tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2531089246315191812024-03-13T08:49:28.417-07:00Poz's SEOULful Korean AdventuresLife abroad as Seoul Foreign School's Choral Music DirectorPozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775995363003885066noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253108924631519181.post-45638644767737336682011-05-06T19:16:00.000-07:002011-05-06T20:19:57.371-07:00Tioman Island, Malaysia - Spring Break 2011It's funny to think I'm here writing to you about Spring Break when it was already 7 weeks ago and Summer Break is only 5 weeks away! But needless to say, my Spring Break 2011 trip to Tioman Island, Malyasia this past March was such an unforgettable experience and a vacation that truly encompassed the idea of "relaxation" in its entirety, it must not go unheard! It must not go untold! It must not go unspoken! ;-)<br />This trip truly was the vacation of a lifetime and really was a firsthand experience with paradise ;-)<br /><br />Me and five other girls from SFS began our journey to Tioman on the evening of Friday, March 18 where we left at 11 o'clock at night to catch a flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Once we arrived early in the morning on Saturday (3/19) amidst the strong heat of the bustling airport, we journeyed another hour or so to a smaller airport on the eastern side of the country where we caught yet another flight to the small southeast island of Tioman. After what seemed like a long layover and a delayed flight before catching our final leg of the trip to the island, we made it safe and sound. <br /><br />As soon as we landed on Tioman Island, we knew we weren't in Kansas anymore! The view of the tropical paradise was truly only something I'd seen in movies and to experience it first hand for the first time with 5 wonderful friends was something beyond wonderful. We stayed the week at a resort on the island called Bejayra Tioman Resort and when we checked in, we knew we must be in the tropics considering the lobby of the resort was open and had direct passageway through the entrance and the lobby desks.<br /><br />Knowing full well that Amos and one of our other girlfriends would be arriving three days later from our initial landing on the island, one of the girls (Rebecca - a HS Science teacher) and I began our PADI Open Water Diver instruction that we might become certified scuba divers! Considering Amos and Jojo (our other friend who'd be coming later) already had their diving licenses, we wanted to be sure that we too had accomplished this great feat of scuba diving so that we might all scuba together by the time Amos and Jojo arrived :-)<br /><br />Rebecca and I began our course certification on Sunday (3/20) with a Malaysian dive master named Khairil. Khairil was truly a man of no worries and relaxation. Considering the fast pace we were used to in both the U.S. and Seoul, this culture was a bit strange to us considering how relaxed its people were and Khairil was no exception ;-)<br />Khairil led us in a 3-day diving certification frenzy and by the time Wednesday rolled around, all Rebecca and I had left to do was take four 50 question quizzes followed by one 100 question test to certify we "knew our stuff" and were ready to become licensed divers...whew! Luckily, Rebecca and I passed with flying colors and I officially became known as "Scuba Poz" (see picture below):<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75iiQ7IXB5jAhjpcejI5GAtyg4LYrGxnjILpHqjt9_Ui3ltjPMgnRhXn-2eiCQGu5rs0wZGLqFp52X2XBqIG_HWEA3I5ze2tMyfAcHTo9nYMiRapPP7NC9Uvu7TE9LxoRotfnkbMBZbU/s1600/DSC05842.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75iiQ7IXB5jAhjpcejI5GAtyg4LYrGxnjILpHqjt9_Ui3ltjPMgnRhXn-2eiCQGu5rs0wZGLqFp52X2XBqIG_HWEA3I5ze2tMyfAcHTo9nYMiRapPP7NC9Uvu7TE9LxoRotfnkbMBZbU/s320/DSC05842.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603802937346270466" /></a><br /><br />Since Amos and Jojo had flown into the island on Tuesday night, they waited for us as we completed our testing on Wednesday before we all agreed to try and sign up for a dive outing together! Unfortunately tho, Jojo never ended up coming out with the three of us on a dive, but Rebecca, Amos and I enjoyed two dives together on Thursday and Rebecca and Amos went yet again on Saturday! Here is a pic Rebecca took of Amos and I after one of the two dives we did that day:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTwuRWhdH6bvo3JIWWw7SW0LtV_b-JEAED0PVE-DVYbuvalXm2dEAEd0HYuf8ZcwwMws5YxxdKJoL7dIgdyNkqc6r-znlzE8ZQPNk1s_tsAemNjDgi82tQQ06GfP8Cd9JylpdIIzVhJWY/s1600/DSC05872.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTwuRWhdH6bvo3JIWWw7SW0LtV_b-JEAED0PVE-DVYbuvalXm2dEAEd0HYuf8ZcwwMws5YxxdKJoL7dIgdyNkqc6r-znlzE8ZQPNk1s_tsAemNjDgi82tQQ06GfP8Cd9JylpdIIzVhJWY/s320/DSC05872.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603804272379281426" /></a> <br /><br />Since I'd decided to not go diving with Amos and Rebecca on Saturday, I instead treated myself to a full body massage and facial at the spa - talk about AMAZING relaxation!!! My body had never felt so good and my face had never felt so smooth! :-)<br /><br />Aside from our diving adventures and spa treatments, a few of us went sea kayaking one day (SO amazing!), swam in the ocean, enjoyed drinks and meals at the poolside, and simply just relaxed and enjoyed each others company! <br /><br />Most evenings, we ate our meals at one of the resort restaurants, but a couple different evenings, we ventured off the resort's premises and went to a few local Malaysian restaurants! Here's a picture of all of us on Tuesday night (3/15) after Jojo and Amos had arrived:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJvzjHAm9-8Xoa7lbB4FVL3i6cH6CQLuWJ0HrOp0aO9s4gruePKETHRgkN8Z3ECJMob6pzspFuYRaBsAnhLNYISz8vLtmDjy7kMO1TG0st4bJF4OzxIb_6FaiJscUdE1bo0KnElFMTvT0/s1600/DSC05850.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJvzjHAm9-8Xoa7lbB4FVL3i6cH6CQLuWJ0HrOp0aO9s4gruePKETHRgkN8Z3ECJMob6pzspFuYRaBsAnhLNYISz8vLtmDjy7kMO1TG0st4bJF4OzxIb_6FaiJscUdE1bo0KnElFMTvT0/s320/DSC05850.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603805305910869586" /></a><br /><br />Because we truly were on a tropical paradise, the sunsets were breathtaking and Amos and I truly experienced every romantic setting a newly engaged couple could experience! He took several pictures of me and the two of us one night as we watched the sunset together:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0PBIIdy02I7qwkTVGwyz_A1hzy2BDRXrs7D-P6VIT0I9mF9AoP-fC2x3Tpux_9S3Z7epfatzO3de9chg3mfgby-U_fkAUNPHh-qnwSf24vJtIC2o4dbDwgh-NibS8IEbJwbE-JJJq8w/s1600/IMG_9414.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0PBIIdy02I7qwkTVGwyz_A1hzy2BDRXrs7D-P6VIT0I9mF9AoP-fC2x3Tpux_9S3Z7epfatzO3de9chg3mfgby-U_fkAUNPHh-qnwSf24vJtIC2o4dbDwgh-NibS8IEbJwbE-JJJq8w/s320/IMG_9414.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603805817239549698" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpOrJ5yjYfzzhu9Amwj8FTzbOR0jFv0yugHdQJvcjYKjQ0-lKF5IvepIfMQBnxyLdyVBk89bQKgqCIF1BNneimDIGFov4KMLYn2xKrLk-7R-PxhzOL542xwQVM4mMHnfaEPl9JdVzKu4s/s1600/IMG_9415.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpOrJ5yjYfzzhu9Amwj8FTzbOR0jFv0yugHdQJvcjYKjQ0-lKF5IvepIfMQBnxyLdyVBk89bQKgqCIF1BNneimDIGFov4KMLYn2xKrLk-7R-PxhzOL542xwQVM4mMHnfaEPl9JdVzKu4s/s320/IMG_9415.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603806113063632178" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiURdvfvb7VywVgZAT3kotcZDha8ASGqnyLVBdBBZoq18lVDl3sitb22mdDbP1uhz6ipSXNhS0Y86If_2uPdXR1edl2iRTp0Vy6GR6lQebFpRWgzXaQvsqaLxVP61x5SI6RuXeO_gjrDiI/s1600/IMG_9426.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiURdvfvb7VywVgZAT3kotcZDha8ASGqnyLVBdBBZoq18lVDl3sitb22mdDbP1uhz6ipSXNhS0Y86If_2uPdXR1edl2iRTp0Vy6GR6lQebFpRWgzXaQvsqaLxVP61x5SI6RuXeO_gjrDiI/s320/IMG_9426.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603806444520685986" /></a><br /><br />By the end of the trip (we got back late Sunday night, March 27), we didn't want to come back to the cold of Seoul, but the memories we made and the bonds we created between each other were something none of us knew we'd soon forget! I was so grateful for the chance to spend time with these wonderful women and my amazing fiance - I can't wait to see what other adventures are in store for us in the coming years and can only hope that our future spring breaks will be as amazing as our Spring Break 2011 trip to Tioman Island!Pozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775995363003885066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253108924631519181.post-70530084507181208152011-04-24T03:52:00.000-07:002011-04-24T04:38:55.997-07:00A Musical Birthday :-)Today is Easter and although I should be shouting from the rooftops "CHRIST IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED! ALLELUIA!", I'm instead writing to you as a 25-year old blogger, excited to share the news of her first birthday overseas that took place last weekend.<br /><br />And yet my thoughts are whirling....how can I not mention to you the excitement of Easter, the joy of the Risen Lord on this most glorious day of the church year??? As I think about it, I suppose my first Easter overseas is something to take note of as well, considering after two church services and an Easter brunch in between, I'm still smiling at the mere fact both services were filled to the brim with people of all ages, shapes, and sizes! People were literally almost sitting on top of each other at the later morning service, all to proclaim and celebrate that Christ is Risen from the dead!!!! How amazing!!!! I had the privilege of singing at both services too, along with the church choir director, a Korean woman named Young-sil. We sang "He Shall Feed His Flock" from Handel's<span style="font-style:italic;">Messiah</span> and it was so meaningful to be able to give an offering of music. There were two cornet players that heralded the joy of Easter and one of our fellow SFS Teachers played numerous piano and organ duets with Young-sil throughout the service! What a Happy Easter it was indeed! <br /><br />Last weekend was a celebration in its own right, too! After 3 months of hard work, our High School Musical, "Fiddler on the Roof" debuted on Friday, April 15! And what an AMAZING show it was!!! I was SO proud of the kids and so happy that they'd accomplished so much! It was truly inspiring to see where they'd started and where they ended up! Here is a picture from the opening scene/song "Tradition"!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8q1dVprjnp2CqcCbCn7Svbb0medbV3u2m_bllOgp_1S4EBub-lXwG8F0CJT1-e8Va1sPMm6W4HLY0dtQvyQaFam3wGCojB1MRMtBcC_MIT5bs23Ize3-ZCRpaD9laDBISk2-y7Cl9o0k/s1600/_MG_2640.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8q1dVprjnp2CqcCbCn7Svbb0medbV3u2m_bllOgp_1S4EBub-lXwG8F0CJT1-e8Va1sPMm6W4HLY0dtQvyQaFam3wGCojB1MRMtBcC_MIT5bs23Ize3-ZCRpaD9laDBISk2-y7Cl9o0k/s320/_MG_2640.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599108301058112866" /></a><br /><br />After the Friday show, a fellow teacher who'd celebrated her 30th birthday the evening before, had several of us over to her apartment for a combined birthday celebration!! We had both planned to have an evening at the Norribong (karaoke) since we are both singers and would be celebrating "big birthdays", but considering Fidder was a three-hour long show, we opted to just stay in and celebrate with cake & conversation ;-) We had two different cakes, one of which a few of our girlfriends brought for us, and one that Amos and our friend Chuck brought. We had a wonderful time celebrating our birthdays together and it was so wonderful to celebrate with such good friends this first birthday overseas!<br /><br />On Saturday, 4/16 (my actual birthday), Amos and I ran a few errands in the morning and later went to Myeongdong (the shopping mecca of Seoul!) to hit up H&M for a few birthday presents! Amos went above and beyond, buying me everything I wanted (although I begged him to NOT pay for everything and allow me to pay for at least <span style="font-style:italic;">something</span>!) Afterward, we went for a delicious buffet lunch, where we had our fill of anything and everything! There was sushi, kalbi (Korean meat), lasagna, salad, salmon, pasta, seafood, and so much more! It was the perfect birthday meal and I was so happy to spend it with my honey :-)<br /><br />After we left lunch, we headed back to Yonhi-dong on Amos' scooter, loving every moment of the spring weather shining down on us! By the time we got back, it was already time to start thinking about getting ready for Saturday's performance of the musical! The show that night went just as well and what made it even more special is that two of my friends that have been working in Korea this year, Molly and Justin, came up for the performance! Molly even brought me a birthday gift!! It was so sweet of them to come and it meant the world that they were able to make it!!!<br /><br />After the show Saturday night, the kids had their cast party, filled with food, fun, and dancing! It was a great end to an awesome show and I don't think anyone had trouble sleeping that night! <br /><br />It truly was an eventful birthday weekend - the best birthday gift was being with Amos and seeing these students rise to the occasion of excellence and perform a great musical...two nights in a row!!! I couldn't be a happier 25-year old and am grateful for all the memories that I know I'll always look back fondly on :-)Pozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775995363003885066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253108924631519181.post-38914621606609821142011-04-02T01:01:00.001-07:002011-04-02T15:44:43.423-07:00March Magic :-)March is referred to College Basketball's month of "March Madness", but I experienced something a bit different last month....there was no "madness" about it really, but rather "magic" that filled the days of my March 2011...although I've been wanting to share my "Lunar Adventures in Hong Kong" with you for quite some time, I'm afraid those stories will have to yet again be postponed...the month of "March Magic" has just been too good to go very long without mentioning its exciting and spectacular events...<br /><br />I had the opportunity to head back to Chicago last month for the American Choral Director's Association National Conference as part of my professional development allowance from SFS (which in and of itself was magical, amazing, and rejuvenating!). I arrived on Saturday, March 5th and while the conference didn't start until Wednesday, March 9th, I was able to enjoy a few days with friends and family before the long conference days took over later in the week.<br /><br />The funny thing was, Amos Lyso (the Christian Ministries Coordinator here at SFS and my serious boyfriend at the time) also happened to be in Chicago for a conference of his own! While we were both still in Korea matching up our schedules, we noticed that Monday, March 7th was an available day to have dinner together, so I made reservations for the two of us at the Signature Room restaurant downtown Chicago atop the 95th floor of the John Hancock building. I received a confirmation email later that week about my reservation and also was asked if I'd like to add any "special sentiments" to my booking for a small additional fee (i.e. flowers, chocolates, champagne ready a waiting to drink, etc.) - I replied quickly and without hesitation: no thanks.<br /><br />As an aside, Amos and I had already seriously discussed marriage and I knew he'd already placed an order for a ring via an online jewelery shop, so when I arrived into town on Saturday, my Mom had helped arrange for her, my Dad, and I to visit a few wedding reception halls on both Saturday and Sunday. By the time Monday rolled around and before we met for dinner, Amos came with my Mom, sister Melanie and I to look at the "final two wedding hall options" so that we might make a decision together. Once we finally decided on the Meridian Banquets as our chosen hall, we quickly left to get ready for our dinner out on the town!<br /><br />Once we arrived at the Signature room that Monday night, I should have realized something was up....as soon as we sat down, our waiter commented on the lovely pink tulips that so prettily sat upon our table....."What are these doing here, Amos?" I questioned anxiously, "These flowers aren't supposed to be here! I know for a <span style="font-style:italic;">fact</span> that I didn't order these flowers to be placed on the table and if we don't find sooner rather than later who put these here, we're going to have to pay extra money!"<br />"Gee...I dunno, honey," Amos replied, "They sure are pretty tho, huh?"<br />"Well yea, sweetie!" I answered knowingly, "they're my favorite flower! But regardless, I don't wanna have to have us pay extra!"<br />"Don't worry about it, Allison - we'll figure it out and in the meantime, let's order something to drink".<br /><br />We went on to place our order and while we waited for our food, I noticed Amos working up the words to engage us both in a "serious conversation". I was a bit puzzled by his fumbling and wondered why he seemed to desperate to share in such a serious talk rather than just enjoy our time together and gaze into each others eyes. Not that we've never had "serious conversations" or that I don't enjoy them, he just seemed to be awkwardly attempting to have one rather than letting it happen naturally. Regardless, he started to talk and as he talked, parts of me wondered where he was going with the conversation....my mind drifted...."He couldn't be asking me....<span style="font-style:italic;">no!</span> Of course not! But maybe he's.....<span style="font-style:italic;">no!</span> Don't be silly, Poz!!!"<br />As he talked, he shared the following words with me. He'd written them out on a page he gave me later. I share with you now those words he both said to me and gave to me:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">My sweet, sweet, Allison Joy,<br />I love you so - L.Y.SO.!!!! (I just love that you though of that clever acronym!) Never would I have believed that I would be sitting here with you now 95 stories above your home town. As we gaze out on the lights below - I am struck by the power of perspective. Down on street level, life is a flurry of activity. It is easy to get lost in the busyness, overwhelmed by distractions, and the immediacy of the urgent calls on our lives. Sometimes we just don't see how, in the midst of it all, there is a plan or purpose or certain future in which we can place our hope. But then, from up here, there comes a perspective of peace, beauty, and even order to it all. I imagine, in some way, that this is a bit of a glimpse at the difference between our eyes and God's.<br /><br />I see this so clearly in my past, a life with its hopes and hurts, fantastic experiences and failures extraordinaire. So often I get lost in the street view of my life and miss the God story that He is weaving in and through all that is me. Little did I know, too, that at the same time He was working in me, He was at work in the life of a young woman across the ocean, rustling up in her the courage, hope, and mighty confidence in her God to take a giant leap of faith, to venture out away from all she has known and to risk an unfamiliar life in a foreign land across the sea. And little still could I see from my street view that He was bringing these two lives together to create a relationship, a friendship, and a love like neither one had experienced before.<br /><br />So, in this moment of elevated perspective and peace, I am reminded that although I truly have no idea what "street view" experiences await us in our future, I have confidence and hope in our Lord and Savior that He will be there in the midst of us, that He has a greater plan and purpose in store for us both, individually, yes, but collectively as well. And so, Allison Joy, I have a question for you - a question rooted not in my own strength, but in my faith in Christ and the power of His Holy Spirit living in each of us: Alison Joy, will you spend your life loving me and letting me love you, will you be my lifelong companion, my best friend, and my bride? Allison Joy, will you marry me??? </span><br /><br />I of COURSE replied without hesitation and with a resounding "YES!!!"<br />We hugged, we kissed, we cried....and before we knew it, the whole restaurant was looking at us and shouting "congratulations" and clinking their wine glasses! Here we'd been engrossed in our own little world, only to realize others around us had been watching the whole time!!!! It truly was a magical moment and I was left speechless....the pictures below are of the engagement evening together, moments after the proposal....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYoraaE-gcDyjX1t4xMPywwFGhede8ELR-j-RFOk1UFKRpTx-o8BWeiF2kTKztliIQ5H4CSI2xEhaLktQnQg_nVLtvRqNQBY_QDfh1z7abjxSuOjGkxZfyw_k7i9xUOfDYuyUiuFZ_LC8/s1600/The+Happy+Couple-Side.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYoraaE-gcDyjX1t4xMPywwFGhede8ELR-j-RFOk1UFKRpTx-o8BWeiF2kTKztliIQ5H4CSI2xEhaLktQnQg_nVLtvRqNQBY_QDfh1z7abjxSuOjGkxZfyw_k7i9xUOfDYuyUiuFZ_LC8/s320/The+Happy+Couple-Side.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590905693995040210" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhge32P0j-vE0Wrz_4PqO0c_ztvwhdGsIAxQoltS3Ql36sjdVWbUufxC9hLfDuEOedwM7RQUVo9EYQrKgh-SCXdbG2oAvXHf1ZxSNXn5lEZZH6LYZKGlaADBelq_YHB6AlClBa3W1xJF7M/s1600/The+Special+Dessert.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhge32P0j-vE0Wrz_4PqO0c_ztvwhdGsIAxQoltS3Ql36sjdVWbUufxC9hLfDuEOedwM7RQUVo9EYQrKgh-SCXdbG2oAvXHf1ZxSNXn5lEZZH6LYZKGlaADBelq_YHB6AlClBa3W1xJF7M/s320/The+Special+Dessert.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590906035781513410" /></a><br /><br />The next morning, I took Amos to the airport to catch his flight back home to Korea. Afterward, I immediately went with my Mom and sister to give the down payment for the reception hall, called Our Saviour's (my home church) to confirm the wedding date for June 30, 2012, and then went wedding dress shopping.....<br /><br />Melanie had suggested the dress shopping and both her and Mom were eager to have me try on gowns. Knowing the conference would be starting the next day and the fact I was already exhausted from all the excitement, I wasn't necessarily itching to go. I knew, however, that having the two of them would be wonderful, so we looked at a couple of different shops and before I knew it, I'd picked out a wedding dress that same day, too! We left the dress boutique feeling wonderful (and surprised!) that everything had fallen into place so quickly!!!<br /><br />Later that night, my family and close girlfriends celebrated the news of my engagement with cake and champagne. Here is me with some of my friends that night, as well as a photo of the cake (and pink tulips form the restaurant) below:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiasyUOHdUmpQ8DSv-Xod3QEE-R124TmETO-iH_UyxcGcmEhF6jUTQWXyG1LUh4zpWP0tsUL6dtHMERj71QkPOza5ZoiKB0ZM7fitx_Or2l8806vgyb6guaMtGYbqiEV_Dt6k-JuMOkhbM/s1600/DSC05791.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiasyUOHdUmpQ8DSv-Xod3QEE-R124TmETO-iH_UyxcGcmEhF6jUTQWXyG1LUh4zpWP0tsUL6dtHMERj71QkPOza5ZoiKB0ZM7fitx_Or2l8806vgyb6guaMtGYbqiEV_Dt6k-JuMOkhbM/s320/DSC05791.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590904282932716722" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTMm8xAV8BOZ1hIMvGJstj0La8i2vxlpDdGuNA-aPGWtwXkoGKsVUeETL3aF50P-QOZIhubcP3GLkE6FzlrKxIw7quoRve2rsVHQVbvMa_5RAzEuqKBqnzsFIsAbkU5H5obqrlsBZJq4Q/s1600/DSC05789.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTMm8xAV8BOZ1hIMvGJstj0La8i2vxlpDdGuNA-aPGWtwXkoGKsVUeETL3aF50P-QOZIhubcP3GLkE6FzlrKxIw7quoRve2rsVHQVbvMa_5RAzEuqKBqnzsFIsAbkU5H5obqrlsBZJq4Q/s320/DSC05789.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590904516309006114" /></a><br /><br />Once I returned to Seoul the following week, Amos arranged for some of my friends at SFS to throw me another small engagement celebration! More cake, more friends, and more fun!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSqXCqghkkB2xdEjXNpNo0MKvpxcc-Izhfl6RWJx3Jx9ayoJhA4n91HlrzgAH7lAY9JbtPVQP0LbLixr544TTkL5T53o26shgs0LQUULpZ2xpWfJ4gDHr4YbZ6FOwvWh1ZqRvgQnfMPEs/s1600/DSC05798.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSqXCqghkkB2xdEjXNpNo0MKvpxcc-Izhfl6RWJx3Jx9ayoJhA4n91HlrzgAH7lAY9JbtPVQP0LbLixr544TTkL5T53o26shgs0LQUULpZ2xpWfJ4gDHr4YbZ6FOwvWh1ZqRvgQnfMPEs/s320/DSC05798.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590904966933146306" /></a><br /><br />(the girls this time insisted I cut the cake while showing off my ring...haha!)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0dcykpXQsM4JqS174H9whS7wyzhtBWrQn_GCI3xFgfIMEhBbQo7MalO30PAAA1CKYd84S8U2D9VGw1m9OPhP58asu6iVH0UWO5uUGDD54DhI4V1RqQMjZgk5Q0wip3TEvsUXUpt2VTek/s1600/DSC05803.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0dcykpXQsM4JqS174H9whS7wyzhtBWrQn_GCI3xFgfIMEhBbQo7MalO30PAAA1CKYd84S8U2D9VGw1m9OPhP58asu6iVH0UWO5uUGDD54DhI4V1RqQMjZgk5Q0wip3TEvsUXUpt2VTek/s320/DSC05803.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590905186644157426" /></a><br /><br />Upon my return to Korea from Chicago, Spring Break was on its way and after only four days in the classroom, me, Amos, and 6 other women journeyed to Tioman Island, Malaysia for one of the BEST Spring Breaks EVER!!! But more on that next time.....<br />;-)<br />Blessings to all of you and sending you love, my dear bloggers!Pozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775995363003885066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253108924631519181.post-26155072924656883132011-02-19T17:49:00.001-08:002011-02-19T18:38:23.695-08:00Romance in Seoul is: Movies, Food, and Hiking Work-out EquipmentI've been itching for a while now to write a new blog post. I'd been holding off these last few weeks in an effort to upload pictures, videos, and memories of my time in Hong Kong over the Lunar New Year (Feb.2-6), but alas, I still have many pictures to go through (let alone upload and edit!) and so I've finally given in and decided to go ahead anyway and write to all of you lovely bloggers. My adventures in Hong Kong will have to be delayed for yet another time....(hopefully soon!)<br /><br />Last weekend, I had the opportunity to see a movie here at the theaters in Korea for the very first time! And what do you guess was the movie we saw? None other than the Disney/Pixar film: "Tangled" - a Rupunzel story. And get this! Not only was it my first movie in Korea, but it also happened to be a 3D movie in Korea! Yahtzee!!! No holding back here! Go big or go home! Go 3D or be LAME! <br /><br />This movie was seriously awesome. I mean, no joke. I was smiling the whole time - I loved that there was music, there was romance, there was action, there was horror - everything you could ask for in a Disney feature film! Honestly, it brought be back to the days of Ariel, Belle, Jasmine and Pocahontas! This was truly a fabulous flick and I couldn't help but secretly desire that I was Rupunzel herself, singing, frolicking, and letting down my long hair.<br /><br />The next day, in order to release my inner longings of wannabe-Repunzel/Many Moore who did the voice for the character, Amos and I had a delicious blueberry pancake breakfast followed by a hike on a trail not far from the school's campus. We had a great view of Seoul and had a blast taking in the scenery. And, like most hikes in Korea, we ran into several spots where work-out equipment was available to get your blood pumping even more....because God knows that when you're already doing an intense, physical workout, you need to CONTINUE doing an intense, physical workout by taking time to lift a barbell, do situps, crunches, and perhaps even some pull-ups. See photos below:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKp_6jVNFRDrEZIUapGbzJyj4XXtxsSWnPfl7I5WlUx8K3Ew56wUdpgdwN_bDEBegYBprM8NkQCZK1NiMs0Umfw8Rr20WNiVj65OcHOCQAe5ZyfMHMm0llmfq8UVWPBpX1LTCxVdQaE5o/s1600/IMG_0166.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKp_6jVNFRDrEZIUapGbzJyj4XXtxsSWnPfl7I5WlUx8K3Ew56wUdpgdwN_bDEBegYBprM8NkQCZK1NiMs0Umfw8Rr20WNiVj65OcHOCQAe5ZyfMHMm0llmfq8UVWPBpX1LTCxVdQaE5o/s320/IMG_0166.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575594468589157666" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRHzQKwc7jrdtqSMUcvECHbtZTuB0eq2RJbD91EV7-Dk7PnpS168l5TGqUQ4sbk-jEPVUh1tAeWJbh5a0exUswSypEXwJxGKZaUUJ7EdRR_TmsGkASv2LvWH_hkgDKySAWYzI8_cWntd4/s1600/IMG_0170.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRHzQKwc7jrdtqSMUcvECHbtZTuB0eq2RJbD91EV7-Dk7PnpS168l5TGqUQ4sbk-jEPVUh1tAeWJbh5a0exUswSypEXwJxGKZaUUJ7EdRR_TmsGkASv2LvWH_hkgDKySAWYzI8_cWntd4/s320/IMG_0170.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575594817808878066" /></a><br /><br />Luckily all that moving around paid off because Monday night (Valentine's Day!), Amos took me out to a fabulous little Italian restaurant (about a 15 minute walk from campus) and we had our fill of delicious food and drink! It was definitely fun to get dressed up, too! I even sported some black tights - the winter fashion essential for Korean women. Amos brought me roses and gave me the THIRD card of the day (he'd given me two earlier) and we enjoyed a lovely Valentine's evening together.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAJdn4Q9GZqkjLdrjBYE2Phz5pwKorsM-C3lqH1TuXbydVZBbLODUV_Acwb9Za-5I5FOZyqwxz04UehYvCr56-j6O2ZymAGWnd1Moh8ICZas1d_umNkYCSl2uOya5_XCy-_Utgf5PhwMg/s1600/IMG_0178.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAJdn4Q9GZqkjLdrjBYE2Phz5pwKorsM-C3lqH1TuXbydVZBbLODUV_Acwb9Za-5I5FOZyqwxz04UehYvCr56-j6O2ZymAGWnd1Moh8ICZas1d_umNkYCSl2uOya5_XCy-_Utgf5PhwMg/s320/IMG_0178.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575595294738585618" /></a><br /><br />Last night, I took a taxi to the Hapjeong subway station so that I could arrive in Itaewon later that evening to meet up with a few friends. After nearly having my taxi cab crash into another vehicle as we were arriving at the subway station, I quickly got out, thanked the embarrassed taxi driver, and was on my way. I had a lovely time meeting up with my friend Molly and her fiance Justin at a delicious Greek restaurant called "Santorini" - amazing food and great conversation!<br /><br />Warmer weather seems to be peaking its head out from behind corners here in Seoul, but the cold still remains. Luckily, my 5 minute walk to work every morning allows me to keep warm most days and considering what I believe was "Korea's coldest" was when I was back home in Chicago over the holidays, things have been bearable and long underwear has become my new best friend when out and about on some of the bitterly cold winter weeks and weekends walking around Seoul.<br /><br />Sending you all warm wishes and looking forward to hearing what's new in your lives! Stay tuned for my next blog post on my "Lunar Adventures in Hong Kong" ;-)Pozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775995363003885066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253108924631519181.post-31184960500187556032011-01-27T04:58:00.000-08:002011-02-19T17:49:05.541-08:00Weekend Wonders: Vienna Boys Choir, Beatboxers, and Lash ExtensionsLast weekend was quite the eventful weekend - I had the chance to do a variety of activities and thoroughly enjoyed my days off. Unfortunately, I've waited a week to share any of it with you, oh faithful bloggers, and find myself in the midst of yet another eventful weekend. Perhaps I can share mostly with you the fun had last weekend and dabble and dip a bit into some of the fun had this weekend.....yes?<br /><br />Random side note: "Fiddler On the Roof" has been echoing over and over again in my head (the High School is performing it this semester as their Spring Musical and I, as vocal director, have been unable to get any of the tunes out of my head - this morning as I jumped out of the shower, listening to the soundtrack on my iPhone, I was caught by surprise at the tears I shed upon hearing the song "Far From the Home I Love", in which the daughter Hodel tells her father Tevye that she must Anatevka and join her fiance Perchek in Serbia.....very heart wrenching....very intense...very moving...) - its been a fun week and I reflect fondly back now on the memories of this past weekend....<br /><br />Friday evening, I ended up going to City Hall with the High School youth group where we went ice skating!!! It was SOOO much fun (despite the cold!), and I was amazed that I only ended up falling once (er...twice...er....shoot....I think it was three times....yup....definitely three times....FAIL)! There were a ton of people out and about on the ice and I loved that one could enjoy such a fabulous winter activity right in the center of downtown Seoul! Here's a photo of me putting on my skates:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoWVHd1zYWHIdAveJOU2__e5fXatrDd5GCDNJen8GxeIA5agyamW351uk_aEqW6SaCDt-vXBwzo3P9ulT_grRac1V5olRGLRkfIS_yn2R4nBBLQ9DzKmx6yL-WjSXAQoIlz5j9RvFuLBM/s1600/IMG_0097.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoWVHd1zYWHIdAveJOU2__e5fXatrDd5GCDNJen8GxeIA5agyamW351uk_aEqW6SaCDt-vXBwzo3P9ulT_grRac1V5olRGLRkfIS_yn2R4nBBLQ9DzKmx6yL-WjSXAQoIlz5j9RvFuLBM/s320/IMG_0097.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567523558112853426" /></a><br /><br />Here's another few shots of me and some of the other teachers that helped out with the event, as well as a variety of other skaters that were enjoying the evening, too!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9MgGx4tg6Dk0gTblS0vPKf_ZyO5twcfgK3jB3lk0alID3aeGB950Ol9rsj85iaMpd6df6aC4fd0dDhp3vWrTHkYfS2bdEzi41z-kp4l0Uqxn1ZvMuBIbDhqiS_TEp0EsmGlhFbcMRy0/s1600/IMG_0095.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9MgGx4tg6Dk0gTblS0vPKf_ZyO5twcfgK3jB3lk0alID3aeGB950Ol9rsj85iaMpd6df6aC4fd0dDhp3vWrTHkYfS2bdEzi41z-kp4l0Uqxn1ZvMuBIbDhqiS_TEp0EsmGlhFbcMRy0/s320/IMG_0095.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567524804106332514" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6tlbyGM_tkLQrtjgE3gFLI-VhWD0LUsqis47KQtKLdHqoOTSfRWWWGHGqTWNBwf5Jxgu9I25tKqO8I0a1qiUdjtL0gXbrxgdQ8sW_aiMnyR5yZSQv3PMoTw21S0chved3vjc1d2EwkOo/s1600/IMG_0081.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6tlbyGM_tkLQrtjgE3gFLI-VhWD0LUsqis47KQtKLdHqoOTSfRWWWGHGqTWNBwf5Jxgu9I25tKqO8I0a1qiUdjtL0gXbrxgdQ8sW_aiMnyR5yZSQv3PMoTw21S0chved3vjc1d2EwkOo/s320/IMG_0081.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567524438851672882" /></a><br /><br />Later, I headed back with the youth group to help chaperone their lock-in for the evening where we indulged in all kinds of junk food, played a variety of games and sports, watched a movie, and simply enjoyed each other's company before finally heading to bed.<br /><br />We woke up Saturday morning (slowly, but surely!) and quickly readied ourselves for a delicious pancake breakfast! It was so wonderful to have the chance to connect with so many of these kids from outside a school classroom setting. It was cool to just see them "be" - to see how they interact with one another....to see how they play, how they have fun, how they socialize! It was just a different side of them that was very humbling to witness and to experience! I was so grateful for the chance to hang with them and in return, get to know them a bit better in a social setting!<br /><br />Saturday mid-morning and early afternoon consisted of lounging, lunching, and laughing (primarily with the boyfriend) and by 4pm that day, I readied myself to head down to Seoul Arts Center with several other teacher friends to hear a concert of the Vienna Boys Choir! We all made sure to leave enough time to grab dinner before the concert and once the show started, we were all captivated by the amazingness of these 25 little boys (ages 10-14) that seemed to so flawlessly make beautiful music! They sang an hour and a half program (all from memory of course), and aside from their ability to create such beautiful sounds, their focus, stage presence, and ability to so confidently perform astounded both me and my other teacher friends. I decided then and there that I have a new life goal (among the many I already have and intend to keep!): one day I hope to solo with the Vienna Boys choir! No...I don't mean magically become a boy, audition for the group, and hope I make it so I can sing a solo with them kind of solo singing....I mean to be asked as a professional musician...as a professional singer...to sing some sort of arrangement of any variety of beloved vocal/choral literature, and solo with the Vienna Boys Choir as they accompany with their angelic, flawless sounds! Perhaps its a far-off hope....perhaps their may never be such a chance...but the hope is strong and the idea is a wonderful one....I can only imagine what it might be like....:-)<br /><br />I've been regularly attending a Lutheran Congregation here in Seoul for the last several months since I've arrived, and recently, I've taken on a few "duties and responsibilities" during the worship services at "International Lutheran Church" in Itaewon, headed by Minnetonka, MN native, Pastor Steve! Last Sunday, Pr. Steve asked me to do the readings from Isaiah and 1st Corinthians....it was fun to finally feel like I was a part of the commnunity by having a way to participate! Pr. Steve says he wants me to sing sometime soon as my next contribution in the coming weeks....hopefully we can make it happen :-)<br /><br />Sunday afternoon was filled with excitement and flurry as I looked forward to my first rehearsal with the Camarata Music Company - a community choir founded by a fellow Luther grad, Ryan Goessl, who's lived here in Seoul the last several years. After a somewhat lengthy commute in the fresh-falling snow (that had a habit of sticking to my face...brr!), the 4-hour rehearsal resulted in the meeting of new people from all over Seoul and thoroughly practicing Mozart's Requiem (to be performed by the choir this May!). It was an interesting experience and although I'm unsure of how time will play into my participation in the group, it was fun to get out and meet some new folks!<br /><br />Speaking of musical experiences, this weekend offered up yet another chance to listen to some great vocalizing! Last night (Friday night), the High School Sophomore student council sponsored a Music Festival in the hopes of raising money for charity! The event was outstanding and although it was unfortunate the publicity had not reached as many folks as hoped for, those of us there were BLOWN away! The first group was an all-male 5 person group that sang a variety of well known opera tunes, as well as a few other mainstream hits. The voices of these young men (probably all my age or a bit older from the looks of it) where breathtaking - I honestly had my mouth to the floor the whole time - I'd SO wished I'd known to advertise something like this among my students (especially my middle school BOYS!) so that they could SEE how cool it is to sing....how BEAUTIFUL it is to sing....<br /><br />The next act was a professional beat-boxer! This dude was outa SIGHT! I couldn't believe some of the sounds he was able to create! He honestly sounded like he could have held up his own club, performed all the music at it, and only been in need of a lighting man to create cool effects on the dance floor...ha! Hopefully I'll get a chance to post a video I took of him later....he was fabulous!<br /><br />The final act I unfortunately had to miss, but I heard only good things! Regardless, it was an amazing show and I was so glad that the folks who WERE there and DID get to see it seemed to have such a great time! :-)<br /><br />As I'm looking forward to Saturday night and the rest of this weekend's events, I leave you with one more story:<br />After meeting up with a few friends for some conversation and fun last night in Itaewon, I spoke to a friend of a friend who was talking up the idea of eyelash extensions. This girl herself had had them done and mentioned that you can get lash extensions done in a variety of places here in Korea because of the Koreans' obsession with big eyes, big lashes, and beauty overall. I was intrigued by the conversation and knowing full well that there was a place nearby my apartment that offered this service, I went ahead and tried it for myself this afternoon to see if it really was a beauty technique that is as cool as it sounds! After about an hour (and the equivilant of $40 USD later...), I walked out with seemingly long, gorgeous lashes, feeling nothing but lightness from the tops of my lids! Who knew something so crazy in the world of beauty could be so satisfying..haha! <br /><br />Blessings to each of you, oh faithful bloggers, and hope your weekends are filled with relaxation and fun, regardless of Boy Choirs, Beatboxers, or Lash Extensions...;-)Pozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775995363003885066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253108924631519181.post-42234875511436927802011-01-17T02:34:00.000-08:002011-01-17T03:10:25.611-08:00A Korean HomecomingHomecomings are usually celebrated events, filled with joy, excitement, and reuniting and this past holiday season was no exception. After numerous stresses leading up to the three-week long Holiday Break, including the loss of my maternal Grandfather (Louie Justin), endless concert preparations, holiday parties, and gift-giving, my return to the states on Dec. 17, 2010 was truly a joyous and exciting event. It really was a "Homecoming" of friends, family, and loved ones and I was truly grateful for the chance to see so many and to reconnect with so many beloved people in my life who were more than curious to hear about what I'd been up to here in Korea ;-)<br /><br />On Dec. 9, 2010, I learned of my Grandfather's passing while walking home late from work after an evening choir rehearsal. I felt so trapped...so isolated....so helpless....what could I do? Nothing. There was nothing I could do. I was so far away and so many miles away, that the thought of even thinking I could do something was an impossibility. And so I cried. I cried and cried and even despite the overwhelming help I received from so many of the wonderful people I've come to meet here at Seoul Foreign School, there was still an emptiness of not being able to be there when Grandpa passed.<br /><br />But he was home. He had his own "Homecoming" with the belief that he had come home to the Lord...the KNOWLEDGE that he had come home to the Lord....and even tho we were driven to tears here on earth, the knowledge of Grandpa's homecoming was enough to bring back a sense of peace - an event that truly WAS filled with joy, excitement, and reuniting. <br /><br />And so upon my own "Homecoming" to the states, although I'd felt so far and so distant from being able to see Grandpa is his final hours, I was humbled knowing I'd be able to attend his wake and funeral. What a glorious thing to be reunited with family and friends and to know that I too could find closure in such a miraculous Homecoming.<br /><br />And so the "Homecoming" I had in saying farewell to my Grandpa and the "Homecoming" I had over my three-week break with friends and family, soon led me back to a "Korean Homecoming", where I was once again reunited with my new life here in Seoul, my new friends, and my new loves. Strange how something that was so foreign and so unknown has now become something that is also "home"...<br /><br />The High School here at SFS had it's "Homecoming Dance" this past Saturday, Jan. 15. I got to go and, just like the "good ol' days" from my own high school experiences, kids were dressed to the nines and enjoyed an evening of dining, dancing, and fun! The gym was completely decked out and transformed into a "Homecoming Haven" - I found it strange that one would celebrate Homecoming during the month of January, considering most U.S. schools do it sometime in the early fall, but then again...there's no distinct rule of when a Homecoming should or shouldn't take place....because let's be honest: Homecomings happen all the time! Like when you "come home" from work at the end of the day, or when you "come home" after a long trip. Or what about when you reunite with friends and family (like I did this Holiday season), or when, like my Grandpa, you come home to the Lord? I seriously doubt in that sense of the meaning that "time of the year" has much to do with anything, especially if Homecomings are happening all the time!<br /><br />But "Homecoming" is a word to me that exudes comfort. It exudes happiness and it exudes contentment. Maybe I'm so fond of it because of my own memories of past Homecomings...but whatever the reason, this new year has put a new perspective on the word "Homecoming" and what it means to truly "come home" and to "be home".<br /><br />Blessings to each of you this new year and promises for many new and exciting blog posts (from yours truly!) in the weeks to come!Pozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775995363003885066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253108924631519181.post-39584624983151841092010-11-12T05:48:00.000-08:002011-01-17T03:13:34.321-08:00Macs & MexicanI FINALLY got a cell phone yesterday!!!!!!....after 3 and a half months of waiting for the arrival of my new iPhone 4, I am now "somebody" in this bustling metropolis of many! They say nobody knows (or cares) who you are in this town unless you have a cell....guess I finally can be "known" now! Ha! But seriously.....I'm definitely feeling the love of Mac! I'm the proud owner of TWO MacBook Pro Laptops (thanks to one I'd already purchased a year and a half ago back in the states and a 2nd I received upon my arrival here at Seoul Foreign), an iPod Touch, an iPod nano (pink of course!), and now....an iPhone 4!!! Geez....what does one DO with so much technology????<br /><br />I can't believe I've lasted so long without a phone. It was an eye-opening experience to realize just how much people rely on their cell phones these last few months without having one. Trust me....there were plenty of times I really wished I could have called up a friend on the spot or texted a pal to say "what's shakin', bacon?", but now that I have my phone and I can do all those things, I don't seem to be as excited as I thought I would be. I guess I just don't want to become a "phone obsesssor" - too many people get too attached to their mobiles (I know I did back home in the states) and I'm hoping I can find a balance where I can enjoy the amazingness that IS the iPhone 4, but not get too caught up in the mayhem of cell phone frenzy!<br /><br />Aside from the fabulousness of my iPhone 4, I've had the unique pleasure of eating Mexican food the last four weekends in a row. Take a pleasurable 25 minute walk to "On the Border Mexican Grill", and you can have yourself a taste of American inspired Mexican food....with a Korean twist. Sure their sour cream doesn't really taste like sour cream and sure they don't completely know how much tequila to put into a margarita, but hey....its good fun and its a "taste of home" being that its a western based restaurant chain......but four weeks in a row???? FOUR????? Honestly, it has not been me personally that has been venturing to "On the Border" by choice these last few weeks, nor have I gone there alone and pathetically sat by myself in the corner eating deep fried beans! It just so happened that varying parties of friends and colleagues have unanimously declared "On the Border" as their "go-to" gathering spot for large groups for the Fall of 2010!!! <br />Don't get me wrong...I've always been a Mexican food advocate! Thus, in theory, I should be counting my blessings that I've had the chance to dine so many times off the Mexican grill this season....but wow.....Mexican food in Korea??....that's a funny thought......<br /><br />...think about it ;-)Pozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775995363003885066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253108924631519181.post-36698424033390732132010-10-20T01:29:00.000-07:002010-10-20T07:01:27.827-07:00Birthdays & Weddings & Shows...oh my!To say "I've been busy" would be an understatement. SO much has been happening here in Korea - so much, in fact, that I haven't had a chance to come and share my stories with you, oh faithful bloggers, for a good few weeks now! But alas! I've found a spare moment, a "stich in time", where I might share some of the exciting happenings that have taken place here in Korealand the last few weeks....<br /><br />Earlier this month, my friend Joy celebrated her first birthday overseas!! It was a fun event celebrating with all of our new friends and helping Joy to have a fabulous birthday! It was cool to see how touched Joy was, especially being so far away from other friends and family, and how she still felt uplifted and touched by our birthday wishes and celebrations. It made me realize that when the time comes for my first birthday overseas next spring, I have people here that will help me celebrate in style, even if other loved ones are far away.<br />Here are a few pictures from the birthday celebration:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIcEzI_l4CYJPHH90D4LkBMcYmFlZX35PxRTlVNhsoHpaEf-y9IacIF6wecJIbOt3-drQb-tkZ-ZROH6DP5I3HXT0D1MQNRJbH3OVaG29UwAAsGXUVEgj1ThTmtYcULmuedacXYvGfeN4/s1600/DSC05013.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIcEzI_l4CYJPHH90D4LkBMcYmFlZX35PxRTlVNhsoHpaEf-y9IacIF6wecJIbOt3-drQb-tkZ-ZROH6DP5I3HXT0D1MQNRJbH3OVaG29UwAAsGXUVEgj1ThTmtYcULmuedacXYvGfeN4/s320/DSC05013.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530056851072074002" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpKWNVGkV2q-LVoPHmBcDmJb0BGNELCQi8oEHgfOnTFN8dkJWcyD-5gcWxSfyZecJyVEXUsrFSZ4LtcfPzDIKZKviSgW2BL6CGuAd0zFppmzA2x4ndm1poC4zJYOch8Xbb3P26tnydr9w/s1600/DSC05015.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpKWNVGkV2q-LVoPHmBcDmJb0BGNELCQi8oEHgfOnTFN8dkJWcyD-5gcWxSfyZecJyVEXUsrFSZ4LtcfPzDIKZKviSgW2BL6CGuAd0zFppmzA2x4ndm1poC4zJYOch8Xbb3P26tnydr9w/s320/DSC05015.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530057117240538194" /></a><br /><br />Around the same time as Joy's birthday(roughly a week and a half ago), I had the opportunity to travel to the Korean Folk Village in Suwon, Korea (about 20 miles south of Seoul). We had the chance to see traditional Korean houses from the different regions and living cultures of the late Joseon Dynasty, which lasted almost five centuries (1392–1897)! We also got to see a few performances later in the day that featured "Traditional Korean Farmers' Dancing and Drumming". Check out the video below:<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwJGf6OsyIpEVV9KqcXJdPvF_o5ETvdgNBFuKzq3kAH7IkCOtqPnvh66DE6jGvfMr30E7uVT5G-0f75Q0O8WA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />It was definitely an exciting day, but one of the best parts was viewing a traditional Korean wedding! Check out the photo below:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTfNAd_CHdnMAMOWWLj-_B4C6srCv65rdy_QDC8z6Hg7vgFMvFf8sfCVtqwaK7DjnPWp8htFl3d2xMgW1Empp3vlkGr7Emsa4ZfLoeWzWyy5xEJYnvSz1vsQLfKBlS3M-jdTMBQsYFCRA/s1600/DSC05092.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTfNAd_CHdnMAMOWWLj-_B4C6srCv65rdy_QDC8z6Hg7vgFMvFf8sfCVtqwaK7DjnPWp8htFl3d2xMgW1Empp3vlkGr7Emsa4ZfLoeWzWyy5xEJYnvSz1vsQLfKBlS3M-jdTMBQsYFCRA/s320/DSC05092.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530049610430838370" /></a> These people were ACTUALLY getting married! It's tradition in Korean culture to have anybody and everybody attend the marriage ceremony, so all of us foreigners got to walk right in and enjoy this event of holy matrimony ;-)<br /><br /><br />This past week was quite eventful because there was lots of build-up leading to our first Fall Concert in the High School! All orchestra, band, and choral students performed a portion in the two-hour concert and it was exciting for me to make my first debut as the Seoul Foreign School Choral Director! My High School Concert Choir performed, as well as the Psalms Choir (made up of SFS Faculty and HS students) and Moonlight Choir (the top-16 voice audition only choir). Here is a picture of Moonlight this year in our choir room (I'm in the upper right corner) - we're missing one of our boys, but you get the general idea:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlv1w_GVQsgi9Xus78SgoqcpliG4UeXCcfHK_dETgtl3Z8ANmTN1LUoLhL2rjJdrpuGuglKts1_KYevgLvM25JlqAN9pVX9HMnb70T-kI1HrSTFIVyCp1RZGiJh-vv_5eCen4JP_uSWhs/s1600/Moonlight+%2711"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlv1w_GVQsgi9Xus78SgoqcpliG4UeXCcfHK_dETgtl3Z8ANmTN1LUoLhL2rjJdrpuGuglKts1_KYevgLvM25JlqAN9pVX9HMnb70T-kI1HrSTFIVyCp1RZGiJh-vv_5eCen4JP_uSWhs/s320/Moonlight+%2711" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530051491104655298" /></a><br />Life's definitely been moving at lightning speed, but I'm growing and learning more each day about this culture, about this country, about myself and about my purpose for being here. There is so much life here...so much excitement! I feel so blessed to be a part of it and I pray that I can continue to relish in all of the amazingness that IS Seoul Foreign School...that IS Seoul, KOREA!!Pozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775995363003885066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253108924631519181.post-70464599272788203002010-09-30T06:18:00.000-07:002010-09-30T07:20:57.886-07:00An Epic Story...It's been over a week now since I heralded my epic Korean story....a story so epic, so adventurous, so incredible, one might not believe it right away. But then considering the elements and the content once more, one would turn and say to themselves: "Why, this is a story so outrageous, that there is NO way anyone could have made this up! It MUST be true...it's so insane that it must be true."<br /><br />And so, dear friends, as I make mention of this epic adventure (one of many I've already had and look forward to having here in the land of kimchi), I beckon you to sit back, relax, and stare at your screen in disbelief ;-)<br /><br />Last week was amazing because not only did I have the chance to catch up on some much needed R&R, but with an entire week of for the Korean thanksgiving holiday ("Chusok"), I was anxious to get out and about around Seoul! I wanted to see other sights, to explore other areas of town, to attempt speaking Korean a little more "fluently" (ha..), and yet...it was a week full of spontanaity and randomnesss. <br /><br />After a delicious meal at a couple friend's apartment last Wednesday, I left early enough to knock at the door of my friend Jo, who lived in the apartment right next door to my other friends. I'd promised her to stop by for a drink and some laughs and when I entered, she was there with a few others, including one of our other teacher friends named Brett.<br /><br />"Let's go rock climbing! Would you be up for rock climbing?" asked Brett as I entered the apartment at 9pm.<br />"Uh...sounds like fun, but not right now Brett...sorry..." I replied.<br /><br />Had he realized it was 9 o'clock at night? Did he realize I was coming over to settle in for the night with a little "night cap"? No...because Brett is what like to call a "very adventurous dude".<br /><br />Jo's boyfriend Sangmin soon showed up - once he arrived, him and Brett were having a hay day as they relished the idea of doing something crazy and spontaneous late at night. <br /><br />Before we knew it, the boys were suggesting that we all pack up and head to Incheon Beach (near the airport) and go for a midnight swim!<br /><br />"I could do that," Jo said, "but who else would be up for it?"<br />I suddenly heard myself say "I'll go!"<br /><br />But what was i thinking??? It was going on midnight! An hour drive out to the beach and back? Ugh...I was feeling tired enough as it was....but no sooner had I spoken up when I found myself heading to my own apartment to change into my swimsuit and pack up a towel.<br /><br />We left around 12:30a.m. in a school vehicle and when we reached Incheon and set up shop at the beach, we were amused by many of the Koreans that were already out and about enjoying their holiday, warming themselves by a campfire, and shooting off fireworks from the beachside (yes....fireworks....)<br /><br />"Let's buy some fireworks and shoot them off from the beachside, too!" said Brett soon after we'd parked the car.<br />"Yea! Let's do it!" I heard Sangmin say.<br /><br />And so no sooner had the boys bought fireworks and readied them for action, when I myself readied a firecraker for some serious action and explosion right there on the beach....in the middle of the night....in Korea.....:-P<br /><br />After our "firework fun", it was time to run into the Yellow Sea....although the temperature outside must have only been in the upper 50s, the water was somewhat warm (despite the cold pockets that came in with the tide) and we enjoyed ourselves for about 25 minutes before finally deciding we'd had enough water time ;-)<br /><br />The video below depicts some of our crazy "firework mayhem"...it may seem like we're a little out of it....but the reality was, we were! We were high on life, slap happy, full of spontaneity and excitement! Brett attempted to be the "light guy" (since he was sporting a "flashlight headband" of sorts so we could see in the dark) and Sangmin was the fearless cameraman. Both of the boys insisted this video go on the blog,despite the nonsense of most of its content:<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dypVy1TgF77G8xDBtxj4h4nXY4chzXXASOqbzsSAwXNZEj5epvqi_vs-uQpzRLfl69tcROOn6NdE8QuVWqceQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />As we headed back to the car and attempted to dry off (despite the tide's efforts to soak through our bags and towels), Sangmin suddenly said to all of us:<br />"uh...guys? where are the car keys?"<br />"you put them somewhere with your stuff, didn't you hun?" Jo asked Sangmin<br />"um...yea......uh....you guys? pretty sure i left the keys in my swim trunks here....and pretty sure they fell into the sea...."<br /><br />No one said anything.<br /><br />No one believed him<br /><br />No one really wanted to believe him.<br /><br />It was 2 a.m. and we had no car keys to our locked school vehicle and were surrounded by crazy fireshooting Koreans enjoying the essence of their thanksgiving holiday while the four of us miserably thought through the crisis at hand.<br /><br />Despite our bad fortune, the four of us were surprisingly upbeat! We decided that since we wouldn't be able to access any sort of transportation until the early morning to get back to Seoul Foreign School, pick up the spare set of car keys, and return to Incheon to then access the car and return home, that we'd make the best of our "free time"....even if it was going on 2:30 in the morning....<br /><br />So because there were numerous eateries and shops along the beachfront, we stopped in at one for a bite to eat. The boys had been going on and on about "san nachi", a korean dish that was prized in this part of Korea literally translating to "raw octopus"...<br /><br />"We have to try this you guys!" Brett exclaimed (are you starting to see why Brett is what I refer to as a "very adventurous dude"???????)<br /><br />And so we did. We all ate raw octopus. Nevermind the fact that the octopus was still basically alive. Nevermind the fact that the octopus tentacles were moving around on the plate and in the grasp of our chopsticks. Nevermind the fact that because the octopus was still alive and moving on our plates, its tentacles were very much still able to suck. Hence why (as Sangmin told us later) people have died from eating san nachi because as they attempted to swallow, the tentacles sucked onto their esophagus and they died.<br /><br />Awesome.<br /><br />But I did it! I ate the san nachi! Check out the video below.....<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwarRqjF89EI6wpVOjJnTeUYZzD9F4O95RE2yMtMPIMnR70lAM876a8HxefH8nhQYgR-NKuiGQ4qbEO9Lbc5g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> <br /><br />Afterwards, we decided we still had plenty of time, so we headed to a nori bong (literally "singing room" in Korean) - karaoke singing is a FAVORITE pastime in Korea and they have "nori bongs" all OVER the place (even on this random beach on this random night at this random time at 4 in the morning....)<br /><br />I realized why I loved singing. I realized why I'd made it my career. I realized why I loved music. That nori bong experience made me feel like I had wings...it made me feel like I was the best Lady Gaga - Chris Martin -Freddie Mercury there ever was! ;-)<br />Here was a shot of Jo and I singing Lady Gaga's "Poker face":<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ3k7jIfCKLrYVuFOlww0yozEWugRmiqiKGGTFFAf0sdGmZZEBAKf-qdVwRPgSZyLx8NHQuxD3fTDZU-SnvLZ-efiq5LrtDJyB19VaNgUGhqXL_n10hAh87nQTyCFGG95ka4gEw8OYGBY/s1600/DSC04973.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ3k7jIfCKLrYVuFOlww0yozEWugRmiqiKGGTFFAf0sdGmZZEBAKf-qdVwRPgSZyLx8NHQuxD3fTDZU-SnvLZ-efiq5LrtDJyB19VaNgUGhqXL_n10hAh87nQTyCFGG95ka4gEw8OYGBY/s320/DSC04973.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522706909286352498"></a><br /><br /> The hour passed way too quickly and soon it was a quarter to 6 in the morning. We headed back towards the food shop we'd eaten our san nachi at and ran into the crazy adjouma ("elder korean lady") who beckoned us to come back inside. As we sat down and explained to her our "keyless" situation, she spoke to Sangmin (being that he too could speak Korean) and explained that she had a good friend back in Seoul that was a cab driver. She mentioned that she could contact him, ask him to pick up the spare set of car keys from the school, and bring them out to us at the beach for a cost of $45.<br /><br />"Yes!!!" we all exclaimed, "how wonderful!!!"<br />It felt like it was heaven-sent....how awesome that such good fortune could come our way out of such misfortune ;-)<br />The adjouma (whose name we later found out was "Peanuts"..haha!) said her friend would arrive in about an hour.<br />Because we had some time to kill, Brett and I decided to head back out towards the beach...it was lovely in the daytime and as I was basking in the beauty of the water and the freshness of the new day, Brett called out to me:<br /><br />"Alllllllliiiissssssooonn!!!!" He was several yards away from me, soaking his feet in the tide as it washed onto shore, "I found the keeeeeeysss!!!!" He raised his arm up and shook what seemed to be a set of car keys in his right hand! <br /><br />He found them. <br /><br />He found the fricken keys. In the OCEAN. He found the lost car keys in the OCEAN......seriously???? Does this happen????? <br /><br />I wanted to wake up from the dream....honestly, that's what it seemed like I was living...a dream! A very long, random dream....thank God it had a good ending!<br /><br />And so we soon met up with Jo and Sangmin (who had only moments before finished paying the cab driver our $45 for the spare set of keys) - they were in disbelief! None of us could believe that out of this night of no sleep, we were going back home at 7:30 a.m. and returning with TWO sets of car keys.....<br /><br />We piled up in the car, buckled up, and drove home.<br />What a night...what a story! <br />What an adventure.....<br />;-)<br /><br />God is good.Pozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775995363003885066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253108924631519181.post-51685877420166695202010-09-14T07:15:00.000-07:002010-09-14T07:19:01.280-07:00Faculty Fellowship Retreat WeekendThis past weekend (despite the terrible rains and dreary weather), about 50+ faculty members from the Seoul Foreign School community hopped on a bus around 4:45pm Friday afternoon and made the long drive to Taechon Beach, an area "2.5 hours" south of Seoul (despite our 4 hour trip!) for a Faculty Fellowship weekend.<br /><br />The faculty is invited every year to participate in the fellowship weekend and it always takes place at Taechon Beach since the school owns several cabin-like living quarters, as well as other multi-purpose rooms for dining and recreation. Aside from these accommodations, the Yellow Sea is a mere 5-minute walk and the views are breathtaking!<br /><br />Despite the rain Friday night, we arrived and enjoyed a decent dinner followed by an hour lecture session given by Libby Stevens. Libby had lived and taught in Germany for the last 17 years and most recently has toured around the world speaking to other international teachers about what it means to "be an alien in a foreign land" and "how to survive as a foreigner" - her talk both Friday night and again Saturday night was a real wake-up call: she asked us to think about "why we're here" - "what is our purpose"....some of her other thoughts discussed the different phases one goes through living overseas. Everyone starts in the "honeymoon" phase, which lasts a month or so before you finally realize you're actually LIVING in this foreign country....you're not just a tourist! <br /><br />Some of these thoughts resinated in my head in the sense I realized that perhaps I've only been in the "honeymoon phase" thus far....what else is to come? What other crazy emotions will I go through? Can I handle the difficulty and struggle that very possibly still lays ahead??<br /><br />Libby's lectures made me think, but at the same time, I couldn't help but be grateful for the other staff members that were there with me. It was so wonderful to spend more time with some of my fellow teachers and enjoy each other's company for the weekend!<br /><br />After Libby's final talk on Saturday morning, we had the afternoon free and so several of us walked to the beach to go in for a swim! With Taechon Beach being located in Boreyong (Boreyong is known for it's "Mud Festival" each spring!), the city's "beach-mud" is widely praised for its entertaining abilities and pleasure! Once we got down to the beach, we had a blast trying to push our bodies all the way into the mud! Here is a fellow teacher friend, Brad, and his daughter Maddie sinking and swerving into the "beach-mud":<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvA-Jsx8nZVLJluCgnW6bCeHZ81tRIR4f5eqcr7Ir-GSLsOY2m-UuPK5D_ZwoMLvljPSAlvbwz0QLMGsdx4UzzYH3SorWIY9CiIeFspVAsMAPuYEQ08jRShfpdesIJ0iYBJoFuYucFDL0/s1600/DSC04843.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvA-Jsx8nZVLJluCgnW6bCeHZ81tRIR4f5eqcr7Ir-GSLsOY2m-UuPK5D_ZwoMLvljPSAlvbwz0QLMGsdx4UzzYH3SorWIY9CiIeFspVAsMAPuYEQ08jRShfpdesIJ0iYBJoFuYucFDL0/s320/DSC04843.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516769308814531650"></a><br />As for myself, I had a blast riding the waves and finding both shells and starfish on the shoreline:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7SeDY1O62KFTpXOO2siAROIuCPut6G7IibYiRS2MkRc7iG0D7OAqn9glVdJ0-bq17czrTHKEpL2uV620oc3kjDmS1bruLTO3Hzk_-4rXgT2QRIVKaPkyERw2WCwNHPwmnbU5RzVMHnoU/s1600/DSC04850.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7SeDY1O62KFTpXOO2siAROIuCPut6G7IibYiRS2MkRc7iG0D7OAqn9glVdJ0-bq17czrTHKEpL2uV620oc3kjDmS1bruLTO3Hzk_-4rXgT2QRIVKaPkyERw2WCwNHPwmnbU5RzVMHnoU/s320/DSC04850.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516769711866837266"></a><br />Aside from riding the waves and catching starfish, I caught some "actual footage" of my beach time - you can check out the video below: (*note-it might be hard to hear on the video because the wind was so strong that day....hopefully you'll be able to understand enough of what's being said tho ;-)<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx6c12Ym0z2VRk8paJVGPhG1dpE88xYG4o99mi0qEeXMB5QV2AsBNchDkNKELVC7UDaQ3teYxwSUpn1Feeemw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />And so, I bid you all farewell! Hope all is well with everyone and keep ridin' the waves ;-)Pozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775995363003885066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253108924631519181.post-62509699288437917582010-09-09T06:31:00.000-07:002010-09-09T23:26:27.827-07:00Typhoon Kompasu (and other Korean weather malfunctions)The funny thing about growing up in the Midwest is, you usually don't have to worry about too many weather "malfunctions" - granted, we have to put up with quite a lot of "interesting" weather conditions (especially come winter) and no two days EVER seem to be alike! It's always a guessing game of "will it rain today and snow tomorrow? will the sun shine brightly, reaching 80 degree highs on Wednesday and suddenly hit 50 degree lows with cool winds and rain on Thursday?" <br /><br />Yes, the midwest certainly has had its fair share of weather malfunctions, but not quite to the extent of what is experienced here in Korea.<br /><br />Upon my arrival during the first week of August up until just about a week and a half ago, the humidity level was INSANELY ridiculous here! Within days of arriving, Korea soon taught me that although I'd never considered myself a "sweat-er", I quickly became known as a "dripping damsel in sweat-distress"! ugh! gross....literally you'd walk outside and be dripping with sweat, just from stepping outside....that's it...instant gross-ness...BAM! I soon found myself wondering on days when I wasn't sweating or not dripping profusely, why it was my body wasn't covered in total humidity-heatness slime. While people around me were bragging of their "two showers a day" routine, I was soaking in the sweat and allowing my greasy-ness to muster into some sort of proud, sweating success story! Korea weather malfunction?? I think so...<br /><br />But about a week and a half ago, someone honestly must have flipped a "weather switch" here in Seoul...the humidity packed it's bags and the cool, autumn air set in. The rain continues (despite the fall-like weather) and the storm season seems to still be in full swing....in fact, shortly after the "weather switch" was flipped last week, the rains decided to have a get-together that just about wiped out half of Seoul! <br /><br />Exactly a week ago, school was canceled due to Typhoon Kompasu, a category 2 hurricane with winds up to 65 mph! The typhoon caused Seoul's area subway services to be put out of service, toppled trees and caused widespread power outages, as well as delaying many flights out of Incheon Airport. When I woke up that particular morning at 5:25 a.m. for a morning workout routine I've been participating in with other teachers at 5:45 a.m. each morning, I was hesitant to set foot outside. The winds were HOWLING, the rain was POURING down, and the lighting and thunder were more intense than I've ever seen or heard! It certainly was weather like I'd never seen.....<br />Despite my best conscience, I walked to my workout and barely made it to my destination and back without my umbrella being yanked from my hands and turned inside out! Once I made it back home, I found out that school was canceled (thanks to the numerous weather updates from my meteorologist father) and the "up-to-date email correspondence" from Seoul Foreign's Administrative team, announcing the day's cancellation.<br /><br />I couldn't believe it....snow day...sick day...field trip day...cold day....TYPHOON DAY????? hahaha!!! wow....who knew? Here I was...a naive midwestern girl....experiencing her first TYPHOON aaaand her first typhoon DAY!!! I couldn't believe it! With the raging winds, the loud, pattering rain, the thunder crashes, the lightning flashes! People were running for cover! They were without power, without communication! People were lost in the chaos! They were doing whatever possible to take shelter and to find safety!!!! <br /><br />By 8:30 a.m., it was all over.<br /><br />Seriously.<br /><br />It was over.<br /><br />Here we'd canceled school and gotten all worked up about a storm that ultimately...was just a storm. We were lucky enough not to have been hit too hard and although everything had calmed down by the early morning, there were still many people throughout the Seoul Metropolitan area that were scrapping to make it through! <br /><br />Looking back on it now a week later, the craziness and excitement of experiencing the "typhoon day" ultimately ended up being a nice, relaxing day off from work (considering we didn't have much to worry about after all)! Even so, I have to say that regardless of "how hard" or "how badly" we were affected by the storm, the mere fact that we <span style="font-style:italic;">experienced</span> a "typhoon" is definitely a Korea weather malfunction MUCH different than any other weather condition I've experienced as a midwesterner! But I'm excited....because now I can add "Typhoon Survivor" to my list of other notable titles I've acquired throughout the years (aside from "POZitively Pink" and "Does Not Know Her True Hair Color") <br /><br />And so...the typhoon has come and gone - I'm thankful to be safe and sound and I hope the rest of you back home are also staying safe and keeping healthy!Pozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775995363003885066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253108924631519181.post-87684259663397741582010-09-04T19:24:00.000-07:002010-09-05T04:29:30.072-07:00"Alice in Korealand" and "Peas in Pods"People that know me well will tell you I've had the nickname "Poz" for as long as they can remember. Truthfully, the name first came around back in 2nd grade when my soccer coach at the time insisted on calling me "Pozzie" (rather than "Pozdol"), while I ran aimlessly down the soccer field. From there, "Pozzie" became "Poz" (since one syllable is always easier to say than two apparently) and when my fellow teammates (many of whom were my fellow second grade classmates) started referring to me as "Poz" in the classroom, in the lunchroom, and out at recess, the nickname took on a whole new being and became what is my most beloved nickname. From second grade up through my first few years as a "working adult" in Palatine Dist. 15, I have friends across the board that even if they themselves don't refer to me as "Poz" on a normal basis, still know it as the nickname I've "had forever".<br /><br />And so....like with any new adventure with meeting new people, experiencing new things, etc., I came to Korea thinking that this "infamous nickname" would carry on across oceans, across distant lands....(perhaps even across the N. Korean boarder! (-;) and would defy all language barriers, all accents, all ridicule, all.....<br /><br />Ok. Let's be serious. Honestly, all I thought was that having the chance to "start anew!" would allow me the chance to share the "intrigue of my past", the "humbles of my beginning", the history of "Poz"....<br />"Is that what we should call you then?" <br />I found myself staring blankly at two of my fellow teacher friends (both London natives) straight in the face as they posed the question concerning my nickname.<br />"Pohz? That's how you like it then, no?" <br /> <br />Let me interject at this point and say that I absolutely LOVE British accents - they're hilarious! I always feel so proper, so dainty, so lovely, so..."Pride & Prejudice" ;-)<br /><br />"Well...when you say it like that," I began, "It sounds more like Pods...ya know? Like 'peas in pods'?"<br /><br />They laughed hysterically. <br /><br />My one friend of the two (Hye-sin is her name) had already attempted to reign a new nickname on me prior to when this whole "pods" conversation took place. With her silly British wit, she had insisted on calling me "Alice"...mostly because she couldn't remember (or bother herself I suppose...ha!) to finish saying the rest of my name. My other friend, Joy, would then look at Hye-sin and say "her name is ALLISON! ALLISON! Not ALICE!!!" And then the two of them would get into some sort of British frenzy as I stood there, amazed, as the two discussed my name and what it is I "should be called". <br /><br />Regardless, Hye-sin decided she liked the name "Alice" and that "it suited me" - much more-so than my other nickname "Pods" did ;-) And while both her and Joy still like to joke around and call me "Pods" in their British attempts at saying "Poz", they more regularly have been calling me "Alice"....and so it stands....."Alice's Adventures in Korealand..." ha!<br /><br />It's strange having a "new nickname" I suppose....but it's one that these new friends have come up with, and so I can't help but be amused by their silly, British "creativity". Who knew? Unfortunately, "Poz" can't seem to withstand international boarders, but just because some call me "Alice" and some call me "Allison", doesn't mean I'll ever forgo the name "Poz", no matter <span style="font-style:italic;">where</span> I find myself landing ;-) <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTYUi4bL0hyF0E92tlfeI3qA1FjKbZnGk0tDoaVzzeGOpQgxQ_6kjpSyuzbphzbZO4z5KuG1DP1cP9h9AS5Ct8OW1sYtMhmaXT7O9qnRxQA7LVbHAcWZRTg4PzsB5d4d1oMQogGSVJE28/s1600/DSC04747.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTYUi4bL0hyF0E92tlfeI3qA1FjKbZnGk0tDoaVzzeGOpQgxQ_6kjpSyuzbphzbZO4z5KuG1DP1cP9h9AS5Ct8OW1sYtMhmaXT7O9qnRxQA7LVbHAcWZRTg4PzsB5d4d1oMQogGSVJE28/s320/DSC04747.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513259974854495298" /></a><br />Here I am with my British girls: Hye-sin (left) and Joy (right)Pozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775995363003885066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253108924631519181.post-69789723462707464702010-08-30T05:56:00.001-07:002010-09-05T04:31:16.510-07:00Eat, Pray, LoveSo School's been in session for a little over two weeks now. Today started the third week of classes already and it's crazy to think I've been living here in Seoul for about a month now!!<br /><br />Things have been kicked into high gear and are definitely up and running school wise! Last week was our first "full week of classes", so after-school groups were in the process of being "set up" and "getting started". On Tuesday the 24th, I held the first "Psalms Choir" rehearsal. Psalms is made up of both faculty and high school students and meets from 5-7pm. The first half hour and the last half hour are dedicated to "praise time", where everyone comes together to sing worship songs. It's kind of like a mini contemporary praise band - the hour from 5:30-6:30 is choral rehearsal time where I go over repertoire with the group and rehearse them as I would any other choir. Our first rehearsal proved to be a successful one and I was so glad that I was able to keep the pace of the rehearsal (and the attention of everybody) at a solid level! I was glad when my mentor and colleague, Ken Caldwell (the band teacher here at SFS) complimented me on my "quick rehearsal pace" and "no nonsense" technique! I was really glad he and others complimented me regarding the rehearsal because I'd been VERY nervous leading up to it and was afraid it wouldn't come together, but it definitely did! I hope this week goes just as well, if not better!<br /><br />The next night on Wednesday, the 25th, I held auditions for the top choir "Moonlight"! This audition-only ensemble has only 16 members and performs at the APAC (Asia Pacific Activities Conference) Choral Festival (this year, the festival will be held at Concordia International School in Shanghai, China!!) The auditions were supposed to be from 5-7pm with each kid doing an individual 3-minute slot audition, but we definitely got behind schedule....I felt really embarrassed because me and the other teacher I had helping with auditions (Darrell Roddick, the Director of Performing Arts Facilities) realized the sightreading portion of the audition was WAY too hard....so after the first 4 or 5 kids came in, we switched up the sightreading so that it'd still be challenging, but somewhat easier ;-) I ended up posting the results of the auditions on Friday at the end of the day - turns out not all the kids that had been in it last year made it into the group this year....oh well! I feel solid about the kids I chose and I'm looking forward to our first rehearsal together, which will be this Thursday, Sept. 2! <span style="font-weight:bold;">Praying</span> it all goes well....<br /><br />Aside from being super busy with school stuff, I've had a chance to see many spots in Korea the last couple weekends! Last weekend especially was a blast because all of the new teachers were invited to go on a "Seoul CIty Tour"! While we passed many places to and from our destination, the "hot spot" that we really spent a good portion of our time at was the North Seoul Tower! It's located on the summit of Mt. Namsan and had spectacular views! I got some great shots of the city from up on the observatory deck! Later on, we all ventured to Itaewon, a part of the city known for having many "foreigners" since it is near to the U.S. Army Base~ We enjoyed a tasty lunch, a manicure/pedicure (of course!) and then headed back on the subway towards SFS! I <span style="font-weight:bold;">loved </span>being able to get out and see more of Seoul! It's great to have the chance to get out and see what's around!<br /><br />This past weekend, me and 3 of my closest friends I've made since being here (hye-sin, Joy, and Jason) all teamed up to make a traditional Korean dinner on Saturday the 28th! Being that Hye-sin is Korean/British and Jason has been living here in Seoul for the past 11 years, they helped Joy and I to create a delicious sam-gyup-sal (Korean grilled pork chops) meal, complete with kimchi and all ;-) It was a great time to hang with new friends, <span style="font-weight:bold;">eat</span> some Korean food, and just relax over the weekend!<br /><br />Then on Sunday night, all the new teachers were invited to a "Bulgogi Dinner" (bulgogi is a Korean style of marinated meat) - we traveled about 45 minutes from the school in two buses with our pen-pals (the people who'd been assigned to us prior to our arrival in Korea to answer any questions, concerns, etc.) and truly enjoyed a night out together!<br /><br />There's been lots of eating, lots of praying, and lots of loving since I've been here~ Korea is an amazing place, as are the wonderful people I've met, the food I've tasted, and the God who's been with me day-in...and day-out....<br />Peace to all back home~Pozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775995363003885066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253108924631519181.post-77379584243815765072010-08-17T05:47:00.000-07:002010-08-17T06:39:11.009-07:00First day of School!Well it's almost 10 o'clock p.m. here now and as I sit at the kitchen table in my apartment, the sounds of Korean T.V. and a blowing AC echo in the background.<br /><br />It's been a great day, yet one filled with anxiousness and nervousness! Being that the director of the Fine Arts Dept. lives right next door to me, I was glad to have Marion ring my bell this morning and have someone to walk over to school with from the apartment - it definitely helped put me more at ease!<br /><br />The morning was filled with assemblies, introductions, and opening remarks and it wasn't until the late morning/afternoon that I actually had students! But during the assemblies, etc., I was astonished at the students' behavior! There was not a PEEP throughout the Assembly Hall and all student remained attentive and focused! I leaned over to one of my colleagues at the Middle School Assembly to state my surprise and she remarked with "oh...this is ALWAYS how it is....that's just how the kids are! They know when they need to listen and be attentive!" - I couldn't believe it....<br /><br />When it finally came time for my classes, I ended up having one section of 6th grade choir and three sections of 7th/8th grade choir~ the kids overall seemed great and, being that they're middle schoolers, had some interesting personalities! ;-) I only hope that I can continue to establish good repor with each of them and be able to maintain a well-disciplined classroom.<br /><br />Tomorrow I'll have one more section of 6th grade choir and one more of 7th/8th grade choir, as well as my one and only section of High School choir. The middle school periods are 45 minutes and the high school periods are 85 minutes - I hope I can make the best use of our time together and again, establish a good and meaningful repor with the students so as to show 'em "I mean business" for the year, but also that we have a great year ahead of us! Classroom management is key to a well-functioned classroom and while everyone's been telling me (and I witnessed it today) that the "kids are great here", I still want to make sure things get done with well organized routine and structured class system.<br /><br />Over the weekend, I had a chance to meet up with a fellow friend of mine from back home in Arlington Heights, whom I went to Middle School with back in the day! Andrea has been living here in Korea since the end of April and we found out soon after my arrival that she literally only lives down the block from Seoul Foreign School! She's here for a year teaching English to elementary age kids and I was glad to meet her for dinner Saturday night and hear about her experiences thus far. Later that night, we both met up with a "couple of couples" (ha!) and took a bus to Itaewon to enjoy an Indie Music/Poetry/Art Performance at a local bar - the show venue was small and cramped with people, but it was still fun to get out and enjoy a night on the town! Here is a picture of Andrea and I:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWox-RIdfAltXHLy6ukZ3Jggne8PIPM4ayl61ngr3jVf2dYqI3_LYxAJHainWlLEVicAPfQBDtevwM_TOluSv3F-0R1LLChEkojzS9MFXkmsJ3Ph_khD_ZVoB4ttjmv9XFCs1BjA6zAA0/s1600/DSC04678.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 306px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWox-RIdfAltXHLy6ukZ3Jggne8PIPM4ayl61ngr3jVf2dYqI3_LYxAJHainWlLEVicAPfQBDtevwM_TOluSv3F-0R1LLChEkojzS9MFXkmsJ3Ph_khD_ZVoB4ttjmv9XFCs1BjA6zAA0/s320/DSC04678.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506365259111454642"></a><br /><br />On Sunday, I ventured with my friend Hye-sin (who teaches in the British School here at SFS) to the "Hongdae" area, near Hongik University campus here in central Seoul. On weekends, the area is bustling with shops, vendors, performers and more! Because it is near the University, there are MANY young people here - I was dazzled by all of the lovely jewelry and clothing for sale, and yet, I felt like a giant amazon woman in comparison to the small, slender korean girls I saw all around me! It almost felt like I was trying to shop for clothes that would more likely fit a Barbie Doll than they would a 5'10" American girl! It's like when you're a kid and your mom takes you to the candy store, but you know full well she won't buy you anything and so you're stuck gazing and gawking, wishing with all your heart that you could get something....but you can't...<br />I guess I shouldn't be so dramatic tho because I eventually tried on a somewhat "vibrant" looking skirt that miraculously fit me!! I contemplated buying it for about 3 whole seconds, until I realized it was definitely way overpriced and not something I was in love with....especially considering the young, Korean saleslady raised a single eyebrow as I entered out of the fitting room in a somewhat disgusted manor....yikes....point made, lady...point made. ;-) haha!<br /><br />Hye-sin and I soon made our way further down the streets to the Hongik University Free Market (aka "Hongdae Market") where we saw several more street vendors and musicians. This video was of a few drummers we saw playing (hope you like my awesome dance moves, too!):<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxhoNsHKWBh5zJgYuF1SFgfvbgezdD5TxqQjCUUV-r3GnwzyPVY0yNzuAhNN6wCDKsTzpejHnnvlaFxzcT9fw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />So the year is up and running and I'm looking forward to an exciting first school year here in Korea! Hope everyone is doing well back home in the states! Sending my thoughts and prayers to each of you~Pozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775995363003885066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253108924631519181.post-32483847759017226372010-08-12T05:36:00.000-07:002010-08-15T07:06:38.397-07:00The Korea CreedWhat a crazy last few days it's been! School starts in a mere 5 days, and the hustle and bustle around the SFS campus has been non-stop! I was grateful for an exciting weekend to help get me through the rather...mundane week...ha!<br /><br />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:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzIpCHpxPpxo1EyaImHJdsv4Y2uGfrgo6YjVgjesMms6Ueg-o6hZLcYvarFEvrratqNaQr9q-WARwhhyNoyKg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />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!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi59Pk5neOVIxdKVvP-jV68mYqnXCESsUD4IsdBd8oEcj1vuaB-opn5pL7XSUDc92H3enMU_ZCkKjO-sUITKaVbeHDp5cZsxC45oQzUfDbGu13oTRf0KX7UjMmDQRL5ton-UJtUKn0apNk/s1600/DSC04641.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi59Pk5neOVIxdKVvP-jV68mYqnXCESsUD4IsdBd8oEcj1vuaB-opn5pL7XSUDc92H3enMU_ZCkKjO-sUITKaVbeHDp5cZsxC45oQzUfDbGu13oTRf0KX7UjMmDQRL5ton-UJtUKn0apNk/s320/DSC04641.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504508709147112594" border="0"></a><br /><br />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.<br /><br />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") <br /><br />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:<br /><br />"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."<br /><br />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.Pozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775995363003885066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253108924631519181.post-17807582632580717242010-08-06T02:32:00.000-07:002010-08-12T06:46:52.551-07:00Taxi, please!!!It's definitely been a crazy week! One of non-stop action and full of orientation sessions as we're getting to know the "ins and outs" of Seoul Foreign School! With approximately 35 new teachers, there are quite a few of us that are doing the very best we can to make sure we're somehow maintaining the information that is being thrown out at us, not to mention making sure we'll be ready for the start of school in a little over a week! But through some of the long, tedious (but necessary!) orientation gatherings that have taken up most of our days this week, I've found small joys in a couple interesting things....<br /><br />First let me say that the staff, faculty, administrators, and facilities of SFS are incredible....they truly are out of this world! I can't believe that there is such compassion for each and every person here - people go out of their way to help one another, and the administrators treat every faculty member as equal. When I stepped into my Choir room late Monday night and again Wednesday afternoon, I truly was taken aback - what an amazing space! One of my fellow "newbie" teachers snapped this picture of me on our "all school tour" on Wednesday after I played a little something at the choir room's piano - too much fun!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGsbmmUDohkamtEZbdHLe_LB5SQCkjXL5cCWQm0n0toIUiZVZl8ANCo33MTkgEwU9dekbaGNjivLd7GI-Z00-5lWAE6CZ2NlQ3DLr6RQxYTLsJNUxq9C6ntdU0GspoDgn5BHULVSSq3jI/s1600/DSCN9514.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGsbmmUDohkamtEZbdHLe_LB5SQCkjXL5cCWQm0n0toIUiZVZl8ANCo33MTkgEwU9dekbaGNjivLd7GI-Z00-5lWAE6CZ2NlQ3DLr6RQxYTLsJNUxq9C6ntdU0GspoDgn5BHULVSSq3jI/s320/DSCN9514.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504519298360915666" /></a><br /><br />Aside from amazing facilities and such, we have amazing equipment!! There is a recording dock in the choir room, as well as a separate room full of African drums and hand bells for added choral music "flair"! Plus, we were all given brand. new. MacBook Pros!!!!!!! Obviously the computers belong to the school, but now I have TWO MacBook Pros, since my personal computer is also a MB Pro :-) This was another photo someone snapped of me upon the distribution of our new computers (a little frighting...I have to admit...)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm5Yz2G6eYgdWiZ0KOi50sg0xRJTF9KBnDyiPUY_97FhsSP7YB3aOoYE56N4o8ZmvlY95-x5BsnNSOWPuQB17Q4hT9NZU821AG-D6NF7dr2x7fIfhNSptxSSZCFmsrjxrBRMbWzeOzbsM/s1600/DSCN9601.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm5Yz2G6eYgdWiZ0KOi50sg0xRJTF9KBnDyiPUY_97FhsSP7YB3aOoYE56N4o8ZmvlY95-x5BsnNSOWPuQB17Q4hT9NZU821AG-D6NF7dr2x7fIfhNSptxSSZCFmsrjxrBRMbWzeOzbsM/s320/DSCN9601.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502230402060706130" /></a><br /><br />But the real clicker was TODAY...this afternoon...when I (not intentionally) took my first cab ride in Seoul!!!! I was TERRIFIED!! But, after talking all week about the "Friday COSTCO Trip", where fellow new teachers were looking forward to buying plenty of household items and foods to stock up on for a while, I misread the time we were all planning to meet and found myself running around like a crazy person wondering if I should still try and make it out to COSTCO or not! And so, like any other daring person, I decided "What do I have to lose? Why not try and catch a cab with a cab driver who speaks no english, listens to obnoxious Korean radio talk shows, and kindly turns on the AC when he sees you're sweating from running around like a crazy American?" and so that's exactly what I did. I got in the cab and I immediately said "COSTCO, ga-seh-yo" which simply means "COSTCO, please" - and for what seemed like a 30 minute cab drive (when actually it was more like 20 in the rush hour traffic), I only payed the equivalent of $9 U.S. dollars! Nine dollars!!! For a 20 minute cab ride????? INSAINE!!! I almost thought I was going to have my heart pop out of my chest I was so nervous the driver wouldn't bring me to the right COSTCO - I saw him enter the address (in Korean Hangul characters, of course) and prayed it was the same one my foreign teachers friends would all be at! I was nervous when we went south of the Han River (SFS is NW of the Han River, which divides Seoul into North Seoul and South Seoul....not to be confused with North Korea and South Korea...ha!) but all the way, despite my nerves, I couldn't help but think I was on a great Korean adventure in my little yellow cab!!!<br /><br />Nevertheless, I made it safely and soundly to COSTCO (the right COSTCO, of course...thank heavens!) and when some of my fellow teacher friends asked where I'd been, I smirkingly told them the story of how I'd hailed "Taxi, please!"...;-)Pozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775995363003885066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253108924631519181.post-7519384802738462802010-08-03T04:54:00.000-07:002010-08-03T05:38:15.363-07:00Annyeong-haseyo!Well, I've made it! Safe and sound and already done with my second full day in Korea - what a ride! It's still not fully real to me that I'm HERE - it's almost like I've decided to go off to summer camp in a far away foreign city because it hasn't gotten through to me that this is my HOME for the next two years....not just a little vacation or holiday....the place I'm actually LIVING....amazing!!! And so with that, I say "Annyeong-haseyo!" or simply "hello" from Seoul!<br /><br />My 15 hour flight over to Korea (after leaving at 1 a.m. on Sunday, August 1st and arriving at O'Hare Airport at 10pm Sat., July 31st) got me into Incheon International Airport via Asiana Airlines around 5 a.m. Monday, August 2nd! The landing here in Korea was so flawless, I hardly felt the plane touch ground! The flight attendants all looked like porcelain dolls with their thin figures, perfect make-up, pressed uniforms, and slicked back hair that was bound back tightly in a bun - I couldn't have asked for a more comfortable flight!<br /><br />After landing at Incheon, I had to wait for a while before getting through Immigration and then on to picking up my luggage from the baggage claim....<br /><br />2 large carts and 7 pieces of luggage later, I made my way to Customs, where I <span style="font-style:italic;">breezed</span> through, heading out the sliding doors to meet both the Middle and High School principals who were waiting to pick me up and take me to Seoul Foreign School (SFS)!<br /><br />After a nasty hour and a half drive out of Incheon to Seoul (traffic was TERRIBLE...it was rush hour by this time), we finally made it to SFS! Both principals, Lynn(MS) and Kevin(HS), helped carry my 7 pieces of luggage to my "F" building and carted it onto the elevator. It was such a relief to have help and soon enough, I made it to F-42....my apartment room! This year I'm living in an apartment of another SFS teacher who happens to be on sabbatical this year, so everything is ready and rarin' to go! ;-) However, at the end of this year, I'll have to move again and buy all my own "stuff".....hopefully by then, I'll know my way around a bit tho!<br /><br />Day 1 proved to be an exhausting one of unpacking, putting away, and box condensing, but it was nice to have it all pretty much taken care of before things got underway with the Orientation Week - <br /><br />Now at the conclusion of Day 2, I've had a chance to meet many of the the "new hires" here at SFS, some of which even live in my same apartment building! I've met people mostly from different parts of the U.S., but there are also many people I've been meeting from the Phillipines, France, South Africa, Canada, and the UK! It's incredible to hear the stories about where some of these people have been and where they've lived! Many of them have lived and worked in other International Schools prior to their SFS contract, so it's quite fascinating!<br /><br />We ventured out this morning to Yonsei University Severance Hospital: International Healthcare Center, where we were given physicals and other check-up procedures - there were so many Koreans in white doctors' coats, and many of them looked no older than me!<br /><br />Later this afternoon, we went on a walking tour of the Yonhi-dong area (the "hub" of town where SFS is located) - it was crazy to walk down the street and not be able to really read what ANYthing said! But for the most part, I've been very impressed with how many English translations there are for so many of the signs, markets, shops, etc. here in Seoul - I know too there are certain parts of the city that are more "Americanized", but for now the impact of everything "Korea" is incredible~<br /><br />I know this is a pretty long post and I don't intend for them to be this long all the time, but I know these first few days will be pretty crazy, and so there will be lots to share! I can't believe I'm in Korea.....hopefully I can get over this initial "shock" sooner rather than later...I'm more concerned about being ready for the school year! I know I have some pretty big shoes to fill as the new SFS Choral Director....I hope I can continue to instill the level of excellence with my students that SFS prides itself in~ then again, the hardest part is always getting started ;-)Pozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775995363003885066noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253108924631519181.post-34666677311635889352010-07-31T13:15:00.000-07:002010-07-31T13:53:07.824-07:00Ready.....Set....SEOUL!!!<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>The day has finally arrived! In just a few short hours, I will be boarding the plane at O'Hare Airport here in Chicago for my direct flight to Seoul, South Korea! Since my flight leaves at 1:00 a.m., will be heading out to the airport around 9:30 p.m. - hopefully everything goes smoothly and I'll be able to sleep a bit on the 14-hour flight overseas! Yikes!<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>This past week has been incredible - I've seen so many friends, loved ones, and had the chance to say final goodbyes and farewells! Some of the belo<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">w pictures are from some of the get-togethers throughout the week:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><br /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdUACzwQaR4jYQudfeiUbnHLiA7lGD4W_x0Gpu7hquYkMqz5FEXHauGObaxBXcZqnCdR0vOo0KN82denOYgvUBmqMvGVgRnIVxxRFibGD2G5-o9jDiAXym_HkYRptkBB33BkIFspFrT8o/s320/DSC04493.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500168154635792338" /><div><img style="text-align: center;float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAizerFvJY9PyWH1r9nTHKtjK6ryDDCf34CzNwO-3WW8ONuGVBhXn6bgFOISy6haWT5mw2mHe7JZl5Ti6g9SaCyHTvEOwIUx2nmYr2NM9sWLh5lBmXIZ6TvlMP4jLJMbDY75MVk5Q-5EU/s320/DSC04564.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500170728059393266" /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj48qmg9hgwIDXvc2GGqc_fJNcmPDBcNqjnTB45_pirdXCHNpK9IOvBSiLtdItA7wqZVJ-cghGfxxRoOEb8dQDfSkz0LgzW9eqQp73SfaLX6fERr9QD8rR4pJyl6JOfQkS8Q4ZlBGbPErs/s320/DSC04537.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500169277198684946" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Hope all of you are doing well! Check out the video below and I'll talk to you more once I'm overseas!!! xoxox</div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyUfYMO2GuBSSZ9bD9OaP_z-6G36y7XjGOs_e9XTXyqwXSS7kozdEMyXqYoTA90lBtSXMq4Wh-Eo3-M7ej9vw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Pozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775995363003885066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253108924631519181.post-966626346134432522010-07-26T16:02:00.000-07:002010-07-27T20:38:00.745-07:00A Day of Celebration! (followed by a day of more packing!)<div style="text-align: left;">Back in the spring, my mom had the great idea to host a sort of "recital/reception", put on by both my younger sister and I, so as to have a final "send-off" before I set out on my journey to Korea, and my sister on her next step: graduate school :-)</div><div><br /></div><div>With both of us being the musicians we are, it seemed like a great idea! What better way to give back to our family, friends, and community than to share our musical gifts? And so, after long weeks of practicing and gearing up for the event, it finally took place yesterday afternoon at one of our two church homes: Our Saviour's Lutheran Church.</div><div>We were so fortunate to have the lovely Beth Timm as our accompanist, and it worked out so that I sang a few pieces and my sister played a few things on both her violin and oboe!</div><div><br /></div><div>We were overwhelmed with the number of people that came out to see us, support us, and wish us well on our new endeavors! It was SO wonderful to participate first, in a recital with Melanie and second, see all the friends, family, co-workers, etc. that were there to say good-bye! It still hasn't hit me yet that many of these people I won't be seeing for quite a long time....</div><div><br /></div><div>The day truly was a wonderful celebration and there was no better place to have performed than in God's house ~ of all the blessings He's offered to us in our lives, it was a blessing to offer something back up to Him ;-)</div><div><br /></div><div>Today has been quite the kick back into reality...ha! My mom has been a great helper and we've really been making headway on filling up the suitcases and the boxes! Check out some of the pics below from today's packing efforts:</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Check out my bed! Piles of clothing everywhere! Yikes~</div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp8gptf6ogeQYM5l4eD6C3riIYAef7Kq2ZJ5xvlNtV3HZTfn9iuzOwFA19xBemoZgm-fgGB3ncY5txLVP5HQ0BgEN19mPyL7ryykuvziOjz0GdxRey1dTXgD831Y0Ss-9Eiy6qnCQAFnk/s320/DSC04488.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498358251641044706" /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd9mPMN-HH_JocVq_701p95bTXn5Euq0eHpMmrWheq1Iq-3KNMPT5h5a9lbkeijwIKdKP-Ue1guHYrGrsuhm-N0cthuXmQS-wxFg6L88NEXYz5ITzwdyMnZk9uFruNoBLkDBhUHAGfAiM/s320/DSC04490.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498359043228223010" /><div style="text-align: center;">My line of suitcases - and look who thinks he's coming along to Korea with me!! My cat, Pilgrim, thought my middle suitcase made a restful sitting place ;-)</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">And last but not least, a quick video to show you all the "fun" that went down today!</div><div style="text-align: center;">Hope all are well and I'll keep you posted as the calendar turns.....;-) Blessings to all~</div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwWRHMwJiLhLdaRrkyMClf9cZmqh59EIhz64Iejw_Co5KZ7SJ-7hnY6zVBDySBxyBZtEiX5rwJOMbi_H4tPHw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div>Pozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775995363003885066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253108924631519181.post-63033944417610148752010-07-22T09:03:00.000-07:002010-07-22T09:17:57.395-07:009 Days Till Send Off!So the count down is "officially" underway.....9 days to go before I leave the U.S. and begin my exciting, new adventures overseas! And yet....there is still SO much to do! <div><br /></div><div>Earlier this week when I'd hit the "two week" mark, it finally hit me that "uh....Poz?....you have TWO WEEKS to get everything situated and finalized....get cracka-lackin'!" And so here I sit with you, oh friendly blog, delaying the much needed attention my mess of a basement needs with all of my belongings thrown every which way - wah wah. So perhaps a "What I Still Need to Do" list will help me prioritize a little more and have me ready to go for when I make way to the lovely O'Hare Airport on August 1st. One can only hope that after my "exciting" 14-hour direct flight to Incheon Airport will have me feeling like I haven't forgotten anything, while at the same time, feeling quite complacent about my state of being.</div><div><br /></div><div>And yet....perhaps creating this "What I still Need to Do" list is a waste of time....at this point, I think I just need to DO it, and not create any sort of lists or other distractions....Korea is Koming (hehe), and I need to be ready!</div><div><br /></div><div>Peace to all~</div><div>Poz</div>Pozhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775995363003885066noreply@blogger.com0