Korea vlog Installment #1

Video!

I started getting ready to pack for Korea last night, but I needed some music to listen to.  As I was on my computer, I thought it would be a good idea to record the packing process as a part of the Korea adventure.  After the filming and editing, I got a snack of baked plantains and vanilla bean ice cream... But I did pack a whole suitcase afterward.  :)

See other vlog entries: Two, Three, Four, Five

Mr. Gene's in the paper!

Check this out, guys!  My dear friend is famous!

That's him looking especially dapper in the bottom right corner of the bottom picture!  This is part of an article by The Newnan Times-Herald.
"Student-Vet Connect: Veterans bring history alive for students"
Author: ALEX McRAE, Date: May 21, 2011, Publication: Times-Herald, The (Newnan, GA)

And something else?!
HIS BOOK IS FREAKIN' IN PRINT!!

I have a signed copy on my bookshelf this very moment!
It's being sold at local bookstores, the Peachtree City Books-A-Million, and Barnes and Noble wants to sell it, too!
Talk about awesome!

This is truly one of my proudest moment from my favorite adventure.  Hooray!

New Obsession: Crocheted shoes

Millie and I were wandering around downtown Abbeville and stopped in at Abbey's Alley.  It was there that we beheld the first pair of beautiful crocheted shoes.

(Imagine beautiful pictures of the prettiest shoes here.)

Unfortunately, the shoes were to large for Millie and too small for me.  You can imagine our bliss when similar ones were spotted at Rue21 and Wet Seal at the mall last weekend!

Project: Korea update

Well, friends, God is amazing.

I found out Wednesday that, if I didn't get my apostille in the mail by Monday, my visa would not be completed in time and I wouldn't be able to make it to my job in Korea.  Over the next few days, I was in a strange fog of disbelief, resignation, and a lack of direction.  It was pretty miserable.  On Sunday, the Lord gave me a very sweet time with Him at night church in Greenville, and we got to talk together on the ride home for two hours.  I felt blissful when I got home at 2 Monday morning.

Monday afternoon, I got a call from my dad back in Georgia.

"I have your apostille in my hand!  It came in the mail today!"

"WHAT?!"

Disbelief all over again!

It's a little ridiculous how many crappy roadblocks I've had to go through.

Here's an update on what's going on with Project: Korea.

I've got the job, I've got the excitement, and I've got the supportive friends and family, but I don't have the authentication for my FBI clearance.  It was hard enough getting those blasted fingerprints!  I thought I was golden once I got that manila envelope in the mail saying I wasn't a criminal, but then I had to get an apostille for this sucker.  Sure, I've gotten an apostille before, I knew what to do.  Ah, but this is a federal document, so I have to get a federal seal for it, so I have to send it to the U.S. Dept. of State and ask the Authentication Office to apostille it specially.

The Authentications Office received my documents, my check to pay for the fee, and a prepaid envelope on May 9th.  My recruiter says that it's strange that it's taken them this long.  I've emailed them inquiring about the status of my request 4 times and I've used their website question box twice.  No word.  Nothing.

When I think about it, I start to panic.

What if I don't get this in time?  I won't get my visa.  I won't make it to Korea for the start of my job.  I won't have a job.  I'll be lost again.

I really, really don't want that.

The next thing I'll think about after the panic is God's sovereignty and how He's worked through this whole process.  He gave me this position, you know.  He gave me this dream.  He hooked me up with Amanda and with Emily and with Footprints Recruiting.  He prepared me for years so I would be ready for that interview and so I'd be excited to go to this other country.  He gave me that internship two springs ago so I'd learn to enjoy teaching ESL to young kids.

And He loves me.  He loves me very much.

He sees my unrest, and He knows that He's so competent.  He wants me to lean on Him.  He is the only One I can lean on.  He's the only one in control.  And He knows all those people in the Authentication Office.  He knows the situations in their DC community.  And He knows all of my situation, too.

It's interesting when trust is the only option.  Because, really, what else can I do?  I am helpless and hopeless, but I have my God.

And He has me.

Korean Culture: Bath houses

Did you know there are public bath houses in Korea?  I remember giggling in elementary school when I saw the illustrations and read about the Japanese bath houses.  In Korea, you pay $4-$8 to get in.  The spa treatments are luxurious.  The men and women are separate, and I've read that, once you try it, you're hooked, but I'm not so sure about this one.

I'll have to revisit this topic after getting there and discussing/experiencing the bath houses.

Via Wishbone Clever

"Bath houses are great for people who are comfortable with their own bodies and at ease with the nudity of others. I am neither. And yet this is the year I've chosen to be uncomfortable, so off I went."

-Cat Lincoln-

"Discomfortable: Korean Bath House"

Korean Culture: Dating

I'm pretty bummed; Blogger lost my post on Korean couples from a couple days ago (but Blogger is in the processes of restoring it).  Here's one I'd saved on Korean dating to make up for it:

Please don't think that I'm planning on getting a Korean boyfriend once I get over there, because that is not going to happen.  But, after my last post about Korean culture, I was still interesting the couples and dating scene.  I've done some research and I've got some interesting cultural differences show you.