The Choice Is Yours

“Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.”

This sums up my life the past few weeks! I know it’s been a couple of months and there is a huge gap in what’s been going on in my life, but today I feel like writing about the present! I’ll go back and get you caught up, don’t worry, but right now, I’m going to choose to be in the present!

I posted this quote on my facebook page and my sister asked me if I was the pigeon or the statue. Today I feel like the pigeon!! Sorry to all of those statues out there in this moment! You know when you just have one of those times in life?!? This is mine! AAAAHHHH!! I’m sitting in my freezing classroom, on minimal sleep, after taking a cold shower for the 2nd day in a row! We all know I wear my heart on my sleeve and that means showing how I feel. I’ve just been in a bad mood recently!

But then, just as quick as those emotions have come, I’m choosing to acknowledge them and change them. That’s the thing I’m learning more and more. I have the right to choose if that is how I’m going to spend my time and energy! This day, this very moment, is a chance to make a difference. I can’t allow my life to pass by me while I’m feeling sorry for myself. Sure bad things happen. Things don’t work out the way I think they should. I can’t let that dictate how I’m going to live though. It’s my choice to focus on all the negative things. I bet even on your worst day, there are just as many good things that are happening to you. It’s just a whole lot easier to focus on all the things that aren’t going right for me!

We all know that relationships are very important to me. It’s so interesting to look at them and see how they are all so different. I’m surrounded by people who have different forces driving them in their lives. I think we would all love to say that the Lord is our driving force! However, we all know, and I will be the first to admit it, many times that is not the case. Big picture, He is, but it’s all of those day to day forces that we get caught up in. I look around and I see people being forced by love… a new love or a love that has been stoked again. I see people living out of fear… fear of the unknown, fear of not being good enough! I see people yearning to be accepted! I see people fighting this inner battle that knocks them down time and time again. I see people consuming themselves in their work so they don’t have to face everything going on around them. I see people who are driven by the fact that they are just trying to stay afloat. I am thankful for the people I see that are driven by a passion for others; that passion for life that others can’t take away. I see people who are driven by adventure. I see people push through all of the junk and be optimistic. I see people who I think are a great reminder and example of the love and grace that the Lord offers us daily.

It’s easy to get so focused on ourselves and the things we’re going through, that we totally miss out on all that is around us! I know, by me being the ‘pigeon’ the past couple of days, I’ve missed out on the opportunity to share that love and peace with others. Sometimes we just need a good kick in the butt! I have a friend who always used to say “You just need to put on your big girl pants and do it!” Amen, sister!

Some of you may not have realized it, but today (at least for me here in Korea) is “Ash Wednesday.” I’ve really been contemplating what that means. Yeah, it means giving something up and I’ve been trying to decide on that, but it’s so much more than that! If nothing else, it’s an amazing reminder of what Jesus has done for each of us. Not b/c He had to, but b/c He CHOSE to!

CHOICE—it’s such a powerful thing! I can honestly say that is something I’ve learned more and more about while being here. I know I’ve shared this before, but I feel like I need to do it again. We are given so many choices in life that I think we just start to take them for granted! We have the choice to respond to things in a certain way. We have the choice to love others. We have the choice to make a choice or do nothing at all! This is such an incredible thing that is offered to us! I can tell the difference between the days that I naturally am having a good day or if I have to choose to have a good day. I know it’s not easy… boy do I know! Believe me, I don’t always succeed in having a ‘good day’… case in point the past couple of days, but I’m learning that I need to be intentional. I also remind myself that I’m human and I will fall short many times. That’s all part of the adventure though!

Wow, and what an adventure it’s been! It’s so easy to get caught up in the mundane day after day. But today I am choosing to step back and take in the whole picture! It really is breath-taking if I do say so!

I was talking to my friend last night and she told me a story of her 8 year old son. When faced with a difficult situation in front of him (attempting to climb over a fence with skates on) he said, “Mom, I was made to do difficult things!” I think we can learn a lot about life from the kids in our lives. I believe we were all ‘made to do difficult things.’ The difference is though, that some people will choose to ‘put on the big girl pants and do it,’ and some will choose to turn the other way and continue to walk in circles!

May each of you discover what your driving force is in your life! May you choose to make the choices in your life! And may you believe that you were ‘made to do difficult things!’

Part 2: "Oh The Places You'll Go!"

**If you are reading this and you haven’t read ‘Part 1’ stop, scroll down, and read below!** 

I have gotten to do some cool things lately! I’ve been busy pretty much every weekend… I’m not complaining though!

We went on another field trip together to Seoul/Incheon. This time we all had matching zip-up hoodies. And wouldn’t you know, it started raining the second we got out of the bus. It was dry the whole 2 hour bus ride there! So, they bought us all clear ponchos to wear! We were a sight! We went to a temple (again! ) and took pictures (which is the real reason we go, I think!!). We had a traditional Korean meal at a traditional Korean restaurant. Then we headed to the famous rock. But, by this time, it was pouring down and the wind was blowing like crazy! All 30+ of us climbed off the bus and ran to this rock. We posed, smiled, and snapped the picture! Then, we sprinted back to the bus! There was not a dry spot on me after that! Oh, but don’t worry, we got the picture! Our 3rd and final stop, was a viewing tower where we could see North Korea. It wasn’t a clear day obviously, so we didn’t really get to see it very well, but it was pretty intense! There was a room full of written prayers in hopes of reunification someday! It’s very interesting to see the dynamics between the North and South. After we left there, we boarded the bus to return home. The commute was supposed to be 1.5 hours each way. We were gone for 12 hours that day. We were off of the bus for a total of 3 hours max! Yep, that’s right, we spent a grand total of 9 hours on the bus! What a day, what a day!! A very memorable one!

Another day, Beth and I were feeling adventurous, so we decided to take a bus to Gongju, where there are these tombs from Kings. They were just discovered within the past 40 hears. It was a beautiful fall day! The trees were changing colors and it was so peaceful! One thing about Korea is you feel like you are constantly surrounded by people! But out there that afternoon was amazing! We went about 20 minutes without seeing another person… that NEVER happens! The tombs were pretty cool too! It was a nice, relaxing day! They also have a fortress wall that we will be checking out in the spring!

Pottery is very popular here in Korea. One Saturday morning we were supposed to go hiking, but it was raining. So we decided to go make pottery. We showed up at this pottery shop and asked if we could make pottery. This lady said yes, follow me. We all got into her car, (which was super tiny, we all could barely fit in it) and she took us to her private shop! Her father-in-law is a very famous potter! He has even traveled to the states to create pottery! She taught us how to make it! We each got to pick what we wanted. I decided to make a vase, but when I was finished, it ended up being a candy dish… imagine that! It was a fun experience! The pottery in her shop was beautiful!

We thought it would be fun to go to Seoul one night and do “night shopping.” Yes, it’s what it sounds like! We take the train up and go shopping throughout the night. I really enjoyed it! It was a little much for some people, but you know I loved it! I finished almost all of my shopping that night though. Shopping in Korea is definitely not as convenient as shopping in the states! Oh well, you get used to it and survive! This was one of the first cold nights and of course some of the shopping was outside! Brrr… 12 hours, one person lost and retrieved, 4 big shopping bags, and 10 exhausted foreigners later, we boarded the first train out of Seoul back to Cheonan at 5.45 am! I slept good that morning!

We made another trip to Seoul! This time it was one of the girl’s birthday. She wanted to go to the Science Museum. So, we found the stop and then eventually found the place! Yeah, a bit of a let down! I did learn that ‘Snipes’ exist though!! So, now I know what to look for when I go ‘Snipe Hunting’!!  We did find this really cool park though! It was in the prime season of fall, so the trees were gorgeous! We walked around and just took it all in! Then, we decided to try and find a Mexican restaurant b/c that is all she wanted for her birthday! We walked and walked, for a good hour and could not find this restaurant! Then, just as we were about to throw the towel in in defeat, we spotted this small sign ahead! Victory!! It was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!! Well worth the hour long walk in my opinion! We had to take the last train back to Cheonan that night. It was packed and we had to buy standing room only tickets, which means we had to jam into the food car along with about 100 others! We came across some interesting characters! Many intoxicated individuals! Oh that was a long train ride home!

A group of us also decided to take a trip to the DMZ. This is the ‘Demilitarized Zone’ between North and South Korea! We signed up to take the tour! This was incredible! We went to the military base on the South Korea side. We had an American soldier join us and give us a tour of the fort! We went to the sight of the South Korea welcoming building. Right across from it was the North Korea welcoming building. In the middle was a row of 4 buildings where they meet. There are guards that are always facing North Korea and guards who face the South Korea building also. I learned a lot of interesting things on this tour! The relationship between the 2 is very stressed! It was a pretty intense situation to be in! There is a propaganda village, where North Korea sat up all of these buildings and would invite on loud speakers the South Koreans to come over and live in this village which is like Paradise they said! We also saw the tower that blocks all signals of communication from South Korea. It does not allow North Korea to hear any news other then what the government wants them to hear. It is so sad! They have no idea what is going on in the world! They are brainwashed from birth and don’t know any different! Please say a pray for the citizens of North Korea as you are reading this! Being an American, I have no idea what these people are experiencing! We weren’t allowed to take pictures directly of North Korea. We went to a viewing tower so we could actually see North Korea. However, there is a line where we can’t go in front of if we wanted to take pictures. They had telescopes for us to use, but the wind was bitter cold and the metal hurt b/c it was so cold. Then, as we were looking over at North Korea, it started snowing! It was very poetic in my opinion! A bitter, cold, dim day! We then went to these tunnels. South Korea has discovered 3 underground tunnels that lead from North Korea into South Korea. They all go to Seoul! When North Korea was questioned about this, they said it was for coal (they painted the tunnels black b/c they thought that would convince them they were using it for coal instead of planning an attack!) We got to walk through one of these tunnels! We walked down hill about 1/4 a mile… not bad on the way down. But, on the way up, that’s a different story!! A nice little work-out!

The whole experience was very surreal. You hear about North Korea all the time. But to actually see it and experience this made it real! Many Koreans will not go to the DMZ b/c they don’t think it’s safe! It is also just too sad for many of them! They say when they see it, it makes what is going on so real! Some of them have family who lives in North Korea and they won’t ever get to see them! There is still a hope though among many Koreans that someday they will be reunified!

So, as you can see, I’ve been pretty busy! I have been experiencing Korea!! I still have a few more entries until you are caught up! I’ll work on that again tomorrow!!

Part 1: My Life 5 Days A Week

Okay, Okay!! I know, I know, I have HORRIBLE with this the past couple of months! Time just gets away from me and before I knew it, weeks have passed by. I didn’t think the holiday season would be as busy over here, but somehow it has been! You will be happy to know that my New Year’s Resolution is to keep my blog up to date! 

Let’s see, I feel like a lot has happened since my last entry! I guess I’ll start with all my school stuff! November was a difficult month! My teacher was extremely stressed out (which I know we all get sometimes) and I felt like she took it all out on me and our students. She told me she didn’t like me and I wasn’t a good teacher! That was a very humbling experience! It got to the point where I had to talk to my director and ask to switch schools at semester. She called my teacher to tell her I would be switching and my teacher told her she didn’t want me to leave! (I thought it was weird b/c she started being very nice to me and apologized! Now I know why!!) I had been praying a lot about this and I knew the Lord was going to place me where I needed to be. My director asked if it was okay for me to stay at my school and I said yes. So, I’m staying, which is good b/c I love my students and the other teachers. (I did find out that my favorite teacher is moving! He’s one that I play volleyball with.)

The past few weeks have been a lot better! I know that the Lord is teaching me something through this relationship… just not quite sure what yet!  But seriously, I know the Lord’s hand is in this and on this situation and I’ve decided I don’t need to worry about it at all! Once I finally grasped that, it’s been a lot easier to deal with! Man, what is is with me and difficult bosses?!? Par for the course I guess… they’re all great learning experiences!

My students still bring a smile to my face though! They can be the sweetest kids ever! I had a boy in one of my classes crying and the girl who sets next to him wiped his tears for him! It was one of the most precious things I’ve seen! They can also be quite ornery though, too! I had one boy tell me, “Teacher, S-Line, nice-uh!” Now every time he sees me he says it b/c he knows it makes me laugh! I had a fourth grade boy come up to me before class and recite, from memory, a dialogue that was over 10 sentences long! He had a whole conversation with himself! He asked him the questions and then he answered them! I just had to laugh!

One afternoon, I looked my window and noticed that some of my 6th grade boys were outside playing baseball! I decided to take my camera out with me and check out what was going on! I honestly felt like I stepped into the Korean version of ‘Sandlot!’ These boys were crazy! Some of them were even wearing Chuck Taylors! They saw my camera, so they wanted me to take pictures of them! Of course I did… how could I resist those faces?!? I had a great conversation with one of my boys. He speaks such great English and I didn’t even know it! It was a lot of fun! I also have this one boy who reminds me of ‘Yeah Yeah’ from Sandlot. But instead of saying ‘yeah, yeah’ all the time he says ‘okay, okay!’ I still laugh every time I hear him!

It has also snowed here quite a bit the past week! So the morning after our first snow that actually stuck, I had one of my boys come in and ask me if they could have a snow fight during English class?!? I asked my Korean teacher and she said it was my choice. I asked her if it was okay though and she said yes! So, we went outside during the first class and had a snowball fight! The kids Loved it… as so did I! That is something we could never get away with in the states! But it sure was fun here!

I have been trying to do something fun for my Christmas Lessons! Christmas is just not big over here. They celebrate it, but it’s not a month long celebration like it is for us! We made Christmas cards for each other! Man, I have some brilliantly artistic kids! I want them to make me a picture!!  I also taught them the 12 Days of Christmas—Shrek style! They loved it and it was so much fun to teach it!

I am so sad though, b/c I will not teach my 6th graders anymore! Most teachers don’t care too much for this age group, but I LOVE them! I will miss them so much when they go to Middle School! I guess I’ll just have to find a new group to love!

So, this is a short summary of what I’ve been up to at school! I’ll work on getting you up-to-date on everything else soon! Thanks for sharing this journey with me and listening to all of my crazy stories!!

Week in Review

It’s the end of another week. Fridays keep coming faster and faster. Is it really already the middle of October… where does time go?? There’s only 70 days until Christmas… have you started your shopping yet? I’m almost finished… does that surprise you?!? J

Well, this week was a laid back week for me. I didn’t have to plan any lessons. I gave a test the first 2 days and we watched movies the other 3 days. Let’s see, I have the first 30 minutes of Kung Fu Panda, Stuart Little, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The one I’ve actually seen all the way through is Stuart Little. The suspense is killing me… I’ve gotta finish them! For some reason I’ve been craving chocolate the past few days… Oh Wonka!

Thankfully school has been a lot less stressful lately. I actually enjoy getting up and going to work. It always helps when you like what you do! It doesn’t just feel like a “job” to me! I think it’s mostly b/c of my kids! They’re always entertaining!

One of my 6th grade boys does not speak English, well a lot of them don’t actually. But this boy always comes in to my room early to talk me. It doesn’t always go smoothly! He has leaned one statement that is golden and he uses it all the time—“I am a genius!” (Actually he says, “I am genius!” Which makes it even funnier in my opinion!) You’ve gotta give him credit for trying!

This week we played volleyball again. Man, I had the ad realization this week that I’m not as young as I once was! It’s been cooler here recently. Thy gym was a bit frigid when we started, so it was difficult to get warm. I was the only hitter on my team and we played games. I hit in 5 1/2 of those games. My shoulder was a bit sore after that. My knees were killing me too whenever I walked down the stairs. I was so stiff the next day! Sad, sad day… I’m getting old!

A few of my 6th grade boys came to watch b/c their teacher plays. It was too cute, they got so nervous when I tried to talk to them. It’s funny thought b/c normally, especially in class, he talks to me often. He has pretty good English too. I think he got nervous b/c there were other teachers around.

We finished up the games for the day. We got in a lot of games thorugh. It was real fun! “Talking smack” was at its finest too! After the game, I went to help take down the net like I do every week. One of the guys said, “No Becky, I will do this. In Korea men work. You are finished.” I tried again, but didn’t want to push the issue. He’s such a gentleman.

As I was leaving that day, I met up with the 2 boys who were watching us play. They asked if I was driving or taking the bus. I obviously said the bus and he said “Me too!” We started walking to the bus stop together. He told me to wait as he rain in to the convenient store. I knew my bus was coming soon, but I decided to wait b/c they were acrually speaking English to me. About the time we started walking again, I see the #12 bus fly by (which is my bus)! I ended up having to wait like 10 or 15 minutes for the next bus, but that’s okay! I was just proud of the boys for talking to me!

I got to attend this super fun conference this week on teaching TESOL (**Please note this statement if FULL of sarcasm even though you can’t hear me saying it!)!! I survived, got some good ideas, got to see all the other Native Speaking teachers and got a free meal (Korean meal, but that’s okay)… trying to look at the positives!

Overall, this has been a good week! The weather has been amazing. Well, except for Tuesday night when it poured a cold rain along with a thunderstorm! Those are fun every once in awhile though! It’s been sunny, cool, and gorgeous! I’m going hiking this weekend, so hopefully I have some pictures soon!!

The "Real" Korean Experience

I have had quite the “Korean Experience” recently! I’ve got to see a lot of Korean culture and experience some cool stuff!

On Friday I did not have to teach. My 6th graders were reviewing for a test, so English class was canceled for the day.

I asked my teacher on Thursday, “So do I need to come to school tomorrow?”
She said, “Oh, you get to sit in your classroom.”
I said, “Oh, I get to just sit there all day?”
And she said, “Yeah, you get a free day!”

Oh joy! So I prepared myself for a long day! I brought in a couple of TV series to watch and a few movies. I was determined not to sit on Facebook all day! My teacher came into my room that morning and said, “Becky, I have great news! I talked to my Principal and Vice Principal and they said we can go outside today (which means we can leave)!" Yeah, the day just got brighter at that point!

So, she took me to a traditional Korean Folk Village. We drove to Asan (which is a city about 20 minutes away) and spent the day at this village. They had examples of older Korean homes and showed what a village would have looked like. (This was an original village though.) It was beautiful scenery! It is surrounded by mountains. The sun was shining and it was a cool day… B-E-A-utiful! It was really cool to experience this with a Korean b/c she was able to explain stuff to me (which she absolutely loved to do!)

Then we met her husband at this traditional Korean restaurant in the village. We had this ball of corn and Korean pizza. Thankfully I liked the food. That could have been very bad if I didn’t! It was neat to be able to meet her husband. He didn’t speak English, but we figured it out with the help from my teacher. We ate outside under this gazebo type of things. It was quite the experience!

After the traditional village, she wanted to take me to this store with “big sizes.” A “big size” here in Korea is like a size 8. So, all foreigners are pretty much “big.” She picked out clothes for me to try on. Oh this was fun! I knew I wasn’t going to get anything, but I thought I’d humor her. She picked out some jeans with some “bling” on the back pocket. She said these were better then the ones I was wearing that day. Mine aren’t “bedazzled” enough I guess! Then she picked out 3 shirts for me to try on. A couple of them were okay, but too expensive. She asked me which I liked best and I said #1 or #3. She told me #1 looked like a University student or someone in there early 20’s would wear. She then said #3 looked more like a lady and what a teacher would wear! Ha! I just smiled and nodded. I chose to embrace the whole experience!
It was actually an amazing day! It was just what we needed! My teacher and I were having some issues, but now I think we are officially past them. It’s amazing what a little prayer can do! I feel a lot more comfortable and confident. She told the vice principal that I had been working hardly. (For some reason she can’t comprehend the different between ‘hard’ and ‘hardly.’ She thinks they’re the same. She always tells me I’m working hardly. I just have to laugh on the inside!) They decided I deserved time out! I wasn’t going to disagree with them! We really enjoyed our time together!

That was quite the ‘Korean Experience.’ But then I had the unique opportunity to attend a Korean wedding. One of the teachers from the school I teach at on Saturdays got married, so I went with my friend Heather to the wedding (this is her actual school.) We loaded a Greyhound Bus Saturday afternoon with other teachers from the school and headed to the wedding! In Korea, they get married at wedding halls. They are definitely different then weddings in America. Instead of giving gifts, you give money in an envelope (no card, you just write your name on the outside of the envelope). This is to help the couple with the costs of food and what not. When you arrive, you find the hall with the wedding you are attending in (there are more than one going on at a time). There are people standing outside and you give them the envelope. There was another wedding going on in the hall we were going to, so we had to wait for ours. There is a room off of the main room where the bride sits on a pedestal and lets her guests come in and take pictures with her. I was going to just take pictures for my friend, but the bride said, “No, no, you come and take the picture with us too!” So, I took a picture with a bride I had just met! Then, the videographer stuck the camera in my face and wanted me to say something to the couple! I froze; I don’t even know these people! So, I smiled and said, “Congratulations!” Yeah, that was a bit awkward!

After the pictures we went back out to the foyer to wait for the wedding. We began to panic though b/c we did not see anyone we knew, or at least anyone Heather knew b/c I didn’t know anyone! We just sort of stood there for a bit. Then one of her teachers came up to get us and told us to come and eat. See, there’s a banquet hall in this building and it’s just a big buffet. You get a ticket for food when you give them the envelope of money. Then you get to eat at the buffet. There were people in there eating from all sorts of weddings. You can eat any time you want. You can eat before the wedding, after the wedding, or even during the wedding! It’s an experience, remember?!? So, we ate and headed back upstairs for the wedding. When we make it up to the hall, she was already walking down the aisle. We slipped in the back and stood. This appears to be a very informal ceremony. People come and go as they please. People are talking through the whole thing. It isn’t the least bit romantic! They had a guy play the saxophone, which was pretty cool, and then they had some of her former students sing. They have many traditions that I tried to understand, but it was a bit difficult with the language barrier! They bow to both sets of parents and they cut a cake right there in the ceremony! They walk down the aisle and then they take group photos! The whole thing was such a cool thing to be a part of! I took pictures to try and allow others to see it. I hope it works!

We decided to venture to Seoul for the night. We were told about this “night shopping” in a market. We decided to check it out. We heard it does not open until after midnight! We found a market at about 10.30pm, but it was closed. We decided to find some place to sit and wait. We went to a restaurant and got a Coke, talked and waited for the market to open a midnight. We back at 12.15, but it was still closed. We were so confused. We found this hotel and asked if we could use the restroom. They said they did not have one. Then we asked if he knew where the market was. He said around the corner and it was open 24 hours! We were waiting on the wrong corner… story of my life! We found it though, that’s all that matters!
At about 2.30am, we decided to call it a night and head to the jimjubang! This is a communal place for people to sleep. It’s not the most ideal place to stay, but it’s super cheap… I’m trying to be more frugal! J We ended up sleeping on a tile floor. No mat, now towel, no blanket, just a tile floor with a small square ‘pillow.’ Let’s just say you don’t get the best sleep here! We decided to stay in Seoul Sunday morning and get breakfast! We went back to Butterfinger Pancakes… home of the best Breakfast in Korea!

It was a long weekend, but a good weekend! To round out my cultural experience, I went to the ballet last night! I never knew I was such a fan! My friend got 2 free tickets and asked if I wanted to go. Of course I wanted to go! We showed up and quickly realized that it was free to everyone! The place was packed! They ran out of seats long before we got there! There were Koreans everywhere! Every free sitting or standing spot was taken. People were standing on the sides and in the back; they were sitting in the aisles and on each other’s laps! We managed to find 2 spots on the far stairs and we actually got to sit! It was a process to get there! People don’t move here. You have to push your way through, literally. They also push… hard! At one point I was standing on one stair and I was surrounded on all sides. This lady tried to come through and pushed me! I started falling backwards and almost took out a whole aisle! I hung on… barely!

The first part was more of a showcase and the second part was a traditional Korean ballet. They were so graceful and amazing to watch. I’ve never got caught up in anything like this before, but it was an incredible experience! We just sat on our stair and took it all in. It was very “Korean” but that’s what I loved about it!

After the ballet we walked outside and it was down pouring! Not just a little rain, a constant, cold rain! You have not experienced an entertaining rain, until you’ve experienced it with Koreans. They run and scream and put their hands over their heads to protect their hair… yeah like that’s going to help! We ran to the taxi stand and waited for about five minutes. We quickly realized that there were no taxis doming! We decided to head out to the main street to try and get one. By the time we finally got one flagged down, we were soaked and freezing! We were just thankful to finally get one! That would have been a rough walk home!So, I’ve definitely got my status quo on Korean culture for now! I love it! It makes me want to learn more and see more! They have so much to do here! Korea is known for their many festivals! Every city has their own festival! But unfortunately b/c of H1N1 (the swine flu) they’ve all been canceled! I was very disappointed to hear this all! Guess we’ll just have to find our own adventures now!!

Happy Cheseok!

It is officially fall here in Korea! The weather is amazing and the days are beautiful! The air is crisp and even has a slight chill to it at times. It reminds me of home more often then not. I’ve been starting my days off with a hot cup of tea! Mmm… have I told you I just LOVE fall?!?

Two weeks ago Korea celebrated Chuseok. This is their Thanksgiving. They spend time with family and give presents during this time. Most women don’t care too much for this holiday b/c they spend most of the time at their in-laws and are super busy b/c all they do is cook! (This is nothing like America… yeah right! J) This is one of the biggest holidays in Korea. I decided to make my teachers something instead of buying them something (imagine that, right?!?) I decided to try banana bread! Wow, I made 12 loaves of bread… it was crazy, but fun! They seemed to like it (that’s rally good b/c they usually don’t’ like ‘sweets.’) They give gifts like fruit, socks, or soaps & lotions. I got socks, songpyeon (traditional Korean rice cakes) and chestnuts!

I had a 3 day weekend and decided to take this time to rest! It was amazing… jut what I needed! Campus was dead b/c all the students were gone and it was so peaceful. A few of us made “Brinner” (breakfast for dinner) and had our own version of Chuseok dinner. We also had a BBQ with foreigners for those of us who were still around! Traffic on Thursday and Friday was terrible… I didn’t leave campus! But on Saturday it was like a ghost town! Everyone was celebrating Chuseok with their families. My Vice Principal brought me mandarins on Monday as a gift! It was a fun experience!

When I returned to school on Monday, I had a new schedule. I had to say goodbye to my 3rd graders! That was a sad day! They were so cute and sweet. Some of them wrote me notes and gave me candy! Thankfully I am on their hall, so I will still get to see them. In March, the next school year begins, so I will have them again in March as 4th graders. I started teaching 4th graders this week. I was anzious to get started! They are definitely crazier then my 3rd graders were, but I think they’ll be a fun group! I’m looking forward to teaching them!

I was going through picture cards with my student and I came across a picture of juice in a glass and I said, “What’s this?” and one of my boys says, “It’s wine!” What?!? Like I would show Elementary school kids wine and teach them what it was. Oh Korea!

I have more and more students coming in early or during their breaks to talk to me! It’s fun and so cute to hear them try to practice their English! They are brave souls! Sometimes I’ll give them a sticker or some candy for being brave and trying! The numbers usually increase the next day. J There are definitely a few students who speak better English then my teachers do. The other day my head teacher was trying to say something and se what saying it completely wrong. I looked over at one of the students who is pretty good at English and I could see his wheels turning and thinking “She’s not saying that correct.” He was very respectful though and said nothing!

I am still playing volleyball with the teachers. We play about every other week. This week was a lot of fun though. I was hitting outside and the guy on the other side of the net is about 6’3”. So, he had a pretty good block. There was one time where hime and another guy tried to bock me and I hit through the block. One of the teachers on my team (the PE teacher who I really like) started talking smack on them. He was giving them a hard time, in Korean of course, for not being able to block me! (I could totally understand what he was saying b/c of this body language and tone.) I had to laugh. Then the guy did block me and the teacher gave him a hard time for blocking a girl! He said to me after the block, “Oh, I’m sorry!” (He was serious!!!) Ha, I love that “smack talk” can be translated in any language! I’m so thankful that I have this opportunity to connect with the teachers AND do something that I love! God knew I needed this!

We recently found an American restaurant downtown. It’s pretty legit too. A little expensive, but it’s good! I had a real chicken sandwich! This may not sound like a big deal, but it is! Ask anyone who’s lived overseas for an extended period of time. And they will all say you treasure those small things, like a real American meal! It’s funny b/c the more I live in Korea, the more I don’t care too much for the food! I’ll survive, but I always welcome familiarity and comfort food! We also found this pizza shop, right by campus! They have real oven brick pizzas! It’s so good, I’d actually eat this pizza in America. The owner studied in Italy. We eat there about 1 time every week or two. It’s definitely the place I go to if I’m having a day where I miss home… it’s my comfort food!

I have really been enjoying my small group. We have been going through NOOMA videos and we’ve had some great discussions. This is a place to be challenged and encouraged! There are about 11 or 12 of us that meet and it’s really great! I’m so thankful for this group! IT’s amazing to me the types of relationships you can have when you connect spiritually with other believers. I encourage everyone to find a small group if you aren’t already a part of one. This is what we were created for—fellowship with others.

I also had the opportunity to get together with a lady from church. Her and her husband both went to MNU and they are from Kansas City. It was great to get together with someone from home and talk about life! She was very encouraging. It reminds me yet again what a small world this place truly is!

I definitely had a moment this week of “Is this really my life?” Yes, it is! I currently live half way around the world and I’m having a once in a lifetime opportunity! I have good days and I have bad days! But I’m growing and learning so much! There are days I wish I could sit and enjoy a football game on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. There are times I want to get in my car and just drive on the open road. There are definitely days I wish I could go to Chipotle and have a burrito bowl. And there are more days then not I wish I could just hang out with my nieces for the day! But I can’t and that’s okay! There are many things I’m able to do over here that I couldn’t do at home. Life isn’t always about convenience! It’s the things you have to work for that you treasure the most! I miss my family and friends terribly, but I’m having quite the adventure! I wouldn’t trade this time for anything!

I'm Choosing to Make Lemonade!

Man, time is just flying by here! The weeks and days are going my so fast! I have been here for over 4 months now! That is a 1/3 of the way there! I can’t believe it! Time just gets away from me here and before I know it, it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve updated you! Sorry about that!

The weather here in Korea is definitely fall weather! It is starting to get cooler… which is a nice change! It is a lot less humid, so this makes for more pleasant days! The temperature is usually in the 70’s or 80’s. The weather here is actually very similar to the weather in Kansas. Usually when I talk to people at home, we are experiencing about the same! That’s nice… It’s like a little piece of home! J I must admit though, I miss getting ready for the fall. The smells aren’t quite the same here! They don’t have Halloween, so I haven’t seen pumpkins and I know there will be no pumpkin carving! I’m missing some of my favorites, like ‘pumpkin spice’ candles, caramel for my apples, Orange Oreos, and Pumpkin Shaped Reese’s Peanut Butter cups! Now those say ‘fall’ to me! There are definitely certain things that just aren’t home! Peanut butter and chocolate snacks together, just never caught on over here! So, you can’t find things like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups! It’s all about sacrifice… right?!? J

We are about to celebrate Chusok here I know Korea. This is their Thanksgiving. It is the biggest holiday in Korea. They spend this time with their families and eat very traditional meals. They also buy gifts for each other. It is similar to Christmas for us in that way. We get Friday off, so no complaints here! I’m anxious to experience this here! I think it has potential to be a lot of fun!

Let’s see, how have my students been entertaining recently?!? I feel like they are always doing something! I’ve been teaching more so I have a lot more interaction with my students inside of the classroom! I’m really glad about that! It helps my days and weeks go by a lot faster!

They just come up with the cutest things to say! One of my students asked me if I was married. She couldn’t quite figure out how to ask me in English, so she started singing the ‘Wedding March!’ It was so funny!

I have one 6th grade boy who always comes into class early and says, “I love you!” and then puts up a heart over his head! I always just laugh at him. But this week my head teacher said, “Do you really have those feelings?” (She said this in English and this boy does not speak English. I wasn’t quite sure where she was going with this!) She told me he doesn’t so he shouldn’t say it. Yeah, he still says it!

I was looking at my Facebook account one day! (This is something I do often b/c I have so much free time!) One of my girls came in and said, “Oh, Facebook. I know that!” She hasn’t found me yet, which is quite surprising! I love that even in Korea, you can find Facebook!

My 6th grade boys are ornery, but they know exactly what to say to me! They will do something and then I will go to get on to them and then they will just smile at me! They have the cutest little smiles where their eyes twinkle. Yeah, I lose all of my power, b/c they just melt my heart! In one of my classes there are these 2 boys who are best friends. They are also very much the leaders in the class. Whatever they do, their classmates follow. So, one day they were coming in late and I met them in the hallway. I told them if they participated and listened in class, I’d have something for them after class. I gave them a ‘high-five’ to signify the fact that they got it and they were going to do it. Then one of the boys grabbed my hand and tried to walk into class that way! Oh boys… they never change… even half way around the world!

I also had one of my boys give me his phone number. He took my phone and typed in his number then called his phone so he’d have my number! If only older boys were that persistent! J (This is the same boy who wrote me the letter earlier in the year!) Then one day in class he was sitting with some girls and he was not paying attention in class. I had to tell their table a couple of times to get back on task. He came into my room during the next break and apologized to me for not listening. He said, “I’m sorry I was not listening and paying attention in class.” Of course I to tell him it was okay!

My 3rd graders are pretty cute, too! I am sad b/c this is my last week with them! I start 4th grade next week. They are just so funny. I pointed to a character in the book and I asked who this was. The class said ‘Joon,’ and I had to say no. So, one boy said, ‘July?’ I laughed out loud on that one! At least he was getting the months figured out!

For some reason, they don’t have screens here on their windows. They don’t like to run the air either. So, they have a whole wall of windows they open up everyday. Of course, if there are no screens, then things can fly in. For some reason last week wasps were really bad. We had one fly in during the middle of the class and the students freaked out! They started screaming and some tried to get under their tables! If they had coats on, they pulled their hoods up over their heads. The teacher turned the lights off and had them put their heads down! Like that’s going to make the wasp think that they weren’t there or something?!? So, we had to take about a 15 minute break until the wasp flew out! I had to hide my face with my paper so they wouldn’t see me laughing! There was one boy in one my classes who said while we were waiting, “Teacher, English please!” He didn’t want to just sit there, he wanted me to start teaching again! Finally, the teacher took a book and swatted it down when it landed! Now that was entertaining!

I also got to experience my first fire drill here at school! I’m in the middle of teaching and a voice comes over the loud speaker. My teacher told me they said there was going to be a fire drill. She then told me to keep teaching b/c we had about 10 or 15 minutes before it would go off. So, I start teaching again. Then she tells me to stop and they line the students up (no bell has rung yet!) I asked her if we needed to go and she said, “No, we will have a break time!” So, I went to my classroom, the bell rang and all of the students went outside. Well, as I’m sitting at my desk, I start to smell smoke! Now my first reaction was, what are the odds of a real fire happening during a drill?!? Then it hit me, I’m smelling smoke and I am still INSIDE the school! I hear the students outside so I run over to my windows and look outside! There is a fire… but it’s in a fire pit. They actually started a real fire for the drill. I’d like to see that happen in the states! I was relieved to know that it was really just a practice though!

There are times, many times actually, that I will be teaching in my books and find something misspelled or it will just be wrong. Usually it’s not a big deal and I can just move right past it and correct it as I go! But the other day I had to chuckle at one of them. I was showing the students flashcards that are magnets. We came across a picture of a zebra, but it was labeled as a horse! Thankfully, the students knew it as a zebra and not a horse… I would have been worried if it was the other way around!

I played volleyball again this past week. Man, I ‘m so glad I get to do this! It’s fun and I love getting to know the guys better. This is the reason I actually have a relationship with most of them! There’s this one older guy that I just love! He’s a setter, but for some reason we’re never on the same team! He’s a tricky little guy. But, he’s on of my biggest fans! He’s so fun! We also had some other fans there this week! My 5th and 6th grade boys that play basketball showed up at the gym. They came in like 1 or 2 at a time. They were so cute! They’d look at me and smile and wave. It was like they were shocked to see me playing. They started cheering for the team I was on! Then, they’d try to tell me something in Korean but I couldn’t understand them. So then they’d just start playing charades with me! I think I scored some major points with the 6th grade boys though, b/c the next 2 days they did great in class! It’s funny how different things can be for you inside the classroom when you can connect with the student outside of the classroom.

My teachers can tell me some funny things too. The other day after lunch, I went to one of the teacher’s rooms with a group. We were eating chestnuts (which I’m not too sure if I’m a fan of or not!) and they were asking me questions and we were talking. One of them told me that Korean guys like to marry teachers. They are a ‘hot commodities’ over here (those weren’t her exact words but that is definitely what she was meaning!!). I asked why and she told me b/c they get off of work earlier then other jobs, so they can come home and have dinner cooked and ready for the husband when he gets home! Are you kidding me?!? (And this is reason #92 why I could not marry a Korean!!) She was laughing when she said this, but it’s true! My, oh my!

My relationship with my teacher is a lot better now, too! My director called and talked to her. She told her if I wasn’t teaching then I’d have to change schools. She didn’t want to lose a native speaker, so now I teach! It’s fun and it helps the days go by a lot quicker! To be honest though, that was a huge growing time for me! I had to have a lot of “Becky—God time” during those weeks. It was tough. I wasn’t happy with my job, so that made for some rough weeks! Thankfully I had a few people here who would let me vent and then help me to move on. Those relationships are a lot closer now b/c of it! I’m just glad that’s behind me for now!

I’m finally starting to get into my groove here and boy does it feel good!