Willkommen nach Deutschland!

Hallo!  Wilkommen nach Deutschland!

OK. I'll stop pretending like I've suddenly become fluent in the past two weeks.  :)
We are in Germany and really loving it!  We arrived on the 2nd of August and hit the ground running.  Since Peter and I are both going to be working at the school (I told you all this already, right?)  we have a lot of work to do.  We have been, as the military calls it, in-processing, which basically just means filling out a lot of paperwork at many different offices on base.  We haven't had a ton of time to just explore yet, but have tried to take nice long walks in the evenings to scope out our new home.

I'll try to post some pics soon.  Right now we're staying at the Hotel Ross in Schweinfurt.  We actually have a little apartment that's part of the hotel, with a small kitchenette and living room.  It's all located right in the heart of Schweinfurt which is a charming city with cute shops and restaurants all around.  We have successfully found many delicious restaurants, bakeries, and gelaterias!  We're pacing ourselves so we don't gain 50 lbs by the end of the year. :)

We have already made some friends with people from our school.  Everyone has been really welcoming and lovely.  I have had moments of homesickness both for family and friends in St. Louis and Korea and I'm sure I will continue to miss both homes, but we also feel really blessed and happy to be here.

We're on the hunt for a house.  We saw a great place last week that we hoped to sign a lease for, but the landlord backed out so he could lease to a friend instead.  We're hoping to get a home soon so we'll have room for YOU! :)

we'll write more soon.
xoxo
sarah

I might leave my heart in Korea...

I love Korea....

Three and a half years ago Peter desperately tried to convince me that moving to Korea was a good idea.  Being Korean American, the thought of reconciling my cultural identities was overwhelming.  I thought going to Korea would only make me feel even more disconnected to my heritage.  And, it did---at first.  I didn't know where I belonged.  I was caught in this weird in-between place of feeling like my feet were dangling between two different worlds.  The Korea that I knew was what I grew up with in my St. Louis home--Konglish, dwenjang jigae and my parents' stories about the land of their birth.  Moving to Korea myself was like drinking a glass of vodka straight up....no juice or ice to dilute the experience.  It burned at first, but I learned so much.

It made me really grateful for my country and helped me understand who I am as a Korean American and be proud of that.  Instead of thinking I had to jump from culture to culture, I learned how to embrace both.  In the past, I felt I would put on my "Koreanness" when I went to visit family or had to talk to my relatives over the phone in my broken Korean.  When I hung up the phone I could return to my American-Suburbia life.  Now I feel as though my Korean and American heritage collide and mix together.  Korea runs through my veins now--I feel it pulsing through me as if it's a part of me that's been nurtured back to life.  Something I always had inside of me, but I didn't know how to engage it. 

I am a product of both cultures.  My parents came to America around the same age that Peter and I were when we moved to Korea.  It was crazy to have the reverse experience of what it's like to move to a foreign country on your own.  I have to give my parents a standing ovation in gratitude and sheer amazement for accomplishing that.  We had many bits of assistance along our journey here in Korea and they had few.  I am so grateful to them both for sacrificing so much for us.

So all this random typing is all to say that Korea has become my home.  It is no longer my parent's birth place, but it is my country.  My father would always say, "In my country..." when telling us stories about his childhood and whatnot.  Well, Dad, now you need to say, "our country" because I feel like Korea is just as much mine now as it is yours.

A New Chapter

So, we are moving to Germany!  Peter had his last day in the Army as Captain Watt today and is not just regular Peter. :)  He changed out of his uniform in the bathroom of his building and came out in shorts, a t-shirt and his sandals.  I saluted him. 

We will be going back to the states soon.  We'll take a road trip and plan to go to Seattle to visit my sister and we'll also be going to St. Louis to see our dear family and friends.  It's been 3+ years since we've been home so this visit is long overdue.

So, in short, I have really been horrible about keeping up with this blog.  I was hoping to be dedicated and disciplined, but the number of posts in the last couple years shows my neglect.  My apologies.  Here's a brief summary of what has happened so far in 2012.

• We ate our way....er....went to Hong Kong, Tokyo and Taipei.  All 3 cities were amazing in their own way.  Hong Kong is a very laid back, cool, yet upbeat place.  The contrast of the old and new, east meets west was all very interesting and beautiful.  Tokyo was surprisingly different than Korea.  I figured they would be quite similar, but I was wrong.   Japanese people are very polite and also more western than Korean people.  They look quite different from one another and seem to be more structured people than what I have observed in Korea.  Taipei was just a food lovers dream.  Any and everything that is deep fried can be found at their night markets.  We tried everything from stinky tofu to scallion pancakes and bubble teas.  yum!
• We found out we're moving to GERMANY!  Since Peter is getting out of the military, I picked up a job transfer to Germany at the military school.  I will be teaching at the elementary school and it's our hope that Peter will also get a job there. 
• School is out for summer!  Summer vacation feels even better as an adult!

We are really going to miss Korea.  more to post soon...

HAPPY 2012!!!

a new year. some new changes. and it's already february....eek! i will post soon with some info about what's going on in our lives and where we'll be headed next! stay tuned!

happy birthday!

happy birthday, dad!

each year i think i am more and more impressed with all you have done for us kids. being here in korea as a 20something in a country that is foreign to me (you know, in a figurative sense), i don't know how you did it! you have become a successful business owner, a hard worker who doesn't complain at all---i really have no recollection of you complaining at all about work, and a loving dad. thank you for everything you have done and i hope this year is especially rich with blessing.
i love you!

also, happy birthday, suzanne!
she is turning 39 and looks great! :D suzanne, you are a blessing to us in so many ways. we cherish your love, generosity, energy and sweet spirit. i can close my eyes and think of you and your home and feel all warm and cozy and it makes me miss you all the more. love you so much and pray God does great things in your life this year. love you!

UPDATES!

i'm very ashamed to see that my last post was in... (gasp) July! and it is now November. tssk tssk on me. i'm sorry, friends.

i will try to be better about my posting. things here just seem to be busier and crazier than ever.

here are a couple quick news updates:
-pete and i went to hong kong for labor day weekend. it was a food fest. we walked all around the island, took the metro and snacked on all kinds of delicious and strange goodies. we had a total blast. hong kong pretty much rocked our faces off.
-school has started! i have 19 little darlings and they're just as funny and cute as can be. i'm praying for a smooth, calm school year. let's hope my six-year old friends take it easy on me. : )
-pete is almost finished with his online Masters' degree! Soon he will be separating from the military and applying for a job as a teacher. we are excited about this new chapter ahead of us and look forward to the possibilities!
-i've been hosting a womens' bible study and co-leading it with some good friends. we have about 15-20 women who are involved and we seem to have a strong showing each week. God has really blessed this group and our studies together. We just finished the book of Hosea--it was really good and challenging. i'm also leading a bible study with my co-workers once a week. it's a place where we can all meet together to talk about the gospel (mark, mainly) and share our perspective. i've loved it. anytime i get to talk about the gospel is a blessing.
-lastly, i MISS you. every. single. one. of. you. (whoever you are)

i have some funny posts and will try to keep you updated. if not, please bombard my facebook or email with threats or something... :D

a VERY overdue post. i'm so sorry. : (

here is a post i wrote this summer on my way to maui to meet my sister for a little vacation. it was glorious. the trip there and back was an adventure. read all about it...

airport musings. august 2011.

The only thing separating me from paradise is a “minor maintenance issue on the aircraft” that seems to be more major than minor. I’m sitting at Incheon airport and the jovial captain gets on the intercom to announce the problem with a shiny grin. He passes off the walky-talky to his Korean counterpart for a translation. The guy announces pretty much the same thing, but in Korean, but the biggest difference between the two different announcements was the response. When the shiny grinned captain finished his less than pleasant announcement there were a few heads that drew back, some gentle sighs, but an overall sense of, “well, guess we’ll just have to wait. Nothing much we can do” kind of mood. When the less jovial Korean man made his announcement the passengers started to swarm the counter with looks of disgust and major frustration. If I didn’t know the little Korean I do, I would have thought he announced something more along the lines of, “I am the cause of your delayed flight. I thought it would be cute to push all the shiny buttons in the cock pit and now I am enjoying watching you all suffer”.

But man. I’ve never been in a riot before and I thought I was about to witness one. It was a series of unfortunate events: it was late (probably way past many of the angries’ bedtimes), everyone was hungry and anticipating a meal, the flight was delayed and it just kept getting pushed back later and later. Recipe for disaster. I think if the counter were not there to separate the airline staff from the passengers someone might have swung for a punch. I didn’t really enjoy any of this rioting since I was tired and had acquired a learned helplessness. It didn’t seem fair to yell at the staff who had little to do with the aircraft itself and hey, it’s life. Things like this happen. Of course, I didn’t have a tight schedule or big event I was flying in for. Perhaps if I did I might have been among the angries and had some indignation to yell into the air while beating my chest.

Now, I love Korea and I love Koreans. For goodness sakes, I am Korean! But man oh man. Koreans are not patient people. They aren’t the ideal traveling partners. They like to rush, push people out of the way, cut lines---things my first graders have to change their light to yellow for… I have grown quite accustomed to this “me first” attitude I have observed over the time I have spent in korea. In fact, I have had a few pushes through a crowd or jumped a line (something I would have NEVER done before, but in korea it’s fair game). And flying with Koreans is maybe the worst. When boarding a plane you’ll hear the flight attendants say, “first class passengers, then those sitting in seats 1-15 please board” inevitably you’ll see a swarm of Koreans walk up to the counter pushing their boarding pass, totally disregarding the staggered process. Or my new favorite is when the plane has landed and is pulling up to the terminal. Flight attendants always make the generic announcement, “ladies and gentlemen, we have just arrived in whatevercity and need you to stay seated until the captain turns off the fasten seatbelts sign.” That’s the Koreans cue to unhook their seatbelt, stand up and start to get their baggage out of the overhead compartments with much urgency and frequently, knocking their bulky suitcase into the unfortunate passengers' shoulders sitting below the compartment. Then when you watch the flight attendants they start yelling out and motioning, “please sit. Please wait! Please sit! Wait! Sit! Wait!” Meanwhile, her hands are pushing down in the air like she’s playing an invisible game of whack the beaver. Don’t get me wrong, Koreans are some of the smartest I know. I am sure some of this rushy-rushy behavior is in part to the language barrier, BUT I think it’s also a mixture of impatience, and Koreans’ uncanny ability to flex the rules to do what works for them.

Needless to say and nearly six hours later, we boarded our repaired plane and were on our way to paradise. Things seemed to calm down as soon as everyone got on the plane. It was quiet and peaceful. It’s amazing what a box of juice and some sleep can do for a case of grumpies. : )

After all, we were on our way to HAWAII...can't complain.

Among some of the really fun things Susan and I were able to do:

I arrived one day earlier than she because of the considerably cheaper fare for a Wednesday rather than a Thursday. I got a rental car and drove to our condo. I pretty much crashed shortly after I got there. I bought dinner, went to a grocery store, then watched a little American tube (which was glorious, by the way) and hit the sack. The next day I picked Susan up from the airport and greeted her with a tuberose lei. It was pretty fun!

Here are some things we were able to do together:

* Lay out and swim at Kamaole II beach.

* Snorkeled at several locations and saw beautiful coral reef and colorful tropical fish

* We swam with a sea turtle!

* Ate LOTS of good food. Some highlights include: excellent sushi, sweet & juicy mango, banana macadamia nut pancakes (need I say more?), mushroom ravioli, and the list goes on.

* We made an early morning drive to haleakala volcano to see the sunrise. It was 3am, freezing cold, and breathtakingly beautiful.

* Shop! Nothing better than shopping with your sister.

* Got tossed around in the waves at Big Beach. the waves were so powerful they snapped my sunglasses in two. and i'm sure my wipeouts looked awesome to the tourists who happened to be walking by.

It was really amazing. The whole trip was so relaxing. The only stress we had was narrowing down our dinner options. It’s also great to spend time with my sister and have lots of time to talk about life, memories and tell funny stories. can't wait to have another sister vacay! : )