Being Pregnant...

It's hard being pregnant. I'm not enjoying it AT ALL at the moment and am just waiting for the day my "morning" sickness and constant fatigue will be gone. I don't want to sleep anymore... But I'm so tired... Not being able to eat properly leaves me really drained and energy-less too. I'm tired, emotional, feel helpless, useless, and even slightly claustrophobic. I haven't ever stayed at home so it's frustrating and depressing. Even when I'm at home resting I don't usually have the energy to do all of the things I still need to... Haven't done any of my visa stuff yet, still have about 400 Thank You cards to write, still haven't unpacked my stuff from the UK... I think that might be part of the reason why I don't quite feel 'at home' yet here. That and the fact that we've been constantly switching between mum's place and ours 'cause of my morning sickness... I can't even go food shopping on my own 'cause I can't lift heavy things!

I'm 12 weeks pregnant and am still lighter now than I was on my wedding day!

The last few weeks have been hard. The beginning of June was crazy with the end of the Korean School (KS) semester, having to create colourful exams for the kids, marking them, preparing them for the end of year performance, sorting out prizes, writing report cards for all of them, trying to see if the parents could help out with the food on our last day...

The day after our KS Graduation Day was the day of our church play 'Shim Chung (kind of like a Korean Cinderella) Jun (story)' and I played the main character Shim Chung.

Having looked up Shim Chung on google:

A young girl, Shim Chung, gives her life to a sea dragon so that her blind father may see again - and is rewarded for her filial piety by becoming an empress.

Very short version of a very old Korean folktale. This is a slightly longer version:

The story of Shim Chung has its roots in the shamanistic rituals conducted for fishing vessels on the East Sea, tracing back 1,500 years.

According to the story, Shim Chung’s blind father stumbles one day while walking alone and falls into the river. A Buddhist monk rescues him and tells him that he can regain his sight if he donates 300 sacks of rice to the temple. When a ship’s captain arrives in the village looking for a maiden to sacrifice to the Sea Dragon King during his next voyage, Shim Chung volunteers, planning to use the money from selling herself to purchase the 300 sacks of rice needed to restore her father’s sight. Willingly accepting her fate, Shim Chung plunges into the sea when a ferocious storm breaks. At the bottom of the sea, the Sea Dragon King proclaims her Daughter of Filial Piety and asks her to become his undersea goddess. After she declines his offer, pleading to be allowed to return to earth to care for her father, he sends her back to Earth in a beautiful lotus flower. The lotus flower appears in the Korean king’s courtyard and Shim Chung emerges from the flower. After Shim Chung tells the king of her search for her father, he orders his subjects to gather all the blind men of the country. The king proposes to Shim Chung and she accepts. At her wedding banquet, Shim Chung meets each of the blind men and is disappointed not to find her father. Finally, one last blind man approaches and she is overjoyed to realize that he is her father. As he touches her face, he regains his sight.

The play I was in a was a Christian version written by one of our church members as part of our church move celebration events. So in our version, my father is a Christian, the seas are calmed by the prayers of my father and the church members and also due to their prayers, I follow my father and become a Christian as well. :) So our 'Shim Chung Jun' was called 'Shin Shim Chung Jun'. 'Shin' as in 'faith / belief' rather than 'new' or 'spicy' (as in Shin Ramen sold at Tesco's).

Peter was worried 'cause play practice usually went on till late at night and also because I fall to my knees a couple of times and get pulled in different directions so it was a bit physical. It's all over now though, more people than we thought came to watch and the response was really good too! So all's well that ends well.

Which goes for Korean School too! I don't know which class I'll be teaching yet next year but I hope I'll be able to teach the 2nd generation Beginners' class again as I already know what I need to teach and have most of the material for the spring semester.

Peter doesn't want me to teach next year though 'cause he says that since becoming pregnant ever bit of energy I did have I used to prepare for KS and that I neglected everything else because of it. So as I'll be in my third trimester during the autumn term and then recovering from child birth during the spring term... I love being involved with KS though so I'm going to try my best but definitely not over do it. At least I won't have a rush engagement party or wedding to organise, a non-honeymoon honeymoon to go and recover from, and hundreds of Thank You cards to write! :)

We actually have our first baby pic but I haven't had the energy to scan it in yet. It was amazing seeing the little 3.8 cm being kicking and waving its arms! And the heartbeat! Oh my goodness!!! It was beating so fast and we could see it thumping away too! :)

I'll scan it in and upload it soon.. someday!

Our next appointment is this coming Thursday, only two weeks after our first one but apparently the doc needs to do a full medical on me which he didn't have time to do the last time. Every trip to the doc we pay $25 as our insurance is "co-pay". Absolutely nothing in the States is free in terms of medical treatment! Even an ambulance ride costs you $1,000 and that's just for the ride! If you see a doc / nurse or get a prescription / medication then all of that's extra on top!

Need to go... It's taken me a few tries and a few rests and a meal in between but I'm glad I've finally managed to update my blog after 3 weeks!


Miss you and love you lots,
Jenny xxx