Cramped Spaces... New Places

Riding home on the subway with Jess today was, as always, a hilarious experience. I mean, I've almost choked to death on juice in a subway with this woman; why should any other subway ride be a less exciting experience???

So, we're sitting together, and she has her coat on (I do too, it's cold outside) and she has a hood that has Velcro on it. Now, as many of you know, Velcro attracts hair. In Jess's patch of Velcro on her hood, she had a wad of hair. I thought this was gross (though understandable... I mean, her hair's right next to her hood... of course the Velcro is going to grab it and stick in there) so I pulled the hair wad out and threw it on the ground in the subway car.

Normal, right? I mean, no big deal... these people throw far worse on the ground ALL OVER THE CITY! I think littering is a hobby for many people. The city is super polluted and dirty. I think one of the greatest things this new president could do for his country is to have trash cans put on all the streets! There are NO trash cans in this city! So, people throw things on the ground! A small hair wad isn't a big deal!

But then, the door opens and this hair wad scurries across the ground looking like a tiny brown scorpion... and seriously, 4 Koreans are looking down at it trying to figure out what it is! I mean, they're really looking! They're leaning over and saying to each other "What the heck is that thing?" "Hey, check that out!" I'm surprised they didn't try to touch it... they were REALLY curious!

Now, I'm wondering "What's the big deal... it's a wad of hair!" But then Jess says, "It's brown. They all have black hair, they don't know what it is!" And it's true...

But also, Koreans have really really thick hair, and when if falls out, it doesn't clump together like western hair... it's so thick it just lays in individual strands. I'm not sure these people have ever seen a western hair wad before in their life! I seriously think they thought it was a tiny scorpion! And, the wind did make it scurry across the ground like it was a living thing...

Hilarious!

Ate at TGI Friday's tonight. After the meal was over, we all thought we were going to DIE! We haven't eaten western food like that since we were in the States and our tummies WERE NOT happy! The food here is so light and there are hardly any carbs... it's just different. So, an American meal just sits in our stomachs like a TON of bricks and our bodies revolted! We were all groaning and waddling around like we had the stomach flu afterwords! We're becoming so Korean!

Also helped Ruda move out of Trevor and Rachel's apartment and into his own! After renting a taxi van, all of Ruda's luggage and 5 people squashed in to help him move... I can say now that I became very well acquainted with Ruda's laundry basket (which was full of his boxers :() and Cathy!

And, you know, living in Korea has given me a whole new perspective on space! If you live in Korea, you have to be used to living in a small space.. or very closely to at least a few people. This country is TINY! It's about the size of Indiana and SOOOOOOOOO many people live here! Half the country lives in Seoul for goodness sake! So, I guess I'm getting more used to being in close quarters with other people... being squashed in the back of a taxi with a bunch of friends (and Ruda's boxers) is a lot more fun that being squashed in a subway car with a bunch of strangers!!! Though, watching as a bunch of strangers look on in fascination as a brown wad of hair scurries across the floor is quite amusing!

Well, that's all for now! I'm so blessed and I want to thank you all, again, for your prayers and continued encouragement. He works in powerful and wonderful ways! And, thank heavens that HE knows what is best for our lives! I am continually amazed at His works.

I love you all!

Hil