Five Reimers

6/23 Five miles from Gundagai

2011-06-23T04:38:00.001-07:00

One of the interesting points today was seeing "Dog on the tucker box, 5 miles from Gundagai."

I had heard the background of the story as, "A fellow in the outback was down on his luck, had no money or work and did not even have food. So he left his tucker box, being too weak to take it, and his dog, who sat on it to guard it, and waled farther on. He subsequently died, and those who found his tucker box found the dog faithfully guarding it." At least this is my memory of the telling.

The poem tells another story. Apparently the fellow owning the dog had his laden wagon pulled by oxen, and the wagon and oxen were mired in the mud. He tried to get them out only to have the harness broken by an ox. Frustrated he walked out of the muck, sick of the harship and ready to give up. The ultimate insult was that as he walked up the bank to his tucker box, his dog had "shat" on it; adding insult to injury.

That the dog "sat" on the tucker box is a sanitized version of the story.

Now I get it!

6/22 Oberon snow then Canberra

2011-06-23T04:32:00.000-07:00

It snowed the previous evening and part of the night, making the beautiful normative landscape into a beautiful snowy landscape. (Most of these pictures are taken by Beth).

Unfortunately, this was the first opportunity to go riding, the morning at least, since we were driving toward Canberra after lunch. So Jay, Kylie and Amy drove to High Country Trail Rides, on a wet, snowy morning. Even the very stout Percheron (what Percheron is not stout?) I was mounted on did not produce enough metabolic heat to keep me warm, unless I put my gloved hands directly on his back. I just about considered going bare back for the benefit of his radiated energy, but sitting in the saddle was challenge enough for one morning.

The riding was a pleasure. Pauline, of High Country Trail Rides was a very effective teacher and a safe manager, and walking through the woods, mounted on a strong horse for a dampened hour and a half broken only by chatting and conversation made a grand morning. Who can possibly finish riding without thinking to themselves, "I wish I had a horse!"

From Oberon we drove over highway 13 to ward Canberra. We passed Lake George, a lake very like Sumas Lake in BC, Canada which has been drained and is now farm land.

A short while later we sited the skyline of Canberra. Thinking back now, we wish we would have stayed an extra day In Canberra to see some of the historical records, monuments, government, etc. However, we were into the Canberra Motor Lodge in the evening (actually a permanent travel trailer with 2 bedrooms; comfy in a minimal-efficient way.

6/21 Shearing

2011-06-20T21:01:00.001-07:00

I was familiar with farmers waiting for a few dry days before they could cut and bale hay, but it never occurred to me that sheep would also have to be dry before you could shear them. The last two days have been very cloudy and windy, perfect for drying wool on the sheep I guess. So Redbank Farm, where our hosts Tim & Fran Charge live, is having a shearing this morning. They hired two shearers, and a third young bloke who is learning to shear, were hard at it in the shed; about 3 hours into it by the time we arrived at 10:30 to watch.

When we drove up from the cottage, we went up the dirt road to the shearing shed. It looked quiet from the outside, 3 Dorsett rams in an adjacent pen, 6 utilities (pick up trucks), every one white with the flat bed and apparently every one brought their working dogs! The yard was full of Kelpies (an Australian breed of working cattle & sheep dogs.) Tim's "Schooner," an affectionate mooch, attached himself to Bentley who was generously distributing as much affection to whomever he could get his hands on. After the picture above was taken, Bentley says, "I'm in heaven!"

Inside the shed we found 3 shearers, 1 certified wool grader, 1 handyman and Tim (the owner) and a couple dogs, trying to participate. Bruce, the grader (smiling in yellow above), was a wealth of information and loved to talk about farming and sheep. He had a friendly, enthusiastic way of explaining how wool is cleaned and graded or why sheep are crossed to produce lambs with different qualities. It was fascinating; we like sheep a lot, having raised a handful back in Toledo days. As a biology teacher I gleaned a lot of useful information relating to farming and genetics.

Tim squeaked the shearing in! Though the morning was nice, by the end of the afternoon it began snowing! This picture, of the cottage, was taken at dusk the same day! The recently shorn sheep were kept in an enclosure and fed to avoid risk of problems in the cold weather.

Snow? In a way, snow was disappointing, it looked so much like Toledo now; not very much like Australia! Still, it is beautiful; very beautiful.

6/20 Red Banks cattle & sheep farm

2011-06-19T20:43:00.001-07:00

Tim Charge, owner of Redbank Farm and the Billabong Cottage, gave us a tour of his farm. We piled into his 4-door Toyota utility with one of his working dogs leashed to the flat bed on the back. He owns a number of acres and leases others. We saw a large number of his beautiful Angus cattle, bred and sold for beef. Beautiful tar-black bovines with their longer winter coats on, looking, at the risk of sounding juvenile, like stuffed animals you wanted to pet - they looked like a furry cow version of oversized teddy bears. Each time we drove near they were always curious about what we were doing and came over to inspect.

We saw rolling, grassed hills, neatly chop-stick straight fencing. One gate used retired wharf pilings as gate posts. Marine worm burrows were visible, probably the cause of their retirement, but the salt they contained from their former life and the chemicals used to preserve them originally, made them ideal for this purpose. The ant hills reminded you that there are a lot of insects that are very fond of eating wood. Tim explained there was another unintended consequence: the cattle also like the salt in the post and come over to like them. At this point they had just observed that and he withheld judgement as to whether that would ultimately be good or bad. I suppose in the best case scenario the posts could do duel purpose as gate support and ion supplements.
Passing through a paddock of heavily wooled merino ewes and strong lambs, disappointingly no longer in the recently-born, springing stage, we opened a gate into the neighboring paddock. Once through we saw a lonely lamb. Clearly he had climbed through or under the fence and gotten separated from his mother. Tim let us try to herd him back to the open gate, but when we climbed out of the car he bolted farther away. Jay and the kids walked toward the distant lamb, but Tim drove around with Beth and his working Kelpie, Scooter.

Tim parked the truck, released the dog and Scooter, following Tim's clear instructions, herded the lamb toward the gate - doing a better job than we did. This was a clear lesson to us foreigners of the value of dogs for working with sheep and cattle! The lamb made a panicked bolt for the fence, which it clearly knew was impenetrable, but its fear was uppermost. Then we got to see that working dogs do more than just run around: Tim saw the lamb crash into the fence and damage itself so he called to Scooter. She tackled the lamb and pinned it to the ground with her front paws. Surely the lamb was frightened, but pinned by the Kelpie, now it could not damage itself. Holding the lamb down - and having to prevent it escaping - Scooter did a very neat job until Tim walked over and picked up the lamb. It was more frightened than hurt, and he let Bentley and Kylie (and Amy who is not in the picture) pet the lamb. In a few minutes after it was calmer, he gently set the lamb down on the other side of the fence and it ran off to look for his mum.

After this Scooter too got a larger share of affection from Bentley, particularly, at which point Scooter was less keen to listen to Tim about jumping up on the truck. Scooter and Bentley both would have rather played and snuggled in the pasture together, but we had to go.

It was an astonishing pleasure to see how quickly working dogs perform their tasks and how acutely their masters, like Tim, can control and direct them; amazing!

6/19 Billabong Cottage in Oberon

2011-06-18T21:08:00.002-07:00

Billabong Cottage was a lucky find. We looked for a self contained "house" so we could come and go as we liked, and we wanted beds for all the kids (that means 4 at least) but many places were specialty types for romantic getaways and so on. Of course, something romantic with Beth sounds great - but the kids were along meaning something more user-friendly, and economical, would be better.

This cottage is a 4 bedroom home with a completely outfitted kitchen and wood stove, overlooking paddocks, woods, and the Fish Stream. The place is owned by a lovely couple, Tim & Fran Charge. Tim farms Angus for beef and merinos ewes for wool and lambs; Fran teaches at a local school part time.

It was so wonderful to be in a relaxing, rural place with all the amenities of home, and a wood stove to keep of the chill of Australia's winter. It was so nice, we even stayed on an extra day - or was it two? If we are even in this location we'll book again and try to fit in some trout fishing in Tim's well stocked stream!

Amy and Kylie snuggling on the hilltop above Billabong Cottage.

6/18 Drive to Blue Mountains

2011-06-18T21:08:00.001-07:00

Drive to the Blue Mountains.. drive sounds like a bit of an understatement... it was more like a road trip. Oh yes it may have only taken us one day, but if you were in the car with us you would know just what we mean. See our drive was supposed to take about 2 and a half hours to get from Sydney to the Blue Mountains.. however it turned out that Dad had something more .. lets say.. "exciting" planned.. or at least that's how he put it.
We started out driving, 18 minutes pass, Dad see's a Tourist information stop and we pull over to check it out. Well after one stop we thought it was just one thing that Dad had just really wanted to see, but then after about 4 more of these just "random" stops in about 40 minutes, we figured out this was going to be happening a whole lot.
At around 1:00 pm Mom finally convinced Dad that it was about time that we kids had breakfast. I guess because we were just having such a "blast" stopping at all the sightseeing stops and all the Tourist information places, we just lost track of time. Every time we asked Dad how close we were to the Cabin he would say that we would be there in about 15 minutes away.. haha WE WERE TOTALLY NOT that close.. which we found out when we arrived an hour later after he had just said we would arrive in 15 min.
After leaving the hotel in Sydney at about 7:30 am (because some people in our family thought that there would be rush hour at that time, forgetting it was Saturday and NO ONE goes to work on Saturday.. ) we arrived at our Cabin in the Blue Mountains at around 6:00 pm.
Dad is always saying how he wants us to remember the times we have as a family, well Dad, have no fear this trip will be forever engrained in our minds.

6/17 Taronga Zoo

2011-06-18T21:07:00.002-07:00

One of our many excursions during our time in Sydney, Australia was to Taronga Zoo. (I say one of many because we saw roughly 2/3 of the tourist destinations in Sydney in something like 4 days.) Taronga Zoo is Sydney's wildlife and endangered animal conservation facility where guests are also allowed to come and view some of Asia and Australia's most exotic creatures. It's set on the side of a hill and slopes, not very gently, down to one of the many quays of Sydney Harbor. It is beautiful. Green trees, against a blue sky, and all set in contrast to silvery ripples across the bay.

Their animals are just as wonderful. We got to see akidnas, emus, and the world famous platypus. Some of their more docile birds where left to wander free. Bentley saw a peacock and named him Master Shen on the spot. (tehee) He tried to catch him once or twice but Master Shen wasn't having any of that. Amy saw her first Tasmanian Devil. As we where leaving the exhibit she turns to me and says "I thought they where dust clouds". I love my family. I even made an Emu friend. He came straight up to me and explored all my pockets and my purse, finding nothing interesting he plonked down on his knees and stuck his head in my hand. For all those who meet or expect to meet an Emu know that they love to be scratched on the neck.

I love the animals. One of these days maybe I'll be surrounded by them, and Zoos will be asking me to come and look at their nauseated rhinos, and over attentive Emus. Definitely a good end to your 5 days in Sydney and a good kick off to my last summer at home. Love you fam!

6/15 Beth's Sydney houses & Manly

2011-06-18T21:07:00.001-07:00

One of the things Beth wanted to do on this trip was to revisit the homes she lived in as a little girl. I am afraid I do not have much to contribute in this regard, other than they are all still beautiful places! See below, in chronological order:

1. 44 McIntyre St., Gordon (below)

2. Public school near the Gordon home, which Beth attended (below)

3. 14 the Esplanade, French's Forest (below)

4. Public school near French's Forest home, which Beth attended.

5. 7 Murdoch St., Cremorne

6. View from ferry dock in Cremorne at base of Beth's street where she remembers fishing with her dad.

8. Walking home from school, Beth recalls stopping here for a potato fritter after students; the shop is still here!

6/14 Botanic Garden & the Rocks

2011-06-18T21:06:00.002-07:00

Sydney! Honestly I had never thought seriously about going to Australia, but Beth was keen so off we went. Turns out this is an amazing place and luckily (?) we are staying in Woolloomooloo, immediately East of the botanical garden; only a 10 minute walk!

So our first day we got to see Sydney harbor, the famous bridge and opera house (though closer inspection did not excite any of us) and for lunch we had fish and chips - YUM!

Afterward we walked around the rocks a bit; neat for historical buildings and narrative history (via plaques telling individual's stories along the way) and small shops with pies and sweets or pubs - but only for adults (nuts!) so I could not take the family in for lunch. That's ok; fish and chips did a nice job of filling tummies.

6/13 Woolloomooloo, NSW

2011-06-18T21:06:00.001-07:00

Choosing accommodations on the internet is simple, that's one reason to do it, but largely arbitrary, that's one reason not to do it. Remember that Google does not rank by quality but only by "number of hits." So we chose the Woolloomooloo Waters Apartments, part of the Waldorf chain in Australia. The dissimilarity between the name "Waldorf" and the price should have been a clue that is was not as sharp as the images would suggest. The double queen beds with hide-a-bed, the reasonable price, the equipped kitchenette, the continental breakfast for $10/family, the pool, the premium free coffee was perfect! The saggy beds (I propped our bed up with available phone books and slept better the second night...), the initial body odor smell in the room, the windows that would not lock, the expensive internet connection which we opted not to use, and the $20/night parking rate were all things we would rather have avoided.

Still we were 1 block from Sydney harbor, immediately east of the Botanical Gardens park where you can see the Opera house on the adjacent point with the famous bridge behind it; and a 15 minute walk to Circular Quay. The location was great! A bit like Vancouver Canada's downtown it was a heterogeneous mix of homeless folks, a public school, pubs, upscale apartments and - my budget says thanks - that it was a block from Harry's famous pie shop: Harry's Cafe de Wheels, where we had supper the first evening.

But the accommodations were suitable and conveniently located and priced fairly for 5 people so we stayed 5 nights there. Outings the next 4 days were made from this location.

6/12 Korea to Australia

2011-06-18T21:05:00.001-07:00

We were ALL ready for a holiday and so glad to take the relaxing limousine airport bus to Incheon airport, then have a coffee and hang out waiting for boarding. We are going to Australia; first time for Kylie, Amy, Bentley and Jay; of course "home" for Beth.

We had done very little preparation, other than decide that we want to travel in Australia and see the country a bit, so we opted for an itinerant route: Sydney, Blue Mountains, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide. Today we flew from Korea to Singapore then Sydney. There are more direct routes, but this one is on Singapore Airlines; why not take the world's number one airline?

After a 5 hour flight to Singapore we went into Changi terminal and found a bite to eat. Subway for some, pratha and potato curry for me!, then we went to our boarding gate. We boarded the Singapore Airlines A380 on time, but after abandoning the first take off attempt, we headed back to the gate so the engineers could check into why one of the two monster engines was not developing enough thrust for take-off? I was glad to be flying Singapore. You never hear about Singapore planes falling out of the sky (like Air France... ) because of SIA's meticulous training and attention to maintenance, not standard in all airlines! So the one hour delay turned into 2 hours - but life is worth an extra hour we felt.

Flying on the "largest airplane in the world" was fun! We ran upstairs to the economy, upper level just to see it. Then enjoyed the spacious seats and especially the 70% capacity, so Kylie and Jay had 4 seats each - enough to stretch full length; AMy had 3 seats - with a window bonus; Beth kept Bentley company and he slept in two seats. It was fairly restful, though arriving in Sydney at noon we did not notice the rest we got.

We need some rain

2010-07-31T23:18:00.000-07:00

In a way it seems hard to believe that we have been in Korea for three years and are commencing our fourth. At the same time it seems like it has been a lifetime. This journey has been a lot more difficult for my kids than I expected. Somehow I thought that coming to a new place in an amazing part of the world would be the beginning of a new life. I did not know the challenge it would be for my precious children. [Photo from Walker's Travel Photography.]

Before we went to the States in June 2010, Bentley said, in the apartment one day, "Papa, can we get rid of the cats and get a dog?" He loves dogs and that question would be hard to answer at home in the USA, but in Korea, apartment living is not fair to dogs and I had to answer, "No, Buddy."

One of the aspects of living in Korea is apartment life. Living in an enclosed place a short elevator ride from outside. All grass is public space. In Korea we have actually never visited a private home that was not an apartment.

Shopping is a crowded affair at many times; jostling by boisterous people and pushy old ladies. Within department stores, individual workers at displays of fruit or packaged goods not wear personal PA systems to amplify their voices ... I thought it was already loud!

Korea has been a place we work, but it has been hard to make it "home." Beth has made heroic efforts with our apartment, but it is the challenge of finding accepting friends for my kids. Each of them needs at least one caring friend who like them for who they are. My prayer is that this year God would answer this deep need of their hearts. They have weathered a challenging term these past years.

"God please send a rain of friends!"

Agony & Ecstacy

2009-05-22T22:24:00.001-07:00

Last evening at a going away dinner with 40 colleagues to celebrate the friendship and contribution to our international school of two wonderful friends, Ed & Carl Tennant, Ed mentioned that he recently visited this blog. Ugh; I thought: I have not updated that blog for almost a whole year! But Ed inspired me to keep writing. He said, "I enjoyed reading your blog and realize that even though we have known each other for 2 years I realize I did not know you very well" [referring to some of the reflections written here earlier.]

His gentle words triggered a few things: (1) reflective writing can be an intimate expression and open up rooms and vistas we did not know about each other; an opportunity to share and get to know each other. (2) A number of friends have found this blog and written or commented on it and it has been a way to maintain and establish contact (though Facebook is used for this purpose more often at this point in history.) (3) I have not taken the time to update this lately and need to do it! and (4) Ed & Carol's son is one of Kylie's best friends ... and along with Ed and Carol he'll be leaving for Canada ... permanently ... in about 15 days ;(...

As a TCK (third culture kid) myself, the poignancy of friends illuminating my life by coming into it and shattering my life by leaving it move me with deep grief to know the emotions Kylie is experiencing now. In fact, they are hanging out today and just stopped into the apartment to grab lunch (I think they made instant spicy noodles ; "La Myun" in Korean) and switched on the tube to catch a few minutes of soccer on TV. In a few minutes, whenever they or Bentley get stir crazy, we are going to the pool at GSIS to swim.

It is so painful to say goodbye to friends. Yet, unwillingness to open yourself to relationship and friendship seems to me a fate far worse. Still ... although I reflect on that hurt and the intellectual value of friendship I guess I often do bypass relational opportunities knowing this will later keep me from uncomfortable pain.

Several weeks ago in talking about the friendships our kids have, Beth pointed out to me that we - I!- am not a good model for how to make friends because I pour myself into work often at the expense of pouring myself into people. Kylie and Amy may not know how to be and become friends based on my modeling because they see so little positive modeling in that way. Wow ... that is sobering. If you are reading this, please pray for Kylie as she says goodbye to a precious friend on June 7, 2009. I hope their friendship turns out to be that of kindred spirits who will always be able to catch up over a cup of coffee or a soccer game regardless the months or years they are apart. Like so many TCKs regularly do. "Thank you God for the agony and the ecstacy of friendship."*

*Agony and the Ecstacy are acknowledged as a phrase borrowed from the title of the biography of Michelangelo by ? Stone [to demonstrate good practice to IB students of acknowledging references and sources. :)

Travelling Skills

2008-06-26T23:50:00.000-07:00

Like any repetitive task, traveling has its own set of skills that you hone through redundant exercise. These skills are not easy to recall, but if you travel you keep bumping into things that make you say, "I wish I would have known ahead of time to ask that question!"

Look what God did!

2008-06-07T05:20:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take a minute to write you and thank you for your love and prayers this year. At this moment the school is nearly empty. Staff are finishing cleaning out their rooms and preparing to leave to the four corners of the globe. I'm sitting alone in my music room and the quiet is deafening. Thoughts of this year flood over me and I am amazed that the end has finally come! So many times I thought I would never get here, yet here I am! This a monumental day for me because God has proved Him self more faithful than I ever could have imagined. If you have a few moments I would like to tell you a bit about it.

1. I had my final evaluation today. So many times this year I have asked God what He was doing putting me here. Me an unqualified teacher working in this prestigious school, more often than not pretending to know something! Today our Principal said,

"Beth, you have had a fantastic year. You were well organized and prepared for all of your classes and performances. You are to be commended for the hours of effort to present great concerts. You are also commended for the great rapport that you set up with students, parents and fellow staff members. Your desire to grow as a teacher is appreciated. You are truly a positive asset to GSIS. Thank you for a great year."

Amazing!

2. A comment from a colleague who is a veteran teacher. She stood up to face me, took my hand in both of hers, and said, "Beth, you don't understand, You have a gift here and you have done incredible things. As you grow and learn more you will be amazing."

3. Last, but most precious. Miss Tina, a precious Chinese friend who worked with me in the child care facility, left today to return to China. Her visa cannot be renewed to stay here so she has to go back. After a big hug she looks me in the eyes and thanks me for my friendship and for helping her find God. Her mother has been a Christian in China for years. Now they can be together in spirit and in body. Too amazing!!!

I wanted to share these precious things with you because I am humbled to my core to think that God can use some one like me, a home school mom from Toledo. That God's plans are so much bigger than I can possibly see. From the very beginning of this adventure God has promised to carry me and He has been so faithful to finish what He stared. There have been so many moments that I just wanted to run away, but God kept promising and carrying me and we made it through. Wow! This has been that kind of a year. I know all years wont be so dramatic, but I am learning that I don't have to worry about them. God finishes what He starts and He does it well, even when it may not feel that way to me in the middle of it.

Thank you for sharing this moment with me and for all your support through the many seemingly overwhelming challenges this year has brought. I am so excited to see what God will do with this place and with His people. " To God be the Glory, Great things He has done...".

A quiet room

2008-06-02T07:08:00.000-07:00

I made the same mistake for the 20th semester in a row. I had one student writing 3 tests (you read that correctly and can justly call me by all appropriate epitaphs which indicate some degree of pitiable condition!) between 2:30 and 4:40 and another writing a test at 4:20 in a different class while I had to submit all my grades by 5:00. I will flagellate myself later (probably I will put it off till tomorrow, actually) but first a few thoughts from the evening of the last actual school day:

At least I did get my grades done and submitted - at 4:56 to be exact :( Then I sat at my desk and tried to think in the quiet space. Learning is reinforced in reflection. Well, whether I wanted to learn or not I just needed to sit and do some reflection!

Few jobs can be as wonderful as teaching: lots of time off, meaningful work, creative opportunities daily, relational working environment, playing with technology, energetic clientelle... there are many wonderful aspects to teaching. I love the cyclical nature of teaching too. I just came off a year in which I taught general introductory biology in the first semester and general introductory chemistry (for the first time) in the second semester. Now I am looking forward to having a new chemistry teacher in the Fall and a new Physics teacher and I will focus on the biology program. So I have taught a first semester of biology and chemistry and have the opportunity to reflect on the process and progress the students and I made and now I am beginning to plan for the upcoming year. I will refine some of the things I started; I will throw out some ideas; I will invent some new strategies. This refining cycle is such a wonderful opportunity. Every year is a building on the previous year. Building with kids; building with ideas; building with colleagues and friends.

So what did my last formal day consist of? Well, honestly, I was up till 1:00 last night working on grades so I was not terribly ready for the first block of pre-algebra math. No worry, being the first period of the non-academic week, the students are not tired of movies yet so I launched a preemptive strike and showed them NOVA's "Great Robot Race" where teams compete to design and build and race autonomous vehicles/cars. It is a neat, high end application of mathematics skills since a lot of the solution was computer programming and software writing. This gave kids the chance to see where math can take them. They enjoyed it!

Then I had my last sheltered (ESL) chemistry class. Of my class of five students, two graduate to mainstream next semester and three will stay in sheltered, not counting any who join in that grade bracket. I asked the students to inventory and clean their glassware at their lab benches. Then I found out that they had a test in the following period so I abandoned the rest of my tentative plans and let them study.

Prep: In this time window I copied all the tests I will need for my foolish "last minute testing effort" after school (as I mentioned above).

Chemistry 1: I had all my students inventory their lab benches on Google Docs. I made a form and each student filled out their inventory list (see the form <http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pYJmOc3RKfn_2u5okrJ1NPQ>) comparing what they actually had in each drawer against a master list. I am very happy with the responsiblity of my students. There has not been any pilfering of glassware; kids let me know when something breaks (most of the time); they are well mannered kids in the important ways. This semester in 9th grade I have been impressed that students responsibly cleaned up after labs each time I warned them early enough to clean up before class ended. Sometimes students left a mess, but usually that was because I forgot to tell them class was almost over and they had to run. I appreciate the care they show in the lab. Today was no exception; they inventoried and cleaned up well.

Math 6: Our last test on probability did not go very well. Ultimately it was one of those assessment, which they were not adequately prepared for and the grades reflected lack of time spent practicing the material more than it did a lack of student understanding. So in class today we went over the test with each student solving the problems again. It made no difference to their grade, but was sort of a debriefing of the concepts and applications so that there was some closure to the final confusion and they could leave math class behind feeling like they were challenged at the end, but got the idea finally.

After school: Foolish madness of testing in the hour preceding grade submission. Frank was right that little changes at the last minute. A life lesson: We build our success by daily habits and cannot suddenly produce spectacular results when we have spent the preceding days and weeks and months putting of learning, shoving assignments aside for TV and internet chat, complaining about the difficulty, etc. As I watched this lesson play out in front of me it spoke directly to me. Who was it who said that our lives are the sum of the habits we build? Socrates? Aristotle? Jesus? I forget, but the lesson is writ large on my mind. As I articulated what I saw and learned to a student today who needed the following lesson I heard my own words echoing in my mind as I was teaching myself:

"You have not done a very good job recently. I think that is because you feel what you do now is not important; you believe you can easily change later to become better. That is a lie of Satan and the Devil. We are later, the person we are becoming now. And the person we are becoming is the sum of our decisions, and our habits. If we build good habits now then we will reap the benefits later (and the converse is true too!) So let's plan for the future by carefully being intentional in our decisions and habit building now."

Even as I spoke the words I knew they were for me!

And that is another lesson in teaching: Every teacher is a student and every event is an opportunity for learning. Life is wonderfully rich when we are watching for what is true, what is beautiful, what is valuable and weaving those things into our life. And sometimes we get carried away too! :)

A Year of Reverie

2008-05-24T21:43:00.001-07:00

While sitting at my desk after school this past week, I felt awash in semi-cognizant thoughts. The sense was not disorientation, but rather a sort of mental impasse; a thinking holiday in which images came and went unbidden and without intention.

My didactic inclination made me ask myself the question: Why do am I so undirected; why do I feel so aimless in an environment that requires such a high degree of intentional energy?

As I feathered my mental clutch to engage my thinking gradually, some impressions became less opaque.

One realization was that motivation required having a goal. Goals are decision one makes about, partly, "where" one wants to be in the future and the present is considered in that light. Goals also provide a sense of "I need to do [some action] in order to be [at some new place or in some new way] at [some time in the future.]

Then, if I did not have a sense of direction or of moving toward some thing, then did that mean that I did not have any goals? It turns out: Yes. Hmmm...

Realizing one has no goals is either a state of ultimate nihilism or depression (actually that would produce some negative goals) or peace; maybe? That made me think (with intention! - with the goal of clarity and knowledge about my motivation or lack of motivation.)

What dawned on me was that I am very satisfied and at peace with my current state. Many of my long term goals are now being realized:
1) Working in a new culture personally (and with my family);
2) Giving my children a real, valid intercultural experience;
3) Being happily married;
4) Living with my own children;
5) Adopting a child from Ethiopia;
6) Working in a professional school where excellence is a stated and de facto goal and students are present to learn and parents believe in the value of education;
7) Learning a new language in a living context;
8) Making friends of individuals from my adopted country;
9) Having more than two nickels to rub together (three to be exact).

So this year has been busy, but it has also been a celebration. I have been emotionally relaxed (on average), enjoying the blessings of a generous God.

It has been a year of reverie.

Stage Two

2008-02-06T21:01:00.000-08:00

Life is made of busyness, joy and sadness. We are always in the midst of one or the other or some combination of the three.

We have been in Korea for six months now. During that time one of the initial stages of emotion is excitement to live in a new place, learn a new language, see new things, meet new people, learn new ways of doing things. [Last post was a rave abut the new school, titled, "What is so great abut GSIS?] But that fades as you deal with the chores of life: working, shopping, cleaning up.

Next you begin to feel the loss. Life is hard in a new place. Ingredients for your favorite food are not all available at the grocery store. The grocery store smell strongly of fish - which you can tolerate but do not enjoy. TV is mostly in Korean (of course). The language is interesting but you can only speak a few words and cannot talk in conversation. Ordering in restaurants is tedious and sometimes unsuccessful. People are kind but you question whether you can really be a friend with someone from a different culture because you think differently and have different values.

There are future stages, but we are in stage 2 now. Sensitive Kylie is mourning her friends from Toledo: Megan, Ellie, Jenny, Abby. She also misses the animals she loved so much like Tsehi, Tazarmina, Sally and others. When she comes home the house has 3 gerbils but they do not provide companionship like a cat or dog and they are definitely not animals you can pet and sleep with and snuggle. Kylie misses climbing trees, walking in the woods, playing in Salmon Creek, being outside.

Amy misses her friends like Lauren, Sarah, Sally, Grace, Lilly but she is also making friends. She does miss her cat, Sally, and especially having the time to sit and dream. Although in Toledo, Amy dreamed of one day living in an apartment, she now says that she never realized how nice life was in Toledo. In Toledo she had a big yard to play in, she had her own animals, she could bike to friends houses.

Beth misses time to visit with friends and play with her kids. She is so busy as a teacher that there is barely time to make meals so we choose to eat out. She is making friends but misses some wonderful ladies in Toledo, like Becky Oullette, Sean Brown, Terri van Vleck, Becky MacElhaney, Sue Martin, Lin Grey. She also misses her companion Tsehi, who used to follow her everywhere and always be ready for a pet or a snuggle and ecstatic each time Beth returned home from, well, from anywhere! We learned Tsehi ran away from her new home because for her the transition was also very difficult.

When you are in a season of mourning everything else pales in significance. You have a big grief in your lap and you feel so sad. Well intentioned friends deliver "words of comfort" or instructions on how to feel better, but it is un-comfort-able. You are legitimately sad and just need to be loved while you go through it. Don't give us assurance or advice; just bring a cup of coffee and sit with us. Give a hug, listen and let us talk. We want to be heard; valued; accepted; loved.

Thanks.

What's so great about GSIS?

2007-11-07T22:08:00.000-08:00

(Part 1)
borrowed from a letter to my favorite science teacher - Chuck Caley, in Toledo

1. Living in Korea obviously new food, incredibly hard working and motivated people who go out of their way to help.

2. Vision oriented leadership You have to hear our headmaster talk about his vision for kids and for character building and academics. WOW! Here the leaders LEAD and the caliber of teacher is remarkable. I was "called on the carpet" by my vice principal (in a nice way) last week and walked out of his office with a clearer vision of the difference between formative and summative assessment as well as a desire to do better and be better. That's the kind of boss everybody needs!

3. Gifted kids This one is a double edged sword. Since it is a private expensive school, obviously they are the cream of the economic crop and that means you have few "poor" kids (if they're here they're here on scholarships) so the opportunity to "help the needy" is less... Well it seems less on the surface until you get to know the kids and then you realize all kids are similar with similar needs regardless their parents income level! Anyway, with parents who are CEOs, PhDs in physics or medical doctors, heads of comapnies, etc., these kids have good brains and use them (for the most part! :)

4. Supportive parents During teacher conferences last week I talked stead to parents from 1:00 pm till 8:00 pm with only 30 minutes for supper then the next day from 9:00 am to 3:00 with a one hour break and about a 30 minute pause. Wow! All these kids have moms and dads who want them to do well and want to talk to you about what THEY (the parents) and the kids can do to bring their grades up from 89% to 95% or how to motivate them. Yesterday in math a girl shoved something under the table when I glanced at her in class so I went to see if it was a cell phone and it turns out it was supplementary work in math that her parents want her to do to build her skills even while she is in school and taking classes! Isn't that amazing? And while it is high demand and high work and high stress, it is part of the culture and the way they do it. AMAZING!

Amy: Chandeliers and Doctor Fish

2007-09-02T03:15:00.000-07:00

Here's what we did last weekend.

We where invited to go on a staff school retreat so of course we would never refuse to have fun so we said we yes.Well guess what happened --Bentely got sick.So mom, being the kind mother she is, said she would stay with Bentely and we could go to the retreat. So Dad, Kylie and I went on the retreat. It was a 2 hour bus trip but eventually we made it. The hotel we got to stay at was amzing! It had crystal chandeliers in the lobby. There was a ball room and a dinning hall. It was so fancy.

There wear nine floors.But one weird thing is there is never a fourth floor in hotels because the word four sounds exaclty like the word for "death."

Well back to the trip.The meals at the retreat were so good there were two big tables full of food.

Our room had three beds,one tv,one frig, and one bath room.In the entry way their is a slot that you put your room card into to turn on the lights. It turns on and off all the lights in the apartment.More than once Kylie took the card out when I was in the shower. It was so maddening.

There was a theme park in the hotel.They also had public baths. There was two rooms one for men and one for women. I tried the public baths with Lois, Sarah, Alex (a girl!), Lydia and Kylie. It was so much fun and a little embarrassing, but I am glad I tried it.

There was also a bowling ally in the hotel that was cool to. We also did that.

In the pool area they had doctor fish which are small fish that eat dead skin.

I tried swimming with doctor fish it was so much fun. Once you got in they would come in swarms and start eating your dead skin it is actually really healthy for you. When they are done, your feet feel really smooth!

The next day Alex, Lilly, Katreana, Kylie, Miss Vicente ,Hannah and I went to two art museums and a place where you can make pottery. I made a half bowl half plate clay thing and after they dry it the people at the clay place will send it to the school.

Kylie: Starting to Feel Like Home

2007-09-02T03:11:00.000-07:00

Well I think that Korea is getting to feel like home. I still miss the wide open spaces of Washington though. The people around here are getting to know us but it's a weird feeling not having people trust you! like it's totally understandable, cuz well we don't know each other. But I've never really had to make that trust from stage one. I just kinda took it for granted I guess. Cuz we always trust each other. But that's just some thing we need to work on.

School is heavy! There's always lots of home work! But the first report came through the other day, and I did OK so I suppose I'll be fine. I got mostly B- and B+, but I did get like one C+. How ever I got straight A+ in Algebra which is really awesome. I'm very pleased seeing as I knew nothing about algebra whatsoever! So yeah school is going OK. I'm really looking forward to going to the middle school lock-in this week end it's going to be a blast! Oh and Mr. Pash, the band teacher is going to teach me to play the bass. Well I hope so! He needs it in the orchestra so I have been requested to play. I'm really excited!

My friends and I went to Noriebong after church to day it was so much fun! I love noriebong. It's actually called Karaoke in the US, but it is totally different here then there! They don't serve alcohol and each party gets there own room and picks the songs they want to sing. Alex and I sang The Phantom of the Opera. We actually got 99 (your performance is graded out of 100)! I'm trying to get her to sing it with me for GSIS-idol this year. She says no way but I still have time to change her mind! Hannah wants to sing Irreplaceable. I don't know. I think if Alex won't be swayed I'll sing it with her. :) Man there is so much to do here!

Notes to Self on Teaching

2007-06-15T14:16:00.000-07:00

Recalling, on demand, salient lessons that are hard earned in the crucible of the classroom is rarely possible. On the eve of the school year, then, it seems like a good time to jot some of these thoughts and lessons down so that I can employ them next year. [Which highlights one of the big pleasures of teaching: the task is periodic or cyclical and so completion of each cycle is a chance to learn and imporve on the next cycle.

Here are some lessons, both the mundane and the emotional.

1. Structure in a classroom gives a framework to students that, while they may not say so, supports them cognitively and gives them more opportunities for success. Helpful structure is a routine about when to take notes, when and where to hand in papers, how and where to write your name on your papers, when can questions be asked and whether you need to raise your hand, how frequently do we do book work and how frequently do we do activities and so on. Structure includes any activity or expectation or even material object (ie. literal structure) that occurs periodically in your environment that provides cues to behavior for students.

Don't use embarassment to motivate children; it is hurtful, unkind, and crushing to individuals who have needs for emotional attachment, support, and who need models of good, responsible, adults. (June 15, 2007 Toledo)

2. have clear records of classroom activities and assignments each day (including copies of handouts so that kids who missed class can simply collect their missing work and get it done.)

3. Find a few activities (like sudoku puzzles) that teach or train the brain (and thus are useful

Reference Points

2007-06-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

When I watched my sheep push their fuzzy heads through the range fence to reach the greener grass I focused on their foolish penchant for looking "elsewhere" toward what seems better place. This lesson, definitely, I could apply to my life.

But time changes a number of things, such as
• the commodities I regard being valuable;
• the depth and quantity of relationships;
• my geographic location;
• the interests and preoccupations that swirl in my brain;
-and the meaning of important events like sheep poking their heads through my fence.

Fences not only separate areas and define the boundaries of activities. Fences are physical landmarks that give us points of reference for our activities. In fact, fences are perhaps an inferior analogy to trees and buildings: practical objects that possess unique observable features which we use to orient ourselves when determining direction.

During the routine activities of each day, I rarely think about how the requirements of those activities and the compulsory time they occupy give me a framework for my time, for my personal goals and for my sense of being. Now that my "frameworks" are being removed, I have a poignant sense of craving reference points. Simple events like what time do I need to wake up on Saturday? Do I have construction assignments on the house to complete, like wiring the hallway light fixtures? Is there some overdue maintenance like cleaning leaves from the gutters? No; none of that is necessary so...with nothing that needs doing, what do I want to do? I; uhm, am not sure what I want to do, being out of practice in considering that question.

Yesterday at church we received a kind, "farewell!" from our local Christian body. The kind words and tears and smiles were appreciably received. Lunch at a local restaurant with a thoughtful pastor and his wife was a gentle introduction to the idea that we are now cut loose from that body.

The challenge is obviously to live a righteous life in a rational way, while straining to perceive the cues to action when the familiar indicators are absent.

I realize one challenge for refugees: Not just the dramatic loss of material goods or "simple, " uprooting, but the evaporation of normal reference points and cues. What does a clever businessman do when he is separated from the organization of goods and service tht he is familiar with? Without contacts and means of communicating, what does he do with his time? How will he provide for his wife and children without a means of support?

[By the way, where are these stories from refugees about living in camps. They make a huge proportion of the worlds population and yet they do not exist so that we can read them.]

On, "This American Life" last Saturday, the host told stories of summer camps and camping in the U.S.A. One of the themes that provides a powerful point of attachment for children in this peculiar type of camping, is the role of ritual at camp. Ritual events like the "turtle monster" coming out of the lake to collect a camper at the Monday night bonfire, or selecting team leaders for "color days competition" on the basis of merit and leadership. These are touchstones for years into adulthood; reference points by which campers later evaluate mature life experiences; landmarks by which adults will make decisions

Another "Last"

2007-06-04T09:26:00.001-07:00

Dad did not mind my hot, sweaty hug this morning. Mom said, "Goodbye, 117 Lone Yew Road," as she hugged Bentley in her arms before setting him down to climb into the car and zoom away to join the lemmings headed north on interstate 5. We pensively stood on the porch, with the smell of Japanese exhaust in the air and the humidity of imminent rain, wondering about the future as the buzzing motor faded away.

The impact of Donna's reflective comment made me think the significance of events that daily swirl around us are often beyond our perception, no matter how much we strain to see them, until a salient comment or epiphany sucks out our breath.

Of course I know I am leaving my home; of course I know that means "goodbye," but it somehow has more significance when one of your parents says "goodbye."

And when your son asks a few minutes later, "Papa: Nana? Papa: Grampa?" and I tell him they are going to Canada. Which he absorbs as best he can. He just learned, "home" and he cannot possibly understand there are other degrees of home, like grandparents' home, our coming new home, even former homes in Canada and Ethiopia. Bentley's quiet query emphasizes our responsibility to make him always feel at home. The parents' role to protect their children, even when you can't, made sentimentally sad by its hopelessness.

Today is June 4; we leave on June 23. Less than three weeks to the end of Transition Phase 1: Leaving.

Identifying Who We Are

2007-05-29T10:40:00.001-07:00

A blank wall suggests many things: opportunity, decorative potential, empty location. A blank wall also infers questions about your identity. Watch.

We had a busy day on Monday. Since it was Memorial Day we went for our annual 5 km race in Elma, Washington, but instead of running it myself, since I was unprepared, I watched Skyler Sorsby, my racing buddy, collect first place with a 22:00 time. Once the race was run we headed home to collect the children, because... The previous Friday we learned, from a phone call Beth made, that,after 12 weeks in process, Amy and Bentley's passport applications are "suspended." Thanks to a phone call, due to God's taking care of us, we got a Seattle appointment for this coming Wednesday to "petition" the issues. All this means that after the race, we went home and had to gather the kids to go to Centralia so that Amy and Bentley could get NEW passport photos. I guess when they suspend a passport application, the pictures are also suspended? Who makes this stuff up? In addition we all need more passport photos for our Korean visas.

Concurrent to all these events, we had to be out of our home so our purchasing friends could show their/our house off to their family. At the same time Amy was at a friends house and Kylie had a friend staying over at our house. The weekend carried a lot of emotions and overlapping this was a layer of anxiety for the piano recital coming up next Saturday.

So when we got home Monday evening, after the race, after the photos, after dropping friends off at their home, after driving in the hot car most of the day, we walked into our "home" and Kylie went to sit at the piano to relieve some stress by sitting and playing the piano ... which was not there.

Kylie burst into tears. She sobbed for the loss of a friend: her piano. She sobbed for the loss of familiarity and routine; the piano has been sitting in the same place for 4 years-as long as Kylie's been played piano! She cried for the suddenness of change: she had no idea the piano was even being picked up soon.

She said, with greater revelation than she intended, that playing the piano was part of her identity. She meant that the presence of the piano and herself playing it was a kind of reference in her life. Practicing was something she was made to do each day and it was a skill that she is well developing. Being a "piano" player was something that she thought of herself as and something she was knwo to do and be good at by others. Suddenly this component of her life is extracted and while she still exists

So with a week to go before a piano recital Kylie and Amy have no piano.

Things I Treasure

2007-05-21T18:33:00.000-07:00

Saturday afternoon, in the misting drizzle, a red Nissan pickup pulled in and out jumped a guy a bit older than me with a cigarette in one hand and a beer in the other. and he wanted to look at my old beater truck. After some miscellaneous conversation (in which I learned some interesting things, such as his dad was born in the hospital in Toledo back in nineteen-twenty-something before it burned down) he told me he heard about the truck from a neighbor of mine. I asked him for $500.00 but in a short time I had sold it and made 25% profit (cost of $100.00 and $100.00 in taxes and licensing and I sent it on for $250.00.) Not going to make a living that way but it was one more small task completed and one less component in my life that needed attention now. Wow... little by little things are getting done.

I need to be cognizant along the way of the "goodbyes" though. Reflecting on that, it was the 5th truck I have owned here and all them were a bit of an adventure. In glorious order:

(1) The "mouse hotel" I got from Joe Martin which smoked so much while driving that we carried a fire extinguisher when we had to drive farther than 10 miles
(2) The $700.00 GM that was a real guy's truck (though I did peel the 36 inch Harley Davidson sticker off the back window). This truck must have had a local reputation before I bought it because I got pulled over at least twice-in Toledo-while driving it.
(3) The red Chevy [see above] that all 4 (that's four!) of us took on a camping trip to Canada along with 2 dogs (the trip when Poppy Seed got parvo virus and vomitted for two days during camping near Penticton...)
(4) The green truck under which I shorted the starter on across my wedding ring and badly burnt my finger-giving me a permanent wedding ring scar. That truck I never got running but still was able to sell for $400.00.
(5) This good running truck looked like moving scrap, painted flesh color (even though the title generously indicated it was "tan.") It started well, but stopped very poorly as the master cylinder was out and I had to STAND on the pedal. I just began using very generous following distances and slowing down by gearing down. We carried sheep and garbage and lumber in it. With one of Beth's inspirations, this truck also helped us paint the house: I backed it up to the house or parked it VERY close alongside, and, by putting plywood down on the cargo rack, I stood on the platform 6 feet above the ground and could reach most of the second story walls!

These trucks have been incidental parts of life here, and now-almost inadvertanly-they are quiety gone. I guess they were more important to me than they were to anyone else in the family, naturally, and I feel sad to see them go. Now, quietly, they are all gone with only a few reminders left. There are piles of cut grass on the lawn that I was going to rake into the truck and haul away-looks like it will be with a wheelbarrow now instead. And the spare tire I forgot to put in the truck is leaning against the tractor shed.

What I Think!

2007-05-15T20:19:00.000-07:00

Well from our point of view ("our point" being us kid's point ) this whole moving thing is slightly insane! If you really think about it we are leaving all we have known for the past 9 years to start a new life in a place that none of our family has ever been! Yes we all are definitely crazy! But not altogether unexcited or truly worried.? I fact I am starting to truly ummmm.... warm up to the idea! My parents have traveled the word and now us kids get that chance! Now if one that is not exciting well I'm not sure I now what is! It's a once in a life time chance and we are taking it one step at a time!

A Culture of Generosity

2007-05-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

Relocation inevitably encompasses loss. Different members of my family are giving up different things to make "Korea" an opportunity for me and all of us:
Bentley is giving up stability to move to his third continent and third language in three years [please pray for him in both regards!];
Beth is giving up freindships, living space, gardening, Tsehi (her dog), flowers, and independence (we won't have a car in Korea);
Kylie and Amy are both giving up developing relationships with some great kids, birthday parties with, a big yard, canoeing on the river, homeschooling, and camping in summer.
To help mitigate the negative affect of these losses we are trying to sensitively manage them. One of Beth's good ideas to reduce the affect of missing birthday's with their friends was for the girls to take a couple friends to Seattle for a weekend. We took our kids and two friends to Seattle in April and stayed in a hotel with a pool (hear the splashing?), went to the Space Needle, spent a morning touring IKEA, and all the girls got their hair braided by an Ethiopian lady met through a kind restaurant owner (Marta of the Salaam Restaurant in Seattle on Cherry Street near Seattle University.)
While eating roasted lamb and other Ethiopia food for lunch, Marta gave us direction to her friends house (whom we had never met before). The following day, Sunday, after breakfast we went to her friends apartment in Kent, met her friend (who speaks no English) and a second Ethiopian friend of Marta's who does speak English!) One lady translated what the girls wanted done with their hair and the braiding began!
Braiding takes a lot of time and while the girls were having their hair braided, we were kindly given coffee in an informal Ethiopia coffee ceremony. Our hostess explained that with young children (like Bentley) she does not do the ceremony sitting on the floor as is normally done. For the sake of convenience and the child's safety she took out some coffee beans imported from Ethiopia, roasted the beans on the stove by hand, ground them in an electric Braun grinder, them put them in a traditional clay "jubehnah" and boiled the coffee on the electric stove.
The whole event was a real treat to receive the kind hospitality of these two women we had never met before and have them braid the girls hair and give us the gift of REAL coffee as well as their time (the whole event took about 4 hours of steady work). It was a little window into the generosity of people from the "third" world. It was a lesson not lost on any of the children and such a fragrant reminder to me of the wonderful people of the country of Ethiopia.

Disorientation

2007-05-14T15:26:00.000-07:00

[Thanks Kylie for letting me use this picture that fits the title! :)]

I have been experiencing disorientation. The past couple days I sit at my desk during my preparation period (no students) and I experience disorientation. I am not "into" teaching here, now because I too am about to move on. So I poke around on the internet looking for deals on computer hard drives or shop for tents for camping or grade few papers and cast around with a sense of restlessness. In my mind I even have thoughts of, "Maybe I should go to school to be an engine mechanic..." or "How will I be happy in Korea when it is Africa/Ehtiopia that calls out my passions" and it is sort of free time for a wandering mind. For 5 months I cannot get out of bed earlier than 7:00 (the last possible minute to get to school on time) because, "I can get by today without extra work" feeling or "what difference does it really make?"

I think, looking ahead to moving, coupled with multiple detachment events that are the normal precursor, like garage sales, selling the house, taking the sheep to a neighboring farm, naturally take away some of the aspects of my life that, even unintentionally perhaps, give me a context for my thinking and my activities. Being stripped of the context for "me" for who I am, means that my thoughts and actions have no boundaries to reflect off of and my thoughts, as I send them out, fail to find a reflective surface and continue on into infinite space without reflecting to my mind, without telling me, as it were: who I am, what I am responsible to do, who I am responsible for, what actions are good and not good, what activities I should engage in.

Yesterday I began telling myself, "I am a Christian, I am a man, I am a teacher, husband, father." and that helps give me a framework for my thoughts. This morning for the first time this year, I got out of bed at 6:15 (it has been not until 7:00 like I mentioned, all year) telling myself, "I am a Christian [implying the necessary activity of reading my Bible and praying] I am a teacher [implying I need to grade some papers and have a lesson] I am a husband [meaning I need to treat my wife kindly and just get out of bed instead of annoy her by putting her through an hour long cycle of five minute snooze alarms]." That somehow helps give me context for my life.

I don't know if it is weird or not to have almost a separate life inside my head that I have to adapt my activity to accomodate, since my lif is the only one I know!

Refugees must go through something similar. Imagine being faced with such violence, or threat thereof, that you feel you must collect your family and run. You travel and end up (to varying degrees) at a location that is unfamiliar; your livlihood is absent, needs are present but you lack any resources or references for meeting them. Wow. Even as an intentional refugee I experience disorientation. It makes me see the stories of Darfur in a different light.

Garage Sale

2007-05-09T09:19:00.000-07:00

In the past few weeks we have gotten over several hurdles involved in moving a family to another country. The time line bringing us to the present is roughly:
Hurdle #1 After the most intense weekend of my life, at a job fair for international school which was held in Iowa, in February, I got a new job teaching at an international school in Korea this next year.
Hurdle #2 We decided to sell the house we bought and enlarged because, our time in Korea is indefinitely defined and renting it out from that distance brought logistical problems we did not appreciate. God provided a buyer-and not just any buyer: we will be selling it to some friends of ours that we think very highly of: Jaime and Steve Ethridge-and their 6 great kids!
Hurdle #3 Sorting, choosing, packing, giving, selling and discarding. After the laborious exercise of separating and sorting stuff (perhaps correctly called junk) we made:
pile (a) to go to Korea (with subpiles for each person);
pile (b) to be stored in Canada at Jay's parents' home (because we cannot bear the thought of living without "someday" seeing or holding these objects and images again);
pile (c) to be distributed to people as they variously purchased/asked/or were gifted it;
pile (d) goods to be sold for cash-hence the GARAGE SALE to spend on...more stuff?
So check back for some graphic images of this event!