BIG NEWS IN KOREA!

I'm sure you've already heard... Kim Jong Il, the North Korean dictator has died! I say this with great excitement. Maybe people do not understand my excitement. I heard the new this morning and I got goosebumps. I've been secretly (and not so secretly) hoping that this man would either turn from his horrible ways or die, for a long time. My heart is so burdened for the North Korean people and their oppression.

My main purpose of being in Korea is to try to help North Koreans in some aspect. With this new bit of information my excitement grows because it means that there is possible change on the horizon! This change could be good or bad- but either way I think there has to be change! I'm hoping and praying that it will be for the better. There is always the slight chance that it could mean war for the Koreas. No one knows the thoughts, plans or ruling style of the next leader, the son Kim Jong Un.

No matter what the future may bring I am still excited. I feel like I am in the right place for such a time as this. I pray that there will not be war, or casualties. I pray that North Korea will open their borders and begin to implement freedom. I pray that the North Korean citizens will be given a better life. Food. Clothing. Freedom.

My heart is beating and bleeding for the Nation of North Korea! Please join with me in praying for its government and its people. Also pray for South Korea as they are on high alert at this moment, with total uncertainty of what will be happening in the North.

These are exciting times!

Its nearly Christmas!

Hello! I can hardly believe that it is only one week until Christmas! Instead of sugar plums dancing in my head... its many thoughts.

So I shall write a mess of random...

I almost got stuck in an elevator tonight. It suddenly jerked a little too abruptly to a stop... and then the doors wouldn't open. That's odd. But in typical Heidi fashion, I didn't freak out... I simply pressed every button possible and waited for a moment. Then just as I was pressing the call button (thinking... what the heck am I going to say?!) the doors miraculously opened. Thank you Jesus! It made me think though... I have no idea what I would do with myself if I was stuck in an elevator! (or anywhere for that matter)... I simply can't entertain myself for that amount of time... whatever that may be. Maybe if I had a notebook and pen... or my iPod. I'd probably write a song... or a blog... but unfortunately there is no reception in my elevator... another reason it would suck to get stuck!

I recently received some Christmas packages... yay! I was afraid that I had given the wrong address out for my new place because I hadn't received any mail... but thankfully my mom's package got here without trouble!

On a completely different note...
A lot of people get really stressed out during the holidays. Recently a lot of people around me have been total Debby Downers! It has caused me to put things into perspective in my own life though. For example- I'm really cold these days. Winter is not my favorite season... but I have a house with windows and walls... and a heating system... and electricity. It may cost me more than I like to stay warm- but I in fact can BE WARM! My thoughts and prayers go out to North Koreans and the harsh winters that they have to endure with rags for clothes. My heart breaks.

I'm just finishing my second semester at Seowon University. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my job! Seriously. I am so SOOOoooo grateful that I have this position and I praise the Lord for placing me here. Even though I am occasionally lonely, I am happy.

I won't write a book yet... I think I shall end here and hope to continue more thoughts later. Worship the King in this season for all that He is and all that He gives!

LOVE YOU!!!

What is my Field?

I came to South Korea wanting to prep myself to help people from North Korea. I want to learn the language and help those who are lost and broken...

I've had my mind sent on North Korea... but realize more and more that where I am now is also a mission field. I just haven't really considered it so.

Please pray for me. Pray that God would show me EXACTLY what He has for me and which opportunities to take and which ones to say "no" to.

Pray for Korea! (both South and North)

Needles in my Butt

I thought that would be a fun intro...

So many things have happened in the last month that I cannot keep up! I'm hoping to create a couple of more videos. As you know, I moved apartments- which is a pretty big job! I now have an AMAZING apartment that can comfortably accommodate 15 people for hanging out...

At the same time that I was moving my sister came for a surprise visit! We had a lot of fun and on her blog she considered the trip a 10 out of 10! I'm so glad! :-)

On Sunday CareyAnn and I moved some furniture from a friend's apartment. She was moving to another town and couldn't take it with her. SO... for $30 it only took about 30 minutes to rent a truck and move the furniture. However, I think this is where I injured my back (life with your legs Heidi!) and on Tuesday I began to have a stiff back. The muscles in my lower back were SOLID and hurt like crazy! I can still move just fine but with a lot of effort. Wow... so this is what it feels like to get old? I definitely don't want to get old!

So, at first I was going to just take it easy and try to wait it out. Sleep, rest, ibuprofen... but after the drugs wore off today in the middle of class I was MISERABLE. So- after 3 recommendations of "chinese medicine" I decided to consent. My dear friend Heather (who is my Angel and life saver in so many ways) took me for acupuncture. It was my first experience and I was a little nervous, but she stayed with me. A couple of the needles hurt and some of them I couldn't feel at all.

It was after they were all out that Heather said, I don't think you can guess how long the needle in your butt was. Apparently about 12 cm of needle went into my bum... good thing I didn't know! THat one definitely stung a little. ^^

I was at the doctor for an hour and it only cost $6 (with my insurance). I really wish the American health care system was like that! With healthcare so cheap in Korea... I guess I probably shouldn't wait around next time I'm sick or hurting...

My new Home

Happy Birthday Madness!

I figured it out on my way to my birthday party on Thursday night (27th)... I am going to have 86 hours of celebrating my birthday! This is ultimately fantastic!

The festivities began with a party at my friend Mona's cafe. Its a great space to hang out. I invited everyone that I knew in town to come for quesadillas, nachos and wine. ^^ I think the evening was sprinkled with about 25 friendly and familiar faces. It was fantastic!

CareyAnn and I met up with one of the female trainers from my gym for an hour after that. I've been wanting to be-friend the trainers, so I'm happy that it worked out. Unfortunately, I also got the news that the male trainer that I had a silly little crush on has a girlfriend. Whoops... there goes that!

I had two cakes Thursday night and one shot that was on fire. It was all lovely!

Friday morning came too quickly, but I already woke up to 10 birthday blessings on facebook. I called my family on SKYPE and chatted for a while. Then I got the most wonderful surprise! CareyAnn was enlisted by my mom to help get me a BEAUTIFUL bouquet of 28 roses (complete with golden ribbon) for my birthday. CareyAnn asked my friend Heather (korean) to deliver them to my while I was on SKYPE with my family. It was a wonderful surprise and the flowers are absolutely beautiful! Thank you friends and family!

I'm just quickly blogging before I head to the airport to go to Jeju Island with my friend CareyAnn. Tomorrow if it isn't raining we are hoping to climb Mt. Hallasan, the tallest mountain in South Korea. I'm super excited for the 86 hours of birthday madness to continue!

Thank you friends and family for all of your love and affection! <3

An introduction in Korean!

A Song. One Fine Wire

I really enjoy this song, and to be honest it describes my feelings, as of late, quite well! Enjoy ^^

A funny thing happened on the way to...

I can't help but say one more thing about exams. This may be my second favorite thing to happen in Korea this year.

I was so proud of both of my classes today and how well they did on their exams. The very last student that I gave the speaking exam is a Physical Education major. He is already working as a Physical Trainer in a city 2 hours away from the University. I feel bad for the guy because he's exhausted by doing both school and work. He also happens to be the one student that I have that is the same age as me.

Well, The "English for the job" speaking portion of the exam my students had to introduce themselves. I made a nice video to give them a good idea of what I was expecting. He wasn't in the class where I explained everything but got a good enough idea through emails we exchanged.

So, we are beginning the "interview" and he says: "I have prepared a suit for the interview, do you mind if I take my sweatshirt off". I'm thinking... ok... no problem- expecting a "suit"... but no. His interview is for a position as a personal trainer (what is on his resume) so to make it more realistic he is wearing a "muscle" shirt. He takes his sweatshirt off and all I see is a whole lot of muscle! I may have showed a moment of surprise, but quickly composed myself and began the "interview".

Meanwhile I keep telling myself to make sure to look him in the eye and don't blush! I'm not certain what his thoughts were, but mine were... oh my goodness! Is this actually happening?! You will be happy to know, however, that we were both very professional and I resisted the urge to ask if I could poke his bicep.

Yeah. I love my job. Thank you student for ending my day with hilarity!

Exams

This week is exams, which means added stress for the poor students and perhaps a little added stress for the teachers as well.
I want so badly for my students to succeed! So far I am really impressed! At this moment they are all taking the exam so diligently! I scared them by saying that if they are late to class they would get minus 50% of whatever their score was. It worked! They were all here early! :). I'm so proud!

A Korean Driver's license

TODAY IM GETTING MY LICENSE!  More to come later

Beauty in Nature

A weekend hike...

Happy to be a blue eyed girl

I'd like to thank my parents for giving me light brown hair and blue eyes... apparently this is what really makes me stand apart.  I was asked if my hair color was the color I was born with...I was happy to say yes! So thank you mom and dad! 

I love my gym...

A new App. Woohoo!

I just downloaded the blogger application on my phone. So now, although it is annoying to type on my phone, i can write my thoughts from anywhere!

Last night was a very fun night with much hilarity!  Just one short story of the evening... I went out with CareyAnn to meet up with a one of the student helpers in my office and his brother and friends. Two white girls and five korean guys.  Well... the 26 year old boy sitting next to me had never sat so close to a foreigner before and instantly got giddy. It was quite hilarious!

We were eating and drinking 소주. Along with drinking soju there are many games to play.  The giddy boy next to me lost the game and had to drink a shot. His glass was empty but mine was full so I offered him mine. Apparently in Korea if someone drinks a shot for another person then they can tell that person to do anything they want and the nondrinker has to comply.

So, my dear friend CareyAnn says "now you have to do whatever he says". I think I'm in trouble... but his request was completely harmless!
"Let me look at your face for 10 seconds"... that was it! He just wanted to stare at me face to face for ten seconds. I complied and even gave him a 2 second bonus. :)

So... that is what happens when you hang out with a group of Korean boys in Korea.

Baby its cold outside!

The temperature has drastically dropped! And so... I'm getting a little sickly- waking up with a sore throat in the morning... a runny nose at night. Hoping for the best and don't worry mom, I'm taking my Emergen-C!

One of my favorite things about living in a shoebox in Korea is that my electric/ water bill is only $9!

I wasn't sure I wanted to share this little info bite but its just too funny not to! The coordinator of my job is a single man in his late 30's who just recently started dating a girl he says he will probably marry. Anyway- he thinks he is pretty bad @$$ and usually throws in a few cuss words when he speaks casually with me. These facts will set the scene a little for the next nugget...

We just began our extra evening classes this week. Again I was asked to teach on my day off (Monday), which I said I really REALLY didn't want to do this semester. However, because I am a sucker... I said ok. This class has two other men that work in my school and I believe have shared a few drinks with my coordinator on occasion. My coordinator (Mr. Beck) asked if I would please do him the favor of teaching this class on Monday evenings. He also said, "they are my friends and perhaps a little naughty." I said, "Oh good... that really makes me want to say yes" (sarcasm). But because I am a pushover I said yes.

Well Monday night comes around and it is the first session. Two men and one woman are in this evening class. Before the class begins Mr. Beck again reminds me that they are his friends and naughty guys so I have to make a promise. I say, Ok.

"Promise me that you will not sleep with them"


ACK! GAFAW!

I easily promised him that would not happen.

heehee...

They seem like perfectly nice guys and they just want to speak freely and practice their English- so the class will look like 2 hours of "classroom" and then 2 hours going out to eat at all of the different restaurants in town. Sounds good to me! And I get paid $20 for an extra hour of overtime. Essentially... I'm getting paid to go on a double date every Monday night for 10 weeks. Haha... except no worries- I'm not interested. I'm sure many hours of fun are to come!

Yeah- my job is pretty sweet *^^*

My latest VLOG

A new look

I haven't had much time to mess around on my new computer (a MacBook Pro!). There are so many programs to have fun with! But that requires a lot of time. I do want to re-vamp my blog a little bit though. And this long weekend gives me a little bit of opportunity to do so.

Chuseok is upon us in Korea. Basically, Chuseok is South Korea's "Thanksgiving". Its a time to go back to the town you were born in, get together with family, and eat a lot of food! Everyone gets a 4 days weekend! Since most of the nation is traveling this weekend, I decided not to. Also, its raining... every single day calls for rain, which is GREAT! It gives me a chance to stay indoors and check things off of my list. :-)

Today I'm learning adjectives (in Korean)... that is this week's lesson. Perhaps I'll work on a video if I feel a little bit of inspiration. Even though it is raining, I find this weather quite charming! It allows me to do all of the things I've been meaning to do and now that I have my down comforter, nothing could be better that falling asleep with the window wide open, listening to the rain and enjoying the crisp 65 degree weather (20* C).

So, I'll just get back to it! Happy Chuseok everyone!

Can I compete with the blogging?

So, Marie totally has me beat on the blog-o-sphere! I bet once she starts teaching and gets a routine she'll putter out though... but I am enjoying her blogs very much! So, keep it up Marie! Eventually I'll get enough gumption to try to re-work my blog to make it look cooler. I'm hoping to get internet (my own that I don't steal from neighbors) next week. Hopefully that will make my online life much more accessible as well.

So a few thoughts from this week.

1. I still really like going to the gym... but tonight my legs don't like me for it. They just made very large posters of the trainers flexing their muscles in dramatic lighting... I'm trying to get up the courage to ask if they really have the abs that the posters show or if it is "touched up"

2. Old men that pull their pants up past their bellies make me giggle.

3. I visited my friend Heather in Seoul on Monday night and slept over. It was fantastic! The whole time I kept asking myself why I don't live there... the good news is that I have 3 days weekends and Heather said I can totally live with her whenever I want *^^* So, I may have more adventures in Seoul, depending on how life goes.

4. I bought another book to help me learn Korean and the classes at the YMCA start up again on Saturday... I can do this, I CAN do this. I CAN do THIS! Language learning is really hard :-(

5. There are many fruits in season right now and I'm pretty excited about that!

6. If you didn't hear, my little brother is getting married! This is quite exciting and I can't wait! Talk about a great part to get back to! July 21st is looking like the date, so I guess I'll see you (if you live in Wisconsin) then!

7. Another thing that continuously makes me giggle is picturing one of the guys that works out in the gym... he's a bit short (maybe 5'5") and is definitely body building. Today he had running shorts on and he must have gotten really hot, so he tucked them up and it looked much similar to a speedo. He then continued to keep flexing and looking at his bi-ceps... I kept looking to see if I could catch him kissing his muscles... didn't catch him this time though...

8. I was invited over to a couple from church's house. They live in the penthouse- top floor (13th) in their apartment. Roof top access, more rooms than they know what to do with, all of the latest appliances, flat screen TVs. He's a dentist. They have 2 children, one is a 4 year old boy who was butt naked when I arrived. The other is a little girl less than a year old. The little boy absolutely made my night when he and his father walked me down to my scooter and the boy said something in Korean... I picked up "Nuna" which is their polite way of calling an elder girl- it means big sister. I asked his father what the other word meant. Dad says, "He said you're really cool". Ah yes. I have arrived! The four year olds know how to recognize a good thing when they see it ;-)

School starts tomorrow! I'm pretty excited. My schedule is fantastic with Mondays off and I don't teach until 1:00 on Tuesdays. Yes- I love my job! *^^*

Joining the Gym

Its maybe one of the smartest moves on my part... I may or may not have gained about 5 pounds on my little trip home. This weekend I'll be going to the east sea and the beach (pray for good weather!) and well... lets just say toning up would be a good idea :-)

So my friend CareyAnn and I joined the gym (she is toning up hopefully for a wedding). We're great for each other because there's just that small bit of competition which makes us go harder and longer. 9 AM is aerobics class. The outfits that some of the ladies wear are hilarious! I couldn't keep a straight face today when a woman in her late 30's pranced in wearing black leg warmers, a tiny little skirt resembling a tutu a hot pink tank top and a matching pink and black hat. You can tell that much attention was given to wardrobe :-) The class is at a super fast pace... SUPER FAST and CA and I look ridiculous trying to keep up (fail). But I've never sweat so much in all my life I think! I can't wait to keep going, hopefully catch on to some of the moves and then maybe try out some of the more fun routines at the dance club ;-) So, for now I'm taking a break with hip hop, but I think this aerobics class will add to my dancing skills quite nicely :-D

Also, all of the male trainers at the gym are quite nice to look at... so that is the little bit of extra motivation I just might need some days.

I should be in tip top shape in no time! Now I just need to try to find me a pair of leg warmers!

Back to the second home

Well... I made it back to Korea safe and sound. I really do hate the 30 hour process of travel to get here though! I keep promising myself that someday I'll fly first class... someday :-/ The positive outlook on flying economy is that I don't sleep for the full 30 hours and so jet-lag isn't much of a problem. I just go to bed when it is the appropriate time when I get home and things seem to fall into place.

I have a new computer! (a Mac!) so I'll be exploring more options for blogging and making videos and all of that good stuff... I'm really sincerely hoping to update the blog more! If I don't, you can always remind me :-) Its nice to know that at least a couple of people are reading it and keeping up with my crazy little life!

Its nice that my sister is on this side of the world now too... it makes it so much easier to chat online when you are almost in the same time zone! <3 I have a feeling we will be chatting more often... at least until she makes a bunch of friends and forgets about me.

And now I'm off to lunch with my good friend CareyAnn... I'm due for some rice and kimchi! I haven't had either for a month and I think I'm probably in withdrawl!

How are you? 어떻게 지내

When you are a foreigner in Korea and you spend a little time with another foreigner you always ask "how are you?" But its not just a greeting when you're living in Korea. It is an honest question wanting an honest answer. And often we (foreigners) take the time to give an honest answer... sometimes vent a little bit.

Every foreigner has their stories of things that are bothering them in a foreign land... I can't stand the food, my boss is a jerk, I don't understand the traffic, I almost died! etc, etc.

I may have a story or two to tell of my own, but if you ask me this question I will say without abandon, I am fantastic! Perhaps I'm still "high" from last weeks unexpected contest win! (that was awesome!) But I think it mostly comes from the fact that I absolutely love where I am right now. There are of course angry moments while driving and confusing moments on the phone, also lonely moments in my little one room living space... but all in all- I'm great!

There are many reasons for this positive outlook.
1) I love my job! I sincerely love it! My students were (mostly) great. And I figure that the hardest part is behind me. I now have a better grasp of the curriculum and what is expected of me (I hope) and it should all be pretty downhill from here!
2) I really love living in a city. My city doesn't have a plethora of things to do... but let me tell you- my city of 600,000 has a leg up on the Village of Kewaskum.
3) In Korea I'm famous (See previous blogs)
4) In Korea people feed my ego (is that a good thing?)

But I think that #5 is the most important reason...
I believe that I am exactly where God wants me to be. There is such joy and peace in knowing that the path I am taking is not fully my own choosing but is in obedience to what I believe God has for me.

On that note... I studied Korean for 2 hours tonight and I'm hoping I'll be dreaming in Korean tonight. It is still slow going. My biggest problem is that I never practice speaking it. I'm pretty ok at reading it and listening, but when it comes to putting all of that into speaking terms... I'm lacking.

If you wouldn't mind I have two prayer requests:
1) That I would be more disciplined in learning Korean! Or that God would give me a supernatural gift of speaking in this foreign language :-p
2) I'm really wanting a new/ bigger apartment so that I can have guests/ entertain. I'm looking into a couple of possibilities and am hoping for some kind of favor in this area...

Thanks friends! I'll be home for a visit in just 4 weeks! I can hardly believe it!!! See you soon!!!

WE WON!

I can hardly believe it but we won the "All Together: Top Talent" contest hosted by Arirang TV, for our province! It really is quite unbelievable to me. CareyAnn and I entered the contest in order to do something different and challenge ourselves to memorize a Korean song... and now we won for our area! AAAHHHHH!

Yesterday was really exciting. It was a lot better than the first round of the contest. There were 10 competitors in this round and they had actual hosts and interview questions. It was really fun AND funny!

By some strange twist of fate our practice of the song in the morning was AWFUL... but when it came time for the contest we somehow rocked it! We were cute, and got through the entire song without a mistake! BUT the thing that really pushed us into the top spot was not us at all... it was the audience participation. There was an amazing group of ajummas (older women) in the back who were LOVING the song and they were dancing and going crazy! After we finished the Emcee asked the ladies to come down and teach us to dance the "ajumma dance" it was really funny! So, a little song, a little dance, and now CareyAnn and I are $1,500 richer and just a little more famous! :-) Video of the event to come soon! Here is the video for one of our practices in my room. Enjoy!

First Round

Well... we survived round one... at least the performance part. I'll let you know if we actually pass to round two (though I'm thinking we will). It was a slightly terrifying experience, yet fun... but mostly boring in the middle. There were 30 different people/ groups trying out. Some were good, some were not so good. CareyAnn and I got the audience going with our rocking guitar playing and cute smiling faces ;-) but we did happen to forget the third verse. We will be practicing a lot this week to make sure that doesn't happen next time!

Saturday night we had a potluck at the pastor's house while he was away visiting Canada. This was great fun! Then I stayed until 4 am chatting with two other friends while everyone else went home at 11pm. I guess I've been craving some good conversation. It continued the next day after we went to church, we went back to the pastor's house for more hang out. Fun!

This brings me to another valid point... I've been daydreaming lately about getting a bigger apartment. I am satisfied with my little one room and it does the job. It is comfortable, however... it is impossible to entertain! I've been dreaming of a loft apartment that my friend's Jena and Alan had last time we were here. It's only about one mile away from where I currently live... which would be slightly annoying in the winter... I would probably have to get a taxi to school or just leave really early... (or get a car?) but the idea of having a space to entertain is SOoooooo appealing! I was thinking about it so much that I actually had to pray about it and just say... well God- I know that you could make it happen... if its your will, you know what I want! Though I am going to try to do a little bit of finagling in mentioning the idea to my school that I would be willing to pay a little rent for a nicer place... we'll see how things pan out.

I'm sincerely hoping to blog a little more these days. Especially with summer school coming up and I'll finish teaching at noon! (I hope). So... here goes!
TTYL
Heidi

I'm (still) famous in Korea :-)

Its true... Korea allows me my dreams and greatest ambitions! :-) Tomorrow I will be in a singing contest. Or... maybe I will be auditioning for a singing contest... we haven't quite figured it out yet. BUT My friend CareyAnn and I have signed up for a song contest where foreigners (like myself) sing a Korean song. I've been spending the last two weeks memorizing and practicing a Korean song. This is VERY fantastic because that was one of my goals! The contest has pushed me to practice at least a little bit of Korean.

It is possible that tomorrow evening the TV station (Arirang) will be sending a camera crew to tape my friend and I at a potluck that we are having... background footage I guess. I say "it is possible" because I can never be quite sure how and what gets lost in translation. If there is one thing I know for sure, it is that you MUST MUST must be flexible when living in Korea.

Things are going really well for me. I am loving my life here and I cannot believe that the semester is already over!!! Exams are next week. I'm really proud of my students and how far they have come from day one. *^^* I'll be teaching a summer school course in "American Culture" which I think will be VERY fun... I'm quite excited for this change. Also I'll only have 16 names to memorize instead of 140... There are so many more things to tell, but I need to get to bed. It is 12:30 on Friday evening and I have Korean lessons in the morning.

Anyang!

Things I love in Korea

The other day I went out for a beer with my Korean friend Heather. In Korea when you go to a place to sit down and have a beer you also order food to go along with it. So, I was with Heather and her boyfriend and we ordered the BBQ salad platter, which was 7 "sausages" (mix between a brat and a hot dog) and a small side salad. It was rather tasty but I wasn't too hungry. We each tried a bottle of beer from different areas on the world (I chose a Heinekin) and then enjoyed some conversation. I learned the word for "cool" in Korean (Dae-bok) and was told to practice my pronunciation. :-) While we were sitting enjoying our sausages the man that was grilling brought us a nice plate of chicken wings and grilled shrimp... a service (free) for the foreigner. He continued to bring us a couple more shrimp and a roasted chestnut as well, all for free.

People wonder why I like Korea... some have asked if I hate America. No, I don't hate America... but let me tell you, America sure doesn't treat me as well as Korea! In Korea people consistently tell me I'm beautiful. They look at me with awe... or sometimes wonder. I'm pretty because my skin is pale. My blue eyes are extremely rare... If I try to speak Korean, even thought I'm HORRIBLE! I'm always given the thumbs up and told "good!" How could I not love Korea? Today I went to the bank to fix my information so I can wire some money home, and I was taken to the VIP section. :-) Yes indeed... in Korea, for some strange reason, I'm a VIP.

So, this posting is multipurpose... one- just so everyone knows, I love Korea. I really do. I'd love to have you come visit so you can love Korea too!

But secondly... as a foreigner in Korea I am treated with high honor and respect. Even though my Korean sucks, I'm consistently encouraged and people are always trying to be helpful to me. Korea knows how to treat foreigners.

How do you treat foreigners? When you run into someone who doesn't speak English perfectly, are you patient with them? Do you try to understand them? Do you try to help them learn? Are you kind? America is so different than Korea. Korea cares about others. (Not to make the huge generalization that America doesn't, but there is a HUGE lack!) One thing that really does bother me in America is that it is so ME focused... the general anthem is "I need to worry about me"... "gotta look out for Numbero Uno"... what's your attitude? Are you caring about others? Do you go out of your way to help? Or are you too busy with the tasks of everyday life to care?

When I'm lost in Seoul, numerous times I've asked for directions and instead of just telling me where or how, complete strangers go out of their way to SHOW me exactly where I need to go... they walk the extra mile to make sure that I get there safely. I can't think of a situation where I have done that.

Thank you Korea for loving me :-) I promise to return the favor :-)

I am active!

Hello all (most specifically Mrs. Roehrig who requested a new entry).

I haven't updated in a while for a couple of reasons. One is that there were a couple of activities that I can't post publicly for security reasons... If you want to know more please email me. And secondly... No excuse- I've just been lazy. :)

This weekend was full of activity and busyness. Saturday I went to an all day conference to learn more about teaching English in Korea. Some parts were a little boring but I'm glad I went and I got a lot of resources and tips that will help me. Throughout the day I also realized how lucky (blessed!) I am to have the position that I do. I'm so happy with my university position and how well we are treated by the staff that takes care of all the nitty-gritty stuff.

I'm excited to put into practice some of the things that I learned and use some of the website resources :)

On a different note I joined a hip hop dance class. It's a lot of fun and a great workout. I have a small fear that I will injure myself. I'm the oldest in the class (it's mostly high schoolers). But I am enjoying it! I'm unsure if I'll be able to post a video or not... ^^

Yesterday had it's own challenges with sports day with church. I wasn't going to go but then did. It was a hot sunny day. I think summer is officially here. Good thing I won a fan as a door prize for participating!

I'm off to tgi Fridays for lunch ( yes we have this in Korea!) it's brand new in my town. Every now and then I crave western food... Which generally is unhealthy. Hope you're well! Blessings to you :)

a visit to my mind

I haven't posted in a while. I tend to do that... get lazy with my postings. So, I have no direct path of thought to take you on today- instead we'll just take a little glimpse into my mind...

Tonight I took the bus. It was packed. I was the only white person (foreigner) on the bus. I didn't mind.

Drunk people are tolerated way too much in Korea! One of the men on the bus was definitely drunk. He reeked like Soju. I wouldn't have stood near him.

I am going to start going to Hip Hop dance class. This is something I've always wanted to do (maybe my whole life!)... mostly I'm just too cheap- but now I'm raking in the dough... so... I hope it whips me into shape real fast! Until then... my back is a bit sore from all that body rolling.

One thing that we should implement into the American University system is "membership training". Everyone from the same major spends a weekend together eating, hiking, eating more, drinking but BEST OF ALL... performing! All the the freshman have to endure this type of hazing by being required to perform in front of the upperclassmen. Boys wear dresses and do choreographed dances. It's great team building :-)

For once in my life I am beautiful simply because I am pale. This is a strange phenomena for a westerner. We spend tons of money with fake tanning beds, lotions, bronzers, blush... but in Korea it is the other way around- skin bleaching creme. I will not partake in the bleaching, but lets face it- I don't need it. My mother has always commented on how pale I am and that I should do something about that... now I shouldn't... unless of course I want to stop receiving so much attention ;-) Yes, these days it pays to be pale.

Thats about all of my random thoughts for the evening. Love to you all!
H

Ten random facts

My latest Video. A little random from my life. AND a fun Korean birthday drink tradition that I will not be partaking of in October...

Korean Orphanage

Yesterday I went to a Korean orphanage. I had no expectations going in, which is a good thing.

We were only there for about 2 hours and mainly provided activities and our love and friendship for that time. In Korea, the orphanages are state run and well provided for (from my understanding). Please don't count me an expert on Korean orphanages because I only have this two hour experience to draw from. This particular orphanage had children from age 5-18 and it was very clean. They had a nice library, a piano, a kitchen and cafeteria. There were a couple of dogs chained up next to the playground and a cat running around.

Our group of about 20 (15 foreigners and 5 Koreans) were split into five different groups soccer, badminton, cooking, drawing and Word/Picture matching. No one is too keen on the word/picture matching so I decided to go over to that section. The kids already knew all of the words on the cards (mouse, cat, dog, boy, girl, sky, etc) and what can you really do with flashcards? So after one round of shouting out "what is it?" we moved onto find who has the pair and then I had had enough of the cards. So... I taught them egg, chicken, dinosaur (extreme rock paper scissors if you will) and then I taught them "Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky"... it was a HUGE hit! The person who got hit had to sing or dance and sit in the middle. There was one particular boy who would dance for the others when they were too shy.

All in all it was a good experience. I forget that its the "Korean way" for kids to hit each other (and hard!) so that was a little surprising for myself and Michelle (a girl from British Jersey) when it didn't bother the adult Korean worker that was with us. Meanwhile we kept telling them to play more gently and to not hit each other! But before and after the activities the kids would latch onto your hand and not let go. I had one girl lead me around for about 20 minutes telling me many things in Korean and I just nodded and smiled and said "Molayo" (I don't know) a lot.

My church goes once a week to this orphanage and I will probably join in. I'll definitely need some more games and songs though!

I've also been thrust into being on the worship team as well as leading at my church.


I don't mind...but it is stretching! So... there are many exciting things to come :-)

In Korea, I'm a star!

This is what I've missed... just had one of those moments that I've missed while spending time in America. In America- everyone knows someone that I look like or remind them of... not a bad thing- apparently there are many "me's". But in Korea- I'm a star!

I was walking home from the grocery store (yep, I walk EVERYWHERE) and a little boy just got off of his bus, most likely coming home from his English Hagwon (private school). He saw my face and stopped dead in his tracks just to make sure to say "Hello!" Meanwhile, he almost got ran over by the guy on the bike coming from the other way. I don't enjoy the fact that there have been times that people have ran into poles or almost got into car accidents because they find the need to stare at me... but I do like being a star!

A message to Korea, please be careful when you stare! Remember that there is still a world going on around you ;-)

A couple of cultural OOPSIES!

I've had a few cultural oopsies! My first was my first grocery shopping. The total was 87,000 Won. (about $85). When she told me the total I instinctively handed her the 7,000 and then 4 of the large green bills. In my head I was thinking these were $20's... but she repeated the total and looked at me expectingly. It took me a full 30 seconds to figure out that the greens at 10's not 20's! Whoops!

Second... public transportation. I decided to take the bus. I have an idea of which number bus to take and generally where it goes- just not sure which side of the street to catch it on. SO- I choose and hope for the best. It began the right way... got me closer to my destination- I was getting excited... and then it turned. I decided that since my destination was only a half mile away I'd get out at the next stop and just walk instead of riding the bus around for too long. Wasn't quite sure which button to press to open the back door to get off- so I did what no one else does and asked the driver if I could please get off at this middle of nowhere stop. He looked very concerned for me, but kindly complied.

On my way home I knew exactly which bus to catch and also on which side of the street. It was 6pm however and I guess it is a very popular route. I got on, claimed my standing spot. No problem. Next stop- about 10 more people got on and only 2 got off. Next stop had a line of about 15 people wanting on to the crowded bus and only 4 got off... by the third stop we were packed to the maximum and the bus driver was actually yelling at the old men that were trying to push their way in. It was interesting to observe. I made it to my stop though and all is well that ends well. :-)

I got my alien card today which is VERY good news! This means that I can get a bank account and a cell phone! Its been interesting living without a cell phone. I'm sure it will be much easier once I have a way to get a hold of me :-)

I've also almost completely finished my cleaning spree in my apartment... pictures and video to come soon (I hope)!

The exciting beginning!

It is all very surreal moving to a different land, a new world. Its not so different because I have been here before. Everything is very comfortable. People are (mostly) kind. I enjoy it. The weather is a bit nicer than in the mid-west right now. I will probably have to buy a spring jacket soon (I only have my winter coat for now). I have a list of about 15 things I would like to buy, included on this list are a microwave, a bike, a mirror and scissors.

Currently I'm waiting for the apartment management to come take a look at a few things I would like fixed in my apartment. On that list is the bathroom fan, bathroom sink (which doesn't like to drain), a moldy wallpapered wall (just needs replacing) and perhaps something done about the stinky mildewy balcony (I have a feeling I'll be fixing this myself).

My first day teaching was today. It was great! I think my students are going to like me very much. Its so great to be in this culture where there is a hierarchy of respect. I'm a professor, I'm at the top. Do you know how amazing it is to come into a classroom and have your students bow when they say hello and again when they say goodbye?! I LOVE it! Also, CareyAnn informed me that if ever I needed help with anything all I have to do is ask the students and they don't question... they just do. Mmmmmm life is grand!

I'm a sucker... I let my classes all go to the maximum capacity. This will surely come back to bight me in the butt later when I have to correct homework and exams. Ahhhh... such a softy I am! I think I signed about 10-15 waivers allowing extra students into my classes. :-)

English Conversation Level 1 is what I will mostly be teaching. The challenge comes in the fact that the students are pretty shy and don't like to talk in class... which is the point of the class! CONVERSATION!!! So... this will be a continual challenge I think, but lucky for them I'm very talkative and don't mind making a fool out of myself. *^^*

Yesterday was pretty bad with Jet-Lag. Woke up at 5 AM and couldn't get back to sleep, which made for a very long day. But luckily I was only in my office and at meetings. Apparently I did well and didn't seem too out of it (though I sure felt it!) Today I woke up at 6:30 so it wasn't quite as harsh. After the intro class for the two classes I had today, I went to immigration to apply for my alien card. I got REALLY lucky and only had to wait 20 minutes! The other teachers had to wait over 2 hours when they went!

Tonight. Shopping. :-) It feels good to be out on my own again.

Waiting just a little longer...(March 4)

Finally on my way! I remember the night I got the email offering me the job and how anxious I was thinking “oh my goodness! I only have two weeks!” Well… due to time for paperwork processing, two weeks turned into three, and really- two weeks would have been enough! Now I’m stressed about missing that first week of classes and having to jump into week two teaching a book I’ve never seen and a class I’ve never taught. But my friend CareyAnn reassures me that the book is very self explanatory and quite simple to teach.

So now, here I sit at the airport with a wait of 5 hours… though now only 2 more hours left until boarding. My flight leaves at 1 AM and I have a 14 hour direct flight from Chicago to Seoul. Then a two hour bus ride, a short taxi ride and I should arrive at my new “home”… for now just a little “hole in the wall”… but it’s my hole!  I’m sure in no time at all I’m sure it will be quite homey.

I didn’t quite manage to stay under my weight limit for my bags and had to pay a $50 overage… though at this point money doesn’t really matter so much anymore… I just want to get there! 16 hours and I shall say ANYANG KOREA!

Meanwhile I have the entire lobby of people to entertain me for the next 2 hours. There is one fantastic man who I am convinced is going to Korea just for the hip hop culture… its something about the way he is jamming with his headphones by himself… in the middle of the lobby. I instantly like him. I also think the little boy three seats down needs a diaper change… I sure as heck hope its not me that smells this way! *^-^*

I will surely miss this... all!

It just hit me that there are indeed things I will miss... like CHEESE (!) Being a proper Wisconsinite I do love cheese, and though it can be found in Korea it is pretty expensive! Mexican food... my soul food... you shall be missed as well.

BUT MOST OF ALL... I will definitely miss my friends and family. Its hard to remember how miserable I was for the first 8 months in Wisconsin, but the last 8 have been amazing! Getting involved with Youth Group, Worship Team, Missions... made me a very busy girl but it gave me so much joy!

I am so incredibly blessed to have such an amazing church family! And... to all of my "family" reading- you can rest assured that I also have an amazing church family waiting for me in Korea. I don't know what I would do without the love and support of my family around the world!

The Lord has blessed me in so many ways! I am so excited for this next step in the journey. I sincerely thank YOU for being a part of this crazy adventure and hope that I can be as much of an encouragement to you as you have been to me.

My heart is simply full.

THANK YOU

Great things

I once heard someone say "Following God's vision will take you to difficult places to do great things".

This is my hope. :) Though I know that being in a difficult place will not be fun. I just read Psalm 13 and realize this will probably be an anthem for me.

It begins with a desperate cry, "How long oh Lord? Will you forget me forever?" but ends with joy, "But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord for He has been good to me."

A few steps into the dream...

About two years ago I started looking for a new dream. Or perhaps I was looking for a dream in general. I found myself once again at the beginning. That dreaded stage that every high school graduate, college bound young adult, and college graduate goes through more times than they care for… the dreaded “now what” stage. I had my degree and even a year of teaching overseas under my belt, but this couldn’t be it. I knew that I wanted more. The word “career” scares me and the “American Dream” is more like a nightmare in my eyes. I wanted something bigger.

I found myself at the “now what” stage of my life for at least the eighth time. I was in a coffee shop in Korea. It was “my” shop that I went to almost daily. I was reading my bible and praying “now what”. Should I re-sign for another year in Korea, or go back to school? The reason for a sixth year of schooling… a road toward missions. So lets rewind to the steps that led to this dream...

My Junior year of college we had a visit from the traveling team. They go around speaking to different University groups talking of the need for missions to the least reached. At that time Asia was put on my heart. I just found my journal entry from that day, April 13, 2005.

“My heart has really been opened up to missions… especially becoming a missionary. Whoa! That’s scary. The traveling team came and talked about the 10-40 window and being a world Christian. I get excited when I think of all of the possibilities. Seriously! It’s crazy how things could potentially fall into place.

At first I was thinking… ‘but I thought God was calling me into teaching’. And truth is that He was. This path opened up the next door into ESL and all of the possibilities. Much of the work on the mission field revolves around teaching. So that is exactly where God wants me.

Lord, please continue to reveal yourself to me. I have no idea what my future holds, but I give it all up to you. Help me to not hold onto anything and not look back. I trust fully in you. Create in me a clean heart and a steadfast spirit.”

A little later at a Campus Crusade for Christ Christmas conference they gave a call to missions. The idea is that young adults, especially college students, change the world. If 100 or 200 college students would dedicate just one year of their lives to overseas missions imagine the effect! So, I signed the card- fully intending to one day make good on that commitment to one year of overseas missions. December 2005 journal entry:

“Giving of myself to overseas missions. I’m scared… I’m terrified! But I’m willing and excited!

I have vowed to give at least a year of my life to full time service for God and the Kingdom. And I will fulfill it”

I had no plan of when this commitment would take effect. I still had to finish college, and then pay off debts. But don’t get me wrong, I was very serious about this decision. I just wasn’t sure when it would be fulfilled.

So- fast forward to my graduation (2007). I decided to teach overseas. Many people were confused because I was going to South Korea, Asia, that perhaps this was a missions type thing. Often I got the pat on the back and the “good for you, I just think what you are doing is great”. Most of the time I set them straight; “Sorry to disappoint you but this is just a nice paying job. Korea is possibly a more Christian nation than the US.” I was going because the money was good and I was too lazy to do all the paperwork and jump through the hoops of trying to find a job in Wisconsin.

Now, fast forward again, back to the coffee shop in Korea, my coffee shop. I was again utterly confused on where my life should go or even what I wanted. I had a nice job. I was able to pay off at least half of my debts- one more year would put me in the black. But I was at a point of decision. I had to make my decision and make it fast. If I was staying another year the contract needed to be signed and if I was going to school, I had to figure out where and how much it would cost.

I come now to a moment in my life that I really feel the Lord spoke clearly to me. I wish that this happened everyday or at least for every big decision! But alas, this was the clearest I’d ever heard from God. It was one of those, “I’m going to open my bible and just start reading… speak to me through this,” moments. I don’t suggest this as your only way of reading the bible, but in this moment it worked. For where my eyes landed was Ecclesiastes 5:4, “When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.” And that was all I needed to know that I should pursue missions.

I wasn’t yet ready to just pack up and head to some God-forsaken land in hopes to bring them Good News. I had never been educated in a Christian school. I had my church and camp experiences since I was three, and a two week training at Summit Ministries, but I really felt that I needed something more if I was honestly going to pursue this path. So, I Googled “Best Missions Colleges” and along with an option in England I found Bethany College of Missions.

The greatest appeal of BCOM for me was that they had a one year program, it was close to home (in MN), close to where my sister was going to school (one hour) and they offered a 16 month overseas internship. Perfect! Badda-bing, badda-boom… I could get my training and my commitment finished in one quick sweep and pick up another degree to boot! This looked like the best option, so after completing my year in Korea I headed home for a few months, took a quick trip to Europe for the Christmas season and then packed up for a year in Minnesota.

I won’t go into full detail at this time, but lets just say that BCOM was EXTREMELY challenging. I was living in the dorms at a very small very strict school at age 25 and it wasn’t really the life style that I longed for. Plus, I was very stressed out about money because the Korean Won value had dropped significantly since my return- and all of my money was in Won! As time went on I continually questioned this decision to attend BCOM and even more questioned whether or not the internship would be a good fit for me. I came to a conclusion that it was NOT and so once again I found myself in the “now what” phase.

So I again turned to God, begging and pleading for some kind of help. A door, a window, an answer… anything to point me in the right direction! Once more I turned to a time of asking and seeking and knocking. This time I put aside an entire week of fasting and praying and asking God… “now what”. God was so faithful to answer once again! In this week that I put aside for seeking, God answered with multiple pushes in the direction I should go. Here is an email conversation I had with my mom during that week.

July 7,2009

Hey mom-

I just want to let you know what’s going on in my head.

The likeliness of going back to Korea is looking better. For a couple of reasons.
1) I need to get rid of my debt. I don't have much and a year would definitely finally put me ahead I think.
2) My heart is being drawn more to Korea. Part of that came from visiting CareyAnn and then watching this Korea drama. I miss Korea a little bit.
3) I thought this morning that I would really like to go somewhere that I already have some friends... I'm sick of always going to new places and having to start completely from scratch.
4) I have job security
5) I don't need to raise support for it.
6) As I was praying about it pretty much all day yesterday, a girl came up to me and said that she had been praying about going to Korea and wanted someone to go with... so was I considering ever going back? I don't know the actual likeliness of her going but it kind of shocked me (I had no idea that is what she wanted to talk to me about!) And I literally was thinking about it all day long. I don't want to necessarily call this confirmation from God... but it was a big push in that direction.

I'm sure there are more reasons... so anyway, just please be in prayer for me. And you can let me know what you think, or if God gives you any insight on the matter.

Love you lots! I hope that you had a good day and aren't too tired.
Your daughter,

Heidi

(from mom- July 8)

A good word from good old Eli, "Speak Lord for your servant is listening." Enjoy listening today! And keep listening until you know you've heard. Look for a confirmation in His Word.

July 8,2009

lol- what would a confirmation in His word look like in this case?

I have had 8 instances this week of things encouraging me towards Korea. I am just waiting for one more :-) I'll let you know.

<3

Heidi

MOM- July 9

That's cute. You've had 8 and are waiting for just 1 more. Our God is a patient God and I'm told He has a sense of humor. He would have to with us dumb sheep.

I seem to like lists... so I'll let you know the things that have encouraged me that going back to Korea is the direction I should go.

1)It started with visiting CareyAnn and remembering the good times I had, started thinking about Korea more and missing it a little bit.

2) Watching the Korean drama increased my longing to go back

3) One of the girls came to talk to me on Monday about going back to Korea... asked if I would ever consider going back.

4) My friend Via emailed me with two contacts (randomly) of people- one in Korea, one going to Korea- wanting to get us all connected.

5)Aimee randomly emailed me telling me she was reminiscing of Korea

6) This was the biggest encouragement... the speaker in chapel today is living in NE China and works delivering relief to North Koreans. His wife is Korean and he lived in Korea for a while to learn the language so that someday if He gets into Korea, he will really be able to minister to them. I can see this as a possibility for my life in the future.

I was reminded of my dream- and my friend Via gave me some good insight on it. She said that sometimes when she has had dreams where a parental role is involved it is connected to a leadership role in a ministry. My dream was taking in 4 children from China. Then at the end of my dream I was climbing over the fence from China to what was Korea in my mind... but it didn't make sense because I thought it was South Korea (completely negating of North Korea-geographically impossible)- but now my heart has been turned on a little more to North Korea. I do believe that something big will happen in the next 5 years. I don't know what that big thing is, but either way -the Lord Reigns!

So it was a week in July that I was encouraged in this direction… but we should rewind a little bit to the dream that I talked about. It was a couple of weeks before on June 30^th , 2009 that I had a dream. Now, I dream every now and then and remember the weird scenarios or crazy situations, but this dream was different. It was a case where the dream had nothing to do with anything that I had been reading or talking about- it was completely random. It was also different in the sense that I remember all of it when I woke up. I remembered all of the crazy details and so I wrote it down. Why not… if anything maybe it would be entertaining in the future. So- to clue you in… here it is:

I had a dream last night that we (my family) were adopting 4 children from China. Most of the dream took place in America (West Bend) but in the end I was back in China.

There were four children and we had to go pick them up from the embassy, or the queen’s house or something. We went to hang out a bit first. Then I gave them snacks that I had found in my dad’s shed. Looking around there were 4 different kinds of popsicles and then Famous Amos Cookies.

The oldest child was a girl and it was her birthday, she was 9. I gave her some cookies to share. My mom and sister arrived. Then we were at a festival of sorts. It reminded me of Mardi Gras. We saw my dad there on a balcony. Then the children had to go to some office to get analyzed, talk about their experience and draw pictures. I planned to meet my mom and sis at home. I started walking. On the way I called my friend Jessica, but lost the signal in the woods. Actually, I couldn’t remember the way to get home (or at least the shortest way) so I stopped by the Fechter’s home. They were having a large gathering with a lot of people around the table. They thought that I showed up to be fed, but I only wanted directions. Then Jessica showed up an offered to drive me home. We went on this long crazy path through the woods that started out really grey and dull, almost like a winter scene with a light dusting of snow, but as we got further the trees that had been along the path began to get further away and it turned very green, almost like a golf course. We arrived at my mom’s house and my mom and sister and the children were already there, choosing rooms.

After that somehow I ended up back in China, on the Great Wall in fact. I was meeting with the oldest child we had adopted and she was showing me the picture that she drew. She gave me some pocky cookie sticks. I had to go across the border (into maybe Korea?) I had just climbed over the fence and a little later the guard came but it just looked like we were visiting through the fence so everything was ok. Then we parted ways and the dream was over.

I really paid little attention to this dream at first, but as time went on and other things started to point me back toward Asia, I took further notice of my dream. As time has continued this dream has become a large part of MY DREAM. I do not know exactly how this dream will progress, but here is the skeletal plan.

February 9, 2011-

I receive an email congratulating me on a job offer for a position in CheongJu, Korea. This is the city that I used to live in and the job that I really wanted. It is a fantastic job that I am not technically qualified for but Thank God that I received (albeit a little late). For the last week and a half I have been busting my butt to get paperwork together. I have spent more money on shipping and expediting than I would care to mention. The job is at a University teaching English to College students. The contract is for 15 teaching hours a week any teaching time over that will be paid at $20 an hour. I have at least 8 weeks of paid vacation and a studio apartment paid for. What I am most excited about is the vacation time though. I would not be able to accept a job in Korea at this time if I did not have the time to come home and visit. I have very much treasured my time at home with my family and have grown to love them more and more! I am so thankful that I had this year to live at home (yep- living with my dad at age 27) and just hang out and enjoy their company! I have to say that I will miss it dearly.

Oh wait- to continue in the skeletal plan… I’m hoping to teach at this University for 2 years while learning Korean. The Korean language is not an easy one to pick up! I can read it so far, but other than survival foods and directions, I can’t communicate in this language yet.

After, hopefully, learning Korean I plan to move somewhere else in Asia to finally fulfill my vow to the Lord! After 2 years of working and learning Korean I want to finally get out into the “mission field” and work with North Korean refugees. We will see how the Lord directs me in this. He has given me a heart that loves Justice. I want to see the people of North Korea liberated. Like I said in my email… I believe that there will be big changes in the next five years, and I hope to be a part of it!

So that… is the beginning of the dream. I am so thankful that I have found a passion and a dream and that I am not ignoring it but going full speed ahead! I pray that God will continue to guide me, that I will have no part in greed or selfishness and that I will in fact have a role in very big things in the future. If you made it to the end- thanks for reading! I can’t wait to add another chapter!

Update coming soon!

Seeing as I told people about my blog I figured I better at least say something new! Things are progressing slowly for a while- but if all goes well I should be headed to Korea in about 10 days! Lets hope things go well. :-)

The next post will be the beginnings of my journey to this point...
Come back soon!