"Don't just take a trip. Occasionally, let the trip take you." H. Jackson Brown Jr.

Greetings from kimchi land. So many things could be said. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind it seems. I'm sitting here typing this almost a month after my last post. I do not intend on making this "no blog" thing a habit. It's simply just not acceptable. Can I get an amen?

Let's see, where to begin. It was about a month ago that I was getting settled in with some new classes, which have turned out well. It's kind of tough because every month we have an occasional new class and it always kind of hard to start all over with a new group of kids. Most of my kids, though are here to stay -- which is exciting! I have sort of come to a conclusion about my favorite classes to teach (currently). I really enjoy my littlest ones. Not only are they ridiculously adorable, but they are also such smarties that have the most imagination of all of my kids. I recently started reading a new book called "The Book of Lost Things", which is all about how we eventually lose our initial ability to imagine. It's actually really heartbreaking to me to think that as adults, we may be "wiser" or have obtained such a high amount of intellect, but have completely lost the ability to create a new world in our minds. I feel like the American tendency to push all of these fairy creatures (if you will) such as good ole' Saint Nick, the easter bunny, toothfairy, and the like, have somewhat allowed our minds to at least fuel the imaginative sector until our tweens. Through my close observation, I have hit the hard reality that these dear little Koreans lose it much earlier! My 10 year olds are so logical, and some are quite brilliant, but their ability to create something out of nothing is almost lost completely. For instance, I was teaching my oldest class how to write in essay form (intro, body, conclusion), I told them to write whatever they wanted. I have never seen so many blank stares. They insisted that I give them a prompt. A topic, a hint, something. My friend told me that one day he gave his students a basic sentence like "The dog ran" and asked them to come and add to the sentence to add more detail. They couldn't do it. Description has been replaced by logical and basic thoughts. Anyway, it's kind of breaking my heart lately. Then this week I had this revelation in my class with my littlest ones, just out of pre-k. They still have it! One little girl, Jane, follows me around and calls me "The fairy, fancy Nancy". She walks behind me when I get to work and does the same thing I do on my way to the teacher room. If I turn around, she freezes and says she needs someone to unfreeze her. That tidbit of an imagination gave me hope. I love that class because they still love to imagine, to play, and to enter into other worlds. I have stopped stressing about them not understanding every little thing I say, and have decided to fuel their imaginations as much as I can do to preserve their ability to create! Golly, they are really cute.

Sorry about going on that schpill. I sort of get on rants about random things sometimes.

Anyway, highlights this month:

1. Got the first paycheck

2. Went to Costco, definitely an explosion of Koreans.

3. Ultimate frisbee every Sunday

4. Read "Catcher in the Rye" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns" SO good.

5. Experienced the craziest ride at the carnival -- The disco.

6. Got a cell phone. Communication is now an option.

7. Saw a children's play in Ulsan that my friend Krystal was in. She was the Snow Queen ...and she was fabulous.

8. Adopted a roomie for a couple weeks.

9. Had shabu shabu with my dear ICC friends

10. Traveled to Seoul and Saraksan for my Chuseok break (Korean thanksgiving)

While we were in Seoul, we stayed with Jessica's family. It was really neat because Chuseok is the Korean thanksgiving, so we got to see lots of traditional things. We ate a bibimbap feast (homemade) with delicious kimchi. Jessica's grandma, Harmony, was the fruit cutting queen. Every time we ate all of the apples or asian pears, you better believe a new plate was being prepared. Haha! She was always working. I think she was about 4'5'' and she has more spunk than me! We grew to laugh a lot at sweet Harmony's ways. Anyway, after we ate we played the game you see in the picture above. I cannot remember the name, but basically you throw some sticks in the air on a blanket and then you just move your markers across a game board till you secure all 4 of your pieces. Thanks to some serious wine and soju consumption on some of the family members, I banked. I've never played a game where someone actually bet money, I felt like a heathen, but what can a girl do?

The first day that we were in Seoul it was POURING down rain. We went to the museum with Jess' cousin and I was completely soaked. Thankfully Wednesday was cool outside because of it and it was rain-free. Which was a plus. The picture above is of Jason, Un, Krystal, and Jessica as we travelled on the non-rainy day to Changgyeong Palace. The subway in Seoul makes me so thankful for the Busan system. They have a zillion lines as opposed to our three. Thank goodness we had Jess' cousins to assist us, it would have been quite the venture on our own.

These two pictures are at the Palace. It was really beautiful! The intricate detail surrounded by lush and fascinating nature were completely captivating! I love that each little area was so specific. All of the kids were dressed in the traditional wear because Wednesday was the actual "Thanksgiving" day. They were so precious.

That night we went down into town some more where there are lots of fun little shops set up. I liked the "bell" shop a lot. Little trinkets are just so fun to look at and run your fingers across. I always feel like I am entering into a world of wonder when so many little things are going on at once.
In that same area we went into a coffee shop that was about 4 stories high, filled with vintage decor and lots of cozy nooks. Above we are played Egyptian Rat Screw, which has become quite the game, despite the fact that Krystal hates it. Poor girl, we always depend on her cards to play it too. She's a trooper.
Here is something really exciting. In Seoul there is a TACO BELL. I know what you are thinking, "How good could Taco Bell be in Asia??" I am here to tell you that it was amazing, everything I could have hoped for, and more. I had the usual, chicken quesadillas and a bean burrito. Complete with extra hot sauce that I now I have stored safely with me in Busan. Saving it for a very special event!

After we left Seoul, Krystal, Jason, and myself took a bus to Seoraksan. We stayed the night the first night in a Gimjibong. I'll let you look that up. Let's just say I felt clean and ready for the hike ahead the next day. Saraksan is a beautiful National Park in South Korea. It's along the Eastern part of the country and has some of the highest peaks in Asia.

Here are my travel pals after a delicious E-mart breakfast.

Little did we know that the hike would take us nearly 2 and a half hours to get to the top, but it sure was rewarding! I mean, we were sky high! It was crazy because there were soooo many people hiking it as well, which is what made me the most nervous. Hiking up slippery rocks and rickety staircases in a sea of people is just a little much for space-loving Nancy. Anyhow, we finally made it to the top and we sure were happy and feeling productive. The picture of me below is from when we were chillin' at the top. So fun.

Anyway, more adventures to come, folks. October is tomorrow, which is slowly blowing my mind. That means that I am 23 years old in 7 days. I was thinking this morning of all of the places I've been on my birthday the past few years.

2007 -- In Hot Springs, AR at the Embassy Suites with my dear roommates and closest friends.

2008 -- In Salzburg, Austria eating Briggitte's incredibly indescribable birthday cake.

2009 -- In Arkadelphia, AR getting a massage and eating a delicious Cracker Barrel breakfast thanks to the roomies.

And here I am, on the other side of the ocean. Gotta love it. Never stop exploring where you are!

P.S. If you don't have facebook, here are some open links to my Korea albums thus far:

"Welcome to Korea" http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2048333&id=82202168&l=08d60791a8

"Crowds of Koreans" http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2052243&id=82202168&l=da57178e65

"Pun: Play on Words" http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2052482&id=82202168&l=68282b4ed0

"Seoraksan: Climbing Mountains, etc." http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2052483&id=82202168&l=2bd80e5280