Cash-based Society

This is a picture of the inside of my purse only a week ago. Korea is a cash-based society. This means that when I purchase two plane tickets and need to pay about $2500 which is 2,510,000 won and the highest bill in their currency is a 10,000 won, I end up with a bag full of money! And that is what is photographed here. Those are all 10,000 won bills. That's around 250 won bills (what is it, if it is not a dollar bill?). Thankfully the bank is only a minute or so from the airline place! I am not exactly comfortable walking around with that much money in my purse. It's funny because though won is real...it still feels like play money. It would feel completely different to hold the same amount of cash in American money. It's strange.

Home

I know....I have lived here practically 10 months and this is the first time I am posting about it. So...I am a little behind. I realized I have never shared what "where I live" looks like. Often people ask what living conditions are...as you will see...we are not roughing it over here.
This is the view from our front door. To the left is a place to hang our coats, a place for water jugs, and a always a pile of shoes. You ALWAYS take your shoes off before going past our front entryway. Because this is common practice in Asian countries...I love that to the right we have this great shoe closet where we can put all our shoes. Despite the closet...there is always a collection on the floor.

Also to the right, you can see another section that goes off to the side. Well...that is the door to the bathroom Beka and I share. Perpendicular to the bathroom door is the door for Beka's room.

Also, on the wall to the right, you should see a light switch-looking thing. That is the light switch...only it is to the bathroom. In Korea, the light switch for the bathroom is always on the outside. This is fairly easy to get used to, but I STILL often hit it in order to turn on/off the living room lights.

This is my room! Not much to say...besides I love it. For a month or so I lived with Yogi Bear...you will see later...but I couldn't handle it.

On the far wall to the left you will see my first piece of Roadkill. If you don't know what Roadkill is...it is furniture that you find left outside on curbs or in front of your apartment...and you claim it as your own. I love this piece of furniture. This is a great piece of Roadkill. Not only did it give me three drawers, but a space to put all my pictures...I actually have more up now than I did then. Because our walls are concrete, it is harder to hang pictures on the wall. Therefore you really learn how to use shelves more than nails to make your place feel homey.

To the right is what in Korea we call "Oakjohns" aka a wardrobe. Closets are unusual in Korea, so we have Oakjohns. That is not how you spell it in Korean, but it is how we say the word.

This is our living room...taken just moments ago. That is my laptop on the coffee table. I am currently sitting on the couch with my laptop on my lap. On the love seat you can see piles of grading. Beka's book bag is on the couch in the left corner of the picture. Oh...all that bright light is coming in from outside. We do have a closed in porch that runs the length of our apartment.

Just another view from our living room. You can see how our dining room/kitchen area goes off to the right. The other doorway is our "study" or more accurately the random room that holds all our extra stuff. Laurie's room and bathroom are across from our extra room.

Here is a closer view of our dining room/kitchen area. There is a little more kitchen to the left that you cannot see...and to the right we have a laundry room.

Here is the view of our entire kitchen. The little trash can on the counter is where we have to put all of our "food trash". We do not have a garbage disposal...so all food must be set aside and goes into the food trash trash cans outside. In Korea, you separate everything. You can't really see it, but we don't have one trash can but three. One for paper, one for plastic, one for metal. On the widow sill we place any glass or Styrofoam that needs taken out. Trash day is Wednesday, so every Wednesday, we take out our separated trash.

Our laundry room. We have an American dryer and Korean washer...nothing too exciting here...but it is a blessing to have this room. Some teachers have their washers/dryers in the hallway, in the bathroom, in the living room...we have a room for ours. It's sort of nice.

This is a picture of our extra room. This was my bedroom at first, but I couldn't take Yogi. Yogi is on the border and it counts from 1 to 9. I was in the little kids room. Not to mention that it is hard to decorate and have things go with Yogi...particularly here in Korea. So I switched rooms. Both rooms are about the same size...the shape is just different.

If you don't know...by choice I am moving from this home into a new home in less than a month with a new roommate. Why would I bother to post all of these pictures if that is about to change? Basically, because this has been home my first year here in Korea. Beka, Laurie, and I have have learned how to live with each other, and though we have had our moments, it has been a blessing to get to know these girls and figure out life in Korea. Though I am looking forward to my new home, I will miss these girls and the home we have shared this first year.

Hair Traps and S-Pipes

I have this goal of posting some of the things about life in Korea.

Here is my first one...hiar traps. I must admit that before moving to Korea I did not give much thought to hair traps. Korean bathrooms always have a drain in the floor of the bathroom. We were here but a few weeks when our bathroom would start flooding anytime we would shower. The water would come up through the drain. We tried Draino...it didn't work.

Exibit 1: I don't know if you can tell, but look at the trash can (please don't look too closely inside), it's about an inch deep! And that is my foot making ripples in the water.

Exibit 2: Look at that hair! And that is only half of it. Though I smiled for the picture...I don't normally smile through the task. Normally, I accomplish the task a quickly as possible!

The only way to fix this problem is to open the drain and clean the hair trap. That is what you see in the picture. Basically I get to pull all that hair off of the trap and then stick my hand down the drain and pull another good chuck of hair out of there. This task isn't completely horrible, but plastic gloves, lots of paper towels, and a clothes pin for your nose are a must! I actually chose to forgo the gloves for the first time last time I cleaned out the hair trap. The gloves do make the task more enjoyable.

We have to do this about every two weeks. Beka and I are blessed with such wonderful thick hair! In the States I never even once considered how the hair did not clog our drains.

You know that pipe under the kitchen sink and the bathroom that snakes around and takes up a bunch of space underneath the cabinet and really messes up trying to use that space for anything useful? Yea...well, I would take an s-pipe if I could. I never knew what purpose the pipe served, that's just how it was. Well apparently the pipe is designed that way in order to manage the lovely smells that would otherwise come up from the pipe. It is not everday, but fo a few days each month we will come home to the lovely aroma of sewer smell. It's nothing unmangable, we open our windows and burn a candle...but makes you appreciate s-pipes.

I never gave much thought to plumbing in the States...but we have few good things going in that area. Living in Korea is such an education is so many ways...plumbing just being one of them!

Korean Star

This past Friday the school went on a field trip to Everland, one of Korea's better theme parks. As we were waiting for Mrs. Moon to buy our tickets we suddenly hear lots of screaming and we look to see who the star was. We look literally expecting to see someone famous, only to see Casey Peterson, our administrator's son, being mobbed by a group of Korean girls. As I said before lots of screaming, lots of phone cameras and regular cameras, and perhaps some fainting...

Thailand Journals: Day 9

Sunday, April 16, 2006

So…who knows when Saturday really ended and Sunday began. It all becomes a blur when you travel through the night. All I know is that I was exhausted and crashed as soon as I got on our plane for home. We arrived in Incheon, I believe, around eight in the morning. I can’t remember. From there, we bought tickets and started our two and a half hour bus ride home. One of the first things I did upon landing was to pull my fleece out of my suitcase. We were welcomed home by some lovely forty degree whether. Because of all the travel and not arriving at my apartment until near midday, I did not really celebrate Easter this year. It is almost as though it did not happen. This saddened me some, but I can always choose to celebrate it later. Which I do plan on doing…I just haven’t figured out what that looks like yet.

Thailand Journals: Day 8

Saturday, April 15, 2006

This morning started even earlier than usual, but we wanted to make it to the elephant camp for the early showing, so that we could enjoy the elephants before going to airport to start our trek home.

There really is not much to journal about the elephant camp besides to give you a brief rundown of all the activities we got to participate in. We arrived and watched the elephants take a bath in the river (this included watching a lot of poop being dropped into the river). Next, the elephants put on a show for us where they did things like….shoot a few hoops, play a little soccer, do a relay, massage a guys back, do other tricks…and paint a t-shirt. It was very entertaining. Afterward, I got to be picked up by the elephant on his truck. It was actually quite hard to balance. Next, we paired off and went for an elephant ride. I rode with Anna. She was terrified, but after a bit I got her distracted by talking and she did pretty good. After a bit, I got to ride on the elephant’s neck. That was fun. I loved it. Unfortunately, I don’t have any picture of it…but that is okay. The elephant ride was about an hour I believe. After the elephant ride, we rode an ox cart back to the main entry area. Here we enjoyed a leisurely lunch. After lunch, we went on a ride down the river on a bamboo raft. When we got off the raft…that ended our adventures at the elephant camp…but I must say that it was a very enjoyable day. We still had a few hours before we had to be at the airport, so we went to a huge mall. We roamed there for about an hour before loading up and heading to the airport just 5 minutes away.

At the airport, we said goodbye to Belinda, Able and Carol and their family, and the two Sam’s. It was a good trip. Our plane left Chiang Mai at about 7:00 pm.

So when Saturday ended and Sunday began…I am not quite sure. From Chiang Mai we flew to Bangkok where we had two to three hour layover. I grabbed some KFC before settling near our gate to wait to board the plane for home.

Now, you know you have been hanging around Asians a lot when one of the things that runs through my mind during our layover in Bangkok is that Europeans are big, have fake tans, and wear a lot of make-up. Due to the holiday, the airport was very packed. I would look at the Europeans and think, he and/or she is bigger than me. Or…they are my same height. I just marveled to see so many people who were more like my build. It was weird. Also, the make-up was not bad…just distinctly noticeable. Also, Asians don’t favor tans. They think white is good. Anyway, I was discussing this with a few of the kids I was traveling with, and they had some of the same thoughts and feelings.

Thailand Journals: Day 7

Friday, April 14, 2006

Today was a lot like yesterday. We worked until lunch…except for today; we wrapped up our projects and then took a group picture. Also, today when we left Mae Tang Children’s Tribal Home, it was for the final time.

This evening we got to visit one of the Lawho villages. The children who live at the Mae Tang Children’s Tribal Home are from Lawho villages. The villages are in remote parts of the mountain. You have to have a four wheel drive truck to get there and it took wasn’t just an easy drive. It was beautiful though. When we got to the village, some of us took a tour of the village, but immediately a soccer game between the and our kids got started. We played them last year and they beat us bad. They pretty much did the same again. After the tour, those of us not playing soccer, pulled out the balloons and started playing with the kids. This was a precious time. There were a few old ladies there who enjoyed the balloon just as much, if not more than the kids. After all this, they served us dinner. They know how to cook! It was probably one of the tastiest meals I have had the entire trip. After the meal, we held a special service. Our kids played about six songs for them and did one of their skits. By the way…this is one Good Friday…though I keep forgetting. One of our skits is about how Jesus took on our burdens. In the skit, Jesus in crucified, and comes back. After the service we have them all some Easter eggs that we had brought with us with candy and/or a small toy inside. We also had necklaces for the ladies. It was such a blessing to be able to share these things with them.

However, one of the highlights of the nights was actually right before the service when one of the head guys in these villages shared with us a little of the story of the Lawho people and how they first came to hear about Jesus. I might not get all the details straight…but apparently someone had prophesied that a white man would come and he would have the answer for them. I forget the details exactly. Anyway, one day they find this white man in a pit in the ground. I can’t remember exactly what he was doing...but this guy was a missionary who had come to Thailand and had spent months learning the language and stuff only to, for some reason I don’t remember, be kicked out of the city. When they saw that he was white they asked him if He had the answer to whatever it was they were searching for. He said yes and shared Jesus with them. It is a really neat story…I just cannot remember a lot of the details… that is why you really should journal the day something happens…not later. Anyway, now there are multiple Christian Lawho villages. This one village is made up of about 400 people, all Christians. They have sent a couple out from their village to another village that does not believe in God. This is amazing to me and such an example of how things should be. Here we are in a village where by outward appearances, it appears that these people are lacking. But really, though they may lack some earthly pleasures, they are rich. It is so cool to see how God is moving and working…even in remote villages in the mountains of Thailand.

The visit to this one Lawho village was the highlight of the entire trip. We once again got home…but actually at a decent time. This is good because we need to check out of our hotel before breakfast in the morning. Goodnight.

Thailand Journals: Day 6

Thursday, April 13, 2006

“Sawateememy” (Happy New Year)! Today we got to sleep in until 7:15 a.m. After breakfast, we went to work. Today we continued our “pavers” project and barely got all the pavers laid before we had to go. While about six to eight of us worked on this—everyone else moved furniture, moved dirt piles, put shelves together and recatalogued books in the library, or cleaned.

Due to New Year celebrations, we stopped working after lunch in order to get to the Chiang Mai where the main fight around the moat was going on. We went to our hotels to quickly put on swimsuits under our clothes and prepared to “play” . To play (participate in the New Year celebrations), you put huge barrels in the back of your truck and fill them with water. Then you load up go have fun. Though the main festivities were in Chiang Mai, we were soaked long before we got there, because there is playing going on everywhere. All day, people throw water on each other…and it’s a must to throw ice water. We bought huge chucks of ice to put in our barrels and ice chests.

We were supposed to leave the hotel at 2:00 for reach Chiang Mai for the peak of the festivities, but due to “Thai” mentality we did not leave until closer to 3:30. Though we missed the peak of activity…it was still blast.

We did however have an injury. As Casey was helping to refill our water supply, he kicked some rebar in the ground. Thankfully he did this right outside of a hospital and right where a Thai who know English was standing. God takes such good care of us. They got Casey on the back of a scooter and took him to the E.R. Stone and myself, walked behind them (Steve went with Casey on the scooter—actually it was a different scooter). Casey ended up needing six stitches, a tetanus shot, and some meds. All this only cost 410 bot (about $10.00). CRAZY! He is doing well, but bummed about not being able to play soccer for a week or two.

A little after 7:00 p.m. we headed for dinner, then home. We put Casey in a grocery cart to get him to the food court. He cannot walk on his foot, but he has no crutches. We actually made it home by 10:30 p.m. We have one more half day of work ahead of us. We will finish the flower bed and cement in the pavers. It is amazing how quickly this week has gone. It is about 11:30 p.m….so I am going to go to bed for the night…hasta luego!

Thailand Journals: Day 5

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

I mentioned earlier that this week is when Thai’s celebrate the New Year…right? Well, this is a big holiday and the Thai’s working on the wall did not even want to work today, but were told they needed to come for half the day. We helped them today, but everything they had us do was basically getting ready not to work for the next three days. Despite this, a lot was accomplished. We also (some actually) started another project building a flower bed under one part of the house and laying pavers out back where, during the wet season, the families living in the house cannot get from their car to their house without sloshing through mud or wadding through puddles of water. So after lunch, we l continued to work on this project, as well as, helped them clean the Bible College building on the property.

We only worked until about 3:00 p.m. today. Then we did the usual…return to the hotel for a shower and change of clothes to be ready for our evening activity. Today we choose a two and a half hour time at our hotel to rest and relax before heading for Chiang Mai for dinner and some more shopping at the night bazaar—some people’s “shopping” meant a stop a Starbuck’s for coffee before heading for a massage. I actually as thankful for the opportunity to shop…but others did the other.

We ate dinner at an excellent German restaurant before splitting up and perusing our varying interest at the night bazaar. Once again, we did not return to our hotel until around 11:30 p.m. so once again another late night!