Fighting!

"Fighting!" is an exclamation that Koreans use when they feel a surge a perseverance in the midst of trial. If a Korean says "fighting!" it means they promise to continue enduring to success. They pronounce each syllable with strength and bring their hands into a fist in front of their face as they say it. "Figh-ting!" I first heard "fighting!" when I was watching a Korean drama. Han Ji Eun says it to Young Jae to encourage him to work toward a peaceable marriage while they were together. Then my friend, GiHee, a college student who I met at a bakery in Jilyang, said "Fighting!" to indicate how hard she would work at her English, so that we could be good friends. (It's pretty difficult to make friends with students in Korea. They're always studying.)

So after a few days of loneliness, followed by a rough Tuesday, I decided to adopt the phrase and start "fighting!" for happiness. I started working out again on Wednesday, and on Thursday, I went to Kyungsan in the morning, mostly as an effort to be out and about. I needed to spend less time just waiting and planning for work. I went to a coffee shop called Seven Monkeys (just the name of it seemed joyful,) where I ordered an iced honey latte (delicious) and studied my Korean. Then, I browsed the shops and bought myself a pair of Pooh socks and a matching sweatshirt and pant set. (I'd started to waking up to chilly legs in the morning.) As I sat at the bus stop, waiting for my ride home, I wondered what about the simple trip made me feel so good. What was it about my little outing that made me feel so refreshed?

I've had a pretty good run since then. On Friday, our school secretary told me that one of the mothers called to send me her thanks after her daughter, JiSoo, received a favorable grade on her midterm test. Actually, JiSoo is the same girl I wrote about months ago when I was first starting to teach. The student with which I had my first small success.

Patrick, the other teacher at my school, gave me a ride all the way out to my Bible study that night. He told me about his experience dating a Canadian and showed me his "gloomy music" category on his CD player. It was so nice to have some company and to arrive at Eli's apartment before 11:00 p.m. Instead of Bible study, we just talked about Korean nuances, first period stories and relationships until 3 a.m., which was more than OK for me since I was craving girl-hang-out time anyway.

On Saturday night, I went out to eat with Justin and Jean and watched the movie, Leon, with JiHey, that was of a significantly more sophisticated caliber than our last shared flick, Kangaroo Jack. I attended Korean class on Sunday, taught by my friend, Sam, from Dongshin Church. (Something else to keep my mind happy and entertained in Korea.) SuJung and I finally met to study Mark again, and I was able to explain how Jesus makes God not like Santa Claus.

Then tonight, I broke out the UNO cards for Moxanim, MinWoo and MinWoo's friend, who always practices his hellos and nice-to-meet-you's with me. They loved the game. After a couple of rounds, MinWoo's friend suggested that the last person to get rid of their cards should be finger-flicked to death by all of the other players. I knew it was a bad idea, especially when Moxanim and I went head to head in the final part. MinWoo started demonstrating the painful power of his flick against his own hand after he was the first to finish. (Honestly, it sort of made me feel at home with my brothers. Haha!) Much to my relief, I was able to finish 3rd with a few reverse cards and a wild card. MinWoo planted a fairly gentle flick on Moxanim's forehead, but his friend and I didn't dare flick the minister. :)

I have to do report cards this week. Ugh! But I have a lot to look forward to as well. On Thursday, I'm going to meet with Christy in KyungSan near Seven Monkeys. Then on Friday, Eli, Elise and Tharene are having a Halloween party at their house. I'm also planning out Nick's visit next month with much anticipation. It looks like I'm less lonely now, and there is more fun to come! Fighting!