You look....^.^

“Ms. Nelson, you look Asian.”

One of my IB kids, Brian Kim, whips out this statement as if I had three heads filled with green horns protruding from my neck. I had straightened my unruly, brownish-black, maroon, slightly purplish hair the night before, and I tend to look a wee bit different going from crazy curl to sleeker do. A year ago this comment would have thrown me for a loop, but I smile and chuckle instead at the blunt nature of my Korean students.

My relationship with this peculiar Asian country is continually changing and evolving each day. The novelty and excitement of Korea has worn off, but I am getting to know more intimate parts of the country. My weekends in October and November have been spent hiking, biking, and learning more about Korean’s torrid past. Some highlights include going on a 40-kilometer bike ride through the mountains and a midnight hike. I kid you not when I say midnight. My friend Mike is an avid “posh hiker”, and preceded to take my friend Sarah and I on a hike to a southern mountain range in Korea. We promptly left the school at 12:15 a.m. boarded a train for three hours, loaded onto a bus for another hour up a very winding mountain road (luckily I slept through all of the this) then began a very arduous but very beautiful 18 kilometer hike! Another highlight was visiting Independence Hall with my Minnesota friend, Taryn. The exhibit explores Korean’s history during the time of Japanese occupation. I was shocked and horrified at atrocious suffering this country has been through.

As my relationship with Korea deepens, so do the life lessons my overseas adventure continues to teach me. My weekend trips are teaching me about hard work, pride, and persistence. Whether it’s pushing myself through the last three kilometers of a strenuous bike ride, or learning about the perseverance of the Korean people, all three attributes pay off. I can push, pull, and challenge myself more than I ever thought I could. But I can’t take all the credit; God has been the leader in all of these “weekend lessons”. It reminds me of my favorite verse, Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. He has given me strength to try, try again, try some more, win a little, lose a little, and have the strength to pick myself again, dust off my shoulders, and try some more. Just like I am continually getting to know Korea a little more intimately this fall, I needed to learn those life lessons a little more as well. I’m not sure why, but I am deciding to learn more and go with the flow. Even if it means someone thinks I look a little more Asian than Swedish.

Waeguk for a little while longer....

Korea, yes, Korea.

Korea is full of weird, awful, indescribable smells everyday. Cheese costs way too much to buy. Old ladies knock me over all the time. I still can't count to ten in Korean.

I guess those are a few of the reason why I have decided to stay a bit longer.

On Friday, I finally made the move. I signed the dotted line to add another year to my contract. I can honestly say about two months I really didn't know what I was going to do. I guess in my gut I felt it wasn't quite time to leave. Every time I made the mental decision to pack up and leave, something felt off about leaving so early. My time isn't done quite yet in Korea. There is no rhyme or reason to back up this logic, but it's just a gut feeling I am deciding to follow. It feels scary, but good scary.