*
4. sour heads (?)
5. jolly ranchers*****
6. nerds*****
7. twizzlers (okay, okay, that's just for me.)
   

i will also be teaching the books the little princess and anne of green gables in the future and would dearly love the DVDs. if you want to contribute either of those, i bless you over and over again.
if you need my address, just email me and i'll send it on to you. thanks a bunch, guys!

highlights from today

• got new glasses. they're pretty amazing. john got some new ones, too. mine were more expensive than his. slightly depressed about that.
• bumped into eunice on our way to lotte mart. decided to meet up for lunch.
• got free lunch coupons to macdonalds from the glasses store. decided we'd get macdonalds. i wish all decisions were as easy as that one.
• pulled out peter's first tooth. maternal feelings abound.
• taught my 2nd class more phone english. two hours later danny calls during my 3rd class. decided to pick it up - breaking a cardinal rule. i will not be owned by a small piece of metal.
  

  "miss ruth!"
  "hello. yes? who is this?"
  "this is danny, miss ruth!!! i don't know the homework. #6!!"
  "just a second, danny." (3rd class children giggling.
  they can hear danny yelling into the phone)
  "ok."
  "it's on page 19, danny. go to page 19."
  "ok, miss ruth. thank you!"
  "bubye, danny. love you!"

• talked about right and wrong, black and white... and that ever-increasing grey area in my 4th class. hoping for opportunities to make these kids think.

update:

1) eunice, my dear friend from church, felt compelled to give me two worship cds that she loves to listen to - by terry macalmon. come to find out, i had been really missing his worship music from back home and had only the night before been browsing his website and looking at the cds online. i love how the Lord works! since she gave them to me last week, i have been spending a lot more time in worship and praise. i am loving the presence of His Spirit and finding myself hungrier and hungrier for more of Him in my life.

p.s. john 13-17 is amazing...

2) mrs. kim and i have been talking about a change in my step 3 (advanced) program. we may be switching from 5 to 3 days a week - possibly a MWF deal - in which we will have to become a lot more focused in the curriculum. tomorrow morning she and i will go to little john's (an english curriculum bookstore) to pick out the next set of books for these kids. pray that God gives us wisdom! the strongest known possibility are the six remaining books of c.s. lewis' chronicles of narnia.

3) yesterday gabriella, one of my advanced students, had to give a speech in english about a favorite role model to her private christian school... along with i don't know how many others. i just got news tonight that of all the students, she won. her mother called mrs. kim to thank her and our school for all our hard work. it is so encouraging to hear this news! i am so proud of gabriella. she is a hard-working, diligent, and sweet girl, and she deserves this honor.

4) it's getting colder. tuesday i broke out my winter p-coat and scarf, and our school brought the heaters out from the basement. the temperature is still wavering between fall and winter, but yesterday and today it's been a little warmer. enough for late night walks to enjoy the clear night sky.

5) britt, stef, and i continue our tuesday night bible study. this tuesday we talked about dependence on God versus independence and relying on our own wisdom and reasoning as a result of the Fall. it was a really challenging topic, and we addressed the difficult issue of submitting every area of our lives.. all those decisions... to the Lord and allowing Him to lead and guide us. i pray God gives each of us a breakthrough as we seek to follow Him.

6) i am in communication with Operation Mobilization (OM) in the US, though i am not pushing the process. i'm content with where God has me here in korea, and i am kind of waiting until i go to germany over christmas for the Lord to make timing clear.. and just to get a sense of His heart. more details later...

my kids are here, so i should go. know that i love and miss you all. write when you can.

News flash:

1) it's friday!!! i cannot begin to describe how happy i am about that. and i know i am speaking on behalf of everybody here at ERC, as well. it's been a rough week for all of us, for some reason. nothing that can be pointed out, though.

2) the lady who serves us dinner downstairs says my language is alive when i'm talking (aka - i'm extremely animated). she doesn't speak any english, but i know she and the other ladies who cook for us get a kick out of me when i'm talking at the table with the other teachers.

3) we've been watching a copy of Cars in a few of my classes. the boys love it, though i know that they couldn't understand half of the slang and cultural aspects. so much of that movie is geared towards the american point-of-view, which is why i love it, too. it makes me long for home! life is a highway.. and i'm gonna ride it all night long... and 'mater is forever my favorite character. those two front teeth and the usage of the word 'knowed' is enough for me.

4) my friend jody is ridiculous.

5) i saw bikers on the road today. yes... black leather jackets, harleys... the whole nine yards. and i decided i had to share that with you. somehow, korea and bikers is just a humorous combination to me.

6) today mrs. lee brought in fries... only sweet potato fries. never had those before. :)

7) i finally bought my ticket for germany this christmas! YES! thank you to everyone who prayed. the trip will only be a week ~ dec 22-29, and i'll have a day and a half to recover from jetlag when i get back, so it works out well.

i love you. the end.

random observations from living in korea

1. korean women don't know the meaning of "bumming it." it is the norm to wear heels (with anything, mind you, but usually with the whole get-up)... usually a skirt, a lacy/frilly top, and a fair amount of make-up. i do believe a friend and teacher at church called the style 'victorian throw-up" ... but the possibilities to bash korean female fashion are endless and should therefore, probably be left largely unsaid. lol 
2. very few people wear braces. or have ever heard of Crest White strips. i think i'll be blinded when i return to the states. 
3. korean bathrooms are a cultural experience all their own. the likelihood of toilet paper in the public bathrooms is uncertain; sometimes it's there, but usually it's not. i have learned to keep a pack of tissues (just 500won ~ 50cents at a subway or convenience store) on hand for emergencies. and then there's the squatty potties. i wanted to post a picture of one, but then realized it would probably not be a very appealing shot. i've gotten pretty good at using them, though. and another thing - koreans are afraid to flush the toilet paper, so there are usually trash cans right next to the potty for soiled TP. yes, friends, yes. it's disgusting, i know... but.... WELCOME TO KOREA. (^.^) 
4. the age and hierarchical gap is a big deal. it's all about being on the same level with people, so koreans join as many clubs and groups as possible to increase their spheres of equal footing. you don't hang out with or marry someone who is too far above/below you. and this is reflected in their language, too (how they address each other, etc.) 
5. the concept of a line is foreign here. they don't know how to... or don't care about forming a clear line, where one person finishes and the others in the line wait calmly and patiently for their turns. so yeah, all those lessons your kindergarten teacher taught you about staying in line while walking through your school do you NO GOOD WHATSOEVER in getting your subway tickets or checking in your card at the YMCA. so go ahead, stick those elbows out and PUSH your way through. be as RUDE as you like, and you'll just be one of the crowd. 
6. traffic lights are more like suggestions to most drivers here. 'red' is the new 'green' ... or didn't you know?! 
7. pizza toppings have taken on a whole new meaning. try mustard and corn and potato slices.... all on the same pizza. oh yeah. yummy. and a whole pizza - sometimes pushing $25 or $30. phew! 
8. confucian thinking still undergirds most korean behavior. younger must respect and defer to older. if a halmoni (grandmother) gets on the bus and there is no available seat, i need to get out of mine and give it to her. everyone is bowing to everyone, and i've seen some pretty DEEP bows from little kids. it's HILARIOUS. also, so much more is left unsaid... it is inferred instead. i've gotten pretty good at reading what koreans are implying and learning how to - basically - communicate as they do... without actually learning their language. lol.

and that's all for now, folks.

 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.

Esther just told me I look like a cherry blossom...

I was thinking more along the lines of 'frumpled' and 'happy'.

• It's 60 degrees and sunny. Wouldn't a field trip to Baskin Robbins be nice?

• My room is now being used during the 3:00-4:20 class.

• It's movie night tonight for Step 3. The prospect of a "party" was the only thing keeping them going during last night's class.

• Now that the Dr. Hwang Woo-suk faking stem cell fiasco has died down, other things have been in the news...

• The United States has officially recognized Dokdo Island (long considered to be Korean in their own eyes) as belonging to the Japanese. Ooh, that's gotta hurt.

• Steelers player and Superbowl MVP Hines Ward is currently in Korea. Everybody is celebrating him as a hero. Strange to me, since American football is basically a footnote amongst other Korean sports. Still, his multi-racial background opens up discussion in this most-homogeneous nation. I hear the numbers of inter-racial marriages is rapidly increasing.

• Lee Seung-yeop, the Korean "power slugger" who signed on with the Yomiuri Giants, a Japanese central league team, is looking stateside....

from my students' journals:

"When I hated them I only thinked about the fiters in the war ... i wish that earth peace and Japan and Korea be friends"

"Argh my sister is so cruel She kicks me hits me with her elbow. Today I just poked her to make her laugh, but she elbowed me seventeen times. I was so mad that I kicked her, but she elbowed me ten times. I have a bruise now. Argh!"

these are the reasons why i teach.

jackie's an artist

my munchkins.

my little man, caleb.

• saw Le Hussard sur le toit (1995) this weekend. despite the mediocre ratings it got, i still loved it. olivier martinez certainly didn't make it any worse. :) as i told my mom, it has made me want to learn french. my first new word: avec "with" ... (from the credits watching the movie) amazing how it sticks with me. LOL. emily trimmed my hair, too, so i saved $15. saaaaweet.

• starting to pray and move in the direction of post-korea plans. please pray for me and that God would open the right doors.

• there is an older woman who i see every time i go work out, and we've begun smiling and acknowledging each other. i don't know her name or anything about her, but i think i like her very much. and of course, the trainer always smiles a huge smile and bows to every new person who comes in.

ok.. off to teach my children. my older ones had to write a journal entry on prejudice and discrimination, etc this weekend.... on friday we had a discussion on japanese - korean relations, so it made for a very good springboard for a written assignment. and today they've got a vocab quiz. let's hope we see some solid B and above grades. :)

okay. bye-bye!