Church Retreat

We had a church retreat for a night. Not a whole weekend... just a night. And it was exhausting! But fun. However, I felt really burned out by it. Us girls (Tharine, Eli and I) volunteered to do the food... so we had to get up extra early. And we had to skip out on part of the service to start lunch.

It felt like it all went too fast and was too hectic. My favorite part was the campfire we had when we first got there. That was the only time we could all relax.

I now feel really sympathetic to the people who are ALWAYS the ones putting things together in the church. You don't get to sit back and enjoy!

Chusuk / Jeju Island!

My friends and I made a last minute decision for our long Holiday weekend (Korean Thanksgiving) to go to Jeju Island! It's Korea's vacation spot... kinda like America's Florida.

Eli, me, Sally and Tharine in the airport
(our friend Rob is taking the picture)

It was a little stressful catching our flight because we thought we weren't going to make it... even though it was at 2 pm. hehe. (We had missed our train to the airport...)

We arrived in Jeju safe and sound! But not sure where to go/what to do seeing as we hadn't planned the trip. Yay for spontaneity!

With the help of friends back home and their wonderful internet access, we found a place to stay that was nice and in the middle of the best part of the island! Close to the beach and other interesting attractions. We loved the name too: "Sugar Beach."

Since we couldn't rent a car or scooters for lack of an international driving license (and none of us even WANTING to drive in Korea)... we took taxis everywhere. Sadly, that trip caused my dislike for taxis to grow considerably. But we still had fun together!

While there we visited what everyone said was the most beautiful side of the island. Waterfalls, "hot springs," beautiful scenery, fun mazes and delicious food! The beach was wonderful as well even though our stop there was short-lived (due to a taxi).

It was a great trip and I definitely want to go back again! There's so much to do there... Coastal bike rides, hiking the local mountain/volcano, multiple beautiful beaches, and caves to explore! I'm praying the winter months go by quickly. I'm already ready for summer again!

Korean Thanksgiving (추석) Pt. 1

Some friends and I went to Jeju Island (Korea's Florida) over the holiday weekend (more on that later)... which isn't exactly what Korean Thanksgiving is about. But most of our Korean friends were busy doing family rituals for the holiday.

A friend from church, Brandon, put together a CLIP about what they do for the family rituals and I thought it was definitely worth sharing. So please, check it out if you want to understand/see a bit more about Korean culture.

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Note: The egg shaped mounds of grass are their graves. They are shaped that way because traditionally they believe in reincarnation, and the egg-shape of the earth symbolizes re-birth.