"Teacher Nancy... I've got a big one..."

Well it's true. I have made friends.

I know. I know. Thank you for the congratulations.

Something you should be aware of: www.koreabridge.com is so incredibly legit.Well most of the time. It is this website for expats/English speakers in Korea to get involved in their specific areas and to meet other people who speak English. It's really cool. I get lost on it sometimes and make all of these lists of things to do.

This brings me to my next point: "My Favorite Day in Korea Thus Far": After church last Sunday I had found out on Korea bridge that some people play ultimate frisbee on Sundays. So naturally I told some ICC people (my new friends) about it and we all ventured to this field after lunch. Well, come to find out..the field was empty. Whether or not this was some kind of sick joke -- it is a good thing "they" weren't there because it allowed for the best day to occur.

After some slight thought, we decided to go hiking at a place that my friends Krystal and Jason had been to a few times. Thankfully we had Sam the Korean with us, who happens to have a car, so we got out to this little island right across the bridge for free. The hike was incredibly beautiful. There were people eating, swimming, snorkeling, and hiking all around us. Yet, the view was magnificent and the smell of the outdoors so close to such a massive city was indescribable. So we hiked around the cliffside of this island for a good while and then Jason led us down to a cliff a little lower where he just up and decided it was time to jump in the water. Therefore, like his little ducklings we were in...one by one...two by two...etc. etc. It was so much fun. For some reason I decided to get in this horrid habit of screaming, thereby swallowing an obscene amount of freezing cold salt water. Food tasted a little weird there for a couple of days, but it was completely worth it. It was really fun because eventually we gained several enthusiastic Korean crowds cheering us on. I sort of felt like celebrity. The rumor is, though, that it was all a front. You see, as my friend Sam the Korean was swimming out to see after his last jump, the ocean patrol scooted up and acted way cool telling us through body language that swimming wasn't aloud. Well, we think the Korean "fans" told on us. By golly!

After we were significantly soaked with no bathing suits and no towels we hiked back to the car. Because we are cool people we got chicken and mystery beer and had a delightful picnic on Gangwali beach and watched the moon come through the sky and the lights on the beautiful bridge light up. It was glorious. After dinner we played frisbee on the beach, just in case if our legs weren't going to be sore enough. It's really neat at night on the weekends because the road by the beach closes off to cars and all of these musicians and street performers come. So it was all of the sudden this really fun festival! After some partying with Asians in dreadlocks, we decided it was necessary to finish our day off with about a million rounds of "Set" the card game and Patbingsu (Korean "ice cream" - sweet red beans, shaved ice, fruit, marshmallow things, and corn flakes). Needless to say I slept really well that night.

This week was kind of hectic with school and everything. It's crazy because I really felt like I was actually getting to a point of knowing what I was doing and being far less annoying with frequent questions. Of course, it just had to be my week of clumsiness. Oh yes, I made my mark this week. Let's see: I ran into walls, let the children free way to early, did the wrong assignments, graded the wrong papers, tried to go into other people's classes. All of the above. I am so thankful for random humorous moments. One of which was today. I will now tell you a very awkward moment:

I have one class with these three boys, Danny/Alex/Bryan, and they are really funny and generally good students for me. Anyway, today Danny was acting awfully strange so about midway through the class I asked him if something was bothering him. All he could bring himself to do was hold is stomach and look up at me from beneath his thick spectacles and say, "Teacher Nancy....I've got a big one." At this point we started smelling a bit of an odor... poor boy had to poop so bad. I told him to go to the bathroom and he told me the one at the school was "too dirty". He's a bit of a neat freak. I felt terrible for him. Although it was possibly the funniest moment I've ever had to contain myself in. The other two boys were freaking out, so I had to be mature (naturally).

Anyway, I am glad this week is over because it's really been one giant transition at work. We finished our intensive summer courses over the past week so a lot has been changing including random class switches, computer assignments, and lesson planning. Blah. I am really glad for a weekend to clear my head. Although, I am also glad for a fresh start to everything next week. It will be less confusing to start new things than taking up older ones.

Yet another couple of highlights from this week have included my new friend Jessica. She is such a gem. Her heart is radiant for Jesus and our hearts really align on being intentional in our time, no matter what it holds. I really admire her heart and her ability to communicate compassion. Holla for sista Christians. Anywho, we went to Haeundae beach Wednesday morning (see picture above). They sell these "beach mats" for 3000₩ that are basically those reflectors that go in your car window in the summertime and so we grabbed a couple of those to completely defeat the culture and get ourselves a little sun kiss. Anyway, it was a morning of good conversation, sunshine, sand beneath my toes, and waves crashing before my eyes. I can get used to having fellowship and the beach before work :). Then today we had smoothies at PNU, breakfast at Paris baguette, and shopping around. Lots of fun.

Speaking of PNU I went to hang out with Jason, my friend Krystal, and Brittany last night. We went to these batting cages for 500₩. It is completely obvious that I have absolutely no future in baseball. The end.

Announcements:

** I now have my health check done. Just one step closer to getting my Alien Card and a phone. FINALLY.

** There is internet in my apt. Yeeeewhooo! I'm officially a woman of technology at my fingertips.

** I have picked up several Korean phrases from my children (yes, that is what they are to me). The only problem is that I am not sure how appropriate these phrases are.

Have a wonderful weekend my friends and family. God is abundant. Rest in Him and Him alone.

My theme verse this week:

"O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise." Psalm 51:15