No, this isn't some sort of weird new game my students taught me. This is not a new version of rock, paper, scissors (though that game is very popular for decision making in Korea). No, it's not suggestions for Halloween costumes. Instead, it's a summary of my life for the past three weeks.
You may have noticed my lack of blog posts. Well, I've been busy. And while "alien, fish, plane" doesn't entirely explain the madness, it's a pretty good start.
Alien: I am now officially an alien. While you may be thinking that I've been one for a while, I am now legally acknowledged to be an alien--an alien resident in South Korea, that is. I couple weeks ago I finally got my Alien Registration Card, which is basically my ID card while I live in Korea. This means that all my paperwork is officially done. This is what my big visit to immigration was all about in September. Usually, this is all taken care of within the first few weeks of moving to Korea, but changes in regulations meant we had to wait a little longer to do it this time. But never fear, it was done in plenty of time, and now I am a legal alien.
One of the benefits of having my alien card is that I now have a Korean ID. That means I could get a contract cell phone if I wanted one. It also means that I can get a Costco membership. Yes, Korea has Costco. There are 7 locations in Korea, 4 of which are in the Seoul area. A group from the school goes about every 6-8 weeks to stock up on different items. Costco is nice because, besides allowing us to buy in bulk, it provides us with the opportunity to buy more "American" products. We are able to get products at Costco that we aren't able to get anywhere else in Korea. Some of it is more costly, but it is nice to be able buy some American things. Costco is the best place to go for cheese and sometimes meat. They also have more American brands of cereal, crackers, and candy. There are other items that appeal more to the Korean customer, ones that wouldn't show up in American stores--huge tubs of red pepper paste, for instance. The Koreans use it to season their food (Korean food tends to be spicy), so it is a staple. My Costco membership is also good in the States, so when I'm back in Iowa for Christmas or summer, I can stop by in case my family wants/needs anything.
Fish: The end of first quarter was last week, which meant loads of grading to finish up, plus getting grades done. It definitely kept me busy, especially as we had parent/teacher conferences immediately following the end of the quarter. Normally, the school doesn't have conferences immediately following the end of the quarter (it's usually the following week), but because of the volleyball tournament, they moved conferences up a week. Great so the coaches could be at conferences, but horrible timing for the end of the quarter. But I survived. I had a couple students fail, and I had to give their parents the (expected) bad news at conferences. The parents of all 9th grade students, as well as Ds and Fs were required to attend. It was optional for the other parents. Most of the parents who came were of the required students, but I was still fairly busy and didn't get as much other work done as I expected to.
However, end of the quarter and parent/teacher conferences was a stressful, exhausting time, so some of us decided to do something to celebrate the end of conferences. After conferences on Friday, we went to a salon right off the Strip for pedicures and Dr. Fish. We started with Dr. Fish, which is where you stick your feet in a pool of fish and they eat the dead skin off. It was a lot of fun! They don't tickle nearly as much as you might expect, and once you get used to them, you barely notice them at all. After we cleaned off all the dead skin, most of us also got pedicures to complete the relaxation time. Definitely worth it after a long week!
Plane: Songtan, where I live, is home to Osan Air Base. Osan AB hosts an air show once a year in October, and this year's show was last weekend. Attendance is open to the public, as long as you show ID. For me, this means I had to show my passport in order to get on base. I went with my roommate Kari, and while we had to wait in line for about 45 minutes to get in the gate (lots of people!), we had a blast. The air show had planes on display as well as demonstrations of different types of aircraft. The Black Eagles, the Korean flying demonstration team (equivalent of the Blue Angels), performed. Overall, it was really cool to see the different aircraft and hear about and see their capabilities. Kari's dad was in the Air Force, so she grew up around these planes. As a result, she was really nice to have as a companion, full of knowledge that I otherwise wouldn't have known, like what kinds of missions the different air craft are designed for. The only bad thing about the air show was it made me miss my dad. He really likes airplanes, so I knew he would have loved to be at the air show with me. He would have been much more fascinated by the inner workings of the planes, whereas I thought, "Oh, that one looks cool" and just kept right on walking.
Well, that's the summary of the past few weeks of my life. Start of a new quarter means lots of planning to do as we tend to start new units about this time. This week the 9th graders are starting to read Lord of the Flies, and next week the 12th graders are starting The Scarlet Letter. The grading also starts back up this week, with papers and tests to grade. Oh well. 'Tis the life of an English teacher. My wrist somehow managed to survive end of the quarter and conferences just fine (hooray!), though it's been hurting for the past 24 hours or so. Pray that the pain will subside and I will have no difficulties completing all my grading over the next few days.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Because of Love
The past few weeks God has really been reminding me to remember the cross and what Christ's death really means. With moving to a new country, I spend a lot of time focused on myself and on what I need to do or figure out. However, God has been tugging at my heart, turning it back to himself, prodding me to seriously meditate on the Cross. So, as part of that meditation, I have written a poem about Christ's sacrifice and God's love. I share it as a reminder to myself and so you can see what I've been struggling with. My prayer is that it points you to Christ and what He's done for all of us.
"Because of Love"
Jesus Christ, Son of God
And Son of Man
Came to earth to die
For my sins
Because of love.
I have done nothing to deserve
This gift, yet here it is.
My sins are piles of trash,
Rotting in the streets, putrid.
But still He came and died
Because of love.
Looming great in my mind,
Ever present and large,
Stands the cross, the cross of Calvary.
How could I forget what God has done
Because of love.
I can only stand in awe and
Amazement because of Christ's sacrifice,
Generous, gracious, and undeserved.
Why would the Son of God humble himself?
Because of love.
Yet, how often do I forget?
How often do I act like
Christ has done nothing,
Like His sacrifice is worthless?
Because of love
He came and died.
Died for me, died for you.
Every day I should remember and praise
His Holy Name for His mercy and grace
Because of love.
This love surpasses all:
It goes beyond what any man
Could measure or comprehend.
God sent His only Son
Because of love.
My life is changed;
I am no longer the same.
I no longer serve myself,
But Christ who lives in me
Because of love.
The power of His love
Far surpasses anything else.
Blind see and lame walk,
Sins are forgiven and washed away
Because of love.
How do I live as a result?
I give my life to Christ,
All of it.
Nothing is my own anymore
Because of love.
My life is given in service to God,
Wherever and whenever it may take me.
Sharing this great gift, never silent,
The entire world needs to hear.
And He gets all the glory
Because of love.
"Because of Love"
Jesus Christ, Son of God
And Son of Man
Came to earth to die
For my sins
Because of love.
I have done nothing to deserve
This gift, yet here it is.
My sins are piles of trash,
Rotting in the streets, putrid.
But still He came and died
Because of love.
Looming great in my mind,
Ever present and large,
Stands the cross, the cross of Calvary.
How could I forget what God has done
Because of love.
I can only stand in awe and
Amazement because of Christ's sacrifice,
Generous, gracious, and undeserved.
Why would the Son of God humble himself?
Because of love.
Yet, how often do I forget?
How often do I act like
Christ has done nothing,
Like His sacrifice is worthless?
Because of love
He came and died.
Died for me, died for you.
Every day I should remember and praise
His Holy Name for His mercy and grace
Because of love.
This love surpasses all:
It goes beyond what any man
Could measure or comprehend.
God sent His only Son
Because of love.
My life is changed;
I am no longer the same.
I no longer serve myself,
But Christ who lives in me
Because of love.
The power of His love
Far surpasses anything else.
Blind see and lame walk,
Sins are forgiven and washed away
Because of love.
How do I live as a result?
I give my life to Christ,
All of it.
Nothing is my own anymore
Because of love.
My life is given in service to God,
Wherever and whenever it may take me.
Sharing this great gift, never silent,
The entire world needs to hear.
And He gets all the glory
Because of love.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Everland
Well, Chusok break is now over, so it's back to school and back to grading papers and tests. However, I had a fantastic break, very restful and relaxing, so I'm okay with that.
I spent all day Monday at Everland, a kind of Korean Disneyland. It even has different characters and parades throughout the day. One of the best parts about Everland, in my opinion, is that it is nestled amongst the Korean mountains. While that unfortunately means the park has a lot of very big hills, it also means that it has gorgeous views of the Korean countryside.
We made a full day of our trip, leaving at 8 a.m. and not getting back until after 11 p.m. Thankfully, we never got stuck in traffic. It normally takes about 45 minutes to get to Everland from Songtan, which is what it took to get there in the morning. That evening it only took us 35 minutes to get back. Hooray for no Chusok traffic! It was a long but fun day. The park itself was only moderately crowded, giving longer waits for the most popular rides, but not enough to be a deterrent.
The park had all sorts of rides, including kids rides, roller coasters, spinning rides, and upside down rides. The park also has some animals and a Safari where you can see lions and tigers and bears, oh my! The most popular ride, however, is the T Express. The T Express is a huge wooden roller coaster that claims to have the steepest drop of a roller coaster in the world. One of the hills drops down at a 70 degree angle, which feels like straight down when you're on it. Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to ride, but hopefully next time I will get to.
Doesn't that look like fun?!
We ended our trip to Everland by watching the light parade after dark, where all the floats and characters are covered with lights. After the parade there was a massive light and fireworks show. It was pretty cool. It told a story about how light was created but then a dragon came and threatened the light, only to be defeated by a phoenix rising from the fire created by the fire-breathing dragon. The fireworks went off to celebrate the victory. There's probably much more to the story, but that's all I was able to gather from the action, since the actual story was told in Korean. The lights and fireworks were cool, though, and all set to music.
From the light parade
I spent all day Monday at Everland, a kind of Korean Disneyland. It even has different characters and parades throughout the day. One of the best parts about Everland, in my opinion, is that it is nestled amongst the Korean mountains. While that unfortunately means the park has a lot of very big hills, it also means that it has gorgeous views of the Korean countryside.
We made a full day of our trip, leaving at 8 a.m. and not getting back until after 11 p.m. Thankfully, we never got stuck in traffic. It normally takes about 45 minutes to get to Everland from Songtan, which is what it took to get there in the morning. That evening it only took us 35 minutes to get back. Hooray for no Chusok traffic! It was a long but fun day. The park itself was only moderately crowded, giving longer waits for the most popular rides, but not enough to be a deterrent.
The park had all sorts of rides, including kids rides, roller coasters, spinning rides, and upside down rides. The park also has some animals and a Safari where you can see lions and tigers and bears, oh my! The most popular ride, however, is the T Express. The T Express is a huge wooden roller coaster that claims to have the steepest drop of a roller coaster in the world. One of the hills drops down at a 70 degree angle, which feels like straight down when you're on it. Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to ride, but hopefully next time I will get to.
We ended our trip to Everland by watching the light parade after dark, where all the floats and characters are covered with lights. After the parade there was a massive light and fireworks show. It was pretty cool. It told a story about how light was created but then a dragon came and threatened the light, only to be defeated by a phoenix rising from the fire created by the fire-breathing dragon. The fireworks went off to celebrate the victory. There's probably much more to the story, but that's all I was able to gather from the action, since the actual story was told in Korean. The lights and fireworks were cool, though, and all set to music.
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