joy in korea

Look for the good. Work for the good. Hope for the good.

[travelingjoys]

Even if I break from tumbling,

this world will keep on scrolling

ad infinitum--

passing cliché and cleverness,

glaring and growling,

laughing and lolling--

never noticing

I'd fallen out of the picture

long before I hit the dash.

[travelingjoys]

Happy Pi Day from Korea! :D

[travelingjoys]

To those who may be struggling with hardship or grief, hear this bold Truth:

All of it is meaningful. Every millisecond of your misery in this broken world is producing in you an eternal weight of glory. Therefore, do not lose heart.

[travelingjoys]

15-year-old Kelvin Doe from Sierra Leone invents batteries, generators, and RF transmitters from scraps and garbage debris. The young tech prodigy, aka DJ Focus, even started his own radio station to give a voice to youth in his community.

Listen to Kelvin's incredible story and his passion to promote innovation among young people to solve problems in his community.

You can support Kelvin and young innovators like him at Innovate Salone: Tapping into the Minds of Sierra Leone's Youth.

[travelingjoys]

To Meme or Not to Meme.

MIT researchers have begun a project to map the emotional language of GIFs (Graphics Interchange Format). Think: What if Shakespearean sonnets could be translated into GIFs, or vice versa?

Huzzah for Internet culture, says Hillary.

[travelingjoys]

"Now, with construction crews tearing apart areas of Rio de Janeiro in the building spree ahead of this year’s World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics, stunning archaeological discoveries around the work sites are providing new insight into the city’s brutal distinction as a nerve center for the Atlantic slave trade. 'Archaeologists are exposing the foundations of our unequal society while we are witnessing a perverse attempt to remake the city into something resembling Miami or Dubai... We’re losing an opportunity to focus in detail on our past, and maybe even learn from it.'"

[travelingjoys]

Because we all could use a little more affirmation in our lives.

[travelingjoys]

Rooftops are my favorite. This is the view from the top of the building where I work.

[travelingjoys]

Coloring outside the lines.

I remember when my mom came to pick me up after pre-school one afternoon, and my teacher frowned, "Joy is usually so good about coloring inside the lines... I don't know what's gotten into her today!" She held up a picture of a clown, scribbled over with angry slashes of red and frenetic loops of blue and orange. My mom looked at the drawing and turned to me with a bemused look. "What?" I shrugged, "It's art." I actually remember how exhilarating it felt to color outside the lines. I, the ever so precocious perfectionist, had always colored within the lines with great concentration and precision. But at that moment in coloring, it's like I saw the drawing differently. Suddenly, coloring within those thick black lines did not seem as appealing. I just wanted to give the page a good hard scribble. So that's what I did. And I hung it proudly on the fridge because I had expressed what I truly felt inside, instead of staying within the bounds of what was expected of me.

[travelingjoys]

Lent is not simply about giving up sweets or Facebook for 40 days. It is a time meant for prayer, fasting, and giving in order to draw closer to God. "Fasting from a specific thing is a way to practice not endurance but a sense of distance. It helps us loosen our grip on the things we enjoy, enabling us to see them not as ultimate ends, but as good gifts from God that we can receive or give up as God pleases...Fasting helps us clear a space for God’s work in our lives. There’s more to Lent than fasting, though. Traditionally, Lenten practice comprises three things: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (giving to those in need). The three work together. When we give up something in fasting, it’s intended to help us accomplish the other two practices of Lent. For instance, it was common in the past for people to give up meat for Lent, not to see if they could go forty days without craving it, but in order to give the money they would have spent on meat to the poor. Fasting doesn’t just create space for us to experience God; it also creates extra money and time that we can use in God’s service." Ultimately, Lent is about making space for God to work in and through our lives.

[travelingjoys]

Been listening on repeat. HAPPYYYYY~~

[travelingjoys]

Look up every once in a while,

LOOK UP. Breathe deeply and take in the scene all around you as it is happening. Otherwise, you may miss a chance to smile (at a crocodile in a tree).

[travelingjoys]

This weekend, I went to see A Familiar Story, a musical by Eumin Productions. A few of my friends were part of the production, and I know they had been intensely rehearsing, designing sets, sewing costumes, and preparing for months, so I was super excited to finally see the story and songs come to life on stage. I thoroughly enjoyed the fabulous renditions of Disney favorites from Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and even a couple new ones from Frozen! Most of all, I was impressed by the amazing talent of the cast of Eumin Productions, and their vision to bring fun family entertainment to the English-speaking communities of Seoul. Looking forward to future performances by Eumin!

[travelingjoys]

It is such a secret place, the land of tears.

Sometimes there are just no words. Instead, there are tears. Tears that flow. Tears that burn. Tears that heal. Like warm dewdrops f a l l i n g on the soul, they seep into hidden crevices, hinting at the inexplicable, released from somewhere deep and invisible. It is such a secret place, the land of tears.

[travelingjoys]

31-Day Challenge!

In response to my complete negligence of this blog since September, I have decided to launch the 31-Day Challenge: I will post something new here every day for the month of March. Wish me luck, and follow along!

[travelingjoys]

Blessings of Indonesia.

Just returned from Jakarta yesterday with my mum. What a trip!

It was a blessing to be part of the All-For-1 worship concert with Third Wave (including Pastor John Lee, Brian from Fly to the Sky, and Alexander from U-Kiss), CTS, and Indonesian artists. Tickets nearly sold out, so I hope many people were blessed by the concert. I am so thankful for Pastor Feba, who extended a warm welcome and organized the entire event with her family and staff at Supit Ministry. God is moving in this country and throughout Asia!

After the concert ended, the staff and crew were able to enjoy some good eating and shopping around Jakarta.

This week in Jakarta was an incredible blessing; I made some new friends that I'll miss...

... But one thing I will NOT miss is the traffic! (And I thought Taipei had a lot of motorbikes!) Jakarta traffic is notorious for moving remarkably slowly, or not at all. We took a cab not even 2 miles, and it took 45 minutes.  

Bye bye, motor bikes!

[travelingjoys]

Oh hai, September! (:

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted--the past three weeks have been a whirlwind! After finishing my Korean language course at Yonsei, I dove headlong into September.

Here are 3 major updates:

1) I served on the staff team at Next Generation Leadership Camp (차세대 통일리더 캠프) for North Korean students, and it was a huge success! Met some really awesome people and got more involved with Teach For All Korea.

2) I traveled to Taiwan for the first time with my mum. Discovered Taipei to be the city of motorbikes, night markets, and 101 stories.

3) I finished the Color Me Rad 5K race in Incheon with flying colors! Inhaled so much color powder, my boogers were brown.

Check out my fb for more photos!