Chapter 10: So the saga continues...
We had quite a lot of trauma to deal with: A close friend loaned money from us and basically lost it all and can't repay us (they were supposed to pay our car payments in full but didn't and so our car was repossessed as well - so we spent a lot of the time in Gabs ( 4 days) sorting out the drama. It was a hard lesson but God knows why and what - we just have to trust in Him. Then the day we got to Westwood, Josh and Ethan were told that April (our dog) died - we were expecting to see her and were devastated about her death. Josh refused to get out the car and Ethan just crumbled. It was awful as we thought she was still alive and were going to spend time with her! Well we got back to the "land of the morning calm" in a real rush! Our flight back was cramped, bouncy and long! Especially when you don't really want to leave HOME! But somehow going to "Terry's House" (our cat, this is how Shannie distinguishes where she lives: Bond's house = Anmari's house in Cape Town; Snake house (snake park in Durbs) = Ginny and Papa's House; April's House = Anywhere in Botswana and Terry's house = Our apartment in Korea) made us all feel glad to be going home too! Our apprehension was more one of, what does this year hold for us? Can we manage another year in the Land of Kimchi? Another year of 'Wei Guk' - being a foreigner. Well when we got to Incheon Airport the TCIS bus was waiting, so were friends and our Godly family! It felt like a home coming! Surprise! We chatted all three hours home and exchanged 'summer' adventures - the kids were thrilled to see their friends and the familiar faces of people who have prayed for us, talked with us and lived as Christ's disciples did, with us for a year. It felt good - in God's will- right place, right time, right ministry - for His glory. Friends who had arrived back a few days earlier had got a key from school, cleaned our apartment and food was cooked for us - we felt loved and special! Terry is fat and happy to see us but vocally protested being left behind. So back to taxi directions in a strange tongue and reading odd signs to get around the city. The first weekend back was my birthday and Ken booked the Taecheon Beach Cabin and a car from school - packed Terry, the kids and I in the car! It was the most harrowing experience driving down to the beach on our own! Korean road signs are hard to read and by the time I have sounded out the highway exit name (Bore-eo-yoeng muda-surtiie: A city famous for it's mud face packs etc.) we had passed three other exits! It's also hard to sit in the passenger seat while Ken drives on the left hand side. I NEEDED a steering wheel and brake my side! It was well worth the drive though - the weather was perfect and the kids love the space at TBA. Taecheon Beach does not have waves but a soft lip of water plops over on the shoreline every now and then.The funniest was watching Korean beach protocol. If you are close to 60 or a 100 and really small (shrunk and shrivelled) and a woman; you have preferential status! You get given a much-sought-after life jacket and inflatable boat with oars for weapons! So then you proceed with your God-given right to bully all and sundry on the beach and in the water! They get in the boats ( which in itself is side splittingly hilarious to observe) - life jackets; huge bright easy-to-spot on the ocean neon pink / green / orange UFO type sun hat; fully clothed in long trousers, long sleeved shirts with fashionable bush jacket under life jacket - camera around neck (possibility of photography of great white?) and serious hiking boots to walk on the bottom of the ocean. You never know when you may sink - especially when you are carrying a 40 cm camera lense for those hard to get under-the-sea, in the whale's gut photos! So all set, you make the life guard, because it's his job, hold the boat still and the other life guards carry all the grannies into the water - can't possibly wet those $500 dollar 'catchapillow' (no grey product brand name is spelt even remotely correctly - sorry caterpillar) hiking boots! Then once safely inside the boat you proceed to whack at the water with your newly acquired oar! Sorry for all those little kids who can't swim out the way - so just whack them on the head too - especially if they happen to wet your bleating Samsung cell phone which is either dangling from your ear or attached to your (custom designed top pocket for cell phones) life jacket. I wonder how far cell phone coverage goes out in the Korean sea? Or do you have to take your international roaming phone in order to use it when you hit the "international waters" of the sea of Japan! It apparently depends upon what soil you are standing on, as to which name you would use to describe that same body of water (Sea of Japan or aka Sea of Korea)! So then just as the old kimchi biddies are getting the hang of rowing (cut down into the water - connect with kids heads and pull hard: this method used for the white rafting feel) a gentle current starts to pull them out to deeper waters. Then the fun begins - screaming and baleing all at once! Out jumps granny no.1! Yelling and gesturing at the life guards but then realizes that she is knee deep in water and can't swim. So she buckles down into the water in sheer fright and tries to sink - I knew those boots would come in handy! Two seconds later she is rescued by a very apologetic Life Guard whom she berates and scolds in Korean - really hilarious as I have never seen a life guard try rescue someone while they are bowing a profuse apology - thoroughly wetting the victim with each apologetic bow. Mean while granny no. 2 is now heading for international waters in her inflatable boat but is on her cell phone so she either hasn't noticed or she is dialling 911! Over the tall pine trees comes the beating of a helicopter news crew and everyone on the beach including the life guards, performing the rescue, stop and wave. So at last someone swims out into the deeper waters and lassos the wayward boat, dragging it and its angry occupant back to the shore. Then more grannies are lined up to take their turn. The next customers are on a business trip - they have exchanged their cameras and cell phones for ore honourable equipment like two huge buckets; two nets and a pair of brightly coloured orange scissors. With a little more skill and "sea shoes", they wade into the sea - climb into the boat and start to mechanically row in time. I am intrigued and impressed but what are they going to do with their equipment? They are definitely on a mission - ahah - a sea weed collecting mission! So after successfully loading buckets full of soggy slimy green seaweed, they eagerly row back to shore to continue the relay race of who gets the next inflatable boat. We leave the beach with Josh and Ethan nagging us to get a boat, so that they can join the other 20 boats on the bay! Josh tries to tell me that if they get oars too they will be able to use them as self defence against the old grannies, somehow I don't think that sales pitch worked in his favour! It did however provide us with interesting cartoon thoughts! Terry loved the cabin and being able to wonder around the pine woodland - she did have a run in with a squirrel and got the fright of her life! After that she tended to hang around the cabin. On Saturday evening we went to the beach front promenade which was alive with action. Korean bikers in leather or pleather (fake) with chains on their pants and styling cowboy boots hang around in "gangs" glued together by their collective tattoos! They are smiling and chatting under billowing clouds of smoke as they puff away and shine their custom made Harley's. Somehow, no matter how mean they try to look they can't help oohing and aaahing over our "epoh" (beautiful) daughter and sons. What also makes them unthreatening is the fact that they are really friendly, happy, small, skinny people - I could single handedly take on three bikers at the same time! The scariest thing is the fireworks display on the beach. Korean Beach Etiquette is well known to all Koreans, as soon as it is dark, out come the portable wagons loaded with fireworks for sale. Roman candles, fire crackers, sparklers, rockets etc are sold for under a dollar to anyone. All shop owners are eager to sell to Shannie even! Consequently there are thousands of crazed Koreans running around the beach, holding rockets in their hands and firing at will - in every and any direction possible! So after we managed to dodge the flying fireworks and find a bench to sit on behind the madmen, we sat back and relaxed, eagerly watching the hodge podge fireworks display. Ken and I had this overwhelming feeling that if North Korea ever dared to NUKE South Korea, we would be, rest assuredly, safe. As EVERY South Korean has no fear of fire power and can steadfastly wheeled their roman candles or fire work rockets at North Korea and probably frighten the entire population into surrendering or blow them all to smithereens! Just before we wondered off to bed, the boys found a Taekwondo exhibition. The crew were dressed casually and had an elaborate script, which enthralled our boys. Bad guys and good guys fight it out and jump down from 5 people high human pyramids etc. Extremely involved and intricate techniques are employed without the warning of "don't try this at home" siren song - so I did the honours of a solid mother to sons nagging lecture about "don't hurt each other etc.etc.etc." I just forgot to include my totally lady-like daughter into the lecture, so as we walked back home - the boys behaved impeccably (absolute miracle) - but Shanneth broke out into an ALMIGHTY and I mean A-L-M-I-G-H-T-Y Taekwondo kick (which had been closely observed and now expertly executed), connecting Joshua on the shins! Fiasco, drama, devastation ensued and eventually we crawled into bed with 2 out of 3 kids crying, not a bad score for not even trying! So as usual fun was had by all - we were glad to get back to school! The following weekend we had a quiet weekend on our school Spiritual retreat at the Kolon Hotel. A beautiful 5 star hotel with a motel name! We went swimming, praise and worship sessions, shopping, golfing, eating and Karaoke! It was wonderful to be in the country and I really enjoyed going jewelry shopping for my birthday present. I was totally spoilt, Korea is quite famous for it's unique jewelry. So I got back to Taejon sparkly and bejewelled to find that we had also got our Australian residency acceptance certificates! What a shock! We had some second thoughts but know that we can treat it as another 3 year contract - if we don't settle down! We are determined to get alternative passports and hopefully make a home for our children's children. We have booked our flights to Australia for Christmas so that we can get our residency stamp! Whew! So almost through with news! Joshua turned 10!!!!! We bought him a great set of walkie talkies - which can be used up to three kilos away. This means we now can contact him anywhere on campus or at home and there are no phone charges! He thought that this was his only present but we bought him a new mountain bike with gears / suspension and all the bells and whistles. He was totally surprised and delighted. It was really cool to have it at his bedside so that when he opened his eye he saw it! Anyway God bless love to you all. LOVE Chantal
Ken and our land.
