Korea

So...I'm in Korea.

It only took me 30 hours to get here! I flew out of Detroit on the 26th at 1:45 P.M. and the adventure began. When I left my moms house in Michigan the roads were covered in ice. I had to drive 20 MPH for 1 1/2 hours! I arrived at the airport and had to wait in line for two hours to check in. I boarded my plane and flew to Tokyo. Once in Tokyo I immediately boarded another plane to fly to Seoul, Korea. Once I was on the plane we sat for an hour. After an hours wait we were told that we needed to get off the airplane. They had just replaced the brakes on the plane and needed to simulate a landing before we could take off. Everyone exited the plane and then 20 minutes later we had to board again. Once on board we had to wait 2 more hours before we took off. It was great...not really. We arrived in Seoul 3 hours late and then we had a 4 1/2 hour drive. We didn't arrive at the school until 7:15 A.M. our first meeting began at 9:30. I have been going all day on an hour of sleep. So if some of this doesn't make sense I'll blame it on that.

The camp has been really fun so far. We spent all day today in orientation. We went over rules, where my classroom is, discipline, philosophy, cultural understanding and where to go to eat. The food is very spice but is really good. Lots of rice and noodles and soup with every meal.

Most of the other teachers are from South Africa and it has been fun to get to know them. I have been spending some time with a guy named Nate who is from Birmingham Alabama. He is a great guy and this is his first time at the camp as well.

I'm sharing a room with my good friend Kendal Ludwig. His luggage got lost so we've been sharing a lot!

Our room is on the 5th floor of a college dorm. Once you reach the top of the stairs for our floor you take off your shoes and put on slippers or walk around in your socks! I love it. Plus, the floors in our room are heated. It feels really nice when you roll out of bed in the morning.

I'm really tired and need some sleep. I'll try to have some pictures up in the next day or so. Keep reading and I'll keep telling you whats going on.

Love, Joy & Peace!

Thanksgiving Weekend

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving weekend! I had a great time! Kara came to North Vernon on Wednesday night and went to Jubilee (our church youth group) with me. After church we loaded up the van and headed to Michigan. We pulled in the drive way at my moms' house around 1:30 A.M. it was a long drive!

On Thanksgiving day we all had a wonderful breakfast of bagels together and then Brad Gallup took Kara and I off for a photo shoot. This is my favorite picture of the shoot! It was really cold out, the wind was blowing hard and there were birds everywhere (which is a big problem for Kara!).

 

That night Renee and Don and the Girls girl's joined us for dinner along with my parents neighbors Marty, Mandy, Macie, and Mason! We had turkey and ham and all of that other delicious Thanksgiving stuff. I always enjoy eating anything my Mom makes. After dinner we hung out in the living room while everyone took turns playing the Wii.

On Black Friday we all slept in and Kara and I left at around noon for her parents house in Lima Ohio. We stopped to pick up her Grandma in Fort Wayne along the way and we had a really good time with her for about an hour as we traveled.

Kara's Mom had a huge meal prepared for us for dinner that night! There were 13 of us around 2 tables enjoying the feast. Kara's Grandma even cooked oysters for the occasions! Nothing says Thanksgiving like fried oysters! That night we went and look at Christmas lights, sang Christmas carols in the living room and watched Home Alone 3!

On Saturday morning after being woken up by Caleb and Tyler (Kara's 16 year old brother and his friend) we all enjoyed biscuits and gravy for breakfast!

Kara's brother Jonathan left around 2:00 in the afternoon to drive back to Olivet. He had been gone for about 20 minutes when the phone rang at the house. Jonathan was calling to tell his Dad that while he was pumping gas a couple in the car next to him could not get their car started. Jonathan tried to help but they couldn't find out the problem. So he called and asked his Dad to come and help.

So Kara's Dad got up and traveled to the gas station while we all made plans to put up the Christmas tree and other Christmas decorations. About an hour later as we were moving furniture and boxes into the living room Kara's Dad walked into the house with two strangers behind him. The strangers came in and sat down in the living room. They were introduced to us as Stan and Lucy. They were both seem to be around their 50's. They were from Toronto Canada and their car had broken down at the gas station.

They figured the problem was with the starter so Jon and Stan purchased a new one and were on their way to install it. They asked Lucy if she wanted to stay at the house instead of waiting in the cold while they worked on the car. Lucy agreed.

So here we were with a perfect stranger in the living room as we were about to put up the Christmas tree. We talked with Lucy a few minutes and then asked her if she would like to help with the tree. She smiled and said yes! Lucy jumped right in and even started vacuuming the living room at one point! After the tree was up we talked a little more with her. We learned that Stan and Lucy moved to Toronto in the 70's from Krakow Poland, the home town of Pope John Paul II. When they were children they were confirmed by Pope John Paul II while he was still Bishop in Krakow. I was so impressed with how comfortable she seemed given the situation. Kara's Mom then made hot chocolate and coffee and had us all gather in the living room as Lucy shared how they celebrate Christmas in Poland.

Kara and I had to leave at 6:00 and Lucy was still at the house when we left. We figured that her Dad would fix the car and they would be on their way. That night we called to see how things went and we were told that they couldn't get the car started and Lucy and Stan were going to spend the night at their house!

On Sunday morning they still couldn't get the car started and Lucy and Stan needed to get home that day. They decided to get a ride to Detroit and take a train into Toronto and then ride the subway to their home. Their son-in-law drove up from Cincinnati to drive them the 1 ½ hours to Detroit. But before they left Stan walked into the house and told John that he would have a hard time having the car towed into Canada and that it would be difficult to get back to fix the car, so he pulled out the title and the keys and gave them to Kara's Dad and said, "You can have the car!" They hopped in their son-in-laws car and drove of to Detroit!

The whole thing sounds like it should be in a movie! It was great. We have their address and phone number and I'm hoping to meet up with them this spring while I'm in Toronto!

I had an amazing weekend. It was so much fun to be with family, to relax, to eat some good food, and it was really good to be with Kara for 5 days in a row.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! I'll be posting soon about my upcoming trip to Korea, so check back soon!

Love, Joy & Peace!