when people asked me why i was going to Korea, my most common answers were to learn korean/culture and make some money. the answer that i practically never mentioned was that i was going to spend more time with my dad. i feel like my dad is a mystery to many people including myself. just in case you were wondering, my parents are not divorced. in fact, i think their marriage is one of the healthiest Korean marriages i've ever seen in our parents' generation! but just to clarify, here's my E! True Hollywood Story:

when i was in elementary school, my parents opened up a dry cleaners in downtown SF. unfortunately, it did very poorly, and we went bankrupt. my dad saw an opportunity to make some dough in Korea doing some kinda business. he left my 4th grade winter and did decently in the beginning. but after a couple of years, the infamous IMF pounced on Korea, and my family took a pretty hard hit. this was the start of my dad's cycle of seeing great opportunities and failing business after business to this very day.

tangent: for those of you who wondered why you thought i was an only child, this is pretty much why. after not living with a father for twelve years, you learn to grow up quickly and live independently. sure i could be a brat, but i, Dr. Phil, strongly suggest that my "only child" persona is mainly due to my independent behavior and disposition as a result of environmental factors.

i think i held an unspoken bitterness towards my dad throughout high school. i really could not comprehend why we lived separately AND STILL struggle financially. i mean, let's at least struggle together as a family, right? but yeah, through many absent years, my eyes started viewing my father as a familiar stranger. it had even gotten to the point where i was afraid of how i would react if he were to pass away. would i even cry for him? i honestly did not know.

luckily, there's a happy ending to this story. in approximately seven hours, i will have been in Korea for exactly six weeks. a lot can happen in six weeks. as i reflect on the weekends that i have spent with my dad, i am indescribably grateful to God for allowing me to spend some quality time with my physical father. i have gotten to the point where i can actually look forward to visiting him after church. i even prefer having him move in with me if he did not have his lease contract. he is no longer a familiar stranger in my eyes. rather, he is once again the father i once knew in my early childhood. if he were to pass away, would i cry for him? you wouldn't believe it, but i am actually typing in tears right now just thinking about it.

now is that touching or what?!

my dad tells me many wonderful stories about his past. i particularly love hearing stories about my grandfather whom i never met. literally, every single person, who's ever mentioned my grandfather, tells me that he was such a respectable man. my dad told me that when teenagers used to bow and greet my grandfather, he would bow even lower and the teenagers would feel really embarrassed because of his humility. although he only lived in San Francisco for a few years, everyone in the Korean enclave knew who he was. when he passed away, they say that he received more flowers at his funeral than the mayor of San Francisco did at the mayor's funeral. pretty awesome, huh? i feel like whenever i listen to these stories, i'm having a personal "Godfather Part 2" experience. my grandfather was truly gangster.

you know, i actually had a pretty terrible Friday. everything from chronic diarrhea to bipolar students to cancelled meetings. it was just a BAD day. but you know what cheered me up a lot? watching the junior class' "Had A Bad Day" video on my ipod. that video seriously does wonders for me. anyways, as opposed to crappy Friday, today's Sunday was very wonderful. i learned which bus to take to get dropped off right in front of church. i learned that if i transfer correctly every time, it takes exactly one hour to get to church, which is freakin' good considering how far away i live from church. i actually understood much of today's sermon, which wasn't Christ-centered, but at least i understood that it wasn't. today's Bible study also went much better than last week's. well, i guess ANYTHING would have been better than last week, but i actually enjoyed teaching today. last week, we supposedly had 62 students. today, we only had 48. yeah, ONLY 48. i gave the kids a good laugh though when i accidentally translated "miracle" as "fainting" in Korean (기적 vs. 기절). after Bible study, this little boy who was really impressed came up to me and told me that i was REALLY good at English. haha. like i said, a very wonderful Sunday!

here are some pictures i don't really feel like explaining, so just make up your own story. i hope you too, will have a very wonderful Sunday.





Thought of the Day: 32,000.
Song of the Day: MercyMe-Homesick

we had our teachers' dinner tonight. i ate so much. i didn't know our staff were such party animals. i actually had to leave early cause i was tired of talking about work and felt really tired. for all i know, they could all still be at Waroo Waroo or whatever it's called.


the much talked about pineapple soju of Korea.

the 선생님 and 원장님.

and our wonderful 실장님.

our staff is wonderful, but i really just do not click with them. that's alright though. i spend most of my time with the students anyways. work is alright, but weekends are hella better. i'm so happy tomorrow (or today) is friday!

it's cold in Korea...

and i have diarrhea.

Thought of the Day: Hanah.
Song of the Day: Green Day-Maria

sleep has been erratic lately. yesterday, i had a pretty nice nap during my break at work, but when i got home, i crashed at 11:30 and woke up at 9:30 this morning. today, i couldn't fall asleep at work, and it is now 11:33. not tired at all yet.

i guess everyday is somewhat erratic. today, i decided to get a haircut somewhere around the neighborhood, so i went into the closest place from my apt. i usually like to tell people beforehand that "i'm from America, so i'm not that good at Korean," just to save any embarrassment. they usually treat you much nicer and speak a lil slower. so the girl cutting my hair, who couldn't have been too much older than me, starts making conversation...

girl: how old are you?
me: 23.
girl: *gasp*
me: why?
girl: you just look so much older!
me: oh.
girl: do you drink well?
me: (what the!) um...i drink sometimes.

first of all, i get that age reaction a lot in Korea. second, i'm realizing more and more how much alcohol is such a big part of this corrupted culture. i forget if i mentioned this, but they'll usually ask you if you want soju after you order at a restaurant. so yeah, she straight up asked me if i drank well as part of making conversation.

then i had a not-so-nice interaction with the bank lady. i was trying to transfer some money from my Korean account to my American account. after filling out an application, the lady asked me something that i couldn't understand. she repeated herself. i told her that i didn't understand because i was born from the states. she repeated herself louder. i told her again that i didn't understand. she repeated again even more frustrated. after she found someone who could translate, i told them ok to proceed the transaction. in the end, they told me that i couldn't transfer directly from my account. just cash. dude, that lady was mean...freakin' repeating louder and crap.

the weather got super cold all of a sudden. it's been around the fifties and low sixties, which is practically a frozen winter in southern California. all my coworkers have been telling me that i'm going to die this winter since i'm so unconditioned. ugh. i can't sleep half-naked anymore. gotta bust out the long pajama pants and Happy Feet slippers.

if you've been praying for me, the Lord has answered one of your prayer requests. i am going to start meeting with an older brother (from the states) for accountability! he's an old yg friend who happens to do a good job of keeping up with me. please pray for fruitful meetings and spiritual growth. thank you, friends.

Thought of the Day: Element.
Song of the Day: Cool-Blue Eyes

when i read other's people's blogs/xangas, everyone's life sounds so boring. i guess i'm the only one in the world (along with PP) who's having an eventful life. nevertheless, eventful has its ups and downs as well.

a few nights ago, i found a really ugly green mirror in the garbage. i totally adopted it and cleaned her up to hang on my wall. now i have a mirror in my place, and the best part is that it was free! kinda reminds me of the book that i'm reading with one of my classes, "Because of Winn-Dixie."

i finally got to meet up with one of my close cousins, Nakyu. he graduated as a mechancial engineer and did all this ROTC stuff too. right now, he's doing his army duty but serving as a freakin' officer; second in command in his company or something. but we hung out last night and had a lot of fun. first off, we were feeling extra macho and masculine, so we watched

it was actually pretty enjoyable just as a handful of guys have mentioned before. but just for the record, Nakyu chose the movie; not me! then we had dinner and tore up the noraebang, 1 on 1 stylez. i love how they update their "pop songs" just like the states. anyways, my cousin has a very subtle sense of humor that cracks me up. for example,

me: (korean). i need a toothbrush.
nakyu: (korean). oh, i have one right here! i got it ready JUST for you.
me: (english) oh thank you!
nakyu: (english). don't be shy.

or

(listening to Queen's "We Will Rock You").
nakyu: oh, this is my song!
me: ?
nakyu? "we will, we will, NAK-YU!"

ahhahahahahah. whatever, you had to be there.

lately, i've been really proud of myself for never taking the wrong subway, not even once! today, i was humbled. not only did i take the wrong train, but i also waited and waited for the returning train on the wrong side. i was twenty minutes late to church today. going to my dad's place, i also overslept on the train and had to backtrack again. finally, i have a really bad habit of knocking my head into those ceiling handles just about every single time i get up to exit. i know every Korean in the car sees it happen. freakin' subways, man.

i started teaching Bible study at my church today. man, that crap was so bad. when i asked the students if anyone needed a pen, only three people rose their hand. ten minutes later, one of the helpers asked the students in Korean if anyone needed a pen. about 30 hands went up all at once. i am working with students of all kinds of levels, shapes, and sizes. Bible study was supposed to take one hour. i purposely ended it in about 35 minutes. life is tough. because church has been so unfulfilling, i started downloading sermons from City Light and Westminster. *sigh* it is so good to hear God's Word being preached again. even just listening to Pastor Dennis pray in English almost made me cry. comprehension is wonderful.

i've been here for one month and a week. it finally occurred to me that i need to chill out these days and start thinking more optimistically. everyday, i muse about my crappy Korean or lack of spiritual accountability. i have a bad habit of worrying about things that i cannot even change. i gotta see things on the brighter side and start appreciating every little experience. in a lot of ways, i feel like a stranger everywhere i go. my conversation can only go so far. i can only understand so much. i recently read in this book that Korean-Americans do not have two separate cultures; rather, we have a third culture. we are not fully accepted in the U.S. and not fully accepted in Korea. we are seen as just Koreans or mere Americans respectively. i can definitely relate to this idea. my culture conflict also reminds me of my Christian identity in a non-Christian world. although i may look, speak, and even act like a non-Christian, i know that i do not fit in here. my true home is in Heaven where i am fully accepted without a doubt. "I've never been more homesick than now."-MercyMe

random news:

-i passed my CSET. remember back in the day how i used to worry about it so much? those days are long gone now. phew!

-whenever Dinko's "Adoption Song" comes up on my ipod, i get really REALLY happy. i secretly await the day he'll send me "Adoption Song 2."

-i learned today that my dad used to call me "Gony" because that was what my brother used to call me since he couldn't pronounce my Korean name when he was really young. i freakin' never knew!

-i weighed myself at my cousin's place yesterday. i supposedly lost eight pounds since i got here.

-post offices in Korea are closed on Saturdays. that caused a great burden to my back.

-my nephew lied that he had crashed at my place a few weekends ago. i wonder what he really did that weekend.

-i played basketball with all these hyungs who were half-drunk on friday. the sad part is that my team lost to them many times.

Thought of the Day: Grandpa stories.
Song of the Day: Don McClean-Vincent

remember that short-lived show, The Lyricist Lounge Show? well, they had a couple of skits on youtube, so i was really happy. here's my favorite one:



earlier tonight, i had some serious thoughts about quitting my job. after a few more serious thoughts, i came to realize that God wants me to stay. don't worry, y'all. work is alright. it's just the hours that really suck.

Thought of the Day: 순대국.
Song of the Day: Cool-작은 기다림

i've consistently been going to bed between 12 and 1. every night, i can't fall asleep til after 2. unfortunately, tonight is no different but tonight's insomnia seems a lot worse. it's already 2:13 and i still feel pretty dang awake. you should know by now that whenever i can't fall asleep, i just look through my old blog entries. i am so cool.

i realized that my senior year in college was a really stressful year. i was pretty overwhelmed with school and tutoring. i was also really uncertain about post-graduation plans like Korea. for some reason, this whole Korea business doesn't seem like a big deal to me. i feel like i'm just living my normal life with no major changes. maybe i'm just very well adjusted to everything here, or maybe the harsh reality still hasn't hit me yet. in exactly two and a half hours, it will be one month since i came here. before i know it, one year will be right before my eyes. time is so weird.

ok, i'm finally tired. that didn't take too long. sorry about the boring entry.

Thought of the Day: Kobe.
Song of the Day: Koyote-Profile

"I can't believe we're in Korea!"
-Priscilla



doesn't this picture look much better with the actual person in it?



we had a pizza party back at my place. you can see how small the pizza is just by comparing it to Priscilla's small hand. it was so "cute."



ain't no party without girls from Yonsei. Grace Cho will do.



then we hit up the overrated Red Mango.



and this is a random picture that i just like. so many translucent colors.

Thought of the Day: Report cards.
Song of the Day: 2pac-Life Goes On

this blog is turning into a photo album. since i always talk about my work, i wanna give you a glimpse of my working environment...



that is the front desk secretary. i used to have her job when i used to work at the Elite in Irvine. i ABHORED that job. for some reason, we all call her 선생님. she is really really nice and cheerful-the best first face to see coming into work.



this is where you'll usually find 실장님, my second boss. the door in the back is where the teachers take their five minute breaks in between classes and talk about how much they love/hate their classes. when you turn to the right, you'll enter the hallway full of classrooms.



the narrow hallway. it's not as intimidating as it looks.



this is what our classrooms look like.






this is the view that i get from my "Yale" classroom. i really like looking out our window.






and this is a nonsensical car that i saw outside of a McDonald's. i don't even wanna know who drives that shameless crap. you could tell i took a really poor picture cause i didn't want people seeing me showing a lot of interest.

unfortunately, i can't seem to take pictures of anyone's faces. people always turn away or i feel stupid for asking them to take a picture. i guess this is why i never had a digital camera in the first place.

i had a chance to speak with our all-star teacher, Joseph (or Joe), on the bus today. he's been living in Korea for 7 years (was it?) and even has a Korean girlfriend that he's been dating for three years now! he just teaches and takes some time to tour with his band. it was really encouraging to meet someone so passionate about teaching. i could totally relate to everything he was talking about when it came to improving teaching styles and figuring out students. he's just a very optimistic guy who loves music and Korean culture even though he's a white guy. the only problem is--he's not a christian.

whenever i talk to nonchristians and i hear them talk about what makes them happy in life, i cannot help but think VANITY! their purpose in life is flawed. they are deceived and always seek more. i've gone on mission trips, participated in outreach, and even took a Perspectives course. but why is it that i lack boldness with the "relationship ministries?" why am i so self-conscious when i pray in front of my co-workers or relatives? everyday in the states, i used to ask God to give me at least one person that i can evangelize to. well, he's given me more than enough in Korea and now i'm chickening out. if you've ever listened to dc Talk's "What If I Stumble", you'll know that i totally feel that song these days. would God use me like He used Moses.

Thought of the Day: 1209
Song of the Day: Davi-Romance

there are these beer commercials of Jang Dong Gun that come out a lot. every time they come out, i always laugh to myself cause in my eyes, he comes off as an alcoholic. but of course, the commercial glorifies his desire for MAX beer. i'm not a beer drinker, but if i was forced to drink a Korean beer, i would choose MAX. it's amazing how these commercials work!

i was also watching some random youtube stuff, and there was a scene with two guys eating hamburgers. *sigh* i didn't realize until now that i haven't had in n' out in over 3 weeks. perhaps, this withdrawal could explain my mood swings. curse you, Californians!



yesterday morning, i walked all the way to the subway area just to buy some bananas, but the freakin' truck wasn't there! i saw no solution to this problem, so i decided to resort to cereal. i went to this secret market last night with Meena and Kathy after work. well, it really wasn't secret; i just didn't know about it. anyways, i decided to buy some Korean milk and cereal for the first time. unfortunately, half way through the line, i realized that i didn't have any money because i had bought that stupid spaghetti. on my way to work today, however, i saw stupid Bananaman with his stupid bananas. i hate that man. SO, i went back to the secret market tonight and bought my goods. i wonder how they're going to taste tomorrow morning. haha. do you really have to guess why i chose the ESL milk?



i had Korean pizza for the first time in a long time today. if you look closely, you can see the potatoes, corn, and huge pieces of bacon on the pizza. whacky Koreans. and yeah, you're supposed to eat pizza with pickles. *shrug* when in Rome, right?



here is a picture of my bed and desk that i forgot to upload. the desk was originally my dining table, but my dad had the brilliant idea of sticking it perfectly between my bed and dresser. before that, everything was done on the floor.



here is a picture of my bathroom. in Korea, you wear slippers in the bathroom cause the floor is usually wet from the curtainless showers. anybody notice my half-naked blooper? *smirk*



finally, we have a very boring picture of my mailbox. unlike the states, my box is empty almost every single day. i don't even get junk mail, so i only check my mail like once a week.

Thought of the Day: Bananaman!
Song of the Day: Muse-Hysteria

as i see hundreds of different Koreans everyday, certain faces or gestures remind me of particular people in the states. then i start fantasizing about how so-and-so would have turned out if he/she had lived in Korea. so i can pretty much see the fob in all of you guys. haha. of course, some people are easier than others. it's an interesting phenomena.

today, i asked one of my students what her favorite food was. she told me Spaghetti! immediately, a waving crave for Italian food just swept over me. i HAD to eat some sort of Italian food for dinner tonight. so during my break, i walked down the streets of Mokdong, desperately seeking any signs that could meet my needs. i don't know how but my eyes spotted this small Spaghetti place. the food was a bit pricier than what i'm used, but i had exact change to buy myself a meal. i ordered this meat spaghetti thing. i ate this meat spaghetti thing. i regretted eating this meat spaghetti thing. more than being upset with the restaurant, i was mad at myself for actually fantasizing the thought that Korea might have decent Italian food. the worst part was that it was 6,000won. i could've bought so much kimbab with that. 아깝다!

i can finally say that work sucks! i'm teaching SSAT (SAT for middle school students who want to go to private schools in the states) to different junior high students. it is absolutely impossible to teach this crap in a fun way. these kids hate life. i always knew that Korean students had to study a lot, but i never realized how bad it was until today. a typical student in Korea has two or three different hakwons they have to go to after school. you wouldn't believe how much homework i'm forced to give my students either. not to mention that English is quite the difficult language to learn on top of the other crap you have to learn and deal with from school, other hakwons, friends, and family. i'm starting to understand why Korean adults turn out the way they do. everything is all screwed up with the educational system. the educational system is all screwed up because of population and economic factors. it's no wonder that the majority of my students are studying English, so that they can live in a different country. so yeah, these are the kinds of students i'm seeing everyday. man, misery sure loves company. somebody get me a clown or something.

you know what's crazy? i was randomly looking at one of our Elite pamphlets with a list of 1600/2400 SAT scores that our hakwon produced. so there were all these pictures of random students from previous years... but then i spotted a familiar face! CHARLIE from Miami!!! i don't know. i guess it was just crazy seeing such a thing in Korea. i actually spotted this first week i was at work. i just always forgot to write about it. there, it's off my chest. go, Charlie!

Thought of the Day: Bananas, milk, and cereal.
Song of the Day: Muse-Starlight

i had a pretty nice Choosuk. i finally learned how to play "GO/STOP", so i was really happy about that. i finally understand why my dad would stay up all night playing with my uncles. i am so impressed with myself cause not only did i learn how to play a pretty complicated game that was taught in Korean, but i also won the most money from my cousins. haha. they were like, "wait a minute. now this isn't supposed to happen." good times.

a few interesting facts:

-one of my nephews is a Jazz musician. he was originally doing guitar, but he is changing to saxaphone. he also told me a lot about his sinful past while he was drunk. looks can be SO deceiving. his name is 경환, so i ALWAYS thought people were calling my name (경원) when they were really calling him.

-my niece is the best female singer i've ever heard in real life. she's so good that she's actually pursuing a singing career, probably in the CCM field. she is also super super nice and keeps calling me 오빠 when she's supposed to be calling me 삼촌.

-my second oldest cousin is a hardcore Korean 아저씨. he smokes incessantly, drinks pretty much like an alcoholic, cusses fluently, and has a raspy laugh. although he comes off as being really mean, he's actually really nice and funny. you need one of these guys when you're going on a trip.

today, one of my uncles came home pretty drunk. he started explaining to me that he was so sorry and sad that he had forgotten to give me some spending money the last time i had visited him. then he started explaining how he felt really really bad for my mom who had to live such a lonely life without her husband. he got so worked up that he started shedding tears and my aunt was just laughing at him. it was kinda funny and sincere at the same time. it's nice to see my uncle care so much for his younger sister like that. but yeah, he gave me alotta money in this envelope that he had been saving up for a while. it's so ironic how the rich can give so little, but the poor can give so much. thank you, 외삼촌.

there was this one night where i woke up in the middle of the night cause i felt these itchy bumps all over my body. freaking hives! i put some clothes on, went to the convenient store right outside my place and asked if they had any allergy medicine. unfortunately, they didn't have any, and i didn't know any place that did. i was screwed! the next day, i found out that i had just gotten bit up like crazy by two mosquitos that had somehow gotten into my room. tonight, i found two more mosquitos in my room. i killed the first one but had several failed attempts with the second. looks like i'm gonna get some more hives again tonight.

so the moment you've all been waiting for...(drumroll). PICTURES! it turns out that my cell phone can take some pretty dang good pictures, so i'm pretty happy that i won't be needing a digital camera. enjoy.





nice little night view of our vacation area.




this thing was alive and expensive. too bad it didn't even taste good.




we went fishing with just some string and a can of shrimp. there was a big sign that said "NO FISHING," but everyone else was doing it.




this is what i caught in literally the first minute. unfortunately, we somehow lost the bag of fish that we had caught and went home really sad.




my cousin was munching away at these as soon as we got to the condo. pretty good stuff.




this was the view from our condo. i cannot tell you how much this picture does not do justice.




is that the biggest 고구마 you ever saw or is that the biggest 고구마 you ever saw?





here are a buncha places that i see every single day as i go/come back from work.
























finally, we arrive at my place. as you can see, i have a variety of foods to choose from. i absolutely LOVE the delivery in Korea. these days, i'm actually trying to be better about spending money and eating healthy, so i don't order delivery everyday like i used to. but dude, there is nothing better than delivery 짜장면 in Korea. *drool*




that would be where i keep my shirts, jackets, and sweaters. the door to the right is where i enter, and if you look closely, you'll notice the awesome calendar that Zen got me before i left. everyday, i can be reminded of the friends that i left back in the states right before i leave for work.




this is my laundry machine. Koreans don't use dryers so we gotta airdry everything as you can see. it really isn't too bad.




that would be my kitchen that i barely use. the small table to the left is where i dine by myself. it looks kinda sad and pathetic, but i feel no hints of unhappiness whenever i eat.




and finally, this is the Priscilla clothing store that i always pass by. every time i pass by it, i always remember that Priscilla is coming really soon, and i get really excited. and what do you know, the devil just called me today! her voice never sounded so beautiful to my ears. i wonder if she noticed my awkward English.


i'll be taking a lot more pictures from now on...and that's a rap.

Thought of the Day: Priscilla Noona!
Song of the Day: Crystal Lewis-Healing Oil

i am at 서락산 right now on vacation. i met my oldest cousins/nephews for the first time yesterday. it was quite an interesting experience. my dad and i got there around 11:30 and both of my cousins were butt drunk (11 bottles of soju!). i spent the next two hours listening to my cousin repeatedly tell me that he grew up with my dad and that they were practically friends. then he would go on to explain that his kids had to call me me 삼촌 because i was technically their uncle. it's crazy cause they actually do even though we're like literally the same age. haha. just spending time with this part of the family has been absolutely weird.

anyways, Korea's countryside is quite wonderful. it's pretty cool to see the fall season in effect for the first time in your life. it's funny cause out of the 10 of us, not a single person brought a camera. SO, we're just busy taking pictures with our cell phones, which actually take some quality pictures. hopefully, i can figure out how to upload pictures onto my computer, so that i can upload pictures onto my blog.

fyi: just in case you were wondering, there are two things that i dearly miss right now. Mexican food and Hold'em. ok, i lied. there's three. i miss accountability as well (i.e. lovefest, clusters, small group, etc.). keep this brother in prayer. pc bang time is up.

Thought of the Day: 뻔데기
Song of the Day: Above All

P.S.-if you can't read the Korean letters, just right click on the screen and go to Encoding. there should be a Korean language you can choose.

a few days ago, an old man asked me how to get to 강변 station. i told him to take the 신청 direction. he understood and thanked me. i couldn't believe i had just given directions in Korean to a Korean in Korea. that truly made my day.

i realized that more than receiving emails from fellow friends from the states, the highlight of my day is the busride to/from work. i love just listening to my ipod and looking at the fascinating streets of Korea. it still boggles my mind how 20 minutes can go by so quickly. as soon as i see my stop for work, my happiness level drops from about a 10 to a 4. *shrug* at least i still manage to have some happiness left.

i realized that little kids LOVE attention. of course this is something i always knew, but my realization only grew. when i teach my 3rd grade class, every single one of those students LOVES to raise their hands and say something that would interest me. i'm not much of a child-lover, but some of those kids i can't help but love to death. i really have to resist favortism when i teach that class.

yesterday, i went to my cousin's school's musical. this is the same cousin who is a SDA, mind you, and his school is also a SDA school. i swear, i've never seen so many Adventists all clustered together in my life. but as cynical as i was, the musical was really really good. i understood most of the dialogue and even caught some of the jokes. i was especially entertained by the traditional drumming dance that they added in the middle. even when KCN busted out with the 장구춤, i felt extremely proud to be a Korean. i'm no fob, but i definitely see much beauty and pride in our native culture. it was so cool cause even the audience was causing a commotion when the drummers came out. it almost felt like i was part of a World Cup audience or something. freaking cool.

anyways, the musical was really good cause it was about a woman from back in the day who was supposed to get married to her husband. it turned out that he was a fake, and she was really distressed about not having her right marriage. in the end, she learned to wait patiently and have faith in meeting her real husband in the future. of course, the point was that Christ is our perfect husband and He will one day come on an unexpected day, so we must wait patiently and gladly. good stuff.

추석, Korea's Thanksgiving, is this coming week, so i am going to 서락산 with my dad and some relatives. the crazy thing is that we're going with my two oldest cousins' families whom i don't have a lick of memory of. my cousins' kids, my nephews, are actually around my age-22, 21, 20, and 14 or something like that. my dad actually spent like an hour explaining our family tree and history. it turns out that my extended family has a gang of problems, and it's all unspoken and implicit. as my dad explained, MY family may not have the most money, but ours is the most envied because of our healthy relationships with one another. my dad says it's truly a blessing from God, and he thanks the Lord for it all the time. i couldn't agree any more.

today was father/son bonding day. because we couldn't get in contact with our close family friends, my dad took me out to some 감자탕! i guess my dad had been waiting a long time to be able to drink with his son, so we ate, drank, and were very merry. we talked about the good ol' days like how he used to buy me dinosaur toys even though my mom told him not to and how my grandma used to pray every night for an hour cause she would literally pray for every single person she knew in her life. my dad can't drink for crap, but we had a really good time tonight.

because i don't see my Korean improving too much, i'm trying to be a little more proactive about it. i went to Korea's biggest bookstore (and lemme tell you, it's HUGE! just ask Janet Chong Bong about it!) and bought a Speaking Korean for beginners book. i also recently found out that my phone had a Korean/English dictionary in it! i cannot tell you how wonderfully beneficial that is for me. haha. please pray that God would teach me Korean, so that i would be able to better serve Him through stronger and more effective communication.

Thought of the Day: Exit.
Song of the Day: Lord's Prayer Song