Sunday, February 21, 2010

Korean BBQ for under 6 bucks?? I'll take it!

mmm...just got done eating some korean barbeque at a local restaurant. it was the first place I went after I arrived here in Korea...you order however many orders of beef or pork that you want, and it comes with unlimited sides of kimchi, soup, different sauces and a few salads. Delicious!! And it is 5500 won per order, can't beat that!

Sorry for the delay in posts. I've been keeping pretty busy here...the weather was absolutely goregous this weekend!! Today was a high in the 50's. After work I went on a walk around the lake nearby...more like a pond but its still pretty. Then I went to my korean language lessons. I'm starting to like them more...they are helpful so I will continue taking them for at least another month or so.

Last week my kids were absolutely awful!! I think it had something to do with us having a three day weekend, so no one wanted to be back at school. This week they've been doing better though...We have another three day weekend this week too! Well, actually for the kindergarteners it is a four day weekend...the kids that have been studying there this last year will be graduating on Thursday, so no one will come to school on Friday. No kinders at least...we still have to come to teach the elementary kids. Bummer...

I can not believe how fast my students are learning! It is still quite frusturating...but I swear some of these kids come in each day speaking more and more. March is the official beginning of the school year here in Korea, so I will be getting a few new students. That will bring my class totals up to ten for each class...the new students will know a bit of English already, which is why they are starting in March and not in January like the rest of the kids. I hope I am able to keep my sanity with such full classes!

I'm continuing to have a great time. I'm quite busy...working five days a week, going into a different city about an hour away two times a week for Korean lessons, church almost every Sunday, and then of course hanging out with friends and exploring Korea! And can you guys believe that I met some Brazilians here in South Korea! Haha yes,you read that right! South Korea of all places. My ears are automatically tuned to Spanish or Portuguese, so the second I heard these two guys talking in a bar I immediately starting talking to them. They work at a Brazilian steakhouse here, which I'm hoping to get to one of these days. It's just as pricey here as it is back home, so I'll have to really be hungry that day! But I'm excited I get to use my portuguese...makes me realize that no matter how long I go without speaking it, it will always come back!

I'm excited that the weather is starting to improve...I'll be able to get out more and see more of the country. There are apparently some beautiful hiking trails (I know my parents are shocked that I will WILLINGLY go hiking!) nearby...plus different cities that I will be taking weekend trips to. It's no Europe, can't jet off to Paris or Italy every other weekend...but there is still quite a bit to see here. My goals for the year are to make it to Beijing, Thailand (hoping that my sister will come visit me during my summer break and we can do this one together!) and maybe some more at the end of my contract depending on how much I save. I'd love to get to Australia while I'm here...if I make it there it will be my final continent on my bucket list!! 6 outta 7!! I have no desire to go to Antarctica...but who knows, if the opportunity presents itself....haha.

I'm hoping everyone back home is doing well also! Super exciting news on the Roloff homefront...Joe and Gail are expecting a baby!! Congrats to them!! Can't wait to come home to meet my little neice or nephew. Man, when did I get so old?? Haha becoming an aunt seems like something only grown ups do!

Keep in touch! Love you all.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Lucky...or blessed?

Have you ever felt...man, I am really really lucky. I got asked in an interview one time, "Are you lucky?" and I immmediately replied with, "Yes!" Afterwards though, I thought, wait, is all of this luck, or is it coming from somewhere else?

I AM BLESSED. I am blessed, first of all, with the most amazing family in the world. When my brother got married, one of our close friends said "wow, Gail is so lucky to be marrying into such a great family!" and it is so true. My parents are the most open and welcoming people ever. The night before my brothers wedding my dad said "tomorrow will be the happiest day of my life". And I felt the same way. My brother, someone that I had loved and admired for all my life, was about to marry someone just as worthy of my love and admiration. A close friend of mine says on a regular basis "I wish my parents were as supporting as your's are". And it is true. When I said I wanted to be an exchange student at the age of 16 they didn't try to convince me otherwise. My dad still reminds me of how the Rotary club said I was a very strong candidate, and would be hard to beat when it came to the other applicants. I will never forget when Solene, the French exchange student that lived in our house said "Betsy, your dad has a french CD in his car, so that he can try to talk to my father while he is here! Not many people would to that." I felt so proud. My father, an American, was trying to learn French so he could communicate with our exchange student's father. This french family has since visited us three times, and my family has gone to stay at their house in France as well. Just tonight I was talking to my dad, and he said how he was at a Rotary meeting, and couldn't stop talking about me and my travels (so much of this I owe to the Rotary club!)

I AM BLESSED. I am blessed with the most amazing friends. So many of my really close friends are those who I have met while living abroad. They may be from Mexico, the US, Brasil or Europe and now people that I have met in South Korea, but I have met so many awesome people through my travels. I continue to talk to and see many of these people on a regular basis. A few of my closest friends are from my hometown as well, but the people that I have met through my travels will always hold special places in my heart.

I AM BLESSED. I am sooo blessed to have grown up in a family where God was always a huge factor. I have always believed in God, and always will, and I know that He has a special plan for my life. Although I do not know at this moment what that plan is, and where I will be two or three years from now, I know that He knows, and I put all of my faith in Him.

I AM BLESSED. I am just blessed. God has blessed me with such amazing friends and family, and I will be forever grateful.

What about you? Are you just lucky, or have you been blessed like I have?