Goodbye Daegu

Well. It has been a year since I started this journey and the time has come to end it. I am sad to leave Daegu. I have grown into a new person here and removed some of the sin that stained my life so terribly before. I have found a new love for God that I didn't know existed and am excited to start this next journey in life with him. While I am looking around for jobs I am focused on one particular place, ALaska. Anchorage to be exact. I feel pulled to go there. I have many issues with being alone(mainly that I don't like it and will put it off as often asI can) but my pastor reminded me yesterday that solitude is an important part of spending time with God. Its hard to have alone time with God if you are never alone. I look at how I spend my time with God, completely differently now. Before it was something i was supposed to do but never did, now its something I want to do but have a hard time fitting it in. Luckily I will have about 21 hours to find some alone time with him in the midst of many other people running around to get on planes and to their destinations.

All in all, coming to Korea has changed my life. Not only is it a beautiful country with very friendly people, it is a place to discover the kind of person you want to be without the influence of others. Thank God for bringing me here and saving me from myself! Soon I will see most of you in the Eastern USA.

WHOA!!!!!

Its Easter Sunday. I plan on celebrating the Resurrection of my Lord and Savior by enjoying the cherry blossoms that have come out in Gyeongju. This will be my thrd trip to gyeongju, but instead of focusing on shopping I'm focusing on the natural beauty and the history. Im excited to be going with my favorites and can't wait to come back and add a lot of pictures to my facebook album :).

I have 30 days left in Korea...and its a little weird. After spending a year developing relationships, habits, and a healthier lifestyle Im about to be thrust back into a world that led me to some bad life choices before. I know that God will keep me out of those patterns and that I can rely on Him to keep me safe.
The good side of this, is that I finally get to see my niece! IM so excited to hold Ellie for the first time. I can't wait to see her and her mother. I've missed Holly a lot but I think this experience was good for both us. We both had to learn to depend on God a more and eachother less. Interesting how He works.

Now I'm Off to explore the beauties of God's creation.....

Time flies.....

WOW. I can't believe its Almost Valentines day. I will be leaving Korea in less than three months. IT seems crazy that my year is almost finished. Im happy to see my friends and family back home, but will be so sad to leave the people I have grown to love here. There will be soo many new things for me when I go back home. Holly will have a baby(hopefully she will have her in the next couple of days) I will be smaller, Mitch willl be home, and my nieces will all be a year older. Its hard to imagine going back to things that have always been after I have become a better version of myself. It will be hard to find my place again. Hopefully by the time I return, there will be a job waiting for me....Somewhere....(keep your fingers crossed for Alaska).

In other news, This weekend I will be going to Seoul with Paige and her parents(they have come to visit for a week). This weekend also happens to be Seollul(Lunar New Year) so a lot of things will be closed but we may be able to go to some fun folk villages and watch traditional dances, hear traditional music, and eat rice cake soup(its not as bad as it sounds, I promise) I will be taking a lot of pictures though and am now promising to post them on here and on facebook.

Well, im off to another day of teaching students english and practicing my daily use of Korean(which I am still terrible with).

Happy Holidays

Ok so it is very clear that I am not very good at keeping up with this..hahaSince my last post I have been to Seoul(only for a day but it was fun), Entertained people at my home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas(the last one was tiring but so worth it), and got a new computer(a cute little hp mini :) ). I am going to once again attempt to post pictures.
Thanksgiving, everyone piled on my bed(and around it)

Its weird how calm I have been over the past few days, even though I am across the world from the rest of my family. I have realized that while I love them and will always visit them, I am a much better person when I am not around them. Mom and I are actually closer now than we have ever been. This does not mean that I plan on living the rest of my life in Korea. Just that I can honestly say, I will not be living in West Virginia. I am moving on to much bigger places(well maybe not bigger but different). I have many options for what I want to do and am hoping to get a new job before leaving here in May. Everyone, please say a prayer that I will get a position that will

Me and Jenny on Christmas Eve

allow me to use my talents in a manner pleasing to God.

It is almost the new year, and I am trying to figure out a set of resolutions. I have 2 so far, but I am not sure they are realistic. Who knows...maybe they are. lol. Anywho

Leana and Christianna on Christmas eve

I hope every one had a very Merry Christmas and will have a Happy New Year. Its almost 2010(freaky). WOOHOO!

WOW...6 months already.

Well, It has been a very long time since I last updated everyone. I have been to Gyeonju again(and it was fantastic).

I got to go to the Flower festival here in Daegu, with my coworker and friend Paige, at the Daegu Arboritum, which just happens to be about a 20 minute walk from where we live. We got to see so many beautiful displays of flowers. It was wonderful. Many of the flowers had been shaped into something that you could easily find in Korea. On our walk around the flowers we also got to see a black squirrel. I have only seen a couple of them here, but they are fun little creatures. They are solid black and much quicker than the squirrels around Emory(and also a little less fat...lol). It has been a good 6 months. I have lost a good bit of weight and am two weeks into a new fitness program that will hopefully allow me to drop between 10-15 lbs over an 8 week period...and also get up to running 3 miles. I would really like to do a small marathon for charity when I get back to the states and am hoping the cold winter here doesn't deter my efforts.

As for the Koreans, they do more funny things everyday. Like the random cab drivers who try to have conversations with me in Korean, because I understand what they say when they ask me where I am from, how long I have been in Korea, and how to get to where I live (I happen to live behind the Korean housing authority so most people find it easily). Its been a fun experience these past couple weeks sharing my culinary passions with friends who love to eat more than I do. I am exploring different kinds of food to make and am trying my hand at some Korean cooking too. I cant wait to come home at make some traditional korean food for everyone. Really, it tastes awesome. I had Chamchi Jiggae yesterday (thats tuna/kimchi stew) and it was really good.

The weather here is getting colder...it stays in around the 50's. I know those of you in the states may be a bit envious of this since some of you are already getting snow. Sadly, Daegu does not get much snow. so have lots of fun with all the snow you have and think of me.

I think that is all for now. Later this month I should have an update on Thanksgiving at my place for all the foreigners that I know in Daegu. We are even getting a turkey from the military base. Its pretty exciting.

Tata for now...

boring

I have been kind of boring lately. To save money I am only doing things in the city...I am hoping to visit and get pictures of more parks and mountains in the fall so have no fear. It is September and the temperature is still in the mid-high 80's most days....AAAHHH!!! It makes me want to live in Alaska all the more...haha.

In new news...I have two more new coworkers(well sort of). I was moved to the new branch of my school for this semester with a new coworker named Brady from WEST VIRGINIA! He is from the wheeling area so really we are no where near close to each other geographically, but still its cool to have someone to talk to about places at home. The other coworker is at the old school. His name is Jim...he is a graduated art ed major from Tuscan...very cool guy.

The new school is in a different district of the city and is about a 35 minute walk from my apartment or a 20 minute bike ride(it would take less time if it weren't for stop lights). I have taken my bike only a couple times because I sometimes just like to walk. Its nice to ensure that I am getting about an hour of exercise a day. I am down another 5 lbs from July so here's hoping I can continue and get down another 10 by the end of September to meet my goal!

Well, I think that is all for now. It has been a bit boring around on the adventure front...A lot happening on the Spiritual one though. I will update more about that later though.

Babo

Ok, so today I realized something. I haven't really explained anything about the culture in Korea. So here goes.
Imagine Pop culture up a couple notches. Everything here is Cute...even the boys wear cutesy clothes. Couples outfits are very popular(they even sell couples underwear so everything can match). Everyone holds hands; child-parent(up to and past age 18), friends(guy and girl), sisters, brothers,grandparents-grandchildren...everyone! Also this is something I find very odd. Everyone wears sandals...but with socks! and usually Character socks (again something cutesy is preferable). Women even wear socks with their High Heels. I think it is crazy, but it is perfectly fine here. Also, I have never seen so much leg. Women here will wear booty shorts and skirts but wouldn't dare show their shoulders or even the tiniest bit of cleavage. As a foreigner I get stared at everywhere I go. I am also the only person here to continuously be "petted." Older women will come up to me and rub my arms and hands like I'm not real and then say something in korean that I dont understand. I can usually pick up that they are saying something about my paleness, but really its kind of annoying. My favorite thing is when they try to take pictures of you with their cell phones and think you can't tell. Its awesome. A couple friends and I always make sure to act really dumb so they have something fun to take a picture of. HAHAH.

That is just a little bit about korean culture. Really, just the things to look out for if you visit. I hope you enjoyed it.