Little March Happenings, and Something from January

As for January, though it was months ago, I never shared with you the photos from my flying lesson! It was an absolutely incredible experience, because even though we only have a 20 minute lesson on the ground using an old flying textbook, we were all able to take a 45 minute flight with our instructor, and for a few brief moments in the air, we were actually flying the plan all by ourselves. The pilot would take his hands of the wheel, and say, "Turn left," or, "Turn right," or, "Head towards that landmark over there." It was truly incredible. Granted, we had to wait through some irritating things that made my American mind very grumpy, namely the rather unorganized day. Each of us flew for one hour, but yet we were at the aviation university for over 8 hours and doing a lot of waiting around in-between flights. Why, you ask? Well, because other Korean pilot students kept getting flights in-between our flights, even though they were "unscheduled". I kept getting more and more peeved as the instructors kept smiling at us and asking, "You're not in any rush, are you?" without telling us, "Oh, by the way, we're kind of screwing you right now and squeezing other flights into this day so we can make more money." That was the only irritant, and actually I'm starting to get riled again just writing about it! So, let's move on, and I will end on this note: If you ever have the opportunity to fly a plane, take it. It's definitely worth any 8 hour wait. The last pic is of the 3 of us, totally wiped out, and drinking margaritas and eating Mexican food. It was probably the worst Mexican food I've ever eaten, but also the best, because even bad Mexican food is fantastic Mexican food when you've been deprived of it. Not a lot of things in Korea are covered in cheese and jalapenos, and I gotta get my fix every now and then. This was more than sufficient, and the company was divine. These two girls (who have both since left Korea) are absolutely a blast.

Thus far in March: I have included some pictures of the Warhol exhibit I saw here in Seoul, as well as a good-bye lunch for a good friend Melisa attended by church friends, and the first baby shower I've attended here in Korea for Erica, a lovely friend of mine.

Here are some pictures of Erica (still pregnant with little Aliana, who has since come into the world and is GORGEOUS!) at the baby shower Pamela organized for her. We were all quite excited to tear into the baked goods that the women made. It's pretty hard to get a good cookie or a muffin here in Korea, especially for people like me with no oven, so this was a real treat. We all read "baby blessings" to Erica, and had a very nice afternoon.

Here are photos of Melisa and some people from Life Church. We are at Outback Steakhouse - one of my favorite indulgences since it is right next door to me, is so Western feeling inside, and of course because it has the huge plate of cheese fries covered in bacon and served with ranch dressing - having a good-bye lunch with her. She is off to Finland, and wants to eventually start a church there. She is an extremely cool girl, and I know we will stay in touch. She will be greatly missed. I've only been here for 8 months, and have already discovered one of the hardest parts about living here as a foreigner is always having to say "good-bye" to someone you care about.

As for Warhol, I found him to be immensely self-absorbed, and his art was a reflection of his pretension more than his soul. I think there is more to ponder in the complexity of the artist than in his work - he was quite a fascinating man. However, the art does not stand on its own, and this is precisely what Warhol wanted, I'm sure. I think of him as the Paris Hilton of the intellectual, experimental-drug-using artistic crowd in that he was famous for being famous, and very good at it. The only art I found remotely interesting was his early work for magazines like Vogue, which were actually quite whimsical and engaging drawings. And maybe I am just too artistically naive and unsophisticated to enjoy a huge black canvas covered with a silkscreen of white eggs. If so, I am happy to remain this way.