It's the "jet lag"

From left to right:
1. Soju (Korean vodka) in- yes- a juicebox
2. New friends!
3. What I've been doing tonight
4. View of Seoul from Baskin Robbins
5. Pre- cellphone
6. Post- cellphone
7. Korean Barbeque






SOOOO.... I will begin this post with the same word I often use in my classes to cover the spaces of time in which I am frantically tossing papers around and trying to find my lesson plans. I will admit that I'm quite self-conscious to write because I started reading Rachel's blog and her writing is so incredible I didn't want to display my fifth grade capability. However, I'll communicate the best I can.

I did a few notable things this weekend. 1. I acquired a cellphone. 2. I spent the night at a real Korean's house, and 3. I navigated the subway by myself.

Meagan and I began our day around 4 pm on Saturday by riding the subway to a nearby station. Other teachers told us Ansan was the best place to go and get a cellphone. Every underground subway in Korea is like a mall. Everywhere you turn there are anime-inspired cell phone charms, leopard print lingerie, $5 high heels, glittering cases of cell phones, variations of sausage on a stick, and racks of trendy clothes stuffed into a store the size of a bathroom.

We approached some seedy looking men at a cellphone counter. Behind it there were some posters of Korean singers on the walls and tall stacks of boxes full of mysterious papers. They spoke English, and when we finally insisted that we wanted cheap, used cellphones, the man's face slightly dropped and he said, well, I have these. He turned around to a back counter, pulled something out, and when he faced us again he was holding three brand-new, expensive looking phones- identical except for their colors: pink, black, and white. It was as if someone handed me a new iPod for $20. That's how they do things here... flashy. Maegan and I gave them our ARC (Alien Resident Cards), signed a few forms, and sat in awkward stools behind the counter and self-consciously talked to each other under our breath, watching the parade of onlookers meander past us. Two Americans on display in the subway. It took about two hours, mostly because they switched our phones, had to switch them back, and then oops! had to switch them back again. This was done by pulling out a lot of wires from the back of the phone, using a tool to solder something (I only knew that because I saw smoke coming out) and typing a few things into a computer. I noticed a few giggling old ladies peering at us the few times I looked up from my new toy on the subway. From our gasps of delight and perplexed button pushing, they probably thought we'd never owned a phone before.

We met up with a friend in Seoul, made a few Korean friends, and due to my classic lack of planning missed the subway home. Oh- and before that, we had an amazing meal where we cooked all the food in the middle of our table on a grill, and then we went to Noraebang. It's like Karaoke but you only go with your friends and get a private room. Amazing!! Not planning on getting home (over an hour away) was perfectly fine because one of our new Korean friends let us stay at her apartment. She is in her 20's, is a graphic designer for a clothing company, and lives in an apartment with her parents and her brother. When we walked in there was the faint scent of miso, some uneaten grapes on a small wooden table on the floor, potted plants scattered in every possible place, and an inkwell with yellowed paper covered in Chinese characters. Her room was full of all the paraphernalia of a girl my age- makeup strewn in front of the mirror, tickets, a camera, discarded gifts all over her dresser, and a teddy bear in the bed. We stayed up until 5:30 showing each other pictures of our families and friends and yes, our pets. She is an amazing photographer and from what I saw Korea is stunningly beautiful. I'll see more as I go.

Meagan was gone when I woke up at noon, and I rolled over in the bed with the slight disorientation of a one night stand. I just stayed the night in this house and I just met this girl! Ever so hospitable, she offered me a shower and asked me if I was hungry. I replied "no" just as I looked down at the spread of Korean food she had prepared. I quickly changed my answer to an uneasy smile and helped her carry the small wooden table to the living room floor. I ate a breakfast of various pickled vegetables, kimchi, rice, and egg. I managed to avoid the whole softshell crabs floating in some gray liquid- maybe when I was in a more daring mood. I decided to go to church in Seoul and she was kind enough to walk me all the way to the bus stop!

I'll just mention the bizarre occurrence of running into not one but three friends from college, one from BCM. Does anyone know Cookie?!? I cannot express how relieved and excited I was to see her!!! She went to the Citadel so I remembered a girl in a blue and gray, no-nonsense uniform. Not anymore! She was as cute as any trendy Korean and as funny as I remembered her.

So... after church, lunch, and Baskin Robbins- which, despite the cheap price- is a full service experience in Korea, complete with a view of Seoul and complimentary hand sanitizer when you leave (which I hear is all the rage), I stumbled onto the subway in the same clothes I was wearing the night before. Teeth still unbrushed, no makeup. It was worth it!

I made it home, and was EXHAAAAAUUUUSTED, which seems to be the trend with me for the past few weeks. When I'm teaching it's as if someone flipped a switch in my back- I'm singing, bouncing around, tossing papers and erasers, fanning kids in the face, cheering them on during grammar games... and at night I have my natural night-owl energy to stay up doing things which feel quite important (like watching Korean movies on YouTube or reading Harry Potter), but in the morning (which includes until 1 pm), after school, and on the weekends, I am quite exhausted. While I hope to reach some compromise with my schedule (really- I don't have to be at work until 2?) I don't know when that'll happen.

Teaching makes me really happy- which is so funny considering the soul-ripping exhaustion and stress I encountered last semester- I thought I would always hate it. It's so much better not having to wake up at 6, work until 4, write lesson plans until 8, and go to bed at 9. This is a great compromise and while I could manage to teach in the states, this is just so nice for now! I love my younger classes because they are so adorable and I feel so motherly, and I like the older ones because I can joke around with them more. My students really do make me happy and I love watching them learn. I guess God was right when I prayed about my major sophomore year and I felt this heavy inclination to change it to education... He always is.

Please pray for my co-workers and I... some of us are starting a Bible study tomorrow. Just pray that I would be obedient to whatever God wants and content wherever He has me- who I'm with or not with-

"But Samuel replied, 'Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.'"
- 1 Samuel 15:22

I came here on the intuition that it was the right thing to do, despite my fears and everyone I deeply loved in the US, and I'm learning to listen for the Holy Spirit. I knew I needed to go to a place where I would be more detached from my feelings. I'm alone with God a lot and it is so good- also I'd been praying some about spiritual maturity before I got here, and after some studying I think this might be it-

"But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."
- Hebrews 5: 14

For me lately it has just been trying to be in tune with what I should be doing in every moment- when I should be staying home, when I should be going out, when I should be sleeping when I should be awake, what I should be saying and not saying, what to trust and not to trust.... all I can say is that I'm grateful God is patient with me!!!
Please pray I would have a deep love for the people I'm around, and especially the people of Korea. Pray that God would transcend language and cultures and work out His will through me- and that I would be really sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Also- that it would be easy for me to talk to Him. I live alone but it's still weird for me to just start talking.

Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! It's after 3... I'm going to begin my 2nd least favorite part of the day- getting ready for bed! (My least favorite part is getting up in the morning. Maybe I'm a vampire. Maybe if I start writing stories about my vampire life I can make millions of dollars instead of millions of won.)

Love-------- Audrey

And of course, all of this would have been incomplete without a video from Noraebang. Enjoy.