Funny story

Just a quick amusing story, courtesy of my amazing 4th-graders:

Today I was teaching my 4th grade class about world geography (ie. the English names of major world countries) and I had a powerpoint I made that featured the flags, presidents, and famous landmarks for each individual country.

I got to the Russian slide (which had the word 'Russia' in bold letters at the top), and I had a picture of the Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral as the famous landmarks, similar to this picture:

And when I asked the question: "Where is this building?" one of my students in the back shouted:

"DISNEYWORLD!!!"

And I thought about it...and it really does kind of look like Cinderella's castle...

It was also hilarious to watch them try to pronounce the presidents' names...I started fairly easy (Korea, China, Japan, USA) and then slowly moved into more difficult names (Italy - Giorgio Napolitano, Germany - Horst Kohler) and ended with the South African president Thabo Mbeki. Everyone was rolling on the floor laughing by the time we finished.

They also died laughing when I told them that Parliament's clock in England was called "Big Ben" (and then they proceeded to call the big kid in the class Big Ben), when someone pronounced Tony Blair's name as "Tony Bear", and when I told them that one of the presidents in Mount Rushmore's first name was Teddy. It was a funny day :)

FYI

For those of you with Skype that have made unsuccessful attempts at reaching me, you'll be happy to note that I work half-days this week and will be available to Skype after 1PM Korea time (11 PM Indiana time) each day this week.

If you don't have Skype, its free to download - we can instant message for free and you can make computer-to-computer phone calls for free as well, provided that you have a headset w/microphone.

Oh - and one more thing - I definitely saw David Beckham tonight as his motorcade was pulling into the Westin Chosin parking lot. And in case you're wondering, though I cannot prove it, I have reason to believe that when 8 and 5 are added, the sum will most likely be 13. That last sentence is for Rachel :)

Delightful Adventures of the Orient

Just got back from Hong Kong a couple of hours ago. And...it...was...AWESOME!



Hong Kong is an amazing blend of western and eastern cultural elements due to the fact that up until 1975, it was a British colony (even though its attached to mainland China). Its got all the flavor of Asia coupled with the efficiency and cleanliness of Europe. I was in heaven.



Hong Kong has the longest skyline of any city on the planet - it was truly beautiful to look at! We stayed with our friend Candice who we met when she was working in Seoul last year. She provided a nice place to stay and lots of advice on what to do with our time in HK. So here's a brief (haha) synopsis of what we did for 5 days!

-Lantau Island (Wednesday)-


Lantau Island is located in the westernmost part of HK. We rode the Ngong Ping 360 cable cars up to the Ngong Ping Village at the top of the mountain. Its an incredible ascent (and descent on the way back down) that takes about 30 minutes, giving you spectacular views of Lantau Island and the South China Sea.

-Mong Kok Ladies Market (Wednesday)-



The Ladies Market is the shopping mecca of HK. Everything is CHEAP! I bought so much I could barely fit all of it in my backpack coming home.

-TST, HK skyline lights show (Wednesday)-


TST (Tsim Sha Tsui) is located just across Victoria Harbour from the HK skyline and most nights they do a coordinated light show highlighting the skyscrapers with lasers and neon lights.

-HK Disneyland (Thursday)-



The happiest place in Asia! Hil and I couldn't pass up the chance to go to Disney on our vacation, could we? We spent the afternoon acting like the kids we are and ran around riding rides, meeting characters and trying to get a tan (it was 75-80 in the sun...perrrfect).

-Causeway Bay (Friday)-

I was on my own on Friday, so I decided to pamper myself in HK's "beauty" district of Causeway Bay. First I got a manicure in a really shady salon on the third floor of some abandoned-looking warehouse (just call me "Captain Street-Smart"). It was actually really cheap and my nails still look nice 2 days later, so we'll put that in the win column.

Second, I was walking along the street looking at an advertisement when an old lady comes up to me and shoves a paper in my face telling me about a salon where I can get the works, and I think I said "okay" and the next thing I know, she's got me by the arm and is dragging me into the building and into the elevator, and then she drops me off at some random office where people in white coats are busy looking very official. I end up getting my eyebrows done (again for very little money) and it turned out well. Shady experience number 2, also a win.

So I'm feeling pretty good about things by the time I pop out of the salon, and I decide to find a place that offers trigger point massage or reflexology (which I had seen signs for). Now this is a major commitment of at least $150HK...actually that's only about $20 US, so I blinked twice before deciding that I needed to get a massage.

I find myself another establishment (this one looking slightly more legit than the last two) and wander up. I decide on the acupressure massage (70 minutes) and expect to spend that time being fully and utterly relaxed.

To more accurately describe the experience, let me share with you an applicable quote from the award-winning sitcom, The Office:

Michael Scott: "The Japanese have this thing called shiatsu massage, where they dig into your body, very hard. And it is very painful. And apparently, some people throw up. But the next day they feel great. I’ve never had one. They sound awful."

I think I may have accidentally ordered that massage. Its been two days, and I feel like someone ran me over with a Pepsi truck. She beat the crap out of me. I think she must have been Bruce Lee's daughter or something. I am bruised. Bruised. Ow.

So apparently the massage was a little too legit for my liking. Should've picked somewhere more sketchy. I live and I learn.

So that's our vacation in a nutshell, save for two days of traveling and side activities. It was nice to breathe clean air for a few days and enjoy warmer temperatures. I will miss the trams, the sea air, the trash-free streets, the correct English grammar/spelling, the general atmosphere of efficiency, and certainly our lovely hostesses, Candice and Angie.

I have to go put a heat pack on my back now.

HK

Going to Hong Kong for a few days...be back on Saturday.

I'm really excited!!!!

Traveling prayers appreciated :)

Zai jian! (...bye in Chinese...)

Jess

More writing for you

"Trusting God is an intricate process. We throw those words around so freely that they’ve lost any meaning. How can I trust God if I don’t trust anyone else? How can I trust God if I’ve never fully trusted anyone? What does it mean to trust? We live in a world that tells us that we must be strong enough to fight our own demons.

Everyone’s got problems. Its as though everyone enters this world an unbroken mirror, and from the moment we are born we are shattered, and we will spend the rest of our lives trying to put ourselves back together, inevitably damaging other people in the process. We feel something that tells us that we were once whole, and that somehow everything will be alright if we can just get back to that state. And the sad truth is that we can’t go back. At least not on our own.

We’ve all heard about people striking out to “find themselves”, to learn more about themselves, and to ultimately try to find peace about who they think they are. Our whole life will be a ceaseless quest to try and find out who you were before that mirror hit the ground. We get glimpses every now and then, but something keeps us from ever being able to put it all together.

This is a different idea that the popular notion of today’s post-modern society that advocates “being okay with who you are now”. This idea suggests that we merely accept our state of brokenness, knowing that we’ll never get back to our original state. I wholeheartedly agree that accepting our brokenness is the first step towards healing and being at peace with who you were created to be. But the problem is that for many people, that’s the only step they take. Instead of acknowledging that persistent tugging at the heart that says “You were meant for more than this life”, we give up. We know we can’t do it on our own so we throw in the towel. We’re busted – what’s the use? I might as well enjoy being busted if there’s no hope. And so I keep destroying myself, and the pieces get smaller and smaller, until there is nothing left but dust.

Hello Narcissism!

Rachel tagged me for a Meme. What's a Meme, you ask?

"Meme asks us to tell you 6 quirky, random or inconsequential facts about ourselves. The rules for meme are: (1) Link to the person that tagged you. (2) Post the rules on your blog. (3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourselves. (4) Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. (5) Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website."

I am usually opposed to these blog shenanigans. However, I will complete this task because of my great love for Rachel. And because she's feeding me dinner on Wednesday. But in general she's just pretty awesome too.

So - here's everything you don't need or want to know about me:

1) I hate Canada. Haha - just kidding Rach!! The first thing/quirk I can tell you about is a product of my photographic memory. According to several sources, I know everything. This statement is, of course, obviously false. However, I do know a lot about a lot of things. I spent my childhood reading world almanacs and encyclopedias (the 'rents can testify to this). I can tell you how shampoo works, what free radicals are and what they do, the capital of any state and of most countries of the world, the origins of most English words, and which wine on the list would probably go best with your entree. I love learning, and that makes me a great big giant nerd.

2) According to many Koreans I know, apparently I love really strange Korean food that no foreigner should ever be able to tolerate. The tastiest meal I can think of is one of sticky rice, kimchi (fermented spicy cabbage), doenjang jjigae (fermented bean paste soup), gim (dried seaweed) and tteok (chewy rice cakes). Quite strange am I.

3) I ALWAYS go to the bathroom right after I brush my teeth at night, so now every time I reach up to put toothpaste on my toothbrush I immediately feel like I need to pee. I also rarely have the urge to use the bathroom when not in a bathroom. I am the boss of my bladder.

4) I have an awesome family filled with awesome cousins - there are 14 of them to be exact - Megs, Brandi, Casey, Ryan, Kenz, Sarah, Colin, Anna, Shawn, Zach, Grace, Erin, Alex, and Holly. They range in age from 19 to 3 months. Most of them are more like my siblings than my cousins. It was hard to leave everyone when I left for Korea, but it was really hard to leave them because I know right now, I'm missing them growing up, and they will be so different by the time I get back. I miss them a lot - they are super kids.

5) I dream vividly almost every night. Some nights I dream so vividly that I feel more tired when I wake up than I did when I went to sleep. Erica calls me a "Thinker Monster", and apparently I can't stop thinking even while unconscious. I've even had dreams about important people I will (...might...) meet in the future. I wish I could TiVo my dreams so I could watch them again and pay more attention.

6) I have a love affair with lilies. My favorite are Oriental lilies, more specifically Stargazer Lilies. There's just something about their beauty - so unique, so striking, so wild. The chocolate vs. flowers contest is no match in my eyes. Lilies are awesome. Plus, they're biblical. You just can't say that about chocolate.

Okay - I'm Meme-ing 6 people, but I'm not doing it publicly. Take that, Meme.

Its late and I'm old. Night!

Jess

FYI

My Skype username is jessica.lee.becker - in case you're in need of that crucial piece of info I left out previously :)

Annyeonghi kyeseyo ~

Jess