Are you exciting?

That is one of the most common questions you'll receive in Korea when people want to practice their english on you--they mean "are you excited".

Just so you all know--Asian post-it's are vicious. They don't use the same kind and gentle glue that we all know and love in America. It's a close substitute, but you DO have to be aware or you'll tear things apart with them.

So, last week we went to Beomosa, one of the largest Buddhist temples in the world. That was a very interesting experience. I'm not sure what makes people attracted to the idea of becoming nothingness, but it's interesting to see their practices. Seems kinda depressing to me. It's a different world over here.

Funny thing at Beomosa: Sis. Beckstead asked if the watermelon the giftshop cashier was eating tasted good and we all ended up having watermelon shoved under our noses. It's rude not to share something if someone even hints they want some, so we ended up eating half their watermelon on accident. We felt kinda bad...such is life.

I had the chance to go to the Gupo Branch for the first time this week. I went on a split. It was fun. At the end of the Church I had four different Sisters grab my wrist and try to drag me to their house for lunch, but of course I couldn't because I had to meet my companion in Gimhae (feels weird to write that romanized). People like feeding the missionaries here. Yesterday I'm fairly certain I ate my body weight over again.

Korea is crazy. Friday I went on a split uh-ehm "companion exchange" with Sis. Beckstead. We were visiting members' homes, but it's next to impossible to kind anything in this country. We had an adventure anyway. We started in this uppity Korean apartment complex complete with guards and gates. Then, less than a 5-minute walk away, we landed in an impoverished area. I felt like we were in Guatamala and that the shacks were made of whatever materials happened to be available at the time. After that we found this old-looking stucco wall that looked like the wall to an old Spanish mission. On the wall in old-style calligraphy there was some english writing. I started to sound it out, "Yes--ter--day...all---my---turr-oubles---WAIT A SECOND...." Yes, it was the Beatles song, just imprinted on the wall. Weird.

When people eat pizza here they roll it up like a crescent roll and shove most of it in their mouth at once (the crust is thinner). Puts a new meaning to "pizza rolls".

The Korean word for "cherry tomato" literally translated means "jingle bell tomato". It tickled my fancy. They eat them for dessert. Mary would be in heaven.

I love this experience. People need the Gospel more than they really know, and seeing the light in their eyes when they feel the truth ring true in their hearts is AMAZING!! That's something I can't bring them---it has to come through the Spirit. I love seeing people finally find the peace they gave up on looking for so long ago.

Yon Hyon Ryong (Probably a bad American spelling, but whatever) one of my investigators, is doing really well. She broke up with her boyfriend because he told her that she shouldn't go to Church. When we found out that was why they broke up we partied (so far as missionaries party---we went and got ice cream). I've never been so happy somone broke up before.

Thanks for the email Karina. It sounds like things are going well for you. Let me know how the vomit comet is!

So there's this woman who climbs up and down our stairs every morning calling for peoples' dry cleaning. What makes this funny is that the word for dry cleaning is "Say-talk" which sounds like "satan". That mixed with her ominous voice and the way it echoes in our stairwell makes for an oddly creepy experience as this crazy lady is calling for "satan".

There are two responses I get when I say I'm from Colorado--they are: "Where" and "Ahh, cowboy country!" It then gets worse when they ask if I have a boyfriend (and they ALWAYS ask) followed by a desire to see a picture. The picture of choice for me to show is the one with him all dressed up as a cowboy in Montana. They must all think that's what we dress like all the time. I like it. That mixed with the fact that Sis. Beckstead has various scholarships from rodeo-ing (is that how you gerrund that in English?) so they must think ALL americans are cowboys or cowgirls...

Anyway, I've been here too long. Nice talking to you all.

~R~