2010

Happy New Year from South Korea!

We are enjoying the second week of our winter vacation! It's been fantastic. I'm grateful for this time just to relax and enjoy slowing down a little from the busy semester.

Our vacation has been pretty low key. We've enjoyed time with friends but mostly we've been spending time at home. Next week we might take a short trip to the coast or maybe to an ice festival that's about an hour away from Seoul.

We did have a trip to the Namdaemyeon Market with our friends, Scott and Dionne. We had a wonderful day--despite a lot of walking a long bus ride the kids did great. I've only been to the market one other time and though it was cold, I found the market much more enjoyable with less people packing the streets--very narrow streets. We made a few great purchases--warm boots and gloves for Zach, a "yo" (traditional Korean bedding for the floor but also nice to add to very hard mattresses) and the best part of the day was finding a little Kebab stand outside the market! We finished our day at the Husted's enjoying a Mexican Feast.

Tonight we brought in the New Year with our friends, Chris and Kim. Chris and Kim live down the hall from us. We met one day while catching the elevator and have been hanging out ever since. I don't know how I got through the evening without my camera . . . I have no pictures or video of us bringing in 2010. We talked, laughed, played Scrabble and enjoyed listening to our kids play together.

It's been an emotional day and yet my heart is full and I'm grateful for the year we leave and the year we are beginning here in South Korea.






Happy New Year from Korea!

42

Today is my birthday. I am 42. I live in Korea. Crazy. Wonderful. Awesome. My life is incredibly full and blessed!

That's all I have to say.

4 months, not 5

** it seems I made a mistake, we've only been here 4 months.

Another month has passed. We have been in Korea for 4 months today. It's the week of Christmas and our little apartment here in Bundang is festive and full of cheer--well, with exception of the occasional whine, argument and sibling rivalry.

Perhaps I shouldn't say this out loud or even in type, but 5 months from now, Todd will be finishing up his first year as a Science Teacher and we will be heading back to the States for summer vacation. As I say that, I wonder, will the next 5 months go as quickly as these? Will they seem long and frustrating? Will I just live to get by until we can visit friends and family?

On one hand, I feel very content here. It feels like home (just missing a lot of people we love). For Todd, too, life here feels "normal". Zach continues to have moments of homesickness and longings for his friends but he is growing up so much and we see beautiful things happening in his heart. Lia, is just happy. Happy to be here. Happy to look like everyone else.

As I sit here looking out our window over Bundang, I am undone by God's faithfulness. We have had an amazing journey over the course of our marriage--the last two years have been extremely beautiful and difficult. But God. But God, has proven His goodness, His mercy, His unfailing love and His Greatness in our lives.

Hagwon

What's a Hagwon? Thanks to Wikipedia you can read all about the Korean Hagwon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagwon

Basically, it's more school. After attending school all day, students attend a hagwon for extra study in any number of specific courses. English, Science, Math, Computer . . . the list goes on. It's common for middle school and high school students to attend a Hagwon until 11:00 at night.

We have a lot of friends here who are employed at Hagwons. I'm thankful that they have jobs but wrestle with how Hagwon's are operated and if this is the best avenue of learning for students.

Many parents are dissatisfied with the Public School system so they send their children to a Hagwon. There is so much pressure to do well academically and this is a sure way of getting ahead in academics. That said the cost is expensive and parents make a lot of sacrifice to get their child all the education that they can.

For Hagwon owners, if you have a successful business, it can prove to be very lucrative--so no one really wants to get rid of the Hagwon.

We had a friend tell us that his mother would have him study until late into the night and then wake him up at 5:00am to study before going to school. He always fell asleep in his homeroom class--he just couldn't stay awake. He was told that he only needed 4 hours of sleep a night and that he should get use to it. What?

If you were to hop on the subway tonight at 11:00 you would see middle aged to high school aged kids on their way home from a full day of school and a full evening at a Hagwon.

Todd told his students one day that if he could, he would make a law that students could only attend school for 8 hours a day. If extra tutoring is needed, that is fine, but all students would only be required 8 hours of school.

The students said, "Mr. Stewart, we would vote for you."

Our Lia-Joy

Lia has two friends, Ocean and Sky. The girls are almost as spicy as Lia. Here is their conversation last night while sharing some candy.

Lia: "I want some."
Ocean & Sky: "Well, Lia, you don't like candy that much because you're Chinese."
Lia: "I'm not that Chinese!"

It's funny that Ocean and Sky made this assumption and funny that Lia responded the way she did. Candy can make you say and do crazy things! You don't want to mess with Lia and her sweets--she loves them!

ENT visit and Korean conversation

Monday, after nearly passing out in the shower, I decided to visit the ENT (ear, nose and throat doctor). I've had pressure in my ears, particularly my right ear. This has caused me to be dizzy and at times unable to keep my balance. It was a traumatic visit but I lived to tell about it. If you would like to see the video's I made, check out the Flicr page on the right of the blog.

Today I met with the ladies who desire to teach me Korean and for me to help them with their English conversation. This week wasn't as exhausting as our first visit. It was actually a lot of fun.

We talked about music we enjoy. Michael Jackson was a favorite of theirs--we sang some Beat It together. We also sang one of my favorites, Piano Man by Billy Joel. It was awesome, me and three Korean ladies, "sing us a song, you're the piano man, sing us a song tonight . . ." we were laughing and singing along with one another--another moment when the language barrier is hurdled--through music. Thankful.

My lesson today was to learn a Korean Children's song. I'm posting a video for your entertainment. I'm a slow learner. Very slow. But they cheered me on and told me that my bad singing was "good" and we laughed . . . a lot. (video is on flicr)

Young Sim

In previous post, I've mentioned my friend Young Sim, from the noodle shop in our apartment building. I enjoy going to her shop. She is always so warm and kind, a sweet smile on her face. Her shop is always busy! Which is a good sign that her place is GOOD!

I've wanted to do something special for her but haven't known exactly what to do. We can't really communicate. Neither of us are skilled in the others language. I decided last week to bring her a poinsettia--they are beautiful, just like she is!

I stopped by her restaurant and gave her the poinsettia--it was wonderful!

We exchanged phone numbers so that we could text each other and made a date for Sunday--today.

We met outside her shop at 4pm and went to a beautiful cafe in our building. She brought her cousin (at least I think that's their relation). They each had electronic dictionaries. Which is awesome! Our conversation was very broken. We laughed. I drew a picture of the United States to show where our family is from. It was a lovely time.

After our time having tea, they invited Lia and I to meet them for dinner. I said, "sure!" It's too confusing to try and figure out scheduling a time so I just went along.

I told them if I could make a wish, I would wish that I could speak Korean. In Konglish (that's a combo of English and Korean), they said they would wish to speak English.

Hopefully, in time, we will be able to communicate. Smiles go a long way--she calls me her friend.

The week in review

The past week has flown by--seriously, I feel like I blinked and a week has passed. Last week we were preparing for our huge Thanksgiving Feast, decorating our 4ft Christmas tree and missing family, friends and football! Yes, it's true, I said football.

A few post ago I mentioned meeting two very sweet woman at Mosaic (cafe) during Youth Club. We played Wii and giggled a lot. We joked a little, so I thought, about doing a language exchange--me helping them with their English and they would help me learn Korean. I didn't think this was a done deal. Confirmed. Set in stone. Gonna make it happen. But, I was very wrong.

Last Friday we met for coffee. They were eagerly waiting and with gifts. They brought me a children's book of Korean words and their meaning. The front of the book says, "To Kim! Keep Fighting! We can do it! From Sunny! It's written in both English and Korean. Wow! Incredibly kind. But I am somewhat confused.

We weren't just meeting to chat in our broken language abilities, we were going to have a lesson. After a few moments they say, "We are going to eat now. Where do you want to go?" I didn't really have any ideas so they suggested going across the hall from the cafe to a very nice restaurant. The restaurant is set up with private rooms. We were escorted to the room and they ordered our meal.

For almost two hours we enjoyed lunch and very broken conversation and laughter. It was so hard. I was completely exhausted when we left. I can't even begin to explain how difficult it was to listen, communicate and concentrate on everything I said and what they were trying to say. My brain was exhausted.

What do you do when you're exhausted? Take a deep breath and go order a cup of tea. That's what I did. I went back over to Mosaic, ordered a cup of tea and sat down for some more English Conversation. This time I was with a group of woman who speak English very well and like to practice. On Friday mornings they attend a class called Boundaries and afterward, they order lunch and spend the afternoon chatting.

I absolutely love this time.

I could share so many beautiful things about this time. We talk about family, culture, relationships, decorating, God, healing, joys, sorrows--it's rich and full and for me, an answer to prayer.

Today I was with these ladies again. They are each in their late 50's, early 60's. Their children are in college, many in the United States. Most are Christians, a couple are Buddhist but longing for something more, they long for truth and that search is leading them to Jesus.

Today, we talked about Christmas. We talked about our children. I heard the stories of several of the woman, whose parents fled North Korea during the war. I heard them share their hopes and fears for a unified Korea. They encouraged me about the struggles of living in another culture and how they believe that one day Zach would look back and be grateful for this time. Amazing.

After we left Mosaic, three of the ladies, who actually live just around the corner in a very nice high rise apartment building wanted to show me the facilities of their building. They keep saying we should move there--I'm pretty sure it's out of the school budget. :-) I agreed and then we went back to one of their apartments for tea. It was fantastic. And their building, ya, it's super nice.

Thanksgiving! Let me just say, it was FANTASTIC. We had 34 people in our apartment, enjoying good food and fellowship. It was loud and crazy but so fun.

What else happened this week . . . well, I started work. Yep, I'm the new school librarian. All in all it went really well but I'm missing my free time and having a clean apartment. LOL! I'm only working 21 hours a week but after commute time it seems like more. I shouldn't complain. I'm grateful for the opportunity and the salary.

Todd is looking forward to winter break. He continues to work so hard! Tonight, he and the other guy teachers went out for a beer after work. I think it's good for him! Take a break, laugh with the guys and enjoy some good beer. The place they go to is called Raccoons! Why they named it that is beyond me but Todd says it's actually a pretty descent place so they are going to try and make it a regular thing.

I've posted pictures on Flicr and will add a video or two from Thanksgiving.

Zach and Todd are at Youth Club tonight. Lia is asleep and I'm enjoying a glass of wine, blogging and listening to the sounds of our very busy neighborhood.

What a life! :-)