Let the Sunshine In

So as an update from the last post. . . amazing things keep happening. My prayers are being answered in HUGE ways. I LOVE working as a marriage and family therapist. I got four new client families this week and three new referrals for next week, which brings me up to working with 11 different clients and shadowing at Alcohol dependence group therapy sessions. As it turns out, the two psychologists here are so happy that I am helping take the load of relational sessions off of their shoulders that they have told the head Army psychologist in Seoul about me and he said that he is very excited to have me and wants me to be able to keep working after I graduate next year. I'm not sure how it will all work, but it was something I was very concerned about and praying that I would be able to find a way to keep working with clients after graduation while I am still here in Korea (we're here until 2013, but I graduate in 2012).

I have only been working for six weeks now, but I am seeing tremendous success and I have really clicked with my clients. I definitely see my faults and I have a lot of work to do to be really good at this, but everytime after I finish a session and my clients say, "I feel hopeful again. I feel like this will work out," I go home on cloud nine. I feel like I have finally found my true passion in life. I admit I love choreography, but I didn't love the dance world much. This I feel like I am making a difference in people's lives.

My supervisor is the cutest 32-year-old clinical Psychologist. I just love her and she has been this huge answer to my prayers. I honestly don't know what I would have done if she hadn't randomly decided to move to Korea. I am learning so much from her. I have another supervisor that also helped me set everything up and she has been invaluable as well. It all is such a miracle to me, but I know that God puts us in places and gives us these types of miracles so that we can be instruments in his hands and provide miracles for others. I think that is what I love best about this work is seeing miracles happening in other people's lives.

So can you tell I'm so happy? Life is very good for us right now. Brian just completed one of the Army's toughest training for medical personnel. The training was held up at the DMZ for two weeks. He had to complete all kinds of mentally and physically exhausting tasks and then do a 12 mile march carrying 50 lbs of gear and his M16 in the steep mountains in the Korean heat and humidity. But, my tough, sexy soldier made it--which is amazing because it is only a 15% completion rate for this course. The great thing is that now this badge looks fantastic when he applies for his doctorate program (orthopedic medicine through the Army) this fall.
I am actually really loving living in a busy city as well. I am really afraid to return to boring suburban America. I love the hustle and bustle. I love spying on 80 different families in the highrise apartments next to mine. I love walking to the Mahtuh's (that's how Korean's say "mart" like Save Mart down the street is pronounced SAeevuh Mahtuh), and to the stationary stores and to the bakery's to get baguettes and downtown to the Nurae Bongs (Karaoke rooms). Life just feels full and exciting here--not to mention occasionally hilarious.

Thankfully, my time in the PTO is drawing to a close. Recently I was suppose to be in charge of International Night at the school. It was my idea, but after running the reading contest at the school by myself, I didn't really want to do another one. Plus, whenever I am in charge, the Korean women are so afraid of me that very few will volunteer to help me. I asked the other VP for help and he ended up taking it over and pushing me out. He would not even invite me to the meetings. He told me I was in charge of the performance that night and he would take care of everything else. It was sort of annoying because I had been working on the details of the International Night for over a month. I was glad to have the help, but I didn't want to be exiled either. Anyway, to make a very, very long story short, the evening turned out to be a wild success for the Koreans. The International Parents were pushed into the corners and mostly ignored--which obviously defeated the point of the night, but I guess that point was lost in translation. The show was okay, but we had lots of technical difficulties. I was tired and disappointed at the end of the night, but everyone else was super excited and the PTO raised $8000 for all of the donations and sales. Not a bad start for a baby PTO.

The highlight of the night was my son Oakley, as you can see from the photo above. In case Oakley does not stand out enough being the only non-Korean in his grade, he decided he wanted to sport a mohawk for the rock concert in the school performance I was heading up. There is a school rock band and Oakley is one of the keyboardists. He is so sick of the groupthink, collective, follow-like-blind-sheep mentality of the Koreans that he decided to shake it up a little at his school and show up with a mohawk. I never thought I would be one proud mama when my son shaved his head into a mohawk, but that night I seriously was impressed with his ability to stand outside the crowd and be himself. Okay, so I only let him keep it 24 hours and then he shaved it off, but it was kind of a cool statement about Oakley's ability to think outside the box--especially the narrow-minded Korean box. The problem was that after he shaved it, he looked like a genderless, colorless Buddhist monk. Ah well, it was worth it.

Finally, I have had an amazing thing I happen to liberate me! My friend asked me if I wanted to go with her on a tour of Vietnam. It never occurred to me that I could just go somewhere with out Brian and/or the kids. But, when I thought about it, I figured I don't have any babies at home. All my kids can get themselves ready for school and out the door to school. Brian can make them dinner and do their homework with them. I've waited a long time for this. I have paid more than my dues over the years. I have earned this! So there you have it! I am going sans enfants to Vietnam over Memorial Day weekend and I am so excited!!! The picture above is of HaLong Bay near Hanoi and it is where we will be spending three of the five days. We will also go to Hanoi Hilton where John McCain was a POW. I will share pictures in my next post.