16. Inspiration

I was in the middle of writing an entirely different blog post to you, when, suddenly, I got up, changed into jeans and just left my apartment.  I had no intention of doing it; it jut happened.  I started by stopping by the kitten area from yesterday's photo.  I hadn't seen a mom with them, so, as per my friend Nick's request, I went to see if they had someone/something caring for them.  I'm pretty sure I saw a momma cat today.  But, instead of coming back home, I started wandering around aimlessly.  I'm pretty sure I saw the Korean version of the mob, but I kept on moving.  I didn't stay around long enough to confirm it for you.

Blimey Cow photo-a-day 16. Inspiration
This is a photo of my receipt from Applebee.

I didn't know where I was headed, but my feet beelined for the most expensive restaurant I know here: Applebee (not to be confused with America's Applebee's).  It's this expensive buffet place that offers some high class food as well.  They're really good, and my pastor is always desperate to take people there.  But, in being there, I broke almost every rule I'd set for myself.  I broke my budget (the meal was roughly $25), I broke my water rule (I couldn't find the water filter at first, but was surprised to find that I didn't like the pop I had at all {as KelliTaylor said would happen} -too sweet!), I broke my unwritten "no eating out alone" rule, and I actually even broke my kosher rule (I'll come back to that).  To tell you the rather embarrassing truth, I didn't even have on socks, makeup, or deodorant.  My brain hadn't intended on going there, but, surprisingly, it was really refreshing and just what I needed.  Go figure, the introvert had an almost extroverted night.  Almost.

The entire staff there went out of their way to help me out.  We played charades for a bit, because Applebee has this not-so-complicated-but-feels-complicated-at-first system of placing plastic coins in the receiving bucket of your choice to order the food item of the corresponding picture above the bucket.  I knew this, but they really wanted to explain it to me, so I let them, first in Korean, then by a guy grabbing me by the hand and leading me across the restaurant to pantomime the whole process not one, but two times.  I later found out that one of the bus boys studying English in the US for 8 months, and, consequently, spent the rest of my meal pondering why they hadn't just grabbed him.  Either way, the directions were given and understood, so I grabbed one of the coins and went to place an order.  My mime, however, came running after me with my other coin, saying "Two!  Two coin!"  As it was the only thing he had worked up the courage to say to me, I figured it must be important to him.  Thus, I read through the Korean names, only recognizing one word: Creme.  I figured that was a pasta dish and ordered it.  Everything else looked to be meat, but I selected one that looked like it had the possibility of not being so.  I was right and wrong at the same time; it was shrimp.  Thinking of what Paul would say if he was there, I ate every last bite of that shrimp, and it was surprisingly delicious.

I was also surprised to find myself writing more of my novel in my head while sitting at my table.  I rather wished I had brought it with me.  For some reason, sitting and people watching gave birth to a new character, who I think will help get everything moving.  Well, I guess it's not really "for some reason."  When you meet her in the story, she'll be exactly where I was, doing exactly what I was doing.  She's just going to have a slightly different motivation.  She's going to be a lot of fun to write.  I

I'm thinking of naming her Charity, but I need a good last name for her.  My gut is saying Cambridge, but I'm thinking that's more of because J.K. Rowling named one of her characters Charity Burbage.  I'm thinking it would be better to not copy her so much, so, if you can think of a sophisticated, older-sounding, somewhat cooly intimidating surname for her, please list them off below.

In fact, how about this?: The person who comes up with the best name will win a giveaway.


Here's how this is going to work:

1. Make sure you leave your name in the comment section.
2. Make sure you leave your surname ideas for Charity.
3. Make sure you pop back in to see if you've won.  I plan to introduce her in the next chapter, so, I should be needing a name by next week.
4. If you win, I will send you something cool and exciting from Korea.  I haven't decided what yet, as I just decided to have this giveaway, but I'll go out soon and browse for the perfect prize.

Looking forward to your names!

June goals, a head start

My friend Kelli (wife to JoshTaylor of Blimey Cow) has been doing this wonderful project of monthly resolutions.  I, being the non-committal person that I am, smiled, nodded, said "that's a good idea," and moved on.  BUT today, I was reality checked (think of how people check each other in hockey, and that's similar to how G-d checks me.  Don't think chess.  Don't even think wizard's chess.  Neither of those are violent enough).

Since my birthday, I've been indulging too much.  At first, I justified it with "It's birthday week.  I'll let myself do what I want."  Then, it was, "I freaking just got out of the hospital because I couldn't breath," (bronchitis.  It's gone now.  Don't worry.) "I'll let myself do what I want."  Until today, it wasn't even a conscious thought.  I was just doing what I wanted with no regard to anything else.

But, today it became clear that this needed to stop.  Sooooo I'm setting some boundaries and some goals to whip myself into shape.  I'm hoping to set goals in these categories each month.  I'll check in and grade myself for you, too.  So, whether you like it or not, you're holding me accountable.

1. Health: Aside from Project: 물 주세요, I am adding that I need to exercise every day.  I specifically need to slim down my thighs, as they're rubbing together when I walk and forming very painful blisters.  I'd show you a picture, but they're too high for me to feel comfortable putting that on my blog.
2. Self-improvement: This month, I'm going to try to live on $10 a day.  I want to be saving much more than I am.  I'll allow my $10 a day to roll-over, so on days when I don't spend anything (like today), I'll have more for the next day.  This does not include things like bills, transportation, and tithe, but it does include my food budget.  We'll see how this goes.
3. Focus on others: This month, I'd like to write a letter every day, mailing them once a week.  I think too much about myself.  Hopefully, this will make me think more about others.
4. Other: (I couldn't think of a good category title for this one.) Write a page a day on my story. I need to find a good time in my day to do this, because writing just before I go to sleep is proving disastrous to my character development.

So, yes.  Those are my biggies.  We'll see how they go.  Today, I'm acing them, having only one left to do (exercise, of course... although I did take the stairs).  I'll keep you posted.

Project: 물 주세요

The other day, I ran out of Coke.  I know... I can hear Jaimi gasping all the way over here, but it happened.  I decided that that marked the perfect time to go ahead and start something that my friend JoshTaylor of Blimey Cow has been trying to get me to do for a while: cut out the processed sugar in my drinks.  (Not to mention, my health has been so flukey lately that I could really use the immune-boost.)  Now, I'm not sure that I'm intending on going as ninja as he does on his diet, but I did set up some rules for myself:

1. I won't buy pop (or sugar-high juices) except for special occasions.
2. I won't drink pop (or sugar-high juices) unless directly offered ("no" isn't a culturally-acceptable word).
3. At home, I will drink water, homemade juices, milk, or almond milk.
4. If given the option, "What would you like to drink?" my answer will be "물 주세요" (Water, please!"

I've technically been doing this for several days now, but today was the first time I had to be conscious about it.  I'm telling you, there's nothing like a Coke when you're hot, tired, and thirsty, but I held out.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

What health thing are you working on right now?  Let's go in this together.

Seven steps to a better Christmas

Step 1) Make your Christmas gifting list, including price estimates, then set it aside.
 
Step 2) Read this. 

Step 3) Watch this:

[AC] Promo 2011 from Advent Conspiracy on Vimeo.

Step 4)Watch this:

Water of Life - Isaiah Challenge 2 from Compassion International on Vimeo.


Step 5) Do your Christmas shopping from this list instead.

Step 6) Subtract the total for step 5 from the total for step 1.

Step 7) Invest some of the total of step 6 here.


P.S. The link attached to the title of this post is seemingly contrary to the rest of it. Don't be confused, I'm not trying to make Christmas horrible for your kids. Please don't take it that way.

PPS.  The link attached to the title of this post may as well have been a video of the Royster household 10 years and 18 days ago.

<3

Maybe we've been thinking too narrowly.

Matthew 5:3-12

New International Version (NIV)

   ³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
   for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
   for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
   for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
   for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
   for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
   for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
   ¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

"ROYSTER TEACH-UH!"  I heard my name called with such enthusiasm that I couldn't help but translate it in my head to mean, "Oh my gosh, I'm so excited to see you!  I love seeing you!"  I looked up in time just to see a couple of my more familiar students running off the soccer pitch of the English Academy next to the school where I teach.
"Royster Teach-uh!  Hi!"
"Hi!"
"...Water?  Please?"
I smiled.  This was one of those few moments that I didn't feel like their excitement had been merely a ploy to get something from me, but, even if it was, I'll never be one to refuse a child water.  The two boys quickly downed half of my 1.5 liter bottle, smiled, chatted through one of their memorized dialogues with me, and then gave the standard, abrupt, "Okay, byeee!" and ran back off to play more soccer.
I continued my walk to the bus stop, and looked back over my shoulder as I rounded the corner.  The sight that greeted me this time left me in a state of mild self-argument.  One of the boys, having grown tired of the soccer game, had climbed up on top of the goal netting, and was lounging there, using it as a hammock.  My first instinct was to call out to him to get down, but the more I looked at it, the more I realized that it was not going to break under his small body weight, so I just laughed and enjoyed it.

Later, I got to thinking about the instance.  This boy wanted to be close to his friends and close to the action, but was too tired to still be in the thick of it.  He came up with a creative solution.  He could even still contribute to the game, calling out helpful warnings to the goalie beneath him.

What if we've been thinking too narrowly about our walk with Christ?  What if, when we rest, we don't need time out from the battle?  What if we just need a different position?  What if we need to create a new position?

Jesus brought about revolution, but He did not do it in the way that anyone else revolted, he created a new position, a new type of King, a new type of leader.  After all, who has ever heard of a peaceful revolution before or after?  Nonetheless, this is what He brought.  He left us instructions for how to continue it too.  Philip Zimmerman, pastor of the KiA Mainz church (I attended Project:Camp in 2008 [see the article linked to Phil's name] and interned there in 2009), often speaks of how the Kingdom of G-d is not some far off place, it's in us now, and it's our job to spread the Kingdom through everything we do.  Dr. Nathan Kerr adamantly agrees with him (and I'm going to quote Nate here, even though his writing is on such a high level, but what he has to say makes it worth deciphering):

What has become increasingly apparent to me is the way in which the ecclesiocentric approach short-circuits the practice of theology as a specifically dogmatic task. There are several dimensions to this short-circuiting. On the one hand, the ecclesiocentric construal of the church as a distinctively Christian culture renders a certain ecclesiological natural theology unavoidable. Whether one is speaking of the need for a “Christian social imaginary” as the condition for hearing and carrying out the task of the gospel (as does James K. A. Smith ); of the need to render an account of Christianity as a “habitable world” and to witness to a given Christian culture’s “particular way of structuring the whole” as requisite to the “intelligibility” and “truth” of the gospel proclamation (as we find in the work of Stanley Hauerwas and Bruce Marshall ); or speculatively, of the need to consider the church as its own historically “cultural” entity, as in God’s intention “antecedent” to (and so historically a condition of) the gospel (as does Robert Jenson ), the result is for all intents and purposes the same: the positing of a Christian culture or worldview as the real Anknüpfungspunkt (point of contact) required for the hearing of the gospel and thus the virtual identification of Christian mission with enculturation, or what John Flett would call propaganda.  

 (Incidentally, when Googling to find the correct interview with Nate, I'm pretty sure I stumbled across the blog of a good friend of mine from my freshman year of college.  If you understood and liked what Nate had to say, you'd like what Nathaniel Maddox says too.)

So, now that you're probably entirely overwhelmed, let me just write one question for you in big, bold letters so that you know what I've been asking myself today:

Have I been approaching this peaceful revolution from the sidelines or from the goalposts?

안성 구메 마을하고 칠장사 사원

Well, I promised more cultural excitement, and here it is - the moment you've been waiting for.  I'm a little behind on my blog posts; I'm sorry... but I've been doing all sorts of cultural things, about which you want to hear... so you'll just have to put up with a little bit of a time delay. :)  (It's not like I'm in Korea or anything...)

Last Saturday, I got the opportunity to go on a most amazing cultural trip.  It was cold and wet and sent my SID into overdrive, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself, especially the time I spent at 칠장사 사원 (Chiljangsa Temple).  At the temple, I spent a lot of time purposefully avoiding people and just soaking in my surroundings.  There's something in me that resonates with the Buddhist lifestyle, so going there was a treat for me.  I think, one day, I'd like to spend some time learning from a Buddhist monk (if I, being a woman, would be allowed).  This day was not that day, but... maybe one day...

Okay.  Without any further ado, here are the pictures from 안성 구메 마을 (Anesong Agricultural Village):

This trip really should be subtitled "How many ways can you use bamboo," but there's no option for that on my blog, so I'm just letting you know here.  So we started off the day by making bamboo massage sticks.  This photo is just the bamboo branches we used.  Keep on the lookout, because my massage stick will probably end up as a Christmas present for someone or something... They also make great percussion instruments and weapons.

Speaking of weapons, we got to try our hands at the Korean-style of archery.  The main difference seems to be their grip on the arrow.  I shot one and only one arrow, and here it is... barely making contact with the target board.  (It's the crooked one.)

It is now Fall in Korea, and I really haven't seen a more beautiful place for it.  You all can enjoy New England all you want, but I'm all about Korean leaves (in cultural locations) now.

Several people also went loach fishing.  Basically, these things look like the lovechild of a catfish and a leech.  You climb into the spider/scorpian-looking-thing infested mudhole, place your bamboo-enforced net in the water, stomp on the mud, pull your net back out, and see what you got.  Sadly, there were no waders big enough for my high-instep.  All together now: "Oh, that's too bad."  ;)

We each tried our hands at picking persimmons with these bamboo sticks.  Personally, I think it would be much more time-effective to use your bamboo to make a ladder, but I'm not going to argue with thousands of years of tradition.  Instead, I tapped into an even older tradition: the damsel in distress.  Yes, I managed to flag down two men who were kind of enough to hook me a persimmon (and another one when I accidentally knocked down the first) and let me pull it down as if I'd done it myself.  :)

The following are from 칠장사 사원 (Chiljangsa [Buddhist] Temple), I'm not going to caption these (if you want those, you can check out my Facebook), in the hopes that on their own they can reflect the peace and wonder (keep an eye out for the healing water) that was at the temple:

 Here's the ask the audience time:  What do you want next: a traditional Korean recipe, my personal reflections, or some more from my students?


Love!

I don't need a new pair of Chucks.

I was thinking of getting a pair, but this costs about the same, and is far more important.  Check it out:


Water of Life - Isaiah Challenge 2 from Compassion International on Vimeo.

What don't you need?

This entry has nothing to do with Korea... well... not really.

So, my friend Bri has this really fun blog that I enjoy reading. Mostly she shows me really pretty things that remind me that I'm a recent graduate from college and have no money, but today she hit the jackpot. She put up these printable posters to help get healthy, so, in an attempt to make me happier on that insanely long flight to Korea (See? We knew I could tie it in somehow.) and just in general. I'm intending on undertaking the adventures that these posters outline. Who's with me? (Comment and leave me some support... I can't do this on my own.)

Sooo... here's the "Welcome to Exercising" one:
And here's the "Get the Daily Recommended Amount of Water" one:
We'll see if I stick to this. Wish me luck!

P.S. The boyfriend got me back into Paper Mario. Click here for a list of recipes to have Tayce T. make for you. (Although, we have found some errors.)

P.P.S. I left you some fun facts linked to the title of this entry.