The end of April

This past week I made the terrible trip across the globe to see my grandparents. I haven't seen them in a while and it seemed like the time to visit again. I got in on Wednesday night after travelling all day and all night. Got to spend a lot of time with them over the weekend. I left Sunday morning to travel back. It was a hard visit. Both good and bad. But I am glad I did it. Sometimes you just gotta do these things.

I did get to see some friends also.... it makes me want to move back to Canada when I see family and friends that I haven't seen in a long time. Especially when I find new friends, that I never realized I had, in cousins I've had forever. (Brandon!)

I wrote a letter for my Grampa. I put it on this blog.... Not because I want everyone to have an opinion about it, but because it is the way I feel and that is what I put on here. If you don't want to read it, please don't. If you do, than that's fine too. Gramma, I hope you will read it to him for me. =)

So now I am back in Korealand for another four months. It sounds short, but feels like it will never end. Christina is leaving tomorrow, which is a marking point I have been counting down to. My calendar is sitting here, within easy reach so I can mark off each day as it finishes. This has been an experience, I am glad I did it, but I will be glad when it's over too.

The weather has gotten lovely over here, all warm and colorful. The trees are all green and the flowers are popping up everywhere. I am glad. Winter was terrible.

And that is all I have to say tonight.

~Michelle

Dear Grampa,

I can't begin to tell you how much I love you. When I think back on my childhood you are always part of the memories that make me smile. From the time I was very little I know I always looked up to you with a mixture of fear and admiration. You could do anything. Build anything, tear it down, burn it all up, paint it, or kill it. And then on the other hand, you could be kind, and gentle, loving and generous, funny, or talented.

So many things I will never forget. You taught me how to ride the lawnmower, only in 2nd gear, of course. You paid me to collect potato bugs in the garden, you taught me golf. I was never allowed to help paint the house, even though it was only one colour. I remember you burning everything. A bees nest (they weren't too happy) the dog house, the yard, the forest, the trash. I remember The Trading Bag. The tricky way you used to get us to give you the coolest stuff and then we would end up with a bar of soap, or a button. You playing the keyboard, singing. Laughing, sleeping with your mouth wide open (catching flies). Remodeling our house for us, and killing snakes.

You never seemed to age, defied death by beating all the odds. Heart transplant, illness, kidney failure, skin cancer. It never seemed to slow you down or make you give up. And I think that is the thing I admire the most. The thing I have learned from you and the thing I will never let go of.

Some people say that you and I are alike. That you are where I get my spunk. I take it as a compliment. To be compared to a man as great as you. I hope I can always measure up.

I want to tell you that you did good, you are one of the very best people I know. I can't wait to be with you in heaven where there will never be any need to slow down, or be careful. Where you can live out to your true potential. And I am confident of that above all else. That I will see you there, if not again here. Because not only are you a good man, you are a Godly man. I have always known this to be true. And even now, in the face of so many hardships, I can tell that God is a faithful companion. You inspire me to be great, to live better and to hang onto Jesus. You inspire me to stick out terrible situations and hang on for something better. You mean so much to me and I wanted to let you know.

You have done so much, touched so many lives. Not only of your grandchildren, but of everyone around you. I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate it. And how much I love you. Always have, always will. And I want you to know that you don't have to worry about me, or any of us anymore. I learned from the best and I feel like I can take on the world because I knew you.

This seems corny, a lame way to say anything. But I couldn't find the words when I was with you. There were too many things running around in my head. So I hope you understand what I am saying. That you can hear through my words and get my real meaning.

Love,

Michelle

Month Eight (8) Ate

Yesterday was officially month eight of our time in Korea. Parts of me still can't believe it's been that long and at the same time I feel like I have been here for years. Time is tricky.

Time can either make you or break you. It can wear you down or build you up. There never seems to be enough time, especially when there is an end point in sight. Time can seem like it is never ending when you are waiting for something. Time can make you sick, make you laugh, make you cry. Change your mind, change your heart, change your habits, change your character. Time can heal all wounds, or create entirely new ones. Tricky tricky...

Spring is here. And it is lovely. I can almost forget how terrible the winter was when I see all the trees bursting into color and life again. The sun is so hot already that I can tell soon summer will bake us all. But it is nice right now while the air is still cool, but the sun is warm. Makes for perfect outdoor activity weather.

The thing I really like about Korea is that they have very separate seasons. You can tell where one begins and another finishes. Something that Tennessee has trouble with. We had fall, it got progressively colder until winter was here. Then we had winter, which was consistently frigid. No fooling around, getting warmer and then colder again, it just stayed COLD. No rain, no strange weather, just pure coldness. Then one day, magically, spring came and now it is progressively getting warmer. Which leads me to believe that summer will be insanely hot, with no relief, just like winter was cold with no relief.

I am counting down the days until I get to go home. Back to things that are easy and familiar. Back to English, fat people and venti coffee. Back to traffic rules that apply to ALL people, sidewalks not stained with mucus, malls that don't have 16 stories, wide open spaces and trees!!

And that is all I have to say about month 8. More to come...

Michelle

Refreshing Reconnection's~ Retreat!

The Teachers Retreat was amazing. Best thing that could have happened right now. Not only was it SO nice to get away from all the teaching responsibilities and hang out with a lot of other teachers and friends, but it was a nice spiritual revival.

We arrived at the English Village at about 12pm and found out that we could not go to our rooms until 4:30. That's a lot of time to wander around and entertain yourself when you don't really have a plan. So we played mini golf, went for some walks, climbed a roof, played ping-pong and watched some soccer. And before we knew it they told us we could now move into our freshly cleaned rooms. The rooms were like dorm rooms and the buildings were called dormitories. It felt kind of like being in high school or camp meeting. Christina and I were placed in Purple Coneflower. We shared a room with two other girls and slept on bunk beds with plastic feeling blankets that made a terrific amount of noise every time we moved.

The first meal seemed to smell like something delicious and silly people that we are decided it would be amazing to have haystacks... but alas it was only rice. Of course! After supper we had a vespers-like program with Pastor Hillary Baatjies. Who is a South African man who used to work in Korea. He was amazing. He had very funny stories and illustrations but more than that he had a very fantastic message. It was all focused on Psalms. A great deal of it had to do with forgiveness and how we cannot ask God for forgiveness unless we have stopped making excuses for the sin. He also talked about how God takes care of us and how God is real. I wish I had taken some notes, but it was powerful. I think we all really needed to hear it. I know I listened with every part of my soul the whole time.

After the first meeting we broke into groups and had some prayer time, praying for the Language program and Korea and the world. Then we all went to bed. But not to sleep. The beds were extremely hard, even harder than I have become used to over here. Combined with people talking in the living room area of the dorm, doors opening and closing, our toilet that sounded possessed and the heat, it was a restless night.

Sabbath morning came really early. Breakfast was at 7am. Which is earlier than I have gotten up this whole year. Sabbath school was pretty good. Some of the teachers from other schools did skits about pride and how Satan tries to trick us into sinning using various methods. It was humorous and very powerful at the same time. Then we had a very chaotic lesson study time where everyone just tried to yell over everyone else and no one heard anything.

After sabbath school we had church. Another excellent message from Pastor Hillary. This time I think he focused on Psalms 51. All about David and Bathsheba and how David is crying out to God to forgive him, with a contrite heart.

Then we took a group picture. And got in line for lunch. The exciting news that we were actually having haystacks for lunch, spread down the line like crazy. Everyone was really excited about it. After we ate there we went back to church for another worship thought and then communion. Christina's institute was in charge of communion. It was the first time in a really long time that I participated in communion, and in the foot washing. Normally I skip that part. But I got thinking about it and why do I skip it? Usually because I can't be bothered to find a partner and actually do it. Too much work. WHAT? Once a month, or whatever its too HARD for me to get out of my comfort zone, get down on my knees and wash some girls feet? What is wrong with me. So I thought it was time for a change. Sarah and I were partners and it was actually quite nice.

Then we had reconnecting time. Which was code for, free time! So Sarah, Kenton, Arron, Christina, Matt and I decided to climb one of the mountains surrounds the village. So we did. IT was a pretty much straight up climb and I don't know what came over me but I almost just ran up it. My legs and lungs were on fire, but I couldn't stop. I think maybe my body was just overjoyed with the idea of being outside, in the sun and fresh air, that it didn't care that I wasn't used to such an intense hike. But we made it to the top and back down safely. And even had fun!

Then it was time for supper and another wonderful surprise, spaghetti. I wasn't even hungry. Climbing should have left me famished, but it left me feeling tired and not hungry instead.

After supper we had another worship thing and then it was off to game night. SO MUCH FUN. I found Dutch Blitz in the pile of games that were out to play and I found some other people and then the MOST intense games of Dutch Blitz happened. I almost lost my voice from it all. It was really really fun. We probably played for an hour or so. Then I also played some other group games and then it was time for bed. Except not really. I think some people stayed up the entire night. Which is understandable. We never see each other and it is super fun... but I was so tired. But, again the stupid bed and noise made my night... terrible.

Woke up again, super early for breakfast. Packed up all our gear and headed down the hill. After breakfast had another fantastic worship thing, which my dead tired brain somehow absorbed. At the end we all stood and sang Side by Side. Awe!! I remember at camp when we sang that song, always trying to get next to the guy I liked so I could hold his hand for a couple minutes... haha.. Not so much this time. This time it was just nice to be with other people, singing... and standing there, together. For a minute I actually forgot I was in Korea.

And then it was time to say goodbye and head home. And the same feeling of sad empty that comes over you at the end of camp meeting, came swooping over me. Back to real life again. Out of the happy English Bubble we were having so much fun in. =(

And that was the weekend, summarized... of course.

I'd like to think that I am ready for this coming week and the weeks to follow and even the months. But truth is I am tired of being here. No amount of retreats can make up for being at home. But there are only four more months to go. I know I can make it. And I will be glad I stuck with it, someday.

Sometimes God has to take us through something, to get us TO something. And that is my closing thought for this blog.

~Michelle

Thursday

Today I got to sleep in till the super late hour of 10:30am. That almost never happens on a Thursday. Got up, showered and headed out into rainy, dreary Korea to meet up with the other teachers from our institute. We jumped in the van and rode to a delicious seafood buffet. Where we all got bonuses and gorged ourselves on the most delicious seafood assortment ever.

We actually had a lot of fun just hanging out in the restaurant. I learned a new way to play thumb wars. When your thumb gets trapped by your opponent they can slap your hand until you escape their thumb. It takes the thumb war to a whole new level of craziness. We were all laughing hysterically.

Then we headed out to go bowling. Also super fun, but ridiculous. I think it has been almost a year since I last bowled, and I have never been a pro bowler anyway so I was pretty bad. Or I might even say, Terrible. I think I got a 94. That was my last game. The first game I think I got a whopping 52 or something terrible. Really really bad. I should probably practice my bowling skills sometime.

After that we were all tired and ready to get home. Cleo and I made a trip to EMart to buy supplies for tomorrow's epic retreat and then we all just kind of wandered off to our respective rooms to rest and warm up. Rain is miserable.

And that is about it for today I think =)

Michelle

Retreat

This week was extra super short. We have a teachers retreat this weekend all classes are cancelled from now til Monday. We are all really excited about this. Not only do we get two days off school, a whole weekend off and a chance to get away, but we also get to hang out with all the other foreign teachers that are over here. Some that we haven't seen in ages and ages. I am excited!

I don't really have any new exciting or scary stories to tell.

This will probably be the shortest blog ever. I guess I just want to let you know that I will probably not be in contact again til next week. Like, no internet communication on Friday or Saturday! Try to live without me =P

the end

Michelle