Norae Bang Continued...

I forgot to post these videos too of my friends at norae bang singing and dancing to the Wonder Girls on Christmas Eve. They would kill me if they knew I put this online... Muwahahahaha!!!

Christmas Video

I forgot to post this earlier. It's quite cute. The video is of one of the daughter of one of my co-teachers. On Christmas Eve, before we set out for the concert, he decided to drop a couple presents off to her. She had never met Santa before, but as you can see, she cared more about the presents than she did about him. It was cute. Her grandmother keeps telling her to say thank you and she is so consumed with her gift that she can't hear anything. Too cute!!

More Videos from Camp

More entertainment from camp. Two games: the Bae Bae Ro game (which isn't really too exciting because the two kids were too afraid of each other) and the balloon game (which my team won!).

Dr. Fish (For Eric)

Because my brother in law didn't beleive me when I retold the story about Dr. Fish, I returned yesterday to capture the strange creatures on video. These videos are of my dear friends: Sophia and Yaena (from upstairs in my building), and Freda (my Philipino missionary friend). *All were trying Dr. Fish for the first time.







And because Yaena lookes so darn cute in the sheep-hair towel that I rolled up for her...

Things I've fogotten to blog about...

A Drunken Bike Rider

One day I was walking home from school when an old man came riding up behind me on a bike. He had to have been in his 70's and drunker than a skunk. He was wobbling left and right and definitely couldn't hold the handle bars straight. But he somehow seemed to maintain balance... Until he saw me. One look at the white girl and he fell face first into the pavement. Now, I probably shouldn't have laughed because he was a really old man and just took a nasty dive, but watching a drunk ride a bike and then see the equivalent of a ghost was pretty entertaining. Anyhow, I helped him up and helped pick up the broken pieces of his reflectors, took a look at his bike chain which had now fallen off, and lent my hand to the man on the ground. But he didn't take it. He just stared, wide-eyed and mouth agape. I didn't know what to say so I just smiled, said goodbye, and walked off, laughing under my breath. I turned around once to make sure he was alright and saw him still sitting there on the ground, watching me walk away. It was quite amusing.

Hypochondriac

Ever since I arrived in Korea, I've had this lump on my right wrist and it continued to grow and harden despite my hopes that it would just disappear. However, I finally decided in January that four months was too much waiting and I really began to fear that I had a tumor of some sort. (It didn't help that I had just met a guy in his 30's that had had cancer more than 4x's.) So, I went to the doctor unsure of what would happen. He took one look at it, poked it with his finger, and said, "Oh, yes, you have a cyst. Here, let me drain it for you," as he pulled out a giant syringe. I quickly began to protest; "Oh no, you don't need to do that! If it's just a cyst then I'll live with it!" His response: "Oh but it'll be uncomfortable. It'll be just a second." And he dug the needle deep within my wrist, wiggled it around, sucked out some juice, and that was it. With a small band aid, he bid me farewell and I went on my happy way. The bump remained for about an hour and then drained completely. It hasn't come back. So much for my fears of cancer...

John's Birthday

My dear friend John Ness (who is mysteriously also from Kirkland) celebrated his 21st birthday a couple weekends ago with me, Courtney, and our British friend Ceri. It was a wonderful evening of Outback, movies, a nice bottle of wine, and good company. I just love birthdays. :)

Prayer Needed

My friend Bruce just sent me an email asking for urgent prayer. Last night, his father, in a drunken rage, stabbed his mother in the chest. She is currently in the hospital recovering but his family is going to need a lot of work once she's released. No one knows Christ (Bruce is the only Christian) and his father is extremely abusive, neglectful, and just all around bad. Please remember to lift them up today and tonight! Thanks friends!

And over here on your right is a rare breed of Ichthys Homo-Sapien, the Pentecostal.

It was like being on display in a zoo.


At English camp this past week, I had the "privilege" of meeting another Christian, a man named Hugh from Scotland. During one class, while the kids were busy working, we got to talking about college and I was pleased to learn that he was theology major. As conversation proceeded, he asked me if I went to church here and if so, which did I attend. I responded, "Oh, yes, I go to a Presbyterian church in town though I wouldn't necessarily designate myself as Presbyterian."


Which led to this question, "Yes, I know. It seems that there is only one type of Christian here: Presbyterian. I myself am Baptist but I can't find a Baptist church. Where do you attend at home?" "I go to an Assembly of God church." "Really? Now, what are they?" "Uh, Pentecostal. I wouldn't say that I'm AG either but they are closer than others to my personal beliefs." "Pentecostal? Really? Now what do they believe? What makes them different?"

*Uncomfortable pause.* (I knew what was coming. However, I was a little shocked that a theology major couldn't answer this question for himself...)

"Well, you know, Pentecostals believe that the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost has continued into the present and is evidenced by gifts of the Holy Spirit. Most commonly noted is speaking in tongues, which some circles of Pentecostals believe to be the initial evidence of Baptism in the Holy Spirit, though I don't personally agree with this doctrine."

"Oh! You're those people! You guys make up less than two percent of Christians in Scotland!"

It was all down-hill from there. From then on, I was like a rare specimen of Christian, ready to be poked, prodded and displayed for anyone to gawk at. I felt like a mutated lab rat, observed with that same curious fascination and disgust that draws one to things like animal dissections and owl droppings.

Now, I tried to give him the most politically correct answer I possibly could and I had wrongfully assumed that a theology major would be an open-minded individual that embraced the Christian spectrum. But alas, he was not. Instead, he couldn't let go of the fact that I am a Pentecostal. He kept returning to me all day and all week with questions about the strange and unexplainable occurrences within my sector of Christianity, questions I couldn't answer and wasn't prepared for. Questions that didn't seem to be asked out of a quest for knowledge or understanding but with that same curious disgust mentioned above.

I never thought I would be so overtly discriminated against for my beliefs by those whom I've always considered to be family members of the same faith.

I think what upset me most though was how he seemingly made fun of us/me in front of other Koreans. While riding in the car with three Korean teachers, he kept saying, "Simpson (that's a Korean teacher)! What's the word for Pentecostal? You know, Christian who makes non-sense--'Ababadabab-googlyboogly-lakdfoahoka'?" (This is where everyone laughs.) "Yeah, Kortney is Pentecostal. Kortney does 'Ababadabab-googlyboogly-lakdfoahoka.' She speaks strange language in prayer." Everyone laughs again and the Korean teachers look at me. Simpson says, "Really? Why? Why do you believe this?" I wanted to slap that idiot, Hugh. I wanted to say, "Wow, thanks for lumping my entire faith into what you call 'non-sense.'" Numerous jokes proceeded--all at my expense and the expense of the greater Christian community, because not only did I look bad, but so did Hugh.

I expect more from someone who professes to be a theology major. Perhaps a better understanding of Christianity or maybe a tolerance for those who believe in certain things outside of the box (even though speaking in tongues is still within the bounds of orthodoxy)... But I think what frustrates me most is that he completely discredited me in front of unbelievers and really damaged my chances of having any productive conversations about faith in the future. Not only that, but he presented an unfair and inaccurate representation of who or what Christians are.

Speaking in tongues is NOT a cornerstone of Christian faith and while all self proclaimed Pentecostals believe in the gift, not everyone has it (and not everyone has spoken in them--there's a difference). I have my disagreements with certain church doctrines regarding Tongues--certain doctrines which often draw the most attention and controversy--but I believe there is still biblical, historical, and modern phenomena that support the belief, and no one who can justify their faith deserves to degraded the way he proceeded to.

Anyhow, I'm over it now, but I just needed to vent here, and I want to make it clear that for all of you out there who sit outside of the Pentecostal circle and observe with a curious disgust, that we are kindred. Yes, on occasion we do embrace the unexplainable, but when has God himself ever been explainable? Please don't judge. I don't appreciate it when people laugh and joke about my faith. It's not laughable. While we may not understand each other sometimes, we must respect each other. It is the only way that non-Christians will ever learn to respect us all as a whole. Let's stop focusing on the minutiae and start focusing on cross.

Cleanliness is Next to Godliness

Now, I'm a rather clean person. I have my moments when clutter abounds but I'm generally up on the cleanliness of my dwelling. However, it seems that I can make no headway with my studio. I sweep and mop my floor every Sunday yet that seems to make no difference. I leave my shoes at the door and that makes no difference either. I am just completely dumb-founded by the amount of dust that collects in here. And you know, for the last three weeks I've been gone 5 days out of the week, and still the dust collects! Look at this!! How does a room that hasn't seen a body in 5 days collect so much dust?? Especially when it was swept the day before I left?? It's a conspiracy, I tell you. I bet the people next door are silently slipping dust under the door... There's just no way to explain it... And you know, this isn't even half the dust in my place. This is just what came off the floor. It speaks nothing of the dust all over my tv, my closet, my microwave, my shelf...

Adding to the problems with my place, I have a re-occurring mold problem. Because it's so cold outside and my walls are made of concrete, I often find that the walls in my kitchen and bathroom are sweating (that is, collecting condensation). Now, I had no idea that concrete could sweat but it does! I promise! And it's causing me problems. For the last couple months, every Sunday when I set out to clean my place, I find loads of mold along the cracks of my floor and walls in the kitchen, topped off with wet walls and mold growing up them. And it's not your average pink moisture mold either. Noooo, this is nasty black and green mold. No matter how many times I've wiped up the place, the mold seems to come back. I recently covered the floor with bleach and washed my walls with bleach too, which seems to have done the trick--for now. I haven't had any mold problems in two weeks. But I'm not convinced that it's gone for good. It doesn't help that I can't find mold cleaners here (because everything is written in Korean) and that my landlord didn't use mold-resistant caulking when he built the place (I've got mold inside all the caulked creases in my bathroom). So, for all you home-makers and mothers out there: do you have any tips for fixing a mold problem?

The English Camp Marathon Concluded

Oh, and what a wild three weeks it was! I can't believe that I actually survived! Three weeks of working 7 am-9 pm everyday is way too much! Here's a brief re-cap:

My week 2 class was extra special. They were so amazing. No class in the entire three weeks I was there bonded as much as they did. The girls were so sweet; the boys were hilarious. And when it came time for them to go, they cried. I wrote earlier about saying goodbye to them and I truly meant what I said. They were special. They made the whole last 5 months worth surviving.

We had so much fun playing games too! We had one event called Mini Olympics where all teams competed to win snacks. One of the games was a pin-pong ball relay. The kids loved it. That week, my team won. :)

Meanwhile, when they weren't playing games, the students were studying for the big skit performance at the end of the week. It was great fun and I'm happy to say that week 2 my kids took 1st place and week 3 my kids took second. Snow White is not so Bright was a big hit!!

Another part of Mini Olympics was a whole team relay. One student would run to the end of the gym, run back, pick up another student, and run to the end again. Repeat. The kid above, Kepler, from week 2, was the first runner in our team relay. He had to run the length of the gym 20 times! Yikes!!

But the teachers had fun too (especially during Golden Bell)!

Tug of war anyone? This kid was so smart! His English name: Candy. LOL! I can't believe his teacher named him that! Wahahaha! He didn't mind though. By the end of week 1, he was some sort of camp super star for his smarts. He won lots of prizes!

This is my team week 3. They were so funny. I almost lost it with this girl on the bottom right. She refused to uncover her face and refused to look up at the camera.... Now, I don't believe in corporal punishment, but by week 3 my patience was really thin (due mostly to exhaustion), and she almost made shake her. Seriously, as a photographer, I go crazy when kids put their hands in front of their faces and EVERY girl here does it!! Oh, how it drives me nuts!!

The kids week one were so troublesome save this one girl--Cleopatra (a name she chose herself, mind you). No one would participate in class, no one would get excited about English at all, no one would even smile--except Cleopatra. She has a dear spot in my heart. Since week one concluded, she's been emailing me regularly and lives only a couple towns away. Before school starts, I'm planning to meet her again (along with a couple other kids from her town) with two other foreign teachers who live close by. It should be lots of fun!

Some fun experiments with my camera! Looks like this kid is floating right?

This is King Alex. He played the kind in my Snow White play week three. What a sweety! He was so quiet all week but then really opened up on the last day. Just before we went home he gave me a letter and told me not to open it until I got home, and with a hug, he left. Here's what it said:

"To Kortney. Hi, Kortney. This is Alex. Thanks for four days. I was so glad to see you. I wasn't energetic student because I was worried about talking with foreigner. But now I think it's better. (Now.) I will remember you and Team Boom! It is very special days in my life because this kind of camp is first to me so I think you will understand me (about feeling shy and not active). If I have one more chance I can do better. Well, thanks for four days, Kortney. So thanks. And thanks for the role of the king. -Alex"

Sweet, huh? Then, when I returned home, he added me to MSN Messenger and we talked for an hour and decided I would be his pen pal. He is so sweet. I'm so privileged to have had him in my class!

And this little lover-boy! Oh my! We had this one game--the Bae Bae Ro game--which is played with one boy and one girl. The girl holds the cookie stick (kinda like a Pockey Stick) in her mouth and the boy must eat it. The object is to make the stick as small as possible without touching. However, I think this boy, Bryan, was seizing the day! Earlier he had confessed to us teachers that he had no friends at school which completely baffled us because he was so animate at the camp! At any rate, if he has no friends, he probably has no girlfriend either and this seems to have been his moment of glory! I was their judge and I must say that their stick was the shortest! Now, I'm not sure if he really kissed her or not. When she pulled away with the tiny piece of cookie in her mouth, I didn't think they had touched, but the pictures told a different story. I guess only they will know... :) Just a little camp romance! (I guess there was also a couple instances where the boys and girls were caught sneaking into each other's rooms at night in the dormitory.)

This little guy (literally) is Billy. I named him so because the name Simon was already taken. Simon Birch anyone? Yes, he's a dwarf. Perhaps one of the cutest kids in the whole camp.

And my week two boys. I will always remember them.

This camp was exhausting and challenging in so many ways but so worth it. What will I do now? I have the next three weeks to waste before I o off to Thailand. Three weeks to recover. Three weeks to sleep. :) Tonight my Filipino friend is coming over to stay the night, then I'm lesson planning all week, Friday another friend is coming to stay the night, and Saturday I'm off to the Taebaek Mountain Snow Festival. Should be fun! After that, I'm heading to Seoul for the DMZ tour and to meet a new friend. I'll probably just stick around and lesson plan after than. Maybe visit some friends in other cities but nothing too special. Just a lot of sleep.

A Country Torn in Two

An amazing documentary about North Korea.



A good lunch time video. Leave your thoughts in my comments.

Brain Nourishment

Now that I'm not in school, I have much more time to read and I am finally getting the chance too pick up several book that I just didn't have time for in college.

Recent purchases: 55 Successful Harvard Law School Application Essays, The Penguin Book of Twentieth Century Speeches, The Sex Lives of Cannibals, Kabul Beauty School, A Long Way Gone, Into the Wild, Hatchet, The Divine Comedy, The Abolition of Man, Eats, Shoots and Leaves, Walden and Other Writings, Common Sense, The Subjugation of Women, Woman in the 19th Century, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, On the Social Contract (a response), Wicked, and Northanger Abbey.

Oh, so many books! So little time!

Sweeny Todd

Umm... Tim Burton really is a marvelous freak.

The music was wonderful, the acting amazing, the costumes and cinematography spectacular, and the gore vomit inducing. This is NOT a movie for the weak (and even some strong) constitution people! It's very Quintin Taratino-esque... On steroids.

Probably wouldn't watch it again. Think twice before you go.

Adding to my toilet adventures....

Hahaha!! (I'm still laughing)

Last night I was using a toilet in the Outback Steakhouse bathroom and had a little problem. I couldn't figure out how to flush it. It had a bidet contraption attached to it so I was little confused by the numerous buttons. Which one do you push to flush? As I stood there looking at the toilet, I decided the best thing to do was to just push every button. (Dumb idea.) Nothing was really happening at all until that fateful moment when I watched this little tube like thing come whirring out and into the toilet bowl where it looked at me and, in a moment of climactic significance, started spraying me with water! I got all over my front side (from my navel to my knees) and I was screaming as I tried to turn avoid the spray! I ended up holding out my hand, trying to stop the water before it got me, but not even that worked! The spray range was much larger than my hand was wide! About 20 seconds later I found the stop button and my little shower ended. I eventually discover that like any toilet, flushing was simple--just pull the little handle behind the toilet seat. I was so wet from my little mishap when I returned to our table! Always happy to be the evening entertainment!

Wish it could have been on video. It was practically right out of Saturday Night Live.

We won!!

Just thought I would let you know that my team won the English Camp Academy Award for Best Play Production and our leading role, Snow White, won Best Actress. It was a blessed evening.

Here is the play in all it's grandeur. Each scene is about two minutes long. The play is called Snow White is not so Bright (written and directed by yours truly).

Scene 1


Scene 2


Scene 3


Scene 4


Scene 5


Scene 6


This morning I said goodbye to my camp kids (Team Dirty Dozen). It was really emotional. I didn't realize how much they had grown on me or how much I had grown on them. Amid tears from both the girls and the boys, I found myself touched beyond what I expected. I really felt like I had accomplished something. The kids really did improve their English, but more importantly, they found confidence in speaking and really felt safe using English with me. Each hug told me how much I meant to them. I was a teacher, a friend, a sister, a trusted loved-one. I really did make an impact, but so did they. They reminded me that I am a good teacher, that I shouldn't give up, that they love me just as much as I love them. I have waited 5 months for a week like this and I am so blessed that I could share it with such an amazing group of kids. As cheesy as it sounds, I won't ever forget them and I know they won't ever forget me either. In fact, I had a text message from one of them before I got home, from the one girl who didn't want a hug, telling me that she loved me. It's times like these that remind us that love truly is the greatest gift of all.

Toilets

Oh, the wonders of toilets!

When I first arrived here, the first toilet I ever used was at Incheon Airport and there was a little doorbell looking thing in the stall with a label on it that said, "Courtesy Bell." It's purpose: to drown-out the sound of your toilet duties and therefore prevent unnecessary embarrassment.

On another trip to Seoul, I was at the theater with Courtney and in the bathroom were these curious little toilet seats with automatic plastic seat covers that zoomed around the toilet seat immediately after you flushed. Here's how it works:



There are also some amazing squatty potties out there:



(Though I think this restroom exists in Vietnam, the cleanliness of this bathroom and the style of the toilet is pretty common among Korean restaurants.) *Picture taken from the Internet.

Also common among restaurants, is the dual urinal-toilet combo bathroom where men and women urinate simultaneously. This is how it works: climb the decaying staircase to the crumbling landing, open the dilapidated door marked "TOILET," pinch your nose because the trash cans full of soiled toilet paper haven't been emptied in a while, shield your eyes from the man peeing at the urinal on your right (he doesn't mind if you're there), squeeze past the others waiting to use the urinal, step up into the squatty potty stall and close the door (but keep it cracked just enough because sometimes there isn't any light in there and you don't want to miss the toilet in the dark), hold up your pant legs because it looks like someone peed on the floor and your don't want to get it on your pants, curse out loud because you forgot to bring your toilet paper with you (tp isn't always provided in the bathroom), think of a solution to your problem (either drip-dry or vow to come back with tp ASAP and finish your "paper work"), exit cess-pit with eyes shielded again because a new man is peeing in front of your bathroom stall, curse again because there's no sink to wash your hands in (and if there were, there probably wouldn't be any soap), resume breathing upon exiting the restroom.

Yes, this story is true. This bathroom DOES exist.

Koreans and their economically-conscious architecture design:



I think I've ACTUALLY seen this toilet in a Seoul! How would you like to be leading your three year old down to the loading platform and run across a man doing his business at the bottom of the stairs? You can have a biology AND anatomy lesson at the same time while waiting at for the train! Life is one big educational experience...

I'm not sure if this sign is real or not (found it on the Internet) but the writing is in Korean:




Toilet paper is sometimes in excess but usually unavailable. Most business expect you to carry your own and schools NEVER put tp in their bathrooms. Sometimes (I usually find them at the bus station) you can find toilet paper vending machines. When you go to the gas station and fill up, you get gratis tp with your purchase. Just tell the gas station attendants that you would like some and they'll bring it right to your car.

Some bathrooms (I've seen them in airports and nice hotels) have bidets. What is a bidet?



It's a wonderful little contraption that cleanses your bum or front side after each use of the toilet. They are really popular in Japan and among some homes in Korea.

Oh the numerous adventures in bathroom land!

A brief update...

I am currently at camp and LOVING it! PTL! I am having a great week! My kids this week are awesome! They are so energetic and get a long really well. In fact, everyone wishes they had my class! It's such a huge change from last week!

That's the funny thing about teaching. You can have on bad kid and the rest go bad too. You can have one bad class and the whole day is ruined. You can have one bad day and the whole week feels like a waste. You can have one bad week and start thinking about going home. Sometimes living here is like being caught up in the middle of a domino line and there is nothing you can do when they all start to fall. Thankfully this week picked up again. I am so grateful for it. Let's hope that next week is good too!

I'll be posting pictures and videos from camp in a couple weeks. Stay tuned!

As for my life ambitions, more and more opportunities keep popping up. I'm currently working on my application for the Foreign Service Exam (it's taken me over 2 weeks to complete and I still have 3 more essays to write!) and Peace Corps remains a lingering thought... For the past few months I've thought of nothing but paying off my student loans but these last few days have brought fresh perspective; maybe I should just defer them for a little while and really go off somewhere I want to be or try a new place that I've never considered (PC?)... Don't get me wrong, Korea is nice but I can't see myself here long term. I might be able to do a second year but I can't imagine anything beyond that. Just thought I'd put that out there. What am I currently thinking about? Moving to Francophone Africa, Thailand or India. I need change.

Oh, the places you'll go!

It's official!

I purchased my seat in a tour from Intrepid Travel a couple weeks ago and today I finally purchased my plane ticket... I'M GOING TO THAILAND!!!! I've been waiting for this for sooo long!

The trip highlights:

• Days 1 & 2: Bangkok! Sights include: The Grand Palace, canal rides in a longtail boat, and Temple of the Emerald Buddha (plus the numerous little side trips I want to take)!
• Days 3 & 4: Khao Sok National Park. Highlights: Rainforest, rainforest, rainforest!! 2 nights in remote floating raft houses, swimming, hiking, and wildlife spotting.
• Days 5 & 6: Khao Sok National Park. Jungle hikes to cave temples and evening story time with locals about the legends behind the caves, hikes to waterfalls, inner-tubing down a rainforest river, and elephant rides in bush!
• Days 7 & 8: Krabi. Homestay one night, second night hotel. Highlights: cooking lessons, exploring the village, trying rubber stamping, visiting mosques, the infamous limestone karst scenery, sea kayaking, swimming, and thai boxing.
• Days 9-13: Trang Coast/Andaman Sea (Ko Sukorn). Highlights: two nights camping under the stars on the beach, swimming, kayaking, rockclimbing, biking, nature walks, dugong sighting tips, snorkeling, scuba diving, parasailing (?), visiting a fishing village, and visiting a rubber plantation.
• Days 14 & 15: Back to Bangkok. Find those last minute gems that I can't leave without seeing. Probably includes a Thai massage/spa.
• The whole trip: LOTS OF PHOTOS!!

Can't wait!!

In the meantime...

I just arranged to showcase my photography in a local gelato/coffee shop (cue giddy smile!) and I need your help selecting photos to take in for selection. I have pulled out my favorites into a photo album and would appreciate your comments. Please visit the album here and leave a comment on the three you like the best. Also, for your convenience, Picasa has a slideshow option which you can use to view the photos with. Just click on a photo and then click "slideshow" on the right side menu bar. Thanks and happy commenting!

MIA

In case you've been wondering where I slipped off to, I started teaching at the English camps this week so I can't really post much--I just don't have the time. I might be able to get one in later this afternoon, but if I don't, worry not! I am alive, healthy and well-fed. I'll probably post some photos this weekend when I come home. Until then, enjoy your break from reading!

Snow Days

I am finally getting around to blogging this adventure.

Wednesday and Tuesday Courtney and I went on a ski trip with her school to Yangjin ski resort near Seoul. It was lots of fun as I took this opportunity to work on my snowboarding skills (not that I improved much). I did, however, have the burden of teaching a couple boys how to snowboard! Wah! I just learned a week ago and I still can't turn very well if at all! Everyone else was skiing which left me to take care of the two snowboarding kids. It was fun though, and surprisingly, they actually learned to snowboard--well, they learned as much as I know. :)


So, these are my boys. Hyeon Geon on the left and Hyeon Seop on the right. They were so cute. I loved hanging out with them all day. They were such gentlemen! They were always packing my board for me and always finding me the best place to put my bindings on. Could it be that my cold-feminist heart is thawing and I'm embracing such archaic acts of chivalry?? I must admit that I enjoyed being doted on (the one on the right was so in love with me)! lol.

We stayed in an amazing condo resort right in front of the slopes. This picture is the view from our balcony. By far the best hotel I've ever stayed in!

Am I dancing as I come down the hill??

The after-skiing party, complete with lots of soju. My excuse for not drinking: "Oh, I just took some medicine (ibuprofen) and can't have alcohol. Sorry!" I just don't like the stuff...

That coat was so huge! I felt like a big ball of yellow coming down the hill! Courtney is on the far right and the boy next to her is her own admirer--Dong Il (the nephew of the woman who runs the orphanage). He's a cutie too.

All the boys on the buss ride up.

It was a good two day trip but I'm suffering the consequences now--my butt is so bruised! I think I might have fallen on a big piece of ice at one point.

What makes skiing in Korea different that the states? Well, the slopes are covered by snow machines, not the real stuff. And when you go up the chairlift, you often seen a snowy run but right next to it you see completely bare ground. It really plays tricks with your eyes. Very few people have any skiing skills at all. Most just go straight down the hill until the fall and stop rolling. It makes learning kind of hard when you can't go very far before having to stop for the masses of falling people. In fact, Courtney chose to wear a helmet because she was so afraid of getting hit by someone!

Also, ski resorts here have free air machines outside so you can blow the snow and ice off your skis/snowboard when you leave and won't track snow into your car. And renting equipment here is unbelievably simple. You just go in, pay your money and pick up your gear. No paperwork whatsoever. I hate America and all its little disclaimers and what-not. Also, you can rent all of you snow clothes there too--pants, coats, the works!--plus your goggles and gloves! I love this system! I makes skiing and snowboarding so accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy who can afford it. Oh, and the equipment rental is usually about $30, not the $70 and up that it can cost at home.

Girls will be girls!

I just found out that my sister is having a baby girl!! Woo hoo!! I'm so excited! My first niece!! Conratulations, Stacy!!

Blast from the past and into the future.

2007's Most Memorable Moments:

1. Waking up early with Karla to make breakfast in our pj's when school was cancelled because of snow.

2. Winning second place at the NW Regional World Debate Championship with Taylor Jones.

3. Deciding not to continue with The Talon and then bawling my eyes out for two months over the guilt of it.

4. Deciding to do the Peace Corps.

5. Walking across the stage at my college graduation and passing notes during the remainder of the ceremony. :)

6. Listening to the howling wind wreak havoc down the canyon as I lay still and silent in my tent on my 7 day rafting trip down the Yampa River.

7. Sipping tea and sharing family stories with Aunt Judy on one lazy summer morning.

8. Sleeping in the Denver airport when I couldn't get a flight out and back to Seattle. Also, on that same evening, meeting the man who invented the Sonicare Toothbrush.

9. Working myself into a sweaty pulp to earn my very first karate belt and then taking it home and wearing it with pride the next day.

10. Giving perhaps the best speech of my life--witty, clever, educated, and honest--at the World Debating Championship in Vancouver, where I not only impressed judges from all over the world, but took my partner and I into the top seeded rounds.

11. Sharing bbq chicken salads on sunset picnics once a week with Amanda.

12. Studying karate with a real Shaolin monk and then bonding with the Karate Club girls for the first time after our lesson.

13. Realizing mid-flight, "Oh, my God. I'm moving to Korea."

14. Taking a night cruise down the Han River in Seoul and thinking, "Wow, this is a dream. Someone wake me up!"

15. Standing in the middle of a Thai mask parade and taking pictures at the Andong Festival.

16. Praising God in the middle of a Korean service and realizing He knows my name.

17. Learning to snowboard!!

18. Saying goodbye to all my friends at Dillatantes and being able to share a special piece of my heart with each of them.

19. Singing Christmas carols at the street concert.

20. Finishing my very last final exam at Julia Young's house on Lake Washington.

10 Resolutions for 2008:

1. Travel to 3 new countries.

2. Make a new best friend.

3. Revive an old friendship.

4. Lead someone to Christ.

5. Get something published.

6. Make my students more confident.

7. Take tests: LSAT, GRE, FSE

8. Start a big project, something bigger than myself.

9. Pay off at least 1/2 my student loans.

10. Make at least two good connections in my field.

Good morning, 2008.

Life Goes On
The beat carries me away—
Zipping by on a sunlight ray—
Taking off on the train of life,
I ride all day, I ride all night—
Like a horse drawn by its reigns—
Like blood flowing through my veins—
Like a baseball player’s fast ball thrown—
Or my Shoes which have a mind of their own—
Life keeps going,
My peers unknowing,
A rock with no moss,
Speckled with loss,
Almost against my will—
My strength is sometimes killed—
But no stops tonight,
Eighty-seven years this journey is my plight,
Look back and say the journey was best,
Because in the end I’ll stop and— —

At 6:00 am we all got up and walked up the hill, back to the festival, for the sunrise ceremony. I don't think there is anything I could say to aptly describe what took place this morning. It was simply poetic. As masses of people gathered for the sunrise, a man beat his drum, gaining in tempo with our mounting anticipation and the sky intensifying red, orange and pink hues. When the sun finally rose above the clouds and over the Pacific, thousands of helium filled balloons went soaring towards the horizon, carried by the wind and bound for a new day. I could hear the lady next to me hold her breath and let it out with a whisper, saying, "Yaeputa," or "Beautiful." It was magical. And as the fishing boats set course for a new day--a new year of prospects, everyone gathered under the new year's sun secretly said a silent prayer for their own hopes and dreams, that as life goes on, so will we.

Goodnight, 2007. Good morning, 2008.

For more pictures, click here.

Goodnight, 2007.

New Years Eve 2007--what an adventure!

Courtney and I decided to join our friend Jill and her boyfriend Carlson for a one night excursion to the East coast of Korea. Destination: Yeongdeok (pronounced "young duck"). It is Korean tradition to watch the sunrise on New Year's Day and Yeongdeok has the oldest sunrise festival on the peninsula.

With nothing to do on New Year's Eve, traveling across the country seemed like the best option.

We didn't decide to leave until around noon (our mistake). It took us about 5 hours to reach the coast. Once we got there, it was a little confusing finding our way to the sunrise festival. We had to take a $10 taxi and then find a hotel while waiting for Jill and Carl to show up. Unfortunately, the hotels that usually cost $29 were jacked up to $200 a night! WOW! That set us back a little... Once Jill and Carl showed up we all went out to dinner together and ate some fresh caught crab--by far the most delicious crab I've ever had.

Afterwards we walked around the festival and perused the activities. There was a heavy metal concert (which seems to be the norm at festivals though nobody dances or even bobs their head!), a tree were you were supposed to stick a paper to that had your 2008 wish on it (later that night they poured gasoline on the tree and lit it on fire), a huge pagoda with a big bell lit up with florescent lights, and fireworks (which was kinda scary since everyone was walking around shooting off roman candles and flinging sparklers without any sense of caution). After walking around the festival for a bit, we decided to walk down to the water but gave up because it was a long walk.

Instead, we found an SUV with some drunk Koreans inside--much more interesting. Courtney started the fun by walking up to the car and saying, "Happy New Year!" and asking for a kiss (she didn't get one). However, her erratic behavior didn't scare them off! We had such a blast just hanging out with them on the side of the street and talking in our broken Korean and their... well... less than broken English. It was funny though. They had the music cranked up, were dancing, drinking Soju like water, passing around hard boiled eggs which we accepted joyously, and in turn, we shared our bottle of wine with them.

After our little roadside party, we headed back to the festival for the countdown. One of the Koreans selling sparklers gave us about 20 for free so we had some fun taking pictures with those.

Next was the countdown: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... DONG!!! There goes the bell! I joked that they would probably ring it 2008 times but no, they only rang it 33 times--a symbolic number in Buddhism which signifies the 33 steps to enlightenment. Will we be enlightened in 2008? Probably not.

Following the bell was a long slew of speeches and standing around for so long froze the marrow in my bones. But I was going to warm up soon! Next was the tree lighting and fireworks ceremony. I was lucky to get a front row spot right behind the police brocade for the tree lighting where they burned our 2008 wishes, and PTL! I was on the right side of the three! The wind picked up in the middle of the fire and sent tons of embers flying into the crowd directly across from me! Then, just on the right of the circle from me, the timbers inside the tree pyramid started exploding and sending more embers into the crowd! It was a little scary but luckily I was safe and so was the rest of the crowd. To finish off the ceremony, a group of traditional Korean dancers and percussionists ran around the circle in a ritual of sound and light. You can see them in the last two pictures below.

After the ceremony, we all headed back to the hotel and tried to get warm before going to bed. It was going to be an early morning.