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Knowledge is Powerful Stuff

Jul 21

Posted by Katie in Creativity, awesome, learning, life, technology | 1 Comment

One thing that I really regret is not learning more about technology. I’m convinced that we’re never going to go back to the days of my childhood, where the Internet was something that was pretty new as far as general use goes–remember when Jeeves was a part of Ask.com? And remember how you could ask him questions? Yeah, that was THE premier website of my elementary school days. **EDIT: Apparently, Jeeves is still alive and kicking! You can visit him here, if you’re nostalgic.** I know that growing up when I did, I’m pretty basic-level tech savvy, just by experience. Some people not too much older than I am actually have to work at using a lot of technological things that I take for granted–not knocking them, I can’t believe how much they’ve had to adapt (case in point: my parents remember when the VCR came out, while a friend much younger than I am didn’t realize that there was a time before Youtube).

But seriously, I wish that I had spent at least one class out of all my high school classes learning about computer science. You may think that this is a pretty nerdy thing to say, unless you happened to do so, in which case you’re probably thinking that it was an awesome thing to do, as well as a smart choice. Regardless of the real or imagined nerdiness, taking a computer science class in high school would have been really useful right about now. Why, you may ask? Well, aside from the fact that my fiance is seriously in to computers, the real answer is that we’re living in a time of transition, a time where pretty much every job I’m considering for a career would be greatly enhanced by a good dose of computer knowledge. Even books are going digital, and if I want to keep enjoying them, I’ve got to be prepared to do the same! Clearly, this blog is a big step forward, but I need to know more about the tech side of things if I want to be as valuable as I can be in today’s world. As a result of these musings, as well as of my impending graduation, I’ve decided to look into taking some sort of technical know-how class after I get married. I think that this time in my life, between my undergrad and graduate careers, will be best spent investing in the knowledge I ignored in the past. No matter what, it can’t hurt!

So here’s to gaining knowledge after college! I intend to keep learning skills that will be helpful to me, as wel as those around me. I also want to learn things just for fun, so if I come across a community college class that looks awesome, I just might take it! I think I’m becoming more inspired by the moment–so now seems like a good time to get some sleep and dream about coding and making awesome websites (Mark would be so proud!).

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Transitions

Jul 16

Posted by Katie in awesome, life | 3 Comments

So life as I’ve known it for the past few years is about to change radically. I’ll be leaving my job of two years in two weeks. I’ll be graduating from college in three weeks, and I’ll be getting married in a little under three months. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been going to school–and I’m really going to miss it. I can’t believe all the really cool classes I can’t take anymore. I eventually want to get my master’s degree, but in what area? I’m not sure. I’ve got to start looking for a real, full time, use my education job. I love my job now, and I’m sad that I can’t work there once I graduate. Hopefully I’ll be able to find a great job (as in something I love to do) before too long. I’m not sure how to go about getting the kinds of jobs I’d love, but I’ll figure it out (if anyone wants to hire a writer/ editor/ all around great employee, I’m here!).

For the next few weeks I’m going to savor all of the things and people in my life. Sure, I can come back and visit them, but it just isn’t the same feeling. That’s life, I suppose. But don’t get me wrong, I am very excited about this new chapter in my life–who knows what kinds of adventures and experiences I’ll have? It’s going to be great! I just feel like all this greatness snuck up on me when I wasn’t looking!

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Book or nook?

Jun 24

Posted by Katie in awesome, books, technology | 4 Comments

As you may or may not know, I love books. I love everything about them; the way they look on the shelf, their colorful covers, the smell they put off after a few years, everything. Book stores and libraries are mini-paradises to me, offering more books that I could ever hope to own, more knowledge than I know what to do with. If books were to disappear from the face of the earth, via evaporation, burning, migration, whatever, I’m not quite sure what I would do. Probably hoard them en masse until it was impossible to do so any longer. That being said…

My new favorite book is…well, it’s a nook. There, I said it, please, fellow book lovers, don’t shun me. You see, with my love of books, I have quite a collection built up. A collection that fills bookshelves, that is ever growing and quite diverse. How can this be a bad thing, you may ask? Well, usually, it isn’t. Until moving day comes. On moving day, I have to take all my books, box them up and then carry them (well, not me…they’re pretty heavy) where ever they need to go. This is a problem that will not go away, as long as I’m alive. Enter the nook. Now, in addition to all of my favorite real books (as in physical. I know ebooks aren’t imaginary), I have a collection of ebooks that can travel with me all over the world! If I want to read Jane Eyre in Ireland, I can, without shoving a 400 page plus text into my already overstuffed backpack. If I want to switch to reading something else, I can, without even packing two books. How wonderful! Clearly, the nook is a reading traveler’s best friend.

The nook is helpful in another key way–it saves me money. Tons of money. Why? Because it is nearly impossible for me to walk through a bookstore without buying a book or four. A clearance sale? Well, let me get a basket because we’re not leaving until I find some great deals. The nook allows me to buy ebooks for a fraction of the price of a hardcover, and cheaper, still, than a paperback. In some cases, I can even get ebooks for free! It’s like a library where you get to keep the book forever! This means that I can have more to read, and more money to boot! Now, when I see a 75% off book, I can buy it without an ounce of guilt! Perfect.

Am I turning my back on books forever? Do I support their demise? No, and never. My nook is more like a book substitute–most useful for when I can’t really carry a real book, when I want to save a little cash but still have fresh reading material, and when I want to carry a library in my backpack. What could be better? A $1,000 Barnes and Noble gift card? A house with a room filled with books? Sure, I’ll agree, I’d like those things more–but do I get to keep the nook?

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Ireland

Jun 16

Posted by Katie in Ireland, awesome, fun, travel, world | 3 Comments

It’s been a little over a month since I headed out to Ireland, and a little under a month since I got back–crazy how it seems so long ago. The trip was amazing, a complete whirlwind, and exhausting. Our arrival into London was delayed by about an hour, thanks to a late take off from DFW. This late arrival caused us to hurry through Heathrow, stopping only at the request of two rather rude passport agents who, from the way they treated us and people we met on the tour, don’t really like it when non-Brits come through their airport. Aside from them, though, the airport seemed nice, and I have to admit that flying over London made me want to visit England soooo much. This wish was almost granted, thanks to our good friend Eyajafjallajokull. As we were standing in line to board our plane in London, a breaking news update flashed on the TV from the BBC: Dublin’s airport was set to close. I am not exaggerating when I say that I heard a collective murmur go through the crowd, punctuated by random voices wondering if we would make it through the ban.

Fortunately, Aer Lingus was not daunted by the closure, and slipped us in an hour before the airport closed. Note: I was on a constant lookout for any ash in the air, both on the flight over and the flight to Ireland. I didn’t even see a gray cloud. Upon our arrival at Dublin’s airport, we exited the plane–not a noteworthy experience in most airports, but here, we got to come down those fancy stairs, just like we were all the President of the United States or some celebrity from the 1950′s. It may seem mundane to a lot of people, but I got a kick out of it. :)

After navigating our way through the airport, we finally made it to where the Paddy’s Palace shuttle was waiting to take us to our lovely hostel. If you’ve never stayed at a hostel before, just imagine a college co-ed dorm or a summer camp cabin with communal bathrooms, although all of Paddy’s Palaces were much cleaner than either of those. Hostel living is easy and breezy, and once you get used to it, no problem at all. Courtney, her mom, my mom, and I really enjoyed it.

We looked around Dublin on our own that night, and the next day set off on our grand tour, six days going around the Irish coast on a big green tour bus filled with Aussies, Kiwis, South Africans, a Belgian, a Canadian and some Americans (plus our Irish driver, Joe). It was a multi-cultural bonding experience, I’ll tell you that much!

As much as I would love to go into great detail telling you every single thing we did, I’m afraid that I would run out of room. I can tell you that the first night we stayed in Derry, Northern Ireland. Derry was an interesting city, full of history and struggle, although there have been great advances toward peace recently. Not knowing too much about Irish history, I was very interested in all that we learned in Derry.

The next morning, we woke up and headed toward Belfast, stopping on the way to see my favorite thing in all of Ireland, the Giant’s Causeway. I LOVED this place, and would have happily spent days there. Unfortunately, two hours was all we got, but we were rewarded by seeing one of God’s coolest creations, and by some delicious Irish stew at a hotel near the coat that I definitely intend on staying at one day. When we arrived in Belfast, I immediately fell in love with the city. There is a ton of history there, to be sure, which was all outlined on our Black Taxi Tour (ironically, I was in the only red taxi in the group). I wish we could have spent a few days in Belfast, but alas, onward we went toward Galway.

The drive to Galway was amazingly beautiful, and we stopped in County Sligo to see W. B. Yeats‘s grave. After more driving, we made it to Galway, where we had a great time. The next morning, we went to the Cliffs of Moher, which were beautiful and breathtaking. I definitely was amazed at just how tall they are. This was a major tourist spot, with people from all over the world there to admire the splendor.

We spent the night in a small village called Annascaul, right on the Dingle Peninsula. It was a quaint little town, and our night was filled with karaoke fun. Courtney and I submitted our request to sing, but I have to say that I was actually glad that the guy never called us up. However, it was great to see our moms along with our new friends from South Africa sing “Dancing Queen!” The next morning, we got up and headed to Dingle, where we enjoyed a couple of hours of just roaming through the city. I would definitely like to go there again, especially because we came upon a farmers’ market, with a ton of local goodies.

We stayed in Killarney the next night, where we were privileged to be able to visit the national park. The scenery in Killarney is gorgeous. There isn’t really a good word to describe how stunning the mountains and lakes are, our a picture I could either find or take that did it justice. Trust me, you’ll have to visit this place yourself.

Killarney was the perfect tourist town, and we had a great time there. I would like to visit again, but I preferred some of the other cities we stayed in, just because they were a lot less touristy. After Killarney, we visited the biggest tourist trap of them all, the Blarney Stone. Don’t get me wrong, the Castle Blarney was really amazing, and the grounds were pretty, but there were tourists everywhere, and laying on a mat and having some random Irish guy shove me headfirst toward a stone to kiss it isn’t really my idea of fun. But hey, if you like it, go for it. :)

We ended our tour by visiting the Guinness factory/museum back in Dublin. I’m definitely not into drinking, but it was cool to see the history behind this iconic brew. I did try a taste in the tasting room, and was not really surprised at the crazy-bitter flavor of Guinness. I passed on my free pint, and instead just enjoyed the history.

Instead of staying at the hostel again, the four of us stayed at a nice hotel where we felt like royalty after living in hostels–no bunk beds! Private rooms! A real shower!!–it was awesome. And I have to confess that we definitely enjoyed our fair share of chocolate heaven cake and cheesecake. Mmmmm!

I am so glad that we were able to take this trip, and I cannot wait to go back and spend more time in Ireland. The country is beautiful (and the weather was fabulous when we went), the people are super-friendly, and there is a vibe of relaxing and having fun everywhere we went. And who knows, when I go back, I may even let Mark come. :)

I know this post was incredibly long, but trust me, I could have added another thousand words easily, that’s how awesome this trip was. If you ever have a chance to take this tour, do it! It was a great introduction to Ireland at a wonderfully low cost. If you have a little more time and or money, try renting a cottage somewhere and just staying put…I promise that you’ll be glad you did, and that is exactly what I want to do next time! Thanks for letting me share my amazing trip!

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Day One

Jan 19

Posted by Katie in awesome, college, learning | 2 Comments

And so it begins…my last full semester of college. Sure, I’ll have two classes this summer, but seriously, those don’t really match up to the intensity of a full semester. I had my 8 am class this morning, where I found out that I’m pretty sure I’m going to like it, despite the terrible timing. The class is aerobic walking (which sounds funny), and it is made up almost entirely of women. There is, as of today, one lonely male. Maybe he’ll find a girlfriend, if he doesn’t already have one. One of my coworkers is in the class with me, as is a friend that I’ve had in several classes before. It should be a great way to get exercise and have fun, too.

My other class today was 20th century America. I’m pretty excited about this class, although I know that it will be quite a bit of work. Nevertheless, I am really looking forward to it! I still have three more classes to go before I’ve been to all of them, but I think that they have great potential as well. There is one that I am looking forward to a little less than the others, but I won’t say which one, just in case it turns out to be fun.

Our new roomie, Brandi, moved in last weekend, and so far she’s fitting in great! She is a lot of fun to hang out with, which is always a plus! I hope to spend a lot more time with my friends this semester, since I’m taking fewer hours. We’ll see how that goes!

Well, I’ve got a paper to write, so I’ll wrap it up for today. If I have a chance, I’ll update again at the end of the week so that I can tell you how my other classes are going. Oh! I almost forgot! My church is doing something really cool! We’re having 10 different goals in 2010, some of which will be community service-type things. The next one is a book fundraiser for a local Headstart pre-k class! I’m really excited about this, and can’t wait to kick it off! Check out our website for more details! You can find it at http://glenrosebaptist.org.

Later gators!

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Check it out!

Nov 26

Posted by Katie in Photography, awesome, love | No Comments

Okay, so I know that this isn’t supposed to be a wedding blog, but I wanted to say that you should really head on over to http://markandkatie.us and check out our engagement pictures!

There’s No Place Like…Homestay?

Aug 12

Posted by Katie in Mission Trip, South Korea, awesome, fun, learning, life | 5 Comments

Homestay (n): A foreign student staying in the home of a citizen of the country the student is visiting for a set length of time. Commonly experienced by study-abroad participants, and sometimes by short-term mission trip participants.

As you may recall from earlier posts, I had a little trepidation about staying in the home of a Korean family. I really didn’t want to offend anyone, and I was slightly afraid of what I might encounter. However, you may also remember that I was also excited at the prospect of learning a new culture firsthand. When we arrived in Korea, we were promptly deposited in an apartment a few minutes away from the church, our base. We had been told about homestays, but they never materialized…at least until last week. At dinner one night, Pastor Ryan (our liaison with the church)mentioned that he needed three of us to volunteer for a homestay. You could have heard a pin drop. None of us wanted to leave the home that we were used to and the friends that were now more like family. Brave Kristine finally asked if she could think about it. Later that night, she and I discussed our feelings about it, and decided we might be interested, but not enough to bring it up again. Fast forward to last Saturday. We are back in Suwon after a day trip to Seoul. Pastor Ryan has taken us to Pizza Hut (as mentioned in my last post) and he is sitting on the opposite end of the opposite side of the long table. Near Kristine. I don’t know how it happened, but somehow, she and I ended up committing to do a homestay for one night, then we would decide whether to continue. I was more informed than asked, but hey, that’s how good experiences happen, right?

So on Monday, we packed our bags and got ready to go that night after Kristine was done teaching at 9:00. I got done at 5:00, so I had to walk down the mountain hill that leads to the church alone. As I went, I wondered if they would like me, if I would like them, and what the conditions would be. It turns out that I shouldn’t have worried! Mr. Park has been coming to America fairly often for the last ten years or so, and speaks really good English. His wife, Mrs. Lee, is functional in English, and good at getting her point across. They have a nine year old daughter who is very beautiful, but also shy.

Mr. Park picked us up and drove us the 15 minutes to the apartment. When we got there, we were greeted by his wife and daughter, as well as a married couple with whom they are very close. That couple invited us all to their apartment the following day for Korean food after we got back from teaching. So much for staying one night! We are now staying until Friday morning, with our last night and family dinner scheduled for Thursday. :)

It is an interesting experience to say the least, but one that I am so glad I am having. There probably isn’t a better host family out there, as they have done nothing but make us feel welcome. Kristine and I have had some great times already…especially the delicious dinner prepared for us by the neighbors! We had crab, noodles, pumpkin soup (yummy!), rice cakes and more, making it the best meal we have had in Korea! I was really full for the first time since I’ve been here!

I know that I will remember this experience for the rest of my life, and I know that next time I’m offered a chance to spend some time with locals, I’ll say yes immediately!

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A few more days gone by in Korea

Jul 28

Posted by Katie in Trip, awesome, fun, funny | 2 Comments

Sunday was a pretty cool day. We went to church and got blessed (we got roses), and then went to eat a a buffet place.Or, at least we tried. We got there and found out that the place was closed on Sunday, so we went to McDonald’s instead. The thing about McDonald’s in Korea is that they are always completely full of people. It is a good example of borderline chaos. So, we got our food to go and clambored back into our van to head to Hane Park, a cool little retreat about an hour south of Suwon. It was a really beautiful place, and I’m so glad I got to experience it! We divided up into teams (I was on the photo team) and did our thing. I took lots of photos of the kids doing a zip line. We had dinner and then enjoyed a cool worship service. Pastor Ko from Suwon Central Baptist Church gave a little message that was in Korean (he definitely talked about Helen Keller), and then we had to go up and sing a song. We were definitely tired when we got back!

Monday we had to randomly teach at a little camp. Two of us told stories, two (me included) played games and three sang songs. It was pretty fun, even if we weren’t prepared because they told us no teaching in this camp. :)

Today was ice skating day, but I didn’t participate. Instead, I took lots of pictures. I definitely had more fun that way! Tomorrow is another day like Monday, and then the real stuff begins!

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Quick Korea Update

Jul 25

Posted by Katie in South Korea, awesome, teaching | 3 Comments

Today was our first real day doing something, so we woke up early and went to the church, where we practiced our skit briefly before we performed for 2,000 kids. It went pretty well, I messed up one of my lines,but it wasn’t a major deal. I mean, I told everyone Lazarus was dead before he died, but no big. :)

After the play, we got out of our costumes and proceeded to be divided up into groups to helps with different VBS stations. Two other girls, Stephanie and Kristine, went with me to the pre-K/ Kindergarten room. There were around 80 kids there, and they were all adorable! As soon as we walked in, the Kindergarten pastor (they have tons of pastors here) came up to me and started to tell me about how we were going to lead some chants/ songs. In about five minutes. He then took me over to the laptop and let me know that we were going to be singing in Korean first, followed by English. Our song was Genesis 1:1, which looks like this: 태초에 하나님이 천지를 창조하시니라 ! in Korean. Luckily, the pastor wrote it out for me in Romanized form, so that we could pronounce it. Then, they gave us motions we were supposed to do. Well, we went on stage (he came too), where they handed me a microphone! Kristine and Stephanie did the motions and sung, while I and my lovely microphone magnified Korean singing voice stood in the middle and held the paper so we could know what to say. It was pretty awesome. Then, the girls had to leave to go teach at another place, so I stayed in that room as the sole DBU representative. I did make a really cool new Korean friend, so I’m glad for the experience.

After that, I had to have my picture taken with all of the little kids’ classes. It was so precious, but my cheeks hurt after all that smiling!

today was such a great day, and tomorrow we’re going to teach middle school kids, so I’m pretty excited about that!

I’ll try to write again soon!

The Final Countdown

Jul 20

Posted by Katie in God, South Korea, awesome, learning, teaching, update, world | 2 Comments

So, in two days I will be headed to Suwon, South Korea. I’ll be there for 3.5 weeks, teaching English, leading VBS and learning a ton about Korean culture. The last time I went to Korea (last fall break), I learned a lot in only a week. The increase from this experience should be astronomical!

Our game plan has changed somewhat over the past few months, but as of today, it looks like we will be flying out of DFW at 10:10 Wednesday and landing in Tokyo around 1:05 on Thursday. The flight lasts 13 hours! Then we have about a six hour layover in Japan, and we will head to Seoul, where we will arive two or three (I can’t remember) hours later. From Incheon International Airport, we will have about an hour-two hour drive to Suwon, my home for the next month.

I am definitely excited, but I feel so unprepared/overwhelmed when I think about it. I have never been so far away for so long, which is exciting, but still challenging at the same time. I know I will miss my family and friends, and Mark, and American food, but I have my team, new places to see, new foods to try and, of course, God. :) I will be just fine, I think.

One thing that does have me slightly on edge is the fact that we might be staying in host homes, maybe even by ourselves. on the one hand, this is a really great, once in a lifetime, worldview shaping event that will be the best way to experience Korea. On the other hand, I do not know Korean, am kinda creeped out by several Korean foods, and a little worried that I may end up offending some nice people due to my lack of cultural knowledge. I think the pluses are undeniably better than the minuses are bad, but still, I am tad worried. :)

I don’t know how much internet time I’ll be able to snag, but I’ll do my best to keep you updated on everything.

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