Thursday night I had dinner with two of my dear friends. They are both Asian, but native English speakers. They do spicy food and chopsticks much better than I do. (Normally I do okay... but things just didn't go well on this particular night...) I had to add water to my meal because it was so spicy. I couldn't even get the food on my plate because it was so slippery! They had to put it on my plate for me. Definitely humbling... I felt like a failure at adapting to Korean culture.
I'm just not Asian... as hard as I try sometimes... Fortunately, God has blessed me with amazing friends that are incredibly kind and understanding and patient with my non-Asian-ness.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Daeboreum
On Monday, I had a delightful lunch with Kyunghan (one of my co-teachers) and her boyfriend, Seong-phil (pictured below).
They are so sweet... and so much fun to hang out with! We had a delightful time together. =)
We had a TON of food. I tried samgaetang (soup with rice inside of a chicken) for the first time. It was pretty good - although I wasn't quite sure how to eat it. =)
After lunch, we went to the Namsangol Hanok Village for the Daeboreum celebration. It's only ONE subway stop away from me... and I have been completely unaware this whole time!
Daeboreum is traditionally celebrated each year 15 days after the lunar new year; it's the celebration of the first (and biggest) full moon of the year. People traditionally pray to the moon. I'm not sure how much people actually believe this now... Seong-phil and Kyunghan are Christians, so they don't pray to the moon. I was really thankful that they shared this tradition with me, though. It was quite educational and I really enjoyed learning about some old Korean traditions.
This is the wishing tree. All of those bright colors are people's wishes. In the evening, they burn the tree and then the ashes are used as fertilizer for good crops (according to tradition).
At the village that we visited, they had lots of traditional Korean games. Here, Kyunghan is trying to keep this metal rim off the ground. It was actually quite a challenging task!
An old-school traditional Korean home (for quite wealthy people). Seong-phil was incredibly knowledgeable about the history of these buildings. I think my Dad would have enjoyed hearing about it... since he's a builder and all. =)
Making popcorn the old-fashioned way!
Reminded me of my Grandpa and Papu... we used to eat popcorn together all the time! =)
They are so sweet... and so much fun to hang out with! We had a delightful time together. =)
We had a TON of food. I tried samgaetang (soup with rice inside of a chicken) for the first time. It was pretty good - although I wasn't quite sure how to eat it. =)
After lunch, we went to the Namsangol Hanok Village for the Daeboreum celebration. It's only ONE subway stop away from me... and I have been completely unaware this whole time!
Daeboreum is traditionally celebrated each year 15 days after the lunar new year; it's the celebration of the first (and biggest) full moon of the year. People traditionally pray to the moon. I'm not sure how much people actually believe this now... Seong-phil and Kyunghan are Christians, so they don't pray to the moon. I was really thankful that they shared this tradition with me, though. It was quite educational and I really enjoyed learning about some old Korean traditions.
This is the wishing tree. All of those bright colors are people's wishes. In the evening, they burn the tree and then the ashes are used as fertilizer for good crops (according to tradition).
At the village that we visited, they had lots of traditional Korean games. Here, Kyunghan is trying to keep this metal rim off the ground. It was actually quite a challenging task!
An old-school traditional Korean home (for quite wealthy people). Seong-phil was incredibly knowledgeable about the history of these buildings. I think my Dad would have enjoyed hearing about it... since he's a builder and all. =)
Making popcorn the old-fashioned way!
Reminded me of my Grandpa and Papu... we used to eat popcorn together all the time! =)
Monday, February 9, 2009
Graduation Day
Last Thursday, our 3rd graders (9th graders) graduated from Cheongryang Middle School. I was kind of excited to attend the ceremony, since I'd never attended a graduation ceremony in a foreign country.
We don't have a gym at our school, so we had to use the Cheongryang High School gym (conveniently located next door to our middle school).
It was mostly similar to our ceremonies at home... except for the following:
- It was in the middle of the day.
- The students just wore their regular school uniforms (didn't get dressed up at all).
- Interesting awards such as "Most Economical" were given to students.
- The students (of course) bowed three times when they received their special rewards.
- The teachers were not required to attend.
I'm glad I went. I was proud of my students... and thankful for Kyunghan's translating!
We don't have a gym at our school, so we had to use the Cheongryang High School gym (conveniently located next door to our middle school).
It was mostly similar to our ceremonies at home... except for the following:
- It was in the middle of the day.
- The students just wore their regular school uniforms (didn't get dressed up at all).
- Interesting awards such as "Most Economical" were given to students.
- The students (of course) bowed three times when they received their special rewards.
- The teachers were not required to attend.
I'm glad I went. I was proud of my students... and thankful for Kyunghan's translating!
Another Lesson on Faith
Last week, one of the teachers at my school informed me that she had to have a biopsy to check for breast cancer. She was really worried... and I was really concerned about her as well. So, we prayed together (she is also a believer)... asked several others to pray as well... and decided to trust the Lord to heal her.
Thursday afternoon she received a phone call from her doctor - saying they won't need to see her until August!!! We had such a time of rejoicing when she received the call. Praise God for granting peace to her heart and restoring her health.
She told me that she is so thankful for this experience because God really taught her to thank Him for each day - the exciting days and the "mundane" ones (what a good reminder for me as well). What a gift life is! How easily we forget and get bogged down with worry. The Lord is faithful!
It was a good "faith-builder" for me... as I've been realizing more and more lately that this is certainly an area for me to grow in. Before, I would have been too nervous to pray for healing - afraid that God wouldn't heal her. But I've been challenged to pray with more faith as I've been reading through the Gospels recently.
Psalm 105
Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
Look to the LORD and his strength;
seek his face always.
Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced...
Monday, February 2, 2009
Alive Again
Today all of the teachers and students came back to school!!! I was SOOOOOOOOOOO happy! They are only back for one week (it's the final week of the school year) and the 3rd graders (9th graders) will graduate at the end of the week. Then we'll have three more weeks of winter vacation before the new school year begins in March. Thus, "teaching" is rather interesting this week. I knew that there was no sense trying to plan a lesson with expectations of them listening attentively and actually gaining new information. So, we just played a fun English game and they still had to practice speaking, writing, and listening. It worked out for the most part. However, even though several students misbehaved... it did not make me nearly as frustrated as I would have felt last semester. I was just so happy to have them back!
I'm learning that although I really do love and cherish alone time... I really need PEOPLE! It's funny. Even though I didn't have a ton of significant conversations, it was just meaningful to have people running in and out of the office, hearing the copy machine running like crazy, exchanging greetings with students and teachers alike, even eating the Korean cafeteria food with the rest of the teachers in the dining room, etc. I found myself walking around with a bit of a bounce in my step - something that I think has been missing for awhile, maybe.
I'm learning that although I really do love and cherish alone time... I really need PEOPLE! It's funny. Even though I didn't have a ton of significant conversations, it was just meaningful to have people running in and out of the office, hearing the copy machine running like crazy, exchanging greetings with students and teachers alike, even eating the Korean cafeteria food with the rest of the teachers in the dining room, etc. I found myself walking around with a bit of a bounce in my step - something that I think has been missing for awhile, maybe.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the
power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13
power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13
Completion of Winter Vacation Class
Friday was my last class with my seven winter vacation students. It was a bittersweet day. I really enjoyed teaching the class and had great students. However,it was such a nice feeling of accomplishment to have it finished. I think we all learned and grew a ton from it! (I know I did!!!) One thing I realized: I really love teaching literature and writing. That was somewhat of a surprise to me, not sure why!
Friday was the appointed day for them to turn in their book reports and book covers. They did some great work:
Shawn
Hannah - she loves Amelia Bedelia just like I did when I was a kid!
Helen
Lucy
Mary
Tyler
Jenny - she was a little shy
I challenged the students to read 100 books as a class throughout our winter vacation... the results:
I was SO proud!
My dedicated and hard-working students
Their reward: a pizza party and movie!!!
It was a nice way to end.
Friday was the appointed day for them to turn in their book reports and book covers. They did some great work:
Shawn
Hannah - she loves Amelia Bedelia just like I did when I was a kid!
Helen
Lucy
Mary
Tyler
Jenny - she was a little shy
I challenged the students to read 100 books as a class throughout our winter vacation... the results:
I was SO proud!
My dedicated and hard-working students
Their reward: a pizza party and movie!!!
It was a nice way to end.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Busan Trip: A time of restoration
We returned to Seoul this afternoon via the KTX (after visiting the Gwangan Bridge and walking along Gwangalli Beach one last time). I appreciated the slowness of today and the opportunity to reflect more upon our trip.
Although the buildings and historical sites of Gyeongju were not exactly meaningful or thrilling to Sara or I, the time we spent together (and with the Lord) was a real blessing and encouragement to me. One word kept coming up while Sara and I were in Gyeongju on Monday: restored. Allow me to explain.
Gloves
We were on and off a lot of buses on Monday. There were a few times we had to get off really quickly, so I didn't have a whole lot of time to make sure I had all of my belongings with me. As soon as we got off the bus to go to the temple, I realized that I had left my gloves in the bus - the ones one of my co-teachers gave to me for Christmas. I was kind of sad... and a little worried about being cold the rest of the day. Sara, full of faith, prayed, Lord, restore Holly's gloves to her. We trust you to return them to her. You are more than able.
I was thinking to myself... well, I guess I'm going to need to go buy a new pair of gloves. Which color would match my coats and scarves best? Hmm... So lacking in faith.
Well... Probably only 15 minutes passed before a random Korean man came up to us, asking us if we'd just been on the bus. As he approached us, he pulled my gloves out of his pocket!!! He said he thought he had seen that I left them there on the bus. So, he got off at the next stop and brought them to the temple to return them to me!!! I was speechless. God answered Sara's prayer.
Here I am (squinting with a cheesy smile) with my restored gloves... God is so faithful!
Key chain
This was not the only episode of restoration on Monday. As I mentioned earlier, we were on and off buses a lot. Sometimes when you're on a bus, you get kind of thrown around because of bad shocks, poor gear shifting, unpredictable traffic, etc. Well, somehow as we were getting off another city bus later in the day, I managed to leave my key chain behind, containing my bus/subway cards, Alien Registration Card, and room key for the Co-op. All somewhat replaceable, but important things. I didn't notice that my key chain was missing until about 10-15 minutes after getting off the bus. I was somewhat worried and frustrated. Losing two things in one day?!
Sara, (once again), full of faith asked the Lord to restore my key chain - to put it into hands that would take care of it and return it to me safely.
Do you think I learned my lesson from my gloves earlier in the day? Of course not! Once again I was lacking in faith, already thinking about how I would go about replacing each of the things I had been carrying in my key chain. At least I didn't add extra money to my T-money card before I left Seoul... it's going to be such a pain to apply for another ARC card... now I'm going to have to pay an extra 10,000 won for losing my room key...argh!
Well, Sara and I went back to the tourist information booth and informed the women at the desk of my new problem. They were quite helpful, made a few phone calls, even ran outside to try to flag down the bus I had left my key chain on... Sara and I waited for several minutes. Finally, one of the women returned to the desk and informed me that they had found my key chain on the bus, but that the bus was in a repair shop and I would have to go there to retrieve it. She wrote down directions for a taxi driver to take us to the bus station... and then wrote a note to the people at the bus station to explain my purpose for being there.
So, we got into a taxi and were on our way to the bus station. When we arrived, the taxi driver was very kind and helpful. He got out of the car to try to help me find the people at the bus station that had my key chain. However, the place seemed kind of abandoned (particularly because of the holiday). He kept mumbling something in Korean to me - I think he was saying something like, "No one is here. No one is here." He headed back to the car and I followed behind him, feeling somewhat dejected. We started to drive away, but then I noticed one other building we hadn't checked. I asked him to stop and ran toward the building. He honked his horn to try to get the attention of anyone that might be there. I was SO relieved when a man dressed in mechanic's clothes came out of the garage holding my key chain in his hand! He smiled and handed it to me. I did the traditional Korean bow for respect and said, Komsamnida! Komsamnida!!! (Thank you, thank you!)
Then, Sara and I were on our way to continue our sight-seeing for the day... with a lot on my mind to reflect upon.
Restored
Both of those instances really affected me. As I thought more about those things, I began to realize that perhaps God was trying to show me that I need to have more faith in Him - to trust Him with little details as well as bigger ones! Sara kept using the word "restore" in her prayers. I later remembered that I had recently been praying the words of King David in Psalm 51:
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
As I mentioned in previous posts, this winter has been really challenging for me. I've felt discouraged a lot. I've felt joyless at times. I've felt purposeless at times. However, I'm realizing something now. Just as God answered Sara's prayers to restore simple material things to me, God can (and IS) answering my prayer to restore His joy and purposes in my heart! My faith is small, but He is growing it.
I'm so thankful for our time in Busan over the weekend. God restored my gloves... my key chain... and my heart! He blessed us with smooth travels, great conversations, and time to relax. He allowed us to see the beauty of His incredible creation once again. I had lots of opportunities to recall memories from my PacRim trip and VA Beach, both of which were incredible experiences that left major marks upon my life. Sara and I also had opportunities to make new memories and experience God's favor and care - in small details and larger ones.
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1
Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep... How priceless is your unfailing love! Psalm 36:5-7
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." The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3: 21-26
Now I'm back in Seoul in my nice, clean apartment. I feel refreshed... restored... and ready for the next adventure! Praise God for His great faithfulness!
Although the buildings and historical sites of Gyeongju were not exactly meaningful or thrilling to Sara or I, the time we spent together (and with the Lord) was a real blessing and encouragement to me. One word kept coming up while Sara and I were in Gyeongju on Monday: restored. Allow me to explain.
Gloves
We were on and off a lot of buses on Monday. There were a few times we had to get off really quickly, so I didn't have a whole lot of time to make sure I had all of my belongings with me. As soon as we got off the bus to go to the temple, I realized that I had left my gloves in the bus - the ones one of my co-teachers gave to me for Christmas. I was kind of sad... and a little worried about being cold the rest of the day. Sara, full of faith, prayed, Lord, restore Holly's gloves to her. We trust you to return them to her. You are more than able.
I was thinking to myself... well, I guess I'm going to need to go buy a new pair of gloves. Which color would match my coats and scarves best? Hmm... So lacking in faith.
Well... Probably only 15 minutes passed before a random Korean man came up to us, asking us if we'd just been on the bus. As he approached us, he pulled my gloves out of his pocket!!! He said he thought he had seen that I left them there on the bus. So, he got off at the next stop and brought them to the temple to return them to me!!! I was speechless. God answered Sara's prayer.
Here I am (squinting with a cheesy smile) with my restored gloves... God is so faithful!
Key chain
This was not the only episode of restoration on Monday. As I mentioned earlier, we were on and off buses a lot. Sometimes when you're on a bus, you get kind of thrown around because of bad shocks, poor gear shifting, unpredictable traffic, etc. Well, somehow as we were getting off another city bus later in the day, I managed to leave my key chain behind, containing my bus/subway cards, Alien Registration Card, and room key for the Co-op. All somewhat replaceable, but important things. I didn't notice that my key chain was missing until about 10-15 minutes after getting off the bus. I was somewhat worried and frustrated. Losing two things in one day?!
Sara, (once again), full of faith asked the Lord to restore my key chain - to put it into hands that would take care of it and return it to me safely.
Do you think I learned my lesson from my gloves earlier in the day? Of course not! Once again I was lacking in faith, already thinking about how I would go about replacing each of the things I had been carrying in my key chain. At least I didn't add extra money to my T-money card before I left Seoul... it's going to be such a pain to apply for another ARC card... now I'm going to have to pay an extra 10,000 won for losing my room key...argh!
Well, Sara and I went back to the tourist information booth and informed the women at the desk of my new problem. They were quite helpful, made a few phone calls, even ran outside to try to flag down the bus I had left my key chain on... Sara and I waited for several minutes. Finally, one of the women returned to the desk and informed me that they had found my key chain on the bus, but that the bus was in a repair shop and I would have to go there to retrieve it. She wrote down directions for a taxi driver to take us to the bus station... and then wrote a note to the people at the bus station to explain my purpose for being there.
So, we got into a taxi and were on our way to the bus station. When we arrived, the taxi driver was very kind and helpful. He got out of the car to try to help me find the people at the bus station that had my key chain. However, the place seemed kind of abandoned (particularly because of the holiday). He kept mumbling something in Korean to me - I think he was saying something like, "No one is here. No one is here." He headed back to the car and I followed behind him, feeling somewhat dejected. We started to drive away, but then I noticed one other building we hadn't checked. I asked him to stop and ran toward the building. He honked his horn to try to get the attention of anyone that might be there. I was SO relieved when a man dressed in mechanic's clothes came out of the garage holding my key chain in his hand! He smiled and handed it to me. I did the traditional Korean bow for respect and said, Komsamnida! Komsamnida!!! (Thank you, thank you!)
Then, Sara and I were on our way to continue our sight-seeing for the day... with a lot on my mind to reflect upon.
Restored
Both of those instances really affected me. As I thought more about those things, I began to realize that perhaps God was trying to show me that I need to have more faith in Him - to trust Him with little details as well as bigger ones! Sara kept using the word "restore" in her prayers. I later remembered that I had recently been praying the words of King David in Psalm 51:
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
As I mentioned in previous posts, this winter has been really challenging for me. I've felt discouraged a lot. I've felt joyless at times. I've felt purposeless at times. However, I'm realizing something now. Just as God answered Sara's prayers to restore simple material things to me, God can (and IS) answering my prayer to restore His joy and purposes in my heart! My faith is small, but He is growing it.
I'm so thankful for our time in Busan over the weekend. God restored my gloves... my key chain... and my heart! He blessed us with smooth travels, great conversations, and time to relax. He allowed us to see the beauty of His incredible creation once again. I had lots of opportunities to recall memories from my PacRim trip and VA Beach, both of which were incredible experiences that left major marks upon my life. Sara and I also had opportunities to make new memories and experience God's favor and care - in small details and larger ones.
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1
Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep... How priceless is your unfailing love! Psalm 36:5-7
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." The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3: 21-26
Now I'm back in Seoul in my nice, clean apartment. I feel refreshed... restored... and ready for the next adventure! Praise God for His great faithfulness!
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