So, I realize that I haven’t kept up my blog. I know I wanted to update my blog at least once a month or more but that obviously is not happening. A lot has happened in the past couple months but I won’t do another insanely long blog. Here are just some of the things that have happened in Korea while I’ve been here and some things that I’ve learned. I’ll also be putting up some pictures so you can look at them as well. For those commenting, I have no idea how to respond back so I’m sorry that I haven’t written back. Thank you all for your comments, thoughts and prayers.
Japan got hit and everyone was worried about us here in Korea. There was a rumor going around Korea saying that everyone needed to keep windows closed and that everyone should wear masks but it turned out that this was just a rumor. There was a big man hunt I guess, to find the person who started this rumor and punish them because apparently it was freaking people out and I guess we have nothing to worry about. We did have some rain that was said to have potentially harmful effects (radioactive) so everyone was carrying umbrellas, wearing rain boots and rain coats even for just a little drizzle but when they tested the water, it said that there was nothing too harmful about it so we are all doing ok. It has rained many times since then and we are all doing just fine.
Spring sprung and is almost gone here in Korea and there were some absolutely gorgeous flowers on the trees. I was shocked to learn that many of the most beautiful buds were only around for about a week or a little more. We are starting to move into summer and it is getting warm and sticky. I am told that in August it will get super humid so I am not looking forward to that. Pretty soon at the school we are going to add the pool so that the children can swim during play time.
Many many things have happened over these months and I can’t really even begin to write them all down here but I think I have finally started to figure out the city a little bit. I have seen a couple really beautiful places, found some great places to eat, and I have found my new favorite spot. There is a HUGE bookstore here that sells an entire section of English books. Pretty much any book I could ever want is there. It is called Kyobo and I enjoy going and just looking around. It’s fun to see all the different people looking through all the sections that they have. They have a DVD section, a whole stationary, clock, art, and purse sections, and there are a bunch of other random things there in the store as well. They also have a huge childrens section and it is fun to just see people from all walks of life and all over the globe there.
I am still getting adjusted to the fact that I can’t converse with everyone. It’s been very lonely at times but God is so good and He is still in control. I have developed closer friendships with a couple of the girls at the school and have had a fun time exploring the city with some of them.
I had the lovely experience of going to a jimjilbang (public bathhouse). I was totally freaked to go but I’m so glad I had the experience. They are unlike anything I have ever seen before. I guess they’re kind of like a spa in the states but people can actually sleep at these places. They are open 24 hours and they have everything from body waxing, to massages, to manicures, and pedicures, to sweat rooms, hot tubs, salt pools, ices rooms, and so on. They even have restaurants and an arcade inside. They also have tvs everywhere where you see people huddled around them watching their favorite Korean drama. Dramas are huge here in Korea and you see all the ajemas (older woman) just chillin in their birthday suites staring at the tvs for hours. It’s a bit bizarre
A great experience that I got to have was going to a Noraebang (Karaoke room). These are not like what we have in the states. This is building that has a bunch of rooms. You rent out one room for your group and you have your own monitor, two mikes and about a million songs to choose from. They have close to 1000 English songs so there are definitely a lot to choose from. Each song has the words across the screen, a crazy music video that has nothing to do with the song, and a score at the end. This is a BLAST and one of my favorite things that I have done so far. They have these rooms all over Seoul. They are a very common and popular thing to do in Korea. They have classics, old school, 80’s, 90’s, and even the top chart songs of the current month dating back over a couple years in English. You can also change what key you’re singing in if the key is too high or low for you.
Another experience I got to have was going to a housewarming party for one of our teachers. This was so much fun and a great bonding experience for us as teachers. We got to eat all around a table on the floor and we just had a wonderful time. It was neat to see another house other than my own. Coming up in June, our founders are having a party at their home on top of the mountain so I am really looking forward to that.
Korean’s seem to have a lot of holidays and some that we had in May were Children’s Day, Parent’s Day, and Buddha’s Birthday. These all happen to be a couple days apart and so I ended up having a 6 day weekend earlier this month. During this time there were festivals going on all around Seoul. I didn’t hear about them until the last day but I got to go to one with my friend who was visiting from another city in Korea. We saw these crazy acrobats that were hoisted up in the air and there were fireworks going on behind them. It’s hard to describe but I did get a video. I’m going to attempt to put up the video on facebook so check it out if you can. In transportation to and from the festival I ran into some interesting people on the subway and bus. On the subway, two men got into a fight. This is because a man who was intoxicated attempted to have a conversation with my friend and I. I don’t speak any Korean and so I couldn’t understand what he said but my friend Heidi tried to talk with him for a little bit until we realized he didn’t know any English at all. He wouldn’t leave us alone and it started to get a bit awkward and then a middle aged man near us told the drunk man to leave us alone. This made the man mad and so they started shoving each other and it broke out into a fight. Luckily we were at our stop minutes after it broke out and so we ran off the subway and all the way to our connecting line. I was very glad to have someone else with me when this happened. On my way home on the bus however, I was by myself. A man behind me who smelled suspiciously of an immense amount of soju (the Korean alcohol) tried to start up a conversation with me. He spoke more English than the last man did and so I was able to talk with him for a little bit. He then started asking me questions about where I lived in Korea, if I was married, if I lived alone, etc and so I started dodging his questions. We came to my stop and I was praying so hard that he wouldn’t get off the bus. He gave me his card because he works in broadcasting and luckily that was the end of our conversation. I am very glad God was looking out for me in that situation and I’m also very glad that my stop is right outside a police station :).
With the school we have had so many fun days with the children. They have tried different American food, we have had science experiments, and some fun field trips. We have gone to the Children’s Grand Park here in Seoul which is a giant zoo. Taking 40+ children to the zoo was quite an experience. We had so much fun – even if I was on high alert the entire time :). We also got to see a traveling ice show. They did Snow White and the kids are still talking about it. For Easter we dyed eggs with the children which was really fun because even the Korean teachers had never done it before. We had an egg hunt and everything. The kids are really adjusting well to having a new teacher in their classroom and it feels like I have known them for much longer than 3 months. It has been so much fun to work with them and see the progress that they are making. Many of the children started out with not speaking any English and it has been so fun to see them blossom into these talkative English speakers :).
Well, I promised I wouldn’t write a novel and I tried to cover most of the exciting things. I promise I will try to be better about updating more frequently so that they won’t be as long. Be on the lookout for pictures because I think they are just as fun as my stories. I love you all and I really appreciate your thoughts, prayers, comments and encouragements. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for all of your support. Until next time
Heather
