guess what -it's snowing! the voices down in the street outside my window have gotten louder and more excited since it started falling...and suddenly elizabeth and i aren't so tired after all. there's just something about snow that's so magical, and korean snow is no exception. seeing as i won't be going to bed for awhile, i thought i would break out the hot chocolate and give you a little update.

on thursday, lizzy and i got a taste of home -costco. here's the blow by blow:



with my huge backpack and lizzy's suitcase, we hoped to get all the essentials safely home.









hardly half a block from lizzy's apartment, we were faced with a deal we couldn't pass up -cotton candy for 300 won (30 cents).





that's the look of pure happiness. with the fluffy pink stuff in hand, we continued our journey.












we found it -the first glimpse of freedom!













it was everything we'd dreamed and more. after perusing the first floor for quite some time, we started to wonder where the food was. happily, we soon found an escalator (for carts!) that led us to a basement full of familiar sights and smells.




they had just about everything -cheese, bagels, muffins, cream cheese, real butter, tortillas, etc. and we'll just have to live without adam's peanut butter, cheeze-its, and graham crackers. they even had a few extra products we decided to pass up.
















after filling our cart to the brim with wonderful food...









...things gotten even better! yes, that's right -chicken bakes for dinner!









as you can see, it was a bit darker when we left costco than when we went in. =)















we got home -prized bagels and all -safe and sound. you can probably tell what what our diets have missed the most -carbs, carbs, and more carbs.

needless to say, we're pretty happy about finding costco. somehow things like chicken quesadillas have the ability to make life a whole lot more enjoyable. it's all about the simple things. on that note, i just started reading a book by shane clairborne, "the irresistible revolution," and it's incredibly challenging! i highly recommend it (at least the 70 pages i've read so far), but be prepared to be a bit shaken up. more on that later.

now it's bed time! thanks for all your prayers. loves.

it's friday night!! and what am i doing?? well, my big plans are to watch gilmour girls while doing the dishes (yes, multitasking is my specialty).

i walked home from school by myself for the first time tonight. it made me realize how wonderful it is to have lizzy here. every day for the last 3 weeks she has waited around during my last class so we can walk home together. (only tonight she needed to get back asap because her brother was going to be online). it's a little sad walking home alone and unlocking the door to a dark, empty (of people, that is) apartment. but just think how many people come home to that everyday! when lizzy and i are on the subway (which is quite often, considering it's our only mode of transportation), we're usually some of the only people in the car who are traveling together. there may be millions of people around, but it's a lonely world. once again, thank God for elizabeth.

lizzy and i had a feast tonight -thanks to kirsta's leftover food -chicken enchiladas!! it wasn't until the gooey goodness was sticking to the roof of my mouth that i realized what my life had been missing for the last 3 weeks -cheese. consequently, (and for a few other reaons like chocolate, graham crackers, and mac and cheese), we're setting out ot find costco on thursday. armed with our marked up subway map, a long shopping list, and a huge rolling suitcase, we will conquer costco like never before.

the past few days have been especially hard for me emotionally...but God is so faithful. i wake up in the mornings in a kind of panic, as if i don't know where i am or what i'm doing here. as night comes, i dread going to bed and not falling asleep right away, therefore having time to think about people i miss. i've ended up memorizing psalm 91 and it helps to have something come instantly to mind whenever panic threatens. thank God for elizabeth -she gives amazing hugs.

i've decided that my kindergarten classes are my favorite. the older kids are lots of fun to teach, too, but kindergartners are so cute and excited about learning -they actually WANT to learn. that makes things fun. each child is such a character -there's willy who lives in a far away world and whose mouth drops wide open every time i manage to pull him back to the world of phonics. there's kevin who likes to draw complex math problems on the white board while i'm teaching new spellings words. there is jenny who drops her pencil on the floor and leans over inch by inch as slowly as possible as if she's an old lady with arthritis. there is 5 year old owen who can't understand a word i say, but looks up at me with his big eyes, hanging on my every word. and there is lisa who draws hearts full of love notes for me on the white board before class, but doesn't listen to a word i say during class. etc. etc. etc. i can't wait to take pictures so you can see their cuteness first hand.

my aunt betty ruth just reminded me that i've neglected my blog over the past week. now i know someone reads this! =)

so i'm now in the middle of my 3rd week of teaching, and i can officially say i've eaten spam. i thought it was carrots, and my kids told me it was ham...but i was pretty sure it wasn't ham. sure enough, lizzy walked in after lunch and gave the unfortunate news -it must have been spam. what can i say -i was hungry! and with enough rice, even spam isn't that bad. that's one thing i'm not used to -the mindset that this is what i have to eat, and if i don't eat it, i'll be hungry for a long time. there isn't any fridge to go to -no it's "that red stuff" or nothing at all.

it's quite a different experience living life as part of the minority. especially when the total of that minority is made up of you and the person walking next to you. lizzy and i have not seen a single caucasian in our area of town -and it's doubtful that we will. i've never gotten so much attention! for awhile i thought that cars were slowing down so i could walk safely, but no, they are slowing down to get a better view of the white girl. there have been several times when lizzy and i have been stopped on a street corner, and people will come up and stand 2 feet from us and stare -literally stare at us for seconds on end. it's good to know what it feels like to be the different one, but i can't say it feels good. besides their staring, koreans are extremely friendly and welcoming. it's just a difference in cultures -diversity is simply not a part of life here!

elizabeth and i went to a distrit called "itawain" (aka, the "foreign district") last week and found something amazing -foreign food!



the guys at subway made an incredible turkey sandwich...



and the hot chocolate at starbucks was superb. (though somewhat of a splurge at $5).


a taste of the states was a welcome surprise, not that i don't enjoy rice and kimchi. (honestly, i can't say i feel like korean food and i are a perfect match, but i'm trying hard to make the relationship work since i don't have much of a choice. but actually, there are a few foods, like korean bbq, that i have really enjoyed!!).

i'm very excited about experiencing the korean culture, but it's nice to know french fries and whoppers are there if i ever need them. =) peace.