Greetings!

Greeting!

I'll start this update off with some exciting news! I read my first sign in Korean today. Without needing to rack my brain of symbols and what not... i looked up and just read it. "Ah, Kimbap." Kimbap is the Korean version of sushi that i have become quite fond of. Now, the sign was horribly simple but be assured friends, the excitement was quite grand! I'm learning Korean... that's exciting, yea?!

I always struggle writing these updates because so much happens in a week. So i will start with last weekend. I am considering breaking up my updates into sections. I don't really like compartmentalizing my life, sometimes it's necessary--maybe next time. : )

Anyway, Monday was a holiday, Sam-Il-Jul (Independence of Japan Memorial Day), so we had the day off! For this three day weekend we planned a trip to Gangwon-do. Actually, we didn't have to do any of the planning. Two of our Korean friends, Kyeong Min and Chung Yun planned the whole trip for us! Which was such a blessing! And i tell you what, they know how to plan road trips! We spent our first night in Pyeongchung, the snowboard headquarters, in a condo that faced the slopes! It was beautiful! The next day we were headed to a little beach town north of Sokcho. Actually pretty close to the North Korean border (like 10km). On the way we made a few stops. First at Woljeongsa Temple where we enjoyed a fabulous lunch at a famous bibimbap place! (It's my favorite... and an AWESOME vegetarian option!)


After that we headed to a rockin' fish market. And when i say rockin' I mean i LOVED it. Maybe one of the coolest experiences thus far. It was real, traditional Korea. It was awesome! We bought fish for our planned sashimi feast later that night (which was AWESOME!).


We finished up that day with a stop at another temple, Naksansa where we enjoyed a beautiful view of the ocean from the rock cliffs and a cup of traditional tea.


The real fun came Monday when we woke up to snow. A lot of snow. Our estimated 7 hour drive home now threatened closer to 10/12 hours. Happy about the snow and horribly sad about the awful drive, we decided to leave early and cancel Monday's plans. We drove in bumper to bumper traffic from 12:30 to 7pm and decided it best to wait out the traffic. So, we stopped at a jimjilbang. What is that you ask? Well... let's just say i got real natural for a few hours and a host of Korean women got to know me real well. I'll just leave it at that. So... we re-clad ourselves around 10 and got back on the road. 3:30am we arrived home. 15 hours it took to get home, that's longer than it took me to fly to Korea. Long drive. However, it was an AWESOME weekend!

This week at work was insane. That's really the only thing I can say about that. Man, if you need to learn flexibility, or patience, move to Korea. Yea. I did also learn that one of my students is a computer hacker. In asking him what he would be doing this weekend, he answered, "Hacking into Japan". A little curious i questioned on. Yup. I guess there's some war between Japan and Korea to hack into computer systems and crash them or what not. It's horribly undercover and entirely illegal, and well... i guess a leisurely hobby for Korean youth. We had a 30 minute conversation about how one "hacks". Yea, that was a first!

On a more personal note, i have been in Korea for almost 2 months. And it still doesn't seem like that long. However, this week in the midst of work being crazy, it hit me just how far away I am from the people i love the most. And that is hard. When life gets hard for the people you love it's hard to be away. So hard. But in that, God has been so near. I cannot question his hand because on this end he is speaking to me so clearly. This week has been the topic of trust. In my quiet times of prayer and more directly at church this morning. His gentle voice has been asking me if i trust him. I don't find it coincidence that the two personal books I brought over with me are on the love of God and the call to trust him ruthlessly. Knowing the love of God and the character of Jesus prepares my heart to trust when things get rough. In light of what Jesus has done for me, in perfect love, will i trust that he actually wins? That he will actually save and make things new, and good for those who love him?
So good. And so hard.


On a lighter note... my taste buds are quickly accustoming themselves to spicy foods. I ordered a "spicy" option today for lunch (Which i'm pretty sure contained hot orange, tuna fish eggs.) and the server asked me if i was sure i wanted it because it was spicy. I said yes, and ate it with only mild discomfort. : ) Popi, i'll be joining you and Grandpa with the peppers anytime now!

Well, that is my update. Know that i am missing you guys! Until next time!

All my love!