"The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear."

Brace yourselves. This is one long and random blog, but I figure that since I haven't written in three months, I am allowed long and random :)

Seth visited my private, all girls' school in October. My girls told him he was handsome multiple times, and one student insisted that he looks like Winnie the Pooh. What they really wanted to know from him was . . . "Do you like Anna?" "Do you love Anna?" "Do you think Anna is beautiful?" "What are Anna's best personality traits?" "When did you first kiss?" "When did you last kiss?" "When will you have a baby?" But the question that topped them all was, "If you were born again, would you love Anna?" And the statement that topped them all was, "Anna your husband is getting more handsome." It's been about six weeks since he visited, and they are still asking me where he is and why he isn't at our school.

Seth with my girls

The mountains are a sea of brown in the fall. I didn't find the colors to be nearly as striking as they are in Minnesota, but a few trees are brilliant reds and yellows.

Seongju Girls' High School

Daegu

"We are the best EPIKers!" This was the slogan for the EPIK trip we were selected to attend because of good performance. My memory of the trip is tainted with limited images of a bus.

Except for this stunning temple hidden in the mountains amongst stone towers, the bus is really all I remember.

Miasan Temple

Maurice made an outstanding Kenyan dinner for a huge group of friends this October. We were all very impressed with his cooking skills.

Maurice's Kenyan dinner . . . yummy . . .

This gorgeous summit of Gayasan graces our humble work town of Seongju. We spent a Saturday hiking it with our American friends, Ben and Lilli. This hike made me realize how out of shape I am . . . I really miss those 5k races.

at the summit of Gayasan

My girls performed so well during the school festival. They displayed artwork, sold handmade crafts, cooked snacks, and had a choir contest.

two of my middle school 3rd grade students wearing traditional Korean clothing - Hanbok

We celebrated Thanksgiving in Andong with our American friends, Danny and Katy. There were about 40 foreigners at this potluck. There wasn't a turkey, but there was ample amounts of other delicious food including mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie (for those of you who like that stuff).

Thanksgiving potluck

Seth celebrated his 25th birthday in Korea! It was an all day extravaganza. We had Maurice over for brunch, movies, and Wii. Then we met a group of 14 friends for dinner and games at the game club.

The sparklers make the cake!


Today is December 23rd, and so far we have had only one snowfall :( It was beautiful while it lasted, but it vanished quickly. The students went bonkers throwing snowballs. It rarely snows in our area of Korea. I can't believe we won't have a white Christmas . . .

I love snow!!!

Through changes and challenges in the past few months, I’ve learned three things in new ways. God is gracious. God gives abundant blessings. God has an excellent plan for our lives.

Note: At any point when I say “winter vacation,” I do not really mean vacation. I think vacation in Korea means “different schedule” because the students don’t actually get vacation. They simply have a different schedule during this time period. One of my co-teachers has to teacher 120 hours during his “vacation!”

Filled with apprehension, we tried to plan our winter vacation. If I haven’t already told you, it’s extremely hard to plan ahead in Korea. My sister-in-law, Laura, said that she assumed Koreans would be very structured and organized. The opposite is true. Things continually change at the last minute here. A whole class will randomly not show up, and a teacher will come in ten minutes late to tell you that the students have tests all day. At 4:30 in the afternoon, you will be told that all of the teachers are going to dinner together after work. You will be asked to sing on the spot; you will be told that it’s school picture day the second before the picture, you will be asked if you are going to sign another contract on the spot and an immediate decision is expected, etc.

Because of the lack of planning, it can be very stressful to try to plan a vacation. Nearly five times, different teachers attempted to get me to change my vacation days so that I could teach an English camp, but I put my foot down and did not give in to their pleadings. The outcome, after much fret and through God’s grace, is that my co-teacher gave me SEVEN WEEKS of vacation!! I can’t even begin to explain how grateful I am! Compare that to the five DAYS I got for summer. This news has rejuvenated my spirit. I am still boggled that I will have so much time off!

We have been in Korea for 10 months, and previous to this winter break that we are expecting, we had five days of vacation. We have not gotten to travel like so many of our friends. I was feeling quite jealous of all of the unique experiences our friends have had traveling to China, Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, Turkey, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, etc. During the peak of my aggravation, God clearly showed me why we haven’t traveled yet. Instead of taking frequent small trips like we had originally planned, He had a far better trip in mind for us.

This winter we will be going on a two week vacation to Kenya with our friend Maurice! I am now so glad that we have not done any other traveling. Like many have told us, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We could not have handpicked a better place to spend our vacation time.

We will get to spend two fun weeks with our
good friend. He will be there to guide us through his home territory. We will have the opportunity to experience a culture that is so different from American and Asian culture, and we will get to more countries than we had ever planned!

We have not set our itinerary in stone yet, but the hope is to have a layover in either Dubai or Istanbul. Some of the things on our “to experience list” are . . .

explore Tanzania, stop in Uganda, go on a safari, explore the Serengeti, hike around Mt. Kilimanjaro, venture into the 2nd biggest slum in the world, tour Nairobi, go to the coffee plantations at Thika in Maurice’s home town, meet Maurice’s family, friends, and home church, go to a Kenyan soccer or rugby game, tour a Kenyan school, sunbathe on the beaches of Mombasa, relax at Lake Victoria, see the Big Five of Africa, tease a baboon with a banana, eat fresh picked pineapple and bananas, tour mosques (I think there were a few other things on the list . . . ). Can we do it all in two weeks? Probably not but there's always room to dream. Our friendship with Maurice and this amazing opportunity are proof of God’s grace, blessings, and plan.

We have one other piece of big news to share with you . . . We just signed another teaching contract. We will stay in Korea until August 25, 2011, another eight months. We decided to stay because . . .

We have more to experience in Korea. We aren’t ready to leave yet.
We have great friends and great jobs.
We make good money.
We have a small ministry here.
We are growing in our relationship with each other and our relationship with Christ.
We could save a significant amount of money and get amazing opportunities to travel.
We desire to see our students English ability improve even more.
We aren’t sure what we will do when we go home.
Our families have more chances to visit us!

And so on . . .

Currently, it is two days ‘til Christmas! We’ve been using every means possible to get into the Christmas spirit, but it’s a little more challenging to summon it here in Korea. Why? The most important aspect of Christmas is obviously not the superficial things. The most important characteristic of Christmas is Christ’s birth, and that can and is celebrated across the world in all situations and circumstances. It’s silly that I miss the superficial things so much. This holiday season will be different in many ways this year.

Some things that I will miss . . .

family, snow, ample amounts of Christmas decorations, contagious Christmas spirit, traditional Christmas cookies, Christmas carols on every radio station, Christmas movies all over TV, and real Christmas trees.

These songs have given me many moments of nostalgia. Before I could only imagine how these lyrics truly resonated with others, but now, I empathize with every verse.

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten, and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white"

These lyrics remind me of “Narnia” just outside our backdoor, taking the sled to Mom’s work on Christmas Eve while bellowing out Christmas carols on the snow covered road. Face washes from my brothers, snow angels, catching snowflakes on my tongue, the crunch of snow as I trample over it with my bulky winter boots, and Sandy leaping through the snow like a rabbit.

"When you're still waiting for the snow to fall
It doesn't really feel like Christmas at all

Those Christmas lights
Light up the street
Down where the sea and city meet
May all your troubles soon be gone
Oh, Christmas lights, keep shining on

Those Christmas lights Light up the street
Maybe they'll bring her back to me
Then all my troubles will soon be gone
Oh, Christmas lights, keep shining on

Those Christmas lights
Light up the street
Light up the fireworks in me
May all your troubles soon be gone
Those Christmas lights, keep shining on"

These lyrics remind me of our candle-light Christmas Eve services and singing Silent Night, the Holiday of Lights, fighting with my parents about putting up colored Christmas lights rather than plain white, decorating the Christmas tree and making sure that Sandy could see her Christmas bulb, sitting around the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve and reading the story of Christ’s birth, and the joy that the sparkling lights bring.

"I'll be home for Christmas
You can count on me
Please have snow and mistletoe

And presents on the tree
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love-light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams"

This is a reminder to my family and friends to enjoy their time together, the snow, and the Christmas spirit for us! Even though I won’t physically be home for Christmas, my heart will be there.

Some things I that make it feel like Christmas in Korea . . .

family in Christ, friends, chocolate-covered peanut butter Ritz crackers (thanks Brittany! Although peanut butter and baking chocolate are ridiculously expensive, those Christmas "cookies" are one of the few things I can make without an oven. They have been a contributing factor to spreading the Christmas spirit), dollar store decorations, Christmas music, watching Elf with my students, Christmas Eve church service, getting to spend Christmas with my husband, the anticipation of Apryl coming to visit on December 27th!

Although I will be missing home, I am excited for our Christmas plans. We have to work on Christmas Eve; Christmas isn’t nearly as extravagant in Korea as it is in the good ol' U.S. of A. After work, we are going to the Christmas Eve service at our Korean church. I will recite Isaiah 53: 5-6, “He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

After the service we are having a Christmas Eve party in our itty-bitty apartment. We are going to eat Christmas “cookies," watch Christmas movies, and play games. Then Seth and I will spend Christmas day ALONE :) It's atypical of me to be excited about having no plans for Christmas, but we are endlessly hanging out with friends here (which we love). I want to wake up late, make brunch, open presents, read, play Super Mario Bros., read, play board games, watch a movie, and read. I don’t know if we will even leave the house!

The best Christmas gift I will receive this year is my sister coming to visit!!!!! I can’t wait to spend some quality girl time with her and to share our Korean life with her. I’ll definitely be writing a blog about her visit.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our beloved family and friends!

Love, Anna 애나