Festival!!

The day has finally come and gone, and I could not be more relieved; Festival is finally behind us! After 2 1/2 months of intense preparation, resentment of unnecessary pressure, lack of encouragement, long hours, poor communication at times and very stressed out 6 year olds- I am cheerfully able to say that it was all worth it.

On Friday night before Festival, I woke up every 30 minutes looking at my clock. When I wasn't looking at my clock I was dreaming of festival nightmares: tripping on stage, teacher's not showing up, stage fright, personal embarrassment, fighting, forgotten lines, and projectile vomit in the middle of a performance. LUCKILY: it was all just in my dreams:)

The day consisted of trying to keep 5 classes of kids jam-packed into the smallest room behind the stage quiet, costume changes, line memorization, dancing, singing, plays, speeches, instruments, teacher speeches, proud moments, laughter, tears, stage fright, props, unending nerves, and best of all-very happy parents and teachers!:)

My class bought me many beautiful bouquet's of flowers and gift package of Chanel perfume,bronzer, and lip gloss. Living in the wealthiest suburb in Seoul and working at a very expensive English school has its perks. :) Even though the day was hectic- seeing the parents' faces and hearing their comments at the end of the show put everything perspective and made all of the stress worth it.

Jina's Mom- the best English speaking parent in my class- put a card in the gift and it said this:

Dear Ms. Shauna,

Thank you so much for your concern our kids. I was deeply moved by your love in the meantime. Jina is a very happy girl, and all kids in our class are very lucky. Because they met you!!! We have prepared this gift with all our heart. This is not much, I hope you would like it. I wish you enjoy your time in LCI. Best wishes to you.

Love, Jina's Mom

I have one week left with these kids before the school year ends and I get a new class. I think it will be much harder to say goodbye than I ever imagined it would be. I think extra hugs, play-time, smiles, laughter, and fun are in store for this upcoming week! Enjoy some of the pictures from festival!

Jina after the show!

Andrew, Sean, Amy, and Jina getting ready to go on stage and tell the story, "There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly."

All of the classes getting reprimanded by the Korean staff for being too loud back stage

Sean and Seojoon getting ready to sing, "You are my Sunshine."

Jina and Amy

Near Death Experience

I have to start by saying that I am so thankful I am alive to tell you all about my life-changing, traumatic, near-death moment I experienced this evening.

Every Wednesday night, Christine and I attend a church service at Mosaic coffee shop a few subway stops away. We left work at about 6:30pm like usual, but unlike most nights we had to run a few errands before getting on the bus to the subway station. We were racing around because we did not want to be late.

Side note: in order to fully grasp the intensity of this story- you need to understand a few rules in Korea. First, pedestrians do NOT-let me repeat-DO NOT have the right of way. Second, red lights are mere suggestions. Cars stop if they want, but apparently they don't always have to or sometimes they stop and then go-similar to a stop sign in the U.S. (those do not exist here). You have to be very cautious crossing roads: even in a crosswalk.

We were really in a rush and we tried to j-walk across a very busy road because we knew that if we walked all the way down to the crosswalk and waited for the light- we would miss our bus and be very late for church. So...without thinking we ran out in to the middle of the road and we got stopped. We thought we were going to be able to make it all the way across- but boy were we wrong. We got stuck in the middle of the road with no median to stand on. Christine made a split second decision to run back to the side we came from- and my one second hesitation kept me from doing the same. As my heart started to race, realizing I was now in this mess alone, a city bus started coming straight at me and I had nowhere to go. I took one step to the side, heard a very loud car honk, and quickly realized I had stepped into oncoming traffic. I literally had no where to go. If I took one step to my right- I would have gotten hit head on by a bus. If I took one step to my left I would have gotten hit by a car going the other direction. I froze. The bus slowed down a little- and as it drove by me the side of the bus grazed the back of my sweatshirt. No joke. All I could do was stand as still as possible. The minute the bus passed me- a little Korean boy (maybe 9 years old) ran half way out in to the street in a panic waving his hands at me to run across. If he wouldn't have been there, I don't think I would have had the courage to do it as I was in complete shock. When I got safely across the road I had tears in my eyes and I thanked the little boy a million times as he was breathing as heavily as I was. It was pure grace.

Now- you may not feel like this is that big of a deal. And it probably wasn't. :) But in the moment, it was one of the scariest experiences I have ever had in my life. I just thought I needed to share this story with all of you:) After almost 6 months of living in Korea, I was not surprised at all by the fact that of all the people walking on that road- only one small 9 year old boy tried to help me. The children here are truly incredible.

In the end, it would have been much faster for Christine and I to walk to the crosswalk and wait for the light. We ended up making it to church in plenty of time, and you better believe I was thanking God for my life:)

I hope everyone is having a very good week:)

Love,

Shauna

Life as of Lately

"We are all longing to go home to some place we have never been-a place, half remembered, and half-envisioned we can only catch glimpses of time to time. Community. Somewhere, there are people to whom we can speak with passion without having words catch in our throats. Somewhere a circle of hands will open to receive us, eyes will light up as we enter, voices will celebrate with us whenever we come into our own power. Community means strength that joins our strength to do the work that needs to be done. Arms to hold us when we falter. A circle of healing. A circle of friends. Someplace where we can be free."

- Starhawk

I have almost been in Korea for 6 months and reality is finally setting in that this place is my home. The honeymoon phase has passed. The harsh cultural differences are setting in- not just as new and exciting experiences and opportunities- but as my reality. This realization has been shocking in some ways and comforting in others. I have come to accept and love the fact that this is my home. This is where I live, where I work, and where I feel part of a community that matters to me.

Here is what I have been up to lately...

Korean

I finally buckled down and started studying Korean; making it a priority in my life. After just a few solid days of study- I was able to read most Korean words. The challenge now is to learn the meanings of words. It is VERY fun and exciting to walk around the streets and sound out the words I see and even understand some of them. Even though I am not supposed to use any Korean in school- my kids like to help teach me new words and pronounce sounds correctly. Christine, Britney and I have a weekly ritual of finding a new coffee shop or tea house after church on Sunday's and studying Korean together.

Work

As we are getting close to the end of the school year, they are done at the end of February, work has been a pretty stressful environment to say the least. We are preparing for an end of the year Festival which will be held on a Saturday (boo). All of the Kindergarten classes will do two different things in the festival. The older classes (7 year olds) will do individual speeches and a class play. My class will sing a song and tell a story. My class will be doing the story, There was an old lady who swallowed a fly. Each of my kids has about 5 lines to memorize that they will say all on their own. Then there are chorus parts that they all say together. There will be costumes, props, and dancing. My kids (keep in mind they are only 5 years old) will have to memorize the story, a song, dance moves (that all have to look perfect according to my supervisors), their number spots so they know where to stand on the stage, when to enter, exit, and when to bow. You get the point. On top of all that we are STILL teaching all the same text books we were before. The only difference now is that we have eliminated all of the fun things we used to use as positive reinforcement in the classroom, such as art, play time, big gym, game time, and song and chant, for festival practice. Everyone is going a little stir crazy.

St. Olaf Students

I had the pleasure of spending time with a group of students from St. Olaf that stopped in Korea during their global semester abroad. We originally connected with them because Christine knew one of the girls on the trip. I later found out that about half of the group has had my mom as a professor, and some know her very well! What a small world! We had a great time bringing them to a noraebong, showing them Korea, and meeting them at church. One of my favorite parts about traveling is how deeply you are able to connect with complete strangers out of necessity and vulnerability. It also helped that they go to school in Minnesota and know my mom:) It was great to have them here, and I can't wait to meet up with some of them when I return to Minnesota.

Daily Life

Over the past 5 1/2 months I have become the person I have always tried hard not to be: a coffee addict. The place I go regularly is called New York Coffee and Hot Dog, and it is exactly what you are probably picturing it to be. There are a million cute little coffee shops all around my school, but the reason my co-workers and I choose NY is simple: it is cheap and the cute Korean ladies who work there know us and our orders so our drinks are almost done by the time we get up to the register. Talk about good service:)

I went to Avatar again- only this time I saw it in 3D. It is the first movie I have ever gone to twice in the theater and I will go again if I can. If you haven't seen it- go now.

I just found a movie rental place by my school that has almost every movie you can think of. Movies are as cheap as 1,000 won, which is less than a dollar, all the way up to 2,500 for the new releases. Steep, I know. It might just be my new favorite place.

I finally tried taking my Dad's advice that I need to act more approachable if I want Koreans to be nice to me. I have been trying to be more friendly and inviting with Korean people rather than timid, shy. and stand-offish. While it hasn't stopped them from pushing me and giving me a nice elbow in the side on a regular basis, it has helped me to have a lot of really great conversations with some Korean people and helped me make some Korean friends. I think I am now up to a total of 4- very exciting. :)

Lastly, I have finally fallen in love with Korean food. It took me a good five months- but it is such an exciting discovery. I have foods that I crave, and I NEVER ever thought that would ever be possible. I am becoming more adventurous and trying new things- it is very exciting for me. Also- I tried to eat a meal with a fork today for the first time in a very long time and failed miserably. I dropped it about 4 times during the meal and had a hard time cutting. It sounds ridiculous but it is true. Who would have thought I would love chopsticks, too?

I will make sure to post some pictures of my new favorite foods and Korean phrases soon!

Love,

Shauna

Snow Day!!

My Dad and I went to the DMZ on Sunday January 3rd, and I was supposed to go back to work on the 4th, even though my Dad didn't fly out until the 6th. I spent an entire week preparing him to get to and from Seoul via the 5500 bus or the M4101, using the subway system, and getting to the places he wanted to see (I am sure he was annoyed of me but I didn't want to lose him in the big city!). The plan was for him to leave for Seoul as I was leaving for work on Monday morning and then be back in time for dinner....psyche. SNOW DAYYYYY!!!

Seoul got dumped on with more snow than Korea has seen in 103 years- about 11 inches in less than a day. With no snow plows, few shovels, some brooms and some home-made signs (used for scrapers) the entire city was a mess! What an unexpected blessing- one more day with my Dad! We ventured out in to the snow and I brought him to my school- he was able to meet all of my Korean co-workers and see the place where I spend most of my time! After that we headed to the nearest subway station on foot (I usually take a bus), because the buses were running hours behind schedule! We proceeded to take the insanely packed subway (that everyone else in Seoul was also trying to take) and headed to the COEX mall. We went to 2 movies back to back- a record for me..but right up my Dad's alley. We went to the movie Nine, and then I was bribed to go to the movie Avatar (even though I was convinced I would hate it). It turned out to be one of the very best movies I have seen in years. It might even end up being the only movie I will EVER see twice in the theater. Snow Day= successful!

The next day I only got half the day off- so instead of wasting his day sitting in Suji, my Dad finally got to use his skills when he ventured in to Seoul alone for the day! He went to a couple of Palaces, did some shopping, and of course ate some street food:) It was fun to see his face after a long (well, it felt long) day of work! I was very sad that he did not get to come meet my Kindergarten class, but such is life.

The next morning I walked him to the Airport Limousine at 7am and cried harder than I have cried in a very long time while saying good-bye. It was so wonderful to have him here, but it was much harder saying good-bye to him the second time. Since he was flying stand-by, I was secretly hoping he wouldn't make his flight and he would have to come back. Of course, that didn't happen because we truly were stumbling on grace all over the place that week, and in all seriousness I don't think I could have gone through that good-bye again. I felt a little down the rest of the week- but I am slowly getting back in to the swing of life!

Sharing my new life with my Dad is a memory and experience I will hold in my heart forever. And when I finally come home it will be helpful to have someone in my life who will have at least seen where I had been and gotten a taste for what I had experienced.

Sweeping away the Snow

Please note the sign used for scraping snow

Wishing you all a warm and happy start to the New Year!

love love love,

Shauna

Counting my Blessings in 2010

Happy New Year!!

The new year is well underway, and all I can do is be thankful for the multitude of ways I was blessed each day in 2009. My most recent encounter with the reality that God answers prayers is when my Dad was able to visit me in Korea, despite every

thing in the physical world being against him.

My Dad flew out of the Minneapolis Airport on Christmas Day- one of the busiest travel days of the year. He was flying standby (thanks to a dear family friend that works for the airlines and allowed my Dad to use one of his buddy passes to come see me), and there was a blizzard going through Minnesota. Regardless of all the obstacles he was up against on that day (with me sitting on the other side of the world preparing for his arrival knowing he may never make it) he not only got from MSP to Tokyo, and Tokyo to Seoul as planned- he got to ride in Business Class as those were the only open seats!

We wake up every morning despite what we did yesterday with so much to be thankful for if we choose to have the eyes to see it. Everyday has a new sunset, a new orchestra in the sky to take in, a gift from God. Everyday, grace waits for us to stumble on it. -Ellie Rocher

We definitely stumbled on grace that day.

After arriving in Seoul, I spent the following three days showing him where I live. I showed him where I shop, where I eat, where I sleep, where I shower (probably not his favorite part of the trip- he may or may not have complained about having a sore back after hunching over during every shower), where I walk, and every other part of my HOME!

We sipped tea in Insa-dong, walked the bustling streets of Meyong-dong, ate street food, used chopsticks, explored Namdemuen outdoor market, stopped in to the Lotte Hotel to use the toilets with heated seats, spent 4 hours on a bus ride that should have take 45 min due to heavy snowfall the day after he arrived, made more Korean friends in 3 days than I have made in 5 months (Pat talks to everyone), navigated one of the most complex subway systems in the world, went to the War Memorial, and shared my tiny, one room, box of an apartment graciously. The excitement I felt showing my Dad all of the places I had been telling him about for 5 months is indescribable.

Galbi

Korean War Memorial

On December 29th, we left Korea and headed to Hong Kong. For being one of the most densely populated cities in the entire world- it was one of the cleanliest, most organized, modern, energetic city I have ever been to. When we walked out of the subway for the first time we had to stop and question whether we were dreaming or if we were in fact experiencing reality. The hustle and bustle, the warm weather, the bright lights and the neon signs overhead gave the impression of a movie set- not a big city. The friendly atmosphere, the diverse faces, the multitude of languages being spoken all around us, the action, the food, and the sights took me to a place that felt worlds away from Korea, and a place where my Dad and I could bond and travel internationally together, for the very first time-just the two of us.

Stanley Market

The Jumbo: floating restaurant

Waiting for the boat shuttle to the floating restaurant

View of Hong Kong from Victoria's Peak

Funny Moment: Due to the fact that my Dad is deathly afraid of heights he didn't think he could ride on the steepest tram in the world; going both up and down the mountain to see Victoria's Peak. We compromised and decided to take the tram up and than do the hour walk down the mountain that my Dad read about in his guide book. Let's just say after walking for an hour to and hour 1/2 on the "circle walk" (he convinced me it circled down the mountain) we ended up right back where we started- no closer to the bottom of the mountain and definitely no closer to food (it was almost 10 pm by the time we finished the walk). We ended up having to take a cab down the mountain. Way to go Dad!

I have learned that if you are going to laugh about it sometime, you might as well laugh in the moment. - Ellie Roscher

Local fish market

These guys are not being sold as pets. You decide-Lunch or Dinner?

Night Market

In 2 1/2 days we went to the coast, the markets, the highest peaks, ate dim sum on a floating restaurant, came across the most fowl smells I have ever experienced, shopped, walked, used the ferry to cross between Kowloon Island and Hong Kong Island, and best of all rang in the New Year with 1/2 a million people.

Happy New Year!!

On New Year's Day we headed back to Korea. We took a tour of the DMZ (my second attempt) and I think I can safely say it was one of the coolest places either of us have ever been. We left with a million more questions than we went there with, and a passionate desire to do some extensive research about the history of the unresolved conflict that presides over Korea.

North Korea!

To Be Continued...

즐거운 크리쓰마쓰: Joyful Christmas

"These times of connecting so deeply with complete strangers out of necessity and vulnerability, briefly walking with someone I will never see again, having my life changed out of the grace and generosity and compassion shown by someone taking the time to sit with me, these times are the ones that will stay with me forever."

-Ellie Roscher

As I spent my first holiday season away from home, I found myself clinging to the love and warmth of new friends, my students, and even complete strangers to get me through the month of December. The conversations, hugs, cards, gifts, and smiles came when I needed them most and will be remembered and cherished forever.

Through the use of decorations, activities, and music I was able to make both of my "homes" (my apartment and my classroom) here feel like Christmas! My Kindergartners worked hard all month on learning the song "We Wish you a Merry Christmas" for our December song contest, and they also spent a day making Christmas lists for Santa. At six years old, half of my students already own cell phones, and the rest put cell phone on their Christmas lists. A few of my kids that are "wise beyond their years" as I like to call them, also wrote that they wanted a computer and a Nintendo. My favorite Christmas wishes, however, came from my young ones that have not been expected to act like adults before even hitting puberty. These sweet children asked for teddy bears, colored paper, pencil cases, one boy asked for an umbrella, and one boy asked for garland and a kit to make his own Christmas ornaments. The lists were given to the parents and one present was delivered to each kid...by Santa Clause:) It was so much fun to experience the excitement of Christmas through a 6 year old's eyes. Koreans do not celebrate Christmas the same way we do, but since we are an English language school we celebrate and teach them about Western holidays during school.

If you were to visit Korea during Christmas time you would feel very much at "home": listening to O Holy Night or Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas in the background of every store or restaurant you enter, and seeing Christmas lights on buildings and trees, Christmas trees, Christmas cards, and Christmas decorations galore on every street corner. However, if you were to spend Christmas Eve or Christmas day with a Korean family you would be very surprised to see that most Koreans treat those two days as if they were any other day. In Korea, Christmas is known as a "lovers" holiday rather than a family holiday, and Christmas Eve and Christmas day are two of their biggest shopping days of the year. Many young lovers treat Christmas Eve as a fun party night, similar to how we celebrate New Year's Eve in the United States. It can be expected that if you are an early riser on Christmas day, you might witness many people o stumbling home from the bar.

On the Tuesday before Christmas we had our staff Christmas party! We went out for a fancy Italian dinner, drank good wine, had good conversations, and one-by-one opened our Secret Santa gifts in front of everyone. After we opened our present we had to guess who it was from. It was a very fun night!

On the Wednesday night before Christmas, the contemporary worship service I attend every week at Mosaic cafe, was having a candlelit sing-along. It was so wonderful to gather in a room with Koreans, other Americans, and people from all areas of the world, and recogize that in that moment we had all been brought together for the same purpose: the celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It was a very moving evening.

On Christmas Eve I ventured to a town 3 subway stops away called Jeonga, and went to a little store called ilovecookie.com that sells imported goods (for a lot of money). I don't go to that store often, but I felt like I could splurge for one day in order to make something special for Christmas! So, I bought Miracle Whip. Yup, that's it. It was 15 dollars for one container of Miracle Whip. With that I made my favorite chicken craisin salad (with the craisins my Mom sent me in a Christmas package). It may sounds silly, but that's what I was craving. It is also one of my only favorite treats from home that I can make without the use of an oven or microwave. So, on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day I sat in my apartment and ate chicken, craisin sandwiches. Yum.:)

On Christmas Eve I ventured in to Seoul to the International Lutheran Church I have been attending on Sunday's for a candlelit Christmas Eve service. It was one of the most beautiful services I have ever been to, and everyone in the Church that had no one to celebrate Christmas with (I fell into that category) was invited to the Pastor's house afterward. It was so wonderful to be in a real house that haD an oven (which means their were real Christmas cookies), some familiar faces, and comfortable furniture (the most comfortable place I have sat in 4 months). It was a special evening.

I spent Christmas Day skyping with friends and family, watching movies, reading books, writing in my journal, and drinking hot cocoa.

Now that the Christmas has passed, I can safely say that as lonely as I was, and as much as I missed friends and family back home, I feel appreciative of the opportunity I had to celebrate the birth of Jesus in a way that probably resembled the day he was actually born; simple, warm, and quiet. For the first time ever my celebration of that birth was not overshadowed by non-secular traditions, and a fast-paced, busy day. I had the opportunity to quiet my heart, pray, listen, be still, reflect, and have good conversations with family and friends.

I hope everyone had a very special, and very Merry Christmas!:)

I love and miss you all!

Love,

Shauna

Snip, Snip: My first haircut in Korea

Those of you who have lived with me over the past four years know that I ALWAYS get bad haircuts. I don't know what it is about me or my hair, but even the most professional hair stylists struggle to cut it so that it looks normal. Needless to say I was trying to hold off getting a haircut in Korea for as long as possible. But there came a point where I could wait no longer.

I had gotten many recommendations for hair salons from co-workers but most of them were very far away and required me to make appointments well in advance. Well, I don't do that. Usually when I want a haircut I want it right now, so I go to anyone that is available (this might just be why the end result is never what I want). I had an hour break during work and decided to go to the little salon down the street my school. I waited around at work so that one of my Korean co-workers could write me a note in Korean, but they were very busy so I ended up just going with nothing!

When I got in to the hair salon no one spoke any English- to be expected. I sat in the chair and held up my fingers to show him how much I wanted cut off. He matched his fingers to mine, hesitated, and said..ok! Then, he proceeded to brush through my curly hair so that it turned in to one huge frizz ball, and he started chopping away; with my hair dry. I almost had a minor panic attack. After he took off about two inches, he looked in the mirror and started randomly chopping places where it looked uneven. If he would have been able to understand me I would have told him that it wasn't ACTUALLY uneven it just looked that way because there was a big frizzy curl there and if he had wet my hair he would have known that. But instead I just sat and smiled with my heart pumping very rapidly. After he was done cutting he made a motion with his hands and told me my hair was....very big. haha. Once again my inside thoughts were saying, well yeah because you just brushed through my curly hair, but instead I just sat and watched him thin out the bottom part of my hair. Yes I did say thin. I, Shauna Cropsey, the person with the thinnest full head of hair on earth was getting my hair thinned because it looked "big" for the first time in my entire life. I really thought I was going to leave that salon with no hair at all. After he was done, two other men joined my stylist and began straightening my hair all at the same time; talk about royal treatment.

I am sure you are all waiting for me to tell you that even though I have had a lot of bad haircuts in my day this one topped the charts as the worst haircut in history. But, if you are thinking that you are very wrong. It turns out- it was the best haircut I have gotten in the past 4 years- go figure. Korea continues to surprise and amaze me each and every day.