A Look Ahead

Lauren and I have been quite busy. Not so much trying new adventures busy, but more of working and planning for our next step busy. Most of you surely are aware of our next step, but here it is anyway (The long history-laden edition).

I told my high school guidance counselor when I was a junior that attending law school sounded pretty good to me. The adept counselor then stated matter-of-factly that I must be one of those people who loves to read. At the time I did not,  and explained to her that it wasn’t the case. Her expression changed and instilled some fear that this wasn’t the path for me. That idea stayed on the backburner for the next 8 years.

Last summer after our return from vacation in the states, I started to really consider our future and what it was I wanted to do, and what I was supposed to be doing with my life.   I loved and still love teaching. The kids bring me so much joy and I would treasure doing it for the duration of my career. However, I wasn’t sure if it was what the Lord wanted me to be doing. I knew I wanted to be a servant, but didn’t know in what capacity that would be. A couple of things began unfolding encouraging me down a specific path.

My nephew Ethan experienced a very poor educational environment. Few of his needs were being met while those in charge ignored Ethan and their own shortcomings simultaneously. Things changed dramatically with the help of attorney. How one person, with the appropriate knowledge and a heart of servitude, could make such a huge impact on another’s life stirs me in a deep way.

Another continually evolving circumstance was my growing adoration for reading. Lauren has shown me the way to really love reading.  I was a perfectly proficient reader before I met Lauren, but hardly enjoyed delving into a novel recreationally.  Slowly through the years she has encouraged me to read and offered endless recommendations.  In Korea, I’ve probably read 3 times the number of books I had read my entire life before I came here (no bs).   A service oriented spirit, the thoughts of my nephew, joined with all this reading and the thoughts of what the high school guidance counselor had said, had me considering taking the LSAT.

The Craigslist search for LSAT prep books and the subsequent result of “Free unused LSAT books and 12 practice tests” enticed me quite a bit. I picked up the books and began a nightly ritual of studying various strategies and solving endless practice questions.

After much thought, I decided to take the Fall LSAT. The fall date was my preferred time to take the test, but it happened to fall on October 10, a date near and dear to my heart.  My loving and supportive wife encouraged me to take the test that day and that we could celebrate that afternoon and evening.

The test was long, very long. I left the test confident, but a little upset about a slight curveball.

A month later my test scores came in and were better than I had anticipated.  I sent out applications to schools all around the country, not knowing where would accept me.

Lauren and I began to pray hard about where we should be going in our next stage of life. God blessed us so immensely when we came to Korea.  We felt the Lord had called us out here, and we followed.  It wasn’t an easy thing, but when God is your guiding light, it is hard to get lost. He showered us with blessings and reassured us that following his path was the best way to live.

As a few admissions were granted, our direction seemed fuzzy.  We began slowly weighing the pros and cons of schools, eliminating some, then returning back to them the next day.We knew we had to be patient and listen for an answer, so that is what we did.

Late in March we started to really understand what the next step might be.  We began to put the pieces together, they fit perfectly like a puzzle culminating on April(4) 2, another date near and dear to my heart involving making life altering decisions.  Proverbs 4:2 "For I am giving you good guidance.  Don't turn away from my instructions".  Pretty awesome.

We don’t know what he has in mind, or what his plans are for us are but we know if we follow his direction, he will never do us wrong.

Lauren and I are moving to New Orleans, Louisiana in August, and I will be attending Tulane University Law School.

The next 3 years are sure to be an adventure, but hey, what’s new? We welcome in any and all to come and visit us in our new future city near the mouth of the mighty Mississippi.

Journey Together

I'm a big fan of numbers.  They're universal and understood.  They may be a little misleading at times, but they more often than not are concrete and something to hang your hat on.

We have 5 weeks left in South Korea.  We have been here for 115 weeks.  Our time here is almost 96% in the past.

It is a little bit sobering and astonishing as well.  To say our time here has been great would be an understatement.  Everything we have done and experienced here has been such a blessing.  The best blessing of all was being able to do it together.

Lauren and I have been married for 947 days, 805 of those days with our home in Korea.  In other words, we've spent 85% of our married life abroad.

Not a huge percentage of people choose to move to another country shortly after being married.  Not many people get the opportunity to work side by side with their spouse.  Maybe it isn't for everybody.  But for us, it has been perfect.

God has blessed the us tremendously by granting us the opportunity to live and work together in a foreign land.  Our marriage bas benefited from this in countless ways.  We were better able to focus our attention to the needs of each other, rely on one another deeply, and develop a strong foundation for our lives ahead.  Only God knows what the future will bring, but with 100% confidence in him, we have no need to worry.

24 Months In the Making

It finally happened.  When we left for Korea, I doubted my parents would be able to visit.  Nevertheless, I harassed them about getting passports and challenged them to a trip.

Welcome to South Korea!

Well I shouldn't have doubted them.  Mom and Dad Haws made it all the way to Seoul for a visit, arriving on Mom's birthday.

Happy Birthday!

What a blessing!  Unfortunately Lauren and I had to work during the week, but the evenings and weekends were filled with great times out and about and stuffing ourselves with delicious food.  We'll let the pictures do the talking though.

First meal in Seoul

Catchin' a baseball game

"She is gonna what?!"

Open wide!

Alright, not bad

North Korean creeper at the JSA

Drinks with Christina and Daniel

St Patrick's Day - Nice green/orange Mom and Dad...

Visiting BIS kindergarten

Seungmin and Eddie near Insadong

Cheers!

KTX to Busan - 300km/hr

Music lessons at the instrument museum

Water show at Lotte in Busan

Shot from Busan Tower

Mandu restaurant from the film Old Boy

Mandu

Having Mom and Dad Haws here for the week was truly a blessing.  Sharing our small space with them was an honor and reinforced how wonderful time with family is.

Thanks for the visit :)

A trip to Hapcheon

Before we know it has been almost a month from our last post, yikes!

We recently made a trip with some friends down to the small county of Hapcheon.  It is a mountainous community and vastly different from Seoul (10,000,000 people vs. 60,000).

Our good friends Younghwa and Seungmin rented a van and transported us along with 4 other friends from Seoul.   Hapcheon is home to Younghwa's parents (along with our good friend Sanghyun who is working on his masters degree at UNLV right now).  When we arrived in Hapcheon, we met Younghwa's mom and dad and visited the Hanam_Movie Theme Park.

This location has been the set for numerous films and television shows including Fighter in the Wind and East of Eden.

After touring the set, we picked up some food and headed to our rental house, known as a pension house.  We stayed the evening here cooking out and playing some card games. 

It was a quick trip, but a great time had by all.

Two Years

Today marks the two year anniversary of our arrival in Seoul.  The incredibly anxious feelings we had when we landed  at Incheon International Airport died down long ago.  The adjustments to the new culture weren't as shocking or surprising as we thought they might be.   That doesn't mean, however, that the past two years didn't challenge us greatly and help us to grow in new ways.  This experience has forever impacted our values, ideals, and habits.

If we had to choose a feeling that has described the past two years, it would be thankful.  This experience has been second to none.  God has truly blessed us here, and we are forever grateful.

Today, more than ever, we appreciate this verse from our first post:

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

- 1 Thessalonians 5:18 

Seolnal 설날 2011 (Part II)

Oh wow, I guess it's time to finish this post...three weeks later.

Our second day in Gwangju mostly consisted of the consumption of exquisite Korean dishes.  Seriously, we feasted every three hours.  These traditional meals were like Michelin Star quality - absolutely incredible.

We began the morning by enjoying a traditional breakfast with Jonghan's immediate family.  His mother prepared rice cake soup (tteokguk).  This soup is a mandatory meal for every Lunar New Year.  It is believed that if you eat a bowl of this soup you will grow a year older.  The oval shaped rice cakes in the soup symbolize coins, or wealth, for the new year.

Shortly after breakfast we headed to a relative's home for a Seolnal traditional ceremony and lunch.  Minutes after we arrived, the ceremony began.  Jonghan's 88-year-old grandmother was to be honored by all of the attendees with a bow and a New Year's greeting.  As a token of appreciation, the elder blesses those who bow with a gift, usually money.   Her children bowed deeply and their children followed.  And we were included in that group!  Chris and I felt so honored to take part in this tradition.

The youngest children wore their hanboks and endlessly entertained the crowd.

After lunch we all gathered around for a yutnori tournament.  Yutnori is a simple traditional game played every New Year.  The game is easy to learn, as the board is very comparable to Sorry!.  We'd love to explain the game but let's be honest, no one does it better than Wiki :)  See here if you're interested in the rules.

The foreigners won the tournament!!  6,000 won richer! (Looks like that soup is already paying off ;)

Later that afternoon we visited the traditional houses of the Confucian School (Hyanggyo).  The school was built in the 14th century and has since become a national attraction.  We love the rich history that is found in every corner of Korea.  

Life long friends

The next morning Jonghan's family took us on a scenic drive through the mountains of Naejangsan National Park.  We didn't have any hiking gear but we were able to stop and follow a paved road up to one of the two temples located in the park.  The views were beautiful and I can only imagine how gorgeous the area is come fall.

Jonghan's gracious family

It was a three day long double date!  We loved it :)

The contrast between the white snow and the brightly painted temples is stunning.

Look at those tall lovers.

We then stopped to fill up on a huge lunch before the long drive home.  The traffic was going to be horrific with so many out of towners returning to Seoul so we wanted to get an early start.  It was another delicious meal shared with our host family, but we have to be honest, it probably wasn't the best idea to feast right after the a long and winding drive through the mountain roads.   I was already feeling a little car sick and with my belly stuffed, the stop and go drive home was too much to bear.  I tossed my cookies in the car and Chris lost it the second we got home.  Motion sickness is the worst.

Too bad I lost it all, this Korean style meatloaf (tteokgalbi) is one our absolute favorite meals here!

Rice served in a bamboo branch from the bamboo forest in Gwangju.

Despite the long drives, the trip was unforgettable!  We are so thankful for the opportunity to spend time with Jonghan and his loving family.  We feel so fortunate to have been a part of the special celebration and the memories made will forever be some of our favorite times in Korea.

We hope to see as much of Korea as possible in the coming months before our departure.  Last weekend we took another road trip to the southern area of this great peninsula.  Maybe in three weeks we'll post about it :)