Ahnyoung!

Friday May 22 marked my last day teaching at CDI. It was hard to say goodbye to some of my students, but I feel confident about moving on. Saturday was the going away party.

I am in awe of how many amazing people I have in my life. I feel so loved. I felt the same way I did when I first left Boise to come to Korea. It's really cool to see it come full circle and to see the thriving community of friends that I have in Korea.


Thanks to everyone who came out! I proudly proclaim that each person who was there has been a valuable part of my life in Korea and has taught me about life in one way or another.

After the ski adventure...

So for an update real quick... the eyes are doing well. I experienced three days of horrible pain from the Lasek, but doing much better now. The eyesight is still pretty blurry, but is expected to get better in the next few weeks. Thanks to everyone for your continued prayer and support. It's so much appreciated!

Jeongdongjin

I never finished what happened a few weekends ago. Since we had a long weekend due to the Lunar New Year, after the ski trip Steph, Wayne, Chris and myself decided to take off and have an adventure of our own. And it was! It was great and really fun to travel so well with this group. We had no plan. No expectation.


So after a taxi cab ride later, we ended up in Jeongdongjin.


It's located near the eastern coast of Korea somewhat close to a beach called Sokcho that I visited in the summer. I was figuring it might be something really great. So after a few bus rides late at night, we found ourselves in a place not knowing exactly what to expect. So we found ourselves a 'love motel', got rid of our packs and headed out to see what this little town was all about. Most interesting, what was this huge cruise ship on the cliff for? To say the least, we were all excited to explore it the next morning...



We made our trek toward the cruise ship after a very hospitable stay at our motel. The owners were so sweet. We definitely have a place to stay next time we come back!

And what we found was BEAUTIFUL! I was amazed and couldn't believe I didn't try to spend my entire summer here!

We just had too much fun with the props as we neared the ship.

I wish I knew the idea behind the hands....

The ship is nothing but a hotel/resort.... as well as a Wedding Hall. We had a blast exploring the area and taking a look at everything. It would be a wonderful place to spend some time at during the summer months. The grass is dead and the palm trees are all bundled up for the winter, but hey, you get the idea ;)

This is the view from the top of the revolving restaurant/lounge at the very top of the ship. It really was stunning. God's creation is truly amazing :)


The tribute to one fantastic weekend. Thanks guys for the awesome memories.

LASEK

Firstly, I can't say thank you enough for all the prayer people have covered me with as I prepared to go in for my LASEK procedure today. I am so provided for and thankful for everyone in my life.

The procedure itself wasn't bad at all. I was determined to be tough and not make it worse than it needed to be. I was done in about 15 minutes. I'm experiencing some pain, but I just keep telling myself how much it will be worth it.

The highlight of the entire experience though?!

They played the CONGRATULATION song at the end of the procedure. I just about died from laughter. The Congratulation song in Korea is very popular, you hear kids singing it a lot. Often for birthdays even!



LASEK is different than LASIK in that there is no actual incision to the cornea of the eye, instead an alcoholic solution is applied to the eye to then remove the top layer of epithelial cells. Laser treatment is then done and finally a bandage contact lens is applied.


*THIS IS NOT MY EYE- it's really interesting to watch, but don't watch if you think you can't handle it ;)




Ryan was gracious enough to pick me up from the clinic this afternoon to guide me through the halls of the train stations. Stephanie, Wynn and Chris are all headed up from Cheonan tonight to spend the weekend with me. I can't help but be so thankful. Big thanks to these guys!

America the beautiful... almost

I'm about a month away from America. Here's a list of things I can't wait to experience.

1. My amazing friends and family - oh you people rock my world!
2. Spending time at the fire station with Dad
3. CALVARY CHAPEL BOISE!!! I love love LOVE my church family.
4. Massive girl party/sleepover at Alex's
5. YO QUIERO TACO BELL!!!!
6. Clear blue skies, foothills, and North End gloriousness.
7. PITA PIT
8. LASANGNA
9. Driving
10. Albertson's because "It's your store"
11. Java - ahhhhhh
12. Organizing boxes and boxes and bags and bags and bags of my life stuffed in the basement on 14th street.

13. Drying my clothes....  in a clothes dryer!!


I love how a lot of my list consists of food... I can't wait to relax, catch up and cherish every waking (and resting) moment of my time in Boise.

Can't wait! 

All my love -

J

Gyungbokgung

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Gyungbokgung. 

It's the oldest palace in Seoul and it's massive and absolutely beautiful. My friend Joo Hyeok took me around and we had a great time (despite the huge blisters I gave myself from new shoes.... hah, imagine that... ME with new shoes?!)

Meet Joo Hyeok:

You can truly see the autumn beauty captured in this area. I'm really enjoying the fall season here in Seoul! God's creation is truly nothing short of marvelous!

I think this doorway must definitely be for the Koreas - what do you think? ;)

As we were winding down our tour of the palace, we ended up out toward the Blue House... or where Lee Myung-Bak (the president) lives. It's one of my favorite areas to be. It's so beautiful around this area and the air seems so clean and fresh.

I know... I'm so Korean with my peace sign. BUT really... it's the best thing you can do with your arm for a picture. I love it, and yes, watch out because I will be bringing it back to Boise with me! 

I'll be catching you up on all the fun I had cleaning up vomit from a young child named Ryan this past Saturday. For those of you who don't know... I come from a mother who has the worst gag reflexes known to man... one look at the vomit and I almost lost it myself.  I chaperoned a field trip to Independence Hall on Sat. More to come... stay tuned!

I'm so thankful!

Top Cloud Restaurant

After a long week at work, Sharon treated me to a formal dinner at Top Cloud, one of Seoul's finest restaurants. It's located at the very top of the Samsung building (Floor 33) that overlooks the city. We got there at about 7 and as we ate, the sky turned darker and darker. It was beautiful!

This is a shot right from the table we sat at:

And across the restaurant:

After sundown:

All dressed up!

I can't help but show you the (also) amazing view from the ladies room. The sink is one large basin in the center of the room. It was fab.


The food was superb, the live jazz band was very enjoyable, and of course, my favorite part was the company of Sharon. This was Sharon's treat and gift to me to say "thanks" for my friendship. (Insert awwww)


Cheonggyecheong

Later we met up with Ruda and did some walking along Cheonggyecheong, which runs through part of the city. This actually used to the "shanty-town" area until it was reformed and now it's such a wonderful and thriving area!

Me and a good guy I like to call RudaLaLee:

We can't help it - we love jumping pictures!

End of the stream:

Of course we resort to doing something silly:

Here's some more shots from Cheonggyecheon I shot today while I was out and about trying to get a new phone and sign myself up for some health insurance. I had my quiet time here and did some reading. It was perfect. The weather was gorgeous, and the sky was actually blue today!



The Blue House

On Sunday Sharon, Ruda and I decided to meet up and go for a Sunday stroll before church. I just have to show this picture to communicate why I adore these two. HAHAHAHA!

This time our adventure lead us onward to The Blue House ... yes folks, that's right ... our equivalent of The White House. We're not sure if Lee Myung-bak (S. Korea's Prez) actually lives there or not, but it was definitely one of the cleanest and nicest areas in Seoul! It was a bit of a walk, but enjoyable!

Check out this sidewalk chalk art along the way! Isn't it fantastic? I love living in the big city for simple interesting things such as these.


In this photo you can see the big wall with a mural that looks like the palace building. You can see in the distance (center of photo) the actual palace building. This palace is undergoing renovation and it's very heavily guarded, but still cool to look at. I'm always really tempted to run past the police and do something illegal only because the police here in Seoul look like a joke. They're not intimidating whatsoever! Don't worry Mom and Dad... I won't :)

I think Ruda actually made us pose for this picture (I don't remember) but it's still a great shot!


This is right when we got into the area of The Blue House - it was very heavily guarded and was a very quiet and peaceful area.

This is my dream job: traffic cop

Family portrait

Cherry Blossoms

Entrance to The Blue House area!

Ruda looks scared. I look happy. We all love to take silly pictures!

Yes... I do believe our jumping pictures have become an addiction. Sharon has me hooked. We actually took more jumping pictures later that night too.

Hooray for Spring!

TACOS with mi amigas

Later on that evening, our lovely Justina had us over for tacos - YUM! Yes... truly, we all love our Mexican food and we love Justina for opening up her home to us.

From L to R: Myself, Christina, Michelle, Justina and Sharon

I continue to enjoy my time here! It really has already been five months and it's shocking to look back at my experiences to see what I've learned. Especially in the ways I have fallen flat on my face only to be put back on my two feet again stronger than I was previously. I'm so thankful to have a loving God who loves me all the time no matter what!

It's been fun to experience Spring in Seoul, even though Spring in Boise is one of my favorite things of all time. It's been amazing to see the Lord's faithfulness in so many aspects here in this city. Please continue to pray for unity of our church here in Seoul, and for me personally that I would continue to be prayerful in seeking God's will as well as in my ability to love others.

Be blessed.