Plenty of leg room - no view! From the peeks I got out of the airplane window and then driving three hours through the country side from Seoul to Daejeon, South Korea is a gorgeous place. Mountains and mist, islands and greenery, skyscrapers and neon lights. And red crosses on. almost every building! I'm excited to explore.
Orientation today - and hopefully some time to unpack. I hope I get the hang of everything quickly. Then again, I WILL be here for....2 years!!! That's still so weird to me.
The plane flight was great. No problems (except for no window!). I met 2 other girls on the flight with TCIS - and everybody was waiting at the baggage claim! Meeting people was crazy and I don't know how many times I said, "Lyndsey Gangel, 7th grade Language Arts." Many more to come, I'm sure.
Oh, and it was so cool to fly Korean Air. I think better service than American flights. Seriously. They kept feeding us! :) They had Korean dishes (the bibimbab was great!) and glass plates and bowls. Korean characters are everywhere and as of yet mean absolutely nothing to me, but then English is everywhere too. Almost easier than Bolivia because it's clearer (although I could at least guess what the Spanish meant - no chance of that here!)
My apartment is on the second floor - two coded gates and a key and latch for me to come home. :P Adequate size, tiled floors, random furniture, and HOT! Not enough ac for me. We'll work on that.
So many papers and welcomes and people - i don't know what to do with it all!! :) I guess for now I'll just take a shower and try to get ready when I'm sweating. Breakfast at the school!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Late Nights and Delays
So I don't know why but I am definitely antsy. It's like anticipation but it's not. Actually, more like impatience. It's like, whatever I'm doing, all I want to do is get to the next thing, to move on, get on with things. Everything feels like it "takes too long." Maybe it's just delayed reaction to a long summer with not much happening. Even though 8 days seems so freaking short until I leave, it almost can't come fast enough. Not because I want to leave my family, but because I'm ready for it to finally be here. I seriously hate anticipation.
I can now type in Korean characters on my computer. That doesn't mean I have any idea what I'm saying yet....hmm...dangerous. :)
I'm reminded of the conversation I had with my brother last night. I am willing to take a step in any direction, if God will only lead me TO that step. It's easier to have initiative when granted direction and strength.
We said much else - talking till 3:30am makes for many trains of thought and theory. And lying awake till 4am the night before lends itself also to feelings and ideas a-flurry.
What do you do with 8 days?
Live it up and scramble like mad!!
I can now type in Korean characters on my computer. That doesn't mean I have any idea what I'm saying yet....hmm...dangerous. :)
I'm reminded of the conversation I had with my brother last night. I am willing to take a step in any direction, if God will only lead me TO that step. It's easier to have initiative when granted direction and strength.
We said much else - talking till 3:30am makes for many trains of thought and theory. And lying awake till 4am the night before lends itself also to feelings and ideas a-flurry.
What do you do with 8 days?
Live it up and scramble like mad!!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Random thoughts of a July 4th Weekender
Twas a lovely 4th of July weekend with the fam. Minus the Bradster. He's still determined to be a Canadian for a few more weeks! :) We saw some mandatory fireworks and had the mandatory picnic. The hamburgers, watermelon, and big family game time came the next night. Try Apples to Apples with 9 Gangels!! Today was the Wimbledon men's championship, which lasted for an exciting 7 hours! I'm not much of a tennis fan but I think we were all on the edge of our seats for this one. The Gardners left and I took off back to camp.
So here I am at the beginning of week 2 out of 3. I missed these girls - I can't wait to swing Maggie tomorrow! However, I will definitely be done parenting for awhile at the end of week 3. :) And now the countdown begins - first for days till I see Brad, then days till I leave. Honestly, I'm getting a little nervous. One of my main fears is that I'll forget something or I will pack wrong but as I was telling a friend earlier, I think that is a secondary fear, behind which is hiding my real fear of simply the unknown. Oh, AND the fact that this is PERMANENT!! *sigh* But I'm ready. There may be things that I will forget or have already forgotten, but I am so ready for this. I'm attacking things completely differently in my head than I did this past semester and I can't even really explain it. It's just different this time.
Anyway, however ready I am emotionally, we have yet to see how ready I will be physically! I only have 5 more days in my house! I haven't even bought suitcases yet. Yikes. Seriously, I'd better have thought of everything else beforehand so that packing is a cinch or I might be pulling another last-night-in-Bolivia all-nighter!!
Yeah, so, anyway, I got really hyper in the car coming up here and called all my friends but nobody could talk so I just blasted some Wicked and looked like a America's Got Talent wanna-be practicing when she thinks nobody is looking. Yeah.
And I would just like to say that Maple Brown Sugar Life cereal now rocks my world. Just saying, is all.
The end.
So here I am at the beginning of week 2 out of 3. I missed these girls - I can't wait to swing Maggie tomorrow! However, I will definitely be done parenting for awhile at the end of week 3. :) And now the countdown begins - first for days till I see Brad, then days till I leave. Honestly, I'm getting a little nervous. One of my main fears is that I'll forget something or I will pack wrong but as I was telling a friend earlier, I think that is a secondary fear, behind which is hiding my real fear of simply the unknown. Oh, AND the fact that this is PERMANENT!! *sigh* But I'm ready. There may be things that I will forget or have already forgotten, but I am so ready for this. I'm attacking things completely differently in my head than I did this past semester and I can't even really explain it. It's just different this time.
Anyway, however ready I am emotionally, we have yet to see how ready I will be physically! I only have 5 more days in my house! I haven't even bought suitcases yet. Yikes. Seriously, I'd better have thought of everything else beforehand so that packing is a cinch or I might be pulling another last-night-in-Bolivia all-nighter!!
Yeah, so, anyway, I got really hyper in the car coming up here and called all my friends but nobody could talk so I just blasted some Wicked and looked like a America's Got Talent wanna-be practicing when she thinks nobody is looking. Yeah.
And I would just like to say that Maple Brown Sugar Life cereal now rocks my world. Just saying, is all.
The end.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Raising Daughters
So it's only my second full day here at Crossroads camp, where I am nannying for Christy Vena's 3 girls and I have seen first hand how much it takes to be a mom!! Especially a mom of 3!! Wow, I'm exhausted and I don't even take of them all the time. But I wouldn't trade this time for the world - they are the best kids, they really are!! Chris and Christy have done such a good job parenting. They are a joy to take care of. It makes me excited to be a mom but only if I can do it the way she does it or how I'm sure my mom did it. Cuz I've ALSO seen the other kids that are here, whose parents are just as wonderful but who raise their kids differently. And it's NOT so much of a joy to be around them a lot of the time. Makes me think twice about having kids. I don't know if I could do it well!!
And as much as Cadie, Jordan, and Maggie love me (and I love them!) NOTHING can replace their mom. Even when the four of us have had fun and they barely realized that their mom was not there with them, I see their need for the mother's love, which I cannot give no matter how hard I try. I don't think it matters how their parents treat them, kids will always ask for their parents when they are tired or scared or hurt. It's a built-in mechanism and they have an automatic, innate trust in their parent(s), at least to some degree, even if the parents do not do good by them. Which makes me want to SHOOT parents who do nothing to earn their children's naive trust. For a child to be betrayed by a parent or treated badly by a parent must be one of the most despicable things in the world. Hallelujah for a Father who will never betray His child. For a Daddy who always catches His sons. For a Papa who successfully protects His daughters.
And as much as Cadie, Jordan, and Maggie love me (and I love them!) NOTHING can replace their mom. Even when the four of us have had fun and they barely realized that their mom was not there with them, I see their need for the mother's love, which I cannot give no matter how hard I try. I don't think it matters how their parents treat them, kids will always ask for their parents when they are tired or scared or hurt. It's a built-in mechanism and they have an automatic, innate trust in their parent(s), at least to some degree, even if the parents do not do good by them. Which makes me want to SHOOT parents who do nothing to earn their children's naive trust. For a child to be betrayed by a parent or treated badly by a parent must be one of the most despicable things in the world. Hallelujah for a Father who will never betray His child. For a Daddy who always catches His sons. For a Papa who successfully protects His daughters.
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