Merry Christmas to all... and to all a GOOD NIGHT!

K gang - I wrote this on Christmas and haven't been able to get it up because the pictures have taken so long to upload.... so there will be more later. In addition to all the photos, an update on the New Year celebration as well.



Merry Christmas!
"...I'll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams..."


So I made the trek out to meet and greet (the very groggy crew) on Christmas morning. We had a great breakfast full of french toast, bacon, bagels, muffins, fruit, etc. It was so wonderful! We opened presents from our Secret Santas and had a really great time. I got a Josh Groban Christmas CD (yay!) and a really cool devotional book.... oh, and some "dummy mittens" (you know the ones with the string attached to them. HA!

Everyone had stayed the night at Trevor and Rachels - I didn't make it because I was working until 10 that night and was tired and wanted to sleep. After Trevor and Rachel's, Michelle has friends she babysits for (he's a doctor on the military base here) Tom and Catherine, had us over for dinner at their place with a few others . It was fabulous... again, turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, PIE! I was very thankful to be able to spend the holiday with so many people. It softened the blow of not being home quite a bit.
Here's the (silly) group shot of us all on Christmas morning......
Ok, and now here's a decent one : )


After church on Sunday Sharon and I ventured out to take a look at the lights near City Hall - it looked like a Korean style Rockefellar Center. Those light actually surround an ice skating rink, which we hope to hit up this weekend. It was pretty packed the night we went. Here's the picture of Sharon and I.

Anyhow, it was absolutely wonderful. I miss you though, Mom, Dad and Chance! But it was good to talk to you guys a few days ago!

I begin what's called intensives this week which means I teach for nine hours straight 3 days a week for about a month. Can you say exhausting?! But I'm excited because extra hours means extra cash.

One of my intensive students, Rachel, says to me "Teacher, I'm sad because I have class until 7 tonight" (It's about 1:30ish when she says this) So I say "Guess what time teacher gets to go home?! 10:30!"
....pause.....
"Ok, now I'm sad for teacher."

Haha. She's the sweetest little girl. Very girly in every sort of way and she's very smart.

Ok - I'm going to post, beacuse this thing has sat here for 2 days! Hope you all had a very fun Christmas and can't believe it's already nearly 2008.

Blessings!

More Video

This is a video along the street near the location where I picked up my Alien Registration Card. It was about a 45 minute subway ride away from my apartment. It's also very near to Insadong

Hanbok!

It's been a big last few days here in Korea. I finally was able to go pick up my Alien Registration Card - which is huge because with it, I was able to open up my bank account and finally get my cell phone working. My dear co-worker Sharon was HUGELY instrumental in helping with achieve this since she knows a bit of Korean. So kudos to Sharon for being so awesome. I'll get a photo of her up here sometime soon.

Banking here in Korea is so interesting! I was so lucky, because since I had Sharon with me, I was able to get a check card - not just an atm card. So I can use it like our "debit cards" in America. It's kind of a big deal here. So I have to admit I feel kinda cool, because a lot of foreigners here don't get that luxury.

The above pic is some statues near Insadong. Very interesting... Anyhow, here's a video of a very kind Korean woman tying the bow on my hanbok yesterday! So much fun. Justina, Michelle and I met in Insadong for tea.

They both had the day off because it's a holiday (Election Day - Presidential) Some of my students kept asking me "Teacher! Teacher! Who are you going to vote for President?" I'd say "Do I look Korean? Haha, I can't vote for President in Korea!" And then they further probe me..... "Who would you vote for if you COULD, teacher?!" Right.... like I follow the elections here that closely. Very cute though.

We also visited this mall and looked around. It was such a cool place! I can't wait to go back once I have some money to buy some stuff for you guys back at home! We had a really good time and lots of fun!

This is my model shot at the mall - I bet you guys didn't know I was here to teach AND to model, huh!

This is my final "look" for the hanbok adventure. We were actually just in the little Insadong tourist shop and the guys working there had such a great time trying to help me. They didn't know what they were doing because they had never tied a woman's hanbok!

Tonight I went to a new Bible study (small group) and I haven't been able to attend for whatever reason or another until this week. It was absolutely amazing!

So for Christmas, we're going to have a sleepover on Christmas Eve and have a huge dinner and wake up in the morning and spend Christmas together at Trevor and Rachel's. Even though I am not going to be in Boise for this Christmas, I can honestly say I feel like I'm home and have still no regrets about being here.

I finally was able to get my cell phone working here. It's been quite the challenge. My new number is 010-5810-8671 for any of you who get the itch to call me via calling card. I of course would love to hear from you. : )

Christmas is getting closer!!! I can't believe it - I miss you all very much and send much love.

Blessings!

Almost forgot Insadong!

So I'm obviously losing my mind, because I thought I posted pictures of my adventure from last weekend to Insadong. Before heading there though, we all headed to Marche to eat at COEX, which is a big mall area with lots of amazing things to do and see. Michelle (coworker), Sarah and myself headed out to Insadong after Korean class last weekend. It's a great place to go because it has a lot of little authentic places to shop and get some amazing tea! We went to this little teahouse that was amazing! So much better than any coffee shop I've ever been to!

We then later headed out to go to dinner at an amazing authentic Indian/Nepali food restaurant. We spent so much time there and partook in some great conversation and it was so great to get to know these ladies and hear about who they are! We just enjoyed walking around together and spent a lot of time in a bookstore! I'm beginning to realize how much of a nerd I am. We were there until they kicked us out when they closed!

Out on the streets there was an event going on for the presidential elections that are coming up this Wednesday. Everyone gets this day off. It's considered a holiday and supposedly that encourages the citizens to vote if they have the day off. I had one of my students the other day ask me who I would vote for if I could vote for a Korean president. Ha!

And this is a picutre of some sort of ancient building - I wasn't able to cross the street to get a better view. I will though sometime when I go back to Insadong.

Is it really almost Christmas?

First of all - I can't believe how fast time has gone since I've been here. It doesn't even feel like I've been here for long at all, but in fact, I have almost been here a month and a half. I was amazed this past weekend when I fully realized that I know where to go, where to get "this" and where to get "that". It hit me one night and I asked myself, "Gosh! When did that happen.... that I actually know what I'm doing here?!"

Jenn, Michelle and I went to a DVD room after work one night to watch Harry Potter. It's a place to pick out a movie and then you lay on this bed/couch that I'm so 'graciously' modeling. But it was really relaxing and it's part of the reason why I don't get to bed until about 2 a.m. every night and don't wake up before 10.... EVER. It's just the lifestyle here - especially with my work schedule. So I'm working hard at getting back into a regular routine.

I definitely still have so much to see and learn but I become more comfortable each and every day! I see amazing things right before my eyes and I'm so thankful every single morning. Flexibility has become and important part of my daily life - gotta roll with the punches! This week I went with Kevin to try and help him pick out a table for his apt. and look at the cute little kids at the HomeEver! They were pretty precious.

This weekend I was able to have a little bit of Christmas! Saturday was the last day of the "semester" for my Korea class - I was tested, and just want to assure you all that there is hope for me to one day know Korean because I passed with flying colors! I really enjoy learning it though. I spend a lot of time studying, so hopefully it will pay off in a few months! Right after class, we had a big Christmas feast and gift exchange with the entire group of students at Korean class. This is Sarah, Michelle (frome work) and Shelly (also from work) after our gift exchange at Korean class.

We had a good time and then not much later than that, I headed over to my friend Justina's for a huge traditional feast! We all got together and had turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing.... seriously the works! And who was in charge of carving the turkey...haha, yes - none other than moi. That's right - Jessica Lee Christensen carved a turkey. Can I get an Amen?! haha. Of all the people there, I think I was probably the LEAST qualified, but I did beautifully (I hope)

It was fabulous - good people, good food and some great fellowship. Side note - Kevin and I went to see a movie later that night.... I Am Legend - with Will Smith. DON'T GO SEE IT! Was not a good flick.

Here's a pic of Justina, Michelle and myself. I orignally met Michelle through email (kind of sort of through church) and Justina at church as well. It's been so fun to meet and get to know so many amazing people. It's a big part of why I love it here so much.

This next weekend I'm thinking of possibly heading down to Daejon (South of Seoul) to meet up with a few friends I went through training with. And I found out that I have Christmas off! Which is exciting because I wasn't originally going to have it off. Michelle has graciously invited me to spend it with her at the place she babysits for a family she used to nanny for.

I continue to miss everyone and wish I could spend Christmas with friends and family back home, but am excited to be here at the same time. I will keep you posted on what happens next!

Korean Address

Many of you have been requesting my address to send stuff! Which, I would absolutely LOVE!

Heres the address

Jessica Christensen
6F Jae-il B/D, Chang4dong Dobong-gu
Seoul, Korea 132-711

I'll update more stuff soon!

To Japan!

Well I ended up having a fantastic time in Japan! It turned into somewhat of a mini-vacation. I headed to the Korean consulate directly after landing. I somehow was able to find the Korean Consulate without getting lost once, all the way from the airport. I tell you what, if there's any moments I have an extremely "feel good moment" about myself, haha - it's when I find something on my own in a foreign country without getting lost once!

So as I got to the consulate (glowing of course) I realized it was closed... it's exactly what I had feared since my flight was arriving so close to their lunch time. So thankfully, there was a shopping mall directly across the street, and of course, you can't go wrong with the ubiquitous McDonalds. So I sat around for about an hour and a half and studied my Korean.

As I walked into the consulate I saw a familiar face.... I couldn't quite put my finger on which one (because I meet so many people all the time) but it was a guy named Jordan who was actually in the same training group I was in. He had actually traveled with one of his co-workers, Kyle, and when I was filling out my paper work another guy had asked me how to get somewhere. Yeah, out of all the people asks ME of how to get somewhere. After I told him I had no idea, I asked him where he was headed. He (Mark is his name) was headed to the same hotel as me and the other two guys hadn't found a hotel yet.

I (with all the boys in tow) picked up another guy named Joshua along the way, and we headed to the Hard Rock Cafe to hang out for a little bit. Here's a picture of all of us. They all paid like 10 or 11 bucks each for their beer.... Japan is a bit expensive.

We headed out on the adventure of finding our hotel. We were doing a pretty good job and then we ran into a girl who was actually staying there too - except she was getting ready to leave. She kept telling me about how amazing everything was and she told us where to go and what to do. And she led us right to our hotel. We checked in and then about 15 minutes later we met up to head out on the town and go exploring. We had a good time. Mark was set on finding this one particular place he had heard about. So we pretty much spent our entire night trying to find it but definitely had a lot of fun along the way.

I was quite thrilled because in Japan they actually know quite a bit more english than in Korea. Meaning.... in Japan they knew we wanted beef steak for dinner and knew I wanted a tea and a water. They of course got all the boys a beer. Haha - but it was good considering I know NOTHING in Japanese. Except for this: the name of a subway stop! It's the name of my supposed thyroid disorder I was diagnosed with a few years ago - Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.

We returned after a fun night and headed to the consulate the next morning to pick up our passports and once we did that, we had A LOT of time to kill before our flight. So we headed to the beach, walked around, shopped, and also went to a really cool looking Chinese park of some sort? Then we finally headed to the airport.

Side note: I really dispise the whole "liquids" restrictions on your carryon. Instead of allowing them to take out my American toothpaste and my really great facewash I went through the hassle of checking my nice tiny little 10 pound bag of goods. Rediculous. And I honestly wasn't angry at any of the employees, I mean, praise the Lord they do their job, right? But seriously whoever set this whole restriction on the liquids into the bag.... I had a very strong anger toward them that day heading home. : ) But after a nap in the airport I was over it. haha.

Here's a picture of all of us: L to R: Kyle (USA), Jordan (Canada), Me, Mark (South Africa)

I actually woke up that day with a really bad cold, so I've been sick ever since which makes me a little less motivated - but I haven't let it stop me from exploring this amazing city! I'm taking some Korean drugs, and so far, I think they're helping?

Anyhow this past weekend was great - I met Michelle Mountes (not co-worker Michelle) for coffee before heading to Korean class again on Saturday. I seem to be moving along quite well. I can actually read the characters now. Still don't always know what everything means, but it's coming slowly but surely. I headed off with Michelle, Jenn, and Sarah to Insadong. We stopped by COEX (a major shopping attraction) at Marche. Then just me, Sarah, and Michelle headed to Insadong. It was amazing!

We went to this tea house which was absolutely fabulous. Definitely puts my favorite coffee shops to shame. I mean, c'mon - this place has birds flying around. So authentic it was amazing. We had some time to have some amazing conversations about life and our passions - I loved getting to know these women. They are so intelligent and it was fun to be goofy and just hang out together. We had dinner at one of the best authentic Indian food restaurants I've ever had. Indian and Nepali food... yum.

I never realized how much of a nerd I am I think until now. It's interesting to see how much time I have to read now that I'm here. We approached a bookstore and spent about an hour (or close to) until they kicked us out because they were closing. Haha. We loved it though.

We made it home at about midnight and I realized I had been out all day long! It's so easy to be out and to enjoy everything going on around me.

Sunday I went to a Bible study before church and had the opportunity to meet more people at Onurri. This is when I had another dose of reality, I guess you can say. I'm fully turning into a teacher. I've only been teaching for a few weeks, but after our lesson, we broke off into our small groups. I was excited to be in a group with all Koreans - it was so great to get their perspective on things and hear about when they first began to trust Jesus. But I led the group and it was like I was teaching. I found myself teaching! Even when I didn't have to teach! It came over me so fast and I was seriously so filled with joy at the moment I realized how important teaching is and how I'm really beginning to have a love for it. It's so rewarding to be able to guide someone to help them understand or think about something... especially about the gospel of Jesus. Here's a picture of me and a few of my students from one of my classes.

Here's a piture of me and my new friend Sung Joo. She's an absolute sweetheart. The thing I really appreciated about this church was that even though it was so big, I was recognized again, remembered, and I absolutely can't wait to continue to fellowship.

Next weekend will be full of Christmas parties and gift exchanges. I decided to take on the task of organizing a Christmas party for our school and although I'm away during the holidays, I am excited for Christmas in Korea. I really hope and pray that each of you would embrace the joy, hope and strength we have in our Lord Jesus Christ and would give up religion, pick up the cross daily and embrace relationship with our Maker.

Blessings to you all - I love hearing from you guys - so please keep emailing and responding to the blogs!

The new place

Let me first just apologize for how long it has taken me to give you all an update! I started teaching last Monday and it was a busy week getting settled into my new job - but I have enjoyed it so much! So many of these kids are so precious and it's been fun to be challenged with learning to do something so different from marketing.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to meet up with a new friend - Michelle. She is actually what I'd like to call a "real" teacher from Tennessee. She's fabulous! We journeyed to Itaewon (as I mentioned last time) Here's a picture of her and I from this last weekend before heading off to lunch then the museum:

Here's more pictures from our trip to Itaewon last weekend:

Here's a picture of Seoul tower ! I can't wait to go check it out soon.

Last week I actually moved into my new place on Tuesday instead of Saturday. I spent time moving in and getting settled, and my visa run to Japan was pushed back another week, so I'll actually be heading out tomorrow. I am thankful though because it has given me more time to get my apartment set up for what I need. The director/principal of our school took Kevin and I to get bedding and stuff at E-Mart (like Wal-Mart)... and he took us all around to look for a bed. We had a good time, and I'm so thankful that Kevin can speak Korean too! So he could translate for me.... oh the luxury! : ) This is Kevin and our director - we're in another store similar to E-Mart looking for a bed and we took a break to eat:

Wednesdays we don't work - so Kevin helped me go grocery shopping haha. I was asking him just about every 20 seconds what something was! Poor guy... but he was so helpful and I can't even tell you how much I appreciated it.

This is some of the food we got - this is actually pig intestine filled with some sort of black noodle? Anyhow... you dip it in salt and it's really quite tasty. It tastes very similar to sausage. I forget what it's called though! : (

Here's some pictures of my new place! I like it so much because I'm comfortable and it's right next to E-mart.... just right next door, the subway is next door on the other side of me, and there's so many restaurants and shopping right outside my door!

It's so convenient also because I'm only a five minute walk to school (work). So I'm pretty stoked. It really doesn't get much better than that folks!

And this is right outside my window. The pictures really don't do it justice but the mountains (you can barely see in the photo) are really beautiful. Especially at night with the sun setting. Definitely doesn't top my North End of Boise Camelsback view ; ).... but I still enjoy it! There's actually a place to go hiking and totally get away from the city - so I look forward to doing that in the next few weeks.

Something else that is so nice is I live near VERY close to two other teachers - Kevin and Shelly, and then Sharon (another teacher) actually lives in my building - 9th floor. Don't worry dad.... I got the 5th floor - it's the closest I could get to the ground. : ) Dad's got a "fireman" brain so it came into play when I told him about my living situation... so he asked that I try and get an apt closest to the ground! : )

Here's a photo of my classroom! I have 5 different sets of students each week, teaching 4 different types of classes. I hate to admit it, but I already have favorites! I'll be sure to send some pictures of them soon.

So THIS weekend... I started Korean class! I can't tell you how excited I am!!! The class is held at a church called Onurri, which is actually where I went on Sunday for church. What a great fellowship! It's pretty large, but I absolutely loved it and can't wait to get plugged in and I'm very excited to serve. This is a picture of my teacher Chloe and Candace, another student in our class.

We all went for lunch afterward and then headed out to the National Museum - then shopping at Myeong-Dong... it was fabulous!

And look! It's almost Christmas....

This is a photo of a 10 story pagoda (left) at the museum and a crown of a former king (right) - it weighs over 20 pounds!

I head to Japan tomorrow for my visa run - so please hope it goes well... it should be interesting to see what happens! I tried today to email you all or call - so hopefully I'll be able to get in touch with those of you I missed. I still can't believe I'm here - tonight after work a few of us headed out to get some food, and I was telling them how I still don't believe I'll really be living here for an entire year!

Love and blessings to you all!

"Warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone." - 1 Thes. 5:14