An 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."

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 ;-)

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.

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.

"Let's go rock climbing! Would you be up for rock climbing?" asked Brett as I entered the apartment at 9pm.
"Uh...sounds like fun, but not right now Brett...sorry..." I replied.

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".

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.

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!

"I could do that," Jo said, "but who else would be up for it?"
I suddenly heard myself say "I'll go!"

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.

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....)

"Let's buy some fireworks and shoot them off from the beachside, too!" said Brett soon after we'd parked the car.
"Yea! Let's do it!" I heard Sangmin say.

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

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 ;-)

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:

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:
"uh...guys? where are the car keys?"
"you put them somewhere with your stuff, didn't you hun?" Jo asked Sangmin
"um...yea......uh....you guys? pretty sure i left the keys in my swim trunks here....and pretty sure they fell into the sea...."

No one said anything.

No one believed him

No one really wanted to believe him.

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.

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....

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"...

"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"???????)

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.

Awesome.

But I did it! I ate the san nachi! Check out the video below.....



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....)

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! ;-)
Here was a shot of Jo and I singing Lady Gaga's "Poker face":



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.

"Yes!!!" we all exclaimed, "how wonderful!!!"
It felt like it was heaven-sent....how awesome that such good fortune could come our way out of such misfortune ;-)
The adjouma (whose name we later found out was "Peanuts"..haha!) said her friend would arrive in about an hour.
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:

"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!

He found them.

He found the fricken keys. In the OCEAN. He found the lost car keys in the OCEAN......seriously???? Does this happen?????

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!

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.....

We piled up in the car, buckled up, and drove home.
What a night...what a story!
What an adventure.....
;-)

God is good.

Faculty Fellowship Retreat Weekend

This 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.

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!

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!

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??

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!

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":

As for myself, I had a blast riding the waves and finding both shells and starfish on the shoreline:

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 ;-)

And so, I bid you all farewell! Hope all is well with everyone and keep ridin' the waves ;-)

Typhoon 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?"

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.

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...

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!

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.....
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.

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!!!!

By 8:30 a.m., it was all over.

Seriously.

It was over.

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!

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 experienced 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")

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!

"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".

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.....

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"....
"Is that what we should call you then?"
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.
"Pohz? That's how you like it then, no?"

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" ;-)

"Well...when you say it like that," I began, "It sounds more like Pods...ya know? Like 'peas in pods'?"

They laughed hysterically.

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".

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!

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 where I find myself landing ;-)


Here I am with my British girls: Hye-sin (left) and Joy (right)

Eat, Pray, Love

So 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!!

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!

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! Praying it all goes well....

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 loved 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!

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, eat some Korean food, and just relax over the weekend!

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!

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....
Peace to all back home~

First 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.

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!

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....

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.

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.

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:



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...
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!

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!):



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~

The Korea Creed

What 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!

Saturday was definitely a blast~ all of us new teachers were invited to a delicious Korean dinner at "On the Border Mexican Grill" - ha! We walked a good 20-25 minutes (many of us in heels) to the restaurant and enjoyed each others company as we sipped Korean-made margaritas (yikes!) - afterward, we took the subway to the main "hub" of downtown Seoul to the Chungdong Theater, where we later saw an inCREDible original Korean "musical" - the show ended up being more of a dance-story that centered around two young lovers~ the dancing was traditional, Korean dancing that included the use of drums, fan-dance, Kayagums (harp-like instruments), and more! It truly was a spectacular show - I don't remember the last time I saw anything so amazing! The video below was en route to the theatre, when our group paused to take a look at downtown Seoul. In it you'll catch a glimpse of Deoksu Palace and City Hall. My friend Tim (him and his wife, Bev, are older than my parents - ha!) helped film it for me (just ignore his over-eager "laughter"...you'll see what I mean...). At the end, you'll notice our large group of "foreigners" hangin' out by the edge of the street:



Prior to the show starting at Chungdong Theatre, there was a "wardrobe area", where visitors could try on the traditional Korean garment called a hanbok. When I went to try one on, the young Korean girls tried to gesture I could chose whichever garment I wanted...I chose a lovely, royal blue hanbok, only to find out later I'd chosen a male hanbok, one that particularly might have been worn by a Korean Emperor.....the headpiece they made me wear was giNORmous and didn't help my cause for seeing like a non-obnoxious American who can't tell a male hanbok from a female hanbok....yikes! Friends kept referring to me as "Emperor Allison" for the remainder of the evening...haha!



Monday began with an opening "praise worship" time, as we welcomed back all the returning teachers and introduced all of us "newbies" to the rest of the crowd. It was fun because I had the chance to get up on stage right off the bat and sing with the praise band - I had lots of people come up to me later and say they were grateful I'd shared my music with the faculty, etc. Tomorrow, we will end the week with a closing praise worship time. I couldn't believe on Monday morning that we were starting our week in PRAYER...in WORSHIP! Granted, I know SFS is a Christian based school, but these people REALLY live out that message of loving one another and seeking the goodness of God - it's such an incredible environment and I feel my faith growing stronger everyday.

Despite the fact I think I'm "meetinged out"(we honestly have been having non-stop meetings during the day ALL week - my butt hurts from sitting so much!), we had a bit of a refresher yesterday during the day. We all took buses to the NE part of town, right near Bukhansan Mountain, for a retreat at Dobong Forestville - kind of like a retreat center with plenty of space inside, including a lecture hall, meeting rooms, and a lovely patio area for eating, picnicking, etc. It was an all faculty/staff retreat where we heard the author, Scot McNight, talk about a book we'd been required to read over the summer entitled "The Jessus Creed". Scot hails from Chicago and his discussion point regarding the book centered around the main, Christian idea of "loving God" and "loving others". It was so interesting to hear Scot talk to a room full of educators, especially when he highlighted the importance of community, communication, and caritas (latin word meaning "love")

At the lunch break, I had the chance to sit and talk with Scot and his wife Chris - we talked Chicago of course, which reminded me of home, and they asked how I'd come to live in Korea. They were impressed with my "bravery", although to me it didn't seem like a big deal, and that I could be so comfortable with who I am and where I'm at in life that I'd risk it all to go overseas. I told them they were making a bigger deal of it than what was necessary, but it meant a lot to have this impressive, theologian writer and his wife think I was brave and that I was really making something of my life. I told both Scot and his wife that the idea of Scot's book, to love God and to love others, was such a good theme for all of us teachers as we prepare to begin the school year, and as many of us adjust to living in Korea! "The Jesus Creed" Scot talks about in his book goes like this:

"Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heard, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these."

And so, I've decided to establish a "Korea Creed" - it's more a way of thinking, really....a mentality of contentment and knowing that I am meant to be here and experiencing these moments at exactly the right time - a mentality and a promise that I will always have these experiences, that I will always be able to look back and say I lived in Korea, and that I lived my life there, and always, to its fullest.