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Go Bears!  They’ll be winning the superbowl in a few hours (while we sleep).  Cheer for them!

-Jessica

This morning I taught a really smart group of students in the Travel Agency class. At the end of class, I sat at the desk and filled out travel itineraries with each student. As they finished, each left the classroom. After all of the other students had gone, two teenage boys lingered by the door. I approached them to say good bye and close the door. One, looking nervous but confident said, “Teacher, I have something to ask you.”

“Sure.”

“Have you ever seen the movie ‘In Translation’?” He’s shuffling his feet and grinning. I can guess where this is headed.

“‘Lost in Translation’?”

“No, Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet as Clementine…”

“Oh, yes. We call it ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’.” This is a great movie, by the way. If you haven’t seen it, you should. It tweaked out Adam’s brain so much he had to lie down and not talk for a few hours.

“Well, you look like Clementine. Your red hair is attractive.” I’m feeling flattered by the guts of a 16-year-old EFL student… no matter that I woke up 15 minutes before class started and threw on my ‘Mrs. Lofbomm’ tee shirt. His English, by the way, is very good.

He continues, “I want to see you again.”

Maybe if you buy a ticket for one of my classes… “Aww, well thank you. I appreciate it. What’s your name?”

“You can call me Ha,” he says victoriously.

“It’s nice to meet you. Have a nice day Ha.”

“Bye teacher.” Ha and his friend leave, and I close the door. Cute.

-Jessica

Adam and I went on a polar bear motorcycle ride tonight around Heyri. We bundled up and took the bike for a spin. It feels like it has been forever since we rode! I almost forgot that I was a biker chick. But never fear, it came back to me. :). On the ride, we stopped to pet a dog that was the size of a pony! It was the largest dog I have seen in a long time. It was so sweet, though. We eased up to him, scratched his fluffy ears, and he licked us and reached a paw around my leg to hug me. It looked like a huge collie/huskie mix.

Oh, but I was writing about motorcycles…

We are in the process of a bike upgrade. Several people here finish their contracts this month, and they are leaving at the end of February. One teacher is selling us his sweet bike for a great price, and we plan to sell our starter bike to another newbie. We’re looking forward to spring when we can go ride around Korea. This new bike will be much more ready for road trips!

Woo hoo!

-Jessica

[Adam’s note: The new bike is almost identical to this one. Isn’t she a looker?]

In other news, I discovered this evening that I can now take my pants off without unbuttoning them!  This means I’m most definitely skinnier!  So is my mom.  This summer (that’s us above in June), we both set a target weight and said we’d buy each other a new outfit when we reached it.  We’re both about there!  I’ve got her new outfit (with a nice Asian flair) picked out!

We just talked about plans for when we’re there next week, and one of the first things she said was, “We’ll get up and go work out.”  :).  I’m so proud of her.  It’s one thing to diet.  It’s another to develop a healthy lifestyle.  Way to go, mom!

-Jessica

So we have Dad’s surgery, Adam’s chipped tooth, and tonight I found out that my grandpa has skin cancer behind his ear and is bleeding heavily, off-and-on.  My mom said the cancer bump can be treated but only when it’s not bleeding.  He needs radiation.  Adam’s tooth thing was such a little blip compared to these other two.  Please pray for our Dad Steve and for Grandpa Swanson.  Grandpa is currently staying in the hospital, and Dad has surgery #2 on Wednesday.

 
That’s Grandpa Swanson, and that’s Dad and Mom L.  Aren’t they all sweet?

-Jessica

I can’t believe that in just four days, we’ll be getting on a plane headed home! I am so excited, I can just feel it. Actually, the last week or so, I find myself mentally there in Nashville already- driving around my favorite areas, standing in Mom and Dad’s kitchen, hanging at Bongo East or chillin’ on Granny’s couch. It feels good. Neither of us have ever felt so eager to go home for a visit. Even after six months in India, Nepal and Thailand, I didn’t feel this way. I wonder what it is this time?

My theory is that it’s because we’re so happy and satisfied with our life here. Wanting to go home is coming from a place of fullness instead of lack. We’re not desperate to go, things are working well here. There have been a few returns I’ve made home that felt like defeats in the past, with my tail between my legs. This trip is not like that at all. It’s much more like a victory lap.

Anyway, just know that we’re totally stoked, and can’t wait to see those of you who will be in Chicago and Nashville when we arrive.

-A.

-A.

We mentioned Adam’s dad going into surgery the other day. He has a condition called Torticollis in which his head pulls to the side, almost like he’s trying to look over his left shoulder. It is exhausting for him to have to hold his head straight with his arm, and it makes daily tasks like driving and working at a computer (which his design job demands) very difficult. He just had the first of three steps in his Deep Brain Stimulation surgery.  Here’s another resource.  He never complains, so we don’t completely know how he’s feeling, but he did say it feels like someone hit him in the head with a hammer. He’s going in for the second phase on the 7th, the day before Adam arrives in Nashville. Continue to pray for Steve. This surgery has a 98% success rate, so he’s really looking forward to getting back to normal.

Also, Adam went to the dentist this morning. He was in and out in 30 minutes with a nice new filling in his chipped tooth and nary a chip in the bank account. He was really pleased with this dentist, and we’ll definitely use him again for check ups this spring.

That’s all for this episode of ER.

-Jessica

Hey.  We just got the first batch of photos from our friends Dan and Elizabeth who have just moved to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  They’re great friends, and we’re so excited for the opportunities ahead of them.  Elizabeth is working in AIDS relief, and Daniel is teaching at an academy.  If we’re not exotic enough for you, you can read their new blog at this link.  We will really miss seeing them when we’re in Nashville next week, but we know they’re where they’re supposed to be.
-Jessica

Tonight we had a late dinner of galbi at a place down on the corner with Dave and Tabitha.  Yum.  Until Adam was eating a green pepper and chipped his tooth!  Youch!  Fortunately dentistry is good in Korea and the cheapest, we hear, of the developed countries.  He has been needing to go to the dentist for 6 months, and now he has the opportunity.  :).  Tomorrow is the day.

-Jessica