At The Bamboo School

Where to begin? This is what happens when too much is happening at the same time and you don't have time write about it. So here is the abbreviated version. Up until last Monday, Rebs and I were finishing grades and planning our trip to Thailand. Though we had not received new contracts for work, we had assumed that we were going to get them fairly soon. We had done our jobs well, had been professional, and couldn't think of any good reason to not receive the new contract. So we made plans.
On Monday night, Rebs and I each received separate emails, very formally stating that Kwandong University was choosing not to re-sign our contracts. There was no explanation as to why. My jaw dropped as I read it. It was like a hard punch to the stomach, a feeling that would have difficulty subsiding over the next several days.

This put us in an awkward situation because our plans for a vacation to Thailand started on Thursday, giving us 3 days before we went to Seoul to leave the next morning. That's not much time to do any sort of job searching and try to get hired. Let's just say that our anxiety levels went through the roof, at the same time battling the feelings of guilt, shame, confusion and anger. So over the next few days, we managed to get one strong lead on a job prospect and went for an interview in Daegu on Wednesday night. The interview was Thursday morning so we stayed with friends of friends down there.
Anyway, all this goes to say that from Monday night forward to arriving at the Bamboo School on Friday night, we hardly had a chance to speak to each other because we were so focused on finding jobs and making Thailand arrangements. Needless to say, my stress level was high and my brain was on overload.


In the words of Bill Cosby, "I had to tell you that story to tell you this one." So now you know our mental status upon arriving in Thailand. Stressed, overloaded, and in desperate need of a vacation. Right now, I"m really glad we booked this trip so far in advance because it may not have happened otherwise.
The Bamboo School is an incredible place for so many reasons. If you don't know already from the attached blog on the left, the Bamboo School exists as a refugee/orphanage/school for children of the Karen tribe surviving on the border of northern Thailand and Myanmar. At least that is where the persecution is happening now. Currently, there are about 55 that live there as permanent residents. The school has existed for about 10 years, so there are some students that have gone to college and occasionally return to visit their family. I use family in the sense that this is the most dynamic family that I have ever encountered. They are a church, a school, an orphanage, a work crew. They have chores, responsibilities, but they also have fun too. I think many people think of an orphanage as a bad place, a place as a shelter from something. But this place doesn't feel anything like that. There is calm at times, there is chaos at times. But they exist as a family. Their knowledge of their situation is strong, but it does not paralyze them from living normal lives. In fact, I am learning that many of these kids, should their abilities and talents be listed next to 9 other random people in the world, theirs would probably be twice as long. Most of the kids speak 3 languages: Thai, Karen, and English. Depending on when they come in, their English may be fluent. I have had regular, opinion-based conversations with some of the high school boys. And the very little ones are developing their English skills at the same rate as their native languages.

The kids work for each other. The older kids take monthly turns working in the kitchen, preparing the meals. One child is blind and deaf, so he has an 11-year-old to look after him during the day. All the kids have morning chores, including carrying 40 gallon trash bins full of water from the nearby river an eighth mile up for washing. It's amazing how little these kids need me in their daily tasks. But what the do still need is love.
Anyway, I came into all this Friday night, late and quiet. Saturday is their sabbath, meaning that they don't work at all. And with 35 kids (some have gone to an English conference), it is inevitable that we should play. That was a great first day for us because it allowed us to ease into the life at the Bamboo school. We got to take a nap in the afternoon. There are hammocks under bamboo canopies. At times, it feels more like a retreat than an orphanage. I love it here and wish we were staying longer. Maybe we will get to come back for longer next time. It would be great to be a consistent presence in their lives.
Some things we have done so far:
- eat all vegetarian meals until this morning when I got some barbeque chicken.
- keep a 3-month-old baby overnight.
- sleep on a bamboo bed, in a bamboo hut, under a mosquito net.
- chop down bamboo poles with a machette to use as stilts for a hut.
- set up a slackline for the kids to play on.
- burn brush to clear land that will be used for farming.
- bathe in the river.
- play soccer in the yard in front of the main house/hospital.
- go to the market for buying fresh food for daily meals.

My anxiety has melted away. I do not miss Korea at the moment. We are rich in fellowship.

Can't Sleep

It's 12:41am and I'm wide awake. It probably has something to do with the late afternoon nap I desperately needed and took when I got home from work today. I thought this week was going to be easy because we have fewer classes, but it's not. This week, all the foreign professors are giving final exams to their Junior classes. And while I have enjoyed teaching mostly Juniors all semester, I end up with a lot of extra work this week because of it. Lots of grading seems to wear me out!
On a side, but partially related note, I've caught the climbing bug again. We have been going climbing at the gym at school, once during the week, and one day on the weekend for about a month now. I'm loving it, but I'm finding that the cold might have part in my being so tired at work sometimes. On Sunday, a few friends and I went to a climbing crag about 2 hours from where we live. The temperature for the majority of the day was below freezing, but because the rock was in the sun and there was little wind, we were still able to enjoy climbing. Occasionally, there would be a rush of a cold breeze that reminded you winter was around the corner, but otherwise it was great. At the same time, though, I can sense when I am out there that my body is a little tense. Like when you shiver. Shivering for hours can exhaust a person. But lucky for me, I got a nice balaclava in the mail (robber's mask with eye slit) and had several layers on all over, so I stayed as warm as could be.
We have exactly 9 days until we fly to Thailand. It feels like it's just in the nick of time too. Next week is supposed to dip down to just above freezing for the highs most days. Brrr! But by Friday, we will be saying goodbye to Korea for almost 2 months in shorts and t-shirt weather. Our first stop will likely be a very eye-opening experience for us, in which we will be volunteering for about 10 days at the Bamboo School. (Click the link at the top left for more info.) Rebs nor I have ever worked with an impoverished people for much time at all. I'm really looking forward to this time for a large part because we will be there during Christmas time. I feel like it gives us a chance to be reminded of God's gift of Christ to us at Christmas time. He came setting an example, showing us how to love and to serve, ultimately to be a sacrifice for us that we can live in communion with God today and right now. I imagine this place to be a place of community, where the people work together and serve each other. I may be teaching and serving while I'm there, but I also expect to learn a lot along the way. It could possibly be a hands-on experience that would change my perspective on life. Only He knows really.
But I'm just glad to be in an environment that is focused on Christ. I see and hear about the holiday buzz from friends and family back home and it doesn't make me miss the consumerism that seems to take precedence over morality and civility. I'm happy to be thousands of miles away from it all. But I can't help but miss my family at this time too. Christmas has always been my family's biggest holiday together. So when I am away, I know that I'm missing a party and a family reunion mixed into one.

A Short Update

There isn't too much exciting going on around here these days, but we're still trucking along. It's been raining fairly heavily for two days straight and if it weren't for the indoor wall at the school here, I think I might be somewhat depressed. There's something about incessant rain that just gets you down.

On a different note, this month is "Movember", something that started several years ago between a group of guys in Australia. The basis is that you grow a moustache to bring awareness to men's health issues. So when someone asks you why you have a moustache, it provides the opportunity to talk about such things. The irony is that I don't know much about men's health issues because (at least I think) I don't have any. But most of the guys in our department are growing them. It's fun and a little embarrassing (for Rebs especially), although my 'stache is a little thicker than it was when I stopped shaving for a couple months several years ago. Back then, I looked like a Mexican convict. For now, you'll have to judge for yourself. I've gotten from one co-worker that I look like Jesus. I'll take it as a complement.

Running Reparation

Ahhhh... That's the sigh of relief after being finished with my marathon. I'd forgotten what it felt like to have something that you train for over the course of several months and then the satisfaction that comes with its completion. What a beautiful, humbling, and painful thing. So many times during my race did the question float forward in my mind and ask, "What was your point in doing this? How is this fun," and many other similar questions, all between the 20K and 40K markers.
Some interesting things to note along the way:
- There were about 20,000 people in this race, so I was never alone.
- As you'll see in the video, there was much nervous excitement, accompanied by cheerleaders leading exercises.
- I started in the "M Group", which started 50 minutes after the "A Group" since I didn't have a registered time from another race. - This meant I had a lot of passing to do to catch up to people who were more my pace. Sometimes I ran in rain ditches to get around clusters of people.
- Whenever I took out my earphones to my Ipod, all I usually heard was the treading of feet on pavement. Nobody was talking...
- ... except when we ran through the tunnels. Then, the Koreans screamed and shouted like grade school children.
- I started the race a little hungry because I had to wait around for so long. I also peed 3 times before my group went.
- At 20K, they gave us "Choco Pie" the Korean equivalent to moon pies. I grabbed 2, one for then, and one for later. But since I had no pouch for it, I tried tucking it into the back of my shorts, only to have it shuffle down and out the bottom, so it looked like I was pooping moon pies.
- I couldn't get enough liquids in me. At 27.5KM, I started drinking the water from the sponges they were giving out.
- I got a brief hamstring cramp around 30K.
- The distance between the markers seemed to get further and further apart, like some kind of sick joke. I think I was just getting slower.
- I saw around 20 foreigners in the entire race. I thought there would have been more.
- At 30K was when my time stopped mattering in my mind. My goal became to not walk.
- I cramped up solid around 35K and had to stretch and walk until the cramp went away.
- My goal became to just get this stupid race over as soon as possible.
- Somewhere along the way, the music that had been pumping me up seemed to fade into background elevator music.
- Around 37K, my friend Zac met me to run the rest of the way. I never knew it could be so uplifting to see a familiar face.
- It was a discomforting feeling to chug about a liter of liquids at the last drink station and not feel at all like my thirst was quenched.
- I cramped up twice more before the finish, just walked until they subsided, and then continued on.
- Crossed the finish line with an official split of 3:49.43.
- As I slowed to walk after the finish, about half of the muscles in my lower legs seized up.
- The next hour or so of pain may have been some of the most discomfort I have ever experienced. Nothing would loosen with time. I downed about 2 liters of Gatorade and water, but didn't pee until several hours later. My hips were so tight, I felt like I'd just finished riding a huge horse.
- My emotions were at the end of my sleeves afterwards. Joy and pain came so quickly, so when Rebs ran towards me, I couldn't help but to well up with emotion. It was so good to hold her again. (You can't call me sappy unless you've done a marathon yourself.)

That's pretty much it for details. My aches and pains have subsided, though my back seemed to tighten up yesterday and my left ankle feels a little tweaked. But I'm just happy to say that I got out of it alive, given that quite a few people have died while running marathons. I feel that God has blessed me to be able to experience such an event. I don't know yet if I'll ever do another one. I would have to have a really good reason. Although, the half-marathon seems much more appealing to me. Maybe next year. For now, I have the itch to climb.

Marathon Jitters

As you may know, I have been training for a marathon, which will be my first. It is happening on Sunday and I can't wait for it to be over. I don't know why I'm so nervous, but I catch myself thinking about it throughout the day and my heart starts beating faster. I have anxiety over racing, which is ridiculous because I really shouldn't have expectations. It's my first one ever. I should just be happy finishing, but I think it must be my competitive nature that compels me to think I should go a certain time. And it doesn't help knowing what the Boston qualifying time is either.
I have to keep telling myself that I really don't care that much about running. It was just a fun thing to do to take a break from rock climbing. But somehow I find myself over-analyzing my race, worrying about getting enough food/water during the race. I've already made a playlist for my I-pod with some good beats, and hopefully the 19,999 other people out there will be an encouragement. A funny thing that may turn out to be a blessing in disguise is that I am in the last group to cross the starting line. Since there are so many people in the race, they have organized participants into blocks; group A, B, C, etc to group N. I'm in group N because I didn't make up an entry time. So if I do end up going my goal time (under 4 hours) then I will be passing quite a few people. (The people in group M are entered around 5-5:30)
We head up tomorrow sometime, planning to meet up with friends and either camp or chance our luck on a hotel with all the other people. I'm trying to let go a little of my preparedness and be more spontaneous, just to see what God has in store for us. For those of you thinking and praying for me, thank you. I need it.

Salmon Festival

Well, I have about 10 minutes before I must leave for class. So this blog may be a bit sporatic, but I wanted to update everyone on what has been going on. In short, last weekend was an amazing weekend. The weather has been a bit chilly and gusty, but overall very nice due to the fluorescent changing of the leaves in Mt. Seorak. We went to Yang-yang(양양), a town smaller than Gangneung (겅릉), last weekend for the Salmon Festival. It consisted of a handful of tents set up near the river, all related to the catching and eating of salmon. Imagine the state fair on a much smaller scale, Korean style. There was a pole set up with cut-outs of fish on the top for people to throw bean bags through. But the main attraction was the catching of the salmon.

Catching salmon included putting on some garden gloves, rolling up your pant legs and going shin deep into some icy river water to try to catch two-foot-long-swimming-beasts/fish (depending on who you talk to). It was one of the most fun times I've had in Korea. Cheap thrills, I know. But the best part for me was watching my wife squirm just as much as the fish I had caught for her. I had caught two by the tail just above the back fin, and was trying to hand off to Rebs, but every time she would reach for it, it would shake its body and she would shriek like a little girl. The fish must have sensed her nervousness because it would then proceed to squirm more. (I almost lost it a couple of times.) Eventually, I got it passed off to her and we got them both out of the water safely, inked, diced, and iced before taking it with us. I'll be sure to put pictures up next time I write.

Happy Chuseok

Good Morning Everyone,

Not much new is going on with us. Just another week down. The weather continues to be amazing. I love Fall. It's Chuseok holiday here which is the equivalent of Thanksgiving in the States which means that we have a 4-day weekend. Hooray! We've decided to spend most of it here at home since traffic everywhere will be terrible and we've been so busy between work and weekend excursions. It's nice to just be at home sometimes. It feels kind of like a Saturday morning even though it's only Friday. We slept in this morning and now Dusty is currently making an attempt at homemade biscuits and gravy. It smells delicious. I'm listening to Colbie Caillat's new album "Breakthrough". It's awesome, mellow, happy music. We have nothing planned for the day. It's beautiful outside. Perhaps we'll head to the beach for a few hours.

My birthday week was wonderful. I spent it doing what I love with the people I love most in Korea. We headed up to the mountains for what else? camping and climbing of course. It was a blast. I can't believe I'm 30 but I've decided I'm ready to embrace this next decade and look forward to all it has to offer. I'm happy to say goodbye to my 20's. They were good but somewhat of a tumultuous time for me. I think it might be that way for most of us. For a large part of them I felt kind of lost and without a purpose. As much as I enjoyed them, I'm ready to say goodbye to all the changes and utter confusion. I spent about 10 years figuring out my purpose and direction. I've been really intentional about deciding who I want to be which apparently takes awhile. I think I've got myself mostly straightened out now and am totally content where I'm at in my life. I love waking up each morning ready to find out what the day has to offer. I can feel something changing within me slowly. I feel like I'm on the verge of the next stage of life and God is preparing my heart for what's still to come. I'm growing up, becoming more grounded, and am starting to think more outside of myself. I'm hoping the next stage is becoming a mother in a few years. I'm sure that's what I want now and I'm not as scared of that as I used to be. I actually get excited at the thought of raising a few little ones.

Happy Chuseok