let me start this post by pointing your attention to the bad spot nashville, TN is currently in. the torrential rains of the past week or so have caused a serious flooding problem. there have already been a few deaths, and many families have lost homes and cherished possessions. the floods have caused enormous damage there. all of pictures are showing that the city is in a desperate situation. having spent 4 years in nashville, i consider it my second home. i have many dear friends who still reside there so this is quite disconcerting. please keep the tennesseans in your prayers and do what you can to help out with the relief efforts that are currently underway.

having that PSA out of the way, things are great here in korea. the past few days or so, we have seen spring finally taking shape. and it's about time...considering that we are now in the month of may! i absolutely cannot believe that i have been here over 3 months already. time is flying. this weekend i began teaching saturday school. it is a supplemental class that i have picked up to make a little extra money. the hours are great -- just 2 hours in the afternoon every other week. and the pay is tremendous! i really can't complain. so i got to meet a whole new batch of 5th and 6th graders this weekend, and got to answer all of the questions (for the millionth time) about how i can have a korean face, but speak only english. the kids are great, though, and i think we will have a lot of fun together. we spent the first few minutes of class assigning english names, and i allowed some of them the honor of taking the names of my good friends back in the states! :)

i am currently in an unparalleled good mood, as this will be a 2-day work week! in korea, may 5th is "children's day" and the 8th is "parents' day." everyone has the 5th off of work, but i happen to be particularly lucky, as my school decided we should cancel classes the 5/6/7/8. yes please! so i only work monday and tuesday. and when i came in this morning (monday), i found out all morning classes had been cancelled. hahaha. so this week, i will teach a whopping 4 classes. life is rough! ^^ to celebrate, i have the following on this week's docket: a pancake breakfast, a cinco de mayo celebration, a shopping trip to seoul, and a lot of sleep. like i said before - i have nothing to complain about!

my mind has been busy these past few weeks. like i have said before, my korea experience has really been challenging and stretching me. i get a lot of questions from my korean friends along the lines of - "is that common in america?" or "are all americans that way?" in some of the situations - i am embarrassed to give an honest answer! since coming here, i have had to look at my country through an outsider's eyes. some of what i see is shocking and sad. i think i have been desensitized to a lot during the past 22 years. whether the blame should be placed on mass media or other people or my own stupidity is irrelevant. the fact remains that there are some parts of america that i would prefer to not claim! this is not meant to be anti-patriotic or a bash of america so please don't get yourselves all worked up. it's just something that i have had to think about a lot lately. do ya'll have any thoughts on the subject?

i have mentioned before that my headteacher has asked me a lot of questions about the Bible and Christianity. i feel so ill-equipped to answer alot of the things she is asking, but i am trying to do the best that i can. today, she asked me if i thought that God provides only opportunities, or both opportunity and ability. then why bad things happen to good people. ay-ay-ay! please remember both of us as she seeks answers and i do my best to deliver.

off to lesson plan. everyone take care of yourselves and each other! community-minded korea has taught me a great about this. everyone be well!