ACHOOOOOOO-SOCK!

The first weekend in October was Chuseok, which is pretty much a Korean Thanksgiving. I can safely say it's the closest thing to an American Thanksgiving because when asked what they do during this time, both students AND parents answer with, "EAT." They eat and eat and eat, then prepare more food to eat it later. It's a time to honor their ancestors and, for some, to go and visit graves and bow. Many of our students complain that they have to do this. However, they fail to mention right away that they DO get money every time they bow.

So because of the long weekend we were given thanks to Chuseok, and because the Korean Government let up on the swine flu quarantine rules, we were allowed to travel to Japan! It was an amazing time and the fun started ON the flight over! If anyone has the opportunity to fly Jeju Air... PLEASE DO! I don't think I've ever been on a flight that's so relaxed and fun! They came around with balloon animals and crazy hats SOLEY for the purpose of taking our photos! :D



Our time in Japan was short but we packed in SO much site-seeing. First we traveled to Kyoto and got to walk through bamboo forests, eat yummy sushi, visit NUMEROUS temples, went grocery shopping, encountered a monkey park at the top of a mountain, saw real Geisha's wandering the strees in Gion, posed with hundreds of wild deer for photos, got lost in the INCREDIBLY long and winding paths of Fushimi Inari, ate THE largest calzone known to man, and found treasures at the local Kyoto Flea market!







THEN, we went to Osaka where I got to meet up with my cousin and watch part of the Cirque du Soleil show, Corteo, backstage in his sound booth. Correction, the cheese box. Haha.. Apparently they call it that because it's super small and resembles a block of cheese due to the orangey color. It was awesome and somewhat strange walking backstage and seeing actors with facepaint so nonchalantly say "hello" to my cousin. Haha.. After we toured around backstage for a little bit, we ventured on our way to our final destination at Osaka's UNIVERSAL STUDIOS!




It was pretty much the same as the Universal Studios in Florida, except for the fact that EVERYTHING was in Japanese. Haha.. We even went to the E.T. ride (which, for those of you who've been to Universal would probably agree that that ride is a classic, aside from JAWS.) Well, unfortunately for us, this wasn't even a ride, but a walk-through and sort of behind-the-scenes tour narrated by Steven Spielberg. HOWEVER, it wasn't just narrated by him, because all of a sudden a Japanese voice was heard talking OVER Spielberg's. It felt like two people yelling into both of your ears at the same time. My brain hurt after that.

After Universal, we went back to our hostel for one last night of sleep (and an unexpected ninja photo shoot!)




All in all, this trip went so quickly and there was so much to do, it hardly seems like we were gone. And now we're back and into the swing of things in the dorm. This past week was no easy one either. I am reminded why God's called me here and how much He can use me in the lives of these students. Just this past week there was an uproar in a rooming situation and it was amazing to talk it through with each of them and to ultimately show them that there's a bigger picture here. These two are complete opposites of each other with certain qualities they'd like changed or worked on. The crazy thing is, I am almost CERTAIN that God ordained this whole thing from the start, which shouldn't surprise me, but is still so cool to see. Both girls have things they want to work on and the things that are driving each other crazy about the other roommate are the very things each of them want to work on! Neat how God works these things out, huh?

God's teaching me so much and revealing to me the very reasons I'm out here. The opportunity to travel out here is such a blessing, but there are so many more important reasons as to why God's called me here at this time. I honestly think about the kids that I'm ministering to and how I am paid to just pour into their lives every single day. These are things each of us is called to do and yet, I'm getting paid for this? It blows me away and yet I'm so thankful for every moment.

I love it here in Korea.
I love these people.
I love these kids.
And most of all,
I love my God.

Hugs, Blessings, and "chewy socks." ;)

Sarah