Venture to Korea with Amanda & Abi

To all our friends, families, and vistors - thank you for visiting. We will be updating this blog as our adventure develops.

14 weeks

Yep, that's right, 14 weeks!! The countdown has switched from months to weeks so it's serious now! We're in the home stretch. Really thought it would never happen. Those first few months were rough. I think rather than having clarity about my future plans, I'm becoming more confused. Thinking about leaving these people, especially with the add on of probably never seeing them again, makes me quite sad. On the same note, the homesickness and missing people is stronger for me now than it was before. I just yearn to talk to all of you and laugh and be my normal self. It's going to be a fantastic homecoming, that's for sure.

Friday is test day, as mandated by the head honcho and every other week we have to give recording tests but the other fridays are our choice. Usually I give them a little review test from their text book but this week I tried something new, a music test. I printed the lyrics to a song and erased some of the words and they then had to listen to the song and fill in the blanks. My first class has a horrible reputation in the school. They are mostly boys who often fight, swear and don't do any work. I think they were actually specifically given to me as it was thought I could straighten them out. I think I've failed at that as two of them got in a fist fight after my class on friday but I'm finding them to be much more mellow lately and I enjoy their company. I've also been doing a competition between all of my classes for a pizza party so they're working really hard to get their points. Anyway, I chose a Cake song for the music test and that first class was so negative. Complaining that it was boring and they didn't like the song and they were tired, etc. etc. So of course I'm thinking "gosh I'm an idiot, now all I'm going to hear all day is how much this music sucks and how much they hate the music test....great!" Going in to my next class I was weary and ready to defend my musical taste when I noticed that during the song some of them were dancing a little and lots of them were trying to lip synch along with the song. After it was over they wanted to hear the rest of the cd and they loved it and wanted to dance. It was so cute. Every class after was the same. They got into it, even the 13 year old boys (who, by the way, may be the worst population of people ever to live. There's not much more annoying than a pack of 13 year old boys bound and determined to be negative about everything!) were asking to borrow the cd to burn it into their mp3 players. I felt so happy that I had connected with them over something that I love and that they bought in and loved it too. Saying goodbye to these kids will probably be the most difficult thing I'll have to do here.

 

On the other side of the spectrum I finally was able to get ahold of Barb, Dave and Severen, former house mates of Amanda's and long time friends of both of ours. Super sweet people. Little Severen was two when we left and was able to say both of our names and "no home" when it was time to leave for the night. I've been trying to call them the entire time I've been here but always seem to miss them so to hear their voices took me right back to being in Milwaukee and having those excellent conversations with all of my excellent friends. Then they put Severen on the phone who was babbling away in full sentences faster than I could understand. Telling me he loved me and missed me and saying my name in a cute little way. I was just standing in the phone booth crying and thinking about how much I missed everyone, especiallly the little ones that grow up so fast and feeling like I missed out on so much over this last year.

 

Needless to say I think I'm further from understanding my emotions and what I should do next. But there is one thing I'm extremely grateful for and that is that I have so many people, in so many differnt places that love me so much and who I love back twice as much. It's bitter sweet of course, because I can only be in one place at one time. But I do realize, now more than ever perhaps, that I'm one lucky girl. So thank you, to all of you, for everything and know that I love you truck loads!

~abi

posted by: 2SKLadies at 09:14 | link | comments (1) |

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