Sunday, May 24, 2009

All Hail Dad's Sherman Tank Glasses Case!





Last year when I was visiting, Dad noticed that I had a flimsy looking glass case and dug through his drawer and gave me an old glass case of his. It was bright red, and so heavy it felt like it was reinforced on the sides with plate steel, and it had this huge spring on the side. I accepted his gift but I was thinking to myself that I would have to buy reinforcements for my purse straps because it was so heavy. Anyways, today that case saved me a lot of money. After the meeting we stopped off to get a bite to eat. After, Matt and I hailed a taxi. As we were getting into the taxi I heard a clunk and knew something had fallen from my purse onto the road. As the taxi took off I yelled for it to stop, and as I looked in the rear window I saw another taxi hit my sherman-tank glass case with my expensive prescription glasses that insurance had paid for. The case flew high into the air came down on the road again, out popped my glasses and then another car ran the case over a second time flattening it. :-( However, when I ran back to see the damage, my glasses were safely sitting there beside the flattened case that protected them. Whew! Young Matt and I were both totally impressed with how well they survived due to that case.

Okay, this was another wedding weekend. There is a slew of them going on right now. This one was Robin's. He has been in Bethel for 11 years and has left to marry Heidi. It was really simple compared to some other weddings here - held in the Bethel Kingdom Hall. They would like to be part of the English congregation so for their honeymoon they have left for America for three months to practise English. Anyways, it was a really nice afternoon.

Til next time, lots of love, d :-)

Monday, May 18, 2009

Bye mama...

Well the weather is good again today but this last week we've had some REAL rain. Heavy like Vancouver. Pearl and Harvey, who are usually nuts jumping around everytime they see me walk toward the door hoping that I will take them out were even bummed out about it. When I walked toward the door they just layed on the bed and basically raised a paw to say, "bye mama, have a good walk." However, yesterday and today are gorgeous again so we are all happy about that. :-)

This is the testing time for the boys so I had some really nice time off last week, and today is another day off. I have made myself a chore list to work through so I should be pretty busy the entire day though.

This Saturday is a wedding for one of the brothers that has been at Bethel for about 12 years. He is marrying a sister from our congregation, then leaving Bethel to join our congregation. Robin has been to Europe, Australia and some other places before so he is really nice to talk to so I am glad they chose our congregation. :-) For their honeymoon, they are going to America for 3 months to work on their English skills, so that is pretty cool too. I will share some pics of the wedding with you next time. :-)

Well, Teachers Day was last Friday, and I have to say I really enjoyed it. I received a scarf and some bath products from one of my groups, so that was really sweet of them. Then the school booked a wedding hall and took us for a banquet. The Koreans ate super fast as usual but Gina and I just decided to linger and enjoy the afternoon and the great food. Much of it was western, so it was a real treat. :-) Anyways, that is a little difference from North America to here. Here they have Childrens Day, then Parents Day and few days later, and then Teachers Day. Very very nice customs. :-)

Anyways, I will run. Have a wonderful week, and lots of love to everyone. - d :-)

Thursday, May 7, 2009

The Gorgeous Weather is Here.



This week is a definite turning point for us - consistent warm, beautiful sunny weather. :-) I have the week off also because the boys are writing mid-terms so I have lots of cleaning projects going on around the home. Later today I am off to buy a garden hose. I found a pressure head and decided that I am going to wash the outside section of my apartment building, windows, doors, trim. In Korea, nothing is ever washed. When the structure was built is the last time it was cleaned, in other words. :-( I have often thought that if a person had a pressure washer here and showed people how nice things look clean that maybe they could get an awesome business going. Anyways, I don't have a pressure washer but I will have a hose and a bucket of soapy water, and even if nobody else on the street cares, I will be happy to have a clean door and window. :-) Besides, I planted bamboo and some flowers in window boxes so it will be so nice to see them against a clean background too. Korea has many good things about it, but unfortunately cleanliness is not one of the strengths. For any of you coming for the International Assembly this summer I highly recommend bringing a bottle of Purel to carry in your backpack. You will use it often. There isn't real soap in the bathrooms so you will need it there. Actually, there is soap in the bathrooms sometimes but you won't want to use it. In all the bathrooms they take a bar of soap and stab it onto a spike that comes out of the wall. Everyone is expected to rub their hands on it for cleaning. :-X (this is my pinch face). Brenda and I forgo this opportunity and just use Purel. :-/ All developing countries have their little oddities no doubt.

This weekend should be nice. My co-worker Gina is coming to the KH again on Sunday maybe - will have to wait and see. She is an avid hiker - but he poor girl fell on a steep mountain the other day and now her leg is in pretty bad shape with a cast type thing. And next Saturday I will be having some foreigners over for dinner. Last week's dinner went great and it was just SO nice to have a place for people to sit. :-)

School is also going well. I am a little concerned about one boy. He obviously is suffering from depression of some sort. It is a little complicated here about dealing with those issues because it is not viewed as a real health issue. However, one would think the government would get up to speed on it because the country has the highest suicide rate in the world - something like 40 people per day. The president just gave a speech on it last week, telling people to think twice before doing it. :-/ Anyways, about the boy in my class. When I first noticed his condition worsening I approached the Korean co-teacher and said, "I am concerned about the boy with the depression problem." Since it is not something Koreans like to talk about, her response was, "Teacher Darci, which boy do you mean?" Me: "the one who is basically staring at the wall, with flakes of skin falling over his suit". :-/ Her: "oh, oh...yes him. I will ask about him to his homeroom teacher." Most of you know I talk very straight, so later she comes and tells me that he is non-responsive to the teachers and other students, and I ask her what the course of action is going to be. "Well, we thought we should watch him". So in a country with the highest suicide rate in the world, and a desire not to confront it, that means they are either going to watch him weave his own rope to hang himself in the park, or watch him as he opens the fourth floor window and jumps to the ground. :-/ I later asked a parents class that I teach what they would do in such a situation. I told them how in the West we would immediately have the teenager at the doctor's office for a checkup and medication, or psychological help. They all grimaced. They said they would never take their child to the doctor if they thought he was depressed, but rather they demonstrated how they would hit his shoulder and tell him to "cheer up!" I love teaching my kids, but I really feel for them if they, or anyone here, hits a rough patch emotionally, because it is very frowned upon to get help. One brother in the congregation told me that his mother suffered terribly for 11 years before going to the doctor because of what other's would think. Anyways, next week I will follow up with this boy's homeroom teacher and see what progress he is making. If nothing else, Gina and I can talk to him. We'll see.

Well, I should run. I am off to the acupuncturist. Then I am taking my chair to the park to keep reading my book, A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS. It is based in Afghanistan - awesome so far! Then Brenda and I have plans for doing a nature walk around the Fortress Wall this weekend. Okay, everyone take care, and remember to make some fun in your live's this weekend, :-)

lots of love,
d :-)