And we're off! Here comes year 2!

Year 2 in Korea has started!

Woohoo! So far so good!
Here are a few pics of my classroom with some pinterest inspiration put to the walls. :)

 Here is the main pinterest inspired creation with the challenging "BE"s for the year.

 The window here says "What are you reading?" and has info on the different genres.

 My awesome coworkers at ICS for year 2! Elementary, my dear!

So many people have asked me in one way or another if I'm planning on returning to ICS for a third year. And I have an answer for them.






I don't know yet.


I'm trusting God to give me direction for where he wants me wherever that may be.

I haven't had a "sign" from God about what to do, but I'm praying for direction to know His will. Please pray for me as I seek His face and His will for the future.

last days

The last days of the school year at ICS are traditionally VBS days for the elementary. Since we have half days that week with the high school students taking exams, it works well for the elementary schedule. This year's theme was "Weird Animals: how Jesus' love is unique and one-of-a-kind" Students learned about how Jesus loves us even when we are left out, afraid, confused, and do wrong. It was a fun way to end the year together.

The last official day is reserved for class parties and awards. With it being a half day, it is a challenge to get everything in to the shorter schedule.
I had been working on a video gift for my students of pictures of them this year. A coworker showed me how to upload it to youtube even! So, i'm feeling pretty tech savvy now.

This group of kids has been fun, and I will miss them lots. Most are returning next year, so I'm thankful to keep that connection going through another year.

Here is the video of my awesome eight.

Personality Tests, Wrong Names, Yams, and such

I've come to the realization that I'm a terrible blogger. I wanted to be one of those once a week or so bloggers, but that's not me. I get caught up in the action of life and forget to sit and contemplate it sometimes. That makes me sad because there has been so much that has happened to me that has taught me some hard lessons.
I've been pondering what lessons I've been learning, because I know I'll be asked this question several times this summer when I'm home. I want to be ready to give an honest answer, but trying to pinpoint and describe what I've learned here seems like an invasion of privacy. You might say, "Well, you're going to tell us anyway since you're blogging (finally)" and you'd be partially correct. But there have been things that are definitely between me and God and I treasure the preciousness of those moments and lessons. My True Friend has been a support for me that I hadn't known until moving here. He is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother!

One of the big lessons I've learned and one that I will share was related to a myriad of personality tests I was required to take not once but twice in the last year. I have always despised personality tests that seem to pinpoint a person to the letter of exactly who they were according to a random assortment of questions and answers. I always felt those tests did people a disservice by limiting who they were to some category. At my pre-field training in June, we had to take a variety of tests which helped in determining our fit for what we were about to go through in transitioning to a new country. This year with our mentoring assignments, we had to take a few more (oh joy!) personality tests. I apparently expressed my distaste for said tests to my roommates rather loudly and did not want to discuss my results a second time in less than a year. But, in processing the results from June and this past winter and in having a candid discussion with a friend, I came to realize how these tests don't limit us to a said category or what-not, but most help to help us find a niche to serve best. The verse from Psalm 139 about being fearfully and wonderfully made echoed in my mind often as I dwelt on my results and the fact that the results, in my case, were a true indicator of the personality I have. The big takeaway I have from this dual testing session is that I am who I am as God made me. That may seem simple and I would say that it is, but I have grown in my confidence in who I am as a child of God. I heard a quote recently that said something to the effect that we, as believers, need to know who we are and whose we are. That has been a big lesson I've learned in my first year in Korea!

I have 8 students that have made my life in Korea full. They are a ridiculous, precious, intelligent, crazy bunch and I love them.  I have taught them the Scripture songs that I grew up singing with my parents at school and home and they LOVE getting to sing them. I introduced the song from Psalm 89:1 just this past week, even telling them the "once more" part we'd add at our school in Little Rock to sing it a second time....and they start doing it too! I had them listen to the video description of Jesus by S.M. Lockridge called "That's My King" in September. Anytime I ask for requests for a video I get that suggestion, so of course we watch it. That my 8 third graders want to listen to that video so frequently thrills me each time.
These kids have been great for me and I hope I've been great for them too. With them, I've explored a botanical garden, sledded on a frozen rice paddy, practiced archery near a pig farm, and shared laughs galore about a plethora of things (like yams). I will really miss these kids and their forgiving and teasing nature.
With 8 students, you'd think I'd get all their names perfectly and never call one by another's name. I have 3 students with a name beginning with an "A", two with an "S", and 2 with a "J".....this girl gets tripped up on names with so many similar starts! Even my 8th man by himself gets called one of the others' names! One of the boys drew a picture of me calling on a student asking if he was ready to begin a game; the student's response was a statement that they weren't who I said at the start of my sentence! I roll my eyes at myself so much!


A part of me is beyond thrilled that it's mid-May, that the number of remaining school days are in the teens, and that I am getting to go home for almost 2 months. But a part of me is really going to miss these kids and the fun we've had.

This girl came to Korea to teach and has spent probably more time learning.

Please keep me in your prayers as I wrap up year one.
God bless
Rebecca

The Driving Story (AKA the unexpected Seoul excursion)

There's a common saying that you don't realize how good things are until they're gone.
I can relate to that somewhat after this weekend.

Transportation in Korea is one thing I have come to enjoy using and depending on its reliability. The idea of driving myself somewhere is strange but still somewhat familiar. It's such an American idea of having your own mode of transportation, and only you and your family getting to use said mode. I have come to miss listening to the radio and the peace and quiet of solo drives. Korea has made me appreciate being driven around and has given me patience in the midst of mass transit, be it subway or bus-and even taxi.

This past weekend, my roommate Kim and I were going to a conference on teaching strategies that promised to be very practical. We were both excited to go, but did not like the idea of nearly two hours on the subway at an ungodly early time on a Saturday morning. The idea of borrowing a car came up and quickly became a legitimate possibility for our trip, saving us time in travel and giving us extra sleep time (win-win!)

The day came and we had GPS and directions from people who'd been to the school where the conference was held. Having access to a vehicle and not being dependent on a subway timetable or having to stand for the 2 hours to our destination was so appealing and foreign to this girl who's almost used to going without that nice amenity.

We had to be at the school (we thought) at 8:30 that morning, so we set out just after 7 to make sure we had plenty of time to make it there. Our directions were detailed and informative, however, one wrong turn in Korea can get you lost and there's almost no returning to where you were when you originally got lost. Very few of the easy-off-easy-on access from highways like in the States.

Kim was doing superbly with the driving, being much more experienced at it than I am. (I haven't driven at all in Korea-just to clarify) As the navigator, I was determined to aid her in getting us to our location as well as I could. I noticed our written directions indicated we were to get off when we saw an intersecting highway, and when that highway number popped up on an exit sign-we exited, but found it was in vain. Thankfully that exit did have easy access back to the major highway we'd been on and we continued.  To double check ourselves on our directions, I called the wonderful-giver-of-the-directions (our boss) who patiently explained them again to us (even though I'm pretty sure I woke him in calling him eh-heh). After his patient and detailed explanation, I asked him how long it should take us before our exit.
That's when we realized we'd gone the opposite direction of our destination and he told us we'd double our travel time by heading that way.
uh oh...
So we probably weren't going to make it on time, but we persevered and kept on trucking.

After going through the zillionth toll booth that morning, we got off the highway at the next exit in order to find a spot to turn around, which NEVER came.
We're driving and driving with no idea where we are (except of course, that we're in Korea).
Kim and I started thinking about options. Should we ditch the whole conference idea? It was a gorgeous day and we could go enjoy the lovely spring day. Should we go to the nearest subway station and go from there by train? These and several other options came up.

As we're meandering along, we are driving along a river that winds through the middle of Seoul,
with a plethora of interesting sights to notice. Our focus for some of that leg of the trip became our surroundings.

 The building in the bottom picture is the 63 building, the tallest in Korea.

And the highway we were on had some interesting parts things to see as well...

anyway....we got the GPS to work....or so we thought and we continued on thinking we'd make it but a little late.
Well, our GPS, which had an address we'd gotten from an official website, took us not to our destination, but somewhere we had no idea what it was.

Driving around that area a few minutes we realized we were semi-close, but weren't getting there on our own. Kim decided to ask a taxi driver to lead us there and we'd follow. That in the end was what got us there AT LAST at 9:30!
We found out later that it started at 9....so only a half hour late.

The trip was quite taxing and made me thankful that our 2nd day we could take a subway and not have to deal with directions like we did that day.

It was such a gorgeous day with the cherry blossoms coming in, I had to take a few pictures to remember it all :)

 at lunch outside enjoying the cherry blossoms

                                   Kim :)

 Different parts of the city I'd never seen before as we were on the subway

Homesick? Now? after all this time?

It hit me this week that, oh yeah....it's April now!

Wow! Where has the time gone?!?!

My mom's birthday is April 1. Birthdays in our family are definitely a time for everyone to get together, celebrate the birthday person, eat some yummy food, and share laughs and a good evening together. So, of course, that happened this week. My sister was good to share a picture of them all out celebrating my mom. I had called home a couple of times that day to chat with Mom and wish her a great day.
During the course of my morning on April 2 (which is still April 1 central time) I got a voicemail from my mom that was ten minutes long. When I read my phone saying the length of the message, I had mixed feelings, I hoped for no bad news via voicemail. I ended up listening to the message and realized it was a pocket dial during the birthday dinner.
I was telling a coworker about the lengthy message when it hit me that I wasn't there for the dinner. I wasn't there to know what they were all laughing about and reveling in. I wasn't there. I had that "George Bailey" experience where I felt for a few seconds what it would be like if I'd not been born. Of course, I quickly realized my emotions were getting the best of me and I was freaking out about a significant event that I was not home for. Still, I felt lost, homesick, nomadic, and alone. I knew they were my family, but the distance of it all slammed into me and wrecked me for a long while.
That was such a tough day. I wanted to go home right then and there and not look back. But, I knew in a few hours I would be at a different place with my emotions. I'm glad, so glad, I was kept from making any snap decisions in those hours.
In talking to some people who are much wiser and more adept at handling the distance due to years away from home for birthdays, holidays, and life events, I am grasping onto the encouragement that this experience will get better. I will be able to deal with it more efficiently, but the ache will be there still. This is going to be a part of my life for a while; it's not going to stop being a heartache but through the grace of God there will be a way to deal with it better.

Next month is Mothers Day, which is the day after my dad's birthday which also happens to be my baby brother's high school graduation day. Dear Lord, help me!

thinking ahead...

Before spring break, the bulb in my projector that I have come to LOVE having with my smart board in my classroom BLEW out, much to my chagrin. I spent TWO whole days without the use of my smart board which was awkward.
I put in a request with our IT guy for a new bulb, not expecting it to be put in by spring break as he was on a missions trip with our middle schoolers.
Post spring break, he saw me in the hall and said he had gotten the request and had a few questions. I figured it would be at least another week's wait for the bulb to be ordered. However, in February, three or four other bulbs in the building needed replacement and he had ordered those AND an extra one for whomever was the "unlucky" person that lost their projector bulb.

So, I'd spent some time during spring break stressing about at least a whole week without the use of my projector and board. And I didn't have to go a day more without it!

So today, this April Fools Day, this girl is thankful for a thinking-ahead IT guy at our school whose foresight saved me a headache. :)

Insert witty title here

As I sit down to write this evening, the beautiful sight of falling snow greets my gaze out the window of my tenth floor apartment. I have come to love the view from my apartment which gives me a direct shot of the mountains surrounding Uijongbu.

I find that the sight of snow falling makes me stop and think about the seriousness of life. I've heard people say from time to time that God's snow-covered creation is a beautiful reminder of what He does in redemption of taking our sinfulness and covering it with Christ's perfection. I can't say I disagree with that thought.

Living in Arkansas made the sight of snow rare, but treasured, as we counted our winter blessed to have enough snow to be out of school to enjoy the unexpected day off. From facebook posts from this past winter, it seems that the natural state may have had their fill of winter weather to last them a while. With that in mind, the symbolism of what some would impose on the freshly fallen snow was astutely noticed.

The snow we've had today is at least my third snowfall experience in Korea, and could very well NOT be the last of this winter.  I enjoyed a safe walk uphill to get some dinner tonight through the falling flakes. As I set out this afternoon on some errands this is what things looked like near my apartment.

 Above is my school next to a church building. The school is the gray building.
Below is right outside my apartment with a patch of grass already covered.

The snow came and came. It was like walking in Narnia. I even found a lamppost that favored the one in Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe.

The beauty of it all is worth capturing on film or even slowing down to enjoy the scenery covered in a blanket of white.
My experience of the day seemed to leave the usually noisy corner of Korea quiet. The falling snow seemed to subdue the normal activity of the day. When I stepped into the busy supermarket though, the silence was broken for sure.
But being able to come back out and see the snow had not stopped was a gentle reprieve from the stressful sounds of a packed store.

For me today, it kept bringing to mind the passage about being still before God from Psalm 46. He is God and we are to stop our hustle and bustle and worship before Him. Walking on slippery sidewalks definitely slowed me down today but gave me more time for talking to Him. I get caught up in the routine of life so easily and needed the reminder of slowing down and having the essential time with HIM.
I read a great quote recently from a very wise man.

"It's hard to pray expectantly if you neglect to pray consistently." 

This quote seemed to slam into me, back up, and run me over again. How dare I get so caught up in MY business and MY life that I forget to acknowledge the ONE who has given me all things?! Trying to do anything without prayer is like trying to drive with no gasoline; like trying to fly an airplane with no wings; like expecting to have electricity when you haven't paid the bill in months.  

Christians, myself included, try to spiritualize so many things that happen in life. God doesn't let accidents happen and will definitely get our attention in a variety of ways. Weather patterns don't normally get to me like the snow today seemed to. But I am thankful for a gentle and soft reminder in my spirit of what I should be happening like breathing. 

Pray without ceasing. Prayer is like a breath; it is our lifeline of communication to God.