Generosity - Friday September 12, 2008

Besides being obsessed with Bengali music, I am pretty darn happy.

Quick week update...for last week.

It's going to get harder and harder to keep my blog up to date. I don't feel like I'm involved in that much, but apparently I am busier than I realize at times. I leave at 8AM and find myself not spending more than a few minutes at home between the time I leave and the time I get home, usually 13 hours later.
Ugh...I'm getting worse and worse about updating and by the time I find time to update, I don't remember half of the stuff that happened.

Ok, let's start with the incredibly generosity I have experienced this past week! Ellen, this amazing woman that I met last year through her volunteering in the English Village cares for me as if I were her daughter. She is married to an incredible man named Carl. Carl is a professor at Yonsei University in Wonju; he teaches history and an English grammar class. The two of them have been married for less than a year now, but moved to Korea immediately after they were married. The economy in the states is so horrible for professors that they decided coming to Korea would be the best opportunity for Carl to get a professor position. Ellen isn't working at this time, but she is volunteering at the English Village in my school. Last year Hae In and I went over there for homemade pizza. Anyway, I saw Ellen for the first time on Thursday since this summer. I am hoping to join a Korean class at Yonsei University that Carl is a part of. I have been corresponding with both of them regarding the class since this summer. Ellen told me more about it and that registrating is next week. She told me that if I can't afford to pay the $200, she and Carl will pay for me. I was immediately overwhelmed with the kindness that this couple has and continues to show me. They are just so amazing! They really want me to take the class because it is something that I want to do in order to feel more a part of Korean culture. I think I should pay for the class, but just the fact that they offered means the world to me. Her request of me if they did pay for the class for me: Pay it forward.

The same day, my best teacher friend gave me a ton of food to take home with me. She knows that I love Korean food and it has been hard living on my own and not knowing how to make Korean food yet, so she gave me some kimchi and whatnot that was brought in by parents for Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving). When she told the mom who brought the kimchi in that it was going to me, the mom said that I could go ahead and keep the tupperware because I would probably need them in my new place.

The same teacher friend also paid for me to go to the movies with the other first grade teachers on Wednesday even though I am no longer an official member of the first grade office. We went to see Mama Mia together. I had already seen it, but seeing it with them in theatre was much better than streaming it on my computer at home. ^_~ Plus, it was really fun to watch the movie with 6 women. If you've seen the movie, maybe you understand what I mean.

I went out with my host family for dinner on Thursday night. I asked if I could invite Monica (the new afterschool TaLK English teacher) to go along. We all went to Sorento, a super delicious Italian restaurant near Lotte Cinema. They have a gorgonzola pizza with potato chips on top, and it quite possibly may be the best pizza ever...well at least that I've had in Korea! ^_~

I was so amazed and appreciative of the kindness I've been shown this week. I am so fortunate to have people like this in my life.