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)

My Seoul Apartment!

Different Angles...
Take notice that the washing machine is right below the stove burners.



I got this poster from the Abbey- the house I lived in last year at Taylor! I took it with me.
The building is pretty new, so everything in my apartment is so nice. Everything I need is all right together!  It's a nice haven away from the hustle and bustle in the thriving city of Seoul.

Teaching English to Korean Students

Hi Fam and Friends!  

   I'm so happy to be writing to you.  I finally have my own high-speed internet in my apartment! Up until today, I have been using some wireless internet that I could reach from my windowsill. 

   I have been here for exactly one month as of today.  It's time I tell you more about my new job.

    NUMBERS. I am an English teacher to almost 1000 students at Karak Middle School.  I see 28 different classes of students, each containing about 35 students.  On any given week, I see 22-23 of those classes.  It's truly amazing.  I teach 7th grade students which they call 1st grade, and 9th grade students which they call 3rd grade students.  

    ENGLISH. The range of the English speaking abilities that my students have is vast.  Some of the low-level 7th graders understand just the basic phrases, while some of the high-level 7th graders are very conversational.  There are also a few students that have had the privilege of studying in an English-speaking country for a year or more; these students are just about fluent.  I have to say, it's so fun to hear Korean students speaking English with an English, Canadian, or New Zealander accent!  I love cultures.  

     CO-TEACHERS.  There are about 8 English teachers in this school of 1500.  I have about 6 co-teachers.  Most of the English classes meet 3 days a week.  I am the teacher for these English classes once a week, or every other week, if that makes sense.  I come into the English classrooms and work with the Korean English teacher.  I plan my lessons, but the Korean English teacher assists me by translating when necessary, and assisting individual students.  It has been a challenge for me to work with so many different Korean English teachers and adjust to their teaching methods and classroom management styles.  I just have to keep in mind that flexibility is key, and they know what their students need better than I do. 

     GREETINGS. All of the teachers, administrators, and students have been so welcoming to me.  The students greet me in the hallway, usually by bowing and saying "hi teacher!"  I am the only westerner in my school.  They are very curious about me and interested in knowing me!  What a blessing this is, and what a place of influence I am in.  They are watching me, more than I know.  I love feeling so wanted in my school.  I only wish I could memorize all 1000 names of my students!  It's even more difficult because their Korean names sound very different from the names I'm used to hearing.  

MY FIRST LESSON--YOU WANT TO READ THIS!!! Speaking of names, part of my first lesson with the students was having them create English names and nametags for their desks.  This way I at least have a way to call on them in class.  I gave the students a list of English names that I compiled to choose from, both boys names and girls names.  Did I choose the most popular names to put on my list?  Well, some of them are, but mostly I just gave them a list of my friends and family!!!  I had so much fun with this.  That means I have a few students that chose the names Ryan and Tory--my brothers names! I will think of them every time I see these students' nametags. :-).  On the list, I also included some friends' names from my childhood, and many names from my friends at Taylor....ha ha. I will keep you all in my heart somehow, even if it means I'm practically naming my students after you!!! 

The students didn't have to choose names from my list--so here are some of the most eccentric names that were chosen: Forest Gump, BUSH, Joker, troublemaker (I made him get a name change), superman, and Mr. Nari Park (Nari is his pretty Korean teacher). Also, a few guys tried to choose girls names like Elizabeth and Abby.  They thought they were so funny.

LESSON PLANNING.  I teach basically the same lesson to the entire 7th grade, and the same lesson plan to the entire 9th grade.  This means I teach the same lesson 13-15 times...yuck.  It makes for easier planning, but it's obviously quite repetitive.  They didn't give me any curriculum to use, so I have a lot of freedom.  They want me to find fun and interesting lessons for them which is great.  I am learning to be more creative in my lesson planning, instead of teaching straight from a book.  I find my lessons on ESL/TESOL websites and I get ideas from other people.  Sharing is a beautiful thing.  

STUDENTS.  What really gave me joy during student teaching last year was getting into the lives of my students...knowing who they were, their likes/dislikes, their home lives, and their struggles and triumphs both academically and socially.  So far I am having a tougher time with this because I see each student only once a week or every other week, and there are almost a 1000 of them!  Please pray that I have the opportunity to get to know a few of them on a deeper level--this is what reels me in, and makes me want to be a better teacher!  Next week I might get to go out to eat with two of my students, Hee Sook and Jee Sue.  These two wonderful 7th grade girls have been God-sends to me.  Out of the near 1000 students that I have, they have sought me out.  They come into my office often just to chat.  Hee Sook tries so hard to fumble her way through the English language just to form phrases and sentences to talk to me!  I'm grateful for them. 

I am thankful that God has placed me at this school.  I see many answers to prayer through it, and I'm excited to see how he will continue to show his purposes for me here.  

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!  You are in my prayers too!  Let me know how I can be thinking of you.

All for now.  More escapade-writings to come...slowly but surely.

Teacher Training with Native English Speakers from Across the Globe!

Hi Everybody!

   thanks for reading. I have much to catch you up on.  Two weeks ago, (Sept. 1-6) I went to an Orientation/Teacher Training program for the English speaking people that have come to South Korea to teach English in Seoul.  The orientation was put on by our employers, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.  The week was well done.  I learned a lot of creative teaching ideas that I can actually use in my classroom with my Korean students.  I was very grateful for this, because I will not be using any of the school's curriculum to plan my lessons.  They want me to create all of my lessons on my own, which means I will be searching the internet for many useful lesson plans and other resources for those teaching English as a foreign language.  At the orientation, we spent many hours listening to speakers, and attending other training sessions.

    I could not talk about the orientation without mentioning the food.  We ate "cafeteria food"  all week at our training center.  For most people, this is their introduction into Korean food.  I, however, had already been in Seoul for a week, and knew a bit more about what to expect with Korean food.  Many Koreans love spicy food, like kimchi.  Kimchi is the national dish. There are many types of kimchi, but most often it is pickled/fermented, spiced cabbage.  I am getting used to eating more spicy foods than ever before.  I do have to say though, I'm very thankful for rice to balance out all the spicy food!  During that week we ate a lot of rice, kimchi, many forms of radishes, other vegetables, various types of fish, some salad, a bit of squid, among other things.  On the first night at orientation, Holly and I and a few friends of ours decided to visit the convenience store at the orientation center to buy some chocolate.  I don't mind the food here, and I really do like most of it.  It's just that I miss other things sometimes.  We had a chocolate party that evening...yum.

    My favorite part of our week of orientation was meeting the other English teachers from around the world!  We all share the common bond of living in a foreign country, teaching our native language to Korean students, and spending the next year of our lives in the city of Seoul. I met people from all over the USA, Canada, Ireland, England, and Australia.  During that week I had an awesome time making friends with these unique people.  I see the potential for friendships with some of them...we will be meeting up throughout the year for some fun times in Seoul!  God totally answered my prayers on this one. I'm thankful for these people.  I'm thankful for Facebook too, because it's easy to stay connected with these people.  Most of them dont' have cell phones yet. 

    Do let me know about your whereabouts and happenings!

Sara

My First Pieces of Mail...

This is a picture of my first pieces of mail at my new apartment...pretty exciting huh?  It would have been, except those are all gas bills!  At first I was worried, but then I realized how horribly ridiculous this was...I had just received about 12 gas bills, summing up to the equivalent of hundreds of dollars.  I had only been in my apartment for 5 days!  Oh, I'm loving this.

    So I just showed the bills to my co-teacher, and she put them in someone else's mailbox in my apartment.  I found out there are 14 units in my apartment building, so obviously I received the whole building's gas bills...crazy funny.  

Fish out of Water

So, I feel like a fish out of water when things like this happen...I was trying to charge my laptop in the wall outlet.  However, the outlet accepts a different kind of prongs, circular ones.  However, I knew that my MacBook could handle the 220 voltage.  I just needed to find an adapter, right?  Well, only thing I could find in the store was a converter.  So,  I thought, "Hey, my laptop can handle either voltage--220 or 110, so it won't matter if I use a converter to bring down the voltage to 110."  I then plugged my laptop cord into the converter, and the converter into the wall.  A few minutes later, all of the lights in my apartment went out...I had blown the circuit.  And, as you can see above, the converter got so hot that it melted to the plastic outlet cover.  

Thankfully, a couple days later I was able to find an adapter, and my laptop charges just fine.  As for that outlet, the cover still looks like that.  :-)  

First Week Experiences

Hi Everybody!

     I'm having a good time here.  I'd like to catch you up on a little bit more of my first week.

Last Wednesday, Holly and I were able to meet up at a subway stop, thanks to instant messaging and internet at our schools.  (Otherwise we wouldn't have been able to contact each other.)  I was able to get a cell phone when I saw her!  Holly has a friend that is from her college, Bethel College, that has been here for a year teaching English.  Her name is Hillary.  Hillary had a couple friends that just left Korea, and so Hillary saved their cell phones for us!  I was so excited, because on my own it would have taken me at least 3 weeks to get a cell phone, because of random paperwork I would have had to complete first. A cell phone is completely necessary here.  Seoul is one of the largest cities in the world, so meeting up with people is much more difficult without cell phones.

On Friday night, Holly and I ate dinner with our new friend Hillary.  I am so thankful for her! As I said, she has been here for a year, doing what we'll be doing.  She has given us so much good advice, and has taught us some important phrases in getting around Seoul.  She also knows good places to eat, how to order, where some good churches are, etc...all of the things that I must learn.  

Saturday Holly and I met up with a wonderful Korean woman named Bok-jah. She and her family just moved back here from Arizona.  We were connected with her through a family friend of Holly's.  She took us out to lunch.  We ate bebeembop.  So far, this is my favorite Korean dish.  It is a bowl of white rice with mixed vegetables and a fried egg on top, and there are other sauces and things that go with it.  Then Bok-jah showed us her church that afternoon too.  We met some Korean women that were there practicing for a song and dance they were going to perform the next day.  I have to say that so many of the Korean people that I have met have been so friendly and welcoming!  They have been very accommodating to us.  It's hard for me to realize that I am at their grace and mercy...I mean, I don't speak their language, so any communication that I have with them will be in English, until I learn some more Korean.  I'm so grateful for this opportunity to be here and learn about their culture, while teaching them about mine and my language.  The best is when we have a sort of cultural exchange, learning and sharing openly about each other's cultures and languages.

Sunday I met up with Holly and Hillary, and we visited Hillary's church.  It is called International Worship in English.  The pastor is from the US.  There are Koreans and foreigners that attend the church.  About 150 people were there for the contemporary service in the afternoon.  I enjoyed being there, and hope to visit again.

Perhaps you can tell, that so far Holly and I have been able to see each other often.  The subways system is fantastic...I'm thankful that the announcements are in Korean and English. 

Sara's in Seoul!

Hi Friends and Family Back Home!

    Finally!  I have been wanting to blog for so long and tell you all that has transpired.  I don't have my own internet in my apartment yet, but I am picking up enough signal at the moment to be able to write to you.  

    Where to begin...I feel like my life has been turned upside down and backwards.  There is not much in my life right now that is the same as it was about one week ago.  When I arrived I felt like my life was in pieces.  But God is putting the pieces back together and showing me how to life my new life here.  

      I left my house in Granger, IN with my family last Sunday morning, August 24.  About 24 hours later I arrived at my new apartment in Seoul.  My friend Holly and I landed in Seoul on Monday afternoon, August 25.  My very first day here was one of the hardest days of my life.  At the airport in Seoul, my friend Holly and I were greeted by some of our employers from the SMOE (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education).  We also met several other native English speaker teachers that had also just arrived.  Then we were taken by a bus to an elementary school where our co-teachers picked us up.  You will be hearing a lot about my co-teacher.  My co-teacher, Pang Hwa, is a English teacher in my Korean Middle school, Karak Middle School.  She is in charge of my schedule at the school, and will also help me plan lessons.  She is also the one that helps me get adjusted to life in Korea.  I am very grateful for her! 

There are several reasons why the first couple days were very difficult.  When I met my co-teacher Pang Hwa who was going to take me to my apartment, I had to say goodbye to Holly.  Holly and I found out right that moment we were placed in apartments very distant from each other.  We quickly exchanged our new addresses, written in both English and Korean, and said goodbye not knowing when we would be able to get a hold of each other next.  When my co-teacher dropped me off at my apartment that night it was 10:00pm, and I had to be ready to go to my school with her the next morning by 8:00 am.  I was very tired, hungry, dehydrated, and extra emotional considering I had just said goodbye to my family and friends for several months, and now I was by myself in a foreign place.  However, I will have to say that I knew I was never alone...God was and is always present.

     That night I wanted so badly just to email my family or call them on Skype to tell them I had made it here.  But without an internet connection or a telephone, there was no way.  Let's just say I cried several times that night.

      One great thing is that there is another English teacher in my apartment building.  Her name is Kay.  I am glad to have someone living close to me that speaks English and someone that is here for the same purpose of teaching English.  During our first full day, Kay, her co-teacher and I spent time around our part of town getting us set up for life in Korea.  We tried to get a bank account and cell phone, neither of which worked.  We must have a foreign identification card first, which will take a few weeks to process.  We did, however, have a medical exam, which we needed for our ID card.  I was also able to exchange some US dollars into the Korean won.  And, I bought a T-Money card.  You need a T-Money card for riding the subways and buses...my means of transportation.  Then we went out to lunch and I had kem-bap--my first Korean food while in the country.  (My first bit of food after landing in Korea was a sandwich from Starbucks that my co-teacher bought me...kind of funny.)  There is so much more I could tell you about my first full day in Korea, but I will sum it up by saying I was COMPLETELY CULTURE-SHOCKED.  During the first couple days I thought to myself, "Could I actually live here for one year?"  Within the first 48 hours, if someone would have offered my a plane ticket home, I'm sure I would have taken it.  I eventually had to decide that I could not make any decisions based on the experiences of my first 2 days.  

Apartments.  To my great dismay, Holly and I were placed in apartments about one hour away from each other by subway.  Our employers never promised that we could share an apartment, but they said they would try to find us apartments near each other.  One hour away is not even close.  We were both very disappointed. After all, these are our placements for the whole year. For three days straight we tried very hard to find a way to live closer to each other.  We talked to everyone we could think of...our co-teachers and principals, our recruiters, our families, and other employers. We did everything in our power to see if one of us could be moved closer to the other.  We both became attached to our schools very quickly.  We love our co-teachers, our other co-workers, and the students.  Logistically, we didn't have many options of living closer to one another.  Plus, the people we talked to couldn't get us very far...we saw quickly how we were going in circles.  Every door of opportunity was tightly shut.  So, Holly and I decided to accept our placements, both our placements in our schools, and our apartments.   I'm at peace with where I'm at.  One thing is for sure...living in this gigantic city, we will have to get used to much travel time in the subways and on the buses.

         Now for the positives about our apartments.  I live in a brand new apartment building.  Both of our apartments are studio apartments.  My apt. is about the size of a large dorm room, but I have just about everything I need in my space. In Seoul there are many districts.  I live in the Song-pa district, which is on the southeast part of Seoul.  Song-pa is a quieter place than the downtown area, that's for sure.  It's nice. I feel safe here.  I'm excited to explore my area.  Holly lives in the downtown area of Seoul.  There is a lot more to do there, but it's also much louder and a little more polluted. It will be fun to visit both parts of Seoul that we each live in.  Also, one night this week Holly and I met at a subway stop between the two of us.  We found a nice little French coffee shop that I enjoyed very much. 

This is all of the time I have to write for now, but I'll hopefully write again soon when I have more internet service.  I am doing soooo much better than I was the first couple of days.  Remember how I said I felt my life was in pieces when I arrived? Well, God has been faithful in helping me to get settled and in putting the pieces back together again.  I'll write more about the good things that have happened this week when I get a chance.  

       Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers!  I am thinking of you all too.  I love emails and comments!

~Sara

I have a blog!

Hi Friends and Family,

I have officially started a blog. I am excited and nervous at the same time, because I know many different people will be visiting my site and reading what I have to say. I hope to write things that will be interesting to you, my readers, as well as share some honest things about the happenings of my life.

Four weeks from now on Sunday, August 24th, I will be heading to South Korea with my dear friend Holly Birkey. We will both be living in the city of Seoul for 12 months, teaching English in the public schools. I am very excited to see what God has in store for us there. There is so much unknown about what my life will be like in just a month from now. However, what a grand opportunity to learn to trust in the Lord. I could be teaching English in an elementary, middle, or high school--but I won't know until I arrive for the week of training in Seoul. I will be living in an apartment in Korea provided by my employer--the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE). Holly and I asked to be placed together in an apartment, but we were told that it will be very unlikely that we would be given an apartment together. (Complete reasons unknown to me.) So, my hope is that we will be placed at least in the same apartment complex, so that we can still be close enough to learn how to live life together in a foreign country, and to have the privilege of sharing many experiences. We will find out where we each will be living when we arrive in Korea.

Keeping in contact with friends and family at home while I am living in Korea is very important to me. Writing a blog is one way that I hope to keep in touch with you all. Please leave comments on my blog or email me anytime!

Adventure awaits...

Have a blessed day.

~Sara Christine Nelson