The gift of hearing

Not everyone can hear.  It's something we take for granted, but we shouldn't.

For a while, my mom thought she had lost hearing in one of her ears.  There were all sorts of tests done, an interesting edge of tension around the house... but the doctors found nothing wrong; her hearing was pretty much perfect.  In the end, it turned out to be a slight delay in the processing of the input from that ear.  She would see our mouths moving, but not be able to understand what we were saying, because she would get a garbled message until 30 seconds later or so when it processed.  That seems so awful to me.  It was frustrating enough being on the outside of it, but being on the inside seems even worse.  (Personally, I think she has a brand of Sensory Integration Dysfunction, but I'm no doctor.)

I say all this, because the thought of hearing has come up a lot in my life this week.

First, someone posted a recording of the voicemail message of a girl I knew in high school who died in 2009.  It was unreal hearing her voice again, and made me desperate to hear Kyle's.  Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge, no similar such recording exists for him.  Then, today, I listened to a sermon of Nate Kerr's from later that year.  Hearing Nate's voice again made me realize just how much I miss him and his classes.  Granted, that's also something that's been slowly building this week, but now it's painful.

In a way, I found Nate's classes to be my small group in college, especially the ones that I had a free hour after.  There were those of us who would hang around and discuss religion, philosophy, life, etc., and he would guide us and speak truth into our lives.  It was those classes that made me feel okay working the nursery on Saturdays at Yeshuat Yisrael.  I fully considered him a pastor of mine, and had him fill out several letters of recommendation as such.  Now, I'm finding it harder to be fed, and there are no Nate Kerr classes to make up for it.  My heart aches.

And yet, I can still hear his voice.  I can still hear MK's voice.  It's amazing what technology does for us.

Don't wait until people are gone from your life; soak them up as much as you can while you have them.


Yes, I fully realize that I'm not posting a photo.  I have the perfect photo to put up, but I forgot to take it today.  It will be here tomorrow.

Chanukah 5772

Well... I finally get to post about CHANUKAH!  If Chanukah was a person, I would fall in love with it.  But, as my friends at Blimey Cow pointed out, I should be more conservative about my usage of the word "love," so, we'll just say that I really like Chanukah.  As I explained to my friends, Chanukah is a holiday about eating fried food, swapping chocolate, and spinning tops - if you can't find something in there to like, I can't qualify you as a person, so you should stop reading now (just kidding).  But my point is that it's really fun.  (For the REAL meaning of Chanukah, click here... I mean here... oh, sorry, I mean the title.)

Anyway, I threw a party, as is quickly becoming my Korea-tradition, and we had an excellent time.  This is how it went down:

1. My family and I made potato latkes and apple latkes, then I went out and bought some 호떡 (Don't get confused, they have nothing to do with rice cakes.) and 붕어빵 (which are usually shaped like fish when you buy them on the street, but that requires a special waffle iron, so don't sweat it).  We ate all these yummy yummy foods until we were stuffed... mostly because I was cooking for an expected 12-15 people, and 9 showed up.  Oops.


2. I gave a short lesson/presentation on the history and traditions of Chanukah, then lit my menorahs and gave everyone a line of tea-light candles so they could sort of make their own, too.  My dad had the brilliant idea of grabbind cups to raise up the shamash, so the menorahs could be kosher.

3. We then broke into two groups and played some excellent games of Dreidel.  It was better than usual, and I think this had something to do with it:

Yeah... We play by our own rules.  How very American of us.  Ah well... the vast majority of us are Waygooks, so I'm not complaining.  Although, how my head teacher fits into that mix, I may never know.

Hope your holidays were good!

(PS.  The next post is one I've been especially looking forward to posting, so be excited!)

<3

I feel loved!

Okay, so, I live in this crazy cyber-stalk-y world, where Facebook keeps track of who I talk to the most, and will even automatically stalk them for me so I don't feel like a creeper.  Well, Blogspot makes me go out of the way to check on such things, but it still automatically tracks the locations of people coming to check out my blog.

Now, some of you found your way here because my cousin David just married the lovely and beautiful Sarah, and that's okay... I don't blame you for checking out my blog on account of them.  They're amazing people and I would cyber-stalk them too (and do... no worries!). ;)

Some of your way here by Googling my name... clearly you are interested in ME... thanks. ;)

Some of you somehow managed upon my pictures of Korea while looking for beautiful scenery.

(See how creep-tastic this is??)

Some of you are from Germany, and this makes me happy, because I still miss Germany and KiA deeply, and I'm hoping to be able to come visit sometime in the upcoming months.  (You hear that, Phil?)


It didn't surprise me to find the USA in 1st place for blog hits.
It didn't surprise me to find South Korea in 2nd.
What DID surprise me was when I found that Russia was in 3rd (closely followed by Germany).

Therefore... my Russian friend(s):
I'd love to hear from you... are you thinking of coming to Korea?  Do my late night ramblings entertain you?  Do you just adore my cousin and his wife, too (really, I couldn't blame you for that)?  haha... no pressure there... just wanted to say: I love you too!!!

<3

Sorry if I just creeped y'all out there.  I just thought I'd illustrate this point a little... BUT... I do like the option, because it really does make me feel loved. :)

A list for you

 

Before you do anything else, click play... then move on to reading.

I'm going to bust this out elementary school style, because, well... I teach elementary school.  So here we go:

<Note: This list is not in order of importance, but in order of logical flow.>

1. I'm thankful for my G-d.  Ultimately, everything on this list comes back to Him.

2. I'm thankful for my job in so many ways.

• I'm thankful that I HAVE a job.  So many people in the US (and around the world) don't right now, regardless of educational accomplishments.  I do feel like a lot of the job crisis is caused by people being unwilling to "lower" themselves to a blue collar position, but that's not the point of this thankfulness.  Either way, I have a job that pays the vast majority of my bills and pays me salary on top of that, not to mention the team of people who are paid to be at my disposal to help me with any little thing that could go wrong in my life right now.
• I am thankful for the amount of money that I make.  According to American standards, I don't make very much money at all.  Of course, that is excluding the thought that I don't have very many bills at all and that I'm debt-free (thanks to hard work, generous relatives, and the way I was brought up).  But, comparing up the scale is the wrong way to look at things like that.  To put it into perspective, I visited a website that shows you how you fare against the majority of adults in the world.  Turns out, I'm in the 89th percentile for wealth.  To be honest, that doesn't surprise me all that much, but it's such a change in how I've been thinking about my income that the number is like brakes screeching through my head.  G-d has been so good to me... more than good... abundant even.
• I am thankful that G-d has put me in a job outside of the U.S.  There is so much angst and strife there right now; every time I hear about it - OWS, another Obama scandal, everything we let happen to children, even Michael Jackson...still... - I am overwhelmed and disgusted.  I'm so glad G-d has removed me to a situation where I feel it is okay that the lawmakers are ignoring my opinions.  It is so freeing to know that the government of the country you're in is treating you just as it should.  Not a day goes by without me being reminded of how G-d has provided for me in this way.

3. I am thankful for the beautiful children that I get to work with every day.

• Yes, I'm thankful for the ones who chuck things at my head... for many reasons:
• If they didn't chuck things at my head, I wouldn't be thankful for those who didn't.
• If they didn't chuck things at my head, I wouldn't be grateful for the people who didn't give up on me when I was just like them.
• If they didn't chuck things at my head, I wouldn't value it nearly as much when they finally understand and/or care about the material.
• If they didn't chuck things at my head, there wouldn't be people in the U.S. benefiting from my work literally all the way around the world from them.
• If they didn't chuck things at my head, G-d wouldn't be working in my life anywhere near the amount He is now.
•  I'm thankful for my Special Education students (even though it pains me that they don't have an adequate program, catered to their specific needs)... also for many reasons:
•  I spent most of my life worrying that I would end up with a Special Ed child.  I didn't think I had the patience, strength, nor skill set to handle it.  These children have proven me wrong.
• I have gotten to experience entirely different types of relationships by bonding with these children.  I feel like I can usually contrive a decently accurate summary of a person based on one meeting with them  This sounds arrogant, I know, but, those of you who know me know that that is simply one of the gifts G-d has given me.  Unfortunately, I have a habit of letting that replace actual bonds and relationships with people.  I cannot do that with my Special Ed students.  I am constantly staring at them and analyzing their work, watching their every moves, desperate to understand what is happening in their heads.
• They have taught me the kind of person I want to be when I grow up.  I strive every day to be more like them - honest with everyone, true to myself, unyielding in the pursuit of my passions, unashamed of my emotions... We undervalue these people, and it is a detriment to us.
• I'm thankful for my students who walk the line between "he's going to be amazing when he grows up," and "he's going to make a lot of people wonder about his childhood teachers when he grows up," because they keep my prayer life active and my eyes open.
• I'm thankful for my sweetest, most empathetic students, because they are my motivation for going to school each day, and theirs are the faces for which I search from the moment I get off my bus in the morning to the moment my bus passes suitable walking distance from the area apartments.  My happiest Korean memories so far pertain to those children.

4. I am thankful to live in a country that doesn't make a big deal out of the Christian holidays.  Although it makes it easier to be homesick, it opens many doors for me to talk about my faith and the Christian connotations (or lack thereof) behind holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and so forth.  I spent a whole class period yesterday discussing that with some of my sixth graders.

5. I am thankful for my teachers, professors, and mentors who put up with me, in spite of everything, and made efforts to set my faith on fire, to push me to recklessness, to embolden me to dream big and not back down from them.  I would never be here without them.

6. I am thankful for my family, most of whom are all safely tucked in bed at our annual family Thanksgiving reunion.

• I am thankful that we have traditions that make holidays special enough to make me homesick.
• I am thankful that our parents cared enough to make long drives to bring us all together.
• I am thankful that my generation in my family value these bonds as well.
• I am thankful for the wonderful woman that my cousin David will be adding to my family on Saturday, and I am thankful that she has embraced these family bonds and welcomed me into her family just as much as I have tried to welcome her into mine.
• I am thankful for the strong Christian leadership that was brought to my family by my grandfather, and I am thankful for the legacy that he left me to have a basis for my own that I want to leave. 

7. I am thankful for my friends, near and far.

• I am thankful to be able to count my family members as some of my closest friends.
• I am thankful to have a friend that I am comfortable saying anything to, knowing that she will not judge me and that in the end, she will always be there for me, whether it is in support or redirection.
• I am thankful that G-d has put me into a community of people with a similar past to myself and an even more similar present, a community of people who are warm and welcoming, understanding the need for immediate closeness and fellowship upon arrival in an expat situation.
• I am thankful for my friends in Germany, without whom I never would have learned to expect to love countries that didn't originally strike me as a place I would want to visit.
• I am thankful for my friends who have taken it on themselves to mentor me while I'm here, in spite of my personality.
• I am thankful for my friends who make an effort to keep in touch with me, even when I allow the business of my life to keep me away from communication more than I would like.
• I am thankful for my friends in Nicaragua, who keep in touch with me, helping me exercise my language skills, and keeping me connected to the realities of the majority of the world, teaching me to be happier for "unfortunate" circumstances.
• I am thankful for my friends at Yeshuat Yisrael who keep me in their prayers and are taking care of me, even from thousands of miles away.

8. I am thankful that G-d has given me the passion and ability for learning new languages.

9. I am thankful for the miracle of the human memory that makes most bad things seem funny, given enough time.

10. I am thankful to be able to take for granted things like food, water, eyesight, an enclosed living space, clothes, all my appendages,  my family, socks, candy, books, my computer, my phone, a lock on my door, running water, sanitation, freedom of religion, a bed, music, being alive, communication, and (I'll end this list like I started it) G-d.

What are you thankful for this year?

김밥 Recipe

So, many people asked me for recipes from Korea.  Unfortunately, Koreans don't seem to be too into cooking.  Letting things go bad (excuse me... ferment)? Sure.  Cook/bake?  Not so much.  That being said, I've discovered the Korean answer to sushi (although you should never make that comparison here.  My teacher wouldn't even acknowledge a correlation): 김밥 (Gimbap), which literally means "seaweed-rice). Anyway, if you're confused, click on the title of this post (that blog does a great job explaining it, so I don't feel the need to).

Most of this recipe is preparation, which I would estimate about an hour for.  My suggestion?  Make these suckers in bulk... they're great for sharing with a group.  Of course, if you keep a decent stock of prepared ingredients, then you can just make yourself a roll here and there when you're hungry.

Things you're going to need:
-Aluminum Foil
-김 (It comes in packages that look like this and looks like this when unwrapped.)
-White rice (and cooker)
-Sesame seed oil (although I imagine any kind of cooking oil will do)
-Salt
-Pickled radish (a staple in Korean cuisine)
-Every Korean will put in some ham/SPAM strips, but I leave them out.  It still tastes fine.
-Imitation Krab meat
-Eggs
-Cheese (I'd recommend cheddar or Monterrey jack... Koreans will use what they call cheddar, which is really just sliced American cheese.)
-Sesame leaves
-Canned Tuna
-Mayo
-(pepper... I prefer red pepper powder)
-Kimchi
-Spinach
-Or really... anything else your heart desires.

Preperation:

1. Wash the rice 3 times (fill bowl of rice with water, swish it around with your hands until the water looks like milk, drain the water, repeat).  I don't know why, but just do it.  The water looks pretty gross as you do it, so I'd say it's rather important.
2. Get the rice cooking.
3. Cut the ham and Krab into long, cubed strips.
4. Fry the ham.
5. Cook the eggs into thin omelets, and cut them into strips when they are done.
6. Wilt the spinach.  Combine it with sesame oil (until it looks slightly slimy and a bit gross).  Salt to taste.  (I actually like this a lot.
7. Cut the cheese into thinner strips.
8. Mix tuna, mayo, salt, and pepper to make a BASIC tuna salad (no extras).
9. Rip the stems from the sesame leaves.
10. When the rice is done cooking, separate some out into a bowl, add just enough oil to make it sticky.  Salt to taste.

Procedure:
1. Lay the 김 on a piece of aluminum foil, and spread the sticky rice across 2/3-3/5 of it.

2. Add your toppings: Stick items first, wet items last.  (Should you choose the tuna mixture, you should lay down two sesame leaves first).  I would recommend never leaving out the pickled radish, as it adds a crunchy texture and a sweet flavor that offsets everything else nicely.  Use the kimchee similarly to wasabi.

3. Roll everything up, but stop just before the end to add a line of sticky rice to act as glue.  Then roll everything up, pressing firmly on the seal.

4. Brush on the top a light coating of sesame oil to ease with cutting, and cut into pieces.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, but, just in case you don't... here's another one that's a bit more Americanized.

My entire Korean class.

<3  Happy eating.

(And leave me a comment if you try it out!  I want to know what you think!!!)

Sukkot 5772

Here are some pictures from Sukkot... we did not make a Sukkah :(, but we did celebrate involving our Sukkah-like porch, good friends, and good food.

We lit my Shabbat candles to celebrate Havdalah, along with several smaller prayer candles, which we allowed to hold our worries for us while we celebrated (and we allowed G-d to blow them out, too!).

After learning about Havdalah and Sukkot, we listened to Rabbi Ken's Gospel in the Stars message.  It's very interesting and informative.  We greatly enjoyed listening to it.

We even had an Ushpizin wander in.  G-d works in mysterious ways. :)

Our beautiful prayer candles... we lit one for the Ushpizin too.  He doesn't need to hold on to his worries.

We doused the candles with some grape juice, as per tradition.  I loved the idea of starting the next Shabbat with the reminder that it's Jesus' blood that brings us our Sabbath peace... it just didn't occur to me that the grape-juiced wicks would be hard to light.  But after some cleaning, they worked just fine.

Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam
Blessed are you, Lord, our God, sovereign of the universe
shehecheyanu v'kiyimanu v'higi'anu laz'man hazeh. (Amein)
who has kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season (Amen) 

Lots of love to you!

Going Away Party

So, my going-away party at Yeshuat Yisrael was last night, and it was so much fun! I haven't smiled/laughed that much in a long time. In fact, my cheeks are still hurting (the thought of which just made me smile, and, in turn, hurt more... cue vicious cycle). Anyway, the moral is that it was absolutely the best party that I can remember having. I just went through all my pictures from it, and they made me so happy that I am going to share them with you and give you the walk-through that way.

This is the cake that Meret made. She doesn't know it, but I ate a slice, even though I hate cake. Why did I do that? Because everyone kept telling me that it was the best cake they'd ever eaten. So I tried it, and you know what? It was pretty amazing. I think I've finally found the answer to the question that everyone asks me when I tell them I hate cake. "You hate cake?! What are you going to do whenever you get married?!" (Yes, I go to a Christian School, and this cliché is so true here.) Anyway... my new answer: "I will have Meret make it."

These are a bunch of my TNU friends (and families) that showed up for my party. They came from near and far, and I was so happy they were there! Really... they made it so much better. We were all laughing the whole time.

You'll see that the plates are full of food. The foods that are on those plates are a lot of my favorites from Yeshuat Yisrael over the years, including Rabbi Ken's Chop Chop Salad and Jasmine Rice with coconut milk. Yum yum yum!

Later, the beautiful DeMetri Moon came by with her sweet baby, Paisley Grace, who succeeded in entertaining us all with what is apparently her new favorite: the surprised face. This kid is ridiculous. At first, she was shy (for the first time I've ever known her to be), but, as she warmed up, this face came out, to a rousing round of laughter. She must have liked that, because she kept doing it ever few minutes for the rest of the time she was there. P.S. Her momma told me that this munchkin is running now. Running. Kids grow up too fast.




Paisley wasn't the only one that performed that evening, either. Between a lot of jokes and a hilarious Sci-fi routine, the boyfriend got up and did a rap that impressed the congregation so much that they asked him to do it again later. He was assisted by Ms. Allison Lafoe on the beatbox... sort of.









And Rabbi Ken's Sci-fi, comedy routine consisted of a mad-scientist and a Blue Man Group impersonation. It was hilarious.

After all of that, they had me sing, and then they prayed for me. People got confused then and thought it was time to leave, but that was okay. I thought it was time to leave for a second too. BUT IT WASN'T! Nope... it was present time!

They gave me some excellent new Samsonite luggage (see above), and Suzanne, a member of the congregation, gave me her Samsonite carry-on. Plus, they gave two bags of Sour Patch Kids (my favorites) and some toiletries. (They're still planning on sending me toiletries every month... they're so amazing.) Alex and her family gave me some crucial journaling supplies, since Alex sees me journaling all the time. (She knew I was going to need more.) That was pretty ironic, since I had been looking at getting another journal earlier that day, but had just not found one that I liked. Yay, Alex! (In addition... she and her family gave me a HP 7.2 movie poster!!!)
In summary, my party was awesome, my friends are awesome, and G-d is awesome. The end.

So much has happened!

In the past 48 hours, so much has happened Korea-wise. Let me get you up to date.

Yesterday (Saturday), I went to Yeshuat Yisrael, as usual (well, not totally usual, as the boyfriend decided he wanted to come too). I was a bit anxious the whole time, as I've been the past week, struggling with trying out how to figure out how to pay for everything. At the end of the service, they called me up to the front, so I could explain a little more about everything that I need to do financially to prepare for the list, and explain my wish list a little bit more. So I explained how my luggage is literally falling apart and how toiletries are rather different in Korea, so I was trying to bring a year's worth with me. They let me explain everything, and then Rabbi Ken dropped one of the biggest bombshells on me that I have ever experienced. He looked at me and said, "We've decided that we want to buy some luggage for you, so pick out what you would like. Also, we are committing to send you a care package of toiletries every month while you're there, so you don't need to worry about that anymore." (Later, one of the women, who is a seasoned international traveler, told me she wanted to give me her very nice carry-on luggage too.)

I almost burst into tears right then.

I really cannot explain how amazing this has been for me. G-d is blowing my mind with how He is taking care of me. I would not be able to do any of this on my own. It is totally and completely Him and me sitting within His will. My cup overflows.


Today, I got an email from Jenny, who is my contact at Korean Nazarene University (KNU) in South Korea (she was involved somehow in my hiring). From the sounds of things, they have a backup plan in place in case I and one of my co-workers do not get our VISAs in time. (No, not like the movie.) I have no clue what it is, but I've sent an email asking about it. So, hopefully, I'll know all about that soon.

I do have a backup plan of my own as well. I am planning to go home to my parents' house before I leave, and, since they live so close to Washington D.C., I could go into the city and wait around all day to get my VISA and hop on a plane the next day and leave if I had to. It's all going to work out, and I know that it will happen according to G-d's timing.



Please continue to pray. I am already seeing and feeling the affects of your prayers, and I am so grateful for it! Time is closing in, so the more prayers I have the better.

I love you so much!

I got my packing list.

I received the email I've been most anxious to get: the one that includes info about PACKING! Yayyyy! Basically, it confirmed a lot of things that I assumed, but also pointed out some things I hadn't thought of.

It suggests bringing a lot of hardsided luggage. I've never shopped for hardsided luggage before, so I don't really know what I'm looking for, except that I'd love a 30" or 31" one, and I'd love it to be part of a brightly-colored set. Any suggestions?

I need a lot of luggage, as I need to bring clothes with me for all four seasons, since it has been confirmed that there is slim to no chance of me finding clothes in my size there. Also, sleeveless tops are a no-no. Apparently my new mantra is: Shoulders are slutty. Yeah... good luck with that, 앤. Not to worry... I dropped $100 or so total and did a mad dash through a bunch of different Goodwill stores. As a result, I have a pretty snazzy new wardrobe. I may do one more run, depending on how much money I have.

As I thought, there are a lot of toiletries that are very different, expensive, or just plain unavailable in Korea, like deodorant, tampons, makeup, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, other hair products, and GUM (I knew I should have never let myself get addicted). Therefore, I am somehow going to try to afford taking a whole year's worth with me. (The pessimistic voice in my head has a field day with that one.)

Of course, I need a power converter... I have one, but I'm not sure it's right for all the things I need to plug in... I'll ask someone technologically capable to help me out with that one.

And then... my stress: I'll need to have enough money to survive the first month there until I get my paycheck. This is definitely my stress right now. Luckily, my synagogue, Congregation Yeshuat Yisrael has offered to help me out on some of these things in addition to throwing me a going away party. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate them right now. They're being so supportive in this endeavor, praying for me, and loving on me. They are amazing.

In summary... if this is stressing you out too, you are welcome to help me out (I'm not trying to beg... no, wait, maybe I am?). My wish list is here.

I love you all so so much.