fun is free...

fall has finally arrived, with a flourish.

the week ended in chaos. "swine flu" closed down korean schools next week and the kids, hearing they got three days off next week, had a really difficult time focusing on anything. especially in eleventh grade (good people, bad students). pray for them!

saturday morning (halloween!) was perfect. i was up early to get in a sunrise hike before it starts to get colder. it was perfect and i went down a different and beautiful path, covered in leaves and bordering the army base, which is surrounded in ominous barbed wire - a perfect setting for a halloween morning! i took photos and walked around for an hour. i felt incredibly alive.

stereotypically fall #1: after i got back, i made mashed sweet potatoes and watched "it's the great pumpkin, charlie brown". ahh...the only thing i was lacking today was some sort of pumpkin baked good.

the rest of the day i spent at school, a lovely coffee shop, Minto, and Can-More. it rained and poured with a fierce wind, so i was glad to be inside for much of it - and so glad i had gone outside early this morning.

sunday: first time visiting itaewon. an odd shopping and cultural center buzzing with foreignors. i haven't heard that much english since we were in insadong that one time.

what the... moment #1: in an earlier post (october 14th) i mentioned a discussion between my students and i about the phrase "what the". much to my surprise, the one (and only?) English bookstore is called "what the book?" i couldn't believe it.

blessing point #7: i really like hugs.
i've been missing hugs, and i realize that since i've been here, they have been few and far between. this week, i happened to watch juan mann's "free hugs" video for the first time in years and i said to myself, "if i see someone holding a 'free hugs' sign, i'm definitely in!". coming up the stairs in the subway station after leaving itaewon, there he was! a guy holding a 'free hugs' sign. there was a camera around him, which made me a little uneasy, but i went right up and got my free hug. they also had me tell them where i was from and my name, and as don says, i might end up on youtube someday...hah. it made me happy. i really like hugs :)

in case you haven't seen it, or if like me its been awhile, prepare to be heartwarmed :) (i think i just made up a word)







here's to a beautiful fall...