2 Months left... ?!

Well I have about 70 days left here in this country. I can't help but think that this year has gone by faster than any other year of my life. Spiritually, my life is growing. It feels great to be surrounded by people from all over the world. As I start getting ready to head back to the states, I can't help but ask myself "Have you lived this year to the best of your ability?" There are parts of me that wish I would have done more, but then I look back at everything that I have done and how blessed I am to have had this opportunity.

Today I went to Mt. Taehak and did a little bit of hiking. It was exhausting, but completely worth it! Here are a few pictures from the day :)

2012...

Well seeing that it has been 3 months since I have updated this, I figured I would. I can't believe that I have been here 8 months and will be heading home in only 4 short months... it's crazy how time flies. There are so many things that have occurred and so many changes that have happened too! I can honestly say that I could have never imagined how eye-opening and life changing these past few months have been. The things that I used to think mattered, really don't matter so much anymore. I have met so many people and I know that God brought them to me. The people here are just normal people like everyone that I knew in the states, they just look different and speak a different language, BUT it is amazing to know that the same hands created us all. We are here because God brought us here. How amazing is that?? I've also learned that you cannot possibly love someone until you learn to accept that you are loved by God. I am loved. You are loved.
Also, when we pray, no matter where we are, God hears us. I am blessed so much and I cannot fathom how much.
I informed my boss this last week that I will be going back to the states in May. I never really thought about how difficult it is going to be to leave here. I have made my life here and there are so many people that I have come to love and become friends with, that it is going to be difficult to say bye when the time comes. Right now I can't help but wonder if the decision to go home is the right one. How will life be there after being here? Will there be a job for me there? Will I have a good place to live? It is the right decision? Don't get me wrong, I really want to see my family, but what happens a month after I'm back at home with them? I have so many decisions to make in the near future and I'm not sure what to do about some of them.
I feel like I am getting ahead of myself... I still have 4 months of time here! There are so many things left to do in that short amount of time. God has many plans for my life and the next thing on the list to learn is to just to trust him completely... I'll work on that... 

My humble Abode

Well, after living here for almost 5 months, I realized that I have not put any pictures up of my apartment. I would like to share with you where it is that I live...

 My little bathroom. It is rare to actually have a bathtub, so I count my blessings :)

                 Eventually I want to get a couch to go on this wall, but I haven't found one yet.

 Kitchen area. It is also a privilege to have a oven.

 My vanity area where I get ready everyday.

 My desk, that I never use, my closet and my bed.

 My little floor table chairs that I purchase and my bookshelf with all my goodies from Korea and Japan.

 Kitchen area again...

Walking in my front door...

I really like my place. :)

Half Past September

4 1/2 months down... So much has happened in that short amount of time too! It is absolutely impossible to explain to you how much my life has been impacted. Life is definitely not the same. This past weekend was the Korean Holiday of Chuseok, which is their Thanksgiving, but it is really nothing like what I am used to. The only thing I did to enjoy the holiday was take 3 different trips. It was great, but exhausting. The first trip I took was to Daecheon on Saturday, which includes the beach that I have been to now 3 times. I actually swam this time. It was amazing, plus I got to spend the day with a bunch of new friends that arrived here a little over a month ago. When we got back to Cheonan that evening, we got together to celebrate Carly's birthday! We ate pizza and then I had my first experience with a Norae Bang (sp?), which is a karaoke room that a group of people and rent for however long they want and sing. It was a great night that consisted of Lady Gaga, Queen, Hanson, and the last song being The Boot Scootin' boogy... Good times :)


The 2nd trip that I had the privilege of going on was to Everland on Monday, which is a theme park in Suwan/ Yongin. This trip consisted of Bethany, Robert, and myself. We decided to meet around 7 in the morning  for coffee. We then had to be at the subway station shortly after. We were told that taking the subway would take the same amount of time that the train would take, so we decided just to take the subway the whole way. It took about an hour to get to Suwan. While on the subway, we had a run-in with a guy that had gold teeth and was a little creepy. He ended up recording us on his phone for awhile... That is probably the creepiest thing to happen to me since I came to Korea, and he wasn't even Korean. Anyway, we made it to Suwan and I was told to take bus 6000. Well, to our surprise, there was no bus 6000 and of course the information booth was closed due to the holiday. We proceeded to look at the bus schedule and walk around and finally figured out where we were supposed to go. When our bus pulled up, I'm sure there was about 40-50 foreigners trying to make their way onto our bus. We were the only Americans on the bus, though. We ended up having to stand the entire 1 1/2 hour ride to everland. By the time we made it, we had been traveling for about 3 1/2 hours. We stayed at the park for about 5 hours and rode about 5 rides. It was fun, but we were definitely ready to go home when we did. I thought that the trip getting to everland was long, but the trip home was definitely longer.... not to mention that if it wasn't for a couple of nice Koreans, we probably would have ended up somewhere that we would not recognize. On the way home that day, I got a text from Nick, a guy that I went to college with that is now in Korea. He was asking if I would like to join them on a trip to Seoul the next day. Of course I wanted to, so I said yes.

So here is trip #3, which took place on Tuesday, to Seoul. We had standing tickets, so that meant we had to find a place to stand or a place on the floor. I ended up crammed between to seats, but it made the ride more bearable. We finally got there and it was time for lunch. AND where does any American who is in Korea, and has been deprived of American food, go in Seoul????!!! Itaewon, of course! In the beautiful area of Itaewon, there is a Taco Bell, Subway, Quiz nos, Cold Stone and a pretty awesome English book store! I had the joy of eating Subway that day, and I must say it tasted better than I had ever remembered! Well after Itaewon, we went back to the market that I had visited a couple weeks before and walked around. It is probably one of my favorite things that I have done here. The last tourist area that we went to was a palace, and the name is escaping me right now. We walked around there and a couple of us ended up laying on the grass in the park and taking a little nap. After the palace, we met with one of Nick's Korean friends that had attended SNU. She took us to an amazing little Italian restaurant. Then we came back to Cheonan.

I know that was a lot of information crammed into one blog, but now I will let you see some pictures. :)

 Dancing at Cheonan Station after going to Seoul on Tuesday :)

 Bethany, Robert and I at the Everland entrance >

 Jessica, Carly and I at a palace in Seoul.

 Standing on the bus for our ride to Everland >>>

 Hanging out in the Yellow Sea...

 Me shopping at the Namdaemun Market >>>>>











Excited to get our Banana milk after a long day of traveling :)

      The group at Gyeongbokgung Palace >>>>>>

 Yellow Sea at Daecheon Beach

 Dinner in Seoul >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 Adorable, Korean children :)

                                                                                            Me!!

 My Friends :)

 Cute little boy :)

                                                 Me just being me :)

God always shows up...

Since I have come Korea, I have learned to look for God everywhere... AND I have definitely seen him in so many places. Another time happened today. At church we had a baptism service. I attend the International English Church on the KNU campus. Well to begin, the people being baptized all gave their personal testimonies during the service. It was pointed out how there is a wide variety of cultures represented in the church. It was amazing to me how big God is and how he brings people that are so different, together on a weekly basis. We all serve the same God. When the service part was over, we all went outside where a pool was set up for the baptisms. The congregation stood there together, no matter what our race or color of our skin, we were all there to witness new believers being baptized. We started by singing Amazing Grace. Standing there, I could really feel God. I realized once again how great our God is. Here I was, standing with all these people from different places, singing to the same God. When we started singing the final verse, "When we've been there 10 thousand years..." it made me think about, not only am I going to get to spend eternity with God and the loved ones I have in the states, these people are also going to be there. How amazing is that? My whole life, I was in the way of thinking that God was there, but I never imagined that he was everywhere, including all over the world. My spiritual way of thinking has definitely broadened being here. We finished the service with another song that I really loved. Here are the lyrics:

All that I am, all that I have,

I lay them down before you, oh Lord.

All my regrets, all my acclaims, 

The joy and the pain, I'm making them yours.

Things in the past, things yet unseen, 

Wishes and dreams that are yet to come true. 

All of my hopes, all of my plans, 

My heart and my hands are lifted to you.

Lord, I offer my life to you,

Everything I've been through, Use it for your glory.

Lord, I offer my days to you, 

Lifting my praise to you, As a pleasing sacrifice.

Lord, I offer you my life. 

Already September

Yesterday, Saturday, My friend Nick and I went to Seoul. We went to Seoul Tower which is a place in the city where you can pretty much see the entire city of Seoul. It is a beautiful city. It was my first time being in charge of finding my way around Seoul, and luckily it wasn't difficult at all. We made it safely to Seoul and went to the subway to find our way to the bus stop. When we got to our bus stop, we met a mom and daughter that are from Korea but live in Boston right now. The mom had brought her daughter back to visit. It was interesting to talk to her about her life for a few minutes. We got on the bus and we made our way up the hill to the tower. The bus took us almost to the top, but we had to walk up a pretty steep incline to get to the destination. I can always tell when I get to a tourist area because there are way more foreigners than usual in one place. We bought our tickets for the observatory, and made our way up. When we got to the elevator, it felt like we were about to get on a ride at an amusement park, which was ironic seeing that Naz nite at Six Flags was occurring at the exact same time. We got on the elevator and on the ceiling there was a screen that showed us going into space or something. It was interesting. Well we finally made it to the top and these are the beautiful pictures that I took from there:


                                                                                     

After we went to Seoul Tower, we went to the biggest market in South Korea called Namdaemun Market. There were so many people there so it was a lot of pushing and shoving to get through the place, but it was amazing. There were sooo many things to look at. I know where I am going to be doing my christmas shopping. I will definitely be going back soon. They had everything from clothes, to jewerly, korean souvenirs and so many other things and they were all really cheap. I got a dress and a wallet. I finished the day off by coming back to KNU and just resting. Next weekend will be a 4 day weekend! It is Chuseok, which is the Korean Thanksgiving... well sort of... nothing like the Thanksgiving that I am used to, but it means time off and rest. :)

Namdaemum Market

Flash Mob

Yesterday, I was downtown with a friend and as we were walking, I got experience something that has been on my bucket list! We were walking and heard a bunch of people yelling and saw them running and dancing towards the plaza area... Music started playing really loud and this is what we saw:

It was amazing. I'm really glad that I got to see this. :)