Today in class we were going over our new vocabulary words. One of the words was "kidnap". I asked the students if they knew what it meant.
Jenny explained, "Teacher, kidnap is like "Andy come in my van and I give you candy". That is kidnap".
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
The Hunger Years
There are days every now and again that the boy and I get unreasonably down. These are the times when we don't know where we're supposed to be in life and what we should be doing. We don't know if we're making an impact, we don't understand why we aren't more successful, and we feel as if we're going around in circles. Sometimes it can get so frustrating that I find myself in tears. Luckily, we seem to alter these feelings of self doubt so that one of us is in a better mood and can slap the other one out of the dumps.
We're young. We're not supposed to have everything figured out. In fact, I'm not sure if I know of anyone that does have it all figured out. That's what makes life so wonderful. That's why I love to travel. There's the unknown and the sense of endless opportunities. These years are not supposed to be easy, and they haven't been, but I've grown so much and not only that, I've gotten to get to know myself better.
We've dubbed these "the hunger years". These are the years where you should explore and question. These are the years where you're supposed to take the time to figure out who you are and what you want out of this life. These are the years where you live in a tin can while living life to the absolute fullest. These are the years where you question, have doubt, and find the peace that you need to move on.
I have to remind myself that I'm still (kind of) a baby. I just turned a quarter century. I remember back when I was sixteen, so young and naive. I thought I was going to marry the equally naive boy that I was dating at the time. I thought I'd have kids by the age of 23. I thought that one day I would just wake up and be older and wiser and more mature. I thought that once you were out of high school things would magically fall into place. I even thought that once you graduated from a university you were pretty much guaranteed the job of your dream. Ha. Haha. Hahahahaha.
I quite literally thank God every night that he didn't give me what my little 16 year old self used to pray for every night. I would be one.hot.mess.
I've deemed the 20's for myself. It's my time to figure out who I am and what I want. I'm in the position where I don't have any children and little responsibility, that I can take the time to travel and spend a significant amount of time away from home. There are those times when I look at all the adorable, chubby faced children that my friends have and yearn for one myself. I wonder if I should be "settling down" or thinking about marriage. I just know that I'm not ready. I'm way too selfish to have children and I'm perfectly happy with where the boy and I are at right now. I deeply admire the women that have devoted themselves to loving and raising their children and I envy their unabashed selflessness.
We live in a studio apartment with one monster of a cat. We don't have unlimited funds that we can spend on expensive champagne and caviar (who really eats caviar anyway?). I don't get to go on a huge shopping spree every month. I still have a pile of student loans and one silly credit card that hold me down.
But even with all of that, I find myself blessed beyond measure. When I take a step back and look at all that Chris and I have accomplished since graduating college (or even high school) I am amazed. Together we have traveled to over 30 countries. We are able to support ourselves and I am even able to send money home every month to pay off my student loans. We have our own place, albeit a ridiculously small one. We are in love. It's disgusting and I don't even like to talk about it, but we truly are head over heels in love. gross. We can travel, and because we're in Korea, it's a lot cheaper than it would be if we were back home. We have a business that is slowly coming together and it's something that we both love. To top it off, we both have such amazing family and friends that it quite literally makes my head spin.
I am overwhelmed with a sense or gratitude. I don't know what we did to deserve the amazing life that we lead. It may seem that we're climbing Everest on roller blades, but in all reality, we're doing alright. We're doing alright.
We're young. We're not supposed to have everything figured out. In fact, I'm not sure if I know of anyone that does have it all figured out. That's what makes life so wonderful. That's why I love to travel. There's the unknown and the sense of endless opportunities. These years are not supposed to be easy, and they haven't been, but I've grown so much and not only that, I've gotten to get to know myself better.
We've dubbed these "the hunger years". These are the years where you should explore and question. These are the years where you're supposed to take the time to figure out who you are and what you want out of this life. These are the years where you live in a tin can while living life to the absolute fullest. These are the years where you question, have doubt, and find the peace that you need to move on.
I have to remind myself that I'm still (kind of) a baby. I just turned a quarter century. I remember back when I was sixteen, so young and naive. I thought I was going to marry the equally naive boy that I was dating at the time. I thought I'd have kids by the age of 23. I thought that one day I would just wake up and be older and wiser and more mature. I thought that once you were out of high school things would magically fall into place. I even thought that once you graduated from a university you were pretty much guaranteed the job of your dream. Ha. Haha. Hahahahaha.
I quite literally thank God every night that he didn't give me what my little 16 year old self used to pray for every night. I would be one.hot.mess.
I've deemed the 20's for myself. It's my time to figure out who I am and what I want. I'm in the position where I don't have any children and little responsibility, that I can take the time to travel and spend a significant amount of time away from home. There are those times when I look at all the adorable, chubby faced children that my friends have and yearn for one myself. I wonder if I should be "settling down" or thinking about marriage. I just know that I'm not ready. I'm way too selfish to have children and I'm perfectly happy with where the boy and I are at right now. I deeply admire the women that have devoted themselves to loving and raising their children and I envy their unabashed selflessness.
We live in a studio apartment with one monster of a cat. We don't have unlimited funds that we can spend on expensive champagne and caviar (who really eats caviar anyway?). I don't get to go on a huge shopping spree every month. I still have a pile of student loans and one silly credit card that hold me down.
But even with all of that, I find myself blessed beyond measure. When I take a step back and look at all that Chris and I have accomplished since graduating college (or even high school) I am amazed. Together we have traveled to over 30 countries. We are able to support ourselves and I am even able to send money home every month to pay off my student loans. We have our own place, albeit a ridiculously small one. We are in love. It's disgusting and I don't even like to talk about it, but we truly are head over heels in love. gross. We can travel, and because we're in Korea, it's a lot cheaper than it would be if we were back home. We have a business that is slowly coming together and it's something that we both love. To top it off, we both have such amazing family and friends that it quite literally makes my head spin.
I am overwhelmed with a sense or gratitude. I don't know what we did to deserve the amazing life that we lead. It may seem that we're climbing Everest on roller blades, but in all reality, we're doing alright. We're doing alright.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Steppin' Out Sunday
Korea is brrrr cold people. très cold. I layered up before we ventured out today. We've had a surprisingly super lazy weekend. It was fantastic. After the boy made two failed attempts at getting to Seoul, we decided to have lunch and lay low. And while it may seem like the boy and I see each other all the time, we really don't get to spend quality time with each other. It was a much needed Captain and Clark weekend.
Here's what we wore...
Here's what we wore...
Tawny:
Dress: F21
Leggings: F21
Jacket(s): Nordstrom
Boots: Random store in Korea
scarf: A birthday gift
Captain
Hat: REI
Jacket: Coax
Pants: Army surplus
Ares Kitten
Fur: His own doing.
Wild Wild East/West Whopper
This Burger King commercial has been playing around Korea for quite some time and I am addicted. It's HI-LARIOUS. It features Korean comedian Yoo Sae-Yoon and I might have a teeny little crush on him. It's okay, the boy is already aware and okay with it. I can't find the original version that's featured on our tv programs, but this one is pretty close...
Update!
The lovely boy found the original. Yesssss
Update!
The lovely boy found the original. Yesssss
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Your Daily Gem.
My 3rd graders had their language arts pop quiz today and the word "shiver" was in one of the answers. Now, the way that Korean children pronounce "shiver" makes it sound more like "shibal" which is an extremely bad word in Korea. This whole coincidence led one of my students to ask me to tell them naughty words in English. I gave the usual speech about how they shouldn't learn them because if they go to America and say bad words people will cut off their fingers one by one.
Sweet and quiet Clark was sitting in the corner concentrating pretty hard. You could tell that he was desperately trying to remember something. I saw a light bulb go off and he eagerly raised his hand and asked, "Teacher, son of a bitch?"
Don't know where he learned that.
Sweet and quiet Clark was sitting in the corner concentrating pretty hard. You could tell that he was desperately trying to remember something. I saw a light bulb go off and he eagerly raised his hand and asked, "Teacher, son of a bitch?"
Don't know where he learned that.
Call Me Crazy...
When the boy and I decided to pack it up and move to Korea we were told by numerous people that we were insane. Why would we want to be anywhere near Kim Jong-Il? Why would we want to stuff our faces with spicy fermented cabbage? Why leave everything we know and move to a place where we don't understand the language or customs?
Don't know if you've noticed, but we are a little crazy. And extremely passionate about travel. Not that anything could really shock my family or friends anymore, but I was inspired by fellow blogger, Dangerous Business to make a little list of "the 5 places I want to visit that mom and dad don't know about". Well daddy, I know you're reading this and I'm sure you won't be too surprised but here they are:
#1 Saudi Arabia
Why? Um, because it's Saudi Arabia.
You can blame my grandpa. The man spent a significant amount of time there during his years as a Green Beret. He has some crazy stories from the place and a HUGE hookah that he bought while he was there. (Seriously. I thought it was a coat hanger when I was young) It's a country shrouded in mystery and deeply rooted traditions and values. I like danger. I like mystery. I've got values. Plus, while the boy and I were in Bahrain we heard a few little birdies talk about all the underground partying that happens there. Le bonus.
#2 Antarctica
Well it's not ridiculously crazy, but it's cold. Colder than Stalin's balls.
I had never really had any extreme urge to go to Antarctica until I met the mister. It's been calling to him all of his life. He had the opportunity to either go to Antarctica or travel to Tanzania during our senior year of college. He chose Tanzania, and good thing too- it is where we met after all. Regardless of just how ridiculously happy I make him (ego boost), he still has a void. One that can only be filled with a freezing trip down to A-town. It's also the only continent that he has yet to step foot on. (bonus: penguins)
#3 Syria
Aleppo. Damascus. Swoons.
The food (hummus, falafel, baklawa.. oh my!), the souks, one of the oldest human settlements in the world. What's not to love about Syria? And really, how many people do you know have been to Syria? It also helps that I'm obsessed with anything that has to do with the middle east. There's just so much to do and see. I'm sure I could easily spend a year or two just trying to take everything in.
#4 Mongolia.
Oh the steppes of Mongolia.
We've had our eye on Mongolia for quite some time. It's just a tease really. It's only a short 3-hour plane ride from Seoul and it's relatively cheap. We really want to spend a few weeks out on the steppes with a host family; living in a ger, hunting with eagles, and collecting yak dung for our fire. Well, maybe not so much the last one, but I hear it's pretty necessary. We're trying to get everything worked out so that we can actually make this trip a reality before we leave Korea. Please for the love of Anderson Cooper, let this happen!
#5 North Korea
I know what you're thinking. "Why go to North Korea when you have all of the kimchi you could possibly want in the South?"
Well my friends, the answer is simply because of curiosity. Before Kim Jon-Il completely lost his marbles and decided that torpedoing ships and bombing small islands was a good idea, we actually had looked into a few trips into North Korea. After living in the ROK for over a year a half it would be really interesting to see how things are for those that live on the other side of the fence. The one drawback was the price. It was absurdly expensive and there was no way that we were going to put our hard earned money directly into KJI's pocket. I'd like to not fund terrorism and mass starvation (is funding starvation even possible?), thank you. Also, we'd have someone following our every move for the entire duration of our stay. Not really how we role. I do sincerely hope that one day there will be an easy way for people to cross back and forth. There are countless families that have remained separated since the start of the Korean war and there are only so many that get the opportunity to be reunited every year.
So there you have it, our not-so-secret list of places that are a little absurd or off the beaten path. Let's see if we get to any of them over the next year. Here's to hoping....
Don't know if you've noticed, but we are a little crazy. And extremely passionate about travel. Not that anything could really shock my family or friends anymore, but I was inspired by fellow blogger, Dangerous Business to make a little list of "the 5 places I want to visit that mom and dad don't know about". Well daddy, I know you're reading this and I'm sure you won't be too surprised but here they are:
#1 Saudi Arabia
Why? Um, because it's Saudi Arabia.
You can blame my grandpa. The man spent a significant amount of time there during his years as a Green Beret. He has some crazy stories from the place and a HUGE hookah that he bought while he was there. (Seriously. I thought it was a coat hanger when I was young) It's a country shrouded in mystery and deeply rooted traditions and values. I like danger. I like mystery. I've got values. Plus, while the boy and I were in Bahrain we heard a few little birdies talk about all the underground partying that happens there. Le bonus.
#2 Antarctica
Well it's not ridiculously crazy, but it's cold. Colder than Stalin's balls.
I had never really had any extreme urge to go to Antarctica until I met the mister. It's been calling to him all of his life. He had the opportunity to either go to Antarctica or travel to Tanzania during our senior year of college. He chose Tanzania, and good thing too- it is where we met after all. Regardless of just how ridiculously happy I make him (ego boost), he still has a void. One that can only be filled with a freezing trip down to A-town. It's also the only continent that he has yet to step foot on. (bonus: penguins)
#3 Syria
The food (hummus, falafel, baklawa.. oh my!), the souks, one of the oldest human settlements in the world. What's not to love about Syria? And really, how many people do you know have been to Syria? It also helps that I'm obsessed with anything that has to do with the middle east. There's just so much to do and see. I'm sure I could easily spend a year or two just trying to take everything in.
#4 Mongolia.
Oh the steppes of Mongolia.
We've had our eye on Mongolia for quite some time. It's just a tease really. It's only a short 3-hour plane ride from Seoul and it's relatively cheap. We really want to spend a few weeks out on the steppes with a host family; living in a ger, hunting with eagles, and collecting yak dung for our fire. Well, maybe not so much the last one, but I hear it's pretty necessary. We're trying to get everything worked out so that we can actually make this trip a reality before we leave Korea. Please for the love of Anderson Cooper, let this happen!
#5 North Korea
I know what you're thinking. "Why go to North Korea when you have all of the kimchi you could possibly want in the South?"
Well my friends, the answer is simply because of curiosity. Before Kim Jon-Il completely lost his marbles and decided that torpedoing ships and bombing small islands was a good idea, we actually had looked into a few trips into North Korea. After living in the ROK for over a year a half it would be really interesting to see how things are for those that live on the other side of the fence. The one drawback was the price. It was absurdly expensive and there was no way that we were going to put our hard earned money directly into KJI's pocket. I'd like to not fund terrorism and mass starvation (is funding starvation even possible?), thank you. Also, we'd have someone following our every move for the entire duration of our stay. Not really how we role. I do sincerely hope that one day there will be an easy way for people to cross back and forth. There are countless families that have remained separated since the start of the Korean war and there are only so many that get the opportunity to be reunited every year.
So there you have it, our not-so-secret list of places that are a little absurd or off the beaten path. Let's see if we get to any of them over the next year. Here's to hoping....
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Wordless Wednesday.
I haven't necessarily been "wordless" today, but HEY... I do what I want.
I've decided that my "Wordless Wednesdays" will be randomly generated by my computer. "Vintage-y style" as they say in Korea. This picture was taken back in January of 2008. I was traveling though Tanzania with fellow students from Pacific Lutheran University. We had just reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro only days before. This is on Paje beach on the island of Zanzibar. I was young[er], tan[ner], and had just met the boy. Le sigh.
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