It’s been a pretty interesting year so far. From a new relationship to new friends; from interpersonal struggles to a pride check from law schools, it’s been a pretty crazy start. I spoke with a friend the other day, Ms. D., we haven’t really chatted in a while, but it was good to talk to her. It was interesting a question she posed, it went something along the lines of: What do we do when we feel like there’s way too much to do and so little time to do it. Isn’t that an interesting question. I suppose there was a time when I felt like everyone wondered that very same thing, however, over the years I’ve come to discover that there are the few, the “dreamers of day” that are the ones that must deal with such issues. For most others who “dream in the dusty recesses of their mind” life is easy going, with plenty of time to be bored, to have fun, to hang out.

I told Ms. D about a recent video podcast I listened to from Mark Driscoll. I’ve mentioned him before, but just incase this is your first run-in with him, let me give you some background. Driscoll is the pastor of the biggest church in Seattle and one of the fastest growing churches in the country: Mars Hill (not to be confused with Rob Bell’s Mars Hill). He’s a thirty something with a wife and five kids, looks like your average guy who has a firm pulse on pop culture. (He can be seen often sporting the latest from Hurley and the occasional funny “Jesus” t-shirts) He is one of the top 100 most influential pastors in America and His church is the 2nd most innovative church in the country. Mars Hill is nearly 10,000 strong, made up of a lot of “single white twenty somethings who live with their moms, have Starwars blankets, can’t commit to their girlfriend and can often be found catching the latest Star Trek marathon” (paraphrasing Driscoll’s own words). He’s currently doing a series called “Religion Saves and 9 other myths” where Mars Hill received over 300,000 votes for what questions Driscoll should address. In the last message, Driscoll was asked to address the issue in Christianity he has the most challenge with. The idea of GRACE.

In the message Driscoll talks about some of his life goals: write 6-7 books a year, publish 300 books during his life; help plant 1,000 churches, he preaches some 5 sermons a week, travels extensively, and at the same time is a father and husband. He states that he struggles with how he’s going to accomplish any of that because whenever he looks at his tomorrow, it’s overwhelming.

I’ve felt that way before, and often I find myself in the same predicament. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t spend Thurs-Sat of last week writing 150 pages of a book like Driscoll, but I would propose that our goals are equally lofty. So back to Ms. D. I’ve thought about it for for a week now, how to answer her question. I’ve attempted to look at it in the most rational mindset I know how to. And no matter how many different ways I try to cut it, it seems to come out the same: You’ve got to sacrifice. Let’s assume that’s the “right” answer, so next question: What do you sacrifice? As I look through history and more recently, I see many people who have sacrificed a great deal. Whether it’s Einstein, Mother Theresa, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Brittany Spears... I can hear some of you laughing at my list, but let me propose something. Each one of these people, in an effort to attain their deepest desires, has sacrificed. Einstein who married his cousin was it? And Brittany who’s been in rehab how many times and lost custody of her children. And in the name of what? For what? Those of you who know me on a more personal level, know that I struggled with this at age 20 while owning and operating a business, working a full-time job, attending school full-time and still not seeing ends meet. I find myself in another one of “those” situations. This semester I’m taking just over 30 credit hours (yes, 30), tutoring English several times a week, helping to lead a weekly bible study in Korean (and no, I’m not fluent enough to read the bible in Korean), growing a new relationship, trying to visit family from different cities every couple of weeks or so, getting everything ready to start law school in the fall, maintain and build on my existing relationships with friends back home, experience cultural life in Korea, and maybe even visit China for a few days. Needless to say, most days I don’t think I can do it all. However, I found a bit of hope in the words Driscoll eloquently delivered so I’ll point those of you in a similar situation, in that direction.

Watch the Video Here...


ORMars Hill Video Link

iTunes Podcast Link

So I've decided to accommodate blogs by request from those interested in reading my thoughts on particular subjects. While BBR's are in their beta phase, I do not plan to charge for them, however, I cannot say with certainty if and when that will change. The first BBR is a courtesy to fellow NSEP'er Alisa. Alisa will be joining me at Yonsei for the Spring term 08 and of course, I offered her my full experiential assistance. I chatted with her the other day and referred to to this blog for info on Korea and my goings on thus far. Her response? Something along the lines of it not being what she was looking for. Hmmm... Fine. Here you go.

First things first. What I miss:
I can't say that I miss many American products, for the most part they're readily available at the local store. I didn't realize until today however, that I missed american chewing gum so much. Most Korean versions of american products are just that, Korean Versions. With chewing gum it is similar. Korean chewing gum is quite fruity, almost like juicy fruit. And while that's good if you're looking for a little snack, if you're looking to freshen the breathe between brushes, not so much. There's a Costco in Seoul, but you need a membership and it's a hike from the subway exit. (Just try to imagine carrying any useful amount of groceries 3 or 4 blocks each way...) Today I found a little convenience store that looks like a Costco reseller. My first thought was that most of the items were over priced, however, when I consider that the store owner is probably going to Costco himself and then selling the items individually instead of in bulk, well, he need to make a buck too. Today I picked up some essentials including Listerine, Planters Honey Roasted Peanuts, walnuts, korean sausages (yea buddy!), and some sweet grain snacks. (Had to stock up for mucho studying starting next week)

School:
I'm enrolled in three classes at Yonsei, all of which are offered directly through Yonsei University and not through Underwood College (the foreign exchange school on campus). Two "traditional" classes I'm taking, Int'l Political Econ and East Asn Int'l Relations are taught in English by Yonsei professors, but are predominately filled with Korean natives. The first challenge to these classes are the broken nature of the professors' english (although they both earned their phds in the US) and secondly the references to issues that can mainly be understood from within the framework of having grown up in Korea. At the same time the teaching style in Korea seems to be much different than in the US, based on my assessment of these two classes. The professors are very much accepting of the fact that there is simply no absolute truth in the social sciences. They stress the importance of recognizing that there are differing perspectives. While I agree that acknowledgement of such differences is important, in my experience, professors in the US seem much more willing to take stances on issues and challenging students to formulate solid, defendable stances as well. This is in contrast to the often heard, "that's an interesting perspective, who else has another interesting perspective?" in my Korean classes. My third class, which begins Monday is an intensive Korean class (intensive = 4hr a day 5 days a week) taught through Yonsei's Korean Language Institute. In an 18 month, 6 semester program one is expected to become academically fluent in the Korean language. I will be enrolled for 3 semesters. There are over 1500 students currently enrolled in the intensive language program spread throughout the 6 levels of proficiency. I'm looking forward to it!

Home: See previous blogs

Nightlife: See previous blogs

I think this covers most of it.. but if there's anything else I left out.. let me know and I'll amend the blog.