Riley!

It had been building up. And after I returned from my trip to the States in October, I just knew it was time! Time for me to get a dog!! I love dogs but I've always been a bit of a commitment-phobe. I like having my freedom and going and doing as I please. But finally I just knew it was time.

So I searched the web for a while, until I found an ad for a 2-year-old Miniature Schnazuer on Craigslist. The ad said the owner was leaving Seoul in January and needed someone to adopt his dog. Perfect! I thought! It gave me time to go home for vacation in December and get back and get the dog. Well, after email the guy, he let me know that the date had been moved up a month...mid-December. I automatically thought there was no way. I was about to leave the country for two weeks and I would only have the dog for a couple of weeks before that. But with some encouraging from my friend, Liz, and a perfectly (already) planned trip to Seoul, I met the little man and knew I couldn't possibly say no!

And so began my journey with Riley. Liz and I brought him back from Seoul on a cold December day and I welcomed him into my home. It's been amazing so far! I've had him about 2.5 months, and now, I don't know what I did without him! He's so much fun and add so much joy to my life! We've been adjusting to each other and forming our bond that will hopefully last many years to come!

Here are some pictures of my precious little man:

A couple of weeks ago, Riley got a little haircut! You can imagine my shock with I saw him for the first time! I didn't even recognize him! I kind of saw it has him going from a little boy cut to a man cut! It's so different!

Here's to many more years of precious time with my companion, Riley!

Lessons Learned

As I've grown older, I've learned that every person you come across should teach you something about life. Whether it be absolutely known at that moment or maybe realized 10 years down the road, each person we come in contact with has some way of impacting our lives and teaching us something useful.

Here's my story...Today, with the Korean school year ending, I said a sorrowful good-bye to a teacher that I've worked with for the past year at my country school. It's weird, right?! You can be around someone only once a week for a year and for a limited amount of time in those meetings, but they can still become someone that you desire to see and talk with. But as I reflect back on the year of working with him, I can immediately know what lesson he has taught me that will carry with me forward. Let me explain:

A year ago, when the new school year started and I met Mr. Kim for the first time, I was a bit hesitant...as I usually am about working with new people. He didn't seem overly friendly or happy about speaking English with me. Our time was brief on that first meeting. The second week when I saw him, it was for about a minute before he left me with his class full of rambunctious 6th graders. I was a bit flushered, since I always had a Korean teacher in the room at this school for translating and controlling the students. So there I was...standing there...thinking what a jerk this guy was for leaving me there....not even asking if he needed to do anything during our class. I was distraut. I didn't want to teach with him anymore. I didn't want to see him. I thought he was a major jerkface!

Well, if you read the beginning of this blog, you obviously know the story takes a turn for the better. As the weeks went on, I figured out it was fully 'my' classroom, and he started to stay to help with translating. Along with that, because of the schedule, I got about 20 minutes to sit and chat with him everyday before my class started with his students. We started forming a respect for each other and a friendship. I started really looking forward to seeing him every week and to getting our weekly conversation.

So the whole point of this blog, and what I'll take away from my time with his, is not to dismiss someone completely just because you get a bad first impression from them. I'm sure this is common sense to most people, but having it so clearly lived it in recent days, I just wanted to share it with you!

Cultural Difference - Child Abuse / Child Neglect

Last week, I was talking with a Korean friend of mine. She told me a story like this:

"Sara, did you hear about the news last week? In America, there was a man that was a preacher at a church. One morning, he had to go to a meeting very early and his young child was still sleeping. So he left his child at home sleeping while he went to the meeting. Later, while the man was at the meeting, the child woke up and was crying and couldn't find his parents. So the child went outside and was crying and looking around for his parents, then a neighbor saw him and called the police. Isn't that surprising?"

Let me pause my story to reference the story she was talking about.

After she told me the story, I was feeling a bit shocked as well...but as I thought about further discussion with her, I knew we would have different reasons for being surprised at this story.

So I asked her, "Which part of the story is surprising to you? That the man left his child home alone, or that the neighbor called the police when they found the child?"

And this is where the cultural difference comes into this story. For me, an American with Western beliefs, the shocking part of the story was that the man left his young child at home alone while he went to church. For her, a Korean with Eastern beliefs, the shocking part of the story was that the neighbor called the police and ultimately, the parents were arrested.

I tried to explain to her that in America, there are many different reason we might call the police in this situation, i.e. someone could have snatched the kid, the parents could have been neglecting the kid, etc. Still she was quite in shock that this story even happened and that it made it's way all that way to CNN in Korea. (I'm pretty sure it aired because the couple in the story is Korean.)

All of this being said, I thought it was a good time to discuss the cultural difference regarding child abuse/neglect in Korea and America. I first learned about this a few months ago when I was talking with a co-worker of mine. I asked her if there is such a thing as child abuse in Korea. She looked at me a little funny and told me that isn't a matter that is dealt with by officials in Korea. From my understanding after our conversation, Korea views child abuse and likes as a private home matter and they won't intervene on issues like that. To me, of course, I was completely shocked...especially after having a friend that works for CPS in Texas and knowing how often officials must intervene with this stuff at home.

Do I still think Korea is a much safer place that America? Definitely! Do I think abuse happens in Korea even though it isn't reported? Of course! Will I continue to find cultural differences in Korea and America no matter how long I'm here? For sure!

Home for the Holidays

This holiday season, I was so lucky to get to return home for two weeks to spend time with my family and friends (another plus for working at public school in Korea)! I had just been home two months prior for my nephew's birth, but even still, I was super excited to get a 'real' Christmas this year.

Of course, I was so happy to see Landon and all of his amazingness (is that a word?)! He had grown so much in two months, and it only makes me realize when I see him in 10 months from now, he's going to be a completely different baby! I took so many pictures of me with my wonderful nephew, so here are a few:

Isn't he just adorable??! I sure do think so!!

Besides visiting with Landon, I also did my usual trip to Abilene to see my aunt and cousin there! My cousin Alichia's daughters are growing up so much too! It feels like yesterday when Abby was born, and now she's already three!! I can't believe it! I expectedly got to help Alichia paint both of the girls' rooms...it was hard work, but the end result was worth it! So because we were so busy, I didn't get to see the girls much, but I did get a minute with them! Here are the pictures I was able to snap:

Along with seeing family, I got to catch up with two of my besties! I hadn't seen Jennifer since she was pregnant with Judson, and he celebrated his first birthday a couple weeks before I saw him. He is such a sweet baby and I was so glad to finally meet him!

I also met up with Kami in Oklahoma City for some quality girl time and a basketball game. It was my first NBA game in a while, and it was Kami's first ever NBA game! The Thunder lost the game, but it was still a nice time! 

And one of the most exciting things was getting my new Mac!! I had been waiting to long to get a new computer and it was such a happy day for me to go to the Apple Store and get the MacBook Pro!!! Hopefully that'll help with updating my blogs!

That pretty much wraps up my trip at home! It was a wonderful time! I'll leave you with a few more pictures of Landon! :)

Meet My Nephew!!

I returned home in October between my contracts in order to be home for a very important event...the birth of my nephew! It was quite an exciting time, and since I'd been away for the entirety of my sister's pregnancy, I was excited to get home for the main event!!

The whole trip was kept a secret for everyone except my mom and dad...so it was super fun getting to surprise everyone! I didn't think I'd be able to pull it off with Facebook and a mother that lets things slip at times, but it all happened as planned! So because it was a surprise, I was just hoping that my nephew would decide to grace us with his presence while I was home. I knew my sister would be induced, but the date was still up in the air...leaving me feeling quite anxious...and her, too, I'm sure!

After all was said and done, Mr. Landon Pesi joined our world on Friday, October 21, 2011, around 3pm. He was welcomed through C-section (not originally planned) into the arms of my older sister, Stephanie, and her husband, Shahveer. It was quite a happy day for our family as we met the first grandchild for our parents. A glorious moment, indeed!

The first thing that was definitely noticeable was that dark head of hair...so cute! I'm pretty sure I was bald until about the age of five! Haha! While others did the 'his nose, her mouth...' stuff, I opted out since I am not good at all of that! As he grows, I'm sure I'll be able to point out some similarities!

With the birth being in my first week home, I was able to spend another week with the little man before I had to head back to Texas. It was incredible watching the teamwork between my sister and brother-in-law, along with the sleep deprivation! I'm not sure there's anything better in the world than holding an itty-bitty baby!

I can't wait to watch this little man grow up and have lots of super fun aunt-nephew moments with him!