"Oh"

Dear Mr. Oh,
You're the best Sunday morning date out there...except when you "forget" your wallet.

Eh, well, so much for Thanksgiving resolutions. I had every intention of writing this blog 2 days ago, but as usual, I have no real excuse.

So, I'm sure you are all on the edge of your seats waiting to hear how my Thanksgiving went. Right? Right. But first I have to tell you about a man named Oh...Mr. Oh.


I met Mr. Oh for the first time when we took my dad to the bus station a week after I arrived. Mr. Oh is the driver of the church I go to, so he offered to give us a ride to the station. After we sent my dad off, he drove me around Gunsan for awhile, telling me of his past "love"...Miss Penny. The story is too long to tell, but basically Ms. Penny was a woman who Mr. Oh loved once upon a time. She was an American working for a short time in Gunsan, and he was a Korean man looking for love. And love he found with this beautiful blond American. However, he did not speak English at the time and nor did she speak Korean, but according to Mr. Oh they were supposed to be married. Well, long story short, Mr. Oh was under the impression they would somehow connect in the next year and get married, BUT Miss Penny left no phone number, address, or....last name. She boarded a plane, America bound, and never was heard from again...well, at least by Mr. Oh. I have a good feeling there was a major language and cultural barrier..poor girl, she probably didn't even know what was happening...or maybe she did.

Mr. Oh finally gave up on Miss Penny and gave into his mother's wish to have an arranged marriage with a Korean woman. He has been happily married for many many years..I think he is somewhere in his 80's, but then again, you know how I am with age these days.

SO, that's Mr. Oh. He picks me up every Sunday morning for church. But before church we always go for breakfast. He is one hilarious man. He learned English from Sesame Street. He loves the airforce. He LOVES America. He loves his "girlfriend" ( his wife). He loves classical music..especially in Italian. He loves speaking English. He loves God. And he LOVES Dunkin Donuts. So, every Sunday morning since I've arrived, we have a Sunday morning "date" at Dunkin Donuts. We order the same thing and he chatters away in a broken English while I sleepily nod but only understanding about 40% of what he is said. Nonetheless, I've grown to really love and look forward to our Sunday morning dates.

Thanksgiving morning was a little bit of a sad morning. No Macy's Day Parade. No waking up and helping/snacking on Thanksgiving dinner. No movie with the Gabriel girls to look forward to. BUT my church was having a Thanksgiving lunch. I still had to work, but I have a lunch break everyday from 11 a.m.-3:00 pm.

On Thanksgiving, Mr. Oh came to pick me up after my class let out. The Thanksgiving service was to begin at 11 a.m. I finished class a little early and got to the van at about 10:55. (Note: Mr. Oh is ALWAYS early..very early...like 2o-30 min early) So, as soon as I got into the van, Mr. Oh took off. I've never seen anyone drive like he drove...and there were children in the back, but the crazy driving didn't seem to phase them, they are Korean after all. I counted. We barely missed squashing 5 people. We straight up ran 7 red lights. Average speed was probably 70 mph (maybe an exaggeration, it seemed REALLY fast sitting in the front seat.) And we turned a 15 minute drive into a 7 minute one. All the while, Mr. Oh would shout randomly, "Watch yo back!"

We arrived fashionably late and obviously, I survived.

One of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving was hearing what one man was thankful for. Pastor Li is a Korean man that comes to the church every week. On Thanksgiving he said how thankful he was for freedom..especially freedom to worship. He told us a story from his childhood. He lived through the times when North Korea ruled South Korea. He said it was a very difficult for South Koreans. North Korea would not allow anyone to go to church for 2 years. But one infamous day, a white man gave Pastor Li (boy) a piece of chocolate. This man was General MacArthur--The American general who drove out North Korea and fought for and achieved the freedom of South Korea. Here's a man who knows what it's like to live without freedom, and therefore can truly appreciate it. I think a majority of my generation could learn a lesson or two from Pastor Li on what it means to be thankful for freedom. He also is a Vietnam Vet.

So, I got back to class and immediately regretted all that turkey. I fought Turkey Coma all day, but I somehow managed.

Saturday was a long day. I woke up at 5 a.m. and a group of ladies from the church went to Seoul to do some holiday shopping. We went to a huge market and I got lots of "asian" looking gifts for Christmas. I still have so much more to do though :( But anyways, here are my thoughts on Seoul:

*It looks just like NYC or any other big city in the United States
*No one stares or is impressed that you have white skin and can speak English very well
*Everyone speaks English..you look like a fool if you try to use the little bit of Korean you know
* It's no Gunsan where the ajuma's (grandmas) roam free and rule the streets
*their markets can't hold a candle to my Myeung San Shi Jang Market

Lastly, you've probably seen more news on this North Korea situation. From the looks of things, it seems like tensions are still high but it feels like South Korea is moving forward. However, if North Korea does something else along these lines, I don't think South Korea is just going to lay down and take it.

On Sunday night, I had a wonderful night. I had popcorn and hot chocolate for dinner and watched a movie. It was really relaxing. Before I went to bed, I remembered to put some documents in my "emergency evacuation" bag and watched CNN just to check up on the situation. Of course the last words I heard were, "and tensions are still very high." At 2 a.m. I woke up to the biggest explosion I had ever heard. I mean my apartment shook and my windows rattled, I woke up in a panic. Immediately I turned my TV on...fuzzy. I tried my internet..no connection. I thought, "this is really happening. Well, I think I'm safe in my market. Should I call the pastor? Should I call my coworkers? Should I somehow make a dash for the Airforce base? Why did I only put capris, a tshirt, and a toothbrust in my evacuation bag? What good is a toothbrush without toothpaste? What about Lily?" (actually I didn't even give Lily a second a thought..what..she bites me;) ) And then I heard something that sounded more like thunder and saw what looked more like lightening. And after a few minutes, I came to the conclusion that it was a thunderstorm and not a North Korean attack. (HUGE sigh of relief...especially from Lily)

Well, that wraps another blog. It's been a good week this week, especially since a little baby boy named Abram Isaiah Garcia came into the world a few days ago! If you have time and you're around, you should make something meaty and cheesy and bring it over to the Garcia house :) Have a great week and weekend everyone!