Good things

Weekends are always so refreshing.  And they come so fast, too!  This past weekend was filled with lots of fun things.  On Friday night, Tim and I went out to eat at one of our favorite Italian places and then went to Noraebong (Korean karaoke)!  We had so much fun!  You get your own private singing room, so you can sing whatever songs you want, and not worry about people judging you!  I like to sing all the slow, jazzy songs and the power ballads.  Tim sings lots of different stuff like Green Day, Jason Mraz, Maroon 5, Seal, Evanescence, and the Beatles!  He's really good!  We paid for one hour of singing, and then got an extra 45 minutes of singing for free!  What a blast.

On Saturday, we went to the Suwon Fortress Wall.  We had been there two times already, but it is absolutely one of our favorite places.  We packed some snacks for a mini picnic, and had fun walking the wall and talking.  We have now been there in the Fall, Winter, and Spring, and it has been beautiful in every season!  One part of the wall overlooks some tennis courts, so we stopped to watch people play for awhile.  Tim really misses coaching and playing tennis, and I really miss watching it!  It is prime Girls Tennis season back home right now, and we both wish we could be there for it.  The sound of rackets hitting tennis balls was music to our ears! :)  One of the best parts of the afternoon was when we saw one of Tim's students!  We were walking towards him and his parents, and all of a sudden he recognized Tim.  He shouted, "Timothy!!" and then ran up to hug Tim.  It was so adorable that it hurt my heart!  He didn't really know what to do or say because it's always weird to see your teacher in public.  But it made our day!

On Sunday, we got up early to commute to church because we didn't stay in Seoul this weekend.  But thankfully, the week before, we discovered a different bus that got us home from Seoul MUCH quicker than our other bus.  So we tried it on the way to church, and it was....drumroll please....one hour and 20 minutes total travel time!  That includes walking and transferring to another bus!  That takes a good 40 minutes off of our travel time.  40 minutes!!  We were really excited, and a little irked that we are just now finding out about this bus.  Oh well!  Anyway, church was great.  In Sunday School, we just started a new Bible study on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, and I think it's going to be really good.  After Sunday School, we had a picnic in the park with our friends, and the weather was gorgeous!  We still haven't hit the 70 degree mark yet (and it doesn't look like we will for a while still), but I could feel the heat from the sun, and it was wonderful!  My little Sunday afternoon nap in the park was perfect!

Tim and I are so thankful for all of the good things in our life.  God has taken care of us this year, and more than that, has poured out so many good things on us.  It makes thinking about the future less daunting, knowing that God has, and will continue to take care of us.

Us at the Suwon Fortress Wall.

Part of the wall.  Always beautiful.

The prettiest of trees on the campus of Yonsei University, where our church is located.

Our friends at the Sunday picnic.

Cherry Blossom Festival

After we got back from our island trip over the weekend, Tim and I went to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Seoul.  I had been looking forward to this for a long time!  It was beautiful!  I think Anne of Green Gables would have called it "The White Way of Delight." :)  We went in the evening, so some of the trees were lit up with different colored lights.  Spring is finally here!

Island Hopping Weekend!

This past weekend, Tim and I traveled to Seonyudo Island, an island off the western coast of Korea.  We went with a tour group called Adventure Korea, which offers lots of weekend trips to foreigners throughout the year.  Early on Saturday morning, we took a 3 hour bus ride down to the western coast, and then an hour and a half ferry ride to the island.  Seonyudo Island is really unique because it is connected to three other islands by bridges.  There are no vehicles allowed on the island, so biking is a great way to explore!  On Saturday we biked all around the islands and went on some hiking trails that we found.  It was a sunny day, but not as warm as we had hoped it would be.  But we had so much fun!  Sunday we learned how to catch shellfish and saw what they call the "Moses Miracle."  It is an area of land that is covered by water when the tide is in, but completely accessible when the tide is out.  Since the tide was out, we climbed up the rocks that would have otherwise been an island.  We had a blast exploring and seeing the breathtaking scenery!  We feel so lucky to be in Korea where we can see beautiful places like this!

If I had tried this, I would have ended up in the water.

Beautiful scenery!

Shellfish... gross.  They put salt over their holes, and they came right out of the sand!

The "Moses Miracle"

I found a starfish!!

Spring, PLEASE!!!

It was about a month and a half ago that we thought Spring had sprung.  We were sadly mistaken.  This Korean winter has dragged on and on, and it is affecting my sanity!  Last week in class, one of my students said, "Teacher, look!" and pointed out the window at the snow flurries in the air.  Awesome.  It's mid-April!  I've grown up in Indiana's crazy weather, but somehow this feels so much worse.  I think because we're outside a lot, walking to school and commuting.  And also because Indiana is having one of the greatest springs ever.  Anyway, we're hoping Spring comes soon because we have some serious cabin fever!  Last weekend was supposed to be the Cherry Blossom Festival in Seoul (which I was extremely excited about), but they had to postpone it because the trees hadn't bloomed yet!  Apparently at this time last year, Korea was having, not just Spring weather, but HOT weather.  This coming weekend Tim and I are going on a bike trip on some islands off the southwest coast of Korea.  We are excited, and really hoping that the weather cooperates.  It's supposed to be 60 degrees and sunny, which is not great, but we'll take it!  

In other news, Tim and I got haircuts, and I got my hair highlighted!  Ordinarily, this wouldn't be such a huge deal, but in Korea it is.  I have put off going to get my hair done because I was nervous about communicating what I wanted.  I didn't want my hair to turn orange or something (it has happened before)!  Anyway, someone recommended a place to me where they speak English, so we went!  It was a success!  Tim finally got a short haircut the way he likes it.  The two times he has gotten his hair cut before, they have left it too long on top.  Koreans don't like short hair.  I got a trim and blonde highlights.  Plus, the place that we went to really pampered us!  They took our coats and gave us tea and cookies while we were waiting.  They placed a pillow and 2 magazines on my lap while I was getting my hair highlighted, and when I left the chair to get my hair washed, they held my place in my magazine, and gave it back to me right where I left off!  And we got head and neck massages!  So it was an all-around good experience, and we feel like ourselves again! :)  Here's proof of our new hair!

Notice that I am sporting a Korean-style, school girl headband. :)  I love them!  I bought this one at this outdoor market near Hongik University in Seoul.  The area has a really cool, young, artsy vibe because the college is nearby.  They have vendors selling all sorts of handmade clothes, shoes, and jewelry, and it's all really artistic and unique.  I went shopping there with Jackie and Melissa on our Girls Day last weekend, in lieu of the postponed Cherry Blossom Festival.  While shopping, we stumbled upon a huge group of Koreans swing dancing!  They were all dolled up in 50's looking outfits, and looked so cute!  We also got massages and soaked our feet in some really hot water that turned my feet a fluorescent red color!  Ah!  The super hot water is supposed to be good for your health, they said. (??)  But the massages we're really relaxing and inexpensive!  It was a good day.  But I would really love to have some warmer weather soon.  I know it's coming.  The road to our school is lined with beautiful cherry blossom trees that are blooming.  A new season.  I'm ready for it.

Easter!

Easter weekend was amazing!  On Saturday, Tim and I threw a birthday party for our friend, Jackie.  We made chili, cornbread, macaroni & cheese, and cake- a luxurious spread of Western foods that are rare here in Korea!  Some of our friends came over to help us celebrate, and we had so much fun hanging out with everyone.  Jackie has been a great friend this year, and really such an answer to prayer.  I am so thankful for her, so it was great to have a night to celebrate her!  One of the best parts of the night was due to a flower-shaped, musical birthday candle that I bought to try.  It is my new favorite thing!  Here's how it worked. To start out, a group of 8 candles were in the shape of an unblossomed flower in the middle of the cake.  We lit the middle of the flower, as the directions said, and a huge flame ignited.  Needless to say, I was a little worried.  Then, after a few minutes, the candle exploded into a sparkler display (which brought about screams from all the girls), and the flower blossomed into a beautiful flower, with a candle on each petal.  Faintly, we could hear that it was playing "Happy Birthday" too!  It was so great!  Easily, the best $2 I have ever spent!  Anyway, Jackie felt loved, and everyone had fun, so the night was a success. :)

Sunday was our Easter service at church that we had a part in.  Tim, me, and our friends Jackie, Matt, Collin, and Melissa did monologues to show the different perspectives of the crucifixion and resurrection.  I was Mary Magdalene, Tim was Thomas, and there was also Peter, a soldier, one of the crowd, and an elder.  We all sat in different parts of the church, and then walked up to the cross during our monologues.  We each also brought something to the cross that our character would sacrifice.  It was a really powerful group of monologues, and it started the service in a meaningful, reflective way.  I was really proud of all of us, since we only had a week to memorize and prepare the monologues.  And Tim did an amazing job!  Of course, he's good at everything he does, so I'm not surprised. :)  But I wish you could have seen it.  Tim and I were also on the worship team, but unfortunately, I was sick with a sinus infection and barely had a singing voice.  That was really disappointing to me.  But the service was very worshipful and celebratory.  Our church has this tradition of decorating the cross with flowers on Easter.  They have this green wire covering the cross, and everyone comes up and covers the cross in all kinds of flowers during the worship time.  When it was all decorated, it was so beautiful!  And such a great symbol of new life!  After church, we had a potluck lunch, and really great fellowship time.  Have I mentioned how much we love our church and our friends?! :)

Adorable Jackie (Jaxy as I call her) and the amazing fire spectacle on her cake!

The blossomed flower of candles!

The girls! From left to right: Laura, Melissa, Jackie, Amber, Paola, and Me.

The beautiful cross of flowers!

Our pastor snuck into this picture!  Hehe. :)  We love him!