First Day in Korea

So I've been in Korea a couple of days now. The first day I had some funny experiences. I wrote them down on Friday, but I didn't post them until now. So I hope you enjoy.

OK, so this is another one of those posts where Allie is too tired to do a lot of editing to her writing and fill it with fanciful figures of speech, but rather gives you the poorly written (but usually funnier, though not always) upchuck version of what’s been going on in her life.

So I flew out of Singapore last night at about eleven o’clock. Saying goodbye to Miguel and Paulo was super hard (Ruth was back in Timor so I already said goodbye to her). I cried big Allie-gator tears. So did Miguel. We were both also super tired because we’d been staying up late previous nights. So I’m sure that affected things.

I got into Korea this morning at 6:00 AM. Since this morning, I’ve had some very interesting and slightly humorous experiences. Getting through customs was very easy. I went to Jamba Juice for breakfast. However, before I could buy my smoothie and croissant, I had to exchange my American money for Korean. I went to the counter that said, “Currency Exchange” and asked the dude if I could exchange my money. As he was doing his thing, he asked me where I was from. I told him that I was from the States. Then he said something that kind of threw me off for a second. He said something along the lines of, “Ah. Very cute.”

Me: “Huh?”

Him: “You’re very cute, very pretty.”

Me: “Oh, thank you [or something like that].”

Yeah, I was thinking, “This guy is old. I’ve just gotten off a plane and I look horrible. I haven’t even brushed my teeth this morning. How can he think I’m cute?” Yeah, so that was the first funny thing.

I took a bus to a city near Hannah and David’s house. Then Hannah and her mother met me at the bus stop. It was raining cats and dogs the whole morning. So I was really happy to see Hannah; I love that girl.

We got to her house. I was going to take a shower, but I decided I should have my devotions first. However, I did need to go to the bathroom. So I went in and did my thing. Then the time came to flush. However, I was baffled as to what to do because I looked down and saw there were approximately 73.29 different buttons on side of the toilette seat. I didn’t know which one to push. Hmmm… So I looked the purple one that looked like it was depicting a flushing motion and decided to give it a whirl (no pun intended). Out from the back of the toilette seat comes this little white stick. Then, with no warning whatsoever, I was violently attacked by a stream of water shooting up at a 45 ° angle, with power similar to that of Niagara Falls.

I couldn’t keep in my laughter. “Hannah, can you show me how to use your toilette?”

David: “Are you all right in there?”

Then we ate a wonderful lunch of Korean food. I actually used chopsticks a little too.

David, Hannah, and I hung out and talked about Fountainview. Eventually I packed my little bag with stuff to go to Sharon’s place (Hannah informed me this morning that I was leaving her house that afternoon to go to Sharon’s place).

I was on the train for about two and a half hours. Korea has some beautiful country. It’s very lush and green, although it’s been foggy, cloudy, and rainy all day today no matter where I travel. L

So Sharon met me at the train station. We grabbed a taxi and she took me to a Korean street market where I proceeded to photograph all the crazy things people eat here (otherwise you wouldn’t believe me if I told you). We walked around for a while. Sharon bought me a couple of things to try eating. Some were interesting. Some were tasty.

Then we got a bus to head to the hospital where Sharon’s mom works. I was feeling tired from walking and traveling, etc. So Sharon suggested that I lie down on her camera bag, which was on her lap. After a few minutes I felt a hand touch my shirtsleeve and then begin to rub my shoulder.

“Oh, Sharon, it’s been so long since I’ve had a back massage.”

“Um…Allie, I’m not massaging your back. This old lady is.”

At first I thought she was just joking (that would something Sharon would do), but to my utter horror, I look up to see that in fact, the complete stranger I was sitting next to, an elderly-ish lady, was rubbing my back. The bizarre back rubber just laughed and lightly patted my back, trying to get me to lie back down again. I did as I began to laugh quietly. I don’t think I’ve ever had that happen to me before. Needless to say, I thought it was a little strange and very hilarious. Sharon suggested we move seats. I hope she wasn’t offended.

So, now Sharon and I are in the hospital where we’ll be staying (I know you could make a lot of jokes about that). They’re having a vespers service now. I think they’re just having song service right now. I think I should shower though before I make an appearance.

So, I’m going to end this now. I hope you maybe got some chuckles from my adventures in Korea. I know I have, but I think it’s partly because I’m also very tired. That tends to affect me a lot.

Singapore

Allrighty, so I'm in Singapore as of yesterday afternoon. It's been very nice to just rest. 

The people I'm staying with have been wonderful. They took us to a light show at Marina Bay last night. I know the pictures aren't the greatest. I didn't have a tripod so that made things a little bit difficult. But yeah, I hope you enjoy them. Next stop: Seoul, Korea.

A Rambling Farewell

I'm done packing. As I've been browsing on the web this morning, I thought it might be a good time to blog a farewell to East Timor. I wasn't planning on blogging this morning so, as the title says, it's probably going to be a bit of a ramble.

I've been here in Timor for nine and a half months. Today I fly to Singapore with the little boy I've come to treat more as a little brother and his father. We're going to stay there for two days so I can see what Singapore is like. Then we part ways; they go to Portugal and I head to Korea, and then finally the U.S.A.

It's hard to explain what I'm really feeling right now. Excited? Yeah. Strange? Yes, very much. After being in a third-world country for this long, it's going to be strange living in the States again. People here have tried to explain to me what it's like and help prepare me, which I'm thankful for. I'm also thankful that I'll be in Korea for a little while with friends. Hopefully that time will help me to adjust a little.

I'm going to miss some things from Timor (the heat and humidity is NOT one of them).

I'm going to miss the smallness and closeness of the church here.
I'm going to miss my Portuguese family. They've treated me as their daughter instead of their employee, which has been a mammoth blessing to me. Yes, there have been times where I really wanted to smack my student, but I've come to love him like a little brother.
I'm going to miss those little sea-side restaurants where I can get a fresh lychee juice and lebanese bread to dip in garlic paste and hummus.
I'm going to miss the freshness, variety, and adventure I've been able to experience here in Timor through the people I've been able to meet and just the experience.

I feel like I've just made a million dollar deposit in the bank of life experiences.

It's really been a good year. It's been one of the best things I've ever done. I've learned and grown so much, it makes the hard times completely worth it.

However, I'm so excited to see my family. I'm excited to be able to hang out with my little brother, sister, and nephew. I'm excited to drive on roads that have no pot holes. I'm excited to be able to walk to the park. I'm excited to go running in the morning by myself. I'm excited to go to Taco bell. I'm excited to be able to drive up to the mountains. I'm excited to be in a place where the humidity is very low. I'm excited to be with people I already know and don't have to go through the whole process of getting to know them. I'm excited to not be the stranger or foreigner anymore.

But it's also strange. I just hope I don't forget the things I've felt, seen, and heard. I hope that I can utilize the tools I've collected here and use them to bless others. It's just going to be strange. Life is so different in the States. There's so much...stuff. While I've been here, life has had more of a focus on things that matter: my relationships with others, helping out in the church. There's not much to do here in Dili, so you really just hang out with your friends a lot. It's good though. I think that in the N. America, we sometimes get focused on the stuff, the things that don't matter. We forget to nurture those relationships God has blessed us with. We try to squeeze them in between all our other things to do. This is something I hope to take with me back to the States. I want to make the most of my family and friends and stay focused on what matters in life.

I also hope that I can live my life always keeping a bigger picture of what the world is like in mind. I feel like I've seen a different side of the world that I wouldn't have glimpsed had I never left the U.S. I pray I don't forget this side of the world.

Yeah, there's a lot to process and think about. It's so strange. And I still have to say goodbye to my Portugeuse family (that's going to be hard).

But I know God has lead me this far. Psalms 146:9 says, "The LORD preserveth the strangers..." I know God has preserved me this year and He will continue to lead and guide me throughout the rest of this journey. I don't have everything mapped out. But that's OK. I know He does. So, as I close this chapter called "East Timor," I'm excited to start the new one and see what God has planned.

This picture of me was taken by my amazing friend and photographer, Ruth Grilo. You can see her work here at www.whitesharkrunner.blogspot.com
I love you, Ruth! I'm going to miss you guys!