Feeling Blessed

So I've been back states side for almost 2 months now. Stacy's wedding was last weekend....soooo much fun! It was like a reunion! I grew up with her family & I hadn't seen them in years! I had the honor of being a bridesmaid. Willard (Jill) & I got to be with Stacy all day the day before her wedding AND the day of. We had nail, make-up, hair appoitments, etc. It was a blast! The 3 of us got so close in just 2 days! We had so much fun together. Willard & I had our first mini annoyance with each other & we joked about it later. It only brought us closer. I love those girls.
Now I've been hanging out with friends, joined a gym, and started applying to jobs. I'm applying for nanny and substitute teaching jobs here (to do while I'm in Texas, shorterm). I have an interview on Thursday for Director of English Summer Junior Program position. Best part...it's in New York! I've ALWAYS wanted to live in New York.
I've also been applying for more teaching abroad positions. We'll see. I'd love for it to be in Lebanon, Dubai, Hong Kong, or a Spanish speaking country.
It's been so wonderful being around friends & fam these past couple of months. Makes me realize how blessed I am to have such amazing people in my life! Even though I've been gone for 1.5 years, it's so refreshing to be able to pick right back up as if no time was lost.
My mom & I are going to Enid, OK this weekend for KD's (my uncle) memorial service. He passed away a few months ago while my brother & I were still in Korea. My bro was extremely close with him so he took it pretty hard. He hated that he couldn't be there with everyone, mainly Lyn & Cody. It still hasn't really sunk in that he's gone. He was the most fun loving funny guy ever. Always cracking jokes, so generous. What an incredible guy. He will continue to be missed by everyone that knew him.
Well, that's about all for now. I'll let ya know if I get that job in NY!

Tahoe, Pittsburgh, & New York

So I'm back in the states now. I was home for 1 week & then headed out to Lake Tahoe for Kacy's wedding. It was absolutely gorgeous! Her wedding was beautiful. We went skiing the next day & it's the most beautiful place I've ever gone skiing. When you're on the mountain you have the most breathtaking view of the lake.
Next I headed to Pittsburgh to see Dianne & Megan. It was so wierd to see them on the states side! Dianne was the best tour guide ever! She took us everywhere! I didn't know much about Pittsburgh before, but I was blown away! What a cool city! Hills, rivers, old buildings, history, amazing food, cafes, artsy, etc. We had a blast. Dianne & I went snowboarding too.
Then Dianne & I took the overnight Chinatown bus to New York. Stacy had her bachelorette party, so fun! I had never met her fiancee before, Stephen, what a sweet guy! It's like they were made for each other! I'm so happy for them. In NY we just hung out in Brooklyn, Lower East Side, ate some really good food, went to Prospect Park, took it easy.
Now I'm back in Dallas. Just gonna hang out. Stacy's wedding is in less than 2 weeks. I can't wait! Oh yeah, I got to hang out with Adrian at the airport in Dallas during his layover. Was so good seeing him.
I'm glad I've got this time. I want to spend some time in the Word. While traveling I neglected it. Spend some time with the Lord. Oh yeah, I just found out that 2 people that I used to work for with PPM got in a horrible car wreck in Belize. Please keep them in your prayers.
xoxo

What's Next??

My time in Korea is dwindling down. Ida is coming tomorrow, should be fun! At least I know I'll be laughing a lot for the next week.
So, I need some advice. There's a new idea that has formed recently. Hear me out. Something that I've wanted to do for a long time is learn arabic. What better way to do it than MOVE to the middle east! I've been missing the middle east ever since I left there. I've been dying for an excuse to go back. So....I'm considering moving to Lebanon. Primarily I would go to learn arabic, but I would need to find a job. So, I'm looking in to teaching english as a means to live there. We'll see. I dunno, I feel so unstable these days. But not in a bad way. Just that, if a good opportunity came up, I jump on it! With that being said, if anyone wants to go on an adventure, let me know! I feel like at this point, I'm down for anything! No, that's not true. School is still really on my mind as well. I do know that I'm not ready to live in the states again. I want to continue seeing the world...learning about & experiencing other cultures. Before I left for Korea, I was so certain & sure about the future. I would live in Korea for 1 year, save money for school, return to the states & go to Fuller in California when I got back. Now I feel...I dunno...not so sure about the direction I'm suppose to go. Along the way, the path got blurry & right now I can't find my way back. But maybe that's just it, maybe I'm on a new path now. Things change. God steers us in different directions in life. So, I'm not worried. I'm actually excited for the future! I'm excited to see where this new path leads me! If we are too much in control of our own lives, then we get in the way. So, I'm getting out of the way for this one...I'm just gonna go with it.
I'll let ya know what happens...

xoxo

Vietnam, Laos & back to Korea

Oh my...so last night when I was laying in bed I started thinking about traveling & southeast asia & I actually lost my breath for a second. I realized how much I miss it. How much I truly miss it. But I'm grateful that I had the experience & opportunity to go. And I guess it's a good thing that I miss it so much, that means it was something worth missing. There's something about traveling...the unknown, the adventure...makes you feel alive! Like you can be anyone you want to be. Meeting people from all over the world. One thing that I loved about traveling was that when you met someone, the first questions wasn't, "so what do you do?" Instead it was something about traveling like, "how long have you been here?" "Where have you been?" "Where are you going?" "Oh you've been there?....How was it??!" It was so fun sharing traveling experiences with like-minded people. And it was such a small world in southeast asia! We'd be in 1 country, meet & hang out with some people, say our good-byes & then a couple of weeks later see them again in another country! It's never good bye when you're traveling the world! So now I'm back in Seoul. I guess it's kinda refreshing but at the same time a little disappointing to see that some things never change. I realized after coming back here that I'm definitely ready to leave Korea. I don't even like the food as much as I used to. After experiencing all of the flavor & spice down south, korean food seems kinda bland to me. Rice cakes aren't even that good to me anymore!~ I never thought I'd say that! So I'm just here chilling now. I sleep in, work out with my bro, watch Dexter, read, hang out with friends occasionally, but most of my friends have left korea by now. I'm going back to the states Feb 17. It'll be good to see friends & family, but I'm already planning my next adventure. I can confidently say that I'm not ready to move back to the states. Fuller, the school I'm suppose to be going to is in California...but even that doesn't sound appealing to me. I have several things that I'm looking into. One of which is to go to Lebanon, teach English & learn Arabic! I really want to learn Arabic, & the best way to do it is to MOVE there! Plus I LOVE Lebanon for all of it's chaos, beauty & how the Lebanese love LIFE! Okay, so I can fill you in on all of the travels after the Philippines. So as you know I was stuck in Manila for longer than I was hoping, waiting for my visa to Vietnam. Well, I ran into friends my brother & I had met at our hostel, Friendly's. Ida, from Norway, & Magda & Jens from Sweden. Ida was traveling alone so we made plans to go to Vietnam. I was so excited to have a travel buddy! I wasn't looking forward to traveling alone. And we made plans to meet Magda & Jens in Laos a couple of weeks later.
So Ida & I flew to Vietnam. We were delirious the day we left. We went out with some friends, Sagi & a new friend James an Aussie, the night before & we had to be up by 3:30am to catch our flight. We hit that delirious stage when you can't stop laughing. I could tell Ida & I were going to get along great!
As soon as we landed we booked a domestic flight to the Phu Quoc Island. It's southwest vietnam, really close to Cambodia. It was beautiful & really laid back. We just chilled at the beach, rented a motorbike, indulged in the local cuisine (pho, bun, bun mi, etc). After a few days we took a boat back to the mainland. We went to an island on the Mekong Delta. We took a boat out there. It was a tiny island! No cars really. Pretty primitive. We rented bikes & rode around the island exploring. We went on a boat trip, saw some local family business. Then we went to Ho Chi Min (Saigon) to get our train tickets to Nha Trang. We both got on the back of a motorbike taxi. Oh my gosh!...NEVER AGAIN! I really thought we might not make it to the station alive. It seemed impossible! I knew in my head that these guys do this everyday. But I couldn't help but thing of the alarming statics of how many deaths there are in HCMC! But, we made it!
So, we took an overnighter to Nha Trang. Ida had been to Vietnam the year before so she knew her way around. We got there around 5am the following day. Ida hung out at Why Not Restaurant/Bar eating breakfast & headed to the beach for a run. We then checked in to our hotel & headed back to the beach for some sun. Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to swim there. The waves are HUGE & really close to shore. We kept joking that we were actually going to go out that night. We had started to become grandma's...going to bed & waking up REALLY early. So we were determined to go out that night. I'm glad we did because we had so much fun. We had an amazing dinner & then headed back to Why Not Bar. We met some cool Norweigan girls, British dudes & Lucas from Montreal. Ida showed off her fancy dance skills...she's got some hilariously funny & amazing moves! I think that night was the hardest I've ever laughed in my life! People don't know if she's joking or dancing for real. Half of the fun is watching people's reactions. I'll see if I can get her on video & upload it for you.
We spent one more night in Nha Trang then headed to Hoi Ann. This is the place where people go to get EVERYTHING tailor made. But we didn't get ANYTHING. We were exhausted from another overnight bus trip & couldn't be bothered to do it. I know, sorry excuse, but neither of us were in the shopping mood. But Hoi Ann was such a cute city! It had some amazing restaurants, cafes, markets along the river. We had one of my favorite meals there! Marinated pork skewers rolled into rice paper with lettuce, cucumber & the most amazing peanut chili sauce. SOOOOO GOOD!
Let's see, after Hoi Ann we headed to Hue to meet up with a couch surfer for some local grub. A guy & his friend picked us up on motorbikes & took us to a local restaurant. Ida & already checked out his references on the website & he seemed ok.
We get to this local restaurant & they ordered food for us (they said they already ate & didn't want to eat, but after awhile proceeded to eat some...fine). They also ordered a case of beer. I don't drink beer so they drank all of it. The bill came & they gave it to Ida & me. Couch surfing isn't about paying for things, it's about sharing local knowledge, food, etc. Whatever, we just paid for it. Then we were all suppose to go to the same place next. However, the guys split us up & took us to different locations. The guy I was with took me to this romantic setting along the river where people were making out. I was like, "where's Ida?" He said they were at a different place. I said, "ok, well then why are we here? I want to be with the others." What the heck? So he took me finally back to where the others were. They ordered beer, which Ida & I of course paid for. So we then asked them to take us to a place where foreigners hang out. We wanted to get away from these dudes. They were starting to give us the creeps. So, the same guy that took me to a different place did the same thing to Ida! He took her to a remote place. FINALLY Ida showed up where we were suppose to meet. Needless to say, we looked more into these guys & there were lots of complaints starting to rise to the service. We think they are going to get kicked out of Couch Surfers now.



From Hue, we took another overnighter to Laos. We met some foreigners on our bus. When we finally go to Vientiane everyone said they were going to Vang Vieng. We hadn't done much research on Laos so we didn't know what was in Vang Vieng. We were planning on staying the night in the capital. This dude, Monet, from South Africa told us EVERYTHING is in V.V. So we took a private van another 3 hours north with them. We were exhausted & checked in to the first hotel we go to & slept for a couple of hours. We woke up & walked outside to go find some food. As soon as we turned the corner we were like, "where are we?" The drive there felt like we were driving into the mountains in the middle of nowhere. What we saw that night surprised us! Vang Vieng is a town made up of expats, tailored to expats. You have to see it for yourself. So many restaurants for some reason play pirated version of Friends ALL DAY LONG!
The next day we met up with Ida & Jens. They told us we had to go tubing. I've gone tubing before, on the Guatalupe, in Texas. I figured we just be tubing down a river. Oh no. When we arrived it was like I had arrived at a spring break destination. Whiskey shots were offered to us as soon as we pulled up at 12pm! Yikes, a bit early for me! People were at this outdoor bar along the river & others were swinging off of a rope trapeze thing & landing in the water. So, we got in our tubes & headed down the river. The next thing I know a guy throws a rope out to me to pull me in to the next bar stop! I had no idea it was going to be like that. So basically, that's their version of going "tubing." You tube from bar to bar. It was fun, lots of people, music, mud volleyball, swinging into the water, bonfire, etc. So, we stayed a couple more days in V.V. We only did the tubing thing 1 time. Some people said they went day after day & I was like how do you do it? Exhausting! You're in the sun ALL day & most people end up getting pretty drunk.
Next, the four of us headed to Luang Prabang. I LOVED this town! Beautiful! There's a strong French influence there with amazing people watching cafes, outdoor activities, waterfalls, etc. And the most amazing food! I went to the place everyday for 2 meals! For breakfast I had the Lao version of pho...but it's BETTER! Then for lunch I had their $1 vegetarian buffet! SOOOOO good! It was pretty relaxing in Luang Prabang. Ida & I rented a city bike one day & went exploring, checked out temples. There's lots of temples there, a UNESCO heritage so everything in town closes at 11pm. There's also an amazing night market that opens EVERY night. One day we rented a mountain bike & cycled 30km to a waterfall. We were EXHAUSTED! It was up & down hill. We knew we wouldn't make it back, so we threw our bikes on top of a Tuk Tuk & rode back (everyone else did the same thing). One night we went out. Of course since everything closed at 11pm we figured there's GOT to be a place where all of the foreigners on vacation go. We found it! Everyone went to this disco first & then to.....BOWL! No kidding, everyone was at a local bowling alley because it was the only thing open! Was fun though! We ended up seeing some people we had met in Vietnam & got to hang out with them too.
We stayed in L.P. for 5 days. We then took our last overnighter to Vientiane. We checked in to a hotel, slept for a couple of hours, walked around the town (I wish I would've had more time there), got a $2 mani & pedi, then I headed to the airport...back to Korea:(
I know this blog doesn't do much for all of the travels. But it's been one of the best times of my life. Looking back...it wasn't the places that made it so awesome. As cliche as this sounds, it truly was the people (and the food;). Ida & I made a list of all of the interesting people we met. If there were just normal people they didn't make the list. Oh, Ida is coming to Korea next week to visit! A group of us are going on a ski/snowboarding trip for Lunar New Year!
Traveling changes you. I was hoping I'd figure out what to do with the rest of my life....yeah right. But I did have lots of time to think. I'd love to be a freelancer of some kind. To be able to work on some projects...then be able to just take off for months at a time. So much freedom! I met so many people that are traveling for 6 months, 1 year, some indefinitely! It's a different way of life. But it is a WAY of life. You learn so much, about people, culture, history, yourself, socially, I can go on & on. Now if feels kinda weird not traveling. Like, when I'm traveling, I feel more like myself, than when I'm not. I dunno.
And I still have been thinking so much about religion. Traveling opens your eyes to all kinds of things. You start to embrace the differences instead of comparing them. Like I said before, I can't imagine all of these devoted people, that live day in & day out, devoting their lives to God...I can't imagine them not going to heaven. Just because they don't believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, & the life. It seems to be more of a cultural thing than a religion thing. If I would have been born in India, I'd probably be a hindu, in Saudi Arabia, a Muslim, etc. But I was born in America, where most people are christians. It's like we all have our own ways of worshiping our God, due to tradition & culture. There's more to it, but I can't seem to adequately describe my thoughts. So I'll leave it at that. Alright, until next time...

xoxo

Holidays in The Philippines....

So I'm kinda stuck in the philippines right now. I'm waiting on my Vietnam visa. Due to the holidays, everthing is taking a long time. So, lets see, after Megan left, I headed to Manila. The next day my bro came & I can't tell you how happy I was the see him! He was on xmas break from Korea. We stayed 1 night in Manila & met some really cool people at our hostel called Friendlys. I totally recommend anyone staying in Manila to stay there. There's not a ton to see in Manila though. So then we took an overnight bus to Sagada, northern Luzon. It was BEAUTIFUL! We went caving & it was intense! If you're closterphobic, it's not for you. We hung out with a group of philippine girls and a cool guy from Israel, who I'm actually meeting up with in a few days here in Manila. Then we took another overnighter back to Manila to catch our flight to Boracay. Boracay was so fun! There were so many teachers from Korea on xmas break as well. We hung out with people we already knew & met a bunch of cool peeps as well. I went diving, we went on a sunset sail boat, tons of swimming, eating, lots of live music....but i must say, it didn't feel a bit like Christmas. But I'm soooo glad I was with my bro! My bro left (missed his plane, but worked it out) & I stayed another night & went jet-skiing the next day with this british guy I met the night before. Then I proceeded to make my way toward Cebu where I would catch my flight back to Manila. I went to Panay, Negros & then to Cebu. All those islands were a jumble of boat & bus rides. Everything was closed for the holidays so i didn't get to do much. For new years, I hung out with some local people from Cebu & shot off fire works.
Now, I'm back in good ol Manila, waiting for the vietnam embassy to open. Lindsey who we hung out with in boracay was here in Manila. So we took a trip to the Taal volocano. Was really cool! We hiked up it & you could feel the steam & heat on your legs! It's a volcano surrounded by a lake, & get this, there's a lake INSIDE the volcano. Pretty sweet, huh? We spent the night out there & ate canned beans & tuna (everything was closed).
I could be here another 4-6 days, depending on how long it takes for my visa to process. But some of my friends are here so we're gonna go rock climbing & possibly to another volcano. Then...off to Vietnam! 2 countries to go! I'm ready for the traveling to be over I think. I'm excited to go back to korea for a bit & completely relax in 1 place! I'm gonna get a gym membership, but other than that I plan on watching a ton of movies & TV shows that I haven't seen for the past year. And of course hang out with friends! I miss everyone in Korea so much!
Well, that's all from me for now. I'm pretty bored right now. I should be productive I guess. I'm a little homesick, I wish BJ were still here. We had so much fun together & my dream has finally come true! MY bro & I are traveling the world together! I wasn't sure if that would ever happen. But I'm so thankful for those memories!
I love you all! I hope you had a wonderful holiday! Happy New Year! What's your New Year's Resolution? I'm going to give/volunteer more & train for either an Olympic Triathlon or a Marathon! Anyone in to do one with me??!!

xoxo

Faith...it's everywhere

So I usually have an electronic journal on my laptop, however, since I'm traveling I haven't been able to journal any, so I'll just go ahead & unload on you:)
This year has been an incredible journey. For the past 2.5 years I've been surrounded by amazing christian people while working for a non-profit international missions organization. I grew so much during that time & I'm so thankful I was able to do it.
This year has been amazing as well, but different. I've been blessed to meet so many different kinds of people & travel to so many different places. Traveling through southeast asia has opened my eyes up to how diverse the world truly is. Just here in Malaysia where I currently am has SUCH a diverse crowd. And the most beautiful thing is, they all live in harmony together & respect eachother's similarities as well as their differences. There are muslims, hindu's, buddhists, christians...you name it. And some of these people are extremely devoted to their faith. Sometimes I wish I had their faith. And it's really got me thinking. Hear me out here. I claim to be a christian, I am a follower of Jesus, yes, but I by no means live that minute to minute of every day. Some of these people here live & breath for God. All of these religions believe in God. We all just have a different way of getting there. And of course I believe that Jesus is the way, the truth & the life....but everyone else fully believes that their way is the right way. Whose to say that my way to God is any better than their's?? I just happened to be born in the states, into a family that went to a christian church. What about all of these other people on the other side of the world? Too bad for them??? I mean, is this a bad thing?....because it seems kind of beautiful to me. That all of these people can worship God, living together, without fighting about whose way is the right way. It's very peaceful. But is it wrong that I think this? I am glad and blessed that I was raised into a Christian home & I grew up with the faith that I have. I'm glad that I know the truth. Should I be thinking, "how sad, these people are worshiping the wrong way?"....because I haven't been feeling like that. I look at them & think, wow, I wish I had a tenth of your devotiion. They worship so beautifully.
I know that is why we are suppose to go out & make disciples of all nations. But these people, it seems like it's more of a cultural difference than a religious one. If that makes sense. They worship God in their way & I worship Him in mine. But does that mean that all of these billions of people all over the world will go to Hell? I have a hard time believing that. Just because they were born over here. I dunno. If you have any answers, please let me know. But it's kind of a rhetorical question.
I've been thinking about what my next step is. My plan this whole time was to go to Fuller Seminary & study Cross-Cultural Studies with a concentration in Islamic Studies. I'm excited to get some of my questions answered through this. But I've also been thinking of different options. I'm not quite ready to go back to the states yet. SO I'm considering this grad school in Israel studing Middle Eastern Studies or possibly going to teach english in a spanish speaking country (spain?) for the main purpose of learning spanish. I dunno, I'd appreciate your prayers in this decision.
Anyway, thanks for listening & I'm all ears. LOVE YOU!

Malaysia...fascinating mix of culture, religion, food, race, terrain

Oh how I love Malaysia! It's got it all! So from Singapore we took a bus to Melacca, Malaysia. It's an adorable Dutch-Portuguese port town. There wasn't a ton to do there, but we enjoyed walking all through the city (Chinatown, Little India, the river walk, temples, mosques). And the food...incredible! After 2 days we took an overnight bus to the northwest island of Penang. We spent 2 days in a sleepy beach village (nothing compared to Thailand's beaches) but it was cool because no one harrassed you. Then we spent 1 short night in Georgetown. It doesn't look like much; run down buildings, some empty, lots of traffic....but it was SWEET! There were tons of food stalls, all KINDS of food, & the people living there are SO diverse! A true melting pot! Last night we were walking around. We left Chinatown and headed to Little India & ate dinner with Bollywood music blaring. Then we walked by a mosque during it's night time prayer, walked across the street to a Chinese temple, then back to our guesthouse where there was a buddhist ceremony going on. The next morning we woke up before sunrise to go to Chinatown for a delicious breafast of dim sum. So yummy! And the people in Malaysia...SO FRIENDLY! Now we are in the Cameron Highlands. We are surrounded by mountains, jungle and rainforrest. It's nice to be where the air is crisp and clean. So we're gonna stay here a few days & go trekking, check out some tea plantations, relax (drink my new favorite; Tea Tarik (tea with condensed milk), read...then head to the bustling city of Kuala Lumpur.
THEN....I'M MEETING MY BRO IN THE PHILIPPINES!!! I can't wait to see him! Although this trip has been so much fun, it hasn't been completely relaxing because I had so much stress with my job when I left. If you ever want to hear about it I can talk your ear off. FYI...if you ever consider teaching english in Korea...NEVER WORK FOR ISPONGE! I loathe that place. I could go on & on...but I won't. I know Megan must be SICK of me talking about it. Poor girl. I've been complaining her ear off about that whole situation. Meg's trip finishes in KL...sad days.
Okay kids, I love & miss you! Shoot me an email & let me know what's going on!
PEACE!!