my journey across the pacific.

Anyo Haseo!! That’s how you say hello in Korean (and happens to be one of the few Korean words in my vocab…although I’m learning new words everyday!). Well it is now Saturday morning here in Korea. Hard to believe I’ve already been here nearly a week! It has been jam packed with so much…I feel that I have so much to write about already.

My trip here was incredibly long. I left Rockford, at 3 AM on Saturday (July 3) with my two very large bags and headed out to the airport. My parents had already planned a trip to Virginia to visit my dad’s family, and because my trip was delayed week, they weren’t able to be at the airport when I left. Ben and I drove off at that ungodly hour and got Chicago in plenty of time for my 7 AM flight. One of my bags was nearly 10 lbs. overweight. Oops! Being a light packer has never been a strength of mine. I managed to do some rearranging and it worked out just fine. J

I flew to San Francisco first, had a short layover there, made some quick phone calls to say last minute goodbyes, and boarded the plane. Destination…Seoul, Korea. It finally started sinking in (a little late, huh?) when I boarded that last plane, that I was really leaving. And I was going far. All the way across the Pacific Ocean. Oh my. I sat next to a guy that I was convinced was some sort of secret agent. He looked the part. When asked what he did, he replied with a vague “I work for the government…department of defense.” Suspicious, don’t you think?! Anyways, he grew up in Korea because his dad was in the military, and we had some friendly chit-chat about life in Korea.

Unfortunately, I was in the emergency exit row- so the only view I had was of the wing. Dangit. But on my next flight I got to see a bit of the Korean countryside, and the brightly colored rooftops when we landed. My travel agent decided to have me switch airports in Seoul. They told me not to worry, it was really very simple to get from one to the other! After I went through customs, got my bags, searched for the shuttle bus to the other airport, arrived at the other airport, and got in line, I only had 5 minutes till my flight left! So I missed it! I then attempted to use a pay phone to call my recruiter (who hooked me up with my current job). Amidst this process of looking for a phone, and trying to communicate with people who kept telling me different things and pointing in different directions, I had a small meltdown. A few tears were shed. And then I was fine. =) I made it safely to Pusan (a large port city about an hour away from where I’m living). My last leg of the trip was an hour bus ride to Daegu (my city), where I was pleasantly surprised to meet a fellow American! She is also a teacher here, and we exchanged numbers. She is going to show me around Daegu later today.

My first week here was a whirlwind. I got to my apartment on Sunday night and started teaching Monday morning! After a 20+ hour trip, I went to bed at midnight and woke up at 5 AM thanks to the jetlag. I got out of bed around 9 am and had myself some cornflakes and coffee in a French press. My director filled my fridge with random food items…such as cornflakes, milk, tomatoes, bread and peanut butter! I journaled, read my Bible, talked with God and felt an incredible peace about being here. Thankyou Lord! I knew that was from Him, because the previous day I had felt very anxious. My directors (Stella and Joey) were wonderful from the very beginning. They and their three adorable kids met me at the bus station. They are both very wonderful. And I am thankful!

Monday I had a few hours to sit with the other teachers on staff (all Korean, all so great!). They gave me a quick briefing on what to do. I am teaching classes ranging from kindergarten through 8^th grade, with a wide range of English abilities. On M, W, and F I teach about 8 classes that are 40 min. each. On T, TH I only teach four. So I have some down time/prep time, which is very nice. Some students have great English, while others don’t really seem to understand much of anything that I’m saying! It is hard to see them get really frustrated and discouraged because they don’t understand. It can be a bit difficult. But it is motivating me to learn Korean! This whole week I felt pretty unprepared. Everyday I had a different schedule with different classes. So there is much to learn! Sigh. But I made it through, and I think that the hardest week is over! And I am happy to be here. Continued prayers would be much appreciated!

Below: One of the diretor's kids...Cathy & I in front of the world cup stadium

My new classroom.

Some of my highlights have been:

1. Taking the subway downtown with my director, Stella.
2. Trying kim chi (the spicy cabbage stuff…its delicious!)
3. Window shopping
4. Seeing women power walking along “exercise trails”…people are really into that here!
5. The street vendors (remind me of South America)
6. learning about “Korean time”, which is much more compatible with me than American time! (anyone who knows me will know what this means;)
7. Students with English names (they pick them) such as “King”, “Texas” and “Dude.”