Grand Ole Opry.

Words can hardly express what an incredible weekend I just had. SO. GOOD.

On Saturday afternoon, I met Shannon at her place, and we headed to Gangnam to meet Arri. (Shannon and I were dressed up and wearing our cowgirl boots!!) The three of us went to lunch/dinner at a new taco place. Arri had to leave after to meet up with another friend, so Shannon and I bummed around town a little bit. At around 7pm, we caught the subway to Itaewon, where the country line-dancing bar is. Two of our friends were going to meet up with us a little later, so we stopped in at a GS25 for a snack and drinks. While we were inside, we met another foreigner. He was from Chicago, and was hanging out with two of his buddies. We ended up joining them at their table outside. They invited us to a soccer game next weekend. They were selling tickets: only 10,000 won (just under $10) and it includes a hotdog and drink, and admission to the soccer game. We both bought tickets and bought two more for Reuel and her brother. We're looking forward to next weekend already! :)

Our friends, Sarah and Stephanie, finally joined us in Itaewon, and we headed to the Grand Ole Opry, the line-dancing bar. We got there early, around 9pm, and there was no one there. I mean, it was ALMOST empty, minus an old guy at the bar and three guys hanging out at a table. Anyway, it was pretty dead. We knew that after awhile, the bar would fill up, so we just hung out for awhile and enjoyed ourselves.

This bar was legit. Wooden dance floor in the center (super small!!), American flag on the wall, American alcohol, REAL country music. Shannon and I were so happy. We frequented a line-dancing bar in Orlando every week, and we had been missing it. This pretty much exceeded all our expectations, especially being in Korea!! We never would've thought a place like this actually existed! After about an hour of just taking in the surroundings, Shannon and I were itching to dance. Other people had wandered in, and the place was starting to fill up, but no one was dancing. We decided to break the ice. We went out on the dance floor and started line-dancing. After some hoots and hollers from people around us, a few other people came out on the dance floor with us. It was an AWESOME time! We basically started the line-dancing trend...Not to toot our own horns, but toot toot! :)

We met a bunch of people that night, some teachers, some military. One guy, Joe, came over and introduced himself. He taught me how to two-step, which I've been wanting to learn! I'm not too good at it quite yet, but we two-stepped a lot, so I got some practice. :) I tried to teach him some line dances, but he was a bit clumsy...

Shannon and I line-danced and two-stepped our way through Saturday night. Some people joined us on the dance floor, wanting to learn. We taught a few of the easier dances, and people seemed to have a really good time. The bar was all foreigners, no Koreans at all. At times, it didn't even feel like we were in Korea. At midnight, everyone took off their hats, and the DJ played "The Star-Spangled Banner." Everyone stopped what they were doing, stood up, faced the flag, and sang at the top of their lungs. It was so awesome!!

This line-dancing experience was way better than I could've imagined. We met new friends who also appreciate good country music, and already have plans to go back again this weekend. :)

Today, small groups started at church!! Shannon and I went to the service, and then grabbed lunch afterwards. Her small group was at 2pm, so she had to hurry off. I hung around for awhile, read a book on her Nook, and then met up with Reuel and her brother. My small group didn't start until 4pm, so we chatted for awhile. Finally, I met my small group! It's a women's small group, led by the female pastor of the church. We all met up right outside the church and then walked together to a small coffee shop a few blocks away. We had an introductory session where we introduced ourselves and talked about our expectations for the group. All the girls were really genuine and open, so I really appreciated that. We talked about our plan for the group and what we will be studying. We took prayer requests and prayed for each other. We ended up meeting for 2 1/2 hours! We all lost track of time, but no one seemed to mind :) I'm really looking forward to meeting up with these girls every week.

We are assigned a different prayer partner every week. We're supposed to do our best to check-in on one another and encourage and pray for each other. This week I'm paired up with Martha, a girl from South Africa who's here teaching English. There are so many different people in the group, so it's going to be a lot of fun getting to hear about their lives and experiences. I already feel like New Harvest is my new church home, and this small group has definitely confirmed that for me. :)