my halmonee, my grandma

dear halmonee,

It's been a long time since I last saw you.  I wish you were here.  Living here makes me wonder what life would have been like if I lived near you...if I would know your face better.  your voice better.  i miss you.

sometimes i think i see you in crowded streets.  other grandmas walking along with the same glasses you wore, same hairstyle and the same gait.  the thought of you crosses my mind each time i smell ginseng tea, tiger balm, or sesame --I still have vivid memories of after school snacks of kim chi bogumbop, hot and ready to serve when i came home.  you'd spoon feed me even though i was 8.  i let you, cause i secretly liked it and could feel the depth of your love for me in each nourishing bite.

you taught me how to tell time.  you'd point out where the big and short hands needed to be so i could catch the bus.  you'd explain in your korean, but i only understood so much.  

grandma, do you remember when i was little and sang really loudly in our basement?  i sang along with all of the tv jingles and commercials and when I sang along to a commercial that said "love and harmony" you would always answer sweetly from the top of the basement steps because you thought i was calling your name.  i would always giggle and you would just look at me gently, lovingly.

halmonee, i think you'd be proud of me.  sometimes it's hard finding my place here but i'm learning a lot.  i'm learning korean, cooking korean meals, and surviving here in this unfamiliar place--this country of my heritage and i'm slowly getting to know it better.

and one day, i hope, i will feel like korea is mine, just as much as it was yours. 

love,

your granddaughter, sora 

...and we're back!

we've been hard to get a hold of these last couple weeks.  peter finished up with a nation wide exercise that involved some long hours, sometimes up to 15!  the exercise finished and pete had just as busy a week last week, perhaps busier.  he's had night shift as a guard, while also working a 12 hour day...which makes a whopping total of an 18 hour work day!   we'll be glad when his hours go back to normal and we can spend the waking hours together : )

substitute teaching has been an adventure.  i didn't think i would enjoy teaching middle or high school very much, but i've actually had a great time getting to know the kids and teaching the material.  the other day i taught an algebra II class and was pleasantly surprised to find my knowledge of exponents and radical numbers didn't fall too deeply into the crevices of my brain (as I had predicted it would in high school).  

the school here is rather small, only about 40-50 students per grade level, so i've had about every student in the school from my 4 weeks of subbing.  it's nice to hear a "hi mrs. watt!" in the hallway every once in a while.  of course, most kids are actually saying "hi, mrs. wut!" or "watts" or "what".  i never knew 'watt' would be so hard to pronounce.  : )

i'm feeling a break through this last week or so with my transition here in Korea.  I think I am still quite far from feeling like Korea is "home", but I'm feeling more comfortable here.   The last month or so I felt like I was overwhelmed by all of the culture differences (which is not a fun way to be).  Little things would stress me out like taking a taxi, exchanging money, or the driving.  (we realize we are driving more and more like the locals-- we've learned most traffic laws are only "suggestions" and U-turns are fun!) 

Anyhow,  it's been a difficult transition, but it's getting better and better.   My language skills are improving day by day.  We order delivery food every once in a while (which is awesome) and I am engaging in conversations with strangers more-- sometimes  I'll have an entire conversation with someone and they won't even notice I'm not a local!  

I appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers for peter and I as we adjust here.  The culture shock was a big concern of mine and i feel the shock wearing off day by day.  korea is a really beautiful country with lots to offer and i'm feeling like i'm ready to dive in.

smiling moments

a few happy moments in my day:

(in no particular order)

• seeing a break in the sky.  it's been gray & raining all day, but while i was driving home i saw a small blue patch of sky with cheery white puffy clouds peeking out, as if they were saying hello.
• at the grocery store i saw a korean grandpa stocking the shelves with sprinkles.
• sitting on the couch in our living room, looking out the window and seeing a newspaper dance in the sky (20 floors up!) synchronized with the music playing.
• enjoying a happy friday afternoon at home with some great music & a good book (perfect for a rainy day!)

some sights we've seen

at the joseon dynasty
a view at a rest stop on the way to pyongtek.
one of the first korean meals i made at home : ) (we didn't have many dishes yet) note: our table is made of plastic drawers.
one typical market stand outside. it was freezing cold outside. peter took this picture and the lady wasn't too thrilled...can you tell?
right by seomun market (right outside our house). there are tons of stands just like these lined along the streets. sometimes vendors will place all of their produce in nice, shapely towers to proudly display their produce in the back of their pick-up truck.

all of this fresh produce makes for some whimsical sights. it always makes me smile when i see a truck drive by with a load of fresh strawberries or clementines. i feel like i'm in a dr. seuss book.
a bakery/cracker stand just a few minutes from our apartment. the owner is a really jovial young fellow who lets you sample any cracker/cookie you'd like...much to the appreciation of little ones.

fishies

brother and sister (maybe arguing about who would eat the bundeghee first?)

on the love rooftop (next to the locks)

eat your heart out, andrew zimmern

our first experience with bun-deh-gee

pics from a while back...

lover's bench
at the top of a mountain in seoul.  the name of the mountain escapes me.... we took a gondola ride up to the top.  when we got to the top, we saw an incredible number of locks covering the fence around the railing of the lookout.  it's tradition that couples come and put a lock on the fence to illustrate the strength of their love and devotion.

some cool sculpture/body shapes that hung dozens of feet in the air.

a weekend away

after reading about our terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, i must say our weekend following this week full of stressful days was just lovely.

peter's unit does an annual couple's retreat with a marriage conference led by the chaplain.  we went to gyeongju, which is about an hour east of daegu.  it has beautiful palaces and temples scattered across its mountainous terrain.  the bus ride there was beautiful, seeing all of the green, rolling hills and ornate temples resting on the tops of the hills.

we arrived at our hotel, which was extremely nice, and ate dinner once we unloaded our bag from the bus.  the food during the weekend was beautiful, yummy, and, well, if you want to make these watts happy, just feed us tasty food.  there was korean food, italian, sushi, other japanese dishes, american, chinese, and many others.  

besides the food and hotel, the actual marriage conference was very helpful and enjoyable.  the schedule was arranged so that couples had plenty of free time so they could reflect on the material covered during the conference and just enjoy one another.  peter and i had a lot of rich conversation and we rejoiced in the joy, pain, sweetness, and suffering God has given us in our three years of marriage and how He will continue to grow us.

I praise God for Peter.  His heart is so wonderfully beautiful.  there isn't another being i'd rather walk alongside.  Thank you, Father!