One Year and One Month

I almost feel as though I should start a whole new blog because I feel so bad that I completely let this one go. As you can see, I am not so good with the whole update thing. I have now been in Korea for a year and one month and I have learned more than I could ever right down. I have learned a million things about Korea, about God, about Montessori, and about myself. This is a major learning experience and I have decided to stay for at least another year. My visa is updated and a new friend has arrived. I was telling an acquaintance (now friend) from IWU about my experience here and she wanted more information. The more I shared, the more she became interested and the school liked her resume, hired her, and she just arrived in Korea this week. I am happy to say that I have found a kindred spirit and I am excited for what new things this year will hold. It’s awesome to have a fellow IWU alumnus here in Korea! 

As I was taking Alex around Seoul this week, I learned how much I have really picked up about Korea. I hadn’t realized quite how adapted I had become to this city. It was nice to be able to show a friend around Korea and show her things that I see every day. This is the first time that I have been able to do this and I think it helped me realize how much I see Korea as my home. Even though I don’t know the language well, I realized that I understand so much more now than I did when I first arrived. Even though I still get lost sometimes, I have a general understanding of where we can go to get whatever we need and to see the sights. Even though I still miss my family and friends in America, I have a solid set of friends here and I view both places as home now. These are just a few of the things that have been solidified in my heart this week.

Tomorrow is Easter and I have always loved Easter. I love what it represents and the importance of it for Christians. While I miss celebrating this important holiday with my family, Friday night we went to an amazing joint worship service for all of the English speaking ministries in Seoul. It was wonderful to worship with so many people from so many countries and to feel the Spirit move. It reminded me of Summit days at IWU. It was wonderful to get to share that experience with a fellow IWU classmate. I look forward to tomorrow and the new things that God will teach me about His love, His mercy and His sacrifice. I wish you all a blessed and sweet Sunday.

Korea - The First 3 Months

 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

PICTURES

 My little apartment right after I arrived and before I was unpacked

 The sweet locking system they use here

 My little tiny shower that now has a shower curtain so I don't soak the entire bathroom floor when I take a shower

 The sign they had for me at the airport when I arrived

 A view from the bus on our way to Itaewan. Seoul is surrounded/in the mountains. Everything is built either in the valley or literally going up the mountain

 One of my first meals here - yes I did eat it with chopsticks - no I did not eat all of that for one meal.

 My Yellow Canaries

 My classroom

 This picture is to show how everything is child sized - The counter is literally below my knees

Here are some of my kids - aren't they all gorgeous!! This is Eunseo 

 This is Kayden - he speaks English fluently

 This is Juana

 This is Ashley

 This is Wanyoung

 This is Jungdo

 This is Hyojun

 This is Janice

 This is Junghye

Independence Day + My First Week

          This blog will encompass Tuesday as it was a Korean holiday and my whole first week in Korea. Tuesday was Independence day where Koreans celebrate the day that they declared independence from Japan in 1919. My new friend Lillian decided to take me all around and show me things in Seoul. She helped me navigate the bus and subway systems and she decided to take me to a place called Itaewan. This is the place that many foreigners live and it is where the only Taco Bell in Seoul is. Lillian said that it is a very nice place to go especially when you are missing home because more people speak English there and the people are more diverse and look more like what we are used to in the States. Itaewan was wonderful, I really enjoyed it and I learned a little bit about how the bus and subway system work. We went and got a card that you can use on the buses, subways and taxis called a T-Money card. These are handy little cards and I am told they are the fastest and cheapest way to use public transportation here. The subway was crowded but not nearly as crowded as the ones in Barcelona or Madrid. I can say this too because we went on a holiday which is one of the busiest days.

            While in Itaewan we ate at Taco Bell, went around to all the shops and saw many of the street vendors. It was so nice to go there and I had an absolutely wonderful time. I also learned that there is a city wide choir for expats and I am contemplating trying out for it. Lillian plays for the orchestra that plays with them and that is why she knew about it. I am not sure when tryouts are or if I would even be able to make practices but it is something that I am sure I will want to look into.  

            My first day of class with the children was March 2 and it went wonderfully!! My day started out by getting to chat with my sister and mom for a few quick minutes and then it was off to school for me. At school we start out with a devotional and prayer time and then make sure that all the teachers have everything ready for the day. I think in my last blog I stated that I was teaching the green parrots but that is incorrect. I think I got all of the groups wrong when I mentioned them before but I suppose this is to be expected considering I had an immense amount of information overload my first day. I am teaching the yellow canaries which includes children ages 3-5.  I was telling my family that I LOVE working with children because they are the same in every culture; they act the same way, they say the same things and they respond to things in the same way. Even though I did not speak their first language, I was still able to form bonds with each of the children because I have worked with children before. I knew what to expect and that is a wonderful thing when I was in an entirely new environment.

My first day was mainly observation. I had a list of the kid’s names and I tried to come up with something that stood out to me about them so I could learn their names faster. By the end of the week I had all the children’s names down which was a huge load off my shoulders because many of their names were so unfamiliar to me. I am including a list of my children’s names because I would appreciate it if while you are praying for me you remember them in your prayers. They have to adjust to a new teacher and for two of them this is their first week of school as well. Their names are: Seoyoon, Kayden, Ashley, Hyojun, Jungdo, Juana, Jei, Heejun, Janice, Eunseo, Wanyoung and Junghye. Most of their names are pronounced like they are spelled but even if you can not pronounce them, God knows who you are talking about J.

            Here is a rundown of how each day works in our school. The day starts out with the children coming in either on buses or with their parents around 9:15. By 9:30 they should all be in their classroom doing their Montessori work and us helping them whenever they need it. Currently, Mr. Mark pulls each child aside for 3-5 minutes a day and works with them on sandpaper letters or reading. Sometimes this goes longer if the child is really interested in reading and sometimes it is like pulling teeth to get to 3 minutes out of them. This will be something that I will take over as soon as I feel comfortable which should be sometime this coming week. The children have many activities in a Montessori classroom and it is fun to see what they decide to do each day. Around 11:30 the children clean up their materials and then we have circle time. Circle time is where we talk about the days and months of the year, the weather and then we present them with a Bible story of the week. Each day of the week is the same Bible story but presented in a different way so the child will hopefully retain most of the information. They are short Bible stories but it is fun to hear them remember details of the story. This week was the story of the lame man at Bethesda. 

After circle time the children get to have lunch and we as teachers eat with them. Each day they have rice, kimchi, some sort of meat, vegetable, soup and something else like eggs or potatoes. So far the food has been pretty good but the spices are very different from anything I am used to. After lunch the children go to gym. We have a room where there are hockey goals, gymnastic bars, tons and tons of balls and a small basketball hoop. We also have a playground that the children can play on when it is warmer. They really enjoy gym time and most of the children work up quite a sweat. After gym the groups are split into age groups (A,B,C,D) and I am still trying to figure out exactly how the split works but some of the children go to music and others go to art. On the next day, the children flip flop and those that were in music go to art and vise versa. This happens on Tuesday and Thursday and I am still learning what happens the other days. On Friday we took the children on a walk outside which was quite an adventure. I still have a hard time walking around Seoul because of how busy it is and the fact that cars can drive down alleys that look like they would not even fit a motorbike. As you can imagine, taking 25-40 children who are all under 6 years old, out and around town was quite a stressful adventure. We made it safely though and I am not sure if we are planning on doing that every Friday or not. I suppose I will have to wait and find out.

My second day of class actually started with a visit to the hospital. Before everyone starts to worry, this was a routine thing that they do in Korea. Apparently it is a law that before you start any job, you are required to have a physical done. They have a special area in their hospital specifically set up to do this. I had to go because it is a law and I can not go to the embassy and get my identification card until I have a physical done. We are still waiting on the results but once we get those, I can go to the embassy and get a card that looks a lot like a driver’s license but it is something that I can carry around instead of my passport. It is also something I need to have to open a bank account here in Korea.

The experience of getting a physical done is something I can pretty much guarantee I will never forget. It is very intimidating to be in a place with all these doctors and not understand a word anyone is saying. Isajannim (the founder of our school) went with me to help translate but for the most part I had to be taken back behind doors where they ran tests. They tested my eyes, my ears, they took a blood and urine sample, they did a weird test that I have never had done before, they took x-rays, and I think there were a few other things that I do not remember right now but at the end I went into a room where I had to have a conversation with a doctor. This was difficult because the doctor spoke in very broken English. I was lucky that he spoke English at all but it was still an interesting experience. Another thing that they had there was a man who stood at the door and his entire job was to open the door for people to come in and out. He had a glove on and he spoke a sentence of Korean to everyone who either came in or out. I had never seen anything like that before and I asked Isajannim about it. His answer was that most places do not have that but apparently where we went was a very ritzy hospital and that is why the man was there. There were tons of people there getting the same thing done and I guess it is a common occurrence for people living in Korea but for me it was definitely a new experience.

We got back to the school just in time for lunch and so I helped get everything ready in the classroom and finished out our day. After school I decided to try a place near my house called Paris Baguette where I got a delicious sandwich and a very good tasting muffin for the next morning. It is so interesting to shop in stores where if I have any questions at all I can’t really ask anyone because they speak little to no English. I came back and worked on some things for school and tried to keep myself awake until an appropriate time to go to bed but I still experienced jet lag and woke up at 3am.

Friday was a wonderful day. The day before a weekend is always a happy time for everyone. Friday mornings are a little more laid back and at the school we have a little more play time with the children. They are extremely tired from the week and so are the teachers so we try to keep everything light and fun right before the weekend. Next Friday we are going to celebrate International Day which will be a lot of fun. For my first official project I am in charge of running the room where the children learn about the US. I am finding this to be a very difficult thing to be in charge of because most of the things from the US have come from other countries. I am supposed to come up with a song, dance, snack, game and craft that are strictly American. I finally came up with a few things but it took me most of my Saturday to do that. There were things that I would think of but most of them would not be appropriate or fun for children and so that made it hard as well. I really hope it all works out ok next Friday. I am sure it will but I know I am nervous because it is my first project at the school.

Friday I also got my television hooked up. This took quite a bit of time because everything was in Korean and I can’t read Korean so it presented a bit of a problem. I was able to get it figured out though and I learned that I have over 700 channels. This would be great if I could understand Korean :). I’m just kidding but I am entirely serious about the number of channels. I have learned that at any given time there are about 20 different stations that do show English movies or shows. Most of the shows are obscure American shows that no one in the US really watches but I have seen some shows advertised that are great. There have also been a couple pretty good movies showing. I also did learn that there is a couple Korean channels dedicated to teaching English, a Korean Disney, Nickelodeon, MTV, Discovery and FX channel. These are all hilarious to watch because if any of you have seen Korean tv or movies you know that Korean acting is all about over-dramatizing your facial expressions. I have been told that watching Korean television is a good way to help you learn the language. I know I have heard from others who have had English as their second language that they learned a lot of their English from English tv shows. I am not thinking I will have much time to watch tv but it will be nice to have when I want to have a quiet evening and be by myself and it could also be educational. If any of you are interested in seeing what Korean television is like, go to youtube and look up boys over flowers with English subs – it is quite hilarious and you will understand what I am talking about when I say over-dramatic.

Saturday for me was a time to finish settling in and work on getting all my stuff for our International Day figured out. Today (Sunday) was a wonderful and exciting day. I have official mastered… well at least I feel that way… the bus and subway system. I wanted to try an English speaking church that was on the other side of the city. I had to walk to the bus stop, get on the correct bus, get off at the correct bus stop, get on the subway, get off at the correct stop to transfer lines, transfer correctly to a different subway line, get off at the correct station, get out at the correct exit, find the next bus station, get on the correct bus and make it to church in time. I allowed one and a half hours and I walked in as they started singing the first worship song. I did not get lost and I am proud to say that I only had to call someone twice to make sure I was doing the correct thing. When everything I looked at was in Korean and I have never ridden a subway (even in America) by myself, I have to say that I feel very proud that I accomplished it all without getting lost. I can also guarantee that it was by the grace of God that I did and I could not have done it without knowing that I had Him helping me the whole time. It does make me feel a lot more confident and I even stopped into a place on the way to my apartment and ordered something off the menu. The only time I had been in a restaurant by myself was when I picked everything out and brought it to the counter – at this place (JK Coffee) I had to order and make sure the person at the cash register understood what I meant. It was a thrilling and wonderful experience. For some of you it may not sound like much of a day but for me it was one that made me realize that I can do this. I can live on my own in a huge city where I don’t speak the same language as 90% of the people. It was a very liberating experience and one that I know God has been orchestrating.

The church that I went to was called Onnuri and it was their English service. If any of you want to check it out, their website is onnurienglish.org. I absolutely love the church so far. What really drew me to this church was that they are starting to get into the “Not For Sale” ministry. They are actually going to be on CNN next week because of their ministry with slave trafficking. This is an area that I have had a huge burden for and have wanted to get involved in helping to prevent it but also help in the restoration part of it. Onnuri is involved on both ends. I think it is so neat that God called me to a place halfway across the globe and it is here that I found a church that connects to the same heart issues as me. They also have an outreach program that goes to orphanages around Seoul and that is another area that I have always felt called towards. At the end of the service they had a meet and greet time for new comers in their welcome area where we met in a small group and they told us some of the visions of the church and what they had to offer for small groups and outreach programs. I sometimes have a hard time taking the first step if I am in a new place but I knew I needed to go to the newcomers welcome center and I am so glad I did. I filled out a sheet that said I wanted more information on a lot of their programs and small groups and I also got the emails of the leaders so I am hoping to start to get involved. They even have a small group that meets on Saturdays that helps people learn Korean. I know the church is quite a ways away from where I live but I knew, the minute I heard they were starting a ministry for trafficking victims that I wanted to be a part of this church. It is so neat how God brings things together.

            Well, I realize this is another extremely long blog and I thought that my last one would be the only one this long but I guess when you are in a new place, there are so many things that I want to remember and share with everyone. If you read all the way through the blog – wow - :). If you didn’t, I totally understand but thanks for reading even a little. Thank you all for your prayers, especially this week as I tried to get settled and tried to adapt to a new culture. I know there are going to be a lot of bumps in the road to come but I am so grateful that I have so many people who are thinking of me and praying for me. I love you all and I can’t wait to hear from you. Love you

Jet Lag

So, here I am, sitting in my apartment that I will be living in for a year, trying to figure out if this is truly reality, and succumbing to the fact that even though it’s only 4 in the morning, I will not be going back to sleep. I just got on SKYPE and was overjoyed to see that my sister was on. After talking with her and my parents for a little bit I decided to come back to writing. There has been so much happen over the past 48 hours that I can not even begin to really write it all down. Here are the things that I want to remember and I thought it would be a nice way to journal for myself and inform all of you what is going on. I understand that some of this information will not be interesting to everyone but I do want to use this as a journal for me as well so if you start to get bored just skip to the part where I am in Korea J

4pm on February 26, 2011 in Muskegon, Michigan USA

            I traveled with my family and Justin to Grand Rapids where they dropped me off for my flight to Chicago. The flight was supposed to leave at 7:02. When we arrived, United Airlines informed me that my flight had been canceled because of weather but that they would try to get me a flight with American Eagle leaving at 6:55. The man printed off the changed information and sent me to the other end of the airport to check in to American. When I got to their counter the lady informed me that I did not have the correct information and the man at United had made a mistake so I had to go back and get him to fix it. I made my way back to the United counter and the man fixed my ticket and then I was able to get checked in at American. The wonderful thing that came of it was that they never made me pay for my baggage and I thought I was going to have to do that. We proceeded to make our way to the food court for dinner and after a delicious sub sandwich and wonderful conversation I had to say my goodbyes. These were tear filled and sad but also exciting because I knew that a new adventure was beginning.

6:55 pm Grand Rapids (supposed departure time for my flight)

            As you can guess, we did not leave at 6:55. Our plane that was supposed to take us to Chicago was still sitting at a Chicago terminal waiting to be de-iced. After the allotted time for de-icing, Chicago decided to shut down all flights from their airport for an hour because they had to plow the runway. When the plane finally did get to Grand Rapids, over half of the people on my flight had changed their flights until the next day because they had missed their connecting flights. This meant that most of us on the flight were able to have an entire row of seats to ourselves. I was grateful at this point that I would have had a 6 hour layover in Chicago because I did not feel rushed or nervous at all about making my international connection. We finally boarded our plane at 9:15 but then had to wait another 45 min for them to de-ice our plane.

9:40pm Chicago

            We landed in Chicago and I had to then figure out how to get to terminal 5 – the international terminal. For this to happen I had to make my way across the Chicago airport to the tram where I then had to check in again. It was an amazing blessing that I did not have to recheck my baggage because the lines were crazy long. They had a separate line for those of us with carryons only which was much shorter. I then made me way through security again to my gate. I was so happy when I got there because it meant that I had made it through all the hoops and security and was officially on my way to Korea.

I was boarded and situated on my flight by 12:50pm. They again had to de-ice our plane which took another 40 min but by this time I was pretty exhausted and had fallen asleep. The flight was uneventful and I sat next to two very nice ladies who both spoke a tiny bit of English. Towards the end of the flight I started truly freaking out. I had been so focused on getting everything ready to be able to get to Korea that I had not started to think about what would happen once I got there. I knew who was picking me up and what they looked like but I started thinking: what happens if they are not there to pick me up, I do not have contact information for them; what if I had to have other papers that I did not know about and they will not let me through customs; what happens if my bags do not come and no one speaks English and can help me; what happens if, if and if. I started really freaking out and crying again but then I just started praying harder and harder that God would calm my nerves because I knew He was in control. That is when the lady on my left started making conversation with me. We had not talked the entire flight but she struck up and conversation with me and I can guarantee God put her there for me. We did not even talk about what I was nervous about and yet just making small talk with her completely calmed my nerves. The couple behind me was going to Korea for their son’s wedding in Seoul and started talking with me about what I was doing in Korea. They informed me that I looked like a teacher, was very sweet and that everyone would love me. I know it sounds little but for someone who was freaking out about everything it was probably the best thing anyone could have said. As we were getting ready to get off the plane the lady to my left looked at me and wished me the best of luck and said may God bless you. My theory was then proven – God knew exactly who I needed at my point of vulnerability and because she was willing to listen to His leading she was able to truly make a difference for me. I have no idea if she knows how much God used her, but just by making small talk with me and letting God speak through her she changed my whole experience. God is amazing!

6:40am Monday February 28 Incheon Airport, South Korea

            We landed at the airport in South Korea and I made my way through the maze to find immigration. I will say that the airport here is very well laid out and each sign had both Korean and English listed. I stood in line at immigration for a very long time and received my new stamp in my passport! I then made my way to baggage claim where I found a luggage carrier and saw both of my bags right away. I was overjoyed that my bags had made it! The next and final step was to make my way out and to find Mr. Mark (Vice Principal) and Isajannim (founder of KONIS). I felt the butterflies in my stomach as I looked out the doors and saw a huge line of people smiling and staring at us. Many of them had professional looking signs that held the names of the person they were waiting for. Many signs were typed and fancy and I frantically looked around for a Canadian and a Korean holding my sign. I looked over and I saw a sign that was made out of crayon, had a giant heart and said, “Welcome to Korea Miss Heather.” I knew at that moment that everything was going to be amazing. I met Mr. Mark and Isajannim and they were so friendly. They immediately asked me how the flight was, how I was feeling, if I needed anything, etc. We made our way to the money exchange station and Mr. Mark started filling me in about everything I could possibly ever want to know about Korea, Seoul, KONIS, the people I would be working with, etc. We made our way out to an extremely nice black Jaguar that was probably the most modern car I have ever ridden in. It was so high tech and apparently that is very common here. Koreans LOVE their gadgets. From the Incheon Airport we had about a 45 min drive inland and during that drive I again was bombarded with an information download. I know that I will never remember all of what he said but I was so grateful to have an outpouring of information. I would always rather be informed too much than not enough.

            We arrived to the school and I got to meet all the teachers that I would be working with. There are four floors at the school and everything is kid sized. On the first floor is the office, teacher’s lounge, teacher’s restroom, (yes we have one because all of the other ones are way small because they are kid sized) music and art room, the gym room, and the kitchen. You make your way to the second floor and that is where the blue jays are. The blue jays are the youngest children. They are children who are 2-3. Now, when I say they are 2-3, you have to remember that in Korea, ages are vastly different than in the states. When you are born in Korea you are one year old; this means that when I say 2-3 Korean, it means they are 1-2 if you are trying to make a comparison.

            On the next floor of the school we have the green parrots. This is where my classroom is and the children are 3-5 (Korean age).  I love my classroom and I am really excited to get started! On the top floor are the golden eagles. These are children who are 5-6 years old(Korean). Our school also has a garden and a playground. I will attempt to take pictures and load them on the blog when I get back there.

            After we visited the school Mr. Mark and Isajannim took me to get a cell phone. Apparently in Korea you have to be Korean to get a cell phone plan so Isajannim has the teachers on his plan and plans here are different than in America. I do have a cell phone here but I think it will be better to use my home phone to call the states. We are still trying to figure out all the logistics of calling America but it is very nice to have a phone in case I need to get in touch with someone here in Korea.

            The next step on our list was to get some food. I had not eaten in over 12 hours so I was getting hungry. We made our way back to the school and I had a plateful of about 7 different types of Korean dishes. Rice is always a staple and so I know that I will be eating a lot of it this year. The food was delicious but very different; I even tried tofu for the first time. After I was full it was time to come to my apartment so I could see it and figure out what I still needed to get. It is a very nice apartment with everything looking fairly new. It is a larger apartment by Korean standards and yet it is still only one large room that includes my kitchen, bedroom and living room. I do have a small bathroom, a nice size wardrobe, bookcase, desk, a place for the tv that is coming soon, and a small little room off the back that will have my washer and a place to hang all my clothes because there are not clothe dryers here. It is a very nice apartment and so far I have no complaints.

            A huge blessing came when we found a cord that worked for my computer, would not fry it and was able to fit into Korean outlets.  We learned that I needed some basic things for food, sheets, a power cord, etc so they decided to take me to what I think was called E Mart. This store was insane. There were 9 floors of parking underneath the building and there were so many people there that we had to park on the 7 one down. Then, once you made it to ground level again there were 9 floors of shopping. Each floor had different items and I was overwhelmed by the amount of stuff available. This store was one that I will not go to very often because it is not in my vicinity but it is a place where we were able to get everything on my list so that is why we went.

            We returned to my apartment and I was able to spend the evening unpacking. I have another small shopping list of things that I need to get but it is not too long which is nice. I will be very happy when I can get some things on the wall so it will look a little more like a home. One of my biggest blessings of the day was when I was finished unpacking and about to try and figure out something to keep me busy and something to eat. I received a call on my new cell phone from one of the teachers at the school inviting me to come over to her place which was just across the street. She was having dinner and had some extra macaroni and cheese J. We had a lovely conversation and I enjoyed getting to know her. She is from the USA and so it was nice to talk to her about her experience here. She has been here six months already and was able to give me a lot of good tips. She also had some extra things that were on my list of things to pick up so I was able to get them from her and that was so nice. She also invited me to go with her today and see Seoul. She is going to show me around, how to use the public transportation system here, where some of the good places to shop, eat, etc are and just hang out today. Today in Korea it is a holiday because on this day in 1919 they declared their independence from Japan. I am looking forward to seeing the city and having a friend here in Seoul.

            As I mentioned earlier, I was given information overload on Seoul and Korea and here are some of the many things I learned:

• The entire country of South Korea could fit into Lake Michigan. It is very small and yet the population of Korea is 1/6 of the United States. That is a lot of people in a very small space.
• Korean people love their holidays. There is at least one holiday a month and they even celebrate a Thanksgiving here. It is celebration that lasts three days and it is where they are thankful for the harvest. It is obviously not when we have our Thanksgiving but I was excited to hear that they celebrate Thanksgiving.
• Space is a commodity here. Everything is small. Within one or two blocks from my apartment there are a couple thousand shops. It is probably not that many but it seems like it. Shops are super small and all right next to each other. Buildings here are not wide but tall. Each shop is about a one room size and they are tons of them right next to each other and each floor is a different shop. There are obviously shops that are different, (E Mart for example) but smaller seems to be a lot more common.
• I live a couple blocks away from what they call the Blue House. This would be the equivalent to what we call the White House. I am living in what is known as a very wealthy part of Seoul. It does not look that way because it is old money but it is definitely a very nice part of Seoul.
• Seoul is in a gorgeous location but you can not really tell because there are so many buildings with no space in between them.
• Koreans are the leaders of the world in flat screens.
• Koreans LOVE their gadgets. I have seen more gadgets than I know what to do with it.
• Most cars in Korea are less than 5 years old and you will hardly ever see a car with rust on it. Once they become older they ship their cars to other countries such as China.
• There is a Buddhist Temple between my apartment and the school (I am about 5 blocks away from the school)
• Korean people are very friendly
• My apartment does not have a normal key. The apparatus I use to unlock it is a little tiny sensor. I put the sensor up to the door in a special spot and it lights up blue, I hear a noise and my door unlocks. To leave my apartment I press a button and my door unlocks. It is pretty cool.
• You have to pay about 1 dollar a bag for trash bags and they are about the size of a Target bag. They have a ridiculous system for getting rid of trash. You also have to have 5 bags for taking trash out: 1. plastic 2. glass 3. paper 4. aluminum 5. I can’t remember right now
• Jet lag sucks
• Korean beds are like sleeping on the floor – their mattresses are very hard.
• They have an easy public transportation to follow and they have made it very user friendly – even for foreigners
• My phone came with a map of the subway system on it
• They have internet phones – no I do not know what you do with it but I do have one
• Koreans are heavy drinkers. They have this special drink called soju but apparently it tastes like a mix of vodka, tequila, and turpentine. I think they were kidding on the turpentine J but in other words it is insanely strong. A bottle of it only costs about a buck and if you were to drink a cup of it you could get wasted. I was informed of this because I will apparently see it at almost all restaurants because Koreans do not drink at their meals unless it is beer or this soju.
• My Vice Principal sounds identical to John Corbett
• They have Korean baseball which is apparently really funny to watch
• Volleyball is a big thing in Korea
• We get American movies that have Korean subtitles and there are usually about 4 playing in the theaters each week. If you go to the theater you have assigned seating. You purchase your ticket by where you want to sit. Prices are not affected but it is so they can maximize seating by making sure to not have one seat here and there open when they can have 2 or 3 together.
• The heating in Korea comes from the floors. My thermostat is run by me deciding what temperature I want the hot water to be that is heating my floors. I do not decide the temperature of my room but that water. It is very different.
• Prices here are a little cheaper than the states unless you want specifically “American” things.  
• Korean currency is about 1,000 won to $1. It is a little more than that but it is easier to convert it like that.
• When I ate with Lillian last night she was shocked that I was only 22. She told me that I seem more confidant and I carry myself better than a 22 year old. This made me feel very good and I know that that confidence is only from God. I am so excited to see what God has in store for me over this year!! I know it is going to be an enriching and wonderful experience.
• I am sure there are many more things that I learned but these are the ones that I am remembering now.

Update

So, I know I said I was going to try and post something on here more times than I have but there really wasn't anything to report before today. I officially have an interview date!!! YAY!!! :) My interview date is set for Friday Feb 18 in Chicago. This now means that my employer will be looking for flights to Korea about a week after that. This is really exciting because it means this is finally happening but that also brings about lots of emotions. People ask me what my emotions are right now and to be honest they are all a mess. I am happy, excited, nervous, anxious, scared, sad, overjoyed, etc. You name the emotion and I'm probably feeling it. I am trying to keep a brave face in this and I think I'm doing pretty well but to be honest this is the craziest and yet most exciting thing I've ever done. I know for a fact that I could not go through with this if I didn't have a relationship with the most amazing person who has everything planned. It's when I do things like this that I wonder how in the world people can live without the hope and comfort of Christ. This process is crazy scary but I know that I have absolutely nothing to worry about because I've given it to Christ and He has my best interests at heart. I also know that I couldn't go through with this if it weren't for the support of all the amazing people in my life. Their thoughts and prayers are what help make this worth it. I love you all!!! Please keep praying and I'll keep you posted.

My Very First Post :)

So, here is my very first post; for those of you who know me well, you will be very proud of this first step. I am not one to sit down and write updates and so this blog is something that will be difficult for me and yet something that I believe will be good for me. As many of you know, I have accepted a position as a teacher at a Christian International Montessori school in Korea called KONIS (Kids of the Nation International School). I am now in the process of acquiring a visa. This is a process that has quite a few hoops to jump through and you have to love all those hidden costs. As soon as I know more about a time frame I will be updating people. I am really excited for the experience to come. God is already teaching me so much about trusting him. Yesterday I was starting to freak out about the financial aspect of this endeavor and I just kept praying that God would give me a peace and help me not to worry. Of course, as He does sometimes, He did even more than that - God spoke to someone at our church and they gave me a check for almost the exact amount of what my visa is going to cost. It was like God was saying, "Trust me in this; you have nothing to fear, I WILL look out for you and we WILL get through this together." God is so awesome and I am really looking forward to what He's going to teach me through this experience just as much as I am looking forward to helping the children at KONIS learn. My goal is to update this blog once a week or more. I will be posting pictures, stories and random things about living in another culture. I look forward to writing these updates and I look forward to hearing your responses. Love you all