"Give thanks, with a grateful heart"

It is cold outside and we don't have our car yet.  It is nice that we live in a location that we can walk everywhere but sometimes I just want to be lazy, hop in the car and drive places.

I am thankful that I am being forced to exercise daily.  I am thankful that I have legs that work.  I am thankful that I have nerves that allow me to feel the cold.  I am thankful that I am somewhere safe that I don't have to worry about being attacked.  I am thankful that I am somewhere that I can walk around freely and worship freely.

I am not working right now so we are living off of just the one income.  Not only that but it's less pay since they get all of the housing.

I am thankful that we have enough money saved up that we have nothing to worry about.  I am thankful that I am able to spend time with my husband and taking care of the house.  I am thankful that I have time to Skype and go exercise, which is helping me transition better.  I am thankful that I will be able to substitute teach when the time comes.  I am thankful that I am able to explore and take pictures to share with you all.  I am thankful that we have people that are renting out our property back home.

I don't have any friends and family out here with me.  Everyone that I talk to, even fairly often, is 14-16 hours behind me in time and most of them work and/or have families to take care of. 

I am grateful that God is available 24/7 365!  I am grateful that technology exists that enables me to be able to talk to people on the day that something happens rather than have to wait to mail a letter.  I am grateful that there are people emailing and Skyping me to stay in touch.  I am grateful that I have made new friends each time I have gone somewhere and I have hope that this place will be no different. 

When I go outside of these gates I don't see people that I recognize or hear a language that I know.  I stand out very blatantly.

I am thankful that I have an opportunity to be somewhere new.  I am thankful that although most people do not get the chance to travel to a new land, I do.  I am thankful that I get the opportunity to observe another culture and their lifestyle and partake in learning something new.  I am thankful that the people here are so kind and are as interested in me as I am in them.  I am thankful that there are so many differences among us but there are also so many similarities.

So really, no matter the circumstance there are so many blessings mingled into everything, EVERYTHING!  It is all a matter of perspective.  Even when I was back in the US I had countless times when I went back and forth with what I did not like.  Being somewhere new doesn't change anything other than your location.  Life is life, and there are good times and bad times (and neutral times too) for all of us.  Look up! ;-) 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV)
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Colossians 3:15
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Love always,
Camille

Happy Thanksgiving!

We woke up to our first snow of the season.  That's the best kind because it's still white and the ground is warm so it doesn't stick to the roads or side walks (read "no shoveling or salt").  It was clean and crisp out so I went about taking pictures to share with y'all, freezing hands and all.  Enjoy "just outside of the main gate" Korea.

Good Morning!

At the McDonald's here they have a shrimp burger.  I think it sounds gross but I am going to try it one day anyway, Daniel isn't game :-/

The McDonald's also delivers.

This is a shop that you probably won't see in the USA.  Traditional Korean clothing.

The rest of these are of cute little shops and some of the shopping area just outside of the gate.

The bike parked out front adds even more character to this cute little shop.

Everyone loves Audrey Hepburn, especially her style right (bangs!)?

 

 So many cute little shops, I am like an amazon woman compared to some of these little sizes though!

One of the several cute little cafes.

So they have dried squid... but like, I don't get why though...  and there is just so much of it everywhere...  I. Must. Understand!

 

...and dried fish too...

 If this sign is back at the Nike Store at home maybe y'all can tell me what this says LOL

Love you all and thankful for you all,
Camille

Pie In the Face Tradition...?

I went with Daniel to a sort of morale, meet and greet, holiday get together today.  It was awkward for the reason that I was the hovering wife waiting to be introduced to people Daniel sort of knew from back at his old base that I had never seen.  I was not in a uniform so I stuck out and think I looked out of place, it's hard not to when everyone else has on a uniform.  He caught on after several minutes of talking with a lovely introduction, "Oh yea, this is my wife."  Not my favorite way to be introduced to people but better than not being introduced at all.  I'll eventually just start to introduce myself but when I see wives do that it seems to make the husband look dumb.  There has to be a balance, right?

So anyway, at this shindig the main event, after filling yourself with sugary yumminess (cakes, pies, juice, cookies, you get the idea :-))  they smashed pies in people's faces.  I asked and learned that people were voted on/bet on and that was how it got decided who had a pie to the face.  Now I thought this sounded like fun, sitting in a chair and someone puts like a pumpkin pie in your face.  They were prepared with trash bags to go over the top part of your clothing.  Sounds entertaining and like good fun right!?!  Well, that is not quite what this was, not at all.  The pies were "special" pies.  And when I say "special" I mean filled with things such as the following: tuna, honey, mustard, sour cream, relish, and no matter the contents of the special pie, each was topped with whipped cream.

We were seated right up front and all I can say is it smelled.  I would have gagged if not thrown up if someone were to smash that in my face.  Everyone that had it done was a male but one was Black so let's not assume they were all White people.  I think it would have been funnier if I knew the people and more about why they happened to be bet on to have pie smashed in their face.  One man explained that he was basically retaliating on the guy he was smashing pie in the face of, no one else had a story.  In fact, some of them were not even supposed to have the pie in their face but they were the 2nd in command to the person that was actually voted on so they had to do it, that sucked for them!

Here are some pictures, without the smells, you're welcome :-)

All I can say is "yuck" "bleh" "ick" "ewww" and "blah."

Love,
Camille
 

If You're Female, Chirstian, Single and Reading This...

Ladies,

During my prayer time today I was praying once again that God help me in my pursuit of being a "godly wife" or "Bible wife."  Those of us that grew up in the church were taught that we should be Proverbs 31 women.  THAT was who we should model ourselves after and aspire to be.  THAT is what our godly husband is looking for.  And so even though I didn't think that I would get married (and prayed to not get married actually) here we are, and here I am.  Even back then I prayed that God's will be done and I still prayed for whoever my future husband could be (in case God changed my heart, and he did :-))...

What I didn't pray for was an Ephesians 5 husband.  All the scriptures that talked about being submissive and I was JUST NOT that type of female, just not.  The society that we live in is opposite that and I was educated, working, and supporting myself, so yea, just not (lol).  Then after reading some Christian books and reading the Bible I realized that my husband was going to be treating me how Christ treated the church so that would be super easy to submit to, so maybe I could be submissive after all, in fact, I was sure I could be submissive!!!

Well, the thing is I didn't pray that my husband treat me how Christ treated the church.  I for some silly reason thought that boys were taught the same things that girls were taught as far as the Bible goes.  I assumed the boys raised in church were being taught that they should be Ephesians 5 husbands, that was wrong.  Guys are not really taught that all along.  They get taught this once they are about to get married or already married. That is not the same as growing up with it like girls do.

So while you are praying for what type of wife you desire to be, also be praying for the type of husband you would like, an Ephesians 5 husband.  Now realize that you are not perfect, far from it if you are honest with yourself (always be glad for Jesus!) and give your husband that same grace God has given you.  Ask God to point you in the right direction and then go in that direction, and that may mean some rough patches along the way but such is life.

Oh and this should be a discussion pre-marriage, "So, what do you know or think about Ephesians 5 and how has your life or is your life working in that direction now?"  I asked Daniel a million and one questions before we got married from family stuff to previous relationships to current relationship status with Christ, etc.  I made him uncomfortable and I was uncomfortable at times too but better that discomfort for a conversation than be in a marriage that I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

The moral of the story is, read your Bible, do what it says but don't assume that your future spouse is on the same page.  You gotta put in work.

Love your friend and sister in Christ,
Camille

Our first picture together, almost exactly 2 years ago :-)

Korean Folk Village

This Sunday after church Daniel and I went to the Korean Folk Village.  It took us 2 trains and a decent walk to get there but we got there.  It was likened to Williamsburg, VA which I have never been to.  I would liken it to Roscoe Village in Ohio, where I have been.  It was basically old time Korean culture.  There were people dressed in the traditional clothing where you could also see some of the old housing structures and read about life and times back in the day.  There wasn't much to read in English compared to the Korean so I know that we missed out on a lot of the information. 

 

There were rides and games and shops and food but we didn't engage in any of those things.  We just walked around and took in the information and sites.  Daniel questioned why they liked the style of architecture that they do and why we don't see it in other places?  Similar to a question I asked when we first got here that was why in different cultures we like the bodies of different cars/trucks?

 

Surely there are answers to our questions but I don't think that either of us is curious enough to really look into getting our questions answered at this time, maybe later. 

 

I would like to mention that at some point we were bound to get lost/turned around and that time came today.  We were on the right train, kind of, it branches off at some point BUT we couldn't understand when the conductor was announcing to get off before it branched off and so we rode it to the next stop/last stop.  We got off as Daniel attempted to figure out what went wrong.  Then we got back on that train to go back to our previous stop (after about a 20 minute wait).  We got off only to then get on another wrong train, the express that skips stops.  Thank God Daniel caught on before we missed our own stop.  Then we had to wait for another 10 or so minutes for a train that we did want to be on.  EXHAUSTING!

 

Anyway, enjoy the pictures without having to walk around and get lost.  :-)

 

 



 Writing tools.

 

 Sample writings.  (No clue what they say)

 Boy coming of age clothing/Girl coming of age clothing

 

 

Left: Girl coming of age ceremony        Right: Boy coming of age ceremony

 



Left: Ramie Fabric (top) and Cotton Cloth (bottom) Right: Silk (top) and Hemp Cloth (bottom)

 

 Display of how they made the fabric for the summer garments.

 

Wealthy person's kitchen

Villager's kitchen.

These were the tools/materials used for women giving birth.

See ya, miss ya, love ya,
Camille

Just Living Life, Nothing Exciting

Hello. 

 

We haven't really been up to much here, literally.  Daniel hasn't started working yet.  I obviously have not started working yet since there isn't really a job for me (I might do substitute teaching here on base though). 

 

The weather is yucky. 

 

Overcast and gloomy and or raining = looks the same all day pretty much most days.

 

We have been working out at the fitness center on base consistently so that's healthy.  Daniel has been able to cook pretty much everyday and he likes that.  Yesterday I went to the Spouse Orientation that was 6hr 30min long so yea, there was that...  As spouses we got information from various people on various topics regarding life on this particular base.  Some of the more interesting things to me were hearing that only about 8% of the people on base are accompanied so that was sad.  Glad that Daniel is able to be a part of that though.   

 

 

 

At the orientation we were able to observe how to put this lovely thing on...

We aren't supposed to practice according to the directions so I would need to go somewhere else to practice, like use a model one.

 I'm not putting a picture of it up because they got me paranoid that "the enemy" might get intel. from our social media so here is the box lol

 I met another wife at the orientation and she happened to sit close to us on the plane ride over here too.  Anyway she brought us a loaf of fresh baked bread today so that was pretty sweet! :-)

 

I accidentally bought vanilla flavored almond milk instead of regular.  Daniel then accidentally used it to make the macaroni and cheese...

Just added some salt and hot sauce and called it a day! :-)

 

So yea, that's pretty much been our life this week.

 

SHOUT OUT TO TANIESHA, AMORA & CARMEN!  Happy Birthday :-)



Loving the History!!!

Daniel and I went to Seoul after church on Sunday for the purpose of exploring a palace.  The train takes us about 1hr 30min and it costs us about $2 to get there from base so that's pretty nice :-)

Anyway, we went to visit the Gwanghwamun Palace and it was really cool to walk around and take in the architecture and some historical facts about the place.  Buildings had names such as Geuneongjeon and Geonghoeru in case the initial name wasn't tough enough to try to figure out.  Anyway, I think that one of the coolest things for me is that the recorded history here goes back so far.  I would like to say that I do not like history per se but I have a certain appreciation for it.  In the US we don't receive much history of the Native Americans that inhabited the land prior to the Europeans coming.  Here on the other hand I am reading about Kings and such that were in the 300s!  I think that is pretty cool.  I'm sure if I went to parts in Africa to even earlier times I would be even more amazed.

Now these are pictures from the palace that was destroyed and rebuilt so many times I didn't count in my readings about the different dynasties and rulers and takeovers and such.  We got there just as they did the formal changing of the guard.



 Upon first walking in there are these guards that initially look like statues but are real men.

 I had very few opportunities to get pictures where there weren't people in them.

 Beautiful architecture, art, shape, etc.  I really liked this place.

I believe that this was the throne where king's were crowned.  We couldn't get inside.

"The Golden Dragon."  I'm not sure what that means but some man pointed it out to us.

There were several little buildings set up like this.  I am not sure what their purpose was... 

There were a lot of brick walls and then buildings.  I believe to section off various places but I don't know that for sure.

 

 These pictures are from the camera on my phone so the zoom is no good, I was trying to get a better shot of the roof/ceiling.

 Another building that I once again have no clue what purpose it served.

Nice scenery :-)

 

 I read something about diplomats that would come out on the water in small boats.

Somebody did not want me taking his picture :-[

 

 

While in the palace, it was cute because I was approached by a girl that was probably about 10 years old and she asked me if she could interview me.  She spoke in English as best as she could and her friend recorded us on a phone.  The questions were simple and it seemed like the purpose of the interview was for her to practice her English.  A couple of times she did not have the words and I would guess at what she was trying to say (it was almost like a game of charades at one point; she acted out and I guessed "darts" and we got the point lol).

 

Lots of love,
Camille 



It's Aight

Now that we are moved into the apartment it really is not that bad, it just takes some getting used to I guess.  I briefly spoke with a lady on the elevator and asked her how she liked it here since she has been here for a year.  She asked if I meant Korea or the apartment building and I said both.  I don’t know how to describe the look on her face… “over it” is the best explanation I can come up with.  She simply said that the “time will go quickly.”  Not exactly comforting or discouraging but worrisome I guess is what I felt based on her comment.  It was a brief encounter and so I wasn’t able to have a full-fledged conversation with her.  I don’t want to be naïve but I don’t want to be pessimistic either.  “To each her own”

What I don’t like:

1 bathroom (strongly dislike sharing a bathroom with Daniel).

Tile floors all over (the whole apartment being tile makes it have an echo, plus it seems so impersonal).

Furniture (looks like hotel hand me downs, hard and awful patterns).

Full size bed (we have a King so sharing this tiny thing is not comfortable).

What I do like:

The location is pretty prime (we are walking distance, as in minutes, from most of the main places and buildings).

Easy cleaning (It’s a small enough space that it should be a cinch to clean up).

There appears to be enough space for everything (there is no way to know for sure but it looks like most of our shipped stuff will fit in here comfortably).

The view (it would be nice to be a floor or 2 higher but it is nice none the less).

It’s not a hotel room (Even though it’s nice to have people clean up after you, such close quarters is too much for me.  Now I know I could never live in a tiny house with Daniel, EVER! lol)

 

So although I was initially upset about having to stay here it really is not that bad at all.  Still frustrating because it is not our first choice but overall it’s okay. 

God’s Love,

Camille

 This is when you first walk into the apartment.

To the right is the living room, kitchen and balcony. 

 Here is the living room.

The bathroom.

 Nice big laundry room.

View into the kitchen from the living room.

Here is our kitchen with lots of cabinet space.

 

A closet in the main hallway.

 

 View from the balcony.

 This is the dining area with the furniture that they gave us.

Our "newly" furnished living room.

 

This is the master bedroom.

The 2nd bedroom/office.