Good times and good eats

Last week it was a really warm night and I felt like getting out for a bit so I met up with Ruda at Dongdaemun and decided to do some night shopping and take full advantage of some good ol Korean street food. We like to do this from time to time :) This shot was taken by Sharon near the Cheonggyecheon stream (this is a man made stream that flows through a large part of the city)

And who can resist all the ice cream out? I've become addicted to it lately. It's soooo good! This was Ruda's treat... so, thanks Ruda!


Last Saturday (the day before Easter), Sharon and I took two of our students out for shopping in Myeong-Dong. We were definitely excited to take Shelly (Sharon's student) and Trisha (my former student) out... we just weren't so excited to be up so early on a Saturday:


We were at Myeong Dong before most of the shopping was even open! So I told the girls I would buy them a "hot choco". Since Shelly doesn't like hot chocolate, we got her a hazelnut steamer. Haha! She had no idea what to think of all the foam on the top of her drink. She was so cute as she played with her drink, very carefully inspecting what she was about to ingest. I of course drank an orange juice because I try to get as much vitamin C as I possibly can... but alas, I've still become sick.

Trisha and I had a fun time fixing Shelly's hair for her, and we decided this pictures look like we had a salon in Starbucks! Shelly initially didn't want any pictures....

But later she gave in :)

Shelly is a really sweet girl and even though she isn't one of my students she came in to my classroom one day and said "Teacher... what is your name?"

I tell her my name.

"Would you like me to call you teacher or Jessica?"

You can call me whatever you'd like, I say. She calls me Jessica all the time now. I think she's the only student who actually calls me by my name.

And this is Trisha. She really dislikes pictures, so it's really rare we got this really fun shot of her. She's so beautiful! I really look forward to getting the opportunity to spend more time with her! The glasses she's wearing are Sharon's - and they used to be her mother's! Aren't they wonderful. :)


Then a little later I was allowed to wear her Nina Ricci sunglasses! Lucky me!



And this is Sharon and I with the bear outside Teenie Weenie - except the bear isn't so teenie weenie is he?

Even though I have been battling sickness, I can't help but be thankful and excited about how adventurous my life is here. I look back and reflect on some of the amazing time I've spent getting to know my students and other people around me. I can only hope that I will be graciously able to partake in more of it. It's getting close to being here for 5 months now, and all I can do most days is be so happy that I have so much more time to spend here!

The only thing that will make it better? Is if anyone decides to come visit and enjoy this culture and life with me.... even if it's only for a week or two! :)

Blessings!

One long Sunday

So this Easter Sunday didn't quite feel the same. Kind of how Christmas wasn't REALLY like Christmas. In all all reality it was Christmas, but it definitely did not feel like the usual Christmas. The same felt very true for Easter 2008.

I found myself thinking about chasing around looking for Easter eggs with little John (my cousin) during the usual family trip to Gualala, California. I miss being a kid sometimes! I was actually reminded today from John about the "smurf church" we used to visit. We reminisced about how cool we thought it was. It was a small church with the architecture, yes, you guessed it... that resembles a smurf.

Despite coming down with some sort of cold/flu the day before, I met with Justina for brunch at Hobnob and then headed to church not long after. Church of course was wonderful and we later headed out for Shabu Shabu for dinner with everyone.

We headed for a DR. Fish cafe (the place where the little fish eat the dead skin on your feet). I d esperately wanted to give this a try. Unfortunately it didn't happen (I still don't really understand why) I think there was some communication lost in the translation. I wondered how late we would all be out, so I headed toward the ATM to get some cash in case I needed to take a cab. Well... this is where I realize I do not know nearly enough Korean. I took a look at the numbers after pressing a a few buttons that appeared to be "withdraw" and to my amazement, I saw numbers. "This is good!", I thought to myself. There was a 1, 3, 5, 10, and 30 on this machine. I optimistically pressed the button with 30 댜호 아 (for example) and I was definitely in for a surprise when I heard the bill counter counting WAY more than 3 10,000 won bills.

I WITHDREW 300,000 won instead of 30,000. Basically... I withdrew $300 instead of $30. I couldn't stop myself from laughing and I'm sure the clerk from the store was interested in what was so comedic about the ATM. But I got a good laugh and so did my friends.

I guess I should study my Korean a bit more dutifully, eh?

Blessings to you guys! I'll post some pictures from my Saturday outing with a few students of mine.

Just the kids

I spent some time making this video tonight... it's really short since I was just playing around, but thought I'd show it :) This one here is specifically just the kids and school stuff. Expect to see more! Hope you enjoy it.

Just a stroll in the park

Today I had the fine opportunity to visit Olympic Park and meet with my friend Lindsey. I originally met Linds at a Thanksgiving dinner one evening after church at IWE. She actually spent time teaching in China last year. Upon hearing this, I was immediately intrigued with getting to know this girl. I was aware of the passion we share for China within the first few moments of meeting her. This girl has such an incredible heart for Christ and I enjoy getting together with her. (It's rare though because we live so far away)

So I decided to come to her end of the city today.... which is how I landed in Olympic Park.


Seoul hosted the Olympic games in 1988... amazing to think that was 20 years ago. The park is absolutely beautiful and I could only stand and wish how wonderful it would be to attend the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I don't think it's going to happen though. Here's some photos from around the park. Enjoy!





It was an amazingly fine day today. We've had some really great sunshine and clear, blue skies the last few days. This has been a bit rare, especially since the yellow dust has started to invade!





In fact... I think it may have been a bit TOO sunny. And I forgot my sunglasses:


I just still wake up and think to myself "Wow - am I REALLY in Korea?!". I enjoy this season in life so much. It's such an adventure every single day. A day in Seoul can never be boring. One thing I really appreciate about Lindsey is we both have such an excitement in our hearts with how content we are to be here.

Everyday I'm amazed at the Lord's faithfulness. I feel more humbled and challenged in every single day and I'm thankful to have been placed around people who sharpen and encourage me relationally. I've learned to enjoy the little, quiet moments in life... not necessarily around people doing anything fun and adventurous (which I'm always up for) but to really enjoy the time I have here to think, to write and to be still. I have enjoyed serving the Lord in such a different and dynamic capacity teaching and loving on the people who are in my life.

Be blessed this Easter and I pray that each of you would be mindful of Christ's sacrifice on the cross and truly how beautiful it is. Happy Easter!

Update on Andrew

So.....

Later on that night (the night I found out Andrew would no longer be coming to this academy) I was pleasantly surprised by Andrew himself. He ran into my classroom during the break. He appeared out of breath. (We are on the 6th floor of the building and sometimes the kids don't want to wait for the elevator, so they just run up)

And he says to me:

"TEACHER! TEACHER! I come to say bye to you. I leave this hagwon!"

He said he is transferring to a different academy to one that is closer to his home.

I was amazed that he had come to say bye to me but I was nothing short of honored. I will deeply miss this kid, but I'm excited because we exchanged phone numbers and email addresses. I doubt he'll ever know how much I have enjoyed him as a student in my class and I will definitely miss him.

I'm just thankful there was some closure to the sudden change!

Ironic

Today I just found out that Andrew will no longer be coming to this academy.... ironic how I just spent time expressing how much I adore this kid, and now he's gone. Just like that?!

I'm very sad about this and I don't know why or where he's headed. Hopefully I can find out from one of the Korean staff members why he will no longer be coming to school here at our branch.

Real quick: I want to share this quote I enjoy:

"So long as we love we serve; so long as we are loved by others, I would almost say that we are indispensable; and no man is useless while he has a friend."

Robert Louis Stevenson

I will update with pictures from the weekend within the next few days.

I pray all is well and everyone is enjoying Spring as much as I am!

Blessings!

My father the hero

This was a house fire my dad responded to a few days ago. He's such a stud. Haha, I especially love how he said "tickled" in this. I don't think I've ever heard him say that in all my life. HA!

House Fire Clip - Courtesy KTVB

Every time one of the fireman go on camera.... if caught, they have to buy the rest of the guys ice cream.

Dad spent $30 on ice cream to feed the guys that night.

ENJOY!

Boys will be boys - and I wouldn't have it any other way

Awe :) Some of my boys (John and Reuben) told me from now on they're going to call me 얼 짱 which means beautiful. Aren't they sweet.... now if only they were perfectly behaved in class ALL the time!

Speaking of boys - here are some of my younger students. They are really really sweet and are so well behaved... did I mention they're so smart too?! I fall in love with them more each week.... and we're only in week 3 of 13. Lucky me!

It's Jeff on the left, and Mike on the right. Both of these boys have the warmest smiles and are so much fun!



See! Look at these goofballs!

Jeff and Mike are in my EC3 class I teach on Wed and Saturday. I have 5 students total... all 5 of them boys! It's really fun though. I enjoy it! I have so much fun with the boys. Here are the others in the class:

Jae Yong, Gan Hyeong, and Clayton


Here's a video of me teaching them how to impersonate my bird chirp whistle. It's pretty funny!




So, you may remember me talking about my student Andrew in previous posts from last term. Andrew was in my Memory Tera class last term and is in the Memory Tera class I teach this term as well. (Most kids go through the level twice before "leveling up")

Just to refresh you, Andrew came in as a student who wanted to sleep and didn't really pay attention and wasn't very focused during class. I don't know how, but somehow by week 2 of last term we found a mutual ground of understanding with one another. I commonly call him "Miss Andrew" and he calls me "Mr. Korea". It's a joke that has been part of our class and always brings a smile to the kids' face.

This is Andrew's drawing of me as "Mr. Korea" You may notice the drawing is spelled Mr. Corea... with a C. (Click on the photo to enlarge it) Andrew was telling me about how Korea used to be spelled with a C. I tried to get him to explain it again on camera, and he wouldn't....

Here's the footage of my failed attempt to get him to explain the Korea with a C :)




I have seen a tremendous amount of improvement from Andrew with his homework and with his knowledge of material, as well as in-class participation. I received a note last week on a post it from one of the Korean staff members who works up at the front desk it said,

"Andrew will be late. He did not do homework because of other school test. He feel very badly about that you know."

My heart melted because I know that if this Korean staff member knew, then Andrew definitely made a point to tell her how badly he felt about it. At the beginning of last term, he did not care. Even one of the other teacher's was talking bad about how much he didn't do his work and is lazy. But I have proof that he's not!

Haha, here take a look at the studious Andrew:


"Hey? What is that?! Is that a camera I see?"

Haha - oops. I'm caught!


We also had an arm wrestling match last week....



Tonight Andrew told me today that he misses me over the weekend. I told him that I felt the same way.

These kids bring joy into my life that I never really expected. I learn more about my lack of patience everyday. I also learn compassion on them a little more as I learn about their developing personalities and about how beautifully unique they all are. It's definitely one of the easiest roles I've ever had. I'm humbled every class, every day and every week I spend with the kids.

Be blessed!

That was them..... not me

So if you haven't already figured it out.... the author's of "My New Love" (see post below) was none other than Trevor and Rachel themselves...... HACKERS! It's very true though that these people are amazing. They do continuously open up their home each week to all of us to have a place to meet for Bible Study, and Kimchi is the cutest thing ever.... really. Especially with his little Adidas hoodie that he has. The Olsons have been a great blessing both in my life and I know so many others here. Love you guys!

On another note - a pigeon flew into my face yesterday while I was walking to work. I must say I felt extremely violated.... and dirty! But it definitely made for a good story to tell some of my students.

Ah.... the fond memories in Korea.......

I'll update with more pictures soon.

Blessings!

My New Love

I've been on a lot of trips and I've met a number of amazing people in my day but I want to take a moment to tell the world of my new love. Well, it's more like "loves" because there are three amazing individuals that I want to draw your attention to.

I'll start with Rachel, she is beautiful, smart and warm-hearted. She is willing to open her home to anyone in need at any time. She is my best friend and I want the world to know that I love her.

Next is Trevor, I've never met a more handsome man than him. He's tall and strong, and one look into his big, blues eyes will capture your most inner being and you will never be able to give your whole heart to another man.

But as amazing as they are, no one or nothing will ever compare to the beauty and love I have for their dog, Kimchi. My soul craves to be with him and I desire nothing in this world but to be loved in return by Kimchi.

What I have to look forward to!

This was published from a BBC online article on Monday (Thanks Jay for sending me the link and for your concern!)---- so far here in my part of Seoul (the northern part) I haven't seen anything too bad. It's a bit gray today but I can still see parts of the sky. Everyone here talks about the "yellow dust" coming in during the spring months..... so it looks like we are definitely getting closer!

I'm pretty much way cautious about everything. Did you know that in pretty much all situations I'm in, I first think of what I would do in an emergency?! It must be the innate fireman in me from my father!

Here's the article:
__________________________________________________________________

China dust storm hits East Asia

The dust picks up toxins as it passes over Chinese factories

A huge cloud of choking dust is passing over South Korea as the first sand storm of the year blows in from China.

South Korea has ordered schools to close and drivers in south-west Japan have been warned about low visibility from the dust clouds.

Every spring brings "yellow dust" storms which blow sand from China's Gobi Desert over the Koreas and Japan.

The dust storms have become more deadly each year as they pass over China's industrial zones picking up toxins.

South Korea blames dozens of deaths every year on the storms, mostly of elderly people and those with respiratory problems.

South Korean authorities advised parents to keep younger children at home to avoid the dust.

"We have advised the closure because kindergarten, primary school students have weaker immune systems," Min Eyu-gi, an education official in the southern city of Busan, told Reuters news agency.

Seasonal winds lasting from late February to April or May combine with dry winter weather to pick up millions of tonnes of sand from China's northern deserts.

The storms turn the sky a yellow colour and coat everything in a layer of fine dust.

__________________________________________________________

Also - here's a subway map to show you where I'm at in relation to the city. Now don't be fooled...... it's much larger than the map appears it to be. I circled where I'm at in yellow. Click on the map to enlarge it.

That's all for now - Blessings!

The end of term

This last week we started a new term, so the previous week was filled with parties during the last 30 minutes of each of my classes.

I was amazed to see that I had been teaching for three months already.... and in about a week I will have been here for four months. The time has gone by so fast and I still wake up every morning so excited to be here in Korea.

Even though I have never seen myself as much of a teacher, I have really enjoyed learning to be a good teacher for these kids. I started out my new term more confident than the last and was excited for the fresh start, the new students and the new materials.

But here's some pictures from the end of the term of some of my students:


This is Karen - she actually came into my class about halfway, but she is so much fun!

Ahem.... yes, the coolest teachers at our branch.


This is Jin Hyeon - and this is a picture of him turning his chocolate snack (called Crunky) to "Cranky". He was pretty excited to show this to me and thought it was SO funny! He's a really good student and I have enjoyed having him in my class. He spent some time abroad in China, so we would speak a little bit to each other just for fun. He also is very street smart, not just book smart (which a lot of students lack street smartness or creativity here in Korea with the education system they have)

Hahahaha - this is another picture of some of my favorite students. This is James (with the Nintendo) and I told him to put his glasses upside down to take a picture of him, but he got so involved with the game he forgot to change them. It was too funny! To his left is Jack - he's a tiny little guy.... a fireball! He's very funny and hates pictures, so it's rare that I got this shot!

These are my FAVORITE girls! They are so much fun and they are such great students. Both Sharon and I adore them. From L to R: Sophia, Karen, Vanessa, Michelle and Claire. I actually have Claire's little brother in a different class I teach..... Jimmy (See picture below) Jimmy is on the left and Andrew on the right. They are teaching the class to play a game here in this picture.


Haha. This is a picture of Teacher Jessica - gotta love it!

And Sophia with her artistic abilities! Some of these girls LOVE to draw. All the tests and quizzes I grade always have some type of picture on it.

So I will get some video uploaded and some other updates as to what I've been up to, but things continue to go well. I have had a really great experience my first term and I have been tremendously blessed.

I continue to be challenged and sharpened as a result of my relationships here and it's so evident that the Lord is working in everything that our group of friends is part of. It's very exciting. It's starting to warm up here in Seoul, so it makes it very enjoyable to be out and about. You all are more than invited and welcome to visit ANYTIME.

Blessings!