scooters and ham

it's thursday night. i'm sitting in my pajamas eating cereal and bananas, writing about the obvious: scooters and ham. trent meanwhile is a bundle of energy upon his new red toy, and is currently scooting around the city. i'm in awe of his childlike passion for ... everything. tonight he called up a random person named "Steve" and asked him to play ping pong. nighttime is when he shines, like a star. i flicker and burn out, like a candle. right now the pasta's boiling over on the stove, so i should go. but first, i'll explain the purpose of this blog: the ham (all 12 bundles of it, plus two bottles of mustard) was a "Chusok Holiday" gift from our school (Chusok is next week; we'll be taking off for Jeju Island). -- and the scooter: this past week, we decided to purchase one. it beats walking. and it's fun. we don't have any divine assurances that we were meant to buy it, but the money was available and, what the heck -- life's all about adventure right? :)

my nhl hubby

well... maybe he's not quite nhl material, but today he sure reflected one under the hot korean sun. it was trenton's first roller hockey tournament ... he rose at 6:15 am and rode with one of the guys to Chucheong -- a popular city located one hour away. i followed later on a bus to cheer on the sweating, gloriously happy boys. kimbap (rice rolled in seaweed), bananas and kit kats fed the hungry crew. around 3 pm, when they'd won their final game, trent and i hit the streets to wander among countless old women and men selling their wares from tiny stalls ... trent bought some KFC, we marveled at architecture, laughed at the 'athlete's foot' store, then wearily bussed home. truly a sunday that 'scores' high on our list of days to remember :)

students and staff

so it's saturday and we're ... teaching :( but in exactly one week, we'll have an entire week off in order to celebrate "Chusok Holiday" so that's why we're doing make-up classes today. in order to soften the blow, our boss took us all out for a traditional korean dinner yesterday (see below) -- we ate "taejeegogi kalbi" or "pork kalbi" (pork roasted over a flame in the middle of the table then wrapped in leaves)... plus hundreds of side dishes :). pictured here are some of emily's students; and yes, the hamster is a regular attendee of our classes!

ammee pearl...

may God's spirit
rest on you like
a bird of many colours
may your prayers be as
fragrant incense
in our father's house
may your head remain bowed
your heart humbled
by the calling he's placed upon you
and go in peace
knowing he's paved the path
you have my complete blessing.
blossom,
sweet yellow carnation

trenton scores some goals

Well, i have finally made my profesional debut in the roller hockey world. I played in a game that was televised by Korea's ESPN. It will be aired on monday at 5:30. It was awesome. I assisted the first goal and scored the next four as we went on to trounce our oppenents 16-2. In total i scored 7 goals, and was named MVP. Their regular best player was not at this game, otherwise it would have been even more lopsided.
They played three periods of hockey and had multiple interviews during the intermissions. The host of the show played for the other team during the last period. To start the third, they had him and I face off, where i knocked him down. That will for sure make the highlight reel. lol.
The team has invited me to join them in a province wide roller tournament this weekend. There will be 5 teams represented. All in all, this has been a great experience, and the guys are trying to teach me some Korean. One guy is giving me a stick if i come and play for them on Sunday.

Trenton

beauty

... found in the fragile wings of a dragonfly
flitting along korean pathways
.... in the hunched backs of wrinkled old ladies
bent from years of working in the fields
... in the pale-faced youth who powder their
noses in the hopes of appearing 'white
... in the daring recluse who bears the sun and
allows freckles to sprinkle her nose
... in the large autumn leaves, half green, half orange
and firey red
... in tiny kindergarden children garbed in uniform
running pitter patter with glee
... in the random pigeon, the national bird, proud
in its silver robes

beauty is in the eyes of both beholder and bearer. a universal language everyone can appreciate, and all desire to know.

finding 'seoul-ace' :)

today we stumbled upon the 12-million peopled capital called Seoul, a beautiful, busting metropolis filled with items from home we've been missing. trenton scored some of korea's few root beers from a hole in the wall otherwise known as the black market. he also bought Iginla's jersey for a mere 25,0000 won ($25) just in time for the start of the NHL season. we purchased a humorous t-shirt remarking on korea's major alcoholic influence (the green bottle in emily's hand -- Soju), some 'copies' of new movies like Click, the Break-Up and Pirates of the Caribbean 2 (copied films are sold at every corner)... we also found a 6-pound bag of pretzels (a must have :)), some used english novels, korean clothing, and a huge international food market. we buzzed around with the other millions of ants in a major subway system, taxis and busses. this past week God answered trent's prayers by providing him with free equipment to play 'roller hockey' with other korean guys every tuesday and thursday evening. he also played some ping pong and was introduced to the korean martial art of 'kumdoo' (which you can see our friend Dan playing below). it's been a good week.

life rolls on

the air is getting chilly here. the brilliant red flowers are fading, and gardens are being wrapped up and put away ... i hear korean winters are damp and hover around zero degrees. we are in dire need of a duvet and winter gear, so will be taking another trip to E-mart soon. this weekend, in spite of being sick with colds, we are going to take the express bus into Seoul for our first time. we are eager to check out the international food market, and to visit the travel agent in order to book upcoming trips to thailand and china. pray for wisdom and guidance for us. we don't want to overdo it, and yet the world is begging us to poke our heads into its corners and see what we have only read about in geography textbooks! our mornings are relaxed here, spent sipping coffee, strumming guitar, playing settlers online (trenton :)), painting, running, and preparing for classes. our evenings begin at 9 pm when we stumble home wearily in the dark, toast some cheese sticks in our little toaster oven (we only have a gas stove here) and then crawl into bed to flick on the satellite television. last night we watched tom and jerry.

it's a small world after all, and in spite of less appealing ideosyncracies like "squat toilets" and staring men, asia is proving to be a delightful dish of culture which we're slowly adjusting to.

please pray for the work we left behind back in alberta: young life. several of our kids are heavily into coke; another hung himself, and yet another (a new Christian) was killed in a car accident last week. pray for the workers, that God would strengthen and uphold them like never before. thank you.

sokcho's unsuspecting angels

Sometimes God places angels in our path. Angels who don't even believe in him, yet still do his will. His kingdom coming... on the wings of those blinded to their own path. Below are two such angels: Graham and Yon Nam. We met them at a teaching conference in Sokcho, a city sprawled along the Sea of Japan. On Saturday we met them at the conference, then ate ribs and spent the night along the beach in 'Hotel Good Morning.' Sunday morning, following a breakfast of manduguk (dumpling soup) and beef-fried rice(note the many side dishes which always accompany the meals), they took us, along with Dan and Angela, to Soraksan National Park, where we were met with honey on a stick sold by little old ladies crouched on the corners; by 'pondegi' (silk larvae) which we were both coerced into trying (see pics below for proof :)) and broiled grasshoppers. The mountains were splendid, the waterfalls abundant, and the people beautifully generous. At the summit we drank 'dong-ju' (sweet rice wine) and ate pindaetokk (vegetables and squid thrown into batter and fried like a pancake). At the end of it all, before our bus-ride home, Graham gave me a ... GUITAR! A true answer to prayer. We praise God for renewed perspective, revived blood, and ultimately, for his unsuspecting angels.

running into heaven

my morning runs are my times of meditation. in the past month i've run in alberta, northern ontario, and now in korea... every morning, my feet slapping against the ground, my eyes absorbing new details and faces. here in wonju, nature springs up at every turn. my run takes me along cobblestone sidewalks, past bright red flowers whose name the locals don't even know. past countless school children in uniform, clinging to each other, their tiny faces smiling up at the 'foreigner', their mouths whispering hello. then i turn past hundreds of crimson peppers lying out in the sun on the pavement. robbery is barely heard of here... to leave something outside is to trust your neighbour. my feet take me along the busy highway, past zooming buses and taxis, past the large wedding hall with its smiling figurines of a man and woman , past tiny shops and gas stations. my favourite part is when i emerge up over a particular hill. i am greeted by billowing sheets of cloud suspended by blue sky, green rice fields as far as the eye can see, and mountains poking up across the countryside. a slice of heaven. i praise God for these times of meditation.

urgent

please pray for emily's sister meredith. she and her friend were driving from edmonton to ontario when their car flipped and rolled twice on some gravel... they ended up in the hospital. the car was totalled. praise God they are ok, except for some bruises and neck braces. thank you.

chiaksan mountain

hey friends! these are pics from our hike today at Chiaksan -- the Chiak Mountain of Wonju. Some of the pics include us waiting with our friends at the bus stop, Trent by one of the hundreds of tiny drink dispensers, Trent and Dan drinking out of one of the 'water holes' provided on the hike, a "buddha" figure at the temple, Emily by a figure of a dragon, some Korean boys fishing, Trent and Dan by the waterfall, and some of the gardens alongside the hike.

our school (YONSEI ELP)

here's our school: emily in the teachers' room, trent in his classroom, emily in hers, and trenton eating potato pizza (yup, that's right, potatoes and bacon on pizza) for lunch in the teachers' room

our apartment in wonju

leaving for korea

august 20th
left to right; emily, allison (who's in australia studying), meredith (who's moving from edmonton to ottawa), mom and dad -- in the ottawa airport, bidding us farewell (trent's taking the picture)

my little bro's wedding

august 19 -- the day before we left for korea.
keith and his lovely bride, darcie. on either side, emily's mom (left) and emily and trenton (right).