chuseok. mountains. banana bread. a few things that have blessed and baffled me lately.

So it has been over a month since I last wrote. I fear that any faithful followers I may have had at one point, have probably abandoned whatever remaining allegiance to my blog they had left...due to inactivity. Sorry for being so inactive and absent lately. Needless to say, much has happened in the last month. So, I'll do my best to write about some of the most interesting and important things that have happened. :)

I arrived here July 4. So tomorrow is the three month anniversary of "Carly moves to Korea day" for me!! Its starting to hit me that time is just zooming past me...seems like the weeks have flown by. Almost too quickly. I've already done 1/4 of my year contract. This is both exciting and sad for me. Exciting because its feeling more and more like home and its nice not to be the new girl anymore. :) Sad because I quite like it here, and the thought of it finishing too quickly is unwanted. Also, its hard thinking about next year, because I have no idea what's next for me. No idea. Whenever life is great, I have this sense of wanting to hold onto it...to clench my fists and not let go. To slow down time and somehow control it. To try to draw out the good moments...to make them last. The quick passing of time reminds me of our immortality. And how each moment can only happen once. Each experience is temporary. And our spectrum of control in life is so small, despite our illusions that we have so much, if not, complete control. Time is just one of those things that brings me back to the wonderful reality that God is the source and sustainer of all that is. My Jesus is all, and I am nothing. I've been reminded of this so much lately, in different ways.

Whew. Sorry. I find myself ranting more than even I'm used to on this blog. :) But, it just bubbles out of me, and I have no idea if it makes sense written down, like it does in my head. I feel like this blog has been a good outlet for me, to share some of the ways that God has been good to me, since being here. He's answered prayers. Significant prayers. Ask me about it sometime and I'll give you more specifics! And He's given me so many opportunities that have been challenging and faith-growing, in unexpected ways. Recently, I found myself in one of these situations, when I sat by a canadian guy on the bus. Conversation turned from the usual things that are talked about when you meet another foreigner..." where do you teach? how long have you been here? etc." to faith and religion. He told me some of his thoughts about religion (some of them quite bizarre and disturbing). He also told me that he'd read the Bible three times. Umm, wow. I was floored. And wondered, "what would possess someone who doesn't believe that the Bible God's revelation to us to read it from over to cover?" I had been convicted pretty strongly, not too long before this conversation, about how reluctant I am to talk about my faith with others who have conflicting or different views. And how unprepared I often feel to express well why I hope in Jesus and the richness and color that knowing Him has added to my life. And, I felt pretty inadequate in this conversation...like all the words that came out were empty and unconvincing. I thought, Holy Spirit, "why don't you come through in those kinds of situations, when I really need you, and make Yourself sound good? I'm not doing a very good job of convincing" And afterwards, God showed me a few things. And totally answered my prayers. First of all, although disciplines, like reading the Bible completely, aren't necessary in our faith, they can help our witness. Also, he brought me back to the truth that walking with Him is all or nothing. Maybe I struggle because I don't practice talking about him. Maybe I struggle talking about Jesus because I'm clinging to my own desires and not clinging closely enough to him. Maybe I don't talk about Him because I'm not as close and intimate with Him as I would like to be. Maybe I struggle because I squelch the Spirits soft prods and nudges. Not that reading the Bible three times in any way brings one closer to God. Reading it will do you no good if the Holy Spirit isn't at work within you. But, I do have the Spirit in me. And I haven't read it. Not all of it. I thought a lot about that talk after the fact, and decided that this year I'm going to read the Bible. So, that is my current mission. I just finished week one of a "read-the-Bible-in-a-year" plan. And I'm pumped. Im already learning new things. I am really excited to be diving into the Bible. And mostly, excited to learn more about God. I love John 17:3. It says, "Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." I'm excited to know Him more. We'll see how I feel once I start Leviticus. :)

Ok...moving on. So, mountains. Last week was Korean thanksgiving, which is called Chuseok. It is a really big holiday here. It consists of many of the same things as our thanksgiving holiday (minus football of course). They eat lots of food, travel long distances to be with family, etc. Chuseok originally began as a celebration of thanksgiving for the harvest. I'd say the most significant difference is that they practice ancestor worship on theres. It was strange to have so many students tell me that what they did for Chuseok was bow down to their ancestors. Its not a wierd or taboo thing here at all. I've heard that the older generations are much more into ancestor worship than the younger generations, but they still take part in it. Respect for elders and for family ties is so engrained in the culture and in the way that people think. I really respect this part of the culture. Its challenging to know how to respond to things like this. I think the best thing to do is pray. At least, thats a good place to start. Its interesting because it seems to be a much more spiritual culture (in that most people believe in a spiritual realm) than western cultures...but, it seems like a lot of people aren't really devout. Like Buddhism and ancestor worship tend to be more cultural than spiritual practices. Maybe. Just the way it seems to me. So it was interesting experiencing that. For the holiday, I went up to the northern part of Korea fairly close to the North Korean border. There's a national park up there that we heard was beautiful and there is a great hiking mountain on it. So, I went with a few friends for three days. We did a very long, steep hike that made our legs shake and our sweat glands come alive, but it was worth every bit! It was absolutely gorgeous. Reminded me a bit of Yosemite in CA, but was very unique and different from anything i've ever seen. There were some temples along the way (most mountains are covered with a plethora of buddhist temples)...and some shelters that you could stay in along the way. We tried to make it to the highest peak, which was only about 10 km...but we decided against it at the second highest peak, when we were just 1.5 km away. We knew we wouldn't be back by dark, and the hike was steep and slippery due to the misty, drizzly weather. It was steeper than we thought...a lot steeper! People thought we were crazy for trying to do it all in one day...apparently most people do the shelter thing when going all the way to the top. They also thought we were crazy, I'm sure, because we didn't have any of the right gear: hiking poles, hiking boots, visors, color coordinating jackets, pants and backpacks...etc. Koreans love their gear. But, we were glad we did it. :) Great to be with friends and get away. Great to see more of korea...which has so many beautiful places.

So, that was Chuseok. Lovely. Now for the banana bread. I have been missing baking and the eating of the baked goods, since being here. Since I am without an oven here, I decided to be creative and try the steaming method. I had heard from some other foreigners how to bake using a steamer on the stovetop, and so it wasn't really all that creative of me. I was just following in others' footsteps. I got a banana bread recipe from them, and it turned out scrumptious. It was even more moist than it is oven-style. It didn't taste quite right (due to differences in ingredients, like no vanilla, and funky butter i think)...but it still hit the spot. I ate most of it in less than two days. I also brought some to school, and shared the wonder of banana bread with my coworkers:) So, I am happy that I have now figured out how to steam things...and am excited to try more "baked" treats. Off to bed. Hope to write soon again. Much love.