i just sat on "don't go" (my lovely green couch) for a couple hours and wrote letters. yes, real letters, with a pen and paper and everything. there is something wonderful about writing on a physical piece of paper to someone. don't get me wrong, i find email as amazing and necessary as the next person, but i think letters are far superior in every way.

before my writing spree, i finished a book -"song of solomon," by toni morrison. amazing, but disturbing and a bit depressing (for starters, the book begins and ends with suicide). but this is no surprise with morrison. i can't say i liked it as much as her others, but i think i need to give it some time. i love it when novels are so wrapped up in culture and history and family that they can't help but hit home as if you were reading your own grandmother's diary. i'm not a stickler for realism in art, i believe it's definitely a place where fantasy and idealism should be welcomed because sometimes it's one of the only places we can find that kind of hopeful optimism, but i certainly appreciate art that reflects reality in all its raw beauty.

just a few days ago i got back from a most wonderful week at home. it was a piece of peach pie after months of bran muffins. in other words, it was amazing. pictures to follow. peace.

here are a couple of videos of my kids for your enjoyment. i've been thinking about how much i'm going to miss them lately...which has brought out the camera in hopes of saving their sweet faces in my memory for posterity.

this first one is of my kittens -one of my kindy classes. they love to sing during art and this particular song, "how many buses," is played over and over at their request.


this one is one of my elementary classes -which i affectionately refer to as my angel/devil class -having fun introducing each other. they are little angels...but can quickly turn on you if you're not careful.


here's a thought from what i've been reading:
"in varenka [a girl who lives entirely for others] she saw that it was only necessary to forget oneself and to love others in order to be at peace, happy, and lovely. and such a person kitty wished to be."
-tolstoy, anna karenina

i really need to start telling more of the stories of everyday life here in korea. so here's a start.

every time i go to the grocery store, the lady asks me (in korean, of course) if i want a bag, and since i'm normally only buying a couple of things (namely milk and eggs), i've gotten used to saying aniyo(no) without really thinking. but last night on our way home from school, our list was a bit longer and included 2 big bags of potatoes. i absentmindedly told the lady i didn't want a bag, she looked at the amount of things we were buying, looked at elizabeth, and proceeded to load the groceries into elizabeth's arms. elizabeth panicked at first because she really didn't think it was all going to fit -but apparently that lady knew what she was doing because it stacked up just fine, thought a bit precarious! it wasn't as funny for lizzie, but i sure enjoyed it.

then yesterday when i was walking to the subway, i ran into (quite literally) one of my girls from school in an alley. i found out that she lives hardly a block from me. she was playing soccer with her brother and cousin and when i tapped her on the shoulder, she turned and gave me this huge smile -"hello teacher!" she was so excited to introduce her brother and cousin and it was really fun to see the neighbors watching us amazed as donna burst out in english like she owned the language.

one more story. so later that day i was at the foreign food mart. i had been standing in line for a while and i was a bit frustrated because the guy at the counter was helping a man who'd just walked in before those of us waiting in line. when it was my turn, i laid out my items on the counter and instead of adding them up, the guy turned around to look for something on a shelf. after a minute, he turned around with a capri sun juice drink in his hand and stood there putting the straw into the drink. seriously -he thought this was a good time for a snack break? ok, i was annoyed. but that's as far as it got. after poking the straw into the drink, he handed it to me and said, "try this." i was floored. here i was was getting mad over having to wait an extra 2 minutes to be helped, and he was just smiling and treating me like a friend. i walked out with my drink wanting to be more like that man behind the counter.

i just finished my first real "teen drama" novel. i missed the whole teen genre boat when i skipped from the "anastasia krupnik" series and "the boxcar children" mysteries to "lord of the rings" and "jayne eyre." and since then, my ever-growing reading list (mostly made up of classics) has kept me from being on board with any current bestsellers. after finally reading the harry potter books over the last few months and hearing stories from lizzie about how intensely exciting it was to be reading them, along with the rest of the world, when they came out, i decided i wanted to know what that was like. so when the "twilight" series started popping up all over the internet and what not, they caught elizabeth's and my attention and i decided this was my big chance to be in on the current excitement. the package from amazon finally got here during lunch last week and i tore into it and started the first book as my kids were finishing eating.

i have to say i'm a bit disappointed. but i'm not sure what i was expecting...i knew they were popular with teens...i knew all the characters were in high school...i knew the main character was a vampire. it's not that it was bad -i'm just used to more. it's just that i didn't believe this book. i didn't really care what happened to bella and i didn't feel like my life would end if bella and edward weren't able to break through the human-vampire blockades and be together forever. i don't think it's just that this is more sci-fi/fantasy than i'm used to...i was completely swept into harry potter's world of witches and dragons, no matter how fantastical. i cared whether hermione and ron were on speaking terms, i cried for dumbledore, and i debated extensively in my head over whether snape was good or bad, feeling that it was terribly important. this is what i'm used to -i'm used to being invested in what i read -being unable to tear myself away from the character's situations, agonizing over their happiness, and feeling like i've lost a significant relationship when i finish the last page.

oh i do love books. just writing that makes me want to be reading "anna karenina" right now. i have the next two books in the "twilight" series sitting on my shelf...but i feel no need...this is nothing like finishing the 6th harry book and rushing off to itaewon to find the 7th. ironic. i kind of feel like i should finish what i started, though, eventually. maybe when my reading list runs out? uhm, i don't think i'll ever see that day. i would like to be on the bandwagon when the next harry potter comes around, though...so if you're on it, please tell me and maybe i'll join you for a detour. until then, i'm sticking to my list. there's a reason they're called classics.

it's been entirely too long since i wrote...what can i say? i've been busy? yes, but no, that's not it. i'm not sure what it is. but a letter from my gramma reminded that people actually read this, and where there are people involved, i aim to please. haha. actually, that's not why i write at all...probably the furthest from it...i definitely write because i like it. selfish, i know.

so much has happened!! i don't know where to start. i finished the harry potter books...we went to a lantern festival...we made pottery...lizzie and i made shepherds pie in the toaster oven...jayne and i went to busan...we got a new little girl named swan at school...rach and nate came to visit...i had my first cinnamon roll in 7 months (incredible)...lizzie's brother, matt, came to visit...we went to the korean folk village and left our mark...we went to a nareebong (kareoke room) and us girls wore the shortest skirts you'll ever see me in...the new coldplay album came out...we went to everland, the happiest place in korea (think disneyland)...we had a 70's party...we got a couch!!...rach and i found out that although store front windows make it seem like there is a massive excess of cute clothes here in seoul, there are actually only a few pieces worth buying...i got very used to having a roommate...lizzie and matt discovered japan...jon foreman finally brought summer 'round...after one more vanilla latte, i dropped rach off at the subway...matt is on his way to the airport as i write...and lizzie and i have empty houses once again. to be quite honest, this is the closest thing i've ever felt to abandonment. ironic, because i'm the one who left home in the first place. it still doesn't feel right that your mom, best friend, brother should leave you behind in korea.

only 4 more months though!! (as of july 1). and those 4 months are going to be filled with wonderfulness -a waterpark, a mud festival, a WEEK LONG TRIP HOME!!!, a dmz tour, going up down escalators, etc. etc.

since i'm so behind, i thought i would post a bit each day...rather than submerge you head first. so here are some pictures and stories from may.


just one of the many kinds of lanterns we saw at the buddhist lantern festival in downtown seoul.


lizzie and i got our very own lanterns! mine was compliments of a nice old man and lizzie's was compliments of the side of the street.


a stop at baskin robbins was a must afterward...we missed mom's alien. (our favorite kind of ice cream here in korea).


we went to the science museum and got to make pottery!


spending some time with trent.


the sun, coffee, falafel, and good friends make for a wonderful afternoon.


jayne and i get out of the city and spend the day in busan (a coastal city south of seoul) with cindy and big tiger (our bosses).


jayne and cindy attempt the "titanic pose" (we're still not really sure what exactly that is...)


ice cream on the boat ride!


jayne and i soon decided the top of the boat was much more exciting...these are the "5, maybe 6 islands" (yes, that's the real name).


we try the titanic pose again...


ahhhhhh...the sweet taste of freedom (or something like that).


cindy and i at a buddhist temple right on the coast.


cindy and big tiger. awww...how cute.


making chinese lanterns with piglet class. fun times.

well that catches me up through may. however, it's almost july so there is much much more to come! stay tuned. peace.

i don't remember an exact time, or even the year really, but at some point, i stopped holding hands. i remember holding hands with my dad, mom, grandparents, girlfriends, babysitters, even my brother -and then i remember not doing it anymore. i didn't naturally go for my parent's hand when crossing the street, i could walk without my grandpa's hand guiding me, and i didn't feel like my best friend and i had to be connected at the hip [hand]. but i watch my little kindies walk down the hallways at school, and they're all holding hands (ok, mostly the girls, but sometimes the boys, too. and you can bet that they'll leave school holding their mom's hand). so i started wondering...what happened? i don't think it was a conscious decision i made to stop holding my dad's hand in the parking lot. it just kind of happened. and from what i can tell, it just kind of happens to everyone. but why? why do we all of a sudden feel the need to show our independence? what's so great about independence? i have to say i prefer security. there's enough in the world to make us scared and insecure -why does a counteract like hand holding have to be taken from us in the midst of that?

when i was 11, i got my own room (another "sign of independence" i'm not sure is so great) and my grandpa gave me 2 pictures to hang on my empty new walls. one was a girl walking on the beach picking up seashells. this little girl is the only one in the picture, but it never bothered me because i knew her dad was the one taking the picture (yes, it was a painting, but that didn't matter in my head). this painting later inspired a bit of lyrics for a song i never finished..."little girl, walking through the sand...tightly holding on to her daddy's hand...the waves come crashing in, but she just skips and grins...daddy's there and there's not a care in the world..." the other picture my grandpa gave me was robert fulghum's "all i really need to know i learned in kindergarten." i remember laying in bed reading it over and over...especially the last line, "and it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together." i agree.

here in korea, people like to walk arm in arm. when lizzie and i first got here, we kind of laughed and joked about popping our space bubbles. but we've found it's actually really natural and just plain nice. touch is an amazing thing -and i think hands can be used for more than just swinging at our sides. of course we don't have to walk around holding hands all the time -but it's a simple gesture that says -i need you, and you need me. we are not alone. we are not self-sustained. no matter where you go, i'll be here. when you get lost, i'll be there, too. when you get scared, i'll be there. it's just plain nice. and i think we could use more of that. don't worry, i'm not going to hold your hand everywhere i go from now on. but every now and then i might put my arm through yours and stay there for awhile. it just eases something inside and reminds me everything's ok. i surely won't mind if you do the same.

i thought i'd give you a look into my last several weeks...picture style.


rachel comes to visit from japan and we show her all the korean hot spots. (this is just before the sunglass vendor came out to yell at us).


singing journey in na-ree-bongs (karaoke rooms) is a favorite pastime -"don't stop believing...hold on to that feeling..."


we went to the zoo!


lizzie's mom comes to visit for a week! friday coffee at ediya's is a must.


lovely cherry blossoms at gyeongbuk palace.


the beautiful mountains that we never see because of the pollution.


lizzie and i are silly (as usual) at the korean national folk museum.


working on our korean poses at the korean folk village.


my penguin class learns about the body hands on.


as teachers, lizzie and i always set an example of perfect maturity.


mom comes to visit!! and brings with her a ridiculous amount of wonderful things -including graham crackers, life cereal, chocolate chips, refried beans, applesauce...etc. etc.


mom joins us on our fieldtrip to the country.


lil' cindy lou who dares to touch the big white dog with her big, strong, loving teacher at her side. =)


starbucks in korea! we can read it!


mom finds a van just her size. she thought dad would get a kick out of this. =)


cindy takes us to a really cute restaurant with super comfy couches and the most delicious tea i've ever had.


mom tries bibinbap and is quick on her way to falling in love with korean food.


all us teachers with the april birthday kiddies. (apparently i'm the teacher most likely to be mistaken for a student).


samuel and kenneth are such peaceful boys.


mom puts her back into it at the korean folk village.


yay for cherry blossoms! and yay for moms!


mom decides it's time for a swim.


finally -a swing that's made for standing up on!


we're ready to explore changgyeong-gung palace, hoods and all!




a cool gate.


the famous "secret" garden.


one of my favorites.


an extremely old tree.


mom learned the ways of the subway quite quickly. (always carry a book and the end seats are most coveted).


mom at the ruins of persia. (aka the "golden persia" exhibit at the national museum of korea).


a fabulous game of masterpiece.


yes, that is a strawberry and yes, that is hummus on it. but no, it wasn't intentional. and yes, i did eat it.


mcmuffins cheer us up after saying goodbye to mom at the airport.

at this point, we're over halfway through the year! (excuse me while i dance around the floor a moment). spring is here and it's gorgeous! we plan on enjoying these couple months of warm weather before the intense heat comes and all we want to do is sit inside watching movies with the ac on. as you saw, april was mom month and it was wonderful. june will bring more visitors -my bf rachel and lizzie's brother, matt! yay!! if you want to join in on the fun, let me know and i'll put you down on the schedule. we have an inflatable sleeping pad and you'll be amazed at how comfy it is! not sold? i'll make you peanut butter cookies! chocolate chip? still not sold? i don't know what to do with you.