Grandma Home; Our plans for spring and Christmas

My mom went home from the hospital, which is good. She is still quite weak and needing to recover and regain strength. I believe home health care will be helping.

It's probably not a surprise given how positive our experiences have been that we have shared - but we are staying for spring semester too. I was very thankful to have the flexibility to get to decide. One of the main reasons I want to stay is that Michael's school experience and making friends has gone so well. He has a lot of years we expect he will spend at Trinity in Auburn, so we want to make the most of this opportunity. That he is taking the bus on his own is significant. If I had to ride the bus back and forth to his school twice a day, I'd be losing a few hours a day. Now I actually have more time at work than I do in Auburn ... good thing because the Korean language class takes so much time. But I also have been able to make other commitments with students, have lunch with other faculty, etc. and not feel rushed during the day.

We are also excited that we have made plans to go to Samoa for Christmas. We are glad to keep up our schedule of going at Christmas. I knew I wanted to head out of cold Korea to a warm place, and Samoa is familiar to us. Also, Michael can keep busy with cousins instead of just the two of us going somewhere new. I know the family will be very pleased we can be there. We will fly from Seoul to Auckland and then to Samoa. Michael is excited we will take the KTX (high speed train) to Seoul and then subway to airport. We'll be gone about 12 days. His school break is 2 weeks, so we will be gone for most of it.

Our plans are "Lord willing," we know. But it is nice to have things to look forward to.

Grandma Setbacks

My mom has had some setbacks and is still in the hospital. Please continue to pray for her and my family. First her blood count changed, and since then they have found blood clots in her legs. The vascular doctor has not yet viewed the ultrasound, so it's not clear what the ramifications are or the treatment. I am glad she didn't end up going home given these developments. Thank you.

p.s. My brother, Terry, keeps me updated. She did not do well with blood thinners, so a vascular surgeon inserted a filter (like a clot catcher to prevent clot from traveling to lungs, for example). That procedure went fine on Sunday evening AZ time. Now she (again) needs to stabilize.

Grandma; Box from States; Moon Surface

My mom is improving, so we are thankful for prayers and expressions of concern. They hope by next week to have a plan going forward. I don't know details of choices. Please continue to keep her and my dad in your prayers and especially that the Lord will use the situation for His glory. He will use things like this in our lives .... if we let Him.

Grandma and Grandpa sent us a box. We knew it was coming, but it is still quite exciting for Michael to open it and find some surprises. He is assembling a Lego kit right now. We are also set for chili making, and the timing is good because cooler weather is coming. Dec to Feb are supposed to be just plain cold. So the chili, hot chocolate mix we bought, some new cards, and books on Michael's new Kindle will help. I recall from living in IA, MN, WI, and MI that the short amount of daylight especially make for long winter. But I should stop... and embrace the remaining autumn!

I took a couple of my colleagues out for lunch today - "my" jeong shik restaurant, I call it. They had not been and were impressed by quality of food and price. It's unusual in Korea to split a check if it's just 2 or 3 people, so I was glad to take my turn today. Randy is from Canada and teaching marketing. Jeoffrey is from Phillipines and teaching international trade. One other guy, Sam, is part of our 4 office wing in the building next to business building. Two of them are working on their PhDs, but like in the States it's hard to make progress if one leaves and starts teaching as an instructor. They teach 3 sections each, the normal load here. They also operate under 1 year contracts and will be going through their first experience of renewal (they hope) in Nov. or Dec.

We got the ($##%&) science project completed. Our neighbor (Korean wife; American dad; delightful 8 year old daughter) helped us with a suggestion on where to buy plaster of paris. She knew of an art supply store on the main street by campus and wrote some information for me to take. Then we bought a small plastic rectangular container to contain the moon surface. The internet directions said to mix the PP and then coat rocks with vaseline and drop them in to form craters. The dropping mimics original matter hitting the moon and making craters. Well, the PP dries VERY fast. We didn't have time for any dropping, though we pushed one rock in and sort of got a crater. The surface is quite bumpy. I could hardly stop laughing after awhile and called Michael "moon man." He also has an accompanying small poster with moon facts (that looks fine!). These projects are just too stressful for moms!! We did get some laughs saying this project would look a lot better if the Tallaksons did it. Bret would know how to handle the plaster of paris. Mentioning them did make Michael say, "I miss Cam." But it's probably an easy adjustment for boys of their age when they get back together.

The Lord bless and keep you and make his fact to shine upon you. God bless, Kim

Star of the Week x 2

I just received the weekly school newsletter by e-mail. Michael didn't even tell me last week, but he was star of the week in his class and also in Games. Games was the first 5 weeks PE class he attended. (Now his group has switched to swimming.) You might be thinking the class is full of thugs, but really, it is not. And other children have received the recognition for a couple of weeks in a row. There are only 8 kids in class, increasing his odds compared to a large class. I don't even know what Games was exactly, but I know it was strenous and that they were outside on Friday afternoons 1 to 3 in warm weather of September. (He did regularly say the teacher, Mr. McCrimmon, is in very good shape.) Some days he then played soccer with his friends after school. It's a very small pitch, so it's not as much running as at Trinity's field, for example. But I am pleased for him with his physical accomplishments and that he is enjoying the activities.

Now if we would just be happier when he works on astronomy projects!! (Sometimes it seems he has two personalties - one outside the home and one inside.) He has decided to make a moon surface. He can easily figure out how to have accompanying small poster with information bullet points, but it took him a long time to find something on line to suggest a way to go about the surface making. And now I have the Korean word for plaster of paris ... I just need someone who can answer "where to buy?"

On a more serious note, my mom is still in the hospital. She is getting nourishment because of IV, but she is weak. The doctors are having some trouble with diagnoses as well. The physical well-being needs are obvious, but please pray also for spiritual and emotional needs for her and for my dad.

My mom is in hospital

My brother, Terry, contacted me to let us know my mom is in the hospital. She has colitis, and she is experiencing a fairly serious flare up. Please keep her and the family in your prayers. Both my brothers live in the same place as my parents - Tucson - so they ought to be able to keep a good eye on her. I am not a worrier, but of course we are concerned. I can do the same thing from here that I could do from Alabama - pray. It called to mind one of the pastors who visited Paulo and talked about Jesus at the wedding at Cana. Rick said Jesus wants to enter into everything with us. Being sick might be a time a person can especially recognize that.

The main news here in Korea is that President Lee is on a state visit to the US. There was a picture in the paper today with Pres. Obama at a Korean restaurant in DC. The US Congress is ratifying three free trade agreements, including the one with Korea. I believe it will pass here too, but there is some opposition party that wants to renegotiate some provisions.

At my hair cut today I was able to say "it is raining" in Korean when the stylist was commentin about it. And then she and her helper were surprised I knew about the Korean popular singer who goes by Rain (in Korean). He just joined the military. Two years is mandatory, but he seems to have gained a lot of respect for not trying to get out of it. I was also able to ask if they work on Saturday. Then at Lotte Mart I could find men's shaving cream but not women's. I pointed and said "men; where women?" Upstairs :). Ahh... with cosmetics, etc.

Michael is at a sleepover again - it was planned, so I could make some plans too. He is fitting in so well with other kids. He stays after school most days and plays soccer and spends time with the boys. There seems to be a regular core group including Korey (English; headmaster's son; in Michael's class), Soren (American and in Michael's class), and Marin (Croatian, a year behind Michael, almost as tall as Michael). Last week he stayed at Marin's, and tonight he is at Korey's. When he stays after school he just has to text me. Then he sends one when he gets on the bus ... and I know to expect him in about an hour. A couple of nights this week, he texted me when he got off the bus to make his dinner request. It's a 10 minute walk, so when he gets home his dinner is hot and on the table... what a full service Mom!

Lunch with Korean co-workers

I had lunch out this week - one day with the gang that meets at noon and walks to a nearby restaurant and then my usual lunch with Professor Kim with another professor coming along, Professor Nam. He has joined us one other time.

The COB total faculty are probably 30+ or so. At noon anyone who wants to go out for lunch meets at one of the doors. Typically 10 or 12 people go - depends on teaching schedules, etc. We went to their regular nearby place for the daily special - no shoes, sitting on floor. The dean (another Professor Kim) talked to me quite a bit on the walk, and I sat by him. I had met him in 2010. He is Univ. of Iowa graduate, and his English is excellent (he paid for my lunch). At lunch some others were asking me questions, and I asked a few too (I know a guy whose wife is pregnant, for example, and the guy next to him has a baby). I think I was eating fairly quickly (like normal), but I was still eating when everyone else was finished. I thought, "I better just go." They were teasing me maybe I would have to have another lunch at 2:00. I was back to my office in under an hour.

The next day I had a plan to meet Prof. Kim, and Prof. Nam stopped by, so the three of us set out by car. Well, it ended up being a three hour lunch! It was a lot of fun. It was a 10 minute drive or so and out in the country. There is a main building and then small separate structures that seat up to 6 or so (on floor). So we had our own little house. They know the owner fairly well, and she and Prof. Nam have in common that they are marathoners. They chose this place for the duck. It was cut up and with vegs. on a grill. Once cooked, it is wrapped in a lettuce or sesame leaf. This is one of my favorite styles of food. There were good side dishes too. Due to a relaxing Friday lunch, they also ordered the (in)famous Korean alcoholic drink, soju. The glasses are shot glasses, and they showed me how to accept a drink politely. Prof. Nam was the host (he bought our lunch) and handed me a glass. Then I am supposed to hold it with two hands while he pours. I took a couple sips to be polite, but it is strong and not too tasty. With the Korean way of eating out of the same bowls, etc., it was perfectly acceptable for them to finish it after the bottle was empty. I know there will always be rice, so I was not surprised when the owner brought out some rice and other vegs. and put them with the left over meat and duck oil on the skillet. Then Prof. Nam came back from the main building with small coffees. They are made from single serving packaging with coffee, sugar, and dried cream. The package is long and narrow - about 4 inches and easy to pour into a cup. All the water coolers in buildings on campus and at restaurants also have hot water. Then the owner brought some persimmons. I definitely did not need a second lunch. I didn't even eat dinner .... just some samples at Lotte Mart.

I was supposed to get my hair cut at 2:00 (which would have worked just fine for a one hour lunch), so Prof. Kim called for me and said I would be there at 3:30. I planned to take a taxi from campus (and it would have been cutting it close), but Prof. Nam drove me downtown - probably 30 minutes out of their way back to campus. I told him he could take me to a taxi stand. But he (kind of joking with us) said it was his pleasure and he had plenty of time. We were also joking that we ended up spending the whole afternoon together.

I feel sincere hospitality from so many of the other faculty. And even though I am the only woman and obviously non-Korean, it seems like it is not an issue. I will probably go for lunch with the big group a few times a month.

Practicing English

The accounting club has two small groups of students who asked me to meet with them for some English practice for them and Korean for me. Professor Kim arranged it. I meet 2 to 4 Monday and 10 to 12 Tuesday - 4 students in each group. It is a little funny that they want to learn about American culture from me given I am not up to date on many things (my brothers would agree). One asked why Americans count "1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, etc." I told them it was for something like Hide and Go Seek to slow people down when counting. They could understand that otherwise the seeker would reach 20 or 30 way too soon. But I think they understand using MS is not part of everyday counting.

They had the ideas for what to do while we are together. We put words on a piece of paper in Korean and English and folded them and put them in the middle of the table. I drew tree, namu, and could say "I ______ at look," while looking out the window at a tree. The students had to give 3 sentences for clues. A funny one that got us into a conversation was Thanksgiving. The clues included that people eat turkey and something ... but I couldn't understand the second item. Then I understood "lasagna," which was pronounced with "R" at beginning. The same letter is used for R and L in Korean, and when it is the first letter in a syllable it is R. (I saw a sign for Rounge Bar recently.) I said I didn't know anyone who ate lasagna for Thanksgiving, and then added that maybe Italians would. He said on the show Friends, an Italian guy brought lasagna. I know the Korean word for pumpkin, so I told them pumpkin pie is very common. One of the gals added that someone on the show brought pie. We had some good laughs. (They knew the characters' names).

The other activity was downloaded from a practice English website. The topic was dogs with questions like "do you like dogs?" and "are you afraid of dogs?" The students are then to explain themselves. So we also got into a conversation about pets in general and that I noticed the dogs at the park often have clothes like little boots or a sweater or scarf - the Koreans seem to decorate their dogs. We agreed Koreans tend to have much smaller dogs than Americans. I was surprised how fast the time went. It's interesting to have them to a little bow when we go our separate ways.

I hope we continue to meet and that I can reflect well on myself, AU, my country, Christians, etc. It's a big responsibility when they have so little direct contact with Americans! :)

Home alone on Friday night

It is mom who is home alone. Michael first stayed after school (which was after a school day trip to Busan to play soccer against a few other foreign schools) to play grounders (whatever that is). Then he called and asked if he could go out for dinner with Soren's family. Then Soren's mom called and asked if he could spend the night with Soren at Marin's house .... "Sure," I kept saying. I have met both moms and was glad he got the chance for a sleepover. I am sure he is not concerned that he has no toothbrush with him.

He is getting full benefit of the iPhone. It really has been nice because I am happy to have him stay after school; I just need him to let me know. Wed. he went to a late afternoon movie with some friends and Thursday he played soccer until about 6:00. He he texted me from the bus for travel home update and said the bus was the most crowded he had ever seen. That time of evening people are on their way from from work. He took the express bus for the first time and had to transfer downtown. He even remembered to scan his bus pass when exiting so that the next trip was free. Picture him at these crowded bus stops in a city of 1 million people ... sometimes I can not even picture it.

Picture him also enjoying playing soccer. He kind of held back the first couple of weeks at break time, but I think the kids are all supportive and encouraging and they play after school a lot too. The foreigner compound is like a village with people knowing each other and kids outside a lot. The school is in the midst of it with small field adjoining - that's where they play soccer. I think the school does a good job of making the most of the school day and not piling on homework, so the kids have a chance to have fun after school and on weekends (unlike most of the Korean school kids). That Michael likes school and the social life afterwards has freed up a lot of my time. God answers prayers beyond what we expect or ask! I prayed for months that he would find favor with the teachers and other students and that he would be a bright light and happy here. But I never realized how much he might increase in confidence and independence and being responsible for himself. I am really proud of him.

I didn't get home until after 5:00 because after lunch Prof. Kim and I hiked to the top of Munsu mountain - near the university. The last part to the top was quite steep and lots of steps. He called one of his former students on the way home (he gave me a ride), and we stopped by to meet her and her 12 year old son. They live very close to us and tomorrow night will take us to an outdoor concert. (I am not sure about the husband ... we'll see when they come over!)

I was extra sad to here about Steve Jobs because it reminded me of Paulo - same kind of cancer. It was also in October that we were finding out just how sick Paulo was, and his birthday is October 12. From time to time I really get a wave of missing him. We have a prayer list of cancer patients and mention their names everyday. We got a prayer request about one of the people today who received news about her cancer spreading. Count your blessings, and if you are not sure where you stand with the Lord, do not harden your heart to the good news of the gospel. Grace and peace to all of you.

Fish Market and Costco

The Jangs picked us up Saturday morning. We knew we were going to Costco, but Justin said, "I don't think I told you we are going to the fish market too." Yay. The fish market had all kinds of things from the sea. It was a good place to practice my Korean "What is this?" and "What is that?" The outside area is nice for tourists. Prof. Jang said the boats used to pull right up there. The second floor is all dried fish, which is very popular here. Also on the second floor were several eating areas - they all looked the same, but Justin pointed out the different signs and that the people were sort of calling out to potential patrons and negotiating a bit for business. We had raw rish that we ate inside lettuce or sesame leaves. There was some cooked fish, and Keun Yung ordered more because Michael was eating it. I ate a couple of things that were still moving. Michael tried a couple kinds of raw fish but told me later it was hard to chew. At the end of the meal there was rice and fish soup - sort of all the bones with some meat on them. It was a lot of fun and very good. We then spent some time walking around a market area - crowded, small stalls crammed with stuff. We bought some small items for Christmas gifts. There were clothes, shoes, electronics, etc.

We then headed to Costco. I don't shop there in the States, so it was a new experience even to be at one. It is hard that some items are so large (no way I was going to buy that mayo), but I was pleased by how many Western items they had. We spent 300,000 won. Our freezer has beef patties, 4+ pounds of ground pork (I cooked and then froze), blueberries, burger buns (some are in the fridge), and 3 kinds of cookies in a pack of 18 (which Michael will forget about but I won't!). Fridge has some bagels, small soft cream cheese tubs, lettuce/mixed greens, sliced provolone (Ulsan seems only to have processed cheese), Hormel sliced turkey for sandwiches (we can't find any turkey in Ulsan, and Michael ate the Korean brand sliced ham for awhile but I can hardly even handle the smell) and oranges. Cupboards have kidney beans, diced tomatoes, hot chocolate (60!), pasta, and pasta sauce, canned peaches, two large Skippy PB and a strawberry jelly. We can buy some of these items here, but the prices were much better at Costco. Also in the cupboard is a Krusteaz pancake mix - we had 4 this morning. Michael said 216 to go because he noted the full bag makes 220. We also bought real maple syrup. In hindsight, it would have been nice to get the shredded cheddar too because it freezes so well and also a few roasted chickens for the same reason. Keun Yung is so thoughtful. We had a pretty big late lunch, but it was 5:30 or so and we weren't really hungry. But she went over and bought an ice cream sundae for Michael and gave it to him ... and a spoon for me too. So, that's the Busan outing.

I asked my mom to send some spices to make chili and also to throw in a couple of taco seasoning packets. We can find salsa in a jar. We like the Korean food, but it's nice to have something at home. I can't really figure out how/what to cook otherwise. And for dinner we don't want to have to go out. We are going to look at microwave convection oven combo in the next day or two to expand kitchen.

We've had a couple interesting grocery items lately. Lotte Mart either got rid of PB or moved it and we could not find it. I was at the neighborhood grocery and saw some PB. It looked a little pale, but I thought we might as well try it. We both tasted it and liked it, but it took us a minute to put our finger on the taste. It's similar to the middle of the chocolate PB ball candy I make at Christmas. So now Michael is convinced it has powdered sugar. Not tasty was some mustard sauce Michael put on his burger tonight (I had a big Kim Key salad). I bought it at the convenience store next to our apartment. It looks like regular mustard, but it's kind of sweet but with an odd taste to us. We threw it away and put mustard on our grocery list.