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Published: February 20th 2011
This week enveloped me with the sincere appreciation of stress. At times in life we overcommit of which in many cases cause the birth of 'stress'. I am curious as to why as we are so darn hard on ourselves. It is almost like we feelthat if we do not accomplish what we set forth in our minds we have failed. This week I was reminded that stress enhanced my appreciation for all opportunities that came my way within my journey.
02/14-Mon. Valentines Day in Korea. I found out from my Korean friends that here in Korea it is not uncommon for the women to provide the candy and gifts to the men. The men have a tendency to not reciprocate the sweet gifts of love to the women. This is an excellent place for my hubby as he was off the hook so to speak. Today after 3 hours I created another masterpiece in my Hanji class. This one is a gift so I will not be sharing it in this blog as I do not want to ruin the surprise. I opened my first Korean bank account. This would have been great to capture on video as no
Traditional Handbok
Hanbok dress-up in Mrs. Moon's Korean class. Myself, Monique, Phyllis and Mrs. Moonone in the bank spoke English. I do not recommend doing this without a Korean there to help you with the language interpretation. Another valuable lesson learned. Matt & I had dinner with a Korean friend at Barbeque resturaunt. It was fun! I then stayed up until midnight creating a Surprise Birthday invitation for Monique. Pam & I are co-hosting the party at our home. It's going to be the first party we have hosted in our new home. Happy to report that it is Friday.
02/15-Tues. Baked more 'Miracle Banana Bread' for gifts today (total of 8 loaves) Ms. Bae (Matt's assistant) and I had lunch together. She is a beautiful lady. I learned about her family and life in Seoul. Following my lunch Mr Kim and Ms. Lim from Asian Tigers came by to visit me. They were excited to see how we decorated the apartment. Ms. Lim was so kind as she brought me beautiful yellow freesia with babies breath. After explaining my stressful adventure in opening my first checking account and what my anticipated use for the account was she offered to call them. The account services that I was provided were not going to
be a benefit for me (no checks, no bankcard). After her phone discussion I then joined her and Mr. Kim in visiting the bank. It is so amazing how having a Korean with me helped to alleviate my stress in trying to communicate my desires. Appreciation for great friendships! This night turned into another night of burning the midnight oil as my ESL students began sending their homework for my edits late.
02/16-Wed. Early to rise and off to Shinhan to work with helping our group of 10 enhance in their skills in English reading and communication. Our topic of discussion in this class session was 'Stress'. How appropriate. In hand I had all the graded homework for those whom did complete it. This week I was informed in Korean culture it is not acceptable to toss candy to anyone. Opps, did this last week in my class. I apologized to them this week. This week I gifted the students with homemade banana bread. They really liked it. From Shinhan I went to my Hanji class. Created another painting, this was my best yet. Another gift for a special lady, I must admit there is a little voice inside
that so wants to keep them. The truth is, that after much thought I know I am much happier gifting my creations. From my class I then went home and left again to get some of the items for the party Friday. I am tired and beginning to feel stress knocking from deep within. I came home and began preparations for the Promega monthly curriculum and homework assignments to send on Friday morning. Also made a personal commitment to study Hanguel and Korean in preparation for my early morning class.
02/17-Thurs. Another busy morning, off I go to my Korean language, culture and cooking class. I chose to take a taxi today as opposed to the subway. Left my home at 9 am since our class begins at 10. My Taxi driver ended up taking me a good distance from where I needed to go. I showed him the address, shared the closest subway station as this is the most accurate way to obtain directional assistance here in Seoul, no luck. I resorted to contacting my teacher so that she could provide the directions in Korean. This week I was 30 minutes late. Oh my goodness, what is up?????
Fun in my Hanbok!
This is how most Koreans pose for a photo. I am so appreciative of her patience and understanding. This week we practiced our vowels, consanants, greetings and more nouns. My brain was spinning. We prepared several dishes like Dak Jjim, Bul Go Gi, Neo Bi A Ni Gui, DoeJiGoGi GoChuJang Gui and Yak Sik for dessert. Matt has the pleasure of my cooking as I bring home leftovers. This week I actually brought home two items I prepared fresh for his dinner. I am getting better each week with reading and sounding out the word. My challenge is now beginning to teter on definition and retention. We also were allowed to try on her traditional Hanboks and take photos. Three out of 4 of us stayed after to class to enjoy this honor.
02/18-Fri. Met with my great resource for the purses this morning, cleaned our apartment, and then headed for the base to meet Pam. I finished getting the special Birthday gifts for kids and grandkids back home in addition to finding some just because gifts to mail to Nana's little ones. This will be my first time sending packages through the APO address. Excited to get these all sent early! Wow, I am impressed with my efforts. Loaded up and ready to mail, off to the post office. Upon my arrival I find they are closed. I am appreciative that Pam picked me up with all my unmailed packages, there was no way I could have gotten home with them. Pam & I headed to the Commissary to finish shopping for the party tonight. My mind is now in the party prep mode. We decorated with balloons and streamers, gazed out the window with a glass in hand, sharing our appreciation for life and freindships. Pam baked a wonderful 3-tier chocolate cake. We had enough snacks and liquor to accomodate hosting two parties. The guests arrive in the perfect timing. Monique and her husband Ben entered thinking they were coming to visit our new place. Then the roar of Surprise brought tears to Monique's eyes. I appreciate all of the memories from this fantastic evening spent with new acquaintances. To see the joy in Monique's eyes made this evening so worth any type of stress that I might have felt. In bed by 2 am.
02/19-Sat. Finished cleaning up the after party dishes, vaccumed and did the laundry. Matt & I ventured back to Insa-dong where I had made a Korean name stamp for my works of art. The ladies last night think I should sell my work. Not sure if I will ever have any to sell, as I shared above my love is to give. In Insa-dong we had some yummy lunch and then found one our favorites, the waffle ice-cream. Matt likes the combination of this dessert with Cafe Mocha. I tried the plum tea with pine nuts. It was really quit tasty. Another after midnight before bed day, so appreciate the goodness of this city.
02/20-Sun. Today we had a Korean friend move-in. She will be residing with us just until April. Ms. Shin is a really nice lady. She has introduced me to those who are requesting ESL teachings. This will be a great time of learning even more about the Korean culture and will also be a wonderful opportunity for me to be immersed into the language. She has offered to cook, clean and do laundry. Hey not at bad deal!
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Sherri
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Banana Bread
I sure miss my Banana bread in the morning :) Awesome paintings, maybe you can do street murals when you return to the US :) As for your new roomate any chance she could come and live with me? Miss you and have a safe trip!