I have no idea why I'm still awake. There's really no reason for it. It's 2 am Thursday here, 12pm Wednesday in Wisconsin (happy birthday, Mom!). It's my wonderful day off tomorrow so maybe I'm subconsciously giving myself permission to stay up super late and sleep in. However, knowing how my days turn out, I don't sleep in, I just jam pack them, morning to night with activities. It's part of diving into this new community, I suppose.

I'm doing a Beth Moore Bible study with some of the other girl RAs and dorm moms. We're only one week in, but God's slapping me around. One specific idea that's striking me over and over today, not just in the study but in life is how blessed I am to be here. God always accomplishes what He sets out to do...whether or not we cooperate. God was going to have an RA here in Korea, working with these kids, showing them Christ regardless if I went or not. God's will would've been accomplished even if I said "no". But how much greater are the blessings if we say "ok"! I could've stayed in the states, worked at a university or church. I could've stayed in Green Bay. I could've...missed out on a chance of a lifetime. God may call us to the unknown or familiar. He may call us close by or far away. It isn't a matter of who is lucky enough to stay close to home. While I miss home dearly, I'm all in here. I don't feel like I got the short end of the stick. I feel blessed that God provided me with the wisdom, council and peace to understand that He was calling me here for "such a time as this." I'm thankful for all you friends who are also where God has called you. Whether you're working in some random stores in Fort Wayne, moving to Chicago, still at IWU, living in Africa, going to seminary (in Mississippi or Colorado), moving to a small town called Booneville, working in Indy or living like crazy in Houston, I'm thankful that God has placed you there! Cherish that, walk in contentment and joy that you God was able to accomplish something through you because you said "yes."

RANDOM KOREAN FACTS:

While Valentine's Day is celebrated here with males giving females chocolate and flowers, a similar holiday "White Day" is celebrated for the reverse. On White Day, girls give boys chocolate and the like. However, on "Black Day" all the singles in the country go into mourning, drinking Coke (since it's black) and eating "jajamyun" (noodles and black bean sauce).

*Warning, generalization approaching*- Korean men dress phenomenal. Their attention to hair astounds me. Our dorm guys spend just as much time getting ready as some of our girls. Longer (almost a styled shag) is in style. Designer clothes (including skinny jeans for guys) are wore. The school has a good amount of Korean staff that work in the offices, including several Korean men in their 20s and 30s. These men wear the most stylish suit in Korea- a metallic gray pant/coat combination with a skinny black tie. Let's just say I get out dressed every day by the Korean men...

Age is one of the first things you discover about another person. Since it's such a hierarchal society, someone who is just a few months older than another demands respect. So much so that traditionally, when addressing someone older than you, you don't use their name. There are specific Korean titles for that person. One of the 9th grade guys in the dorm today, when addressing Jennifer (who is a junior) used a Korean word meaning "older girl" instead of here name. The same goes in a family. There are terms for "older brother", "older sister's husband", "older brother's friend" and so on. It gets pretty complicated.

Korean ages are calculated differently than those in the US. While you can say how old you are, it's more common to just say the year you were born. I hear "oh, you're 90" or "really, you're 89?" so much in the dorm. They are referring to the year of birth, date is insignificant when figuring out your numerical age (though significant when figuring out respect). Even if your b-day is in December, as soon as January 1st rolls around, you're a year older. Therefore, even if you're 17 in the US, you could be 18 in Korea. I find myself asking my students "What's your American age" a lot...a question I never thought I'd have to pose.