Thailand Conference

This is me and my crew for the conference! John, Peter, Christine and Jean. They were great.

Last week I went to a conference in Thailand with four students. It was called the "GIN Conference", which stands for Global Issues Network. The conference was put on by EARCOS (East Asia Regional Council of Overseas Schools), so it was basically about 400+ students and sponsors from international schools around Asia.

The trip really fell into my lap. The history department head was suppose to go, but he is also our IB Coordinator and we had our big IB authorization visit the same day the trip would end. Side note, IB is the International Baccalaureate program (kind of like AP courses in the states). IB courses are for 11th and 12th graders, and before we can offer the IB program we must be authorized by the IB organization. We have been working all year preparing for this visit--it's kind of a make or break moment for our school. Needless to say, our IB coordinator needed to be at school while the conference was going on, so he asked me to go in his place. I of course jumped at the opportunity...not really knowing what I was getting into, but I did know I wanted a free trip to Thailand!

The conference was all about Global Issues (poverty, education for the uneducated, global warming, nuclear proliferation, the financial crisis, etc.). Almost any big issue our world is facing was discussed at this conference. It was a really powerful experience for me, which is why I've put off blogging about it because there are just some experiences that words can't fully articulate. So, I will try to at least offer some highlights.

1. We Can. We Will. This was the motto of the conference. I love it because I was surrounded by over 400 people that didn't want to just talk about the problems the world is wrestling with, they were people that want to do something about it. I want to be a person of action, not just talk.

2. Restoration of the world is possible. There is a lot of talk about global warming and deforestation, and rightfully so, it's a huge problem, but at the conference I was given hope. One speaker, John D. Liu, talked about his experiences in the Loess Plateau in China. This was a land that had become barren by ignorant humans (I mean ignorant in a literal way, not demeaning) and as a result it had turned into a wasteland. This guy and a bunch of scientist went in and educated these people on how to interact more appropriately with the environment and within 10 years a wasteland was restored into a beautiful, thriving ecosystem. This is for real!
http://www.earthshope.org/

3. Microfinance can end the cycle of poverty. Check out http://www.kiva.org/. I may write a whole post about this in the future. The idea is incredible and it is working!

4. You can't just throw money at problems. If you're going to fundraise money, you must raise awareness at the same time. So many of the world issues can be traced back to human ignorance (or maybe apathy?).

5. What is your passion? This was a question posed to me by a 17 year old who started his own organization to build water wells in Africa. We can't save the entire world by ourselves, but what is my role in the world? What is my role in all the mess the world is in (because I don't want to just sit on the sidelines)? So ever since the conference I've been taking more time to intentionally reflect on what I am passionate about. The question of passion is a fun topic for me and something I love to ponder about. It's my hope that as I learn more about my passion I will take that and develop it into a mission to serve humanity and to serve Jesus.

After the conference I struggled a little bit with a sense of helplessness. There are so many problems in the world, and it feels like I am doing so little. There must be something more for me to participate in and be a part of. And I think there is some truth to that...I am created for something more. But I want to be patient. I want to let God reveal who he has created me to be and what he's created me to do in his timing. Until then I want to keep my heart open and I want to enjoy where I am right now. God has already done more with my life than I could have dreamed (I'm living in Korea--what? I still can't believe it sometimes). Jesus has been faithful in molding me thus far, and I'm excited to see what more he's created me to do.

PS-

We were at the conference from 8am until about 9:30pm, so we didn't have much time to site see, but we did get to look around Bangkok on our last day. Here are some pictures at the Grand Palace in Bangkok.

movie night

About a month ago-ish our school had a silent auction to raise money for our school's mission trips. One of the items for the auction was a movie night at our apartment! Now, Tom and I generally consider ourselves boring people so we did not come up with the idea. One of the people in charge of the event had the idea and we said we'd love to help out. I'll be honest, I was slightly nervous. What if no one placed any bids on our event? What if we only raised a dollar? What if kids saw it and ran in the other direction??? I felt like I was back in middle school.

We were happy to report, that we got a few bids and in the end a group of girls paid 60,000 won (roughly $50 US) to hang out with us. All of the money went to our mission trips to Thailand and Nepal, and Tom and I got to host something we really would've done for free.

We had a great time and the girls ended up blessing us more than we probably blessed them. We had bought pizza and snacks for them, but then they showed up in (in true Korean fashion) with so many gifts for us. We received two pretty plants and more fruit than you can imagine (seriously...it was more fruit than we could eat in a month. plus, tom doesn't eat fruit. so it was really more than I could eat in probably two months). We ended up watching "Fast and the Furious" (not our choice and I wouldn't recommend it). We ate a lot. And we had a great time.

This is Diane. She is the great kid who actually bought the movie night at the auction.

This was our crew for the night!

The two flowery ones were gifts and the one on the right is our "love plant" that we've been struggling to keep alive after we killed our first plant (see previous post for more on this).

This is just a portion of what they gave! By this point I'd already put a lot in the fridge! All this for two people!!! Have no fear, we've regifted much of this to our neighbors. It's great fruit.

Don't worry, we won't make it a habbit to charge people to hang out with us.

thanks mom and dad

We got a special package from my parents not too long ago. We opened it right before I left for Thailand so I didn't get a chance to get on blogger and throw out a BIG THANKS to my folks. This package had the usually "must haves" such as cornbread, pudding, pasta sides, gravy mix, biscuit mixes, medicine, etc. The package also had some very special Easter treats! Tom and I are participating in Lent. We have given up sweets for these 40 days leading up to Easter. Keep in mind, we were eating at least one ice cream treat every day before this.

I think Lent is a really cool thing because by giving something up it has made us anticipate Easter (Resurrection Sunday) in ways that we wouldn't have before. I'm excited that in two weeks I'll get to partake in the Reese Peanut butter cups and the peanut butter M&M's sitting in our fridge. But I'm also excited to grow in the discipline of fasting and sacrifice for the days leading up to Easter. It really can be a powerful thing.

100 days, 100 posts

When you are dating here in Korea (not that I have experienced this) there is a particular day that is a monumental day in your relationship. Back in America you have a 1 month anniversary and whatever other regular calender unit you like. Well here in Korea the big day is your 100th day as a couple. Your supposed to do special things and go out on a date and give away candy and stuffed animals and whatnot. I find this landmark kind of tedious. Its not easy to calculate. This bothers me. I like months. Bonnie and I started dating on May 1st and got married on July 1st (two years in between). It is so easy to remember month-averseries. But 100 days...yuck. You've gotta keep track of how many days are in the months and what day you started on and in the end it is probably just easier to get out a calender and start counting. All this ranting about 100 days to say...

This is a monumental post. It is the 100th post on this blog. Bonnie and I would like to take this time to thank all of you for following us. We hope that you have found this informative and entertaining. We hope to continue to provide you with 2 to 5 minutes of entertainment between 1 and 4 times a week.

Conferences

Well, today we begin our second round of parent teacher conferences. They started today from 1-5PM and then again from 6-8:30PM. Then we have a second session tomorrow from 11AM-3PM. They are off to a good start so far. Last time and now again this time I have had conferences with a very interesting mother. She is the wife of a big CEO according to our principal. Well she is a very forward speaking woman. She says what she thinks.

The last time she made comments (through a translator) like, "I'm not much concerned about my daughters grade. I want to learn more about you." And, "I can understand why my daughter is going so well since she has such an attractive teach." And more randomly, "Tell me about the American economy. This very much concerns me." I think the translator was very embarrassed to say some of these things.

This time I heard things like, "I would pay attention well in class too if you were my teacher." And, "I'm glad to see that her grade is improving." And, "I see you keep looking over at your wife," Bonnie is at a table next to me, "I am jealous of her because she gets to look at you all the time." She is a very outspoken woman so I never really thought she was coming on to me so it was really just highly entertaining and subtly awkward.

It's the KBL ya'll...

Gotta give a shout out the now no longer existent ABA KC Knights. That's what the KBL reminded me of. It was awesome. I wish I could go to another game before the season ends but I don't think I'll be able to. I would compare the quality of basketball to decent Division I team. Not too bad. I also found out the there are some interesting rules in the league. For instance: 1) you can only have 2 non-Koreans on a team. 2) there are some sort of restrictions on when those two can be on the court at the same time (like they can be on the court together during the 1st and 4th quarters but only one at a time in the 2nd and 3rd). 3) There used to be (maybe still is) a rule that states any one foreigner cannot be over 208 cm (about 6-10) and the combined height of foreigners must not be over 400cm. I think they just want to make sure the foreigners don't take the spotlight off the Koreans. I mean, I guess it's the KBL for a reason...

Some pics: Nice kicks broThat is a "thunder." Yeah pretty intimidating. I know. Ju He-Jung...Baller...but one funky hair cut.

One of these things in not like the other...

Check out the dude in the white gloves. He was some sort of solo cheerleader.

Oh, wait there are the real ones...Check out the balloon launcher. It is wrapped around their whole torso.

The halftime show. Their tops say "skull" on them. Yeah, I don't know why either. Some of our basketball boys enjoying the halftime show.

Oh, in case you were wondering, Samsung lost.

Gas Station Gifts

This is something that I had heard about but didn't really believe until I went for a jog after school today. As I am walking back from my jog I stroll by a gas station and sure enough there is a rack sitting right next to the pumps and it is stocked full with kleenex boxes, detergent, cups of ramen, and all sorts of other goodies. God has blessed America with the most fantastic chain of gas stations know to man (it nearly goes with out saying that this is QuikTrip) but I don't think I've ever received a free package of instant ramen just for filling up my tank. I don't really know why they do it. I guess as a sign of gratitude or something. Anyway...

FYI Bonnie made it to Thailand safe and sound. She is presently learning how to solve all of the worlds major problems like hunger, disease, child soldiers, etc. She will then be meeting with President Obama to brief him on her findings. Do you think the CIA or Secret Service will read this because it has Obama's name in it? They probably have some crazy internet filter that alerts them any time it is on the web or something. Just think about it the next time you say Obama on your cell phone or in an e-mail or something. This post has derailed...

Bonnie can talk Thai. Bonnie talked Thai real well.

Meet the Parents, anybody, maybe, maybe... Well as you may or may not know I am flying solo for the next 5 days. Bonnie gets the honor of taking 4 of our students to a Global Issues conference in Bangkok, Thailand. She took off this morning at 5:00 AM and she'll get back in early on Tuesday. I think I will manage to keep myself entertained though. I hope.

I'll take in some LOST tonight. Friday night we have a "Night of Worship" at our school as a pre-sendoff for our Nepal mission trip team. Saturday I am going to a KBL (Korean Basketball League) game with a couple teachers and some of our b-ball players. Sunday I'll head up to church in Seoul and maybe try to venture my way over to Costco. That really could be an adventure. We'll see about that one. Monday... Not sure yet. And on top of all that I have 5 classes worth of tests to grade and 3rd quarter grades to submit. Fun stuff...

I'm probably most pumped about the KBL game. I hear they are pretty brutal to watch but I want to take in some Korean culture and bad basketball.

Dak-galbi

So Dak-galbi may be our favorite Korean food. We have a lot of them. Well we got ambitious one night and took some videos. We hope you like them. Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADu1afyGYzI

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

First off this has to be the quintessential Brad Pitt image. Bomber jacket, slicked back hair, sunglasses, motorcycle, chillin...

Anyways, Bonnie and I just got back from seeing The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It was a most intriguing film. At first when it ended I thought, "huh, interesting story" and that was about it. But as we walked away we began to discuss some themes we saw in the movie. Death, the sea, sacrifice, being alone,and the one I found very intriguing... letting go. I thought the movie was riddled with this and I think there are a lot of people out there that really struggle with it. Maybe that is one of the reasons that the movie is so captivating to people. I would highly recommend the film and highly recommend discussing it with someone you love afterward. Most thought provoking...

"You can be mad as a mad dog at the way things went; you can swear and curse the fates - but when it comes to the end, you have to let go. "


The image above was provided (unknowingly) by:
http://www.caimag.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/curious-case-benjamin-button-sunglasses-11.jpg

Go Tigers!

Last night Tom and I traveled about an hour to Osan, an area in Korea where there is an American Air Force Base. Osan is great because they have mexican food there! Yes...we traveled over an hour just to eat mexican. And it was worth it!

We walk into the restaurant and notice that there is a basketball game playing on their big screen tv. We opt to sit by the TV so we can watch some college basketball. As sit down we realize that this isn't just any basketball game, this is the Missouri v. Texas Tech Big 12 game. Granted it was a re-broadcast of a game we knew the score to, but still! We got to watch Tigers basketball in Korea at a Mexican restaurant. It doesn't get much better than that!

After the tigers game there was a mariachi singer that serenaded us. The singer was from the air force base and is a Texan (something we tried to not hold against him). It was a really entertaining night after a long week of work.

Hong Kong and Back

Wow, it's been a while since we blogged. Sorry about that for those of you that may read regularly. Well last weekend I went to Hong Kong and attended an International Baccalaureate conference to learn more about a class I may teach next year. It was very informative and I am glad that I got to go. Hong Kong was nice the second time around too. I mainly did the conference until like 5 PM and then went and explored with the 4 other teachers that attended with me.

I would say the highlights of exploring were the food and market shopping. I think that KL had more in the way of fashionable shopping options (clothes, shoes, purses, wallets, belts, ties, etc.) but HK has more of the random electronic goods (head phones, CCTV cameras, mp3 players, etc.) and art work. I snagged a couple more 2'x3' oil painting for us to hang up in our place ($10-$15 US), a head lamp ($4 US), a camera case ($7 US), two pairs of in-ear head phones ($4-$6 US each), and a jade necklace for Bonnie ($10 US).

Food wise one night we broke up as a group and I went with the other math teacher on the trip to a German restaurant. It was awesome!!!!! I had some schnitzel, a German beer, fried potatoes, and of course sauerkraut. Delicious! It kind of reminded me of the sausage supper in Brinktown, MO. Not quite the same but at least close. I also had a fat piece of lasagna at a place called the Spaghetti House. It was actually like what you would expect back home. Very nice.

All in all it was a good trip but I am glad to be back in Korea. What can I say? I missed my wife.

teaching

Right now I am teaching a unit on the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Today I taught about the history of Judaism and how it's connected to the Holy Land. We discussed Abraham and that God made a covenant with him promising him and his descendants Canaan (the Holy Land). In my five student class of English language learners, student 1 asked, "how do we know Abraham didn't lie?" It's a valid question, so I talked with them about how Abraham had a special relationship with God and he could hear God.

student 2 (in the most innocent and awe-struck voice possible) asks, "Mrs. Meyer, Mrs. Meyer...how did Abraham know it was God speaking?"

This question totally caught me off guard. I mean, I'm going through the historical timeline of the Jewish people and essentially student 2 is asking--how do you hear God? All the kids pause and look at student 2.

Then student 3 turns to student 2 in a very sassy voice, "how would Mrs. Meyer know that?!"

then literally the bell rings. The quotes really don't do the interaction justice, but it was a great moment with my five kids.

Crosswalk man

This was in KL... We just thought it was amusing.

Also we changed a setting that we didn't even know existed. That is the comments setting. It now allows anyone to comment not just those people who have google accounts. Sorry if you ever encountered frustrations with that. Our ignorance was your pain.

We're back

Well we just got back from an awesome vacation. We had a blast exploring Singapore, Penang and Kuala Lumpur. We have posted pictures and a new video on the right hand side. As always double click to enlarge them.
Here's a link to the video too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZRt3CTUOa4

We flew into Singapore on Saturday night. We got up the next day explored and then caught an overnight bus to Penang. We hung out in Penang the next 3 days and relaxed. We then caught a day bus on Thursday to KL. We stayed the night and explored the next day. Our flight back to Korea took off just after midnight Friday night (technically Saturday morning).

We'll try to blog more this week on specific stories and whatnot.