:-)

I'm enjoying my life here in Korea.  So glad that God brought me here!  I have great friends here.  I'm enjoying my teaching job.  The students still brighten my days.  The teachers are a joy to know.  This is a unique season of life and I appreciate it.

We begun a new school year at the beginning of March.  The school year basically goes from March to December.  I was on winter break basically from after Christmas until the end of February.  However, I taught a "Winter English Camp" for a couple weeks.  I also had the amazing opportunity to go back to the States for a couple weeks!  It was completely refreshing for me to be there, and to see my family and some friends again!  I just wish I had time to see everyone I wanted to.  When I came back to Korea, my parents came with me!  They got to see my apartment, my school, and many sites in and around Seoul.  They even observed me teach a class...on the first day of school for this year, so it was kind of crazy!  I think they were impressed with how well I'm doing here. :-)

As I said, the school year began in March.  This year I moved offices in the school.  I also am teaching the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders in the middle school instead of just 1st and 3rd grade.  This means I'm teaching 1500 students, instead of 1000!  I see each class every 2 weeks.  That's 42 different classes, each with about 35 students.  I also have 8 different co-teachers instead of about 5 or 6 which I had before.  This is a challenge because each teacher has a different teaching style that I have to adjust to to some degree. However, I'm enjoying the opportunity to get to know all of these wonderful teachers.  And, they all have been pretty flexible with me and they follow my teaching style in the classroom pretty well.  

I feel like some of you probably think I disappeared off of the face of the earth!  I'm still here.~ Of course, if you want to catch up better, email me!

All for now...it's time for bed here!

6 Months Completed

This coming Wednesday it will be 6 months that we've been in Korea!  Amazing.  So, I've been really bad at this blogging thing, but I plan on getting better so that you will know more of what is going on in my life in Korea and what God is doing there!  However, I can't promise that it will be a complete and concise summation of all my experiences in Korea, but I will try to make short posts on various points of interest.  

Teaching and living in Korea has been very interesting.  At first there were so many things to adjust to--the culture, the food, the expectations my school has had for me as an English teacher, life on my own in a apartment in Seoul, and figuring out how to get around and do basic things like buying food.  The Lord has been teaching me about how to take one day at a time, for I surely would have been overwhelmed many times if I didn't!  I've also watched myself become more independent, and at the same time, learn to become more dependent upon the Lord.  I'm so grateful the Lord has brought me to Korea for this time in my life.  

The Little Moments

Hi family and friends!  

   I realize it has been a 1000 years since I've updated, but the thought of completely catching you up on my life right now in one post really overwhelms me.  So, instead, I'm just going to share a couple highlights from this afternoon.  I do hope to encapsulate my experiences of the past several weeks more thoroughly in a blog post shortly, but for now, enjoy this brief excerpt if you will from my day today.

    I went for a run today.  It was around 45 degrees and sunny...wonderful.  The area I live in is a quieter part of Seoul.  The sidewalks are wide, nicely paved, clean, and pretty unpopulated.  I ran to Olympic Park!  On the way back, there were three people from a church handing out small packages of Kleenex, a pampflet about their church and such, and free hot drinks.  I would tell you what the drink was, except I'm not sure.  It kind of had a coffee flavor, yet there was probably some other kind of bean in it too.  There was also some pine nuts floating in it.  It was yummy whatever it was.  Many of the teas and hot drinks here have things like nuts floating in them.  I love trying new things!  

    Also on my way home, a college-aged Korean girl stopped me on the street and said, "Excuse me, do you speak English?" (As if she couldn't already tell...just about every white person in Korea speaks English...) I, of course, told her yes.  She proceeded to tell me how she was watching an ABC TV drama, and one of the actors said the word "Apparently."  She inquired, "How do you spell that?"  As I told her, she typed it into her Korean/English dictionary on her cell phone.  She finished our conversation by saying, "Oh, thanks!  Bye!"  This is such a little thing, but it's so amusing to me.  I'm living in Korea.  I was just stopped on the street and given a spelling test, by a sweet Korean girl that is learning English.  She's quite good at it too. I love it!

   I guess this brings me to another point. (Perhaps I've already mentioned this in a blog post, I can't remember.)  It's frustrating to me that much of the American influence on Koreans is through media--TV shows, dramas, movies, etc.  What kinds of messages is the media sending?  There are a lot of good things to watch on television, but there is sure a lot of garbage too.  I just can't help but think that many Koreans are watching these shows and thinking that that is what normal American life is like.  Uggg.  Well, that is one great reason for me and others to be here...to show our new friends here what some other Americans are like--besides the kinds of people they are exposed to on television and in the movies.   Don't get me wrong, as I said, not everything that is on TV is bad...it's just frustrating to me that even some things on television are negative.

   This week the 1st and 2nd grade students (7th and 8th graders) took final exams.  That means that I have had to teach only 1 class a day this week!  We've also gotten to leave school a couple hours early everyday.  Such a blessing!  I've enjoyed the mental break.  The funny thing is, the students still have 2 more weeks of school, and they are finished with finals.  Nothing from here on out affects their grades, yet most will still be at school, learning.  Not only that, but the 3rd grade students took their finals about a month ago, and they are still here in school everyday...freely expressing their lack of motivation to learn anything else this year.  One reason that the education system is this way is because the 3rd grade students have to apply for high schools which will begin in March.  The middle school is giving them some extra time to apply for these schools.  The students also have some fun activities and field trips that they take in the afternoon.  So, I'm sure in many ways, this is a fun time of year for them.  However, when I'm trying to teach them, most of them show no enthusiasm for being there, let alone learning.  I just gotta roll with it!  It's still fun for me--most of the time!

   I actually wrote more than I expected I would...what do ya know.  

   I'm missing you!  Merry Christmas!! 

Olympic Park and More

 Trying to look angry like the big face.

There are lots of restaurants that advertise "well-being"--which is actually how they say it in Korean.  My friend Kay said that one women told her that since people are getting fat from American and western food that have come to Korea, many people go to "well-being" places...ha!  

I found it...my flag.

Some of the English phrases are curious.

Love it.

I really like fountains.  

Does this work of art in Olympic Park remind anyone else of the Taylor Bell Tower??

New Friends--Zane and David.

Passion Conference

Waiting to enter the gymnastics arena for the conference.

Fun Photos at a Park near my Apartment on Holly's Birthday!

Seoul Events

Wow, it's been a while!  Time to write.

PASSION WORLD TOUR.  Have you heard of Chris Tomlin, the David Crowder Band, or Matt Redman?  Well, I had the opportunity to attend the Passion World Tour conference in Seoul with these three worship leaders and with two speakers--Louie Giglio and Francis Chan.   It was incredible.  This team is traveling to 17 cities around the world to hold conferences for college-aged people about passionately pursuing God and living for him.  

     These worship leaders sing in English...so we sang in English, but the Korean translation appeared on the screens below the English lyrics.  The conference was held in the 1988 gymnastics Olympic Arena--just 20 minutes from me!  There were about 5,000 people that came.  I had some incredible moments that weekend.  Picture this:  I'm standing in the giant olympic arena in Seoul on a Friday night, surrounded by 5,000 Korean young adults, singing in English to my favorite worship songs...then suddenly Chris Tomlin led us in singing "How Great is our God" in Korean.  I believe the crowd was surprised, and grateful.   I can read Korean now, so I was able to sing along with them!  Ahh, it was an incredible moment...I was reminded and amazed at how big God is, and how he is the God of the universe.  He is also the God of these people, my new friends.   I would not have had the opportunity to experience such an event if I did not come here to Korea.

The SUBWAY.  My new best friend is the subway...it's incredibly easy to use, for the most part.  I can get anywhere in Seoul that I want to, on my own, without a car, for about 1 US Dollar.  How incredible is that?  It's pretty easy to meet up with people too...I just pull out my handy subway map that I carry with me everywhere and we pick a subway station and an exit number.  It's truly a blessing that the subway signs and announcements are made in Korean AND English...wow...what would I have done without that?  The bilingual subway system has also aided me in learning to read Korean. I test myself by watching the screen and trying to read the next destination in Korean, and soon after the English pops up.  I love it. 

     The subways usually aren't too crowded, but they sure can be.  People are generally polite, but you might get pushed every once in a while.  Most people have been very helpful to me!  If I stand in the middle of a subway station with my map out for long enough, I'm sure someone would attempt to practice their English to help me find my way.  

     One night I was sitting on the subway, and the man next to me started talking to me in English.  He said, "I want all foreigners to think that Koreans are the most generous people."  He proceed to empty his business cards from his shiny, metal, business card holder, and then he gave it to me!  The holder has some chinese characters on the front, and it's really quite unique.  I told him thank you, and we chatted some more.  At the end he said, "If I run into you a year or two from now, I hope that you will still have this gift with you!"  

     I spend quite a bit of time on the subway.  If I go to visit Holly, I am on the subway for 15 stops...I think I about have all of their names memorized in order since I'm such a frequent user.  I do hope to be using the buses more though, as they can be quicker on occasion.  The bus system is a little more difficult to figure out though.  The subway is so predictable, and makes for easy planning. ;-)

2 MONTHS ALREADY?  It's incredible that I've been here for about 2 months.  The time has been so full of many escapades--both the intentional and the unexpected of course!!  When I came, I thought for sure that I would be able to go home for Christmas.  Sadly, I cannot.  The fall semester ends on December 24th.  We then have one day off for Christmas, followed by some other event I have to attend on the 26th.  I will then have one week off, and then I will have to start a winter English camp for 3 weeks after that.  The timing is just off.  I cannot possibly go home for one week only.  I don't know when I'll be going home next, which gives me further reasons to remember how to live one day at a time.  God knows. I don't.  That's okay with me.

HOLLY'S BIRTHDAY.  Holly's birthday was on Sunday.  We celebrated with a few friends on Saturday night.  We went to an Italian restaurant called Spaghettia.  This was a real treat...it's rare to get Italian food here!  Then we walked around the Chunggyechun--a stream that runs through the center of Seoul.  The stream is decorated nicely with colored lights, stepping stones across the stream, fountains, and even artwork underneath a bridge.  It's very lovely at nighttime!  Then we chilled at Starbucks and shared stories with each other about our funny experiences in Seoul...I laughed so much...it was so good for me!

     Holly and I spent her actually birthday together too.  She came to my place for some delicious banana pancakes and chocolate chip pancakes.  (I have been making pancakes almost every Saturday morning, which is keeping in step with the family tradition that we had growing up!)  Then we went to a nearby park and took some fun pictures.  We took the subway to Onnuri Church, which started at 4pm.  Finally we went out to dinner and had bebeembop.  This is a traditional Korean dish with stir-fried vegetables on top of rice, along with a fried egg and other spices.  It's delicious.  I'm really enjoying the time that Holly and I get to spend together!  Such unique experiences we are having together.  :-)

KARAK MIDDLE SCHOOL FESTIVAL.  Yesterday my school had a "festival" or what I would call a student talent show.  The school band played.  Some girls did a hip-hop dance.  There were a couple magicians.  And, breakdancing is huge here in Korea...5 guys breakdanced and they are quite talented.  It was nice to see my students outside of school.  I love just talking with them informally.  

I have more thoughts, but I shall return shortly!

~$@R@

      

Hiking to Dobongsan Peak

I went hiking with some new friends at a national park.  The hike was pretty strenuous, and we were pretty much rock climbing (climbing up rocks) towards the end.  It was so fun, and the view was breath-taking! 

Josie (below)