It's How You Get There

“Food can be very transformational, and it can be more than just about a dish. That’s what happened to me when I first went to France. I fell in love. And if you fall in love, well, then everything is easy.” – Alice Waters I did some scary things this week.  Admitted to myself that I've lost weight and need to buy new summer clothes (which you'd think would make clothes shopping mentally easier but doesn't really).  Went with Hayley and got my hair chopped off at a Korean Hair Salon (complete with an orange juice box, and hair machine thingies that probably came off an alien space ship). Actually looked at how much money I spend on food in a month (your girl eats out too much).  AND decided that it would be better to start talking to other human beings in Korean more often than I have been (a horribly necessary decision).  And amidst all that, Wednesday was Buddha's Birthday, and it being a holiday I went and ate a giant pot of seafood with the usual squad. Food has ...

I walked through the night, and found him there.  It wasn't God, He wasn't missing. This is the one I always wonder about. Wondering if he'll be part of this life or not.  Wondering if he's real.  Wondering if I'm crazy for wondering anymore... And on this particular night as I wondered, I looked up and whispered.  Whispered a wish to the stars I couldn't see, about the man I couldn't find. Then the night went still, and for a moment I felt a wondering back. The beat of a heart. It echoed mine. Curiosity.  Confusion, excitement,  Hope. Then the red and blue lights of a patrol car swept by, slicing the air. And in their passing left just God and I,  walking the empty street. Only this time, I wasn't left wondering. -Shayla

"...I know in whom I have trusted." (2 Nephi 4:19) My entire life I've been almost entirely surrounded by others. With 7 kids (who act more like a pack of puppies than not on any given day) none of us were ever truly alone. At 19 I left on a mission for my church where I was always with another missionary...the only time I slept in a room by myself was my last night before I went home. Then I was back home, and my 19-month-old baby sister was always among the first of my siblings to pop into the guestroom as soon as the sun would start to shine.  In college I had roommates, and whenever I visited home though I often had a room to myself, there was almost always someone there with me. Someone coming to just sit on the bed. Someone coming to talk about their day. Someone, there was always someone.  It wasn't until shortly after graduating that I got my own apartment and truly lived on my own. I remember that first night in the apartment. My family had left, and I wa...

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. -George Bernard Shaw Their eyes are gleaming in anticipation. White teeth glinting. They stomp eagerly at the line, aching to dart forward, but are held back by the invisible force of command. I begin inching backwards, knowing that if I move too quickly the tenable control we have will break, and I may not be able to get it back before the damage has been done.  I stretch my legs a little bit, all the while watching them carefully. Looking for signs that one of them might snap. They chatter excitedly, fidgeting, but they stay behind the line. Taking a couple steps backwards I look over at the others then nod. They back away from the sides of the line, leaving me alone to face the eight kindergartners twitching for the signal to charge into the playground.  Eyeing them suspiciously I address my little pack: " Now, remember, we run when I say 'go'."  Shouts of agreement come from the gr...

  There's a kind of magic that comes with rainy days. It whispers enticingly, the urge to curl in bed with a blanket, to listen to its whispers as it empties the streets of regular passers-bys, lets you catch glimpses of the shadow figures you'd regularly miss in the bright sunlight, reminding you that there are worlds within worlds, and asking you to find some of that in yourself. The majesty of stillness in the presence of constant rainfall and taxi horns, the deep baying calls of busses as they continue their rhythmic looping, the cough of the ahjussi smoking under the eves, sounds so common you'd say they might as well not exist until you're suddenly faced with their absence. It isn't until then that you realize those moments fed your soul.

I've been here 7 months now.  That's insane to me. In a week we'll start our new school year and I'll have a new course schedule, new students, new experiences to learn.  It's also spring. As a Midwest girl, the idea of consistent 60 degree weather in February is mind boggling. I mean, we've had weird weather in Iowa, I've seen it this warm in February before. But not consistently. So this early spring is great. The sun is rising earlier and earlier, and setting later and later. Benefits of being out of the States, there's no daylight savings. That's the part of spring that I consistently dread the most when I'm home. I like waking up to sunlight, and having it ripped away from me when we spring forwards felt a lot like having my ice cream taken away midbite.  Friday night I also had my first successful phone call in Korean. Granted that was with my friend HyunHo, who knows my brand of Korean, so I'm not sure how many other people would have ...

You have to taste a culture to understand it. - Deborah Cater So, I haven't seen anyone (well hardly anyone) from my local congregation since October. We've been meeting through zoom, and video etiquette determines that if you're not speaking the video and audio stays off. Since I'm not quite at church speaking level, most people haven't seen me for almost 4 months now.  Which leads to something that will be a secret between you and me - my goal is to lose enough weight that the ladies at my church start asking me if I've been eating enough. Yeah, it's a weird goal, but I don't do well with numbers. Just ask my Mom - she's the one who's suffered most from my stubborn dislike of numbers (the fact I can do any math at all is 100% due to her tireless patience). But reactions? Subjective responses that have little or nothing to do with anything?  Sign me up.  Honestly though, that has been an interesting side effect of moving to Korea - I'm shrin...