CEDAR MOUNTAIN NEWS FOR THURSDAY 12-15-16

CHRISTMAS CANTATA AT RHBC At 6pm Sunday evening December 18th the choir of Rocky Hill Baptist Church will present their musical cantata in the main sanctuary with a cookie fellowship following in the Family Life Center building next door. Everyone is invited to attend; show up prior to 6:00pm for a good seat.

CMFRD CHRISTMAS PARTY

The Cedar Mountain Fire Rescue Department had its Christmas Party last week and had a surprise visit from Santa himself. The jolly old elf had lots of HO HO’s and gifts to share. Pictured is Lily Leonard receiving a gift from dear old Santa. Our sit down Christmas Dinner was held at the Cedar Mountain Café and the pot roast was superb. Great job CMC.

KEEPING UP WITH TOBY

Toby Huter, daughter of Steve and Susan Huter is going to school in Korea as an exchange student this year. She has sent us an update.

“Korean culture is really unique compared to everything I have ever experienced. Some of these things I was ready for but others took me completely by surprise. In Korea, I am often the only foreigner in a given area and whispers of 'foreigner' follow me almost everywhere I go. Kids will yell 'hi!' in English at me as I pass, try to introduce themselves or ask me how I am. I think this is the biggest thing I wasn't really expecting. People had told me before I came that it would be a big thing I would notice but how common it is and how much of it happens was really surprising to me at first. Along with my normal school schedule (which lasts from 9 am until 10 pm but I don't have to stay that long as the exchange student. I leave at 5pm two days a week and after lunch the other three days) three days a week the Rotary Club has classes with my fellow exchange students in the area. These include Taekwondo, Korean language class and Korean hip hop dance class. There are 23 exchange students in my district and of all the people I have met here, the exchange students are the ones I have made friends with the quickest. As we are all going through the same hard time adjusting to Korea, it's easy to relate and talk to the others.

Growing up in the tiny town of Cedar Mountain, NC, Osan, South Korea has been crazy. After having my parents or brother drive me everywhere, I now need to take a bus or a train. I have gotten lost multiple times navigating the subway. I am now pretty confident in my ability to get anywhere in the country by train. I have made the solo journey to and from the capital, Seoul, three times now without issue. Before I came here, the massive train station in Seoul would have terrified me even if I was with someone. Now knowing that I can navigate it almost perfectly alone is one of my greatest achievements.

School here is much more intense than I have ever seen. When I first came I was not impressed or amazed at the difficulty level of the classes but the amount my classmates study is amazing. The stress level of a normal Korean student is astronomical. All of my classmates (ages all around 16) have obvious white hairs from the stress they are put under. Even after the long school day they go to after school classes and then study at home long into the night.

The friends I have made have mostly been international because of the amount of time Korean students study it's harder to find time to bond with them. My little group of friends consists of kids from Mexico, Sweden, Taiwan, and the US. We spend most of our time together after Rotary classes going to see a movie or shopping or just exploring. I have also made some Korean friends. As I was assigned two mentors at my school, coming into their friend groups was really fun. They are always really interested to know about American culture and all of my classmates constantly ask for help in English class. I'm having a great time and learning the language at a rapid pace. Everything is an adventure and I'm trying to make the most of every second I have here. It's already gone by so quickly.” ~ Toby Huter

AROUND THE HOUSE

Not much to report except I have days of complete boredom followed by a days of total chaos. Wednesday is my go-to-town day and I cram it with every errand I can think of. First I need to get my allergy shot; then it’s off to the library to get library access on my brand new Kindle Fire 10 (Merry Christmas to me!). I can download free books and have something to read besides the tired old magazines in waiting rooms. Then it’s out to lunch with my hat club, the HmmmDingers at Wine Down on Main. (We are always open to new members). That’s followed by a trip to Wal-Mart and some grocery shopping. Then at 4pm I have UU choir rehearsal. Somewhere in between these stops I need to make a stop at the dump. Last but not least there’s cantata practice at Rocky Hill at 7pm. Whew! I have am also contemplating building my own TV stand. I haven’t really used my workshop since before I had my knee surgery in March 2015. Since I can’t find anything I like at a reasonable cost, I decided to DIY. More on that later.

The Cedar Mountain News depends on your input. If you have news to share or announcements to make please let me know. All news for next week must be received by Monday evening in order to be published in the Thursday edition of the Transylvania Times.

Please email cedarmountainnews@gmail.com with any news or questions.