We're OK

Just wanted to let you know that everything is okay. What you've heard on the news is far, far away from us and has already stopped. No need to worry; just enjoy your Thanksgiving. We look forward to talking to you all in a day or two!

Jen's Summer Travels

It's a shame, but Cory and I joke about someday getting to travel back to the U.S. TOGETHER. Since I moved to the International School a year and a half ago we have not really had coinciding vacation time. We did go to Taiwan for a week in January, but we have not been able to go the States together since ... Christmas of 07??? Tell me it isn't so!!!

A few of the Larkin ladies out for brunch in celebration of Jenn and RD's engagement!

Anyway, I was able to travel back to the US for RD and Jenn's wedding a few weeks ago. It was so fun to be with them for this special event, get to spend time with family, and meet my nephew for the very first time!

THE cutest nephew ever!

Joining Uncle Bobby and Aunt June in celebrating their 25th Wedding Anniversary!
Can't miss out on an opportunity to take Grandma out on the 4 wheeler!

Josh with Uncle Gregg, Grandma, and Pup Pup
praying for Josh as he has been deployed to Afghanistan with the Marines August 2010The ladies decorating for Jenn and RD's wedding reception
Mom and I at the reception

In an Attempt to Keep you Up To Date ...

Mr. Dyck and Steph
Cory participated in a VBS/Summer Bible Camp with some of the kids we taught in Guam a few weeks ago. It was really fun to see Steph, Moo Bin, and their family again! It's really fun to see our Guam kids here - we are living in their country and they are living in ours!

Starting out with the basics

Small group time w/Moo Bin

The Latest

Hey folks, I figure it's time to let you in on what's been happening around here. It's been a while, so I'll start with....say....March?

March was the beginning of my two year Master's Degree in International Relations. The program is actually called Graduate School of International Studies at Chungang University. It happens to be the same university I've been working at since November of last year. The job is good, and the classes have been very good. I had an intermediate Korean language class, Microeconomics, Introduction to International Relations, Introduction to Political Economy, and National Security and Intelligence. In spite of two weeks out of class in April to take care of my wife, I was able to get at least an A in every class. Enrollment for the fall semester starts in a couple more weeks, and I'll find out at that point what classes I'm gonna get to take. I have a feeling I'll be in Macroeconomics and Advanced Korean language, but I don't know what the other three classes will be.

During the semester I was working at the university and the international school. The uni bit is fun, and it gives me a little time to study for classes, and the CCS job gave me an opportunity to make some lasting changes to a small Christian school that will hopefully make it a little more efficient and competitive in the market over here.

My projects lately have included converting an entire school's database to a comprehensive software solution that eliminates redundancies and allows parents to have more control and communication in their child's education, overseeing the launching of our church's new website, participating in a mock G20 summit exercise as a member of the US delegation, entertaining parents (Jen did most of it) during their two week visit in June, preparing for my new responsibilities as the IT coordinator at CCS, and trying to learn how to use two different software programs for maintaining to different websites.

Jen on the other hand has had a shorter list, though not an easier one. She has been helping with the parents' visit as well as preparing for the next school as the new principal of CCS. I'm proud of her and the new job she has been entrusted with. I must say that I'm afraid she's gonna be even busier than she was as a 4th grade and head teacher.

During the last two weeks Jen has been out of the country attending her older brother's wedding in W.Va. I've missed her. I've tried to keep the house clean. I've had some extra time to get things done and do some of the things I don't usually do when she's home, and I've gotten to hang out with my buddy Emmanuel a lot. It's been good, but I'm DEFINITELY ready for her to be home tomorrow night. I'm planning to drive our new SUV over to the airport tomorrow to pick her and two of our returning teacher's up after work. I can't wait! Someday she and I will go on vacation together.

Visitors from America, Part I

Riding the bus to Suwon

Mom and Dad Dyck + Mom Larkin in front of the National Museum of Korea

Mom and Dad Dyck + Mom Larkin at the Korean War Museum

Moms helping me shop @ New Core Department Store in Ilsan

Jen trying to make pottery - not a very good student ... but happy!

Jen taking off into the "parking garage" trying to find the rental place

Mom and Dad Dyck + Jen in Jeju

A Fly-By Summer

It's almost embarrassing how much time has gone by since our last update ... but so it goes. Life has been normal and these days normal = busy. It almost seems funny to me ... what is it going to be like when CHILDREN enter this Dyck household?!?! Don't get too excited, we're not ready for that just yet!

We've got some exciting news, though. Cory finished his first semester of Masters classes with all A's, I (Jen) have received a bit of a promotion at school, we had a few of our family members visit Korea last month, and we just bought a used car last week! That's just a taste of what has been going on lately.

Don't get me wrong, life is not always a 'bed of roses' but why not focus on the blessings? It sure seems like we've been blessed over and over again lately.

During the month of June Cory's mom and dad and my mom came for a 2 week visit. Here are a few of my favorite pics - more to come!

Jen's Most Recent Top Ten

(written by Jen)

These days I am the only one you'll get to hear much from. Cory is overloaded with work and school, plus an awesome opportunityI will have to have him tell you about soon. So for now, you are stuck with me.

Today I was tempted to throw myself a party. A pity party. I was thinking of all the things I CAN'T do. Shall I give you my list?

Just as I get started I am interrupted! It must be the Holy Spirit, because I am reminded that there is so much I CAN do. So why can't I focus on being thankful for all those things?

1. I woke up today.
2. I can breathe easily, on my own.
3. I can get out of bed myself.
4. I can "walk" (assisted by my lovely crutches) on my own.
5. I can use the bathroom without any assistance!
6. I can shower standing up (still kind of balancing on the left leg, but it's so much better than sponge baths)!
7. We have a desk chair on wheels I can use so I don't have to stand while rummaging around in the kitchen!
8. I can feed myself with almost no mess!
9. I can almost dress myself. It's just the right sock I can't quite manage.
10. I have a wonderful husband who has filled in all the blanks for me.

How quickly we forget how blessed we are.

You Have Been Neglected

I'm not really sure exactly who "YOU" are, but if you once checked our blog regularly, I wouldn't blame you if you'd given up.

It's funny, I enjoy keeping up with the blogs of others but never seem to make time to write on ours. Other times I just can't think of what to write about. Life is so busy these days, how can I not have anything to write about?!?

All I've got for you tonight is a picture of my 2 favorite "people." Cory has started his Masters program and Snickers LOVES to bother him while he's studying.


Hope it makes you smile!

The Eulogy

Damian Paul Daniel Dyck

April 23, 1975

February 11, 2010

If you knew Daniel for very long then you would know the answer to this question: Why do blond nurses carry red markers? And the answer of course is “In case they have to draw blood.” Don’t remember that one? I’m sure if you think back you will recall at least one of the many jokes he loved to tell.

Daniel was born April 23, 1975. He has an older sister Tawny and two younger brothers, Justin and Cory. He went to school in Derby, where he graduated in 1994. After public school, he completed a course in independent living in Topeka, Ks. He tried out his newfound skills when he took up residence at the Timbers in Wichita and then several different apartments after that. Before leaving home he found work by starting his own businesses, one called Scoop-a Doo, and the other was Washing Windows. Once he was out in the workforce the jobs he held included Metal Fab, Center Industries, Goodwill, Ottaway Amusements and just about all of the fast food franchises. He became a father when his daughter Hailey was born on March 30, 2004, which was about the same time he took up residence in a nursing home for the first time.

The disease Daniel dealt with all of his life is called Neurofibromatosis, also known as NF. NF causes tumors to grow anywhere there are nerves in your body. Daniel was 3-years old when his condition was diagnosed. At that time we were told children born with the disease would not live past 2 years old. This is the first of many times Daniel went against the odds he would be faced with. Every new tumor presented its own unique challenges to his abilities and his life. Daniel met each of one those challenges head on. At the age of 13, radiation treatment on his optic nerve affected his eye sight, but Daniel enjoyed the drawings on the side of his head and his new medically induced mohawk. 12 years later another tumor resulted in the amputation of his left leg just below the knee, so Daniel would turn his prosthesis around and have one foot facing each way. In 2007, Daniel had the tumor on his spinal cord removed. Even with the possibility of paralysis, Daniel was joking with anyone who walked into the pre-op room. In January 2009 Daniel had one last surgery to remove the tumor on his cerebellum, which after 2 pathology reports, we were told it was cancerous. The prognosis of 9 months to 2 years did not affect Daniel’s determination to live each day the best that he could.

In spite of the many challenges Daniel faced and all that he accomplished as mentioned before, these things do not truly define the Daniel we all know. The Daniel we know always had a smile on his face. What he loved was life, people, and telling jokes to make people laugh. He was ornery and not afraid to try anything. Daniel was the little boy who lit a fire in Grandpa’s garage, in the trash can behind the shed out back and on the dining room table. He took a hammer to dad’s fifteen year anniversary watch (to fix it), and pumped up his bike tire so far it exploded. Even though he COULD NOT swim he loved to be in the water and would have a smile on his face the whole time he was going under. You may have answered the phone at 6 o’clock in the morning on a Saturday only to hear Daniel singing Happy Birthday to you. He managed to get himself and his bike to Moline, Kansas (a trip of about 86 miles) to visit a friend. Some of you may not be aware of the summer he joined the circus and visited 3 cities in southern Kansas. When asked by the circus if he would like to continue on with them to Florida, he respectfully declined saying, “My mom would not be very happy if I went that far.” He would go just about anywhere and was always open to new adventures, but at least in this instance he knew where to draw the line. I’m sure each of you could tell me of a time when you turned around to find Daniel in the least likely of places. We never knew what was next or where each day would lead us where Daniel was concerned.

But Daniel was also the guy who stopped in the middle of the race that he was winning at Special Olympics and went back to help his fallen opponent get up so they could both cross the finish line. He finished that race in last place, behind the runner who fell. He was the guy at church who passed out candy, gum or graham crackers to all the children. His junior year in high school Daniel earned one of his prized possessions, his school letter jacket, when he served as the girls basketball team manager. He was always ready to give a hug or tell a joke to make someone smile. He would be at the doctor’s office to learn about the severity of his latest tumor and what the treatment for it would be and Daniel would start the visit out by telling the staff all of his jokes. When the visit was over what he left behind were smiles on the faces of those he met.

Over the last few days the thing about Daniel that has been mentioned the most from those who knew him was his Smile. Here‘s another one of Daniel‘s jokes to leave you with: Why do the nurses tip toe past the medicine cabinet? “So they won’t wake up the sleeping pills.” It may seem Daniel did not have a lot to give, but he gave what he had without reservation. We hope the memories of Daniel leave you with a smile.

Daniel's Photeo

Taipei, Taiwan (Part 1)

Japanese airline workers are some of the nicest people in the world. Every time you fly through there, they all wave to your airplane as you taxi away from the gate! I wonder if they ever feel weird about it?

The weather in Seoul around the turn of the year was pretty (bitterly) cold. So when I made plans for Taiwan and saw that the weather should be in the fifties and sixties the whole week, I got super excited about wearing shorts and t-shirts. Now, either I haven't recovered from island life (it's been two and a half years!) or I get confused about the difference between F and C temperatures, but 50's and 60's aren't as warm as I thought they were. I told Eddy that "we packed like idiots." I had one pair of pants and Jen had three, but she's always colder than I am anyway. Regardless, my jeans were in desperate need of a wash by the time I came home.

The weather ended up being pretty rainy the whole week we were there, but it ended up working out pretty well. We didn't have to use an umbrella very often. We landed on Saturday and just chilled out on Sunday. But Monday was supposed to be clear and sunny so we decided to get the good stuff in on that day. We hopped a bus and then a train to Taipei 101 which was at one point the tallest building in the world.

Its name is derived from the fact that there are 101 floors in the building (the highest habitable floor is 94, but that's pretty high). We got to go up the day before the new skyscraper in Dubai opened up to the public. There was lots of interesting information about the tower on the observation level, but I won't bore you with the details. Check out the wiki on it if you're interested.

Even though it was a clear day, this was our view from the top.

Because the building is so tall, they have created a wind damper inside that is three stories tall and weighs 660 metric tons. The damper is suspended on cables and cushioned with hydraulic shocks to limit pendulum effects. It is designed to counteract the wind's effects on the skyscraper. It was also the first damper (many skyscrapers have them) to be opened for public viewing.

So what does a skyscraper look like on the inside? Well, in Taipei it looks like a ritzy shopping mall. We found out quite quickly that if Taipei had one overpowering characteristic, it was shops. You can buy just about anything, anywhere, at anytime. They have several night markets catering to different segments of the population and food to go along with it.

Jen loved it. She was able to find some shoes that actually fit for a reasonable price as well as some other things that we (she) hasn't been able to find in Korea.

Here's a question for you all: where is Taiwan? Could you explain it to someone?

And one more: is Taiwan a country or is it governed by another country?

Korea Makes the New York Times

It's really not that exciting. I've seen articles about Korea in the New York Times quite frequently. This is, however, the first time I've seen a Korean company get openly mocked by such a high profile website. See it here. I appreciate this little bit of fun-poking! Mostly because we see crap like this all the time from large companies like Samsung and LG and I've often wondered if the same ignorance occurs in my native land. Sure enough.

Since we're bashing Korea, I'll mention something else real quick. I recently purchased a PC monitor from the local tech market. I bought it for the church to use and I wanted to see what it looked like/would it work for what we needed it for. After connecting the cables and setting it up on the desk, I ran my fingers lightly around the frame to wipe off the dust, styrofoam, etc. I noticed a quality control sticker flutter down to the desk and picked it up just to make sure it wasn't important. It read, "Warranty Void If Removed." Crap hahaha. Yep, it's probably pretty crappy. This is the quality of inexpensive merchandise here.

Jen and I recently went to Taiwan and LOVED IT. Sure we packed for 80 degree temps and found 50 degree temps, sure it rained 5 of 7 days we were there, and sure there's only two things to do there, but it was fun! We'll try to put up some pictures. The pics I took on the iPhone have been uploaded to facebook. Jen took a lot more pictures with our point-and-shoot, and those will come later. We'll only put the best on this site, so check back again.

Happy New Year!