YIN-YANG YEARbook

Where does the time go?  I looked at my most recent blog entry and it is over one year old.  YIKES!  So much for my grand goal of blogging once a month!

I do wonder where the time goes.  It is not that I am a lazy person, it is not that I am even negligent.  I don't have kids that beg for my attention (well, other than the 45 lovely middle schoolers that I see M-F) and I don't have a husband that is clamoring for my time.  So seriously, why have I not sat down in front of my laptop and just pounded out some inspiring words?  Can a person suffer from INSPIRATION OVERLOAD?  I have had so many experiences this year that have inspired, thrilled and amused that when I think of actually putting them to words, I don't even know where to begin.


Living overseas is like YIN-YANG.
For those of you unfamiliar with this concept, it is simply a Chinese symbol that the Taos believe represent unity.  Each part is dependent on the other.  One could not exist without the other.  Night becomes day and day becomes night.
Birth becomes death and death becomes birth.

There are so many perks to the vagabond lifestyle, but adversely there are those times when you just want to pull your hair out!  There is a little bit of 'WOW, THAT WAS REALLY COOL' in every 'THIS IS NOT IDEAL' situation and there is a tiny bit of 

'SERIOUSLY, DID THAT REALLY HAPPEN TO ME' in every                   'I LOVE MY LIFE' situation!

My job as a teacher in Seoul consists of those moments weekly and sometimes on a daily basis!  Instead of sending out the usual Christmas card, I thought I would fill you in on the highlights of my YIN-YANG life in Korea!

The YIN - you finally get an update from me - long overdue!  YANG - it is pretty wordy!  Grab a cup of coffee before you start reading!  :)

JANUARY - YIN - I love spending time with my family and my Cincinnati friends over the Holiday break - it does wonders for my soul having those GREAT memories to recharge my batteries in the New Year!  YANG - it is always a long tough flight to come to the States - 13 hour flight ONE WAY with CANKLES is never fun!  

Happy 2012

Diana, Jen, Tracy, Ryan and little baby Memphis

My sisters and my nieces

FEBRUARY and MARCH - Yin - I have met some WONDERFUL friends in Seoul and we have made our own acronym - not very creative but we took the first initials of our names and we call ourselves MELK!  I love these girls and have had some great, uncanny, crazy memories with them.  I have laughed till I cried and am so thankful that I have been able to experience the wonders of Seoul and Asia with them - they are my forever friends!  Yang - Sometimes people think we are just plain CRAZY when we are together!

MELK (Misty, Ellie, Laura and Kristen)

APRIL - Yin - Spent Easter with my parents in China.  My mom and step-dad moved to Beijing, China almost 2 years ago and it is wonderful to have them so close.  I flew to Beijing for the long weekend and did some sightseeing and we participated in a sunrise service on top of the Great Wall of China.

Yang - we had to get up at 3am on Easter Sunday to make it to the Great Wall - small sacrifice for such an amazing morning!

Mom and I at the bell tower

I don't even drink tea and this woman convinced me to buy some!

Amazing view over the Great Wall at sunrise - this was my second visit to the Great Wall!

Sunrise service on Easter morning

MAY and JUNE - Yin - The two busiest months of the year!  End of school is approaching and there are TONS of things to do and places to see!  Things accomplished in May and June - went to my FIRST and probably my LAST Lady Gaga concert (end of April to be exact), hiked the largest mountain in South Korea, attended a HIGH tea with the girls in my discipleship, drove to NORTH KOREA on my scooter, celebrated the 100 year anniversary of Seoul Foreign School, went to China AGAIN to see my mom and step-dad and headed to Hawaii for the SECOND time!  Yang - By the time the middle of June came around, I was really, really tired!  

Wigs, glasses and LADY GAGA!

Our discipleship having PROPER tea and some FUN!

Temple of Heaven and Earth in China

Mom always makes a sign for me when I arrive in China

We decided to hike up the path to the Great Wall - this was trip #3 to the Great Wall!

About 20 of us female teachers decided to drive our scooters to North Korea early one morning.  We all had pink t-shirts that said HOOTERS on SCOOTERS and we arrived at the border and took crazy pictures.  The drive was about 90 minutes on our scooters but we were SO excited when we arrived!

MLK - we are trying to look HARD CORE on our scooters!

We even had our BIKER names put on the back of our t-shirts.  Kristen and I took something from the movie "Dude where is my car"

MELK won a sailing trip!  We were given matching hats and shirts that said AQUA HOLIC and were spoiled for the day on the Han river!

Come sail away with us!

JULY and AUGUST and SEPTEMBER - Yin- I know everyone talks about how GREAT a teachers job is because we have summer vacation, but other teachers out there know how important those weeks are to RECHARGE your batteries and just REST!  I spent the summer in good ol' USA with family and friends.  Yang - August and September = back to school.  The start of school is an exciting time, but depressing as well.  Back to the grind is hard in ANY profession.

Spent my birthday with the Lewis family!

Goofy faces with Corie

Loved the time spent with Marcus and Julie

Saw my friend Julie Marten - 8 months pregnant!

Lunch with Ryan and Jen and baby Memphis

Auntie camp with Miles

Auntie camp with Lexy

My step mom and I took the kids to Holiday World

Auntie camp with Chloe

My step mom Cathy

Me and my DADDY!

OCTOBER - DECEMBER - Ying - Third year in Seoul means that I finally know my way around and am able to get involved in more things!  I have been taking Taekwondo lessons (slow but sure) and just received my YELLOW belt!  It is really exciting for me because all the commands are in Korean and I only go for the lessons once a week - IF I am lucky!  I can't even brag about it to my students because they are all BLACK belts!  In November I had my first non-family visitor and had a blast playing tour guide to Kendra Martin.  My favorite active thing to do in Korea is hike - seventy percent of Korea is mountainous! I traveled to Sri Lanka in October for the Chusok holiday.  It was great fun with the MELK crew!  Thanksgiving was spent in Korea with my mom and step dad and teachers at school.  Just recently my sister was able to visit Asia and flew to China to see my mom and Wayne.  I couldn't let her experience Asia without me, so I flew in for the weekend!  

Playing soccer with the locals in Sri Lanka

Visited a snake farm in Sri Lanka

Amazing views on the beach in Sri Lanka

Laura and I looking FIERCE in our Taekwondo class

Kendra and I having fun at the Trick Eye Museum in Seoul

Hiking/Photo bombing with 50 of our closest Korean friends

Thanksgiving dinner with the immediate family and my surrogate family at Seoul Foreign School

Great Wall of China with my mom and sister - count for me - #4

Loving on the babies at the Chinese orphanage HOPE Foster Home

Yin - As the year 2012 ends, so does my contract at Seoul Foreign School. After much debate and lots of hours in prayer, I have decided to move to the STATES in June.  I have been overseas for 6 years and I only told my family I would be gone for TWO!  I am really unsure of my future, but I know that God has my future in His hands.  I am hoping to settle down in Nashville, TN!  I am thrilled about being closer to my family and friends and being able to be more involved in the lives of my friends.  I am looking to continue teaching middle school so if you have any contacts, I will gladly take the hand outs!  Yang - I am sure I will experience reverse culture shock moving back to the States!  I still struggle with current events stateside and I doubt I remember how to put gas in my car since it has been so long.  The last time I claimed the US as my residency, Bush was president!  Living overseas has made me pretty tough though - BRING it on Obama! 

Wishing you and yours a VERY Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!