Poetry; Brace Yourself

I've been tabled and flew

I've been wanted undone

I've been gathered in blue

And stripped by the sun

And the walk in the park

Made the blue lade okay

The fence in the dark

Turned night into day

But this:

This is the depth of blue

And the light in sun

This is the secret that makes a circle round

It is this (shh; in a whisper)

I am found

FRIDAY!

I had a pretty good day, so I'd like to share it with you!

School, school, blah, blah. All that usual stuff; class and such. I had sweet potato ice cream... interesting.

THEN, I went out to a movie, dinner and drinks with my new co-teacher, Jin. We saw Mamma Mia... FANTASTIC! I want to see it again RIGHT NOW!! I laughed, I cried, I laughed some more. So good!

Dinner was a little weird; we went to the same restaurant that a group of other teachers were at as well. Changok, Inji, Semee, Misook, Kyeonghee... all teachers I know. They were having a department meeting. But it was good getting to know her and finally get some of the awkwardness out of the way.

She's pretty cool. The only person at work who is really someone I can be real with. Very real, very open. Very cool. So now, I'm excited for our work together. Maybe we'll hang out more and become good friends. That'd be cool. It's all cool.

In other news, I have semi-joined the praise team at church. I'll be playing guitar a couple of times and I'm pretty excited about it! I'm sure I'll make a fool out of myself, but it's ok. Fool for Jesus!

Alright, that's all the news for now... I like comments!

I like you!

Hil

Sometimes We Make Bad Choices for Good Reasons....

So... are you wondering what my bad choice was???

To make a long story very short, I had him and now I don't. He's being taken care of at a very fine place and perhaps, someday, when he's older and I'm more prepared, he'll be mine again.

I named him Dill. Isn't he cute????

Well, We're Back to the Beginning

Jess is gone.

And, so are the Olson's and I have an abundance of cell phones and T-money cards.

But, I ran into a man in need and I met a friend brand new to Korea as well. So now Rachel is Holly and JB is Sara and Trevor... well he's still Trevor.

I feel a little emptier now and I think that's ok. I think it's ok to miss people... for people to be important to you and their absence a loss. I think it's ok to lean on your friends a little bit and I think it's ok to feel a little lost without them.

But only a little.

Certainly I know without Jess, my entire life here will be altered. I no longer have a friend just ten minutes away. I now must walk this tight rope of Korea without my safety net. I think I'm ready. I'm sure I'll be ok, even if I fall; but it's still a little scary without her.

And of course, my life will be altered without the hub of the Olson's and their home. It's like trying coming back to your home only to realize that your home is in a place you can't go and the things you're most familiar with are altered.

But it's ok... really.

My home will always be with a solid foundation. A foundation that doesn't shake and doesn't crumble. It's more than ok.

So, goodbye Trevor, Rachel and Jessica. You're awesome.

I Hate Goodbyes!!!!!!!!

Today was the saddest day of my life! Today was the day that I said goodbye to my two favorite people in the entire world! Trevor and Rachel have been the center of my very life this past year. They mean EVERYTHING to me! Without them I just don't know what I am going to do, how I am going to cope and where I will get the strength to carry on.

Goodbye, Rach and Trev. You were my sun, my moon, my everything!! You have left a hole in my heart that can never be filled!

Two Homes.... Weird

After an early early morning, pancakes (YES!), a long drive to Chicago, and a LONG flight (14 hours... I think I slept for about 7), I am finally back in Korea.

It's kinda weird coming back to a foreign country knowing exactly what to do. Even having a home to come home to. It's a good thing Jen and Jeff left me some of their food otherwise I'd be eating those combo's I brought back for Ruda!

Mmmm Combos..... they're all smashed by the way!! Whoops!

I had a pretty awesome time at home. Thank you to all of the people who took time out of their lives to come and visit me! I have some amazing friends. And now I know I have some amazing friends all over the world.


And now it's 8:00a.m Seoul time and I'm wide awake. I woke up at 4a.m. but managed to go back to sleep. Now we'll just wait and see how long it takes before I poop out at the end of the day!

It is now 8:35.... time to poop out.

More to come soon!

Hil

American Again

Now that I'm in America, I'm having the hardest time sleeping in! I wake up at the BUTT CRACK OF DAWN EVERY DAY!!!!!

But, other than that, I love this country! The clothes fit, the people are nice, I understand the language and.... I just fit in. I belong here.

My observations about American culture that prove I have reverse culture shock:

1. How am I going to tell this man that I'm waiting for my friends?? Chingo isayo? Wait.....

2. Wow! It's so sunny out and no one's carrying an umbrella!

3. JCrew "Where are the bathrooms?" Me "See those two Ajuma's up there... they just came out of the bathroom." JCrew "Those are NOT Ajuma's. They're just normal ladies!!"

4. Being amazed at all the different body shapes and sizes...

5. Being amazed when people ask me for directions... or the time... or anything at all.

6. Being amazed and grateful to see the lightheartedness of American youth. The people here just seem to have a more visible personality.

7. Not being able to eat dairy.

8. Having to take the car out for a test drive because you haven't driven in a year, but BEING ABLE TO DRIVE WITH NO PROBLEMS OR HEART ATTACKS AND HOGGING THE DRIVERS SEAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!

9. Not being able to stop looking at the sky because it's so blue and beautiful.

10. Shopping like a mad woman because things here fit... and are cute... and they fit... and I like them.... and I need them... and they fit and they're cute. Shopping, shopping, shopping!


*Sigh* I really love this country. It's so great to feel like I actually belong somewhere. It's great to feel like I'm not a freak, like I'm not a giant fatty and like I know what I'm doing here. It's great to belong.

However, I pray (and I ask that you pray with me) that my attitude will improve about Korea and that I'll have a good remaining 6 months in Korea. I want to leave Korea with good memories and good feelings. It has blessed me and grown me in ways that I could never imagine or predict and for that I'm so thankful and grateful. I pray that the country and the experience continues to stretch me and that I'm receptive to it's lessons.

So, for those of you I haven't yet seen... soon... we'll meet soon.

For those of you I have... YAY! I love you!

H