1. I took money out of the ATM this morning and walked away without taking my ATM card. (Oops) About 2 minutes later, I realized I had left it there and went back. The ATM screen said there was an error and wouldn't spit out my card. A Korean man came up to me and pulled his cell phone out and called the bank. He stayed about 10 mins, talking to them, for me, to make sure I could get my card back... His kindness was inspiring to me!
2. All of the buttons on the appliances in my apartment are in Korean... For the most part, I've just gone the trial and error route and pushed random buttons until I figured out how it worked. Although this week, Stella took the time to translate every Korean word into English so I would know what my washing machine did, how my water heater and floor heater worked, etc... She is one of the busiest people I know, but she took the time to translate those, so my life would be easier! Her kindness was inspiring!
3. Jessica came over this weekend to spend a girl weekend with me. We were crafty and girlie for 24 hours! It was sooo wonderful... She made fabric covered wood boxes in my apartment for me to hang.... all a part of my apartment renovation. She was intent on making them perfect for me, and they are! Every time I look at them I will think of our friendship! Her kindness was inspiring!
4. While I was sewing pillows this weekend, for my bed, I realized I didn't have any brown thread. I walked down my street to the alteration shop and showed the lady a piece of thread and my brown fabric and asked, "Issayo this color?" (Do you have some in this color?) It's the best Korean I could come up with. She got up from what she was doing, and took the fabric and walked it over to her thread wall and took the time to match it perfectly. She handed me a piece of paper and motioned that I could wrap the thread around it and take as much as I needed. Her kindness was inspiring!
5. I talked with Kevin's parents on Skype a couple days ago and as soon as I told them that I was planning to come to AZ for a couple days in February, during my home leave, they immediately offered for me to stay with them. Their unconditional love for me and their ongoing kindness is inspiring!
6. My friend Aaron is one of the kindest people I've ever met. I am really lucky to have him living so close to me in Korea. His kindness is inspiring to me everyday! His mom sent him a care package a couple weeks ago. He asked her to send some skittles (since they are my favorite and don't exist in Korea.) She sent me a years supply, along with a gossip magazine, some halloween pencils for my students, and some adorable notepads for my apartment! Her kindness to someone who she barely knows was inspiring to me!
7. My mom is unbelievably kind! She is selfless and willing, at all times, to be here for me! She has sent me emergency hair dye, so I would no longer have jet black hair. She sent me a wonderful book to guide me through this phase of my life! ... Not to mention, she has spent hours and hours on skype with me while I've cried, laughed, told her stories, vented, etc etc! No matter what I had to share with her, she always made me feel like her number 1 priority! Her kindness is inspiring!
8. The lady who I buy fresh flowers from, on the street near my bus stop, sold me 22 gorgeous red roses for 5,000 won yesterday, the equivalent of $4.00! I know this isn't her normal price! Her kindness was inspiring!
9. About a month ago, I accidently left my laptop on top of this ATM at my bank! (Big oops!) About 10 minutes later, I realized I had left it there and I went right back. There was a Korean woman standing next to the ATM, talking on the ATM phone, trying to find the owner of the laptop! When she saw the look on my face... (PURE HAPPINESS AND RELIEF that my laptop was still there) she smiled really big and handed it to me! Her kindness was inspiring!
10. The other day, I took a taxi home because I had gone to the grocery store and had bags galore of food, and house stuff. When the taxi driver stopped in front of my apartment building, he immediately opened his door and came over and opened my door and helped me get all of my bags out. I've never seen a taxi driver do that! His kindness was inspiring!
These are just a few examples of people who have shown inspiring kindness to me lately... Whenever you show kindness to someone, you are giving them a reason to smile and feel special. You never know when that person is in a valley of their life. As for me, I can see the top of the mountain, and everyday it's getting closer and closer thanks, partially, to people's kindness!
