Overdue... again!

This must be the fourth blog titled that. I guess time flies when you are having fun (original, I know). I thought I wasn't updating the blog because nothing new was happening, but in reviewing AshDrew's blog, I realized we have done a lot. 

Now where to start...

Life has just been pleasant. As I mentioned back in February, Korea has become home, so the adventures have become few and far between. Nonetheless, we manage to spice up our weekends, and the occasional weeknight - MountainDew Mondays, CostCo Tuesdays, MoonBlues Wednesdays and Tuna Thursdays. Thankfully, these events occur only bimonthly! 

Last you heard (February 9th) I was planning on spending my otherwise lonely Valentine's day weekend on Jeju island. There were about five of us planning on going, one being a native to the beautiful Hawaii-like island. The plans were to go for two days to watch a fire festival. Unfortunately, the Friday before a terrible storm hit canceling all the festival's events, as well as our flights. All was not lost. That Saturday night, Ash joined me for some wine and [too much] chocolate. Later in the eve, Joel and Winnie showed up with even more treats. Our evening was filled with youtube and good food. A memorable Hallmark holiday indeed!

Over the following two weeks, I did my best to absorb what I could of my four second favorite co-workers - BellaSan, WinnieShiShi, JerTeeta, and J. Just as I figured, they are greatly missed. Since then, much has changed at work. We have two new teachers and one new head teacher. The girls hired have proven to be more than worthy of SLP and Guri. Marissa is a kickash Canadian who is chill and fun to hang with. Andrea, from the UK, is really sweet and funny in her own way. Both bring a new spice to the crew, which is greatly appreciated and has eased the pain of BWJJ leaving us. 

In March, we started a new term too. It was the wildest transition for everyone, new teachers, new leaders, and new students. I mentioned in my last blog that Mr. Nam and Director Song were considering giving me a new class of Kindies... well, they did!!! Those exclamations are only made possible after the last two months of hard-work. Things are finally starting to look up. 

My first year kindy class started with two girls and three boys - Jenna (I clearly got to name her, and she 

has proven worthy of such a title!), Elizabeth, Ted, Kevin and Brian (also children I named :). Since then, they have added three more students, Helen, Mark and Jason. I am glad they eased the last three in, as they were quite a handful at first. Imagine getting four and five year olds to sit down when they don't even understand "Hello" or "My name is", then babysit them, all while teaching them the alphabet and beyond. I took the task on with great joy, as they are my ideal age and that is what I came here to do; nonetheless, it proved to be quite difficult. After almost two hours of that, I took on five more hours of back to back elementary classes. It has been one of the most trying, rewarding times of my life. My kids are already responding to tasks, most know the alphabet, and they can all carry on a casual conversation - "Hello. How are you? My name is... This is my...", etc. It's so brilliant to see!

Back to the adventures...

The month of March was filled with birthdays. I think we went back to back three weekends with a celebration every night. The most memorable/fun was Ashley's birthday, of course! We started the festivities at my apartment. It was the whole shebang - from getting ready girly style, to pizza, cake and drinks. Afterwards, we hit up the bar district, Hongdae. There, my camera broke, and my cellphone was stolen. With results like that, I'd say it was quite a successful eve. 

When we weren't celebrating birthdays, we were off on adventures. Ash and I made one final dash for the countryside, as Korean lessons started the following week - destination Happy Suwon. Arriving in the "small" town early in the afternoon, we made our way to a love motel, set our stuff down and walked the town till we found the infamous fortress, Hwaseong. Suwon is one of the only remaining walled cities in Korea. With brilliant weather causing a suntan/burn (who am I kidding?!), and our walking shoes on, we "hiked" the wall for a couple miles. Apparently, it does not go all the way around the city, but it does drop you off at a sweet little shopping market. Ash and I walked away with two amazing purses each and beautiful shoes that we have both been looking for, all for under a hundred bucks. I would say it was more successful than any damage we have done here in Seoul. Anywho, onto the rest of the night... it began sprinkling on us, so we sought shelter in a KFC - nothing is better for a wet head in a foreign country than fried chicken from a homestyle restaurant :) Afterwards, we attempted to sit down at about three restaurant/bars that all turned us away. It was meant to be when stumbled into a seemingly shady SportsBar - Team's Bar. The bartenders were some of the most entertaining and sweet servers ever! They did a couple magic tricks, a full on fire show and served us a little extra, fruit plate included. Overall, the weekend was a complete success in every way :)

My second adventure came mid-April. With Aaron visiting the week prior, I had no desire to sit in town sulking. Plus, I hadn't seen my girl Becca from Busan who I went to China with (yes, you know) since, well, China. That Saturday started too early, but clearly not early enough, as I didn't make to the Southern city until late afternoon. I dropped my things off at Becca and Wayne's apartment, then headed to the beach immediately, so as to soak up what little sun was left that day. Bonus of the weekend: our buddy Rocky, Pete's old roomie who is teaching just forty minutes outside of Busan, was visiting the coast that same day. We met up, threw the pigskin and played catchup. As the sun set, Becca, Wayne and I got some amazing Mexican, then met up with everyone from the beach. The evening was fun, but disappointing, as my wallet was stolen... such is my luck, right?! No camera, phone or wallet... it had to happen at some point. I'm just glad I got that taken care of for 2009 ;) Anywho, the next day I was woken to Wayne's Dance (Dan's) mix. That set the tone for the rest of our beach day. This time we made it just in time to soak up the rays, perhaps too early, as I am still peeling from the sunburn two weeks later. The rest of the day played out exactly how most adventures do... after leaving too late, fearing I might not make it back home, I borrowed money from Becca. I passed out on the express train and was woken by what seemed to be the conductor. If only I hadn't fallen asleep, I would have made it to the subway before it closed. Instead I hopped in cab with three other people and gave him what little money I had left. 

Upon arriving home, more bombs were dropped, and they just kept coming after that. I had one of the worst relationship weeks of my life, as well as work weeks. Thankfully, things are looking up for Aaron and I, and my bosses are off my back again. 

Speaking of Aaron and I, we are still going strong :D He has made it to Korea a total of three times now, 

twice in this last month. There was one random three day weekend he had, the first weekend of April, that he was able to find cheap tickets over here for. Then, he visited for this whole last week. Today, as well as tomorrow, I have off, but am unable to share them with him. I told him it is one of those evil universe tricks, like I will give you your love during the busiest work week ever, followed by a four day weekend, only a day and a half of which you can actually spend with him. So here I sit, occupying my time, pretending that it doesn't suck not having him here again. I guess I am just grateful that he was willing and able to come at all. He is one of my best friends and there is almost no one else I would like to spend my time with. Thankfully, I will get to spend even more time with him this summer. He has to stay out of China for over thirty days to get a refund on his taxes... where better to go than back to my loving arms ;) During that time I too have a week long break, which we hope to spend in Thailand. AHHH, YAY! We have so much to look forward to. I think that's what gets us through the long distance part. Two months and counting...

Hope this update has adequately tied you over. Apologies for taking so long to do so. I love you all and think of you more than you know!

January Times

Coming back to Korea brought an interesting realization... Korea is home. You never feel more at home than when you go away. There were such stark differences between the two Asian countries. China takes great pride in their history, while Korea is constantly turning their back to theirs. China has little desire to Westernize, while that seems to be one of Korea's greatest goals. Korean architecture is based on functionality, i.e. concrete buildings built into the sky. China's is a direct reflection of their "pride" again - beautiful colors and elaborate designs that say, "We were once a world power! Don't forget that!" Even the people were different, beyond their appearances (which I am starting to be able to differentiate between Chatch), Korean's seem to be a softer, more trustworthy people. I have never felt unsafe or even on edge here. There, people attempted to scam us at least three times a day, you have to watch your purse and the streets are not safe at night, like they are here. China was a great place to visit, but for now, I am happy to be teaching in Korea :)

Returning to school has been a fine adjustment. In fact, I missed my kids to death! I went to all my classes five minutes early, just to hangout with them. I am really loving my school, my kids and my co-workers. I don't think I could have found a better match. Unfortunately, change is on the horizon. The new semester starts in March and four of my favorite teachers are leaving, two of them being males, only to be replaced by more females. It isn't that the full female staff scares me, as much as the change itself does. If I am perfectly happy now, it means things can only go downhill, right?! I am being a pessimist. Don't worry, these thoughts are minor. 

Speaking of work, I was staying late the other night, resulting in forced awkwardness all the way down the elevator with my two bosses. They started the conversation with compliments on my child-dealing skills, followed with a "Would you like to take one of the new kindy classes starting in March?" These would be five year olds with no English background. Excited, I agreed. At which point my director dropped the bomb. They would need me to stay another two plus months, which would turn into five. Do not despair, although I have not declined the offer yet, I will. I made some promises that I will stick to! Plus, this girl wants to do some traveling!

Other than work, my personal life has taken a surprising turn. Aaron, the southern gentleman I mentioned in my China blog, had a couple weeks off in the month of January and yet to leave China. 

Considering the brilliant time we had in Beijing, I eagerly invited him to Seoul. Prior to him leaving last Tuesday, I had the best two weeks in Korea/life :) We spent our times indulging in awesome cuisine, dancing the nights away, hiking our days away and talking every second in between. Kind of seems like a dream now. As of now, February third was not the end of the Kelsey Aaron saga. Wish us luck as he is now back teaching in Shanghai with no end date in mind. 

My apologies for being so distant for the last month. I promise to stay on top of my communication for the next year. I love you all, and with recent events back home am missing you all terribly. Know that you are in my prayers.

China Overdue

It has officially been a month since I lazily updated this with China videos... I suppose it is about that time to hit the typewriter again. 

My trip to China began on Christmas day. My friend from back home, Becca, who is working in Busan met me at a tube stop and we began our adventure there. Arriving at the airport late, around eleven, we searched for the most comfortable benches. Thinking we had found the treasured padded seats, we attempted to sleep. Turns out no one else would sleep there b/c they were located by the largest windows, therefore most sunny and freezing areas. This resulted in the worst nights sleep of our mutual lives. 

Moving on... after one morning Heineken we boarded the plane and slept the majority of the two-ish hour flight. Upon arrival we could not find a cabby to take us to our Chinese written address. This proved to be a common theme throughout the trip. An hour in the cab brought us to "The Happy Dragon" - appeared to be very sketchy and in a dark alley. Especially today, I could not be more grateful to the Happy Dragon. We spent many a night there, and met many a good friend/boyfriend there. 

We slept the first full day, then played some dice in our hostel bar in hopes of meeting a crew to hangout with. Success. In desperation I turned to the table next to us - Aaron and Stephen, two sweet looking South Dallas guys - and asked boldly, "Where you two going? And can we join you?" These questions led to two of the best days that molded into two great weeks ending only last Tuesday. The four of us took on the town for the next 48 plus hours, wandering the streets till sunrise, beating Beijing to McDonald's breakfast and watching the sunrise while during the daily flag rising in Tiananmen Square. 

The rest of the events of the week are now a blur as to when they happened. Here is my best recap:

The Great Wall hike was one we were not prepared for. It was a ten k hike up and down to thirty different tours. When I say up and down, I want you to imagine the steepest slopes and inclines with the smallest then biggest stairs you have ever witnessed, then smash them a couple times just to make it more challenging. As difficult as the hike was, it was a rewarding and exciting journey. The view of Mongolia on one side and China on the other, with mountains further than the eyes can see, was an indescribable view.

Incredible. I say we were not prepared, b/c the first part of the hike was miserably freezing (Minnesotaesque), then melting hot by the time you reached the top and climbed over a hundred stairs. Then we didn't bring enough money to do the gratifying zip-line, or eat lunch after being on the wall. Those were minor blips in the amazingness that is the Great Wall. It is mind-boggling to wrap yourself around the labor that went into the construction of this defense. Incredible.

On our list of to do's were obviously the many markets. We hit up any shopping opportunity we saw. This included the Silk Market, the Pearl Market, the Antique Market and every alley market we passed. The excitement was derived not from the items purchased, but from the haggling that was involved. Our biggest mistake was starting at the Silk Market. They kicked our butts! Silk Market 10, Kelsey and Becca 0. We could not believe what we read - to a fault. Venders will over charge you 70%, it is your goal to get that down to 25% at least. My first purchase were a pair of pants that I ended up buying for about $70, thinking I got a deal after bringing her down $50. As soon as I brought the pants home, the size was not what was advertised, the button popped off at first touch and the zipper is non-functional. Not every experience was this unsuccessful. In fact, I got pretty good, making most barters for the two of us, walking away with pissed off merchants and cheap Chinese goods. It became an art and a challenge after the pants debacle.

Becca and I also made it to all the typical tourist sites, including General Mao's memorial. 

We hit up the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Temple of Gardens, and now I have forgotten the rest. Within these ancient walls held beautiful architecture, vibrant colors, gardens that must be fluorescent in summer, and hidden treats to boot. The temples, buildings, hallways and interiors were covered in elaborate designs, with almost neon reds, blues, golds, and greens. The moldings were as you would imagine them, decked with dragons and other celebrated animals. Along with the dynamic colors and detailed construction came the epic history of China. It was fascinating to learn what little we did about this old and proud country. 

The one brilliant thing about China that I have not mentioned, that I am sure you are probably all thinking about, was the FOOD! We did it up right. We would nibble all day, then gorge on an extravagant meal, never once knowing exactly what we were going to get. The experience involved pointing at pictures, which is how we would choose a restaurant - whether or not they had picture menus :) We ate everything typical - fried rice, spicy soups, lomein, dumplings, spicy sandwiches and assorted meats. Our favorite restaurant was also our cheapest meal. We went in, not feeling too well, ordered what little we understood and came out with the yummiest sandwiches on crispy pitas and bomb spicy, noodle soup. The food was not what brought us joy, but the cooks. Eleven of them crowded a little doorway, eventually spreading themselves throughout the restaurant to look at the pseudo-blondies. They went so far as taking "discreet" pictures on their camera phones. As embarrassing as it was to have them capture shots of me (Becca was not facing them... grrr...) slurping down soup, I have never been more flattered. This day goes down in history as the day I was a celebrity!

Overall, the trip was a pleasant one. We had enough chill time that we still felt refreshed when returning home, yet we were able to accomplish everything on our imaginary to do list. SUCCESS!

If you would like to see more pictures, find them at:

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044130&l=49642&id=59200874

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044131&l=b71a2&id=59200874

China VIDS, cuz I haven't had time to write

Cheolwon and beyond

Friday morning and I am exhausted. It's accurate to say that I live for the weekends - regardless of what the plans are, they are guaranteed to not sneeze on me and give me aneurisms - I don't make those kind of plans, but I do work for them.

Last weekend, December 5th was a monumental one. 

Background story: Every Wednesday, as I have mentioned before, we go to a sweet little bar called "MoonBlues". The owner, Mr. Cha and his best buddies, Mr. Alex, Mr. Kim and KoTol are sweet. They let us play whatever music we want and jam out on their instruments (don't worry, this girl is not one of the jammers, unless I'm into the SoJu and there is a tambourine). It's our weekly foreign gathering and where I've met my friends outside of school. 

Back to the weekend: Mr. Cha and the guys built a "pension" as they call it 

- a mansion outside the city. Friday night a crew of 16 of us hopped in an assortment of vehicles for over a two hour ride, arriving at the pension soon after midnight. Cheolwon is near the DMZ, like if you wandered away from base for a half hour, you may have crossed into North Korea and been another statistic ~ don't worry Mom, Dad and bros, it wasn't dangerous at all. When we got there the house was invigorating in an absolutely freezing kind of way, as no one lives there 90% of the time. The party started soon after arrival. The weekend turned into an epic eat, drink, noraebong, read, and play-fest. That sums it up best, rather than going into details. It was just awesome to get away from the city, see the beautiful mountainous countryside and breathe some fresh and frigid air. We are incredibly blessed to have the MoonBlues crew to experience with - an by "we" I wonder if I am referring to Ashley and I. Sorry Andrew, step aside. Apparently Ash and I are a "we". 

For example, "our" weekend plans involve another going away party, our school's Christmas program, a card making party, shopping and a noraebonging eve with our recruiter Vanessa. Vanessa, from pegasus, just showed up at work yesterday, like "hey, nice to put a face to the emails". We were blown away, assuming we would never put a face to that Times New Roman signature. Sunday she wants to do galbi, soju and noraebong - the three greatest gifts Korea has to offer. Then there is Saturday, which holds the end to a seemingly endless pain in the butt - Christmas performance. All of us teachers are stoked for that to be over, but that is not to downplay the cuteness explosion witnessed - the kids have memorized a series of songs and plays that they will perform in front of an auditorium of parents. We will feel like proud mama's watching our babies on stage, but it's more for the parents. Anywho, after this weekend there will be fewer tears, no less class time wasted on "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". Ahh...

Besides the weekends, all is well. It's kind of been a weird week though. I think too much fun and not enough consistency has thrown me for one. I'm seeking to find reason in my up and down mood swings and banking on that being it. It feels like when I am by myself I am just living for the future, be it the weekend or when I get to go home. I hate wishing away time.

In other news, I bought my ticket for Beijing - I'M GOING!!! Dec 26th to the 1st of January, Becca and I will hitting the hotspots of the city - no real plans yet, but that will come with time.

Best moment of the week: goes to the eagerly anticipated phone call from Mom and Dad. I miss the goofy stories and being able to share every detail of my life without being hushed. I love you Ma an' Pa!!!

One more random sidenote: I have a student who has a licking obsession, ya know, glue sticks, desks, my skirts and other students. He doesn't respond well to my daily fingershakings. Any advice??? Any mom's reading this who have dealt with this before?! HAhaha... gotta love Ryan.

Adventureland

So about these little adventures:

10-30 can be classified as my second trip to hospital. Part of our requirements to teach we have to prove that we are not drug attics, nor do we have any extreme health conditions that would force us to exit early. On my first trip I was told that I have low cholesterol, high blood pressure and poor eyes. By the second trip I had high cholesterol, low blood pressure and perfect eyesight. This instilled 100% trust in their health care system. I also took joy in their idealistic hope for the goodness of their people. Let me explain. I carried all of my paper work from each testing station (all 10 of them), after I urinated in a cup, I put it by ten other pee cups, that were poorly labeled and sitting by the exit of the station, no one spoke a lick of English, there were 9 people just standing around waiting for service, budging in line etc at every point. I want you to know that at no point did I tamper with my paper work or substances. There is a reason American hospitals are so systemized and protected - we would take advantage of such open opportunities; rather, we probably did, hence the strict regulations of today. On the trip home with my director Mr. Nam, I heard a park worth of dogs barking. When we pulled up to the location of this noise, I found myself locked in on rusty cages filled with beautiful pups. I couldn't help but dream - which puppy would I take home with me if I could not have them all. Just as soon as I had decided who I would rescue from the puppy play pen, Mr. Nam, informed me that they were not for pets, but for processing - they eat dog meat! I was nauseous the rest of the day at the thought of Chloe being tasted...

I can't say I found comfort, but I found peace in an article regarding such practices. It was from the perspective of a Hindu - ye who love the cow. They said that it is more insulting to them that Westerners eat beef multiple times a week with little regard for their culture. Just the same, Korean's don't view all dogs as best friends. Can't hardly argue that.

10-31 also known as Halloween, was one of the most exhausting days of my life. You would think it would be the most fun, filled with candy, parties and play time. With that came the need to constantly entertain the unappreciative whining candy whores! Overall, fun. I fell asleep at 9pm that night.

11-2 My second church experience in Korea began with an early Western brunch with Alison, the girl whose position I have taken over for - she is now teaching in the depths of Seoul, as Guri ison the outskirts. We had an amazing brunch filled with great food and enlightening conversation. Church managed to top that. I really like it there, and the people are incredibly welcoming - you can feel their love pulsating off their chests, so brilliant! This is the venue from which I take my Korean lessons (next entry).

11-8 My first Korean Lesson, mall trip, and club experience. The day started too early, heading an hour and a half away for our lesson at the church I have joined on Sundays. Thankfully, Ashley and I were not the only ones who were three weeks late for joining. They started a second session for us, and kicked our butts. Yes, I have 26 pages of hwk I have yet to do. They don't mess around. My proud moment was when the amazing teacher (she's one of the coolest people I have met here hands down!), reached out her high-five hand complimented with a "you are my best student!" This didn't stop. I hated it on the outside, as the other students glared, but deep down I was glowing through all my innards. Little does she know, that I won't always be that, as I am missing class this weekend and am overall a bad student, who can only pronounce well and repeat with ease. Ha.

After Korean class, a couple us (Becca, Chatch's old roomie who was up visiting for the weekend! She is teaching in Busan) hit up the CoEx - the biggest mall in Seoul. Good times. That night we exhausted a club club called Monkey Beach. It was themed out in a tropical decor and hiphop bumps. Needless to say, I felt right at home :) 

11-9 Came too early. I met Becca a teensy restaurant, where we chatted about the days events and prayed the rain away. As soon as we decided we would have to spend this one inside, we crossed the coolest umbrellas EVER - we eventually named them after famous unicorns - ya know, the things that seem to good to be true until you find them one day! Yeah. They were clear, so we kept them out rain and shine. Enough about that, we took a long walk passed the old prison (really lame, not worth writing about, but the umbrellas were), and through a gorgeous park.

It was covered in yellow and red leaves, giving both of us a taste of midwest home :) We played on the hilarious exercise equipment, offended a couple elderly as a result, and witnessed a fight in broad daylight - one of the rarest sites in Korea! We then embarked on a hike we were not prepared for - so what it was on cement most of the time. I will have to ask Becca the name of the temples we sought after. It was cool to get some of the rich history, see the Buddhist rock they pray too, and hear the faint chant of the monks. The lookout was the highlight of the hike. With our clear umbrellas in hand we basked on pride rock overlooking all of Seoul. Nothing could bring us down from feeling like the Kings (Becca's BF was with us at this point) and Queens of the most populated city in Korea. Afterwards, we descended down the mtn, exchanging teaching stories all the while, to Insadong - one of the oldest and most authentic Korean markets. If you ever receive a present from me (don't get your hopes up), it will most likely come from there :) It turned cold too quickly, so the three of us comfied up in a hometown comfort, Starbucks. It was so great to have my fellow midwesterners here to share stories with! I felt completely refreshed, ready to take on the following week of screaming kids and educating sponges.

11-10 concluded our second trip to the grocery store haven, we like to call CostCo. It is a little flavor of everything import and Western. Ashley and I will go there just to marvel at the magnitude of food and soy sauce (they sell them in gasoline gallon containers... hahaha... only in Korea, and maybe China or Japan ;). They have supported my kettle chip and snickers addictions - two habits I will not be kicking on this trip.

11-15 (This coming weekend) I am cramming myself in a teeny car with too many others to head 2.5 hours away to the beach. To be honest, I don't even know the name of the beach. I am just along for the ride! We are staying a nice camper along the shore!!! I'll let you know all about it when it's all over. 

That weekend has now come and gone. It was all that I dreamt the Korean ocean could be. On our drive there we stopped at a sweet cave to buy time, but it ended up being one of the highlights. I have never been in such unique carved out rock :/

Afterwards, we pulled up to our home away from home away from home. It was the sweet little trailer you see on your left. It comfortably slept 8, and had every imaginable amenity. I guess this is what the Korean's call "camping". Hey, I'm ok with that. There was little adventure involved, but was the best, most peaceful weekend I have had here yet. I spent my day in the sleeping bag you see on the bench (me) overlooking the lapping waves, finishing a book. At night we cooked, ate, then cooked again. If we weren't cooking, reading or eating, we took long walks on the beach. I ventured into the freezing water twice. I couldn't help myself! Overall, it was a dreamy and surreal weekend!

Fleeting, vibrant...

This week I was reminded of how temporary life can be. 

This is a dedication to my beloved Great Aunt Gerry, who I can still remember playing card games with us at the Grandma and Grandpa's cabin. This is how I will continue to fondly remember her. 

Two weeks ago, unknowingly I began a book about death and suddenness of it. Page 1 describes Susie Salmon's horrific murder with her being the narrator. From there she looks down over her family and watches her mystery unfold before their eyes. Rather than focusing on the mystery aspect, I am intrigued by her family's love and devotion to her after she has passed. This, as many other things, remind me that I need to tell my family and friends how much I love them. It is easy to show love when in the presence of someone, but to love from a far... well, it's new to me. I want to do everything I can to express to you (my family and friends) that I truly think of you every day and with that comes missing you. The further away I go, the more people I meet, the more I discover that they best people in the whole world are in Minnesota and Wisconsin. I am so blessed to have found you this early in life. Thank you, I love you and I miss you more than you know!

Story number three revealing life's fleeting nature occurred on Wednesday of this last week (10-19-08). As any other Wednesday, we headed to our neighborhood bar, MoonBlues. The night was average at most, it was on the walk home that our stories were altered. Unable to hail a cab, my friend Jared and I began the hike home. Along the way we passed a middle-aged plus man (the elderly men in Korea are called "Adjashies") curled in a little ball shaking from the cold. It was easily 10 degrees F that night. With my huge parka and socked feet, I was freezing. After walking past this "Adjashi" once, our consciences were left disturbed to say the least. We made it a goal to find this man a warm place to stay. Long story short, we couldn't find anywhere, the police came to our rescue and would not let him in the car with us. Realizing that our night was dedicated to the Adjashi and we were a packaged deal, the three of us were able to leave together and find a warm place for him. This was one night. What will happen the next? Are these his last hours? Is he destined to die freezing in the wealthy, bustling streets of Korea? This has been turning over and over in my head for days now.

Then today, I was shaken from my death fix by the joy of life. My sister, Jenna and her long-time boyfriend and my good friend, Tommy got engaged! The last five years have merely been a warm up to the journey they are about to embark on together. The idea of these two dears being together forever brings such color, vitality and vigor to the luminous life we live. I am elated to witness their passion for each other and their future triumphs to be tackled hand-in-hand. God bless you two! I couldn't be happier for a couple!!!

Moral of the week: Life is fleeting, temporary, provisional, yet brilliant while being lived. So spend it with those that extract that effervescence from it - I have found those that do so, my family and friends - you are loved and appreciated!