Why is it so COLD in here??

Gosh darn my heating system. I just haven't figured the blasted thing out yet. Lots of trial. Lots of error.

Most buildings here are heated through an ondol, or an underfloor web of hot water pipes that warm the concrete, thereby causing the heat to rise through the floor. Its a genius system. Apparently it just also takes a genius to figure out how to use it.

No actually it just takes someone that understands Korean.

Had fun last weekend. I went to Insadong (a shopping district where you can find all sorts of traditional Korean items) with Rachel and Jess C. Its basically one narrow street with shops lining both sides. And for some reason that defies all logic, people drive down the street, even though at any given moment there are at least one bagillion people on the street. So they drive very slowly, honking their horn as if they're under the impression that we're the ones posing the problem. Sheesh.

So after some shopping, I met up with Hil, Ruda and Eddy to hang out at a coffeeshop. I'm glad I found friends that like coffee. Coffee friends are quintessential in life, because coffeeshops are such awesome places to get to know people. So, its just difficult to try and get to know someone outside of a coffeeshop. Dinner is too much of a commitment, going to their place or your place can be weird...the world needs coffeeshops.

So after some coffee we took a stroll around town, eating dinner at a hole-in-the-wall and stopping at a couple bookstores. Then off to another coffeeshop to talk more. It was basically the perfect day.

I led Sunday School for the first time on Sunday afternoon with Ruda. It went better than either one of us expected - we're teaching the book of Esther to young elementary kids, and after I read the adaptation of this week's section of the book, the kids were so excited about what happens next that they hurriedly got out their little Bibles and looked it up on their own! Amazing. We can learn a lot from kids, you know.

Sunday night was spent having Thanksgiving dinner at church with my Korean/English teacher family...between Bible Study, church hanging out, and other ministries, I'd say we've got about 20 or so regulars in our little "young people in Seoul" group. I'm so thankful for the friendships here because they were never promised to me - there was no guarantee that I'd find anybody to relate with here. But God put people in my path here that not only seek Him but are also just awesome in general. Its made my time here more valuable than I had previously thought possible.

On Sunday night, Hil, Eddy, Ruda and I went to go see "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" in Myeong-dong. It was a tremendous movie, though I wonder how much creative liberty the director took with some of the historical context...will have to do some research...

School's kicking my butt this week. It seems like teaching is the last thing I have time to concentrate on...there are so many administrative/planning/irrelevant things I have to deal with on a regular basis that teaching gets backburnered. Even though that's why I'm here. Huh. Not to mention the mixed messages - "Don't be stressed. Just relax. Be happy. And I need this document done in an hour. It should take you 3 hours to do." Its just part of Korean custom to do whatever your boss tells you to do, even if its certain you will fail. And then when you do, you beat yourself up for being an incompetent worthless piece of crap, even though there's no way you could've completed the task on time. So interesting.

I don't really function like that. I have no problem saying no. I think this is an admirable quality. However, when the Vice Principal asks my coteacher if I'll do something, and she says yes (because she can't say no) and I say no, that's when she breaks down crying at her desk. And that's when the guilt hits me like a mack truck. AND THAT'S when my rational self overwhelms my guilt-ridden self saying "IT'S ALL AN EMOTIONAL CONSPIRACY TO GET YOU TO DO SOMETHING YOU DON'T WANT TO DO" and that's when my I get angry at the system and wonder why in the WORLD this has to be this difficult. And that's when I break down crying at my desk.

I'm so thankful for my ability to say no confidently. I just wish everyone else were the same way. Honesty is not this culture's strong point.

That's enough ranting for one day. Contrary to what you might think, I'm having a great time here!! Thanks for your prayers, messages and emails - God bless you guys!!

Jess