things lately

things that have happened in the last two weeks:

1. i played in my first volleyball game against another school. they get rather competitive. i had to wear my special gym clothes and i was assigned a position. the ladies and i won the first two games and bested the opposition. but the co-eds lost and according to korean custom, it's not who wins the most, but who wins last that is actually the winner. i beg to differ.

2. i had my first two ultimate frisbee games on sunday in daejeon with my team, the cheonan cheonwons. it was the first time playing together as a team, and most of us have never played before (we're also ranked the lowest in all of korea based on skill-level). we lost, both. the first one by a lot, the second by a little. in the second game, i almost caught a hail-mary touchdown? point? i don't know what to call it? but the frisbee came in at a weird angle and hit me instead. next time, next time. it was a learning experience, and i hope i can apply my new skills in our four games this weekend!

3. my parents went to a foreign country without telling me (who do i call in case of emergency?).

4. student funnies: i was teaching my fifth grade students about punctuation. they cannot remember the name of the "exclamation point" and instead call it the "escalator potato," i let it slide. and today, we were hearing a story about shakespeare, and i asked if anyone knew his whole name: a student tried to read the korean-ization of his name in their books and ended up with "alien shakespeare."

5. a favorite writer recently -

school volleyball

yesterday, i participated in the after school volleyball game that the teachers have every wednesday.

i was nervous because i hadn't played in a while, they would only speak korean, and they would expect something of me. but i decided it was a way to boost esprit de corps and gain respect among the other teachers. and it ended up being really fun despite my earlier worries. i wasn't as rusty as i remembered, and the principal gave me a high-five! we played for two hours in our gym over the cafeteria and by the end, i felt like i belonged just a little bit more. i carry my bruised and swollen arms with pride (the nurse also gave me some magical pas to help).

i have found that things that intimidated me or scared me or constrained me have been the most worthwhile. they have the most positive impact. they take the most effort to overcome, but they end up having the greatest effect on my attitude and on my perception of my time here. over the past year, things like traveling alone to japan, climbing fuji-san, and taking the gre seemed daunting until i put in the work and made the effort. and most recently, joining sports teams again like ultimate frisbee, school volleyball, and training for another half marathon were rather scary thoughts. but after those first few minutes of terror and confusion, i fell into a comfortable place again, a place i belonged, a place i could dig out space to fit in.

i have also found that God has been there with me all along. through the lonely travels, lonesome dreams, climbing mountains, taking exams, leaving my comfort zone, His presence has been a constant source of reassurance and confidence. my courage comes from Him.

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korea is blooming again. little miracles springing up every day. on magnolia trees outside my apartment, apple blossoms on the walk from the bus to school, and the dazzling red and fuschia flowers that will soon grace the bottom of the hill near my apartments.

welcome, spring, and all the uncertainty that comes with it.