Winter Open House

Today is the culmination of 3 months of practice, tears, yelling, bribes and frustration.  Today my Kindergarten students will perform their Winter Open House.  I'm always amazed when I step back and actually look at what all my students know.  Our Open House consists of minute-long self introductions by my students, example of class time work led by the students, a Phonics section, a Science lesson, a story with comprehension questions, a 10 minute play and 2 songs.  The entire production is about 45 minutes long.  My students are so smart, and I think we're as ready as we'll ever be.  My biggest worry is actually that I'm gonna trip on my heels and fall off the stage on my face (this wasn't a concern to me until I dreamt of such a tragedy last night).  This is my last big thing at work before I leave, which is really strange to think about.  It's hard to believe I'll be home in 3 and a half weeks...wow!!!

I hope you all are enjoying the holiday season.  Don't let the stress mask the reason for this incredible season!

It's ALL About Him,

KendallCooke

Korea's Idea of American Thanksgiving

We had an International Food Festival today at school, and I ate entirely too much food.  I don't even wanna imagine the number of calories I consumed.  Let me back up and explain exactly what our 'International Food Festival' was.

So Koreans pretty much think that American Thanksgiving is a day when Americans get together and indulge in gluttony.  I guess they aren't that far off.  So to celebrate Thanksgiving, or rather to celebrate the fact that Americans eat a ton of food on Thanksgiving, we had a little party today.  Each classroom was assigned one country from around the world.  There was Korea, Japan, China, America, Italy, Mexico, and India.  My classroom was assigned China.  So each student from my class brought in Chinese food.  When I say they brought Chinese food, I don't mean a plate of egg rolls and sweet and sour chicken.  I mean each student brought in an entire meal of Chinese food.  And each student from all the other classes brought in an entire meal of their country's food.  So during lunch today we had 6 fold out tables covered without any space with food from all these countries.  It was delicious!  I wish my stomach was bigger so that I could have eaten more.  On top of the delicious food, I got to eat in my classroom with my students, which was really fun.  I almost never eat with them, and we don't get a whole lot of non-teaching time to hangout, so it was nice to just relax and joke with them for a bit.  It was a pretty good day in Korea!

I'm getting ready to head to bed and when I wake up it will be Thanksgiving.  Only it won't REALLY be Thanksgiving.  Because instead of wrestling with my siblings for the remote control and listening to Mother Hen Kash yell at all of us to get in the kitchen and help her, I will be going to work and teaching English for 7 hours.  And instead of turkey, mashed potatoes, rolls, pie, etc., I'll probably be eating kimchi and rice.  Ahhh....such is life!

I hope you all enjoy the holiday immensely and are super thankful for all the blessings that God has given us!

It's ALL About Him,

KendallCooke

Rich's Bakery!!!!

I walk by this little bakery everyday on my way to and from the gym.  And as can imagined, it always reminds me of my father, as his name is Rich.

Can't wait to get home and hang out with that man, complaining about Illini sports, eating spoonfuls of corn syrup and talking about soccer.  (And mom, don't take this as a slight because there's no "Mary's" on my way to the gym.  I'm counting down the days until I get to do fun stuff like shopping, gossiping, and watching movies with you too.)

I hope you all have an amazing Thanksgiving week!!!  Eat lots of turkey, potatoes, rolls, pie and all those other goodies for me!  Love you all!


It's ALL About Him,

KendallCooke

Pepero!!!

Here's that Pepero picture I promised.  I've eaten all the chocolate covered Pepero that I received so I had to snap a picture of the strawberry dipped Pepero instead.  You still get the idea.

Well it's been forever..

It's been a busy, tough, frustrating. long last 2 months.  So I'm moving on from there.

As you all already know, yesterday was 11/11/11.  In Korea every year on 11/11, they celebrate 'Pepero Day.'  On 'Pepero Day', Koreans give pepero to all their loved ones, including family, friends, teachers, etc.  Pepero are skinny breadstick/cookie things that have one end dipped in chocolate (I'll have to post a picture on here when I find my camera).  They actually are quite good.  It was a fun day at school.  I got a bunch of pepero from my students, and then we ate A TON in class.  All my students were bouncing off the walls.  It was a good and fun day!!!

I'll be home in 6 weeks, and I can't believe it.  I hope all is going well for you back home in the States.

It's ALL About Him,

KendallCooke

Frantic.

I am currently sitting at Starbucks frantically flipping through pages and pages of law school information and frantically clicking through the 12 tabs I have on my browser trying to make some decision about where to apply to law school.  And I realize that I am just that...frantic.  Let me place you in my shoes just for a minute.

Close your eyes and imagine that you are currently living about 6,000 miles from home.  While you are there, someone tells you that you need to try to decide where exactly you are going to live for at least the next 3-4 years if not the next 5-10 years when you return home.  Then they tell you that you can only choose 10-12 cities in the entire United States...and one of those cities is where you must spend the next couple years of your life.  Do you feel the panic begin to set in?  Increased heart rate...shortened breath...sweaty palms.  This is where I find myself.

As thrilling and exciting as applying to law school and picturing my future can be at times, it is equally nerve racking and stressful.  I've been pouring over the top 100 law schools for at least 6 weeks...comparing strength of programs and national mobility and tuition and median scholarship grants and cities and teacher:student ratio and application fees and first time bar passage percentages and 9 month after graduation employment rates and likelihood of acceptance.  And I still sit here with a list of 50+ schools...which is unfortunate since I don't have $4000 just lying around to put towards application fees for all of these schools.  While schools have officially started accepting applications, I don't even have a final list of schools that I'm going to apply to.  So yeah...that's where I'm at right now.

I hope you all enjoyed the Fall Festival and the parade.  Wish I could have been there this weekend for that.  I pray that this Sunday finds you well.

It's ALL About Him,

KendallCooke

Seoul Forest...yeah right

Since coming back from Cambodia 2 weeks ago, I wasn't allowing myself to post any new blogs because I kept intending to write about all I did and saw in Cambodia.  But after just jotting a rough outline of all we did and saw, I've decided it would be entirely too long and nearly impossible to write about.  I'll have to tell you all in person when I get back to the States and then you can actually see the pictures of the places that I'm talking about.  So I'm just gonna pick up from today. 

Today, August 15th, was Korea's Independence Day so that meant no work...HOORAY!!!  I, along with a couple friends, decided we should do something outside if the weather was 'nice' (by nice we really meant not raining).  So today we all got up bright and early to head over to Seoul Forest for a couple hours.  We rarely ever see nature in the part of the city that we live in so we were excited to spend some time in a forest, which is also said to be Seoul's biggest national park.  But when we got there it was totally depressing.  It wasn't anything like a forest.  Enormous disappointment!  And no matter where you walked around in the premises, you could see skyscrapers and freeways.  We did, however, have a little fun while there.  We decided to rent bicycles, and Nate and I cruised around on a pink tandem bike for the better part of an hour. 

After that, we went to lunch in Itaewon (the foreigner's district) at this delicious authentic Italian restaurant.  I ate lasagna with handmade noodles, and it was so delicious.  One of the best things I have eaten since I've come to Seoul.  Then Monica and Nate got the most incredible deserts. (Let me qualify this statement.  Koreans don't cook with real butter or sugar or other basic baking necessities, so the majority of the baked goods here are terrible.  We haven't had a real piece of cake in months and months.) 

All in all, it turned out to be a pretty good day.  And now I'm gonna finish this day and get to bed.  As of late, I haven't been able to sleep more than 3 or 4 hours a night so I'm exhausted right now. 

Love you all and miss you much!  18 weeks until I will be home for Christmas.

It's ALL About Him, 

KendallCooke

Forecast: Rain, Rain, and some more Rain

It is monsoon season in Seoul, which means 1 thing.  Rain...lots and lots and lots of rain.  For all of my life, my least favorite season has been winter.  I hate the cold and having to bundle up and unbundle every time you leave or enter a place and not being able to play outside for more than a few minutes and scraping ice off of your windshield.  I especially disliked winter in Korea with people using their umbrellas while it snowed and unplowed/unshoveled sidewalks and roads and a general lack of holiday cheer.  But I've decided that my new least favorite season is summer in Korea.  Because summer in Korea means monsoon season.  And monsoon season, as I stated previously, means rain and rain and rain.  Of the last 30 days, it has rained in Seoul 27 days.  Everyday when I have woken up to try to get a run in for the last month, it has been raining.  Most days when I go to lunch, it is raining.  And usually when I leave work at night and walk home, it is raining.  As I sit in my apartment typing this, it is raining.  And when it rains here, it isn't just a light drizzle or a short burst of rain and then clear skies.  It is torrential downpour for hours upon hours.  I'm not sure how the entire city hasn't flooded.  I feel like I live in a rain forest or that I should be boarding an ark full of animals soon.  I didn't have any idea that it could rain this much in one place.

Luckily, tonight at a staff dinner, my boss said monsoon season ends on Saturday.  And then there is a possibility that we might have a typhoon, which would mean rain for a bit longer.  But fingers crossed that the typhoon veers towards Japan and leaves Korea alone.  Because if so, my boss said that starting next Tuesday we will have some traditional Midwest summer weather...hot, sunny and humid.  I couldn't be more excited!

Here's to struggling through a couple more of these depressing, dark, gloomy, rainy days and getting to the sunshine on the other side.  I hope the weather back home is being more amicable than the weather here is.

Love you and miss you all!!!

It's ALL About Him,

KendallCooke

Another day in Seoul

I'm not sure what I feel today.  Another good friend/co-worker left last Thursday to return to the States, and I think I've been in some sort of funk since.  It is really hard to get used to the constant stream of people coming in and out of your life here.  Everyone here starts their teaching contract at a different time of the year, so it seems like people are almost constantly leaving and new people are arriving all the time.  It's a difficult transition from life back home where you may make some new friends and have a couple friends move away over the years, but for the most part, you are surrounded by your same network of people, the same friends and family.  Luckily, I've never had much trouble making new friends or getting to know people.  But continuously meeting new people and attempting to form some sort of lasting bond/friendship is utterly exhausting.  It feels like just as I start getting comfortable with a person and he/she with me, that person leaves the country.  And then we're back to square one getting to know another person.  And since I now find myself on the downward slope with less than half of my contract left, some days it almost feels pointless putting out all the effort for a friendship that would last at most only 5 and a half more months.  It's just weird. I can't even explain all the different emotions, except to say I'm not sure how I feel.  I do know that I'm fortunate to have one friend in my office who came only about 6 weeks before me and with whom I have become quite good friends.  I would probably lose it if he were leaving soon.

I miss you, all my friends and family back in the States.  I think about you daily and am quietly wishing for winter to return (even though I do so desperately hate the cold) so that I can come home and spend the winter holidays with you.  I hope you had a fabulous 4th of July and that your summer has been and will continue to be splendid.  Well, I have an apple pie in the oven that I believe needs to come out.

It's ALL About Him,

KendallCooke

LSAT Frustrations

Well today was the day.  After months of LSAT prep (I can't believe it's actually over), test day had finally arrived.  I woke up this morning more than just a little bit anxious.  Not only was I worried about taking the actual test, but I was quite concerned with what the testing environment would be like here in Korea.  But then I thought to myself, this is a country of test takers.  Koreans grow up taking "big" and "important" exams all the time.  I told myself that surely this society, which relies so heavily on testing, had worked out all the kinks of giving an enormous, important test.  After a couple cups of coffee, a hearty breakfast and approximately an hour of audibly reminding myself that life would continue even if I didn't do well on the LSAT, I grabbed my umbrella and headed out the door into the rain.  I was pretty lucky in that the LSAT was being given at Yonsei University, which is about a 5-7 minute walk from my apartment.  I trekked up the hill to Yonsei, tracked down the School of Law and ducked inside. 

From the minute I stepped inside that building, I realized that my concerns with the testing facility/environment were not in vain.  From the minute my foot hit the tile of the building floor, I saw chaos occurring all around me.  After asking more than a handful of people, I finally found my way to the testing room and took my spot in a line of 10 other test takers waiting to be checked in.  After 20-25 minutes in line, I began to get impatient.  I couldn't understand what was wrong; all they had to do was check ID and look in a plastic baggie.  But as I got closer to the front, I saw the issue.  Recently, LSAC (the Law School Admission Council) has starting requiring a passport style/size photo on LSAT admission tickets.  Two of the girls in my line had failed to get these pictures and were now standing in line trying to persuade the proctor to let them in.  I took a deep breath and walked inside the classroom, trying desperately not to get upset at other people's stupid mistakes.  But stupid mistakes couldn't stop there...oh on.

The test began, and it wasn't long before I found myself desperately trying to push past more annoyances.  The LSAT is an American test taken to get into American law schools where an American, all English curriculum will be taught.  Thus, I could NOT understand why the proctor spoke ONLY in Korean.  It logically does not follow.  Even now I find myself getting annoyed at recalling the event.  So yeah, apart from when reading the actual LSAT Proctor Rules, she spoke entirely in Korean.  I understand that most of the people there were Korean, but I can't understand why the proctor thought speaking in Korean would be not only acceptable but sufficient.  Luckily, I had read the LSAT booklet numerous times and could probably recite most of the LSAT regulations and rules (I am aware that this makes me ridiculously nerdy, but I like to know the code that I am expected to conduct myself by.).  But there were a handful of other American, non-Korean test takers who may not have been so familiar with LSAT rules and the way it is run.  They had no way to know what was going on or expected of them, because only Korean was being spoken at us.

I took another deep breath and moved on with the test, refusing to let these things annoy me.  Try as I might, it wasn't long before something else made me so upset that I almost said something to the proctor and am still considering writing a note to the LSAC.  As of the June 2011 LSAT, which was today's LSAT for those of you who might be confused, the LSAC instituted a zero tolerance policy in regards to breaking LSAT regulations.  Previously, if a test taker was found breaking a regulation, he or she received one warning and upon a second infraction was dismissed from the test center.  The new policy stated that upon the first time that a test taker is found breaking a regulation, he or she must be dismissed from the testing facility.  I really like this change in policies.  I believe the LSAT is something that should be taken seriously.  While the proctor explained this to everyone in Korean (I only know because some of the words she used in the midst of her Korean were actually English words, like regulations and dismissed), test takers still couldn't get it together.  I had a guy next to me who brought in a digital watch (against regulation) but was only required to take it off halfway into the test when the proctor finally recognized it.  I had a girl next to me crack open a Coke in the middle of the 2bd section, which as you can probably guess is against regulation.  The proctor said nothing to this girl as she chugged her Coke.  There was, also, a girl next to me who wouldn't put down her pencil at the end of section after the proctor called time.  The proctor warned her several times and then had to physically pull the answer sheet out of the girl's hands as she continued filling in circles.  That girl was allowed to stay until the end of the test.  And then another girl fought in audible voices with the proctor for probably 6 or 7 of the 35 minutes that we were allowed on the 5th section.  So yeah...from the minute I stepped in until the minute I walked out it was crazy, chaotic, frustrating, annoying and not run professionally or properly.

I couldn't tell if I was more relieved to be finished with the actual LSAT or to just get out of that RIDICULOUS testing environment.  One way or another, there was a waive of relief that washed over me as I walked back to my apartment.  I have no idea how I did on the test.  I would be really, really surprised if I bombed it, because a lot of the material was easy.  But I don't imagine I did super, as all the distractions around me definitely "distracted" me.  I'd guess it was probably about the same as I did last time.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

As I wait, I am praying earnestly that God will direct me and show me where He would have me be.  I pray that I am able to see the truthfulness of God's promises and understand that no matter how the test went, God has something in store for me that is greater than anything I could ever ask or imagine.  Some days I fall to my knees when reminded of the greatness of our God and then other days I proceed without barely giving it thought.  May He be the center of our every thought and action; for He is a good, good God that we serve.

It's ALL About Him,

KendallCooke 

Children Geniuses

As I sat at my desk tonight working on lesson plans for next week and getting more and more frustrated at the mere idea of teaching more blended sounds to my K students (we simply cannot get these down), it suddenly dawned on me how incredibly smart my K students are.  My Kindergarten students, who are 4 or 5 years-old in the States, know how to identify and define nouns, verbs, and adjectives.  They can read at a 1st or 2nd grade level.  They know how to write sentences describing plot, setting, and characters, as well as sentences about animals, foods, family, favorite things, etc.  My K students can add single- and double-digits, subtract single-digit numbers and count by 2s, 5s, and 10s.  And all this they can do in another language.  I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to work with these bright, fun, adorable children.


Monday marked my 6 month anniversary in Korea.  I can't believe that my time here is halfway done.  Though I certainly miss things from home (family, friends, driving, cottage cheese, real cake, running on the road), I can't help but be a little bit sad that my time here is ticking away this quickly.  I take the LSAT on Sunday, have 3 weeks of work after that, am taking a 7-day vacation to Cambodia with a friend, and then will only have 4 short months left here.  It's crazy!!!

I hope all things are well at home.  I miss you and love you all!

It's ALL About Him,

KendallCooke

P.S.-I had every intention of posting several pictures of my adorable students but I can't get this dang site to work for the life of me.  So I guess I'll have to post them at a later date.

Open House...Grrrrr..

After teaching and working for almost 6 months, I finally decided to take a personal day and give myself the opportunity to just relax on a day that I "should" be teaching.  I slept in until 7, got up and got a run in.  Then I bummed around and watched some American television on my computer and finally made my way to Myeong-dong.  Myeong-dong is the main shopping district in Seoul.  It has a bunch of international clothing stores and shoe stores and make-up stores, etc.  I read that on an average day more than 2 million people visit Myeong-dong.  As I have been working for months and saving most of what I make and counting every penny I spend, I decided that I'd pamper myself a bit on my day off.  I went and got a pedicure and then hit the shops in Myeong-dong.  I found some cute dresses and shirts.  Overall, it was a successful day.  But I would be lying if I said that I'm feeling relaxed and cool, calm and collected after my day off.  Honestly, I am stressed to the MAX!

Twice a year, my school hosts an Open House for each class.  Open House is an opportunity for the parents to come and see what their students have been learning at our school.  In theory, it seems like a great idea.  I love the idea of parents coming into my classroom and seeing what my students have been learning and how far they've come in the last couple months.  However, in practice, Open House is terrible!  Instead of running a normal, everyday class, we perform a scripted class.  For the past 2 months, my students have been working on perfecting this scripted class.  They are expected to speak perfectly when their parents come so their parents will see how much they've learned, even though half the time my students don't understand what they're saying.  They've just memorized their lines.  If Open House doesn't go well, parents pull their students and put them in other schools.  So obviously us teachers have a ridiculous amount of pressure to perform perfectly.  My Open House is on Friday.  And just thinking about it and writing about it right now has caused 3 new stress canker sores to pop up in my mouth.  My students are so unpredictable.  I've bribed them with everything I can think of to make sure they perform to the best of their abilities.  (I know...I'm a good teacher...right?)

Additionally, I am taking the LSAT in 10 days.  I only have 10 days of studying left...AHHHHHH!!!!  I've already taken this stupid test once.  Still I cannot help but feel that my entire future is riding on my performance on this test.  I tell myself hourly, at least, that God has a plan for me, a plan to prosper me and not to harm me, to give me hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).  Yet they feel simply like words that leave my mouth and then fall to the ground and shatter.  My deepest prayer is that sometime soon, preferably in the next week and a half, these words that I continue to recite will settle in my heart.  How much easier it is to say something rather than actually believe it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is life is good, but right now life is also very stressful, difficult and confusing.  I would greatly appreciate your prayers as I work through Open House in the next couple days, take the LSAT on the 26th and ultimately work on believing God's promises for my life.

It's ALL About Him,

KendallCooke

Lame.

I feel so domesticated.  And so old.  And so LAME!!!  The highlight of my day was going to the grand reopening of the grocery store in my neighborhood after work.  Yes, you heard me right...the highlight of my day.  I'm not exactly sure when I turned into the person who counts down the weeks and days until the nearest grocery opens or who is brought to tears by classical music or who dresses for comfort above all things or who records every single cheon won (10 cents) that is spent, but I have an inkling that it happened here in Korea while I wasn't looking.    It's odd to think how much my life has changed in such a short amount of time.  Sometimes I see myself changing ever so slowly as it happens.  And then other times, like today, it hits me like a sudden flash.  I do something which seems to myself so out of character and am reminded that time marches on as much as I may try to force it to stop.  As I come to grips with the fact that time will not stop and therefore that I will continue to change as time runs its course, my only prayer is that I change for the better; that I become more loving, more patient, more kind, more compassionate and more Christlike.  Just a simple thought from a simple and more usually than not confused young woman.

News on the street is that Kristy is finally going to have her baby.  I can't wait to see pictures of my new little niece, Amelia!  Keep Kristy, Rudy, Amelia, Noah and the entire Kash family in your prayers.

I love you all and miss you more with each day that passes.

It's ALL About Him,

KendallCooke

"Ointment for the Oral Cavity Disease"

I think I'm quite lucky to have a pharmacist that speaks English at a pharmacy near my school.  I can't even begin to imagine trying to act out or gesture medical symptoms to someone who speaks no English in hopes that they will be able to decipher my motions correctly and give me medicine that will actually help my ailment.  Nevertheless, I'm always pretty apprehensive to take Korean medicines that I've picked up at the pharmacy or gotten at a doctor's office.  More times than I can count, one of my co-workers has come back from the doctor's office with a Ziploc baggy of 40-50 unlabeled pills and instructions to take these pills together twice a day and these other 2 pills every third day or something like that.  What boggles me even more is the fact that most of my co-workers begin popping these pills without a second thought about what they might be. 

A couple of days ago, I made my way into the pharmacy.  I've had these terrible canker sores taking over my mouth for the past couple weeks, and I had reached the point where I couldn't suffer through them for one more day.  I walked in and told the pharmacist that I had 4 canker sores in my mouth that were making it really difficult to eat or talk or brush.  He nodded his head in understanding and then asked, "Pill or ointment?"  I looked at him rather puzzled.  I had it in my head that I was looking for something similar to Anbesol or Orajel; something just to soothe the pain while the canker sores healed on their own.  After all I had read pretty extensively that there isn't really any cure for canker sores.  I told him ointment.  I was, then, handed a small box with a tube of ointment in it and instructed to apply twice a day.

Now if I wasn't already skeptical about taking Korean medication, I quickly became so.  I had a real issue with squirting some unknown gel into my mouth twice a day to heal my canker sores.  I fumbled around with the box trying to see if there was any clue as to what this magic medicine was.  It was then that I ran across the description of my medicine, "Ointment for the oral cavity disease."   

I silently thought to myself, "That sounds terrible!  Oral cavity disease...surely this can't be right."  Twenty minutes later the pain in my mouth took over my skepticism and I decided to give this medicine a shot.  I applied a small bit on one of my canker sores to test it out and was more than a little surprised when the gel turned into a malleable wax that clung ever so tightly to gum.  It was not what I expected.  It was weird.  But it worked.  Here I am a couple days later, canker sore free.  I still have no idea what exactly I was applying to the inside of my mouth 2x a day, but I'm still alive.  I guess I should just trust the pharmacist when he so assuredly gives me something to take.

Well I'm off to say farewell to a teacher that is leaving tomorrow.  Enjoy your Memorial Day!!!

It's ALL About Him,

KendallCooke

Gyeongbokgung

For the most part, I consider myself quite lucky to have been blessed with the co-workers I have.  I've had the opportunity to get to know a couple of them pretty well in the last couple months, and it is really nice to work with people that I get along with, both English staff and Korean staff.  On Sunday, I spent some time with some of these co-workers.  I went to Gyeongbokgung with my friends, Nate, Maeve, Monica and Min-hee.

Gyeongbokgung is one of the royal palaces that is in Seoul.  It was the main and largest palace during the Joseon dynasty.  There are dozens of different halls, temples, and gardens.  It is beautiful!!!  We went to Gyeongbokgung in early afternoon and were able to see this ceremony that they have at the palace called the changing of the guards.  In this ceremony, they reenact what the actual changing of the guard looked like back in the day when the Joseon kings actually lived there.



  It was really interesting.  Afterwards, we spent the next couple of hours walking around the different areas of the palace, exploring the different halls, enjoying the gardens and taking pictures.  It was a very relaxing and enjoyable trip.  I love history and was so excited to see an actual historical relic of Korea.  Seoul is so modern; there are very few traditional, historical things to see in the city.  I have plans to go to a couple of the smaller palaces in the upcoming weeks, and I can't wait!


 

I hope the weather hasn't been too terrible for all of you.  Love you and miss you.
 
It's ALL About Him,

KendallCooke

Children's Day

May 5th in Korea is Children's Day.  When I first ran across this holiday on my calendar, it meant absolutely nothing to me.  "I have no children of my own...what a silly holiday," I thought.  Then I found out that Children's Day is a national holiday, so I would get a day off of work.  I instantly became fond of Children's Day.  The more I think about it, it's a pretty cool holiday.  Korea is a society of hard workers.  People work a ridiculous amount of hours, and it is just the norm.  I think there are many Korean children who see their parents infrequently.  So on Children's Day, all these parents that work so many hours the rest of the year take the day off and totally spoil their kids.  I've heard it said that it is as good as or better than Christmas to Korean kids.  Lucky little children!

I didn't get loads of candy and toys from my parents, but my Children's Day was still pretty awesome!  I went to Namsan (Mt.), a famous mountain in the center of Seoul, with my friends, Monica and Nate.  I don't get to experience much nature on a daily basis, other than my bamboo plant and a half dead tree on my walk to work.  So we wanted to go somewhere full of plants and flowers and beautiful.  Namsan was just that.  At the top of Namsan is N Seoul Tower.  N Seoul Tower has an observation deck that allows you to see a panoramic view of Seoul, and I think it's the highest point in Seoul.  So once we got to the top of Namsan, we went up in the N Seoul Tower.  It was so pretty!!!  We grabbed a cup of coffee and chatted while we looked over the city that we are all growing to love. 

I think my favorite part of our day at Namsan was the "Lovers' Locks."  On the first observation deck of N Seoul Tower, there are fences all around the outside of the deck that are covered with every conceivable color, shape and type of lock.  Years ago, two lovers brought a lock with them on their visit to N Seoul Tower.  After they had spent the day there, they locked a lock onto the fence of the observation deck with a message written on it proclaiming their undying love for one another.  After they locked the lock, they threw the key over the edge of the observation deck, never to be retrieved again.  In this act, they committed themselves to each other until their lock was unlocked and removed from the fence at N Seoul Tower.  Ever since, couples have come to N Seoul Tower with locks to put on the fence, declare their love and commit to each other for as long as their lock remains on the fence.  Personally, I think the whole thing is ridiculous and funny and corny.  But the locks are beautiful.  It's breathtaking to see tens of thousands of locks covering every fence around the entire deck.  It was an all around really fun day!

Hope things are well in the States!

It's ALL About Him,

KendallCooke

Easter Away from Home

As I prepare to close the book on my Easter Sunday, many of you are probably just now rushing around getting ready to open it.  What an awesome, beautiful, hopeful day Easter is!!!  He is risen, and we are forever changed because of it...AMEN!!!!

Though I went to church this morning and was even involved in a Reader's Theater about Easter, it just didn't quite feel like Easter.  I realized this afternoon that this was my first Easter away from home, and it just felt odd.  No screaming, yelling, and chaos this morning as I got ready for church like there normally is at the Kash household on Easter morning.  No sunrise service.  No Kash family picture that normally takes about 15 minutes and ends with at least 2 unhappy children.  No lunch with my family and grandparents.   It wasn't a bad day at all.  I got to rejoice with people that I care about.  I had the opportunity to invite some co-workers to church.  The weather was beautiful.  It just didn't quite feel like Easter.  I wasn't aware how much I relish spending this holiday with my family...probably more than any other holiday.  I had a good day, but I'll be more than ready to spend next Easter as a unit of the Kash family.

That being said, today really was pretty great!  I got to spend this morning at church, which was awesome.  And then this afternoon as I was running errands, it hit me out of nowhere that I'm really kinda falling in love with Korea.  I think it was hard for me to appreciate and enjoy Korea when I first got here and during the winter, because the winter was just miserable.  It was too cold to go out.  We only had like 8 or 9 hours of sunlight, most of which I was spending at work.  But now that the weather is nicer and I'm able to get out and I've learned how to leave work at work, I see all these little beauties around, all these small splendid surprises that Seoul has for me.  When I was out this afternoon, I thought, for the very first time, how I will probably really miss Korea when my contract is up here. 

It's so funny how God turns hearts and changes perspectives.  I've been asking God to show me how to love the people around me and enjoy and appreciate this opportunity to live and work in Korea.  For weeks, I remained restless and upset due to bad interactions with Koreans; willing to put in the time and fulfill my contract, but more ready than ever to leave and never look back.  Then today, I blinked my eyes, and when they opened again, it was as if I was seeing things for the first time.  It felt like I had instantaneously fallen in love with this country and its people and its culture and all its intricacies.  It's been a good day.  I am positive that I will find myself angry about this or that in the coming months, but my entire perspective has shifted.  And it feels so nice.

I hope you all are reminded of the love of God and the hope that we have on this holy, miraculous day.  HAPPY EASTER!!!

It's ALL About Him,

KendallCooke

Miss Kendall, What's Easter?

Today at school, we "dyed" (and by dyed I mean colored brown eggs with markers...ugh...not nearly as fun as real dying) Easter eggs as a school-wide Easter craft.  Over the past couple weeks, my school has had several Easter activities.  The first week of April, we were required to do an Easter craft (mine was an origami Easter basket).  The second week we went to the park for the annual Easter egg hunt.  Now this week we dyed Easter eggs.  In the midst of all these activities, I have continuously gotten the same question from my K students. "Miss Kendall, what is Easter?"

It is odd that we have spent so much time and energy focusing on Easter.  My bosses aren't Christian.  Most of the students at my school have no affiliation with Christianity.  Basically, my school has us doing all these things because it's what they think people in the States do.  And while everything we have done is what I would consider the fluff of Easter, the Easter eggs and Easter baskets and Easter candy, I can't help but be drawn back to the heart of what Easter really is.  Every time my students ask me what Easter is, I want to sit them down and tell them how awesome of a day it is; a day on which we were redeemed and saved and bought and freed.  But how could you possibly explain that to a 5 year-old who isn't even familiar with who Jesus is?  It breaks my heart that these little children have never been introduce to God's greatness, grace, love and mercy.  And so when I hear the question, "Miss Kendall, what is Easter" I do my best to stumble through an explanation suitable for 5 year-olds who have no familiarity with Christianity.

I hope that you are all reminded of God's greatness and power and love and majesty and awesomeness as we creep ever closer to Easter morning.  I pray that you remember the sacrifice and the pain , as well as the love of Christ.  I find myself rejoicing one moment at the gift Christ gave me but then weeping in the next because of the pain and torture he endured on my behalf, for a very forgetful, selfish sinner.  He's so good and we are so unworthy.  Luckily we have been bought and redeemed and no longer have to be tied down by our sin and unworthiness and faults.  Hallelujah!!!  We are loved more deeply than we could ever possibly understand.

I am desperately wishing I was back in the States to celebrate this joyous season with you all.  You have my love from afar!

-KendallCooke

It's Nice to Have Fun

Today was a great day I am pleased to say.  This morning all the K classes at my school went on a field trip.  My school is known for taking notoriously boring and draining field trips (think 80+ 4, 5, and 6 year-olds at a Folk History Museum) so I was a little nervous as we set off this morning.  We were taking the annual Easter field trip to a park in Seoul to play games, hang out outside of the school for awhile, and have an Easter egg hunt.  To put it simply, it was an awesome morning!!!  The park we went to was huge and green and full of flowers and had a pond.  It was so nice to be experiencing nature again.  I unfortunately haven't had the opportunity to just enjoy nature since I've come to Korea.  Most of the parks I've been to have a handful of trees and concrete.  There aren't yards and flower gardens and trees to climb, which made going to this amazing park today that much more fabulous.  I'm not sure if my kids liked it more or me.  It was very enjoyable to get to hang out and play games and not have to worry about teaching curriculum or correcting every single speaking mistake.  I got to see my Kindergarten kids just be kids, and it reminded me that they aren't little robots that I'm teaching that can sit still for hours and remember everything I tell them.  They're just kids!  It's incredible how much this simple reminder lifted my spirits for the rest of the day and made teaching, though sometimes frustrating, fun and rewarding again.  I pray that this little gem of knowledge stays with me.  I hope that everyday I am able to see my students not as a collective mind that needs to soak up my teaching but as 9 individual, funny, loving, growing, malleable and impressionable children.

In other news, I went back to the Dr. about my ankle today.  He said that the fracture is practically healed, though he recommended I not exercise, run or play any sports for another 3 or 4 weeks.  I've decided that Dr. was just being overly cautious.  Hopefully sometime this weekend I'll be able to get a run in and test out the ankle.  The weather is beautiful, and I can feel myself die a little bit inside every day that I'm stuck sitting around instead of outside being active.  I can't wait to get back outdoors!!!

I love you and miss you all dearly!

It's ALL About Him,

KendallCooke

SPRING!!!

Ahhh...I haven't written in forever.  My most sincere apologies!

Spring has finally reached Seoul.  The weather is warmer.  The birds are singing.  The sun is shining.  As the weather becomes ever more beautiful and I am able to spend more time outdoors in the midst of nature's beauty, I find Seoul growing on me more and more.  The frustrations of work and the inevitable "run-ins" with Koreans seem so much more bearable when I can get outside and walk around and explore.  It is a much welcomed change!

Spring's arrival also brought the start of the baseball season in Korea.  I think Opening Day here was the same day as in the States.  One of my co-workers had a friend coming into Seoul to visit for a couple days and had asked me, along with another co-worker, if we'd like to go to a baseball game with her on Saturday.  I didn't have plans, apart from the endless LSAT studying and research on law schools that has consumed my life, so I told her I would go.  I was rather excited, honestly.  The day was beautiful, and the company was good.  It looked like it would be a good day.

I have this terrible habit of unintentionally assuming various things in Korea will be the same as they are back home.  So when I thought baseball, I had this image of Major League Baseball in the States.  As I have found, it usually happens that my assumption based on the American image is so far from reality.  We went to the game, and the tickets were sold out.  So then we bought tickets from some guy at about 4x actual price.  We got into the stadium eventually after wandering around the entire stadium trying to get into like 4 different entrances (because our tickets were only in Korea) and found out that our section of bleachers was general admission.  We were about 30 minutes early and were pleased to see there were still some seats available though not many.  However, once we began asking if the seats that we saw were really available or not, we found out that they were ALL being held for friends/family that were on their way to the game.

As it got closer and closer to game time, we began to notice that there were just mobs, hundreds of people, standing along the back fence behind the bleachers without seats.  They way, way, way oversell tickets so hundreds of people that come to the games either stand the entire time or sit on the stairs or wherever they can find a spot.  It was absolute chaos.  When the game actually began, I was standing shoulder to shoulder with Koreans with 2 rows of people standing in front of me and another row of people standing behind me.  Before the first inning was even over, we decided to leave.  It was so stressful and crowded and frustrating.

Leaving was just another issue.  We couldn't even find the stairs for a couple minutes, because people were sitting on them like they were seats.  We crawled over all these angry Koreans so we could get out of the stadium, and then we just all stood there and laughed about it together.  It was so wild!  I'm pretty used to the crowds here but this was just overkill.  I couldn't believe it.  We ended up heading to grab some food and just hang out and talk.  It was still a fun adventure to look back on, even if it was extremely frustrating at the time.  I know next time to go about 2 hours early or so in order to get an actual seat....just another lesson learned in Korea.

Well my Sunday is coming to a close just as yours is beginning.  Have a great week!!!

It's ALL About Him,

KendallCooke

Oh Korea, Today was Not Our Day!

Do you ever wake up and just know it's gonna be a bad day?  That was my day.  I should have just gone back to bed.  I got up this morning like I always do and turned on my hot water heater so I could shower.  I normally give the heater 10 or 15 minutes so the water can get super hot.  I gave it about that much time this morning, but when I hopped into the shower (which mind you is actually just my bathroom because there is no shower stall just a shower head pointed over my entire bathroom) the water was freezing.  I waited a bit longer and tried again and waited and tried and waited and tried.  After having the water heater on for an hour, I couldn't wait any longer to shower.  I needed to meet a friend at 10:15, so I had to get ready. Thus, I took an ice cold shower to start my day.  On top of that, my internet simply would NOT work this morning....frustration number 2.

I met up with my friend, Dolee, at 10:15.  He was going with me to the orthopedic hospital in my neighborhood to translate in case the doctor didn't speak English.  I was so glad that he was going out of his way to help me, and as we walked and talked, I thought perhaps the day was looking up.  We get to the hospital, put my name in and find out there's gonna be an almost 2 hour wait.  But I really needed to have my ankle looked at, so we just decided we'd sit down and wait it out.  After about an hour or so of sitting and talking, I hear someone screaming Korean and just absolutely freaking out.  I look up and see this old Korean man at the front desk, screaming at the receptionist and then pointing at me and totally freaking out.  It didn't take me long to discover that he was so furious, because I had apparently been talking too loud.  Don't get me wrong, I know I can talk too loud.  But I couldn't believe the way this man was acting.  He was yelling at the top of his lungs and slamming things around on the counter and demanding that the front desk assistants come tell me to be quiet. 

Needless to say, I was irate!  If this man wanted me to quiet down so he could watch the Korean soap opera that was on, all he had to do would be walk over and ask for me to quiet down.  I know I can get loud.  I would have apologized to him and then quieted down.  But instead, this guy made a huge scene; probably the biggest scene I have ever seen in my life.  My Korean friend, Dolee, just sat there next to me so embarrassed that this man had caused this huge scene and apologizing over and over and over.  It wasn't Dolee's fault so I just told him not to worry about it.  The guy had an issue with me, not Dolee.  This kind of thing happens all the time in Korea to foreigners.  My co-workers, friends and I have been shushed on buses, in restaurants, in shopping centers, at doctors' offices, any public place you can think of.  Koreans are very, very quiet in public.  And generally speaking, I try to respect aspects of Korean culture that are different from my own.  But I can't see the harm in having a conversation with someone in a public place, so I have a really hard time standing/sitting quietly next to my friends in public places.

About an hour after the drama with this Korean guy, I finally got called in to see the doctor.  The doctor actually ended up being great, and he spoke really good English.  He looked at my ankle/foot and decided that I should have a couple X-rays done.  My X-rays revealed that I have 2 small cracks in 2 different bones in my foot.  Since I fell almost a month ago, the doctor said they have kind of started to heal on their own, but I still need to wear a brace and be careful.  He said that I can't run, exercise, or play soccer for at least another month, potentially longer depending on how fast the bones end up healing.  Some more really annoying news on an already entirely annoying day. 

My doctor was unhappy that I had waited so long to come see someone about my ankle, because he said it could have started healing improperly, which could affect walking/running/etc. for the rest of my life.  The reason I hadn't gone to the doctor for my ankle is because my bosses kept telling me that they didn't think it was necessary and that I should try these alternative methods of medicine.  Then after talking to a bunch of other people, I found out that the bosses of many, many private English schools deter their employees from going to the hospital because the bosses pay teacher's medical bills out of their own pockets; it's a lot cheaper to go to an acupuncturist or a family doctor than it is to go to the hospital.  So bosses, mine included, try to encourage their employees to seek medical attention at places other than a hospital.  This news, also, really ticket me off.  I had trusted what my bosses had been saying, thinking that they had my best interest in mind, only to find out they had their pocketbooks in mind.

So, overall, it has been quite a frustrating day!  Before I came to Korea, numerous people that do or have lived in Korea told me how nice the Korean people were to Americans, because we have this bond of helping them in their toughest moments, and they appreciate us coming to their country to teach their children.  I don't know what these people were talking about.  I have met some great Korean people while here, so don't think that everyone I encounter is terrible.  But there are a fair amount of people that I encounter on a daily basis that simply do not want me here and want me to remember that I'm a foreigner.  I can usually laugh it off and move on, but today was too much.  I'm leaving all of my negativity from the day right here on this blog.  I intend to wake up renewed, refreshed, with a positive outlook on life again and thinking that people are generally good.  So don't worry about me.  I'll be ok.  I just had to get it out!

Hugs and Kisses from Halfway Around the World!!!

It's ALL About Him,

KendallCooke

Dear Korea...Kids Get Hurt. Deal!

I've been in the midst of dealing with an issue that would be much more of a non-issue in the States, and I'm getting to the state where I just wanna pull my hair out.  Let me explain..

A couple weeks ago, one of my K kids got hurt during the break before our last class for the day.  As I've stated previously, for every 40 minutes of K class we have a 10 minute break.  During the breaks, English teachers are allowed to go to the teacher's room for a short breather and the Korean teachers/assistants are responsible for the children.  So all my K kids were doing a science worksheet, and the bell rang.  They all jumped up out of their seats, handed me their papers and then quickly exited my room to play in the gym/big room area.  Like a minute into break, I was still in my room helping a student finish the worksheet and several of my kids came in and told me that Kevin Lee, another K student, had fallen and hurt his nose.  I asked if Korean teacher was out there taking care of him, and they all said yes, so I just went on with what I was doing.

A couple minutes later, I walk out of my room and am immediately approached by Mrs. Kim, my boss.  Come to find out that Kevin Lee had tripped and hit his face on the stage or something and his nose really took a hit.  Then my boss proceeds to ask me at least 7 times whether I let my students out of the classroom before the bell rang.  I told her over and over and over and over that we were working on a science worksheet when the bell rang so there was no way that Kevin Lee had left the classroom before the bell rang.  It ended up turning into this huge thing, because apparently when Kevin Lee fell my Korean teacher wasn't in the gym watching the students, so she had told my boss that it was because I let them out early. 

After wasting pretty much all my break trying to convince my boss that I hadn't let my students out early and that sometimes kids just fall and accidents happen, I ran upstairs to the teacher's lounge to grab some papers for my next class.  And when I got up there, 3 of my co-workers were asking me how Kevin Lee was, because, get this, they had all seen him fall as they were walking upstairs to the teacher's room.  So if I let him out of the classroom early, then that means 3 of my co-workers also were leaving their classrooms early, because they all actually saw the fall take place.  For some reason, this has not cleared my name, however.  I guess they just need someone to blame and why not pin it on the foreigner English teacher. 

Since this accident, Mrs. Kim has approached me more than a couple times to talk about what I like to refer to as "the Kevin Lee incident."  She is still convince I am somehow at fault.  She is continuously reminding me that my students have to be in the room until the bell rings and that they shouldn't be running in the school and that I need to be more careful with them.  You should have heard me during the school day before the accident.  The number of times I said "Be careful.  Stop running.  That's not a safe choice.  Change your play; it's too dangerous" was comical.  I should have had my own PBS program as the Safety Police.  I can't possibly encourage my 4 and 5 year-old Kindergarten students to be any more careful.  Other teachers allow their children to stand on chairs and run in the building and wrestle with each other.  But, of course, my student was the one who got hurt.  So my school has been instilling all of these new safety rules and classroom rules to ensure that we are at optimal safety so that no child is ever hurt here again.  It's ridiculous!

I love being safe and careful, don't get me wrong.  But for some reason, my bosses and all the Korean staff think that Kevin Lee wouldn't have gotten hurt had we just been watching him closer or telling him more to be careful.  Unless a Korean teacher was holding his hand as he frolicked around during break time, I don't see how this accident could have been avoided.  It was an accident...an accidental fall that ended badly.  I feel terrible that he got hurt.  At the same time, I just wanna shake my bosses by their shoulders and say, "Chill out.  Kids get hurt.  It's part of being a kid."

That's my random rant for the day.  I thought that with time this would all blow over, but it is unfortunately still looming over my every day at work.  Hopefully, in time it will all be put behind us and we can move on.

I truly hope things are going well for you all back home.  I've read that you've had some incredible weather as of late.  I'm jealous.  Seoul is slowly, ever so slowly, warming up.  I can't wait for the real Spring weather!

I love you and miss you all more than words could say!!!

It's ALL About Him,

-KendallCooke

The DMZ

Today I went on a tour to the DMZ with two of my co-workers, Andrea and Nate and 2 of Nate's friends, Mary and Brian.  I've been wanting to go the DMZ since I got here.  Nate and I vowed to each other that we would go when the weather got nicer.  Then Andrea found this cool tour to the DMZ, so the three of us decided to go.  We left this morning at 9:30 and arrived at our first stop (there were 4 different locations we would be visiting) about 10:15 or so. 




ImjinGak is the northernmost point you can travel to in South Korea without special permission from the government.  At ImjinGak, we saw the Freedom Bridge (the bridge used to exchange prisoners after the Korean War), the War Memorial (an altar where those who cannot go back to their homes in North Korea get together on special holidays and pray together) and the Peace Bell (an enormous bell which is a symbol of the wish for peace and reunification of the two Koreas).  It was really cool!

Next, we went to Tongilchon.  Inside the DMZ, there are 2 villages.  Tongilchon is one of those villages.  In Tongilchon, we ate a traditional Korean meal and walked around for a bit.  Then we climbed back on the bus and were given a brief tour through the actual village.  The village is really small, but the people make really, really good money there (close to $100,000 annually which is a lot in Korea).  The village is famous for rice, soybean and ginseng, so maybe that's how they make their money.  I'm not sure what exactly their professions are or why they are there; I didn't understand a lot of what our tour guide said.  But the people we saw are the South Koreans living the closest to North Korea.  Also, at Tongilchon, we watched a brief documentary on the Korean War and the DMZ since the war.  As you all probably know, North Korea attempted building several underground tunnels after the war to infiltrate Seoul and South Korea.  Throughout the 1970s, the South Korean government found 4 of these tunnels.  The 3rd tunnel is the most famous in that it was the closest to Seoul and the biggest.  They estimated that the tunnel would allow 10,000 armed soldiers to invade Seoul within 1 hour.  We had the opportunity to go down into this tunnel and see it.  It was so wild to think about all these soldiers building this tunnel for so long and the possibility that there are other tunnels out there that are yet to be discovered.

After Tongilchon, we went to the Dora Observatory.  The Dora Observatory is a high point that allows you to look over the DMZ and into North Korea.  It was unfortunately foggy today, and, honestly, I could barely see anything.  You're supposed to be able to see the Propaganda Village of North Korea, as well as Kesung city (North Korea's 2nd largest city).  I did see the South Korean and the North Koreans flags facing each other where the two countries meet at the DMZ.  It was pretty neat.  The North Korean government intentionally built their flag tower taller than that of the South Korean flag, which is apparently quite a sore spot for the South Koreans.  At the Observatory, the South Korean government is very strict about where you can take pictures.  Picture taking areas are depicted by these big yellow lines on the ground.  Apparently the reason is that the South Korean government worries that the North Korean government will find pictures that have been posted online of the way the South Korean guard posts, security, etc are set up and then the North Korean government will be able to use it to their advantage.  Thus, you are allowed to see a lot of stuff at the DMZ but not allowed to take pictures of some of the really cool stuff.

The last stop of our trip was Dorasan Train Station.  Dorasan is the northernmost train station in South Korea.  Something like once a week, a train crosses from the South into the North to take supplies to North Korea (don't quote me on this....the details are really foggy in my mind).  It was like a total ghost station.  Apart from my tour group, there was 1 Korean family of 4 waiting to take that train one stop south.

Overall, the day was really cool and a lot of fun.  I loved walking around and hearing all the stories of the significance of the places we were visiting.  And it was really nice to get out of Seoul if only for a couple hours.  Plus, the people I was with today were really great.  It was an all around enjoyable day!

I love you and miss you all!!!  Hope all things are going well in the States.

It's ALL About Him,

KendallCooke

When in Rome...

So as I told you all yesterday, I rolled my ankle pretty terribly.  Today when I got to work, all my co-workers were freaking out about my hobbling and how gross my ankle looked.  And when my boss saw me taking like 10 minutes on the stairs, he asked me what was wrong.  I told him the whole story from yesterday, and he somewhat casually mentioned that I should go to an acupuncturist for my ankle.  He told me that a lot of times when people in Korea, twist or sprain their ankles, wrists, etc. they go have acupuncture done to help resolve the problem.  He asked me if I'd be interested in going to see the acupuncturist, and I gave him a half-hearted sure as I continued into my classroom to set things up for my kids.  I didn't really think much more of it.

During lunch, my co-workers convinced me I should go see a Dr. because I was having a lot of trouble getting around on my ankle.  There is a Dr. who speaks English about 2 blocks from the school, so I headed that way to see him.  After waiting for an eternity to see the Dr., I walked into his office, took off my shoe and sock to show him my ankle, and was quickly referred to another Dr. in the area.  Frustrated I walked back to my office as lunch was up.  When K classes were over, my boss walked up to me and asked if I was ready to go.  I had no idea what he was talking about and looked around the room to see if anyone else knew what was going on.  Then he reminded me that he thought it'd be a good idea for me to go to the acupuncturist.  I instantly began freaking out on the inside.  For those of you who don't know, I HATE needles and despise Dr. offices.  I couldn't imagine willingly walking into an office all the while knowing that the Dr. was gonna stick a bunch of needles into my body.  My boss and his wife were adamant about me trying acupuncture, as they were both just sure that it would heal my ankle.  And you know the old saying, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.  So I decided when in Korea, do as the Koreans do, and I told my boss I would go.

We got to the office, walked in and immediately the smell of medicine/doctor offices overtook me.  My boss had come with me as I speak no Korean and they spoke very limited English.  The nurse took my blood pressure and led me back to a little cubicle with a curtain where she told me to lie down and wait for the Dr.  The doctor came in, took one look at my ankle, and began yanking and pulling and twisting like he hated me.  It was so painful, I had to really, really try to not kick him with my good leg.  After all his pulling and twisting, he asked me through my boss if my ankle felt better.  It didn't, but I was worried what he was gonna do to me next.  So I hesitated before saying it still hurt the same.  The Dr. decided I needed acupuncture.  He rolled up my pant leg, told me to relax and began sticking needles in me like a pin cushion.  Surprisingly, after the initial pain of having someone stab like 10 needles into your leg and ankle, I couldn't feel the needles once they were in my leg.  The Dr. finished, put a heat lamp on my ankle/the needles and told me to lay still for about 25 minutes.  I just sat there staring at my leg and all these little needles that were sticking out of it.  After 25 minutes, a nurse came in and removed the needles.  Then she put these little electrodes on my ankle and began sending electricity through my ankle.  It actually hurt more than the needle part.  It was like a bunch of constant little pricks.  I went through this for 15 minutes; after which, a nurse came in took them off, put some Bengay on my ankle and sent me on my happy way with a few simple instructions.

Overall, my ankle felt a lot looser and easier to move after going through acupuncture.  I couldn't believe it helped!  I definitely still have some pain and can not move my ankle much.  And my entire foot is still hugely swollen.  But I can certainly tell a difference in how much better it feels after the acupuncture.  I guess nearly giving myself a panic/heart attack was worth the visit to the acupuncturist.

Love you and miss you all!

It's ALL About Him,

KendallCooke

Here's to a New Year

I remember when I was growing up and even into my adult life, in early August Mom would start heading back to school to get her classroom/library ready for the upcoming year.  It was always a process.  Those of you who are teachers know it takes awhile to get everything ready for the next school year.  This idea that prepping for the coming school year takes time to gear up physically and mentally is totally lost on the hagwons (private schools) of Korea.  Yesterday (Monday) was the last day of the previous school year.  Today is a national holiday.  And tomorrow (Wednesday) is the first day of the new school year.  I honestly don't know how we are expected to transition into the next school year that fast.

As I wrote earlier, I am lucky enough to be able to stay with my K kids from last year.  Many teachers will be getting new students tomorrow, who have never attended school.  So I guess I'm lucky in that respect.  But since I'm moving up with my K students, I will be teaching an entirely new curriculum with a new schedule and new classes.  It's a lot to take on after just getting used to my previous curriculum and schedule.  Not to mention, my K kids are still behind where they need to be according to my school's curriculum.  We weren't even able to complete everything from the previous year, but we are supposed to blast ahead full speed.  I foresee tons of extra hours at the office in the next week or 2 as I try to figure out lesson plans, scheduling and try to get my classroom set up the way that I think it should be.

Though I am staying with my K kids, as of tomorrow both of my E classes will be changing, and I will be getting brand new E students.  I guess I'm ready for a change with my E kids, so I see this as a blessing.  My issue is that classes are tomorrow afternoon, and we are yet to be notified of exactly what class/age/level of E students we are going to be teaching.  One of my biggest issues with Korea is that EVERYONE waits until the very last minute to make a decision and then just expects everyone to be able to adequately react to said decision.  I don't operate this way.  I like to plan in advance.  I like to know what is going to happen and what is expected of me.  I'm the person who took all my syllabi back to my apartment after the first week of college and got out my calendar to highlight and write and give myself early due dates for hours and hours to ensure I was ready for the coming semester.  So I often find myself overly stressed and frustrated because it is 2 minutes before something is supposed to happen and the Korean staff has no idea what is going on.  I do not understand how this society functions like this, but they all do.  And I think I might be the only person I have encountered to have a problem with this mentality.  So that's that.

Woah, Kendall....enough of the negative rambling!  You guys wanna hear something funny now?  Today was a national holiday in Korea, so I didn't have to work.  I woke up early and got the apartment cleaned and had this huge to do list of things I needed to run around Seoul and do.  So I leave about 11 and take the bus to Itaewon (another area of Seoul) to go to the Foreign Food Market and pick up some stuff that I can't get at my local grocery store.  I finished there and needed to take the subway to another place to get my cell phone fixed, because it's been messed up for awhile.  I get into the subway station and start heading toward the escalator to take me down to the subway.  But before I got on the escalator, I decided I'd take the stairs for a little bit of exercise.  I usually try to take the stairs unless I'm with people who refuse to do so.  So I'm going and going...there were like a million stairs.  I swear I blink, and the next thing I know I'm like flying through the air, dropping the 2 bags I was carrying and throwing my cell phone several feet further down the stairs.  I must have missed a step or something; I have no idea.  But I took a serious spill.  It most definitely was not funny at the time, but looking back I bet it was pretty hilarious to watch.  I was airborne with everything I had flying around me and scattering to the ends of the Earth.  (It's ok to laugh...I am).  Once I gathered myself, I realized that I'd really really hurt my ankle.  So I just sat there on the steps at the subway station trying to recover enough to get myself home and cracking up at how ridiculous my life is.  That whole incident kinda ended my daily early, as I could barely walk and didn't feel like hobbling around Seoul to finish my other errands.  I'm such a klutz!!!

Well I should probably stop stalling and get back to these lesson plans I need to write...yuck!!!  (I totally understand why my mama is a librarian now!)

Hope everything is well back in the States!

It's All About Him,

KendallCooke

I Need a 25th Hour!

Today was long and chaotic and exhausting.  This week is the last week of classes for the current school year.  As I may have mentioned earlier, school starts in Korea in March.  So next week, we are beginning our new school year; some kids are graduating and new ones are coming in.  I'm staying with my same students, which has some pros but also some cons.  One of the good things about staying with my same kids is that they're, for the most part, already accustomed to the way things operate at my school.  So I won't have to go through months of trying to get kids sitting nicely and learning our rules and expectations.  Regardless, already this week has been crazy busy, and I can see it will only continue to be. 

I am expected to finish up all the books and journals we use in class this week and send them all home along with all the papers that the children have done for the year.  One of the annoying things at my school is that I can't send a workbook home with students until all the students in my class have fully completed it.  It's a nice idea in theory, but I have a student who rarely comes and a couple more who work slower than snails.  And if a child is ever absent, he/she falls behind.  So it's just a big nightmare.  I have several students who are completely done with all the books we use in class.  Meanwhile I have other students who still have half a book left.  So I'm desperately trying to use every extra minute to get my students to finish their work.  It's a real pain!  So that's work right now.  It will all settle back down in about 2 weeks or so.  And I can't wait for the normal chaos, anxiety and stress of the normal work week.

I had the opportunity to go grab some Mexican for lunch yesterday after church with some of the young adults at my church.  It was a lot of fun.  I got to know some of the young adults better, and I'm really feeling blessed to have met these people.  I can't believe how lucky I have been to get plugged into such a great, fun, hilarious crowd of young believers.  So praise God for that!  I wish there were more Sundays in a week...haha.

That's about it for now.  I'm sure I'll have more to fill you in on as we transition into our new school year.

Lots of love from halfway around the world,

KendallCooke

Something Beautiful -- needtobreathe

Something Beautiful Song - Check it out!!!
This song has been my encouragement for the last couple weeks.  Every time I feel depleted or discouraged or lost or confused or unsure, I listen to this song and am reminded that my job is to deeply desire God and wait on His timing for my life.  The image of a person down on her knees calling out to God to consume her with fire and then waiting for God to present His beauty in His time is such a marvelous and beautiful image to me.  I hope this blesses you all as much as it has blessed me.

Hope everything is well in the States.  Miss you and love you all!!!

It's ALL About Him,

KendallCooke

Valentine's Day...White Day...Black Day...Oh Korea!

Korea is totally obsessed with love and couples and relationships.  It is completely acceptable and actually expected for a person you've just met to ask you point-blank, right off the bat whether you have a boyfriend/girlfriend.  Everywhere you look there are couples.  Couples do everything together.  There aren't big groups of friends hanging out and doing things together.  It appears that the majority of life here after college is lived as a couple.  Couples even take pride in wearing identical matching outfits here, from head to toe, glasses to shoelaces.  This aspect of life is so different from life in the States.

Korea's love and obsession with love/romantic relationships becomes evident in their holidays this time of year.  Obviously, today is Valentine's Day, and we all know what that means in the States.  But it's different here.  On Valentine's Day, girls buy chocolate for their boyfriends/fiances/husbands.  The holiday is completely for women to lavish love and gifts upon their men.  On March 14, Korea celebrates White Day.  White Day is the opposite of Korea Valentine's Day.  On White Day, men give their girlfriends/fiances/wives chocolate and lavish love and gifts upon them.  Further into the year on April 14, it is Black Day.  Black Day is a special day set aside for all the single people in Korea.  On Black Day, all the single people are supposed to go out to Korean style diners and eat black noodles.  So if you don't already feel like enough of a loser having to suffer through both Valentine's Day and White Day alone, you get the opportunity to look like a total loner and go out and mourn your singleness over black noodles.  Just a little Korean culture info for you to think about.  Needless to say after finding all this out, I'm glad we only celebrate Valentine's Day in the States.

Special shout out to an awesome friend, who totally surprised me with a fantastic package today...AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME start to my week.  Thank you, Thomas Mathis.  You rock!

It's All About Him,

KendallCooke

God is good all the time!

Today was a really, really, really good day!  After hearing several different people's opinions and praying about it during the week, I decided that Seoul Union Church at Yonsei (the church that is about a 10 minute walk) was the church that God could best use me at while I'm in Seoul.  So this morning, I got up, got ready and headed to church.  Upon walking into the chapel, I could feel God letting me know that I was in the right place.  People I had met the previous week came up to talk to me and a bunch of new people wanted to get to know me.  It was astonishing how much buzz and passion and life there seemed to be in this church that only last week looked weak and somber and lacking fire for God.  Perhaps God has changed my eyes to see the body of Christ at Seoul Union as He sees them.  It was encouraging and exciting and great.

After main worship at 9:30, there is a short fellowship/coffee time, and then everyone goes to Sunday School.  Seoul Union has a Young Adult Sunday School class so I went there really excited to meet some of the young people that are active in this church.  It was an absolute blessing!  This Sunday in the Young Adult class, it was prayer Sunday, so we spent an hour and a half praying for one another.  It was so awesome!  After church, the Young Adult Sunday School class always goes to lunch together.  Thus, I had the opportunity to sit around and talk and get to know some of the active young people at the church. 

I couldn't stop smiling...even now I can't.  I had just had an absolutely TERRIBLE work week.  And as much as I love Seoul, I haven't been able to find my niche since coming.  I have people to hang out with and talk to but no one to share my heart with, no one that completely understands who I am and where I'm coming from.  It was so comforting to meet a group of people who understood me without barely knowing me, because we share Jesus' love.  Unfortunately a couple of the members of this Sunday School class are leaving Seoul within the next month or so.  I'm bummed that I won't have the opportunity to get to know them on a deeper level.  I'm sure as they leave, other people will come, and I'll have a chance to meet new people, new friends.

I just feel so blessed and so loved that God has put me here in Seoul exactly where I am so that I could meet these people, become part of this church, and find a place and a people where I will be able to learn and grow as I work to continually glorify God.  God is so good that He would remind me I am loved and I am His in the midst of difficult times when I feel so unloved and far from everyone.

What a mighty, good, beautiful, just, powerful, saving, loving God we serve!!!

KendallCooke

stupid...frustrating...growl!

Today has been a totally stressful and discouraging day!  All I wanna do right now is climb up onto the roof of my apartment building and scream at the top of my lungs until I lose my voice.  As you may have guessed, Korea has thrown me another curve ball. 

This afternoon at work, I was asked to go to lunch with the girl at work who acts as liaison between my bosses and the teachers.  I knew as soon as she asked me to lunch that it was bad news...we never go to lunch together just the two of us.  I tried to think about what could possibly be wrong but finally decided on just waiting to hear what my new big problem was.  We went to lunch, and upon sitting down, she told me that a bunch of my K parents have been writing to my bosses saying that they think I'm mean and lacking in compassion and that I'm expecting too much out of their children and pushing them too hard.  I think my jaw hit the floor...for a number of reasons. 

First of all, when I first got my K kids from the previous teacher, my bosses via Vickie, the liaison, continuously reminded me that my K students were WAY behind where they should be in the curriculum.  They told me that the previous teacher had done too much playing and not enough teaching, and it was my responsibility to have these students on track with the curriculum by the time I left.  It sounded like quite an undertaking.  But I like a challenge, so I was confident that I would be able to push these students to their full potential.  Thus, I began implementing changes in the classroom so that more of our time was directed to learning all the stuff that my students were already supposed to know.

Secondly, when Vickie was observing my classes, she let me know that I was too lack on my K students' behaviors, and they should be required to stay in their seats and raise their hands, etc.  So I've instilled these rules and expectations in my classroom, and I had thought that I had done it successfully.  But apparently my antics are evil, mean and more likened to a National Guard Drill Sergeant than a Kindergarten teacher.

The next reason I was so shocked to hear all these issues from Vickie is that my ENTIRE life people have told me over and over and over how good I am with kids, how well I interact with them, how I should become a teacher, etc.  My entire life I've heard this.  And before coming to Korea, I was actually beginning to buy into some of it.  I thought, hey, maybe I am good with kids; maybe I do have a gift.  And then I moved to Korea and got punched in the face by my inadequacy as a teacher.  It's so frustrating.  So disheartening.  So putting me in a terrible mood, which obviously is only gonna make things worse.

Normally, I wouldn't let what other people were saying affect me so much.  I'd brush it off and move on, confident that I'm not mean or lacking in compassion or expecting too much out of my students.  My students are completely capable of everything we do in class.  And I think we have a good balance between having fun/being goofy and learning.  Unfortunately in this situation, I don't have the luxury of choosing how to run my class.  I work at a private school, so my school is fully funded by parents that are willing to pay to send their children to our school.  Thus, when a parent thinks there is some issue or if their child comes home with some problem, these parents call into the school and demand that things be changed or they will take their children to another private school.  Basically, parents run my school.  They decide everything.  And now that a bunch of parents have decided I'm a "drill sergeant" who hates smiling and hugs and fun, I have to bend to their every whim and ensure that their children are happy or I run the serious risk of losing my job.

The worst thing is that I'm sitting here driving myself crazy complaining about all this stuff, because I don't want to be complaining about this.  There are a million other more important things going on in the world for me to be thinking about and focusing my attention on.  Hopefully now that I've put all my feelings on the matter out there, I'll be able to drop it and move on.  Tomorrow is a new day.  And I knew there would be numerous obstacles and difficulties in moving to Korea.  I chose to still do it, and overall, I'm glad I did.

I guess I'd just appreciate your prayers or any possible thoughts on how I should be more adequately interacting with/teaching Kindergarten ESL children.

I hope all is well for you all back in the States.  I miss you all and love you dearly!!!

KendallCooke

Decisions, decisions

This morning I went to a new church that is about a 10-12 minute walk from my apartment on the campus of Yonsei University.  I was excited to try a church that is so close to where I live.  Up to this point, I have been attending a church that is about an hour and a half to 2 hours round trip, in Itaewon, every Sunday night.  The church in Itaewon is great.  It is a new church plant with a bunch of young adults, and the pastor and people are really great.  It's a fiery church that puts a great emphasis on the power of prayer, and the worship and sermons are phenomenal.  I really like the church, but it is sooooo far away.  So today I wanted to try something closer.

The people at the church this morning were really great!  Everyone was so friendly.  Numerous people came up to talk to me, and I met some pretty cool people.  The church at Yonsei is a much more family oriented church.  There are lots of families and children, but not as many young adults (though there is a small group of them.)  The service was nice, but it was pretty slow and kinda lacking in passion and fire.  There is a young adult Sunday school class, which is a perk, because maybe I'll be able to meet some people and make some real friends/connections with people that live in my area of the city.

So now I'm trying desperately to make a decision on which church to become a regular attender at.  The Itaewon church is awesome and fiery and feels great to me, but it is ridiculously far away.  The Yonsei church is close and the people are nice, but I feel like the people are lacking any real passion.  Back in high school, I read a book and in it the author, a pastor, wrote that whenever he and his wife moved around, they picked a church just by proximity to their house.  His reason was that attending church and worshipping and being in a community of believers was not about him and his comfort, but it was actually all about God.  Everything about church is for God, done for God, meant for God. 

I completely understand this point but am still struggling to decide which church I should go to.  This is a big decision, because whichever church I decide to go to, I really wanna get involved and start actively participating in the church.  I guess I'd really appreciate your prayers as I continue to work through which church I should attend.  Thanks in advance!

It's All About Him,

KendallCooke

Life of the Alien

I've lived like an outcast in Korea up to this point.  But I finally got my Alien Registration Card (ARC) last week, so I'm officially registered as an alien in Korea.  This was especially good timing, because I had to get my ARC before I could open a bank account.  And I had to open a bank account before I could get paid for my first full month of teaching.

I'm happy to say after 6+ weeks of picking up change off the ground and portioning food and refusing to turn on the heat all in order to stretch the money I came to Korea with, I have officially been paid.  And boy, does it feel good!  We are on break from school this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for Lunar New Year (aka Chinese New Year), and I woke up bright and early on this first day of break to go to the grocery store and actually buy some real food with my hard earned money.  I felt like the richest person ever walking around and actually being able to pick out some good stuff to eat.  Additionally, I was able to purchase a simple, little coffeemaker that I have been dying to buy since I got here.

It's amazing how simple my life has become since coming to Korea.  I live in a studio apartment half the size of my parent's living room.  I know approximately 10 people.  I currently own a handful of shirts, a couple pairs of pants, and a couple pairs of shoes.  I eat ramen far too often to admit.  I spend my nights after work and my free time walking around and exploring my neighborhood, reading books, or occasionally (when I can get internet service in my apartment) watching a couple American tv shows.  It's such a simple, stripped down life.  No big house.  No car.  No endless wardrobe.  No fancy meals.  And yet when I step outside and feel the sun's rays on my face and the wind blowing in my hair, I feel so good...so in touch with my surroundings..so alive.  The other stuff doesn't seem to matter.  In this simplicity, I find it easier than ever to find myself and to understand those around me.  The distractions that so often have captured my attention have been ripped away.  It's freeing and exciting and sometimes scary.  And this might not make any sense to any of you back in the States, but it's been on my mind for awhile.  And I guess this blog is for me to tell you what's on my mind afterall.

I've read that you all are in the midst of a terrible snowstorm, being nicknamed, "Snowmaggedon."  So stay warm, be safe, and know I'm praying for you.

It's All About Him,

KendallCooke