The Chronicles of J & G

Two Roads

2009-12-12T12:50:00.000-08:00

"Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."~ Robert Frost

We are truly enjoying our time home in America. However, one cannot help but compare our two very different lives when it comes to our time in Korea & our time in America. We took the road less traveled by going to Korea, and it HAS made all the difference. Consequently, it is hard to balance the feelings of the love you have for your home country and the country you grew to love. The picture above makes me truly miss the country I grew to love... It will be interesting to see what road God allows us to traverse on next...

My Mad Scientist/Doctor?

2009-06-16T05:55:00.001-07:00

Well, for Grant and I, it has been an interesting year in many ways but especially physically.

Grant had back surgery in December. I ran a marathon in March and somehow got a tear in my ACL during the training process and actually ran the marathon with the tear and a pulled groin. Also, ironically I got a large abrasion during the marathon which led to a not-so- exciting: staph infection in my armpit that does not seem to want to go away(good times). I've never had a staph infection or knee problems, and Grant has never had serious back problems.

I'm writing all of this while laughing to and at myself for all of these things happening. It could be soooo much worse and the irony is just too much not to laugh. I mean of course, all of these things would happen while we are away from western medicine, natural remedies, home remedies that you pick up at Wal-Mart, and dear family and friends. However, we have been truly blessed with family and friends who have sent us incredible care packages! Thank you!!!

In so many ways it has taken us out of our comfort zone and made us rely even more on God, which has been truly rewarding.

The above photo was taken last night while my Mad Scientist/Doctor hubby was trying to remove glass from my foot. I know of course with all of the things listed above of course this would happen, right? Grant accidentally broke a glass cup a few months ago, and we thought we had cleaned up all of the glass... apparently not... This picture now represents one of my most favorite memories of my husband. He was so intent, tenacious, and focused on getting the glass out. I think you can see this in the photo.

I was definitely laughing through the pain. (:

You KNOW you're in SK WHEN...

2009-06-02T06:02:00.000-07:00

You know you’re in SK when…

1. People running or bumping into you is considered a normal, everyday
occurrence…
2. Kimchi is served with every meal.
3. You HAVE to separate you trash for recycling(not a bad thing).
4. While shopping you feel as if the shopkeeper is a leach or a monkey that is about to jump on your back, no personal space whatsoever. You feel as if they are breathing down your back.
5. You are constantly stared at because you are a foreigner (pretty basic for living in an Asian country).
6. While ATTEMPTING to try on clothes, the shopkeeper promptly takes away your clothes to get a BIGGER size because you are an AMERICAN with hips. Then trying to convince the shopkeeper that she gave you the wrong size equals fun times! They will not let you buy clothes THEY don’t think will fit you.
7. Everybody thinks you are extremely tall.
8. Women are socially scolded and frowned on for smoking in public.
9. Everything on TV, in stores, or in magazines has to be CUTE even if it is a toilet seat cover!!!
10. People try to rip you off in the marketplace (probably pretty common when being a foreigner).
11. People take the word of their doctor as the ultimate truth without researching and take a shot in the butt as a cure for everything.
12. Eating dog soup is common during the summer.
13. Kids poke you in the butt for fun(the sh**t needle that’s what they call it or that's what it translates into).
14. You think everything including the song: “YMCA,” and McDonalds originated in Korea.
15. Being good at English is gold and determines your LIFE….it gets you into a better high school, university, job…it follows you almost your whole life.
16. You have Braille sidewalks because your country thinks of every possibility and detail.
17. Wondrous Cherry Blossoms warmly greet you during the beautiful, early months of spring.
18. You work at a Hagwon(private school) and your boss is NOT a principal but a strict businessman.
19. There are delicious “French” bakeries on almost every street.
20. People are afraid of you and are usually timid when asked something in English while in public.
21. You need to be careful when motioning somebody to come here because you could offend them if done in the wrong/American way. To them it is like calling a dog!
22. There are dog farms, yes, I said dog farms for consuming their meat! YUCK!
23. Everything is child friendly, minus the pink light district.
24. Ovens, dryers, and dishwashers are an extremely rare commodity.
25. There are no CHICK-FIL-A's or Nutella or Reece’s ):
26. Mexican food is hard to come by!
27. Kindergarteners are allowed to run wildly free through the hallways of school.
28. Similar to Amsterdam, you have a pink light district in your city. Gross!
29. It sometimes takes 5 hours to move 3 miles while stuck in Seoul traffic and there are fences on both sides, and NO places to stop to use the restroom!
30. After saying you would rather not eat something, you eat the “food” as a cultural responsibility to your host after being prodded many times.
31. You host a party your guests that attend bring you gifts.
32. Every “food” that makes your stomach churn is considered healthy for some reason or other. Example: chicken foot is good for your skin, dog is good for men’s stamina, silk worms are good for your body and skin….yummy, jk! My stomach hurts just thinking about it or imagining the smell….
33. Space is one of the uncommon things to be found.
34. Your floor is your heater during the winter months.
35. Your stomach hurts you should prick your thumb with a needle.
36. Kimchi heals everything!
37. Being tan or bathing in the sun is thought of as the worst habit possible.
38. You’re 50, you look as though you are 30.
39. Almost every gym is made up equipment from the 1980’s.
40. Your local park has better gym equipment than your actual gym.
41. Every apartment complex has a park.
42. You are not superstitious about the 13th floor, but you are superstitious about the 4th floor because the Chinese character for 4 means death.
43. Everybody has a NICE camera!
44. Most kindergarteners have phones!!!!!
45. While staying at a hotel, instead of receiving a mint on your pillow you receive a condom.
46. While in a hospital, one mention of ice chips or anything cold or icy, they give you the most bizarre look. In addition, hospitals are like a sauna, warm and toasty. Ice is NOT recommended as a remedy for any ailment.
47. If you desire to have an affair, the hotel/motel covers up your license plate so that your spouse does not catch you!
48. Being large or obese is something hardly ever witnessed! Skinny is in a huge part of life!
49. Taking off your shoes at restaurants and when entering houses is commonplace.
50. When you see very LARGE spiders!!!
51. English is used sporadically, incorrectly, and usually misspelled most of the time on signs, brochures, restaurants, menus....
52. It is okay to buy illegally pirated dvds, cds... and copyright infringement is very popular!
53. FAN death is believed to be a common cause of death. Don’t ever keep your windows or doors closed while having a fan on, because you could DIE!!! lol

Cherry Blossom Perfection...First Year Anniversary Reflection

2009-04-14T02:28:00.000-07:00

Oh, what a treat you are all in for...yes that is right...it is a blog with Grant as the author. If you have ever endured one or some of my writings before then you know what is coming, if not, well prepare yourself. Yes I can get lengthy, but I try to keep it fun; yes I get deep, but I am no scholar; yes it might be a little repetitive or overstated, my mind is slightly unorganized (as some of you might have witnessed in other areas); and yes there will be grammatical errors and enigmas, so please bear with me. Having finished my short introduction and disclaimer lets proceed to the meat.

Hmm...where to begin...oh yeah, We made it! One year and counting. That's right people, one more God graced testament for the world to witness on how two outrageously stubborn, passionate, and very different (at times) people can continue to shatter the odds, overcome new world thinking, and grow stronger together (with a little help!). For those of you yet to be married it might still be a mystery and a little uncomprehensible; but for those of us who are married, especially those far more ...umm... mature in their marriage, one must marvel at the miracle that is manifested every year, week, and day in a successful marriage. Successful: def. A continuing struggle to stay afloat, alive, breathing, unscathed from trying to honor, love, romance, etc., and forgive what seems an endless stream of faults in your partner (while somehow grossly overlooking your own); in the end realizing it is a struggle for both, not one, repenting to each other and God, and finally many glorious moments of making up, enjoying each others forgiveness, and resting in each others love once again... ready to start it all over. And of course this can occur and reoccur in all time measures, that is within only minutes to a dragged out grudge lasting months. Okay, seriously, this could be one LONG rant covering all the trials and elations we have gone through in this first year but most of you know most of them anyway; so let me try to wrap this up and move on to its culmination tale. Most importantly is this, we set out on this journey with one true ultimatum...With God's help this was for GOOD, divorce is not an option...and to that we hold! There have been slips, times when we were hanging on by fingertips, even desiring to let go; but by God our grip maintained and even grew stronger.

So....you might be wondering... how did the Boatwright's celebrate this victory. Well as usual I came up with a brilliant idea, and as usual it was not going to work out the way I wanted(haha). There is a cherry blossom festival every year in Jinhae, South Korea, and Jashley having just invested in a brand spanking new top-of-the-line camera, I thought it would be an awesome opportunity for some new experiences and photography exploring. However, the last weekend for the festival was the weekend before, not the weekend of our anniversary. Jashley graciously waived this aside saying it would be just as special, so off we went. I am now a big fan of trains when touring a country as it allows you maximum comfort (not having to drive), speed (just as fast as driving if not faster), and views (not the sometimes unrealistic view from a plane window) to really satisfy the traveler who likes to take it all in. And of course, like most other things in Korea, cheap. After a little mix up with train transitions (yeah for Grant's lack of reading skills when he can't tell the difference between Dondeagu station and Deagu station) and not booking the right arrival station in the city we were staying in (there were two in the city, and guess which one we arrived at), we DID arrive at our hotel in Changwon. This did however turn out to be a very nice hotel, which seemed at the time to be in a very small town center. Jumping ahead a little...we did find out this was only a little offchute town of the main city where we had dinner, and this is of note because it wasn't till dinner that we really realized what a beautiful city it was.

It is now around three, so we were off toward Jinhae and with what I hoped to be a very spectacular display of nature. With the help of the very cordial hotel receptionist, we negotiated a cab fair between the cities. The closer we got to Jinhae the more we felt that it was going to be quite a trip as the Cherry trees guiding us along the road into town were in a full stunning bloom, promising even better sights when we reached the festival. Now I had read, but not fully grasped, that the festival was city wide; so, when we went through the tunnel looking down on the coastal town and arrived at our first stop (Janbok Mt. park) on the very outskirts of town (not the town center) it finally sunk in. That and as the view opened up, allowing you to see all the way to the coast, it seemed as though the entire town was entwined and bursting with the blossoming trees. The first time my interest was sparked by these beautiful creations was in The Last Samuri, where the Samuri leader akins a perfect cherry blossom to a rare gift. Now seeing it with my own eyes, I must agree. It is quite amazing how lush and full these trees can become in full bloom, then put a couple of thousand of them in one city, and WOW! Being both nature lovers, our favorite spot was our first stop, the park. I had not given Korean nature much of a chance, my first love being the Rookies, but now having walked through a bit of it (especially during the blossoming) I must reconsider. That mingled with the overpowering presence and feelings for the one I was with, made it a truly awe inspiring adventure. One that made my metaphorical mind start to work in overdrive (yes I know it is sometimes a little over the top and cheesy, but hey that's me), drawing me into what a truly correlating experience I was having. Just one more anecdote God had put in nature to reveal to us how life is, can be, and should be if we but care to notice. And what did I notice...

Here sitting under the canopy of yet another one of God's magnificent small wonders, a robust blossoming of pink and white cherry blossoms, and watching God's magnificent gift to me, a gorgeous woman I get to call my "wife" capturing these marvelous wonders; I cannot help being swept away in a flood of emotions and visions that brought this day and this relationship together as one. Considering all that we had been through our first year together as husband and wife, an entirely new merged entity from day one, imagining this is how God called Cherry trees to be. Then of the cycle these newly merged trees would go through each year, and the cycle of years we are now starting. How, just as our wedding day in the bright sun I think we first bloomed showing off God's beauty and artistry within the human relational realm, these cherry blossoms were exhuberantly bestowing on the world a glimpse of God's original, perfect creation. Just as the wedding day itself had to end (time being dynamic and not static), so to would the blooms fall sending the beauty of the trees back within itself, resting, and readying itself for the upcoming year of life. Then my thoughts reached out to what such a tree might endure and experience over the next year; the storms that would bend and beat it, the wind that would make it dance, the rain that would nourish and sustain it, the droughts that would test its roots, the animals and other friends it would shelter, the sunrises and sunsets in would enjoy, and all other manner of every day pleasantries and hardships it would encounter. Is this not what we would live in our first year; battles and struggles, peace and enjoyment, nourishment, dry times that shook our foundations, helping others together, waking and sleeping side by side, and all that comes with two lives joined as one? Finally, as the sun sneaked through the millions of tiny blossoms, it awakened me to perceive what I was experiencing this day, one year later...that is the re-blooming, even more breathtaking than the one before, of a triumphing relationship. A relationship that is making it through, struggling on, and when the day and bloom passes ready to take on the coming year with a resolve and will as strong as nature itself. A nature echoing its Creator, who's hand is always guiding, tending, and pruning. A will and resolve with the Creator as its source, its foundation, who's loving care will have it's creation emerge ever stronger and ever more beautiful.

...and of course all this noticed in the smallest breath of time. Perhaps giving me a glimpse of what the eternal is like; these tiny slices of time in reality that seem infinite when experiencing and living them. Oh well, a thought for later I guess.

As for the rest of the trip I will let the pictures do more of the talking. But to sum up, we then traveled to some downtown spots which were all within walking distance of each other. One was a river-walk...no, stream-walk.... style street completely lined for a couple of miles on each side with overhanging cherry blossom trees. The only drawback was the amount of people, it really has gotten very popular; and of course it being an Asian culture, everyone was taking pictures as well. Making things a little difficult, and eventually being the cause of our rapid exhaustion and early return to Changwon. However, before we left we did get to the festival center, where it seemed they were going to have a concert or show of some sort later that evening. All around were vendors selling various what-nots, an ample supply of seafood eateries being it was a coastal town (we quickly slid past these as anyone who knows Jashley might guess), but in the end found our Turkish friends who sell Arabic style kabobs (which we both enjoy!). Somewhat nourished, extremely visually satisfied, we headed back to the hotel to see what our little town had to offer for a romantic dinner.

This, of course, is when we found out we were really on the outskirts of town. So we got another taxi and headed to the best western food restaurant they had in town, Bennigans. Contrary to what I know you must be thinking, this really is quite an upscale place in Korea(especially the way they are established in Korea). This taxi drive on the way into town also gave us a good estimation of what the rest of the city was like, and I must say it is the best city I have been to thus far. I think this might be similar to a Dallas/Boulder comparison back home. Changwon seemed much more spread out than other Korean cities (that is not everything stacked on each other), it was nestled near some mountains, and had a vast network of parks and arts facilities. Upon arriving in the downtown area, the style continued with many different aesthetic and artistic additions to bridges and the like, wider sidewalks on the streets with vegetation, and a generally cleaner and newer look and feel to the whole area. Bennigans and the food was no exception, so we reveled the night away in good food, drink, reminiscing on the day and year, and just plain enjoying each others company. So went our week before the anniversary, anniversary celebration...

However, if you would permit me a bit more to write just one last brief chapter to recount our actual anniversary to you. This we got to enjoy on the day before, as the day of our anniversary was a Monday which is quite a long, exhausting day for us. Therefore, we decided to make a night of it on that Sunday, starting off by getting all gussied up in matching outfits (with Jashley showing off an older, stunning dress she wore that was new to me). Next, we went to our favorite little Italian place in Pyeongtaek, Olive and Herb, where we lavished ourselves with all the delectable delicacies that they had to offer. One of which I am going to have to try when we get back to the states, a tenderloin steak with a gorganzola cheese sauce (YUMMMMMMMM!). One of our student's mother manages the restaurant, so we got to say hi to him as well. The rest of the meal consisted of another delightful round of reminiscing over favorite times, lessons learned, memories shared, ect. Then it was back to the apartment for.........presents (haha, gotcha didn't I). I am not sure who knows this, but as one of the things I did for our engagement I made a list of 365 reasons I chose Jashley since the day we met on October 12, 2007; so, Jashley made me a list of 365 things she married me since we were married on April 13, 2008, continuing the story. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed. I in turn wrote her a nice, little something in our journal. We then watched our wedding ceremony together (thanks Daniel) and proceeded to read our vows to each other afterward. Sidenote: this has an astonishingly powerful way of arousing those feelings first felt that exciting day of the wedding once again, that I highly recommend it to others, and will continue to do for all following anniversaries.

In closing this magnanimous, lengthy, tale we would like to thank all those who have helped make this year and this marriage so successful and enjoyable. Especially to all those who have seen, heard of, and helped us through all those trying times. May God grant us many more years together, with you all, representing all that is good from Him to all those around us...

Marathon: The beauty, the challenge, the lessons, the blood, the sweat, and the tears...

2009-03-22T04:37:00.000-07:00

3/15/09 The Day...that I had anticipated and trained long, tedious hours for...it was here. This was the day that I had prayed for, dreamed about, and desired to come to fruition. I was excited to run this race because I felt like God had given me the ability to run a marathon, and I wanted to glorify Him through it. In addition, I wanted to run this race for those people in this world for whatever reason are not able to run a marathon. It was GO time!

Grant and I woke up at 5:00 am to make sure we would be at the marathon site on time. We walked outside to a chilly, windy morning of 20 degrees Fahrenheit. The frigid wind coldly chaffed our faces as we found a taxi and drove to Gyeongbok Palace. We arrived and were swallowed by the huge crowd of over 30,000 supporters, runners, and race coordinators/volunteers. Race advocates stated that there were around 25,000 runners running this year. This race attracts a lot more Korean men than women. For every one woman there were four men. This race is considered an international race but there were very few foreigners.

We quickly tried to figure out what in the world we were supposed to do. We found the baggage claim and dropped off my sweats. I DID NOT want to take them off. It was so cold! Good thing I was wearing tights and my pink fleece from the Boatwrights! Grant and I took some quick shots in front of all of the historical sites around us. Next was finding out where/when I was to start. By observation we figured out that there were 5 heats in the race and me, being a first time marathoner, was in the last heat. Each heat was about 5-10 minutes apart. I was in heat E. Grant and I parted ways and he gave me a good luck kiss and told me where to look for him during the race! My anxiety and excitement began to grow as I was disconnected from all forms of English speaking communication. Then, I found a sweet Canadian girl, who had already run this marathon twice, and a nice Turkish fellow. They alleviated a lot of my fears through their encouraging and reassuring words of things I already knew.

My heart began to race with exhilaration as the first few heats were off! I began to thank God for giving me the ability, the blessing and the experience of running of a marathon. Soon, our heat was at the starting line, I was near the middle of the large heat of E. And in an instant, without realizing when they said go since the announcer was speaking in Korean, we were off!

The cold air started to feel soothing as my body warmed as I began to take faster strides.
The sun gleamed down through the tall, large, and overbearing business buildings. My breathing and strides became one in their unity, and my body began to feel of the pattern of my running pace. I was feeling incredible! I paced myself as I had been told over and over again not to start the race out to fast. I ran my first mile in 7 minutes and 30 seconds which was a typical first mile for me during training. I started to run each consecutive mile after that between 7:30-8:30. I was thoroughly enjoying myself. I was passing people right and left trying not to get stuck behind people.
About mile 4, I got to see my sweetie. He took some really good pictures with our new camera. I was really excited to see a friendly face that I knew. I quickly took off my pink fleece which was a mistake later on during the run because I was starting to get extremely warm. At this point, I was up there with the D heat.

I continued to run my pace and felt the warm sun tickle my arms and back. I got trapped a few times behind very slow runners, but then I found a really good forerunner who paved the way and helped me keep a good pace. I followed the Korean runner through the crowd and soon I had two or three other Korean runners following me. I eased into my pace and listened to the music that was dancing through my ears.

As I rounded mile 10, the roar of the Korean drummers sent my heart and body into overdrive. After looking for Grant, I finally saw him, but, he did not see me so I stopped and yelled his name. He nodded at me and took some pictures. I was hoping to get to talk to him, but he was a decent distance away, so I began on my way. At this point, I was up there with heat B and C, and I was still feeling amazing. Grant saw this and decided not to meet me at mile 14 because of the fast pace I was keeping.

I started to get really hungry about mile 13 and kept looking for a refreshment station with food. As I started searching, I found a Korean husband and wife who were generously handing out what looked like juice. I was hungry and didn't care what they gave me as long as it would help sustain my blood sugar levels. I chugged the juice down and soon realized that it was not juice but ginseng. It revved my body up enough to keep me going. At mile 14, a Korean man anxiously and abruptly came up to me and asked me several times in a very, broken English accent: "Did you run into a tree, did you hurt your arm?" He pointed to my right arm and continued to ask me this three or four times. I kept trying to reassure him no my arm is fine, "I'm okay." He finally gave up, and I kept running not thinking about what he said because I had previously had a small bruise on my right arm. I was relieved to find that at mile 14.5, they had a refreshment station with choco pie(a yummy Korean Little Debbish chocolate cake) and bananas. A yummy mix!

I stopped for a restroom break at a gas station up the road a little bit from the refreshment station. I went and glanced in the mirror and saw a shocking sight. I had blood all over the back of my right shoulder. I was curious to see where this blood was coming from so I looked under my arm and saw a bloody, two inch abrasion that had been caused by my MP3 holder on my arm. I wiped off the blood with water and toilet paper and went on my merry way. I soon began to feel the sting of the abrasion, so I showed one of the medics my arm. and they gave me some petroleum jelly which helped stop the bleeding and sting.

I was still feeling well overall except for a very annoying pain I felt in my right groin and knee. I kept pushing through the pain trying not to think about it(because the week before the marathon, my right groin had been a little tight). However, around or between miles 15 and 16 the pain in my groin and knee began to intensify, and I began to grit my teeth and could no longer ignore the pain. The pain level had started out at 5 and was now an 8.5! My groin muscle finally had enough and tore. Also, my knee began to swell internally and fill up with an immense amount of fluid to the point that I could barely bend my knee. Which as you runners out there know, it is very hard to run if you can't bend your knee. I felt as if my leg was being split in half and there was no relief in sight. I couldn't stop and ask for somebody to massage my groin. What was I going to do, ask one of the Korean volunteers/medics to put icy/hot on my groin? No, if I had pointed to my groin they probably would have thought that I needed to use the restroom.

It was thoroughly frustrating not being able to tell anybody what was going on with my leg. Each step I took I felt the muscle pulling even more. I was beginning to feel as if my leg was no longer attached to my hip, however, that thought did not last long because of the sharp, excruciating pain that surged through my leg that reminded me of my injury.

I began to question why I was running this race. Feelings of defeat tried to crawl into my thoughts. I began to get mad and wondered why God would allow me to get injured. I had trained so hard, I had stretched well, I had iced the heck out of my knees, groin, and shins, I had given this race up to Him, I had eaten very healthy, and done everything possible and plausible to prepare my body and mind for this great event. Why was this happening now? I'm young and athletic, why me? God began to quietly whisper to me that He was in control, and that I was not. Of course me being me, I continued to ask why? I felt as if God was telling me that all the lessons I teach you and the growth I want to see is NOT about your comfort. Darn! I wish it was sometimes! My race just goes to show you that no matter how well you train or work for something, you don't get to decide how it turns out, He does. Just like how we can't be good enough or do enough good things to get into heaven, but unlike the injury I endured during my marathon, we have a choice to choose Him, and He accepts us just as we are. Broken, bloody, weary, sweaty, injured...just as we are. However, my choice during this race came with finishing the race. My aching leg told me to quit and to give up and try again next year. I could have quit at mile 16 and not many people would have faulted me for doing so. There were ambulances patroling the whole race passing me left and right. I could have taken the easy way out of my predicament. Nonetheless, my mind and heart and body would not let me quit. This was my time to let God shine through my pain. This was it, do it or die...

Through many painful strides, stretching, a little bit of walking, and an awkward running stance, I finally made it to the Olympic stadium without the help of the rapturous 20 MPH headwind that hit me around mile 19. Through tears of relief and severe pain, I hobbled to see the Olympic rings that valiantly aligned the stadium. As I ran through the Olympic Stadium, I felt a burst of renewed vigor and strength and quickened my pace as I passed several people before the finish line.

I finished, not with the time I wanted...but with a new since of how God always has a plan even if it is hard to see the why in the plan. "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps" Proverbs 16:9.

Honestly Honest

2009-01-20T04:21:00.001-08:00

I have been nominated for the Honest Scrapper blogger award by my dear and wonderful friend: Abby. It took me awhile to pen all of my scattered thoughts, but here is the fruition of much thought. The goal of this blog is to tell you: "10 honest things about me that you possibly do not know."I hopelessly tried to think of some things that not everybody knows about me...It was a fun but long process. I am a very wordy writer, bear with me...

1. I have always been fearful of leaving people out or of losing friends. I know these two things are not the same thing but I thought they should both be stated together. I don’t know what it is about leaving people out, but I can’t stand it. I kick myself every time it happens and could have been avoided. I even feel awkward about telling people activities I’ve done with other people, even if I was invited and it would have been inappropriate for me to invite them. Maybe it’s because I was brought up in a very large family, and it was easy to get left out of certain activities. At any party or social function I go to, I can’t stand watching the wallflower sit by themselves in the corner, I have to go over there and talk to them and at least try to get them involved. I try my best to not leave out friends in certain situations. I’m afraid of losing friends because for one: My friends mean the world to me and, secondly: I can’t bare the thought of emotionally letting go of someone who I care so deeply for, that’s why death is hard for me to deal with; thirdly: I have this weird sense of abandonment. I’ve had this fear ever since I was a child. I guess it’s more a fear of being alone…probably because you can’t really ever be alone while being raised with two sisters and four brothers.2. I have always over-committed myself to too many activities. In high school, I played 5 different sports including: volleyball, basketball, swimming and diving, cross-country, and track and field. I was part of the National Honors Society, Secretary of S.A.D.D, a member of Key Club, a heavily enthused and involved artist, a straight A student, a mentor/leader in J.H.(Junior High) Impact, went on mission trips, and competed in writing, art, and math competitions. In college, I took being over-committed to a new, steadfast level. I played college volleyball, coached club volleyball, was the Treasurer of Student Government, volunteered for the Special Olympics and Habitat for Humanity, was the Secretary of the Student Education Association, was the only student on the academic committee at DBU, was a Freshman Welcome Leader(SWAT), an officer in Alpha Sigma Omega, was a part of the honor’s society: Alpha Chi, was a Community Assistant(RA), a YoungLife leader, was a part of the International Student Ministry… I could keep going, yet I still had a good social life. I wish I hadn’t stretched myself so thin, but I met so many amazing people through it and established unforgettable memories! This is me in college, in an airport, during a mission trip.
3. I hate it when people want to talk ONLY about themselves ALL the time, I mean EVERY time you talk to them. I’m not talking about something that occurs occasionally, but constantly. They have no interest in what you have to say or what is going on in your life. They just HAVE to air their own opinions no matter what and sometimes even when you weren’t even talking to them. A true friendship goes both ways and is not one sided. I’ve had to pray for patience with this in the workplace.4. I’m STILL a cookie or sweet monster… ever since I was a very small child, I would quietly creep into the kitchen to steal cookies or fudge my mom had just made. I became very talented at hiding cookies and filching sweets! It was almost a game for me! Even now, I sneak into the kitchen stealthily, now, to take cookies out of the cabinet so that Grant doesn’t see me. However, I can’t tell you how many times he has caught me red handed or with chocolate on my face! I love me some chocolate chip cookies or really anything sweet!5. I’ve always wanted to do something amazing in the athletic world, hence why I played college sports and played as many sports as possible in high school. When I was 9 years old, I religiously watched women’s gymnastics in vain hopes of becoming a gymnastics star. I was a fanatical gymnast and was deeply committed to long hours of competitive gymnastics until I wanted to live a “normal” life and stopped gymnastics altogether. I then delved into other sports. While in high school, I dreamed of competing in a decathlon: which included my track and field strengths: high jump, hurdles, long jump… I was even recruited to compete on the college level in decathlons but decided to do volleyball instead. I also dreamed of becoming a competitive pole-vaulter. In high school, pole-vaulting for girls had just become a real event for girls and I quickly became an avid pole-vaulter. I foolishly once dreamed of becoming a professional boxer, considering the fact that I always enjoyed fist fighting with my brothers and my now husband. This is a picture of my favorite female athlete: Babe Didrickson Zaharias. She was amazing and inspirational!
6. I don’t like the fact that people who are considered beautiful get preferential treatment compared to those people who appear to the world as dismantled and hideous and get treated as less of people. I think some of the most gorgeous people in this world are people who have no worldly beauty or are mentally handicapped. I have seen the most gorgeous people in the world competing in the Special Olympics. The beauty of this world is only temporary and does not last. I have even felt uncomfortable when that kind of preferential treatment has been given to me and my friends. I don’t think it’s fair or right. Just because somebody is pretty on the external doesn’t mean that they are beautiful on the inside, which is what truly matters more!7. I don’t have comebacks… or at least any good ones! When Grant and I play fight, my best comeback is “Be Quiet” or “Shut-up!” That’s all I’ve got! It’s pretty ridiculous! It was the same when I was growing up, I could never really put somebody down verbally, so I guess I used my fists instead!8. This one is quite silly, I’m pre-warning you! As I grew up, I always hated my curves. I grew fast. I was lanky in junior high but somehow had womanly, child-bearing hips. I hated it because I could never get rid of them, even if I wanted to! And I couldn’t find clothes that fit well because while the rest of my body was very thin, I had very curvy hips. Nothing fit quite right! I’m starting to finally grow into them and see them as beautiful! 9. I have an extremely wild imagination… almost as good as Peter Pan! I imagine things, still that most adults have a hard time seeing. Which is probably why I love teaching kindergarten and “Finding Neverland” is one of my all-time favorite movies! Kindergartener’s imaginations are still fresh, innocent, and kicking! I hope I don’t ever lose that. Even though it is really easy to lose your child-like imagination in a world full of negativity, deadlines, and harsh realities.
10. I’ve never been considered “normal” and have never been able to just fit in one group which is probably why my friends are very diverse and come from a strange variety of different backgrounds. In college, I hung out with the jocks, the goodie-two shoes, the popular crowd, and the artsy crowd. I have always felt that besides my family and some close friends that I have been and am usually misunderstood. Many people in my life have called me “weird” but I like to take that as a compliment and consider myself unique.I now nominate Jillian and Alicia to do this honest blog!

Running Frigid...

2009-01-07T04:23:00.001-08:00

So being a Texas girl, born and raised, I've never truly encountered a cold winter... until now.

It has been an eye-opener, from blazing hot hand-warmers to 4 layers of clothing, to Cabbage Patch Kid-like rosy cheeks to having snow freeze on my eyelashes. Thank goodness for a great husband and family members who bought and/or sent warm jackets and long johns.
I've started training for my first marathon since mid-November. I will be running the Seoul Marathon in March. It has been an extremely good experience thus far. I am up to running 14 miles now. I have been cautiously careful with my shins, since I am severely prone to getting shin splints. My poor cross-country coach would pick me up and carry me after each cross-country meet, not because I asked but because of the fact that he could see the profusion of pain that I was in with each step.

I got an amazing pedometer watch from the Boatwrights for Christmas. It has served me quite well. Pre-watch, I had been running almost double of what I was supposed to have been running. I was trying to keep a 10 minute mile pace without using a pedometer, however, I had actually been running between a 7 and 8 minute mile each time I ran.

It has been kind of a culture shock running in Korea. First of all, most Koreans don't run. Walking is very common. Secondly, there are not many Americans(or giants) in our particular city. Thirdly, of all of the runners I've seen in Korea they are not typically female. So, I'm kind of an enigma. I jokingly told Grant the other day before I headed out for my run that I was going to count how many people who either laughed at me or stared at me like I was some kind of freak. I counted about 15. In addition, many children laugh at me or shyly try to say hi and then laugh and run off! Older men like to give me a thumbs up and laugh at themselves for having the guts to do so. Koreans are kind of shy in many ways.

Bottom line: I'm really enjoying running but am getting sick of the cold. I hate the fact that the first 10 minutes of my run(it seems like a really long time), I'm fighting off the cold, and wishing I was somewhere warmer. I know the weather could be drastically worse, but I'm still trying hard to adapt.

We are doing well, Grant is progressing and will go back to work next week. Thank you for your prayers!

The Next: New Kids on the Block

2008-12-26T04:16:00.000-08:00

So...I was never a real big fan of the band: New Kids on the Block, but I was shockingly amused the other day when I was flipping through the channels on the tube and saw this music video. These are the prettiest Asian boys that I have ever seen, they are so pretty that they look like girls. I needed a good laugh and this video definitely sufficed! Skip past the first 30 seconds to see these pretty boys.

Life or Something Like It...

2008-12-16T02:51:00.000-08:00

The past two weeks have been filled with great joy, relief, healing, and deep pain.

Grant had his surgery and everything went swimmingly well. Grant's Korean doctor described the surgery as "excellent." In addition, the surgery cost almost half of what we were originally told that it would cost. What an answered prayer! I had been praying about that the previous week. Grant's tingling in his leg and back pain have completely diminished and gone away. He just has a little vertigo when he gets up to walk around but that is also starting to decrease as well. Thank you so very much for all of your prayers. Here is a picture of Grant looking up the results of the world of college football. As you can see, he is already feeling much better.

On a most somber and grave note, just the other day, my family was shocked to lose one of our dear family members: my cousin Kevin. He was one of the most individualistic and unique people I

have ever known. He was creative, funny, very intelligent, amazingly wonderful with kids, and an exceptional writer. He will be greatly missed!

Please be praying for my family and his immediate family as we try to sort

through everything during this tumultuous time.

Life is so precious and often times unexpectedly short. We don't know when our day is to go home. May we live each day as if it were our last... Blessings to you all.

The Small Things

2008-12-08T04:45:00.000-08:00

The longer I live my life, the more often I notice how much the small things, that seem so trivial sometimes, hurt us or bless us the most. For example, the other day while I was running an older Korean man told me good morning. It just about made my day considering the fact that a lot of Koreans, outside of our school, seem fearful to speak to us. Also, while in class the other day, Sally, one of our kindergarteners, answered one of the questions correctly so I was going to give her a sticker, instead of walking up to me to receive her sticker she gleefully smiled and jubilantly skipped to where I was. Or while I was running, I felt the purest joy just from watching snowflakes flutter down and get stuck in my eyelashes (I'm pretty sure people were laughing at me on this day because it was frigidly cold, snowing and I was smiling like I had never seen snow before). In addition, a small piece of Grant's disc has been extruding into his sciatic nerve. It's a small part of the body that can cause a terrible amount of pain if everything is not in place. Moreover, the preciousness of getting to hold Grant's hand and how it reminds me of how dumb some of our arguments and disagreements are, especially since they are usually about small things that don't even matter. Also, this past month Grant and I received a package from his parents full of goodies that we don't get the privilege of having while over here. It included a very sweet note, pancake mix, syrup(which is suprisingly hard to find over here), nutella(which I pretty much died out of pure exhilaration when I saw it), oatmeal, and many other things. We felt like it was Christmas when we opened the box. Sorry, one more thing that has just melted my heart this month is getting to see my almost one-year old niece blow kisses to me through Skype. These small things don't seem like much to others, but they mean the world to me. The small things make the big difference, just like the small things we do to help others can effect other's lives in monumental ways.

Speaking of Grant, he is having surgery on his back on 12/09/08, around 12 am your time. The doctors are going to be using a laser to eliminate the part of the disc that is basically pinching his sciatic nerve and causing him great pain. Please be praying for guidance and wisdom as the doctors perform this surgery. It is a non-invasive surgery that requires only 5 days of recovery as opposed to open back surgery which had been suggested to us at the onset of Grant's back pain. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind considering the fact that we have been to at least 5 different hospitals and conversed with 6 or more doctors about Grant's predicament. Through much prayer, many advisers, and much thought we decided to go with the laser surgery. Plus, the cost to do the surgery over here is a third of how much it would cost to have it done in the US. God is in control, and we have faith that this is the right choice to make.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our teaching and the kids even more than before. I feel as if we finally got in the right groove of things at our jobs. Our students feel much more comfortable and open to us, and we are continually striving to find new, creative ways to teach them.

Our November was a busy one filled with going to Cheonon once and Seoul twice. We met up with a
married couple that Grant had met at A&M, in Seoul. It was my first time to meet them. They are both from Texas and are teaching in South Korea. It was such a wonderful delight and a very refreshing experience to get to talk to fellow Texans of like-mindedness. We also discovered that I went to high school with their brother-in-law. It is truly a small world. Too bad they are both leaving in February.

Our Thanksgiving was delightful. We had a Thanksgiving dinner with our fellow American teachers from Florida. We had chicken(since Turkey is around $80 here) sweet potatoes(I'm typically not a big fan of sweet potatoes, but their sweet potatoes here are downright amazing), mashed potatoes, broccoli and cheese casserole(which I made), butter rolls, and some cranberry dressing. It was definitely not the same as home, but it was as close as we could get. We really missed everyone. When I got home the night of Thanksgiving, I tried to call some friends and family, but too much sadness, I could not reach anyone. I definitely shed some tears at not being able to reach anybody.

The colors of fall were quite vivid and gorgeous here! No wonder they consider fall to be one of their most beautiful seasons! Winter, on the other hand, has been quite an experience for a Texas girl like me. I've never been so cold in my life. Grant was so sweet that he bought me the best jacket I could have ever asked for. It is a very warm, bright green North Face jacket. He does a good job of taking care of me.

We love y'all so very much!

Tricky Treats

2008-11-01T07:36:00.000-07:00

On Friday, our kindergarteners dressed up for Halloween. We took two buses to their houses where our students got the chance to practice using their English in front of some of their parents and grandparents.

It was downright precious. I've never been a big fan of Halloween, and my family never celebrated it growing up, however, I do enjoy dressing up. It was a blast to see our kiddos so excited and dressed so cutely. It was probably one of my favorite days thus far with the kids.

Well, Grant and I didn't exactly bring costumes with us to South Korea so we improvised and used what he had. Grant decided to be Indiana Jones with the amazing hat that Autumn got for him in Australia. I didn't bring a cool hat, so I dug through my suitcases and decided I would be a pirate. I used my bathing suit sarong as my hairpiece. Hey, it worked, didn't it?

We are still enjoying Korea but are becoming more accustomed and aware of cultural differences. It has been a learning experience. I went to E-Mart today and finally discovered and accrued all of the food products I need to make some Korean dishes. I'm really excited about making some Jap Chae tomorrow! I hope Grant enjoys it! We haven't been able to really cook since we've been here because we can't read Korean, and it has been hard to distinguish what is what. I'll let you all know how the cooking goes... Sa Rang Hae Yo

Zany 80's Video

2008-11-01T07:33:00.000-07:00

I hope some of you can appreciate how ridiculously corny this video is. It's on the edge of being retarded...ok....some might consider it to be so.

I promise it gets better...or cheesier. Make sure you watch after the credits for a surprise ending.
This is what Grant and I practice every morning before we go to school...just in case...

What in the World?

2008-10-22T05:35:00.001-07:00

Guess what it is...?

Upon seeing my friend Jua eat this unsightly snack, I nearly lost my stomach, and politely asked what in the world she was eating. It's an insect, that's pretty apparent, and it is in a certain cycle of it's life(that you learn about in elementary school: big hint).

We went to Asan this last weekend to one of the bays of the Yellow Sea. It was a fun and interesting experience. The food was not my favorite part, but I survived.

Here's a taste of some things we saw:

6 Month Anniversary!

2008-10-18T15:26:00.000-07:00

"Whatever souls are made of
his and mine are the same."
-Emily Bronte

Grant and I celebrated our 6 month anniversary this last weekend! We had a blast dressing-up and going out on the town for our first big anniversary. I know a lot of older married couples are probably laughing at us celebrating such a small time of being married, but we think it's important to celebrate the blissful time that God has blessed us with thus far. Life is short, we don't know how much time God will bless us with...

It was wonderful reminiscing over when we first met, when Grant was at Heartlight, funny quarky things we both do, how much God has blessed us, our engagement, and just having a few laughs with each other!

We went to a delightful little Italian restaurant that just opened in downtown Pyeongtaek. We both shared some Gorgonzola Pasta, that makes your mouth water because it's so good, and a plate of fruit and cheese. It was so good to have some tasty cheese. We have been without cheese for almost two months now. Then our waiter brought out a decadently decorated dish of Tiramasu and raspberry ice. It was as delicious as it looks.

Then we went and watched our first movie in a Korean movie theater. We saw the movie "Eagle Eye," it was pretty good. It was a lot better than I expected. I would recommend it, it is very fast-paced and entertaining!

We also got haircuts the day before. I love the way they cut Grant's hair! We both paid about $10 for our haircuts each. That is incredible, especially for my hair! You couldn't get a deal like that in the US! Also, their hairstylists here are more like artists. They are very talented! When we arrived, they offered us some kettle corn and a beverage of our choice. Grant even got a massage with his haircut, I was not as fortunate!

Seoul

2008-10-17T16:03:00.000-07:00

I've been majorly slacking on writing in the blog. The last two weeks have zoomed by. We got our first paycheck, spent a wonderful weekend in Seoul with our friends Chris and Jua, learned some cultural differences, went to E-mart(similar to a Wal-Mart and a JcPenneys put together), celebrated our 6-month anniversary, and have continued to try and find new ways to teach our little students.

Going to Seoul was quite an experience in itself to write about. It is the most populated city I have ever been in. It is a city booming with industry, business, trade, and ironically encompassing the vigorous city is a spread of quaint but beautiful mountains. Which we hope to explore a little bit while we are here. The city has over 10 million people as its inhabitants. It is the largest city in South Korea and the fourth largest city in Asia. It is also the fifth most expensive city in the world next to Oslo, London, Tokyo, and Moscow (I'm really glad our school is not in Seoul). Surprisingly, cities like Paris, Rome, Milan, big tourist attractions were not in the top 10. The Hans River flows rapidly through the bustling city and floods major highways consistently every year, you would think that they would try to fix this hazard(we have been told that not much has been done to change this problem). The North Korean border lies about 100 miles north of Seoul. We plan on making a trip to the DMZ to check out the border one of these days.

While in Seoul, we went to the popular, coveted tourist destination: The Seoul Tower. It was quite a sight! It kind of blows your mind to see a visual of how many people live in Seoul. Unlike Reunion Tower, in Dallas, where you can see where the city ends; in Seoul, you cannot see the end of the city. It looks like it just keeps going infinitely. In the picture to the top right is a flying man that was right next to the Tower. I think it is a beautiful structure.

The weekend we went to Seoul was an extremely busy weekend for Koreans. It was the celebration of their independence and their formation as a country. Therefore, when we finally reached Seoul Tower, we waited at least an hour and a half(maybe more) just to get on the elevator. I think it was well worth the wait with the sights that we got to see!

Chris and Jua were amazing at showing us around the big city. We all stayed in the Red Dragon Hotel on the military base in Seoul, thanks to Chris being in the military. It was a pretty extravagant hotel, and we only paid $40 per night because of Chris's military discount. We shopped a little. I bought a light jacket, which I was in dire need of because I only brought heavy coats, and some fun sunglasses. The prices by the base were very good! We also ate out at an Outback Steakhouse, which Grant loved of course! I had a very large, yet delicious Apple Chicken Salad(it had an apple dressing, hence the name).

While in Seoul, we went to the 2nd largest church in Seoul. The worship was INCREDIBLE! The spirit of God was definitely moving! They sang my favorite worship song: "Blessed Be Your Name" which is by far my most favorite song! It reminds me that no matter what happens, God has something extravagantly better planned, that He alone can see the BIG painting of life, that sometimes He shows us some of the beautiful strokes but sometimes we are blinded or jaded to it and how that is okay because He has our VERY best in mind(I know that is probably one of the longest run-ons ever, oh well)! The message was about Daniel and how, through his struggles, God formed and molded his character. The youth pastor who was speaking said "Life is the crucible of spiritual and character formation" and that "Character formation happens through struggles." We also talked about how struggles are God's favor, and that God uses them to strengthen and grow our walk with Him. I completely agree with what the youth pastor said, she hit the nail on the head, I have grown the most in my walk through struggles. Even while being in South Korea, I have grown more because of the struggles and new things we have faced being in a different country. The message was very powerful, to say the least.

While at church, we also got the chance to help Chris make some connections. He is a talented Christian rapper who has a real heart for the youth. It will be exciting to see what happens next for his ministry!
His wife Jua is wonderful! She has been a huge blessing as well. They are both a blast to be around and have helped us become more acclimated to the Korean way!

Here are some pictures of the hotel we stayed at. They had a beautiful garden, including a pagoda, in the back of the hotel. Chris is very artsy is volunteered to take some pictures of Grant and I! I think some of them turned out well.

Here is one of the pagoda's at the Seoul Tower.

In front of the pagoda.

In the gardens at the hotel.

Let the Children Come...

2008-09-30T16:14:00.000-07:00

"Let the children come to me, do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14

Yesterday we went on a field trip to a sweet potato farm. We had a blast with the kids. They got to pick pears, sweet potatoes, and radishes! Here are some of the pictures of our little darlings!

Polly and her precious findings!

Blake found a ginormous radish! Radishes are pretty much eaten with every meal in Korea!

The Dolphin kindergarten class! There are four different kindergarten classes: Giraffe, Tiger, Koala, and Dolphin. Dolphin, is by far, the biggest kindergarten class.

Ed being his typical mischievous and silly self.

Grant's little buddy: Noah!

More pictures to come...

The Month Mark

2008-09-28T16:23:00.000-07:00

We have made it through a month now, only 11 months to go!
I can't believe how fast it has gone by. Time is so very fleeting. Sooner than you think, we'll be on our way back home! We have found out that we are staying put until November. There are not any apartments in the city open until then. Which is fine with us because where we live right now is very nice and accommodating.

The Korean culture has a reason for pretty much everything they do! Especially when it comes to cuisine. Even if something doesn't taste very appetizing to them, they eat it just because it is healthy. In convenient stores and gas stations you can buy Aloe Vera juice or straight up Vitamin C juice! In the US, I've heard that Aloe Vera juice is a hard to come by unless you go to a specialty/organic store. Our friend Chris was joking the other day that everything in Korean food is meant to help you live until you are 175!

When we were going to go out for Grant's birthday. Our Korean teacher friends wanted to go to a pizza place called: Mr. Pizza. Well when we got there, they wanted to go somewhere else because they had already had a lot of bread that day! Therefore, we went to a Korean barbecue place instead. How many people in America would actually take that into consideration? I probably wouldn't have until now. I love bread and would probably have wanted more bread for dinner. Living here is teaching me a different way to live and eat. The Korean teachers tease me that I need to eat more meat and less sweets. Probably true. We had some Jasmine tea, the other day, from a Chinese restaurant here. It was so tasty! Also, Grant tried a chicken foot at his birthday celebration. I couldn't do it! I'm a huge texture person, and I knew that the foot was not going to make it down my throat without a violent fight with my taste buds. Grant thought it was ok. Bianca and Ashley, two of the Korean teachers, were eating it because one they enjoyed the taste and also they told us it was good for you skin, it gives you extra collagen. Even though it's really good for your skin, I have to draw the line somewhere.

Spas over here are a huge deal in the Korean culture. Some spas you can even sleep at, weird, huh? Apparently they have a ton of different sauna choices, massages, baths, and even facials. I love getting facials, and they are pretty cheap comparatively. I guess I'll have to try one eventually ( : In addition, going to the doctor over here is dirt cheap! You pay about $10 or even less to go to the doctor is this is without insurance(this would have been nice to know when we were both sick). From what we've heard, Koreans go to the doctor right away when they get sick to either get medicine or a shot. Antibiotics are very inexpensive over here as well.

Grant's birthday was a blast. First we went to a Korean barbecue place and had delicious barbecue, not at all like a Texas barbecue. Basically they have two grills at your table and you wait for your meat to be finished cooking. Koreans are huge on side dishes. Grant's and my favorite Korean style is where they have large leaves(sometimes bamboo leaves or seaweed) and you wrap the meat inside and put stuff some of the side dishes on top and wrap it up and voala! After the Korean barbecue, we went to another restaurant where we had some tasty cake with fruit on top! At the restaurant, they had this congratulatory song in English, instead of a birthday song, it was quite humorous because everybody in the restaurant was singing and clapping. Grant looks like he is about to crack up in this picture to the right. Their cakes over here are very light and a little bit less sweet than our cakes. They make their cakes with buttermilk, I think.

For Grant's actual birthday, I had previously had some things planned that we were going to do, but he was still sick so we decided to rest and watch the rest of season one of 24. And of course, we had some more cake, this time it was chocolate! Behind Grant is Camp Humphrey, it kind of looks like a prison from this point of view. It was a very relaxing birthday.

We finally made our first meal here! It has been hard to find things at the grocery store that we can either read or distinguish what it is. For our first meal, I made some spaghetti with some toast and pears. I know what a big meal, right? It was very simple. The sauce was extremely different. It had a sweet tomatoey taste to it.
The next day, Grant made some french toast. It was yummy. We can't wait to make some Jop Chae. Jop Chae has the clear noodles with vegetables in it. However, we need somebody to help us find all of the items we need to make it. This is very random, it was so cool the other day we bought about 15 apples in a bag for $2! What a deal!

We are now just running into some big cultural no-no's. While I was teaching a few weeks ago, the curriculum was talking about using the dialog: "Come on." Well in the US, we use our hand to often signal someone to come on and that is what I was showing my students as I was saying the words. My kindergarteners all started giggling, I didn't think much of it because they laugh about the most random things anyway. However, after class one of the Korean teachers came up to me and told me that when you signal come on and wave your hand a certain way it is of the gravest insults to Koreans. To them it basically means like you are motioning or calling a dog to come here. So, I definitely won't be using that gesture anymore. By the way, eating dog over here is a rarity. Only older generations eat dog. Most Koreans have dogs as their pets. There is a pet shop on almost every other street.

The kids here are so funny. Last Tuesday, one of my students, out of the blue, asked me if I like to eat "Mad Cow Meat." I tried to explain to her that not all cows from the US have mad cow disease, but I'm not sure she understood what I said. It just struck me as funny. A lot of Koreans are deathly afraid of our meat. There is only one place, that we know of, that uses our meat in their food.

We have been trying a lot of new places to eat. We found the most wonderful Indian restaurant. Their herbs and spices are just tantalizing, and their nan bread is just mouth-watering! We are going to try and go there at least once a week. If anybody ever comes to visit us, we are definitely going to have treat them to this restaurant. Also, we got a taste of home when we got to go to PIZZA HUT! To me, the pizza here at Pizza Hut is much better than back home. We split the three cheese pizza with herbs and spices. We both LOVED it! The crust was made with wheat. They also had a very large salad bar. I love salads and a lot of places around here don't have salads, so it was definitely a treat!

Grant is having a blast with his Warcraft 3 game, thank to the Boatwrights for sending it to him on his birthday! He is definitely enthralled by it. I'm having a fabulous time exploring creative possibilities. I feel as if art awakens my heart and soul! I love it so much. Here is one of my photoshop creations. Grant gave me a very wonderful gift when he gave me photoshop as a wedding gift! I am also having a blast taking pictures of all sorts of things in Korea! I need to get back into sketching, I miss it dearly. I already have a project in mind that I am creating for Grant! Should be fun! I was so excited the other day when I found a little art shop with a few art supplies! Now I only need to find a place that prints out pictures...

We have made some very endearing and real friends here! Next Friday, we have a holiday so I'm going to go shopping in Chan with some of the girls from work! I'm so excited. Also, next Saturday we are going with Chris and Jewa, our amazing friends from church, to Seoul to see some sights and visit the 2nd largest church in Korea! I think we are going to stay at The Dragon hotel in Seoul on Saturday night. I can't wait! We haven't been to Seoul yet, and I've been itching to go!

Of course we still miss everyone, but we are adjusting well!
Until next time...

Sa Rang Hae Yo(I love you in Korean)!

A beautiful tree at our park close by! The weather is changing fast. We are both loving the change of weather, especially Grant! The leaves are also starting to change.

This is our American influence over here by the base! There are a lot of adult clubs and strip joints by the base ONLY, all in the name of entertaining the military base.

Until then...

2008-09-28T01:31:00.000-07:00

Until I get the chance to actually write an updated blog(which it will probably be a long one), here is one of our students. She started singing this song immediately and automatically when we were talking about farmers. So cute...she has the most precious little voice! This is one of the reasons why we LOVE our jobs!

Oh Korea!

2008-09-23T16:41:00.000-07:00

We are having a blast watching some of the commercials in Korea! They are some of the zaniest/funniest commercials I have ever seen. This is only a TASTE of what their commercials are like!! You WILL enjoy this! I know both of my brother-in-laws will just LOVE these commercials, especially the dancing ones!

Here's one of my favorites: It's Korea's way of cracking down on smoking!
This kids are my favorite part! They are so precious!

This guy is hilarious! You will either get a good chuckle out of this video or think "What the heck?"
This is the first Shake, Shake Chicken commercial we saw on TV! They call this tecktonik dancing. You should look up Korean techtonik dancing on YouTube for some more good laughs!

I love the chicken hiding in the bush!
Let me know what you think of these videos!

Growing Immersion

2008-09-13T16:03:00.000-07:00

The past two weeks have gone by terribly fast. We have thoroughly enjoyed becoming lovingly enthralled with our new culture. It is so exciting to learn something new about Korea each day. It's like being able to do a very in-depth, immersed study of one culture for two course classes in college. The differences of our cultures continues to wow me. For example, at their weddings, everyone who attends puts money down to pay for the reception food afterwards. Also, there is so little crime in Korea that the police do not carry guns. In school, as a teacher, you don't have little fights or children intentionally trying to physically hurt another child. It just doesn't happen. Which I think is very refreshingly nice.

But why I wonder? Grant and I have talked about this a few times, and we think it is because they have a very works-based culture/religious views (Confucious views). In their world system, basically if they mess up once, it's over for them. In our country, it is very sad to say and even I have been guilty of this before, we take advantage of our freedoms especially grace. In the states, we live in a very grace-filled atmosphere, where a lot of times, we get a second chance. We are overly blessed in this way. God's grace is so wondrously and beautifully precious, but is not something we should take for granted. This is something I feel like He is continuously and probably will forever be teaching and showing me.

I'm sorry that I haven't written in awhile, I have been sick, and now sadly I've gotten Grant sick as well ): It was only a little cold or something. Just a slight fever with drainage. We have also been busy exploring our new world and trying new things. I've definitely tried some things that I'm not a fan of. I have officially tried sushi food and am not an advocate for it in anyway. However, I do love a new dish that I've tried: Bi Bim Bop! I love the name. It is a vegetable dish with a sunny-side up eye on top. It is very fresh and tasty. We have officially tried the McDonalds restaurant in Korea. The portions are a ton smaller. Poor Grant was disappointed by the size of his cheeseburger. I had some spicy chicken tenders which were really good. I feel bad for Grant because there are a lot more things that I don't like in comparison to him who likes pretty much anything!

I can delightfully say that we found a place in town that sells GELATO called Ti~Amo which reminded me of Abby and Zach and their many and recent travels in Italy! It is so very rich and tantalizing! I almost had a heart-attack while eating it(Grant got a kick out of watching me enjoy it).

We also have found a really nice shopping district with shops like Merrell, Nike, Adidas, Head, and a two-story North Face store(which I love). Apparently in Korea, they love their sports stores. We also made a big purchase(at least a big purchase for us right now)we bought yoga mats. We both really enjoy doing pilates and yoga, but we couldn't do it until now because all of our floors our wood. They have a ton of cute clothes for very cheap prices here in Korea. It will be fun to go shopping sometime soon! Hopefully, when we get paid!

We had to get a physical last week for the Korean government. They had to take blood, urine, sweat, and tears from us or least that is what it felt like. They had to test for AIDS and drugs and all that jazz! We also went to the dentist during our physical, and the dentist was inside of the hospital, very weird. They determined that Grant had one of his fillings come out, therefore, they had to re-fill his tooth.
We are enjoying our daily commutes to school but are looking forward to moving to the "city"(As you can see in our photo). Last week we started going to a new church. We really enjoyed this church and felt very warmly accepted into it. We met some new friends, a married couple: Chris and Jewa(probably not how you spell it). They are wonderful Christians and very real people. We went with them to a Gospel Hip Hop Concert at the Osan Air Base which Chris hosted. It was very special and a lot of fun. There was a rapper there that used to open up for Outkast. He was an amazing rapper, it was really awesome to see how God has worked in his life! Chris and Jewa also have amazing testimonies how Christ has totally changed their lives around. There was a gospel choir, dance ministry (the picture to the left), rappers, poetry readings, and astounding testimonies!

Teaching is still going very well! I LOVE my kindergarten students! They are so much fun! The only downside of our jobs is the lack of creativity in the curriculum, however, the plus side is that we can do pretty much whatever we want teaching-wise as long as it gets the kids talking in English. This opens the door to multiple possibilities and various creative lesson plans. This is probably the easiest teaching job that I will ever have in my life! I'm loving it!

We miss you all very much! Please keep in touch as much as possible! Though our new adventures are very exciting and enertaining, we have not forgotten any of you! We think of you all very often and love you very much! We would love to hear how you are doing.

Until next time...

Here are some of my most recent and favorite pictures:

1. An adorable coffee shop by Osan Air Force Base(I love the name)
2. Students acting crazy!
3. A beautiful park right by our home.
4. This ones for Alicia aka Leech: It made me think of you!
5. This is what I feel like after a LONG day in the city!
6. Here is one of my favorite gates near our place.
7. Itsy bitsy spider climbed up... ain't it a beauty!
8. My favorite gate once again.

And The Teaching Commences...

2008-09-02T13:08:00.000-07:00

As our boss picked us up at 11 am on Monday morning, we were a bit anxious and excited to jump into teaching since we truly had no idea exactly what we were about to encounter! While Ryan dropped us off at the front we walked up to the second floor of the building and were greeted by Korean children with precious smiles and

adoring hugs! Children were running around everywhere acting as most children do when they allowed to be free! It was definitely controlled chaos. Many children curiously came and introduced themselves to us using their English names that they had been given. The two other English speaking teachers immediately showed us the ropes!

Before we started teaching, we had a lunch break. During our lunch break, Cari and Andrew(the English speaking teachers) showed us their apartment so that we could decide whether or not we wanted to move closer into the city. We love the convenience of walking to school and the convenience of having so many more choices of restaurants. And we also found a gym right next to the school. YEAH! So we will moving eventually! It will be at least 10-15 days before we move!

We came across an adorable bread shop while walking back to school. The scent of the shop was divine! We had heard that their bread here is made fresh and is quite delicious! So we went in of course. My eyes and nose were wonderfully stimulated with all of the fresh bread, cakes, desserts, and treats. Since Grant and I have the biggest, and when I say "biggest" I mean gargantuous sweet tooths we bought some pastries and cookies! They were wonderfully tasty.

After lunch, we started our first classes! Our basic goal in teaching: is to get our Korean students to use their English correctly in conversation. It is a very laid-back and fun teaching atmosphere. The discipline is totally different here. Their are NO liability issues, apparently people don't sue each other in Korea. Basically, if a student runs into a metal poll on the playground it is their fault(Obviously, some of you might laugh at this, but this same situation happened at my school last year). If you run into the street and get run over by a car, it is your fault not the drivers. Also, you can pick up kids and touch them without the fear of being sued! As far as discipline goes, it is a little bit more lax then I am used to. In Korea, when they are young, they want the children to be carefree and enjoy their childhood but yet still be held responsible for their actions. These Korean kids are very goofy and very much allowed to just be themselves which I think is a very healthy environment for them to have!

Our first classes went very well! Grant had a very quiet class while I had a very cheery and somewhat loud class, you might say. Grant had a blast playing hangman with some of his classes. We have about 30 classes a week. In one of Grant's classes they called him "giant" while in another classroom they kept wanting to touch his big muscles. In one of my classes they spoke very little English, therefore I had them repeat after me the text we were reading at least 5-10 times. After finishing the text they continued to mimic and copy what I was saying! It was hilarious. Our classes' English skills vary from speaking zero to no English(which is a very small minority of our classes), to speaking and reading full English sentences and paragraphs. The kindergarten students I have right now our speaking and reading better than the kindergarten kids we had at my school in DeSoto last year. They even know how to read phrases like: pencil sharpeners, veterinary, sometimes, early... They sometimes read full and lengthy paragraphs. They are crazy smart and advanced! I was pretty much dumbfounded and utterly stunned at everything they knew! In addition, their temperaments are very caring and loving. They love to come up and hug you and know your name. I am falling in love with these children! They are just darling!

It has been continuously raining the past two days. It seems like big cities smell soooo much worse after it has rained. Pyeongtaek is what most Koreans consider a small to medium sized city. To Grant and I, it is HUGE! As far as land goes, it is probably around the size of Dallas but with double, maybe even triple, the amount of people and buildings! It is crowded. While walking the streets, people definitely do stare and whisper the word: Waegu(which means foreigner). However, the upside of the city is that it has some very nice parks with exercise machines including things like chin-up bars and gazelle-like exercise machines. It has some very nice restaurants some which have menus in English. We went to this place called VIPS the other day. They had imported American beef so our steaks were much thicker than our original meal we had with our boss at our first Korean meal. The salad bar was pretty much to-die-for! It had so many choices. I also tried this prickly fruit with a thick outer shell, you have to cut it open and then pull out the seed. It kind of tasted like a grape. They told us that this fruit is from China. Grant made me try some smoked salmon. He reassured me that it didn't taste fishy even though it was pretty raw. So, me, trying to be the trusting wife, tried it. I almost gagged, the texture to me was very slimy and the taste extremely fishy!

The people we work with our very amicable and helpful. The native speaking Korean teachers are remarkably wonderful and very pleasant to be around. Julia, one of the Korean teachers, has been a godsend. She is a Christian and a sweetheart. She took us to the market yesterday and helped us buy groceries. Her mother showed up and helped us as well. Julia's dad is a pastor, and she has invited us to church on Sunday. After grocery shopping, Julia and her mom wanted to treat us to dinner. The food we had for dinner was QUITE spicy! Grant and I both were sniffing and asking for more and more water. They brought out a huge skillet full of pasta, vegetables, and a little bit of fish tossed in a red/tomatoey sauce. It was VERY good. Some of the noodles were made out of sweet potatoes. The noodles made out of sweet potatoes were completely translucent and clear. They were very weird looking. We also had some Kim-bob which is basically an appetizer consisting of rice and vegetables. Also, I have started to improve in my acquisition of chopstick eating skills. Julia complemented me on my "great" skills! We feel extremely blessed to have acquired Julia and her mom as our friends.

This is Ed one of the sweetest yet goofiest students I have!
He likes to try and give me raspberries on my stomach!

Our First Official Korean Meal

2008-08-31T12:59:00.001-07:00

Our first official Korean meal was quite tasty. Our boss Ryan took us out to a very nice restaurant in downtown Pyeongtaek(which was our first time to go downtown). The first thing we had was an ice-cold herbal tea with radish in it. It was very cold and unbelievably refreshing! Then me being the "lady of the house"(which is what my boss called me), was given a salad with a light yet sweet cucumber dressing. I loved it. The only utensils on the table were chopsticks and one spoon. So guess who had to learn how to use chopsticks? Grant vigorously tried to teach me how to use them. Everyone, including the waitress, got a huge kick out of my attempts to eat with chopsticks. She kept giggling at my attempts. At one point, I dropped some lettuce into my tea. The waitress was very gracious and brought me a fork after seeing me pitifully struggle to eat. I WILL learn how to use chopsticks before the year is over! I'm not going to leave SK until I do!

Then we were introduced to Korean beef. In the middle of our table, we had a grill where they put the meat down and let it cook. After it cooked, Ryan showed us what to do next. We dipped our small pieces of beef into some sea salt which made it VERY tasty! After that, we dipped our next piece of beef into a bowl that looked like soup(see picture to the left). The dip was kind of garlicky and had onions on top of it. While we were enjoying this new phenomenon, our waitress was preparing for us a piece of meat and sprouts wrapped in seaweed. This was probably one of my favorite things to eat throughout the whole meal. Grant and I also enjoyed what they call "Korean Pancakes." They are quite zesty, not sweet. They are tiny pancakes filled with vegetables and some peppers. One of our next courses included fried mushrooms which were pretty much to die for! Grant really loved the mushrooms! Next, I decided to be brave and eat some jellyfish which was definitely one of the most interesting things I have ever eaten in my life. The texture was kind of like sour-punch straw, but without the sweetness and sugar. The taste was sour and fruity all at the same time with a hint of bitterness. Suffice it to say, I did not eat another jellyfish the rest of the evening. Grant tried some, but from the look on his face I'm pretty sure he didn't enjoy it.

The next course was an actual soup with steamed rice. You're supposed to get some soup first and then with your spoon add some rice. Our boss told us that the soup was kind of hot, so I decided to take it slow the first bite. Therefore, I took two what looked like chives from the soup and added some rice and took a bite. My mouth immediately swarmed with an extreme burning sensation. What I thought had been chives was actually peppers which were very hot! The rest of the soup wasn't that hot just the pepper-chives (: For dessert, we had a divinely delicious plum tea and some grapes. Grant and I both decided that we really need to find some plum tea!

We had some great conversation and fellowship with our new boss. He is very friendly and hospitable. We got the chance to talk about his newborn baby girl who was born a month ago and his new wife. He had asked us what we had done the past two days. We got the chance to tell him everything we did. He was VERY surprised when we told him about going to church. We told him that we were Christians. He told us that he had once tried to be a Christian, but somehow it didn't workout so now he is trying to be a Buddhist. Please pray that God will work through us and that Ryan can see something different about us. Also, please pray for boldness in sharing our faith. We greatly appreciate your prayers. Much love!

Our Sunday Morning

2008-08-31T12:43:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning, we decided to go to a church that we had seen in town. It was called Lighthouse Baptist Church. We did not know what to expect as we walked up the three flights of stairs to the church upstairs. We were greeted by Americans who spoke English which was very refreshing to hear. We enjoyed the message and the ole' hymnal praise and worship. It had been awhile since both of us had been to a Baptist church (since we're both non-denominational). The preacher talked about glorifying God in everything we do, and how we are called to live a life of praise. He reminded us that "whether you eat or drink or whatever you do that you can give glory to God" taken from one of my favorite verses in the Bible(1 Corinthians 10:31). The way the message was preached wasn't necessarily the style Grant and I are used to, however, the potency of the message was definitely conveyed.

After church we met some delightful people who answered many of our daunting questions about where to go for groceries, how to get a transmitter, where to eat, what to eat... The church family invited us to lunch. We ate soft tacos with some Daisy sour cream(which was a treat since they don't sell things like that in SK only on base) and some yummy brownies. I haven't had any chocolate in a few days, so I was definitely missing it and craving it (: Our new friends Dan & Patricia showed us around the square and gave us tips. Dan & Patricia both are military and live at Camp Humphrey. Dan said he has been stationed in at least 3 other countries, not counting SK, and he said that he has never felt safer in another country like he does in SK. We were definitely comforted by his words. However, he did recommend for me to stick close to my husband because of the lack of American women in the area because there are a lot of lonely American soldiers roaming the streets at night.

Living the Life in South Korea

2008-08-31T05:02:00.001-07:00

After a long and somewhat uncomfortable flight, we made it to our new destination! As we arrived we were cordially greeted at the airport by Mr. Kang who held a sign with our names neatly written on it. Mr. Kang, though amicable, did not speak much English, he pretty much spoke to us in two word sentences. However, we broke the language barrier through kind but swift gestures. He helped us get on the bus to Pyeongtaek, our new hometown.

We drove 2 1/2 hours to our new city. It was a very scenic ride with little, rich farms plush with crops to gargantuous buildings in Seoul. We saw familiar places like: 7-Eleven, Hooters(surprisingly), Samsung, and Subway on our way. As we finally arrived in Pyeongtaek we were met by our boss: Ryan. He picked us up and took us to our new abode. It was very dark when we arrived. We were actually very surprised when we got to our new "home sweet home" because it was a duplex that was right next to Camp Humphrey rather than an apartment next to the school(which we originally thought we would be staying in). Ryan has assured us that if we want to move to the apartment that is close to our school that it would be no hassel whatsoever. Here is a picture of our home right now:
It has three bedrooms inside and is much bigger than we expected. It is still up in the air whether or not we will stay here or not. However, the decision is completely up to us which is very nice to have.

Saturday, we slept in and rested as long as possible, so that we could recover from jetlag. After waking up, we were quite famished so we decided to go find a breakfast place to eat maybe a brunch. Consequently, after walking the streets near our home, we come to find out that most Koreans don't eat breakfast. And if you do by chance find a place that serves a Korean breakfast it usually consists of cold fish, seaweed, and if you're lucky an egg. Therefore, we decided that it would be best to either buy some food for breakfast or make our own. After traversing through the winding streets, we found a convenience store called "Kosa Mart." We found the basic necessities: chocolate cereal, of course,(a kind of like Cocoa Pebbles, but spelled in Korean so I don't know the official name), milk, orange juice(which is tantalizingly amazing), and some more water.

We decided to explore our small side of the city. Pyeongtaek is huge! We walked the streets of their small town square which is directly across from Camp Humphrey, the US military base, therefore, the restaurants and shops were very much geared towards Americans. It was quite enertaining seeing the names of some of the shops. One of the shops/club/bar was named: James Dean and had a cowboy hat next to the title. We found a place to eat after finding a friendly army soldier to recommend a place called: Puffins. So we decided to give it a whirl that evening.

On our 3/4 of a mile trek back home, we came across a quaint, little playground with vivid playstations. At this playground, we noticed several unusual contraptions to the side of the play area. After messing around with the objects, we found them to be outdoor exercise equipment. It was really fun testing them out (:

The following evening, as we walked are trek down to Puffins, we saw at least ten older women working out on the machines above. It was quite shockingly humorous and very encouraging to know that somebody actually uses those machines. We are coming to learn that Koreans are very much NIGHT people. The night life is hoppin'. You go out during the early morning and early afternoon and you don't see very many Koreans. While dining at the very Americanized Puffins restaurant, Grant had some zesty enchiladas while I had some very tasty quesadillas(actually the tasties quesadillas I've ever had). They used a ton of spices which of course I love! On top of that, I had a Mudslide drink, it was definitely up to par! The waitresses at the restaurant were so wonderful! They were trying so hard to pronounce and use their English correctly. It was quite endearing and precious! They also taught us some Korean or at least tried to teach us (;

On our way home, we stopped off at a dvd store and bought 3 dvds for $10!! They even had the movie Wall-E out, of course they were bootleg copies. We quietly jaunted home and enjoyed relaxing while watching a movie before bed.

Korea has a very advanced recycling system. This picture is taken from a street recycling center where all of the recycling is divided and sorted in different bags. Jillian you would be so proud!

This is the view from our front porch!

Life in Transition(or Limbo)

2008-08-30T15:20:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks have been filled with moments of serenity, pandemonium, tears, giggles, stress, blessings, and many joys! We have been moving from our little "Love Shack"(our first lil' home) in DeSoto to the Boatwright Homestead, packing up all of our precious wedding gifts, getting our visas, prepping for South Korea, and going to all of our doctors check-ups. Oh yeah, I also changed my hair color to an auburn brown color! I like it, I'm still getting used to it! I think I have shocked a lot of people with the drastic change!

We have been blessed with being able to live with Grant's parents the past few weeks. They have been so encouraging and uplifting about our impending adventure! Last Friday, we got the chance to visit with some of our family and friends at a goodbye-get-together dinner at the Boatwrights.

The following Sunday, we got the huge blessing of getting to go to the Spiral Diner in Ft. Worth for some organically amazing pancakes(the best I've ever had in my whole life) and to the Kimbell Museum in Ft.Worth to see the Impressionist exhibit from Chicago. It was such a good idea that Jillian and Jonathan had! Jillian and Jonathan were so thoughtful and treated us to breakfast. Also, my mom, Jarrett and Jacob got to come with us. Some of my favorite paintings were Degas's: "Yellow Dancers" and Renoir's: "Woman at the Piano." While walking through the exhibit, I got goosebumps at seeing all of the beautiful, exquisite paintings that I had always studied and dreamed about getting to view. It was very hard to say goodbye to my family.

After going to the Kimbell, we had a delightful visit with Jabrielle, my dad, Jillian, and Jonathan. We ate some vegetarian pizza from a local Italian restaurant. It was scrumptious! It was really great getting to see Jabby for a short awhile and getting to visit with my dad. I love my family so very much no matter the distance or what happens in this life. I am going to miss them terribly.
The Ragsdale Family: Jillian, Jonathan, and Isabella. Jillian also prepared a homeopathic first aid kit for us to take to Korea. She has been such a blessing throughout this whole process of going to Korea. She and Jonathan have created a wonderful green life for their family. I am proud of how she lives her life in such a healthy and organic manner. Here is her blog: http://www.ourgreennest.blogspot.com

Beachy

2008-08-30T14:26:00.000-07:00

As far as Texas goes, you can't beat the sunsets of Port Aransas!
Gigi(Jillian, my big sis) and Miss Isabella! As you can see Isabella is already ordering from the menu because she is so brilliant, apparently a child prodigy!

Gettin' swimmy with Jabby! We are so silly sometimes!

My poor husband got injured while playing tennis at the beach, so he had to ride in a wheelchair one night! He is not still completely healed, so please continue to pray for continued healing!

My Love and I!
Seesters!
Daddy and Joshy

Quality Time

2008-08-30T13:54:00.000-07:00

Before we left for South Korea, we got the joy and delight of hanging out with our families on a ranch in Hamilton, TX and on the beaches of Port Aransas, TX. While at the ranch, we got some much desired and needed quality time with Grant's side of the family. They are a blast to be around and just wonderful people. I'm so blessed to have married into such a giving, friendly, and loving family! Sadly, I do not have any pictures from the ranch to show because my camera was having some serious hiccups.

After the extravaganza at the ranch in Hamilton, we headed seven hours down to Port Aransas, one of my favorite childhood vacations. We had an exquisite time hanging out with my family, which included: playing a ton of tennis, Grant and I almost dominating in shuffle board(except when Jacob and dad beat us), riding the rocky waves, getting to see my niece Isabella play with sand for the first time, making dinner, and eating out at some favorite coastal places. I'm so glad we got to have a vacation with both our families.

The Intricacies of Our Unmarked Journey...

2008-07-24T13:13:00.000-07:00

Grant and I are still enjoying the new thrills, trials, and the beauty of the newlywed life! I can't believe that we have been married for more than 3 months now! Time really does fly furiously fast! We hope that our blog is a reflection of the life we are trying to lead... A life of struggling and loving through life with the grace of God to carry us through this crazy world.

Since embarking on the journey of marriage, we have decided, for some time now, to travel to South Korea to teach English. We are very excited about meeting new people, learning the culture and language, and exploring new places together!