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!
Check it out!
Nov 26
Opened Eyes
Oct 27
In my advanced written communication class, we were asked to write a commentary/editorial on an issue that is important to us. I chose human trafficking. In my research, I learned so much, but I feel as if I have so much more to learn. I barely scratched the surface, but I learned that there are 27,000,000 slaves in the world today. Isn’t that astonishing? In a time when the world is becoming more an more modern, there are still people bought and sold every day. Even here in America. I learned that the average price of a slave is $90. That Asia and Africa have the biggest markets for the buing and selling of humans, and that the majority of the workers on chocolate plantations in Africa are slaves.
There can be slaves who are captured walking down the street and forced into working, who are promised a better life and then forced into prostitution, and who are sold off to pay their family’s debt. This happens in Dallas, in LA, in China, in Russia. All over the world. Fortunately, there are organizations dedicated to ending slavery. Free the Slaves, Not for Sale and Stop the Traffik all have excellent programs and materials.
I am definitely going to continue researching this topic, and I am going to get involved in stopping human trafficking. Because once you know it’s out there, how can you not?
Quick update
Oct 13
Well, not much has changed since my last update in the school department. I took Crafts over fall break, which was awesome, but waaay to time consuming, and I’m paying for it by having to write a paper now that I should have already finished. I’m really happy I took it though, because I learned how to do a lot of awesome projects that will be great things to do when I have time.
Later!
Dear Everyone,
I’m sorry that my blogging has been rather skimpy of late. I have found myself swamped with learning! Between Shakespeare, East Asian Literature, Advanced Written Communication, Urban Development and Constitutional Law, I have so much reading to do I practically keep my books open all the time! Plus, planning a wedding is more complicated than it seems, but you can hear about all of that over at http://www.markandkatie.us.
One thing that I am really enjoying right now is the surprisingly fall-like weather! Here in Dallas, it has been rainy and cool for pretty much the past week. Although I am a sunshine-lovin’ gal, I adore the atmosphere provided by a chilly day and dark skies. Seriously, this is curl up by the fire, wrapped up in a blanket, drinking a hot chocolate while reading a good novel weather! If only I had the time. And a fireplace. Oh well, I’ll settle for reading a textbook in my under-the-lofted-bed workspace. 
Well, that’s all I’ve got for now. See ya!
Oh yeah…
Sep 3
I never really updated the blogosphere (no, spell check, not the heliosphere.Thanks, though.) with the fact that one week ago today, I got engaged. It was pretty awesome, to say the least. And I, of course, am beyond excited.
But never fear, this blog will not be weddingified. Oh no. We have a website for things like that! I won’t tell you the URL just yet because I am making it awesome, but I will eventually be putting it up here.
On that note, have a great day/night!
Day One
Aug 24
Dallas Baptist University. August 24, 2009. First day of school.
The nice thing about this semester is that there is no reason for me to be awake at 7:00 am for any reason. This is a new development in my life, as for the past 9 years, I’ve had to be awake at or before 7:00 at least twice a week during the school year. I really enjoyed waking up at 9:00 today, but not nearly as much as I will enjoy waking up at 9:30 tomorrow!
I know that my schedule sounds pretty sweet so far, but you should know that I am taking 15 hours of upper level political science and English classes, and that, although today is the first day of school, I already have to read the Constitution, chapter 1 of my Constitutional law textbook, and all of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by various points this week. Not to complain, just to put things in perspective.
Well, I have a lot to do tonight, so I’ll end now. I do want to say, however, that this year looks like it will be awesome!
I got back from Korea a little over a week ago, and can say with full confidence that I am glad to be home. However, I am still feeling the effects of my trip.
When I say effects, I don’t just mean jet lag, although that is a very real and powerful phenomenon that has held me at it’s mercy for the past week. No, I also mean the memories of Korea, all the people I came to know and love, the way of life I embraced, the scenery, the smells, the sounds. There is so much about Korea that I miss. I really miss all of my kids, even the ones that gave me trouble. I miss the way that Clara (morning TA) and I had to wrangle kids, and the way Jinny (afternoon TA) and I talked on our breaks. I miss Angelina running up and hugging me the way kindergartners tend to do, I miss talking to Ray in the mornings before my most stressful class began, and I miss trying to teach grammar in a way that is interesting and understandable to fifth graders who are learning English (okay, so that one is a challenge).
I miss quality time with the team, riding in the van everywhere, having interesting moments where no one is quite sure what’s happening. I miss how my host family gave us sandwiches, kimbap and cake for breakfast, and how every once in a while, the cafeteria would have good food.
However, as I stated before, I am definitely glad to be back home. I’m happy to be around my friends from work and my roommates. I’m glad I can talk to my family at normal times, and I’m glad that I can see Mark every day. I’m glad that I don’t have to wonder what’s going on every other minute, and I’m glad that I have a comfortable bed, a real shower and AC. I’m also glad that after this trip, I know more people than I did before, and that we will always have our trip memories.
I guess the point is that while Korea was amazing and wonderful and fabulous and memorable, home is here, with family and friends.
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!
A Week Left…
Aug 8
This past week has been, well, a true test for me. Our schedule is as follows:
Wake up around 6:00-6:30, get ready, be at the church by 8:00.
Start Class at 9:00, teach until 11:35. Eat lunch, then climb 3 flights of stairs and spend an hour and a half trying to keep 200 kids in one room when they may, in fact, be ridiculously bored.
Start teaching a different class at 2:00. Continue doing so until 5:00, then have dinner and head home.
Repeat.
Needless to say, this schedule has been a little draining. However, the best part is that my first class is 10 kids, 3 of whom are trouble-makers in any degree, and three who pretty much get in trouble every 5 minutes or so. It’s like they put all of the trouble kids in one class, and I just happened to get it. 
God is really teaching me perseverance through this! I have never wanted to stop doing something that I had to do more times in one week than this past week! But, although it is difficult, I’m learning a lot and getting stronger. I have definitely started getting practice on “the look” this week, as well!
There have definitely been plusses this week, too. The team is really close…we have a lot of fun times! I know that we all bring something unique and necessary to the team, and it definitely shows. When we are together, we come up with all sorts of ways to support each other. I have sent troublemakers to visit more than one teammate’s class!
We have had a lot of adventures this week, like going to a DVD room with some Korean friends (you rent a room with a big screen and pick a movie (we watched Seven Pounds)), and traveling to Seoul to go shopping and to visit a palace. Shopping was a lot of fun, even though it threatened to rain the entire time. I got some really neat things. The palace was pretty spiffy, but it was so hot/humid out that some of us just chilled after seeing the main attractions. Normally, I would be exploring the whole place taking pictures, but my camera definitely died. After that, we went to Pizza Hut, where we had some goofy pizza. The really weird thing was that we had to share drinks…they just brought them out with lots of straws in them. Juan and I definitely found sharing a Pepsi to be interesting. If Phillippa was unlucky, she would have had to split her drink with 2 other people. Fortunately for her, she got it all to herself. Also, you only get one salad bar plate per 3 people. A very strange custom, but whatever.
It is so crazy that we’ve been here for 18 days, and even crazier that we only have one week left! Sometimes, I am so ready to be home, and other times I am so sad to be leaving. I guess that’s the way it goes, though! I definitely have a place for Korea in my heart, but Texas is definitely home!
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!
