Christmas

Firsts

I had some firsts this year. First Christmas away from my family. First time to work on my birthday. First New Year’s church service.

I’ve been busy lately, not so much with NARPI, but with Connexus, the after school English program that NARPI shares an office with. I’ve been interviewing the Connexus students one by one and writing up recommendations for their teachers. For one week I was a substitute teacher for my friend Sarah while she visited her family in the United States.

Published

During our winter holiday, I had a chance to visit Jeju Island, and the village of Gangjeong, in particular. I wrote a reflection about my visit and it was published in the English language newsletter for people who support Gangjeong in their struggle against the construction of a naval base on the coastline of their village. I’ll copy my reflection below, but this is the link to the whole newsletter.

Solidarity Is Not a One-Way Gift

A meeting can “stir that which is deepest in us and bring it to consciousness.” This quote from Jean Vanier (p. 168 in Community and Growth) has been a theme for my recent visit to Gangjeong Village. Meeting the people of Gangjeong has stirred something deep inside of me. I’ve been so impressed by the strength and energy that sustains people’s hope and joy even though it is mixed with pain and anger.

During my first visit, I held Mama Song’s hand for the human chain and was impressed how she put away her cane and danced every dance, keeping strong while her husband was in prison. This time, as the line of construction trucks grew behind the dancing protesters, I laughed with joy to see Paco zigzagging back and forth across the street encouraging the dancers on both sides. The ability to sing and dance in Gangjeong could seem ironic to comfortable people, but it wasn’t the first time that I’ve witnessed how people who know well their own weaknesses and struggles have the freedom to fully celebrate, fully live, and fully love.

Solidarity is not a one-way gift that outsiders bring to a place like Gangjeong village. Visiting and being touched by the vibrant life is a gift. “All these can reawaken our deepest heart, recentre us, strengthen our faith, and renew our hope” (Vanier).

When I first visited in October, I appreciated the rituals of the daily mass and the 100 bows prayer.  The priest was blocked from reaching the protesters at the main construction gate by a wall of riot police, but finally after persistent pacing and prayer, he was allowed to pass and serve the Eucharist on the other side. During my December visit, the police repeatedly carried away the priests, nuns, and other congregants from the construction entrance, but they returned again and again, as they do every day. I came with friends from Grace and Peace Mennonite Church and we sang Ubi Caritas together before the human chain, ‘where there is love and charity, God is there.’

This was my second visit, but it is, I hope, one of many. I feel connected to Gangjeong; I want to come back because I have many more people to meet, places to see, and lessons to learn. I hope that other Americans can also learn from the people of Gangjeong and learn, on solid rocks like Gureombi, to build hope from the strength of community, rather than trusting fickle, dangerous nuclear weapons, which can never be a foundation for deep and lasting peace.

____

“All this can give us a greater desire to live in poverty, in insecurity, putting our trust in God” (Vanier).

Occasions for Thanksgiving

When I go so long without posting here, it becomes difficult to know what to talk about, and whether the blog is worthwhile.  The more I write, the more worthwhile it is, however, at least up to a point, so I will try to use this medium to keep you all informed of what’s going on in my life.

I think I need to refer to my calendar in order to remember what I’ve done!

Since I last posted I have moved to a new house!  Our community out-grew our 5 studio apartments and now we’re living just down the street in three three-bedroom apartments, plus two more apartments for families that didn’t live with us before.  So five out of seven apartments in our new building are for our Connexus/KOPI/NARPI community. We’ve moved in stages, and during the next few days the remaining five people will move from the old house to the new house. I moved here over a month ago but I’ve been away enough that I really have yet to settle in.

I decided to title the blog post “Occasions for Thanksgiving” because there have been two formal thanksgiving events in addition to other times that have occasioned the giving of thanks.  The first was Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving.  I went along with the Connexus teachers to our coworker/friend/community member Yoonseo’s family home on the east coast of Korea in the city of Gangneung.  I have many memories to be thankful for from this trip, especially for the chance to relax and enjoy each other, whether driving, eating, playing games, making traditional rice cakes, playing on the beach or doing touristy things like visiting a sheep farm and biking around a lake.  Five of us also visited the town of Sokcho and the famously beautiful mountain Seoraksan.

Making 송편, or traditional rice cakes for Chuseok

After Chuseok, there has been hardly a moment to relax.  I am learning to expect as common in Korea that things happen quickly without much time to prepare.  That has been especially true this last month. We moved. We had a one day “retreat” that I can appreciate if I call it a workshop instead. We ran a 5 K to benefit North Korean refugees in China. We had a baby shower for Karen. I edited a book. Then there was a meeting to prepare for the Christian Forum for Reconciliation in Northeast Asia. Then I was spontaneously invited to visit Gangjeong village on Jeju Island (I should write a whole post about that but for now I’ll just refer you to my Facebook photo album: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100459619969765.1073741830.7412615&type=1&l=d44cfd4979). Then I volunteered at the Asian Conference of Religions for Peace Forum on Migration. And then I attended a conference about conscientious objection in Korea.

These books are part of the effort to make Gangjeong a village of peace

Wait! There was a big North-American-style Thanksgiving feast in the middle of all that! I made stuffing in the rice cooker because the oven was booked for the cooking of other things, and it turned out great without even following any kind of special recipe for rice cookers and taking many liberties from the recipe that I did have.  But even more important than the stuffing was the gathering of people that came together at our office, friends and family, new faces and old friends.  Something to be thankful for.

Two friends of mine mentioned today that recently they are learning about how God loves them and has provided for them.  I realize that I have not really stopped to listen.  I’ve kept myself distracted and haven’t even stopped to notice and appreciate the good things in my life. All this time that I have been keeping busy there have been many learning opportunities and new places, ideas and friendships. Thankfulness is an effort, a choice.  It is a choice that I want to make consciously in this season.

 

 

NARPI Summer Training and Life since the Big Event

To all my blog readers, I have been very delinquent in making this blog into a useful form of communication to keep you up-to-date on my life, and I apologize. I trust, however, that you’ll be happy to forgive me and enjoy this post.

Before I start, here’s a message from Lomie, my littlest coworker, who just joined me: bn
vgyj
5kk,
She typed this interspersed with pointing to all the balls (circles) on the screen and turning on and off caps lock many times. I bribed her with a chance to borrow my shoes, so I could finish this post. Recently my shoes are one of her favorite things, along with the book Goodnight Moon and the song “Ducks Like Rain.”

(The following was originally composed as an email to be printed and shared on the fireplace at Jubilee)

Greetings from Deokso, South Korea, where I am sitting at my new desk in a freshly painted new office, trying to adjust the window for the optimum amount of fresh air without too much rain splashing in from the sign board outside. I can still make out the train station and the one tree beside the railroad tracks through the rain, but the mcdonalds sign is much clearer in the foreground. I just heard everyone oohing and groaning, so I got up and joined them to see a picture of the stream near our house inches away from overflowing onto the road. The Connexus teachers are all boiling eggs in the kitchen because they are going to make deviled eggs as their “friday activity” in class today. Fridays are always fun days for them: either games, crafts, or cooking projects.

A month ago today I was sitting in a classroom taking notes about circle processes during our Northeast Asia Regional Peacebuilding Institute Summer Training. I’m the only one in the office whose full-time priority is NARPI, so the two and a half weeks of the program were both the peak of my workload and of my work-related excitement for the year. The administrative details of housing and registration and payments were quite stressful at first, but soon things settled down and I was able to enjoy meeting the NARPI participants from all over Northeast Asia and in the second week I was able to join the NVC and Facilitation class as the course documenter. Some highlights of NARPI for me were course activities that I was able to join, such as image theater, social times like meals and whitewater rafting, cultural sharing like Mongolian dancing and a Korean hand game, and the food which was traditional Korean and so healthy and fresh: mostly grown on property at our venue the DMZ Peace Life Valley. And then there was the field trip!! We were hosted by this great little town that calls itself a “tomato peace village” and joined local teens in an elaborate scavenger hunt. Now scavenger hunts are usually one of my favorite things, but this one will be hard to beat: we harvested wormwood and potatoes, made potato pancakes and tomato shaved ice dessert (tomato patbingsu), made good-luck totem poles topped with ducks (sotdae), and even caught little fishes by hand in a kiddie pool. All this with mixed groups of local teens, Connexus teachers and NARPI participants, staff, and volunteers from China, Mongolia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US. Wow. So much fun.

Since the training, I’ve been busy organizing receipts, writing the NARPI newsletter and MCC reports, painting our new office, and getting to know the three new Connexus teachers and one new Korea Peacebuilding Institute (KOPI) staff member who have joined us since the NARPI training. There was also a church retreat last weekend, and I shared a presentation with the church members about Jubilee. Life has been pretty busy here, but it has been enjoyable. I’ve been really glad for the community spirit that is building, for evening hang-out times and for the sharing at our Thursday morning devotions.

You can read our NARPI newsletter at: http://www.narpi.net/01_About_Narpi/NARPI%20Newsletter-%20Fall%202013.pdf

My NVC and Facilitation course group at NARPI

(Photo credit Jin Song Lee)

At the Grace and Peace Mennonite Church retreat

(Photo credit Minji Park)

Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute

Lunch with new MPI friends

Over a month later, I feel like I’m still processing what I learned at Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute (MPI). Each time I reflect on the experience, different memories come to mind.  It was a rich and beautiful two weeks.

In the first week, during one of our first activities in “Peace Education: Concepts and Approaches” I described my vision of peace.  It is a daydream that I have often entertained.  Originally, the dream was set at Jubilee Partners, or rather in the woods adjacent to Jubilee property. Throughout week 1 of MPI, however, this dream slowly came to life there at Mergrande Ocean Resort, in the classroom, the restaurant, and the dome where we gathered for evening celebrations.  Here, let me tell you the story:

There is an open field in the middle of the woods.  Gradually, people start to arrive, bringing tables, chairs, blankets, musical instruments, and food.  Everyone wears their traditional clothes; they come from many different cultures from all over the globe.  The children run around and among the adults with their siblings, cousins, and new friends. One one side people are eating, sharing their food with everyone who passes by.  Another group has started singing.  Others join in with instruments.  Others start dancing.  The music and dance styles change as each person has a chance to lead. As it gets darker, people build fires and cluster around to tell stories.  The signing and dancing continues by the fireside. People are reaching the point where they lose their self consciousness and can sing and dance along with the songs and dances that had been unfamiliar to them. The hours pass in a swirl of life, laughter, bright colors, and sweet harmonies.

Our Peace Education class had 6 Filipinos (including the facilitators and the class assistant), 6 Indonesians, 1 from Vietnam, 1 from Nigeria, and then me (USA).  After we discovered how much we all liked dancing- usually Zumba- during our energizer activities, we decided to act out my dream festival by dancing for our final class presentation at the closing ceremony. Some of us had to brush up on our traditional dances (I looked up a video of the Contra dance I used to join in Athens GA), but we all found music to use and taught the rest of the class how to do a dance from our home countries.

My Peace Education class performs a Vietnamese dance

I especially loved the Indonesian dance.  We knelt on the floor, touched our shoulders, and twisted our hands to the music.  It was a very feminine dance, but even the men in our class were so graceful; it was lovely. It was my dream, condensed, embodied for the moment, a glimpse of a much greater celebration.  This is actually my vision of the kingdom of God.  What a blessing that went beyond my greatest expectations for my two week trip to Mindanao!

The second week I took a class on Trauma Healing and Reconciliation.  It was a much bigger class, and we covered alot of heavy material.  In the evenings I felt the need to de-stress, as did some other classmates.  We formed a group of swimming buddies.  This time the group included Indonesian, Vietnamese, Chinese, American, and Tedim (a Chin ethnic group in Myanmar) friends.  After a day of hearing many stories of trauma, there was nothing better than to float nearly-sleeping in the ocean, or to feel alive sliding down the water slides at the pool.

Boat-side swimming during our weekend outing

Shortly after returning from MPI, I wrote in my journal that it was like a “moment of rebirth” as described by Jean Vanier in Community and Growth.  A place to give up one’s identity before finding it reborn.  At MPI, I felt myself to be cut off from my communities, Jubilee in the US and NARPI/Connexus/KOPI in Korea, yet I was also between them, and I relied on my experiences at both communities to share who I am with my fellow MPI participants.

In the month since MPI, my work preparing for NARPI has kept me busy.  My mind has generally been focused on what to do next, even when I’ve taken time from work to visit with friends from our community, from college, from church, and from Frontiers.  In this faster pace of life, I need to remember to reflect, to rest, to celebrate, to exercise, to share my thoughts, to listen, to trust, and to dream.  Now the NARPI Summer Training is less than a month away (http://narpi.net/ if you’re interested!), and my hope is that it will be a rich and inspiring experience for all the participants, as MPI was for me.  For me too, it promises to be a great opportunity to meet people from all over, but especially this region, who seek peace, and who seek to learn from each others experiences and stories.  Amen, may it be so!

“Border areas”: Frontiers and DMZ

I’m sorry for the long delay, but I have been busy! I will try to catch up to the present in two posts! I need to mention the week of May 12 – 18 on its own, because it was full of good things.

I finally visited the Frontiers community!  Before I had attended one of their Monday night prayer meetings in Seoul, but this time I not only attended the Monday prayer meeting, but I also went home with them, had a sleepover with Cindy, went on a walk with her and Jung Joo, made 된장 (Doenjang: soy bean paste) with all the Frontiers 샘터 community members, and celebrated with lunch out and coffee at a super cute cafe!

Whew! What a rich experience! I felt so much at home during my visit. Intentional Christian community is ‘my thing.’ My kind of people. The environment where I feel like I can grow, where my heart feels light and free. I know that I will return there again. I know that celebrations really show communities in the best light… but rather than dismissing this experience as one-of-a-kind, I’d rather try to create more reasons to bring people together to celebrate throughout my life!

A few days later I had another opportunity to spend time with many like-minded people. The Korean Peacebuilding Institute (KOPI) had an advanced/professional-level restorative justice training in Inje, 강원도, and I went along to do childcare and scope out the venue (DMZ Peace-Life Valley – the same place where we’ll host NARPI in August).  It was another lovely time, though I did get a migraine and usually childcare isn’t my thing.  I enjoyed just sitting at a distance watching kids who live in urban Deokso building a house with stones and grass.  I enjoyed talking to different people who I knew from work, from church, and from Frontiers.  It was moving to see the participants demonstrate the power of “psycho-drama,” acting out situations of real-life conflicts to help people see things in a new light and find hope and healing.

The trip to Inje was also good preparation to get me excited for Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute.  More about that in the next post!

Mountain-top military exercises, altar sacrifices, raccoon dogs and a hailstorm

(This time it’s a weather-focused drama)

The night before, as we were going to bed even before the greater silence began at Jesus Abbey, Sarah reminded me to pray for good weather the next day. The forecast predicted rain the next day, but we hoped that the forecast would prove wrong since we had plans to climb Taebaeksan.

It was raining lightly as we reported to the visitor office to reclaim the technology that they relieved us of when we arrived (a refreshing chance to step back from our office culture of always liking each other’s photos on facebook all the time! I used some of my technology-free free time to help plant potatoes and to write a postcard to everyone at Jubilee.)

First stop in the day was a cave, so we didn’t need to worry about the rain for the time being.  Cave weather: dark and drippy, as it must always be.  Lots of technology down there though, lights, temp/CO2/something-else monitors, motion activated water fountain with light displays… that last one seemed a bit unnecessary!

When we emerged from underground, I think it was just cloudy… the rain held off enough to keep our hopes up for the afternoon hike.  When we arrived at our pension (looked like condos, run like a hotel?), we dumped the stuff that we didn’t want to take up the mountain and began the uphill climb.

A few initial drizzles caused me some worry, but soon I was focused on getting past the initial disinclination of my body to go up and then keep going up and up and up. Thankfully, we took little breaks to take pictures, taste the spring water, snack, and swing on a tarzan vine. 

One man coming down the mountain told us that we didn’t have enough time and should turn around or hurry up.  We hurried up a little, but mostly hoped he was wrong.  About that time we were starting to hit patches of snow, which was such a crazy experience for May (my only other experience of snow in May was in Norway back in 2008- pictured on right). 

As we got higher, I think we entered a cloud.  Everything was so quiet and surreal.  Sarah kindly reminded me of the warnings we saw about what to do if we encountered any wild pigs. Thankfully, we continued undisturbed and enjoyed the beauty of the birch trees in the fog.  At one point we reached a ridge where large stones on the edge looked like bridges into the massive cloud around us. (And then, as I always must, I climbed a tree).

We enjoyed the fog, but hoped for a miracle: that the clouds would clear when we got to the peak so that we could enjoy the view.  Well, it couldn’t have been better! Minutes after we arrived at the peak, we turned around to this spectacular view, the clouds cleared from one side of the mountain as we looked on!

I was also impressed by the beauty of human / nature interaction at this peak: The stone structures built of the materials available on location enhanced the beauty of the peak.  The few signs were small and discreet.  No boardwalk of artificial materials like I’d expect to see in the US…

Our path led us down the cloudy side of the mountain towards the next peak, and it began to hail lightly.  We were amazed and added hail to our list of weather experiences.  Soon we had this view behind us.

During our final uphill climb the clouds thinned enough for us to see two military planes maneuvering a circular course around a nearby mountain.  Unfortunately they were too far away and too fast for pictures. First we saw them go by, then there was a delay before we heard them.  Yes, that fast, in the clouds, and we were looking down at them!

At the top of Taebaeksan, we reached the Cheonjedan altar, used for “heavenly rituals” since the Silla kingdom (which could be any time in the first millennium AD).  Two men were arranging sacrifices on the altar and gave us permission to take pictures.

Sarah and I sat down to eat a snack and watch the planes (still circling below, now we could see an airstrip). Suddenly a noise in the scrubby brush to my right made me turn to see something cute and furry, then two somethings.  This is the best photo I got:

A man at the restaurant where we ate that night told us that they must have been baby wild pigs, but I was more inclined to say they looked like little bears, or maybe foxes.  A friend told Sarah that they looked like raccoons (she has a picture of the face), and when I looked up Korean raccoons, I discovered the existence of raccoon dogs (their closest relative is the bat-eared fox in Africa, but they’re in the same family as foxes and wolves).  I’m convinced we saw raccoon dogs! So cool!

Unfortunately, at this moment it began to hail, to hail strongly, and we started to envy our friends Annie, Anna, and Janet taking their vacation on a beach in the Philippines. Hurriedly, we started to descend the mountain.  As we went on, the hail stopped and we could enjoy the ancient yew trees along our path.

Eventually we saw blue skies!

A lovely end to an exciting hike!

Learning how to count in a public place

Today I counted to 100 out loud on the subway, not just once, but three times, and then some.  If I was doing it alone, I think it would have been rude, but it so happened that while I was quietly studying my flash cards, I made eye contact with a friendly woman who took it upon herself to become my teacher.  Mostly we just counted out loud together. 

She always counted just a little faster than I could keep up with. Occasionally, she’d correct me if I said something wrong.  But we just kept counting and counting and counting.  I’m just getting over a cold, so my voice got hoarse and I thought of quitting.  But I drank some of the tea I had in my bag, and realized that I’d rather just keep trying now that I’d started, voice or no voice.  

If you’re learning how to count on a crowded train, will anyone think less of you for having a hoarse voice? I think everyone thought it was cute.

I’m glad for the experience.  In fact, that was the highlight of my day!

I’m younger than the other people my age

Today I spent a long time on the train, longer than I intended at the train station, and then some more time walking home the long way in the rain.  Perhaps I should give more detail to this transportation drama?  My sister would tell it chronologically.  Perhaps the story begins last night. I stayed up later than usual because it was Anna’s birthday. I was proud of how well I was doing with our trivia game, so I didn’t go to bed as early as I intended.  In the morning I rushed out in a hurry in order to be early to meet Soyoung in town.  I was thankful that there was free wifi in the train station because I hadn’t remembered to check my email to find out which subway exit we were meeting at before I left home. In any case, I ended up being early, so (I’ll insert a tangent here): 

I had extra time to practice saying in my head “잘 모르겠어요/jal moreugetseoyo” which means “I don’t know.” I never remember how to say this on the spot: I consistently spend about 15 seconds thinking about it before it comes out. In real life situations, I can only manage to get out “한국어 아니요/Hangukeo aniyo” which means “Korean, no!” Just like I’ve heard so many people smile awkwardly, shrug their shoulders and say “English, no!” I think that it does a good job expressing exactly how much Korean I (don’t) understand at this point.  Needless to say, I’m working on it. I took my 15 seconds to think of how to say “한국어 아니요” three different times today, each time with a patient audience, so I’m a step closer to using it when it counts.  

I dedicate the next step in my transportation saga to my sister.  It was a ride in an elevator! (Thank you, Carrie, for making sure that I know that elevators are statistically the safest form of transportation.) I had a safe ride up to the tenth floor of an office building with Soyoung and met with her law class to interview a refugee client.  Obviously I can’t put any details here, but it was meaningful to learn about the legal side of the refugee experience. 

I parted ways with Soyoung on the metro and started to study Korean again.  I studied hard to learn the new phrase that Soyoung taught me.  I have to look it up to add it here, so this will be another hard one to remember.  “스물일곱살 이에요/seumulilgopsal iyeyo” which means “I am 27.” This is important for introductions in Korea, because everyone relies on ages to determine how to interact with each other- the level of formality to use in speaking to someone.  I think we spent 30 minutes just talking about ages when I went hiking last week with Soyoung and some of her other law school classmates. 

In the train I spent awhile just contemplating how I’m younger than other people my age.  You may have noticed that I said I was 27, not 25.  In Korea a baby is 1 during their first calendar year (for me 1987) and on January 1, they turn 2.  I was 2 years old Korean age when I was only six days old! I think the end of December is an ideal time to be born in this system.  I get the advantages of an older age now, but when I’m older then people could say that I’m young for my age.

Eventually I had to stop contemplating my Korean age, and get out of the train for my transfer.  I found the right platform quickly, but it took a few minutes to find the poster on the wall showing when the next train going all the way to my station would arrive.  Then the poster showed me that it would be a long wait.  The station was chilly, wet, and poorly lit so I decided to get on the next train even though it would stop at the station before mine. 

When the train stopped I had to decide whether to wait for the next train going to my destination or to walk home in the rain from there. (This was the stop nearest to my office so I knew the way home from there.) I decided to wait.  I quickly was absorbed my the interesting geographical features on the big map in the station.  Oh maps, since my earliest memories they have fascinated me.  I stood entranced comparing the heights of the local mountains as my train came, the passengers disembarked, embarked, and a catchy tune was played to warn everyone that the doors were closing.  Then I slowly tore my eyes from the map, and stared, surprising myself with the thought, “Hey, that’s my train.” Then, “The next train won’t leave for a really long time.” Probably twice as long as I had waited already. 

At this point I could have gotten really angry, I could have beaten myself inwardly for being an idiot. I thought of a cartoon posted on a classroom door at my high school: there was a door that said “harvard” or something, and “push;” a person was pulling on the door with all their strength.  I love this image of the brainy idiot.  That’s how I decided to think of myself today.  It cheered me up and I walked home in the rain, whistling and looking for edible plants growing along the sidewalk.

At my apartment I climbed the four flights of stairs, glad of the exercise, and feeling pretty good about my day.

My photo album on facebook

I may put some photos on the blog, but there are more here.  The album should be public so you don’t need to have facebook to see it.

the first week

This is my first week in Korea.

I’ve gone through three stages of jet-lag. 1) Tiredness: sleeping long hours 2) Confused appetite: not knowing how much to eat and when 3) Distance: disbelief in reality, or perhaps the feeling that I can’t catch up with the present.

These hardly seem like problems.  From what I recall of Dr. Randolph Persaud’s Cross-Cultural Communications class, I’m in the honeymoon stage of culture shock.  Everything is exciting. Everything is new.

And yet I feel at home already.  At least welcome. Yes, well come.  It’s a good place to be!  Hardly scanned the crowd through customs before I heard Yoonseo calling my name. Jae said gatherings would continue to be my welcome parties for awhile.  So natural to hang out with my roommate Sarah.  So exciting to reunite with Soyoung and Jong Eun. A coincidence that I met someone who knew them at church.  A blessing that I do indeed love Korean food.  Blessings upon blessings…

I’ve already worn hanbok, tried pine-needle tea (쌍화 차), found my way home from work and from the subway, explored the path that runs along a hill ridge near my home, purchased my favorite fruit: crunchy persimmon (감), learned useful phrases to use with one-year-old Lomie (Where is Auntie Kaia? = Kaia imo odiso?), gone on several walks to get out of the office in Deokso with Karen, accepted tea and tissues from street evangelists, joined the cooking and cleaning rotations (Tuesday lunch with Sunny, collecting paper recycling), had a thorough medical check in order to get an alien registration card, eaten octopus, anchovies, and unfamiliar mushrooms (at least the octopus wasn’t alive, I’ve heard that recommended…), hmm, then there was the sweet potato mustard pizza: they need to try that one at Jubilee…

Many things I say start with “At Jubilee,” but I think that’s natural, and hopefully doesn’t bother anyone.  Sarah starts many sentences with “At Sarangbang” (the community she lived at in Korea).

I hung up my personalized Jubilee calendar at my desk in the office and added Don’s books to the library in the kitchen. In the situations where it’s possible, Karen words pop in my head, as if I should be able to use them.  Sometimes it’s French phrases. I still have the death penalty and the eastern Congo much on my mind after my two week visit in Georgia in late February.  It’s a time of transition, I bring many different things with me into this new environment where I find myself.  I’ve even shared some paper unicorns.

Well, it’s getting late. That’s all for now.  Last time I had a blog I posted 5 times in 5 months.  I don’t expect this time to be much different.  But, in the meantime don’t hesitate to email me.  I promise to respond!