Mandur got hit on by the Korean math teacher upstairs...

Okay, explanation on the title of this blog post...Amanda and I decided to go to Itaewon after work today to continue our crusade to find Amanda a down, warm up to the negative degrees mark, well-fitting coat and to get me a turkey sandwich. (Really miss Jimmy Johns.) We didn't find the coat, but we found a wealth of frustration in our inability to find suitable clothing here in Korea. We enjoyed Quiznos for dinner and made the trip worth the hour long ride on the train by running into What the Book, (the English bookstore.) I picked up Dante's Purgatorio and Paradiso, and C.S. Lewis' The Four Loves and The Great Divorce, which I managed to plow through half of on the train in the wrong direction.

It was bound to happen eventually...Amanda and I took the train in the wrong direction. We made it to the end of line 4 on the Northern side of Seoul. Woops. My fault entirely! What is 45 minutes farther North of where we live...it's an hour and a half in the wrong direction - that's what it is! So, we laughed this off and chalked it up to another good hour to read our newly purchased books.Here is a picture of the subway map here in Korea. Today we decided to go out without our handy dandy pocket guides...I guess that wasn't a good idea.

On to the juicy stuff...Amanda turns her head into my shoulder while I am completely engrossed in my book, starts laughing and turning more red than the tomato I had for dinner last night. (Precious look on her face!) She has just received a text message from a mysterious man asking how her day has been...She responds by inquiring who the sender is...He responds with an introduction...HE is the attractive Korean math teacher who conveniently works at our school!!!!!! Amanda of the small face has just been hit on in a highly romantic way...via text message!! This moment was a great one to share with my roommate. There aren't too many opportunities to be completely girly here, but as we discussed what an adequate response would be to his unique style introduction, we bonded even more. Now I have the opportunity to enjoy the perks of Amanda's possible date (or getting to know better) Korean friend! That means ordering meals that I will enjoy! Hopefully there will be more to this story of which I will update you later.

Other points to this week:

I decapitated Herman, our cactus...purely accidental. He is a forgiving cactus, so I feel that he will survive the damage caused by my clothes falling on him. He only lost one appendage.

I started eating kimchi again and feeling good about it. Amanda did the research and found that it is actually high in nutrients.

Spoke to some of my dear friends in Scotland. Angela's voice was very welcoming to my ears! It's been too long since I have last seen them.

I bought two articles of clothing that actually fit me this week..(I'm not Asian-sized so it's rather difficult.) They were both sweatshirts.

I had two nights this week of just staying home, being quiet, worshipping, reading, and playing the guitar. I thoroughly enjoyed this time of reflecting and peace. I think I could learn to prize those type moments.

I had some really encouraging emails from friends this week, so thank you guys for sending your love. You are greatly loved and appreciated!

Off to Jeju in a few hours. Will update you when I get back!