i'm sick...

so i missed 2 days of school this week. i hate missing work - but i didn't feel too guilty since i spent the greater part of last weekend in bed. plus, my eyes were so bloodshot red that when i walked in on Wed morning, i looked pure evil and even teachers backed away scared...so they sent me home.

i actually came back to work today more b/c i was bored than healthy. it's good for me to focus on others... sitting at home all alone for so many days, i became self-absorbed and emotional. it shows that despite overcoming my biggest fear (loneliness), i'm still quite an extrovert.

it's amazing how quickly i forget what it's like to be sick. i know it's obvious, but i'm taken aback by how MISERABLE it is. perhaps it's b/c i have a short-term memory for negative things (yes, i have a very rosy past - at least in my mind) or perhaps i take being healthy for granted, but it's a shocker to realize how fragile i am - and how my physical wellbeing bleeds into my emotional and spiritual health as well. reminds me so firmly why i rely on God for strength and not myself.

the one great thing was having so much time to read. and 2 of the books i'm in the middle of are non-fiction - is that a sign that i'm growing up or getting nerdier? but i did sneak in time to watch 3 episodes of a korean drama my dad burned for me. i still need my cheesy, emo fix. =)

korean-ness

in the last 6 yrs, i've learned to embrace my korean heritage. mostly, that's just means that i really, really enjoy the food in k-town and slipping in a korean word every now & then in my ramblings. =)

but this past Sunday, my parish school held a service celebrating the Korean members of its congregation and student body. so there were bilingual hymns and prayers, a re-enactment of a traditional wedding ceremony (pictured below), Korean drumming, games, and a bunch of yummy food.

the volunteer couple who acted the part of the bride & groom were Caucasian - they did a terrific job, esp. b/c the guy is an actor and played up his role. he was hilarious!

I don't think i've ever been mistaken for being Korean until yesterday...and that was only b/c i was tromping around in a han-bok... my students all did a double take before they realized it was me yelling at them to pick up their trash, etc.

i'm standing next to Mr. Z...the coworker who takes care of the lizards in my room. a mother of a 1st grade student (i don't even teach 1st grade!) generously bought both of us our garb. it's my first han-bok since i was 10. the green top and pink bottom (i did not pick the colors!) are traditional for a young, unmarried woman. so by wearing the dress all afternoon, i essentially declared my availability to the world. a walking billboard. oh dear...

of course, once back in my normal clothes, i promptly got accused of being Chinese (as always). even today while i was buying pineapples at the grocery store, the checkout lady assumed i was gonna make sweet & sour pork w/ them for the Chinese New Year!

after the lull in updating, here are some things that have brightened my days:

1. bowling! the bad part was that i now stink! barely breaking 100 isn't my idea of a good game...but hanging out w/ good friends and being able to laugh at our stances and low scores was fun.

2. joining my church. yup, i became a member. does that up my level of commitment? probably not since i was pretty committed already, but it was funny getting congratulatory messages after the service, like i got engaged or something.

3. snowboarding!!

my camera died just as we were about to take a whole grp shot. the pic above is of my small grp leader and her S.O. Sat's snow wasn't too nice (ouch!) but as you can see, it snowed & snowed on Sunday. though visibility at the top of the mtns was low, it was so much more fun b/c i wasn't scared to fall on powder. i'm still a slow-poke but i was really surprised at how much of my skillz i had maintained since last year.

4. these little guys:

apparently, one of my coworkers makes this dish every year sometime in January and everyone waits in anticipation for them to show in the faculty room. look at how CUTE they are!! olive penguins... wow, almost makes me want to throw a party just so i can make them too!

5. and these little guys:

my 5th graders had to do an Animal Adaptations project in which they chose one of 4 different planets and created a new organism to be perfectly adapted to its environment. for extra credit, they could turn in a 3-D model. they got pretty creative.

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i've been thinking about love a lot lately. not b/c vday is on the horizon, but b/c i've been studying Corinthians during my devos. the commentaries i'm reading give so much insight, and though i want to save some of the meat of what i learned for my up and coming China orphan camp testimony, i do want to share that God's love is so amazing. we love the lovely, He loves the unlovely...us. to be KNOWN & LOVED...ahhh, how wonderful!