Thank you, Asia "North Korean Refugees" (95 days left)

 One of the more meaningful things I have done in my life was teach English to the North Korean Women Refugees at a non-disclosed location in South Korea.  This is something only a few people get to experience.  

From 2012-14 I was a church member at a Christian church in Seoul which paired native English speakers with Korean translators.  Our church was the only religious organization that the South Korean government would allow to partner with this center. 

Once every few weeks a group of 4 - 6 of us would pile into a van on a Tuesday night then drive more than an hour to the rural and secret location of the Refugee center for women.  There, for about an hour, we would teach simple English lessons like counting, animals, days of the week, or polite conversation, then drive back home, arriving about 9:30 pm.  

A reunion of teachers and graduates from the refugee center

We taught about 20 - 30 ladies each time. Together we did a lot of singing, some dancing, and some hugging or hand holding.  One day I was even asked to sign autographs.  We talked about God's love for them.  We sang about the freedom of the soul.  

The refugee women had lived through hell prior to their arrival as refugees.  And during their 6-week orientation to life in South Korea, they were relearning everything, including that Americans weren't the enemy.  I never expected their faces to be so joyful and bright.  I couldn't have expected them to be so thankful for everything we offered.  And I hadn't imagined I would appear so tall!

While I never got to know individual lady's stories, our group would often discuss the plight of the North Koreans while on our travels to and from the Refugee Center, often eating Korean street food (mandu, pork bbq buns, or kimbab) on the way.  We would also talk openly about our own cultures, be they American, Canadian or South Korean.  My fellow teachers and translators gifted me with an understanding of both North and South Korean culture that I would not otherwise have ever learned.  

After only two years of teaching there, our family decided to leave Seoul and move to Hong Kong.  Leaving this volunteer program left a big hole in my heart.  That hole has since become a great pool of gratitude for having had the opportunity to serve such amazing, courageous women. 

Thank you, Asia "Soul Sisters" (96 days left)

 "Thank you, Asia" series.  96 days left. February 24, 2021.

Thank you, Asia, for bringing me my soul sisters.  I could not have found these ladies without living exactly where I do and when I do.  

What is a soul sister?  These are the ones to whom you speak your truth.  They don't judge you.  They don't fix you.  But they offer their unconditional love and support.  

I am blessed to have found soul sisters on both sides of the planet.  In some cases, our friendship goes back decades miraculously deepening even while I have resided thousands of miles away.  

In other cases I was blessed with beautiful synchronicities which included where I sit at my office, a special guest appearance, an earnest follow up conversation, resulting in an unlikely friendship, and then another and another and another. The next thing I knew, I was on a weekly Power of 8 Zoom call with more soul sisters. Together, we send out intentions out to the ethers and wait expectantly for the miracles to unfold.  And they do.  

Without Asia, I don't know that I would have taken such a deep dive into the nature of spirituality or come to know myself as a spiritual being the way I do today.  These ladies, without fail, honor that aspect of me which is beyond Brenda.  What a gift I have received.  

Thank you, Asia "Students" (94 days left)

 "Thank you, Asia" series. 94 days left.

How could I go any longer before thanking Asia for my amazing experiences teaching high schoolers? Truthfully, I was feeling rather burned out by the time we left Green Bay in June 2010.  At that time I had been the IB Coordinator while also teaching 3 sections of grade 9 English (90 students).  I was exhausted and looking for greater balance.

Teaching in Korea was a breath of fresh air.  My students in Korea were kind, bright, funny, well-behaved, and very tired!  They challenged me to be at the top of my game with how and what I could teach.  Classroom management issues disappeared overnight; it was all about connecting with kids and teaching my subject well.  I had a blast.  I grew.  I fine-tuned my craft.

That first year at KIS brought the balance I had been dreaming of.  I was full-time with only four classes and under 60 students to teach!  I took on AP Literature - a college level course - for the first time (and continued to this day).  I am fairly certain that first group of students taught me more about "close reading and analysis" than I taught them.  I loved that group so much.  Additionally, I took on the Speech and Debate Club, something I knew well.  Again, the students were amazing leaders and learners, sending some students on to represent Korea at international competitions.

These trends didn't change when, four years later, I began teaching at HKIS.  Here, the students were more awake, more spirited, more. . . Westernized.  But they were and are just as spectacular, interesting, kind, and driven.  Perhaps they are more creative; certainly the student body is more international in nature than KIS.  Here, I continued working with public speaking as I coached Forensics for the last seven years.  For much of that time, I had the great pleasure of traveling with the team to China and Malaysia.  Recently, our team participated in an online Forensics Festival organized out of Amman, Jordan. What a blast (even on Zoom)!

Teaching has truly been a joy in Asia.  I have been entirely spoiled.  Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the hundreds of students with whom I have had the pleasure to know. 

Thank you, Asia "Korean cuisine" (98 days left)

 Thank you, Asia series.  98 days left.

Kimchi.  Kimbab.  Korean BBQ.  Bibimbab. . . Korean cuisines.  Without living in Korea for four years, I would never have known these foods that I now can say I totally enjoy.  (These and many cuisines from around the world. . . perhaps another day's post?)  

I remember specifically sitting in the teacher's lounge in 2010 at Notre Dame Academy prior to leaving for our grand adventure abroad to South Korea.  I remember my colleague Chris learning of the coming moving and asking me, "Do you like kimchi?"   I had never even heard of kimchi!  "I don't know," I said.  "I've never had it."  As I recall, within the next week Chris brought some kimchi to lunch and let me smell and taste it.  It didn't seem like anything I was interested in.  What would Korean cuisine be like, I wondered.

Well, little did I know that I would come to crave kimchi - the fermented and spicy cabbages of Korea that come in as many varieties as homemade apple pie.  There is even an entire museum in Seoul devoted to kimchi.  

Freshly made kimbab (much like a California roll) at a tiny shop window - my favorite being the tuna type, is a nice lunch all by itself.  We once were in a cooking contest where we were charged with making the best kimbab.  I lost.   (Alas, I won't be recreating amazing kimbab back in Wisconsin.)

Korean barbeque - What can I say?  You sit around an indoor grill, cut up thinly sliced beef, pork, or even duck with a scissors, along with cloves of garlic.  Grill the meat, then create a tiny "lettuce wrap" using large lettuce leaves to protect the bite size meat sprinkled with rock salt, and dabbed with ssamjang paste. Maybe add some steamed rice.  But the best part is the 1000 side dishes that come with the meal.  

Bibimbap is my go-to now if I see a Korean restaurant anywhere else.  This dish comes with a spicy paste so you can choose whether or not you want it mild or super spicy.  I go for the spicy!  I even astounded an American stewardess once choosing to use it on my plane food of bibimbap.

Thank you, Asia "water" (97 days left)

 Thank you, Asia series. 97 Days left until we fly out for Wisconsin. 

Water.  I had no idea how much I would love living near the ocean.  I have taken (and posted) countless photos from our balcony in Hong Kong. In addition to the portion of Hong Kong adjacent to mainland China, Hong Kong is a land consisting of more than 250 islands.  For the past seven years we have lived
on the Southside of Hong Kong Island looking over an inlet at Tai Tam Bay, which ultimately is a part of the South China Sea.

I have so enjoyed each morning, looking at the beautiful colors of the bay - the aquas and blues merging into one another.  The clarity!  The calming energy of it.  Thank you, Tai Tam Bay. 

Thank you, Asia "Friends" (99 days left)

 99 days until we move back to Green Bay, WI. "Thank you, Asia" series.

This picture popped up as my Facebook memory from 6 years ago and exemplifies one of the greatest gifts I have received in the past 11 years in Asia - friendships with good people from all over the planet.

In this picture are Kristy and Kelly Fitzgerald. Colleagues and friends from our time in Seoul, and Texans at heart; they visited us in Hong Kong our second year here. One of hundreds of photos I could post to represent friendships made during our 11 years in Asia, this represents the great gift it has been to make friends hailing from North America, South America, Asia and S.E. Asia, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa. Through these friendships, I have not only experienced the cultures of International Schools in Asia and Korean and Cantonese cultures, I have - by proxy - learned about cultures from robust discussions with these friends and acquaintances from all over the world.

For example, from the lunch table at work I came to understand the New Zealand secondary education system from Helen. From rides to and from the North Korean Women's Refugee Center I came to understand the North and South Korean culture better. From my many Canadian colleagues and friends, I came to understand my northern neighbors better. From friends in India, I learned about Indian - and especially Kolkatan - culture. From Cora and other Cantonese natives, I experienced Cantonese culture in ways that I could not have otherwise. The list goes on.

On-going friendships with good people from around the world has taught me the unequivocal fact that there is far less that separates us than binds us as humans. A friend can be found next door or half way around the world. Thank you, Asia, for those amazing friends - now scattered back to the winds - and all they have brought to my understanding and my heart.

Thank you, Asia "Safety" (100 days left)

 100 days left in Asia. 100 days of gratitude.

The countdown begins (exactly 11 years since my very first blog!)

Thank you, Asia, for being a safe place to raise my children. Alec was six when we arrived as in now 17! Adam was 9 and is now 19 going on 20. We were amazed at how safe it was for our children to play outside in the playgrounds at Goodmorning Hill in Seoul. Little kids could and would take the bus and subway all alone to and from school with no worry. What a gift not to worry about violence, kid snatching, guns, and so many other things. In Hong Kong, Adam would take the public transportation and a phone into the city at 16 and enjoy exploring Central. What a blessing to live in safety.