Saturday was definitely a blast~ all of us new teachers were invited to a delicious Korean dinner at "On the Border Mexican Grill" - ha! We walked a good 20-25 minutes (many of us in heels) to the restaurant and enjoyed each others company as we sipped Korean-made margaritas (yikes!) - afterward, we took the subway to the main "hub" of downtown Seoul to the Chungdong Theater, where we later saw an inCREDible original Korean "musical" - the show ended up being more of a dance-story that centered around two young lovers~ the dancing was traditional, Korean dancing that included the use of drums, fan-dance, Kayagums (harp-like instruments), and more! It truly was a spectacular show - I don't remember the last time I saw anything so amazing! The video below was en route to the theatre, when our group paused to take a look at downtown Seoul. In it you'll catch a glimpse of Deoksu Palace and City Hall. My friend Tim (him and his wife, Bev, are older than my parents - ha!) helped film it for me (just ignore his over-eager "laughter"...you'll see what I mean...). At the end, you'll notice our large group of "foreigners" hangin' out by the edge of the street:
Prior to the show starting at Chungdong Theatre, there was a "wardrobe area", where visitors could try on the traditional Korean garment called a hanbok. When I went to try one on, the young Korean girls tried to gesture I could chose whichever garment I wanted...I chose a lovely, royal blue hanbok, only to find out later I'd chosen a male hanbok, one that particularly might have been worn by a Korean Emperor.....the headpiece they made me wear was giNORmous and didn't help my cause for seeing like a non-obnoxious American who can't tell a male hanbok from a female hanbok....yikes! Friends kept referring to me as "Emperor Allison" for the remainder of the evening...haha!
Monday began with an opening "praise worship" time, as we welcomed back all the returning teachers and introduced all of us "newbies" to the rest of the crowd. It was fun because I had the chance to get up on stage right off the bat and sing with the praise band - I had lots of people come up to me later and say they were grateful I'd shared my music with the faculty, etc. Tomorrow, we will end the week with a closing praise worship time. I couldn't believe on Monday morning that we were starting our week in PRAYER...in WORSHIP! Granted, I know SFS is a Christian based school, but these people REALLY live out that message of loving one another and seeking the goodness of God - it's such an incredible environment and I feel my faith growing stronger everyday.
Despite the fact I think I'm "meetinged out"(we honestly have been having non-stop meetings during the day ALL week - my butt hurts from sitting so much!), we had a bit of a refresher yesterday during the day. We all took buses to the NE part of town, right near Bukhansan Mountain, for a retreat at Dobong Forestville - kind of like a retreat center with plenty of space inside, including a lecture hall, meeting rooms, and a lovely patio area for eating, picnicking, etc. It was an all faculty/staff retreat where we heard the author, Scot McNight, talk about a book we'd been required to read over the summer entitled "The Jessus Creed". Scot hails from Chicago and his discussion point regarding the book centered around the main, Christian idea of "loving God" and "loving others". It was so interesting to hear Scot talk to a room full of educators, especially when he highlighted the importance of community, communication, and caritas (latin word meaning "love")
At the lunch break, I had the chance to sit and talk with Scot and his wife Chris - we talked Chicago of course, which reminded me of home, and they asked how I'd come to live in Korea. They were impressed with my "bravery", although to me it didn't seem like a big deal, and that I could be so comfortable with who I am and where I'm at in life that I'd risk it all to go overseas. I told them they were making a bigger deal of it than what was necessary, but it meant a lot to have this impressive, theologian writer and his wife think I was brave and that I was really making something of my life. I told both Scot and his wife that the idea of Scot's book, to love God and to love others, was such a good theme for all of us teachers as we prepare to begin the school year, and as many of us adjust to living in Korea! "The Jesus Creed" Scot talks about in his book goes like this:
"Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heard, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these."
And so, I've decided to establish a "Korea Creed" - it's more a way of thinking, really....a mentality of contentment and knowing that I am meant to be here and experiencing these moments at exactly the right time - a mentality and a promise that I will always have these experiences, that I will always be able to look back and say I lived in Korea, and that I lived my life there, and always, to its fullest.
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