Home Bound

Yes yes yes! It's that time of the year when you sit swimming in gratitude for all the blessings that managed to fit in such a short space of time. Ten months, to be precise. Now the list of 'thank yous' is never ending, so I'll save that for a journal and leave on this note: 

I am most certainly looking forward to:  

Sunshine  Beautiful and friendly people  Uniquely South African accents   Mr Price  Iron Brew  Pap   Nama    Family  Friends  ho Jaiva  Mommy  Sisters  Nephew  Cape Town DSTV  Mafikeng (True story!)  My size pants  Johannesburg  Pretoria  Keep left, pass right  Understanding  Woolies' malva and custard  Speckled eggs  Hillsong Church  House music  Beach  "Mabebeza!"  Enthusiastic car guards  Suede Carvelas  Motswako  Sesotho  Setswana  South African English  Mapantsula  Jean pant and takkie boot  clear skies  stars  African air  Hair dressers

Just the few things I can think of right now. 

weheartit

weheartit.com

weheartit.com

It's been a great 10 months, Korea. See you on the other side of 2011. 

In The Eye of the Creator

Beauty. 

Whether we like to admit it or not, this is the one thing woman all over the world share a concern for. For me, the most frustrating part is how we can never come to consensus on what the real definition of the word is. 

This could be a whole yada yada of all the shallow and 'deep' things I think about the world but next to what was shared at our Women's Tea a few weekends ago, my thoughts on the topic hold no water. 

*pics by Katy Doerksen

    

                                                       The brains behind the magic: Sarah, Lizzi, Gabi

                                                                               Joanna 

                                                

                                                                                  Emily 

Joanna Newton and Emily Donald from our church shared what they thought about the topic of Godly Health and Beauty, and how refreshing it always is to hear people speaking of these topics with the backing of scripture (pre Korea, it was rare that I engaged in such discussion). 

Emily is really passionate about health and keeping fit so her talk focussed on the practical side of looking after. I loved how she broke down the ever dreaded 'working out' thing. Her words went (paraphrase) 'The thing about exercise is that you just have to do it.' BAM! I was so hoping it would be a complex explanation so I could keep putting it off because I'm too lazy. But how she put it was perfect. Nothing you cannot understand about that! What a great reminder it was when she spoke about discipline and how your being able to be disciplined with working out, will show in your dedication to having quiet time with God too. Also, how do we expect to always be used as His hands and feet when we're too unfit to even lift a limb. 

Joanna focussed on how Jesus sees us and making it our prayer to have His eyes for ourselves. Our own vision is totally warped by all sorts of things around us, so we need to do the 'Lord, what do you see in me? Please show me' prayer so we can be reminded of truth. She also just reminded us of how overjoyed God is when we merely glance at him, and all the while He stays staring at us- eyes never shifting off us. Goosebumps! 

Learning...

What a thrill! 

Be Specific!

See, one thing I've learned over the last few years, is that if you are gonna pray, you had better make those prayers specific because God answers, mkay! I have been so surprised at how He's shown me how simple and (too) small my wishes and dreams had been growing up. He did this by always answering my prayers sooner than I had expected and never in the context I'd imagined they'd come true in. 

The childhood (and very child like!) prayer probably went something like this: 

Lord, I want to be famous. I want to be a TV presenter! Please give me the chance to strut my stuff (k, I didn't know that phrase back then, but you get me) in front of a camera before I die. Thank you. Amen 

So here I am, in Korea, sitting in front of a camera, in the school broadcasting room, doing exactly what I had prayed to one day get the opportunity to do.

*With my colleagues, Mrs Lee and Gregg Lewis 

The audience is not an entire country, and neither am I getting my make up done and signing autographs in between. But my prayer was answered. 

A few other prime examples: 

Lord, I want to be a millionnaire.

In Korea, I am a millionnaire.  Darn it, I should've specified the currency!

Lord, that Mini Cooper car is sooo cute. One day... please? If it's in your plan... Uhm, I'd really like one. Promise, I'll be good. 

Last year, working for Red Bull, I got to drive around, feeling like a million bucks, in a fully stocked company Mini for 7 months. 

Now I look back and mumble a 'THOSE were my dreams?'. Ha! Well, I'm glad they were coz all it did was give me the chance to learn this, and to learn it well:

God's plan always makes one's dreams look petty. And I love that.

So today while you pray, remember to

 Be Specific!

'Tis The Season.

To be jolly, despite being away from the Motherland.  

And jolly, it was! I think it's so easy to get lost in the frills of this season- the prezzies, the parties, food and  and and. Ooh, especially when you're surrounded by people from countries where people's Christmas activities are hard core (USA and Canada). But this year was different for me because, amidst all the fun and games, Jesus was consistently the focus for the festivities. The same people who shared this different (to SA's) culture of Christmas festivities, shared a common and consistent focus for the season: Jesus. How awesomely blessed to have such a legend born for the sole purpose of our freedom!

On Wednesday, the women's bible study group kicked off the gift traditions early, with a game of White Elephant. At our usual spot (Sarah's and Pete's apartment), the old bible study grounds became a battle field for givers and robbers.

The White Elephant concept (for those, like me, who have never done it before):

Everyone brings a gift for no more than an agreed on price. Ours was 5000 Korean Won (R35; about 5 USD). 

Gifts are placed in the middle of the room. 

Each person gets a number. 

The first person chooses a gift, opens it and shows it to everyone. 

The next person may choose to steal person one's gift, or open a new one. 

If a gift is stolen from you, you may choose a new one or steal from someone else (not the person who has just stolen from you). 

Each gift has 3 lives. Once it's been stolen 3 times, it's safe. 

Christine Wang was there to capture all the action as it happened. The joy, the plotting, the theft, the disappointment, the victories, and and final satisfaction. Watch and learn. 

                                                                       Laurentia happy at first.

                                         Diana (next to Laurentia) becomes the first robber of the evening. 

                                                

                                         Christine sniffs the gifts to suss out what she wants to take. 

                                                       Raquel- a satisfied gift recipient. 

          Sarah becomes the burster of the Laurentia bubble, stealing the perfume and gloss from her. Eishhhh. 

                                

           Sorry, Young! Those leg warmers looked to good not to steal. My face= the thrill of daylight robbery!

                   Sarah chooses a lovely photo hanger thingy after being stolen from. I think she loves it.

                           You don't know how hilarious it is watching people break one another's hearts!

                                                   Just look at the heart break in those eyes! Priceless!

...and this one! After I became the traitor friend who encouraged Laurentia to take Raquel's gift. I'm so sowi!

                                                         Diana, pleading with a robber, to leave her alone.

                          She is unsuccessful and targets Kathy's pretty pink candle. Kathy is deeply hurt.

                                            Young's FIFTH time unlucky! So sad, but sooooo funny!

                Luarie and Diana making strategic bargains so their hands can be free to steal. Ha! 

                         The final gift opened was the loveliest, too. A pleasant way to end the game.

                                                                     As the (revised) saying goes:

                    All is fair in love, war and white elephanting. At least happy faces were the conclusion of it all. 

This is happy Kristen (lovely lady from Canada. I love Canada). 

And this is the lovely host, Sarah. Sarah gave Laurentia this perfume to keep. Comradery in robbery exists.   

Kathy also got her groove back!

Alissa and Gabi. As merry as can be!

My first out-of-Africa Christmas could not have been more pleasant. I hope yours was just as blessed!

Taming the Mane

It was a given that this would be one of my issues in Korea- looking after African hair in a place where most people have never even seen a black person in real life, but I brushed it off and left the mane to find a way for itself. Here's what she's come up with:

Feb-April (I know. That's a mighty long time. don't judge!)

Give your old braids some curls and BAM! you have your money's worth. A 'new' hairstyle :)

One day in April (just after taking the braids out. Yes. It's that relief kind of excitement.) 

...on the same day in April after an hour long blow drying session. The excitement? She's gone.

one brave day in July I decided cornrows were the way (at the expense of my poor pixie ears which would now be exposed). My first cornrows in adulthood. 

that didn't last too long coz by August I braved braids with random acts of blondeness. My first time adding any colour to my hair.

by October, I was rocking my natural hair, even experimenting with the wavey side of things

but this takes hours so I did this for about a week (crazy hair = crazy egg poses)

For now til I go home at the end of December, I will be finding my inner Janelle Monae and making this most of this bush that I call hair.

and that, my dear friends, is how you

Tame the Mane. 

That Day in September

The day that most South Africans forget that we should be celebrating our heritage, rather than the fact that we are awesome at flipping meat over a fire.

On (South African) National Heritage Day <and National Braai Day>, this is what we got up to in SoKo:

A braai on the rooftop of Melt's apartment block 'out in the country side', a 40 minute bus ride out of the Daegs.

This is Melt vd Spuy (do I even have to mention that he's South African?)

and this is the beautiful Susan Van Wijk (also a proud Saffer)

boys will be boys

pic by Che Upton

pic by J.S Powles

and the very next day, we filled our tummies with more tastes of home, thanks to Leon celebrating his birthday and his wife Santjie for her killer cooking skills. 

Bad quality pics are courtesy of the hungry lion in me that was too overwhelmed to hold still while snapping. Also, holding still would've taken from my eating time. Opportunity cost, people!

This was a good, homey weekend. 

Thank you very much. ^^,