Honey, I'm Home!

Welp, I'm home, and glad to be I must say. I arrived yesterday morning...but let me start at the "beginning". Mid-winter break started Wednesday at college but I didn't leave for a couple of days. I stayed around and cleaned, packed, and did homework. Must admit it was pretty lonely, about the only people that stay for break are the international students and the people who work. I did get a chance to play volleyball with the choir before they left and we watched a movie [Facing the Giants] the next night.

Mr. Shin found out that I was staying a few days during break and asked if I liked spicy food. After I told him yes, he said, "You come my room. Eat Korean. Spicy." I smiled and thanked him. Thursday he comes over at lunch and announces to me that I should come to his room in 20 minutes. I came as well as Yago, and he fixed us rice with a potato/onion/Korean sauce topping, cabbage with hot pepper sauce (which he says he goes through a [approx.] 2 lb. can a week), complete with dried seaweed squares. He showed us how to place the seaweed on top of the food and stuff it into our mouths and crunch it down. (It reminded me of a tastier, dried, more manly version of sushi) However, I gagged slightly at the texture of the seaweed. The taste wasn't horrible, but I cannot get past the texture. I said that it was "interesting". The next days lunch consisted of a much tastier Korean soup. A much better version of Ramen noodles. 2 packets of Korean noodles and 1 package of Ramen noodles, veggies, seasoning and three eggs. It was spicy and very good! So that was my Korean food experience. Mr. Shin has taught me a bit of Korean language and culture and I have enjoyed learning it and learning about him. After I thanked him (kam sa hab nida) he told Yago and I, "It is not those who have many possessions who are rich, but those who give away who are rich." I smiled and nodded my head.

Friday I hung out with Carrie. I met up with her after she had finished sled riding, and we went out for supper. Chipotle's. Afterwards we hit up the Loveland Goodwill. She makes shopping at Goodwill so much fun. In spite of the lady with yellow hair who smelled, and the girls who talked loudly across rows of clothes, and the cashier with crooked colored teeth and a few ounces too much makeup. I couldn't find a chair for my roommates but came away with an odd t-shirt. She got shoes and a gray sweatshirt. A perfect color for a rainy day. All the snow on the ground and it was raining. She made it a fun day. We adventurized and explored.

I guess that's where I got my adventurous spirit because I went to bed at 830PM that night and woke up (after resetting my alarm twice and going through 20 minutes of the snooze) at 350AM. After shower, coffee, devotions, and packing my car I left at 545. I drove amid the snow flurries and salty splashes of passing cars for four hours and stopped once for gas, doughnuts and an energy drink. Just me, Toby, and my music. I called Janette too and we talked for a little while. (She works nights @ the hospital.)

It feels odd coming home now. I feel so established in Cincinnati like that is my new home. It's great to be welcomed and feel loved by everyone, but I guess things are just different at home. I guess I'm starting to see pictures of what they talked about - things that I never really saw. Details are just details but the heart of it is spiritual warfare. I'm just tired of smiling at everybody, but they make me smile, and I feel like smiling, I have much to smile about, I guess it's just when you come home from college everyone says "Hi". [I could never live the life of a celebrity.] That's not what I'm comparing it to!...just all the people glad to see me, and the smiling....okay I'm diggin a hole here, I'll stop.

Decided on writing my essay on loneliness. Got a little taste of it on break. It definitely affected me. I'm also going to do homework all break so that I will be free for the video project when I get back, and just the ease of no homework for a little while. Sure it's weird doing homework on break, but I'd like to get ahead.

One more thing, it snowed bunches before I left Cinci, that made me happy. Finally all this snow!....and no school to appreciate the day off. Such...is...life.

Well I'm tired...Maybe the update was too long. *shrugs*
*nods goodbye*

-Sam