Bungee Jumping in Cheonpung (River Land)

After being utterly disgusted by the notion of bungee jumping, somehow I found myself jumping.  How does one go from being disgusted by the thought to eventually jumping?  I really don't know what changed, and now all I can say is that I'm happy that I did it.  It proved my manliness lol even though on more than one occasion I can be heard screaming on my video footage.  What an experience it was!!  The rush!  The adrenaline!  The body aches days after!  The praise from friends and colleagues.  For those of you who have known me for any amount of time, this feat would seem so unlikely for me, and I wholeheartedly agree.  Now for the details...

Celebratory picture!!

Looking up at the platform

Sunday, the 14th of November, my life was hanging in the balance.  The whole idea of doing this happened rather precipitously.  I was thinking less of the danger of the whole thing and decided to focus more on the fear that was consuming me.  We arrived at River Land on the crisp and beautiful morning.  There was a subtle breeze flowing through and it was enough to get all 156 lbs of my lean figure shivering.  As I was gazing up at the platform, I began to realize what was about to happen.  I was with two women and I was sure I couldn't back out because I mean, how embarrassing would that be?!  I'd prefer to save face so that wasn't about to happen.  Anyway, Lindsey (my jumping partner) and I proceeded to sign the paperwork and get our ankle gear on.  I'm glad she was there to translate because there would have been no way of knowing what I was signing.  After that, we both waddled over the elevator and began our journey upward.  The elevator was annoyingly loud and I began to feel my uneasiness growing with each passing meter.  Scrreeeeecch!!  We made it to the platform and out we walked.  The view was breathtaking and the fresh air was definitely much needed.  A man proceeded to speak Korean to us as he was getting the ropes in order.  He asked us who would go first and Lindsey immediately pointed in my direction.  I was okay with that because I wanted to jump as soon as possible before I changed my mind.  So I did my little penguin walk over to the attendant.  He connected the carabiners and rope with my ankle gear, and then I was ready for take-off.  I gingerly stepped to the edge of the platform...

What allows a human to convince themselves that jumping from such a high distance is okay?!!  My legs began to do a little dance of their own.  I was just hoping my legs wouldn't go limp and resulting in my falling off the platform as opposed to jumping kk...Initially, I was frozen in fear and was not yet ready to take the plunge.  He asked if I was ready and I quickly responded with an immediate NO!!  Politely of course...I then signaled to him that I was ready.  He began counting in Korean...set...dul...ha na...bungee!  Off I went.  No hesitation on my part.  Immediately on my departure I felt sheer terror!!  I let out a blood curdling scream.  I thought to myself..."self, why did I just jump? how did that happen?"  My abrupt descent quickly followed.  The water was creeping up on my face very fast.  And all of a sudden...yank!!  I was pulled back up and I was finally able to relax.  "The rope caught me. Thank God!"  After that I was overcome with a sense of accomplishment.  50 meters (164 ft)?!!  That wasn't so bad...I DID IT!

Fly Like An Eagle

I did it...happy to be in the boat

As I crawled into bed that night, it seemed like every muscle in my body was angry.  I was extremely sore.  I popped some ibuprofen, hazily reflected on my day of excitement, and drifted off into a deep slumber...the end.


The video will come soon...

A Realization of Sorts

I went to Itaewon this afternoon to finally get a much needed haircut.  While I was over there, I also ate some delicious Taco Bell for dinner.  Anyway, I was doing my traveling during a peak rush hour time, 4-7 PM.  Missstaaaaake!  The subways were so crowded.  It was kind of ridiculous actually.  I would say that I was bouncing around in between people as I stood there, but that just wouldn't be an accurate representation of my experience because there was no space to bounce around!  I was surrounded by old women, business men, and many college age women (made for a more pleasant experience).  Anyway, I was highly uncomfortable the entire time because I am a person who likes space, more specifically, my space, and people were all up in my business kk...

That was my random experience for the day.

P.S.  It was nice to have the extra body heat though because it was cold =)

Back to the Drawing Board

It's back to the drawing board in the morning.  Bright and early at 7 AM!  I'm sure this term will go just as fast and my first one, and Christmas is around the corner as well.  It stinks that I will miss my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, but I'm sure I'll survive :p

I finally feel healthy, well rested, and ready for new challenges.  Continue to pray for me as I begin this new term.  I will try to be more faithful with writing for my blog even if they are just brief updates.

Over my term break I was able to play some competitive basketball, visit the Seoul Grand Park Zoo and the Coex Mall & Aquarium, eat Mexican food in Itaewon, and get convinced by my housemates to go bungee jumping soon.  Yup!  I'm going to go bungee jumping soon!  It's getting pretty cold now so maybe I'll wait until it's warmer, but this much is sure, I WILL BE JUMPING.  I decided that potentially wetting my pants is not a good enough reason not to do it kk...so, I'm ready for the adrenaline rush.  I will let you know how it turns out.

Oh, before I go, I must tell you about my care package.  Well if I'm honest, it was really a suitcase that my mother and some family friends put together for me.  I was very thrilled to get it.  It had a variety of nuts, candy, oatmeal, granola bars, vegemeat, vitamins, clothes, toothpastes, and even toothbrushes.  It was definitely Christmas come early for me.  I'm going to be set for quite some time.  My housemates were quite jealous, but I assured them that I'd be kind and share so maybe that eased their pain haha...Anyway, I'm very thankful that I have people that care about me.

My last note...I miss you guys dearly.  Some of you I talk to regularly, others...not so much :(  So continue to stay in contact and send me the emails, facebook comments/messages, snail mail, or what have you.  It's always good to hear from you.

The Journey Continues...and oh yea, I'm exhausted!

After a long day of working, I finally have the opportunity to sit down on my pink sheets and update my blog. These last few months have really flown by.  I feel like I just landed when in fact the new orientation group arrived last week!  I feel like someone knocked me out and I can't remember anything.  I can't get over the fact that it happened-so-fast!!  For that I am thankful that time doesn't seem to creep along here.  I've been sick for the better part of two weeks, and I'm limping to the finish line of the term, but I've finally made it.  Yes, I have finished my 1st term at the Seongbuk Institute in Seoul.  I have grown in so many ways over the term.  The students have taught me much about how to teach English more effectively, how to communicate with sounds (lol), and yes, even how to speak a little Korean.  


I now know that I am spoiled for life when I go back to the States.  My students consistently say that I am handsome, good looking, a good teacher, that I have nice teeth, etc...point is, I get so many compliments.  So rightfully so, I can't say that my self-esteem has ever been higher ha-ha.  I was feeling pretty good about myself until the last two days...


My last two weeks have been a real whirlwind.  The term was winding down and there were many different things that needed to be done; especially over the last two days.  I have had to do the tedious job of adding all the attendance and grade records into the computer system so that final grades could be tallied.  With this comes the revelation that some students needed to be repeated (failed).  Gosh!  That's the last thing I want to do!  Deliver bad news.  Most people know I hate conflict or uncomfortable situations, but I just had to bite the bullet and deal with it.  Each time as I would pull a student aside, the disappointment would sweep across their face as quickly as the cold weather just swept across Korea (which is extremely fast, lol).  Obviously they are disappointed because they've studied and worked so hard to pass the class.  Some understood that they needed more practice and others just didn't seem to get why they couldn't go to Level 3.  It's safe to say that maybe I'm no longer the "nice" teacher they thought I was.  Anyway, I felt really terrible repeating the students and then having to tell them to their face...boo!  I think up to this point, that has been the most difficult thing I've had to do, and that's saying a lot.  Either way, as much as those students were bummed they didn't pass, the others were on the other end of the spectrum!  Some would say..."teacher, realLY?!"  They would have a really high pitched really (mostly women) and I couldn't help but chuckle.  


So today, the last day of the term, we had Party Day.  It is an optional day for students to come play games, eat, and just hang out with the teacher.  Students brought all different kinds of Korean junk food and even some healthy food.  We had donuts, crackers, bread, subway sandwiches, sweet potato, watermelon, persimmons, tangerines, tok (rice something...), and some other things I can't remember the names of.  We had a great time playing 20 questions, 2 truths 1 lie, and even DUTCH BLITZ!  I took pictures of my morning classes, but I had to use my computer because I forgot my camera.  



Now the 5th term of 2010 is over.  I will be on vacation until next Tuesday when the 6th term begins.  I will have new students, new levels, and new challenges.  I'm looking forward to meeting a new group of students.  While I'm physically drained and exhausted, it was all worth it.  I thank God for keeping me through the term and for giving me continued strength.  Now if I can just make until December 24th...Bangkok, Thailand here I come!  I will attempt to get some tropical weather for my holiday this year =)  Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers...

Some of my 10 AM class

A small portion of my 7 AM class

Two 11 AM students posing for the picture

Hwanseongul Cave, Samcheok, and Others

We didn't have class this past Friday at my institute so my director decided to take the foreign teachers and staff on an excursion.  And on an excursion we went!

I

We left Friday morning at around 9:30 to begin our road trip.  It took about three and half hours to get to our destination.  There were 9 of us crammed into a Korean style van.  To say the least, it was a very uncomfortable ride for my aging knees :p  When we got there it was sprinkling a little bit, but it was ok because we were going into a cave anyway.  The cave was pretty awesome.  I tried to take pictures but it was just too dark.  There were a variety of lights along the railing in the cave.  Lot's of stairs too (which I'm really starting to get tired of)!  We spent a little over an hour in the cave.


After the cave it was time to head over to the coast to use some rail bikes.  I've never seen nor used a rail bike before but it's a fantastic way to view a landscape!  It was a little cold to enjoy the beach, so we stayed off of the sand and looked from a distance.

The beautiful coast

And then is what I did last weekend.  On Saturday night I enjoyed some fireworks on an island with some of my new Korean friends.  They aren't students at SDA, but I met them through a mutual friend.  One Korean is from Argentina, another is from Brazil, and another spent over 10 years in the U.S.  So we had several things to talk about and I was also able to brush up on my Spanish.  Then on Sunday I was able to attend my first Korean wedding.  It was definitely more westernized in it's appearance and process but not nearly as long.  It was about 30 minutes in all!!

The bride is a Korean Junior teacher here at Seongbuk.  She looked beautiful.

After the wedding there was a buffet...and boy was it a spread!  There were at least 5 different kinds of chicken!  Baby (tiny) octopus, squid, shrimp, crab, beef, and an assortment of other things.  Any meat eater would have been thoroughly pleased.  Aww...the life of a picky vegetarian!  I actually found some rice and vegetables to nibble on.  My plate must have looked very odd to all those sitting around me.

Rail bikes

  

The Crew

That is all for now.  I hope to update soon.  Thanks again to all my readers!

Some more randomness

Time is going by so fast!  I don't have time to regularly update my blog.  Anyway, not much has happened since the last time I posted.  I've really been enjoying myself though.  I spend time with students every weekend.  Either on a Saturday night or a Sunday afternoon, but I make sure to spend time with them outside of class.  This mission is about building relationships and becoming friends and that's exactly what I'm trying to do.  I finally got a cell phone on Saturday night and now my co-workers and especially my students can contact me.  A cell phone is really helpful here because it has a map of the subway system and it's very difficult to spot people in the crowds of thousands that are always roaming around the city.

There are so many people here!  HAHAHA...really all I can do is laugh because it is kind of absurd.  The Koreans here have stated on numerous times that there are too many people here.  It seems like everywhere is crowded i.e. subways, buses, streets, sidewalks, malls, coffee shops, etc...It is definitely interesting to be a part of this culture.

We had Korean thanksgiving (Chuseok) last week for 3 days and I was able to spend that time with my foreign friends.  We had an American Thanksgiving gathering and there were about 15 of us in total.  It was nice to be around native English speakers and have "adult" conversation lol...Side note, if you ever have questions about the culture or my life here, feel free to ask questions in the comment section.

I received my first care package from the U.S. today...THANKS MOM!!  It has lots of goodies and useful things.  I'm not homesick yet, because I'm so use to going off to college, but I am frustrated by the inability to find things that I really want.  And even if those things are here, I don't know how to read the signs or even how to ask just yet, so I really need to stop slacking on learning the language.  It seems like I learn a new word or phrase everyday but they aren't the most useful for what I need at this point in time.

Anyway, things are continuing to go well here.  Thanks for all the support from my blog readers and well wishers from around the globe.  Your thoughts and prayers go a long way.  Until next time...

P.S. Pictures can be found on Facebook!

Insadong and a bunch of randomness

Wow!  Has it really been a week since my last post?  Time just seems to fly by here.  Also, I've been extremely busy and I haven't even had time to think about my blog, yet here I am =)

My last few days have been quite normal.  Over the weekend, I went to Insa-dong with two of my 7 AM students.  Insa-dong is a part of Seoul that houses the traditional shops, foods, people, etc...We had a great time together.  They met me at the institute so that I would have no problems getting to our destination.  I have to say it was quite nice of them.  Anyway, we got there and walk around for a bit.  Then we ate at a traditional Korean restaurant, and I enjoyed some authentic pimbimbap.  It is rice, vegetables, raw egg, and meat.  I obviously got mine without meat.  In Korean you say cogi ppego which means no meat.  It is brought to the table in a scorching hot bowl and the patron is suppose to stir it all together.  The bowl is so hot that it actually cooks the egg!  It was quite delicious and I was satisfied.  They were great company and asked a host of good questions about my family, America, me, movie stars, and just general things about English.  After dinner, we went to a little cafe for tea and treats made out of rice.  Overall, the whole experience was a pleasant one and I'm glad I went out with them.

On another note, my last few days have consisted with me trying to keep up with all the sports going on back home.  I quickly just want to give a shout out to the Huskies, Seahawks, and Storm!!  They all had a good weekend and I supremely enjoyed watching the Huskies romp Syracuse =)  Just made my Sunday.

So last week I had a Korean kid call me an interesting name...he called me Chocolate Teacher.  I think he likes pointing out that I'm a different color because he has been calling me that more frequently and even as recently as this afternoon haha...he's an interesting character so I let him slide.  

I'm starting to get frustrated and angry!  I have the most difficult time staying asleep and I haven't felt rested in weeks.  I go to sleep tired and wake up tired.  It's a vicious cycle.  I feel like a could simply fall asleep at any point during my day.  It's somewhat discouraging because I'm just so exhausted...so please pray for me.  I have my first vespers sermon this Friday night too so I'm trying to muster up the energy to finish that on top of what I'm already doing.

Until next time...

My Address!

This will be my mailing address;

Sanmaek plaza, #147 Dongsomun-dong-6ga, Seongbuk-gu
Seoul 136-036, Korea

If you feel inclined to mail packages, refer to this list for good things to mail:

• Deodorant  (old spice)
• Razors (shaving)
• Pop tarts
• Popcorn
• Stickers
• Candy
• Oatmeal

Those are just a few things.  Anyway, I will update soon about what has been happening this week.

Emperor's Palace, Interviews, and Great Italian Food

It has been a great weekend thus far.  Vespers and church went well and they are not anything like I was envisioning.  There were a few people that came to each, but that will not be the norm.  There will be maybe close to 20 or so on a regular basis.  Anyway, I can now rest a little easier knowing there is not as much pressure.  It helps that my director is a really cool pastor and quite easy to talk to.  It is making my transition to my new school a lot easier.

After having potluck with the students after church yesterday, I went out to tour the city with two other new teachers, Brian and Jonathan.  We went the Emperor's Palace!  It was blazing hot and we were pouring down sweat but we wanted to have fun so we continued on.  It was a very beautiful place.  We were even able to practice our Korean several times while we were there.  We would ask locals questions on how to get certain places or things like that...

The picture on the right is one of the many buildings at the palace.  That is Brian on the left and my other friend Jonathan on the right.











Also, before we even entered the palace I got lucky.  Some really cute Korean girl wanted to interview me for her English speaking program on tv =)  It is geared towards people who are learning English.  She says she routinely asks foreigners a question of the day.  Mine had to deal with how I like my eggs.  Then she asked me some other questions as well...here we are...

It was so HOT!  I was dripping sweat during the interview.  Anyway, she was really nice and her English was amazing.  Before she approached me I sneezed and I heard a bless you from like 20 feet away.  I looked around and she came up to me and started talking to me in superb English.  She was so nice that I figured I would help her out.  While I was doing the interview my friends were laughing. Who knows why but I was giving her some wild answers lol..




After our little excursion, we went searching for food.  In the midst of our journey, we stumbled across the US Embassy and like 10 huge police buses.  There were guards stationed everywhere too.  It was pretty cool to see.  I quickly snapped a photo of the American flag and we kept moving.  We eventually arrived at an Italian place to eat and it was delicious.  I had gnocci with marinara sauce and mozzarella ...yum!  After dining like kings we ventured to see what else we could do.  Eventually we landed in an upscale part of town where all the Gucci and Dolce & Gabanna stores were.  There were actually waiting lines to get into the stores.  It was kinda funny to see.  Only a limited number people were allowed to enter at a time.  Anyway, we stayed at the building and went to see a movie.  We went to our homes after that and I simply knocked out...

First Two Days of Teaching

Yes, I have finally started my teaching!  It has been an interesting two days.  My first class is a Level 2 Adult English class that begins at 7:00 AM.  I have approximately 18 students.  I was not expecting to have that many!  They are a good bunch though.  They were very nervous the first day, as was I, but they were definitely talking more by day two.  I have a religion class scheduled for 8 AM that I don't begin teaching until next Thursday.  My next two Level 2 classes are at 10 and 11 AM and they are considerably smaller.  Less than 7 students in each.  I have Yes I Can (YIC) 1 and 6 in the afternoon.  Yes I Can consists of junior students anywhere from ages 6-9 I think?  I'm not all that sure...

Anyway, my stomach has been in knots the first few days.  I haven't had much of an appetite due to nervousness.  I am no longer sick so I will blame it on the nervousness lol.  My co-teachers have been really accommodating and have been showing me tips and telling me new ways of doing things.  Our building is really nice.  We are located on the 3rd and 4th floor of a downtown building.  I really feel like a BIG TIME teacher because I have my OWN classroom.  Yeah, true story!  It gives me a sense of ownership and I definitely like that.  Well, time for me to go prepare for class but I will write more later about my duties and my housing arrangement.

Seongbuk Institute

So after much deliberation and many phone calls, I have finally been assigned my first placement.  It is my understanding that it is only 2 subway stops or so from the main institute where I am currently.  They tell me that it is a very new school.  Actually, it's been around for about two terms (4 months), so I'm going to continue helping the institute build it's reputation in the community.  It is a three teacher (missionaries) school which means I will have several opportunities to do vespers talks and sermons on sabbath.  It wasn't my dream to be speaking so much but we'll see what happens.  I'm just happy that I finally have a placement.  All the other missionaries received news of their placements tonight as well.  I head to my institute early tomorrow morning.  I will be picked up by the pastor there and then he will show me the nearest grocery store, bank, post office, etc...  MY MISSION IS NOW BEGINNING =)

Now...onto the cockroach.  A matter of fact, I just saw another huge one about 10 minutes ago!  My housemate Brian had to kill it.  It certainly was NOT about to be me lol...I made something likened to a screaming noise and he came jetting in from his room.  It was actually quite funny.  Anyway, this cockroach from the other day.  I was going into the bathroom and I flipped on the light and...I see something jet across the bathroom floor.  And I had already spotted cockroaches outside so I was immediately suspicious of whatever was in there.  So I picked up a slipper and chucked it in its direction, and out scurries a huge cockroach.  I mean that thing would have made a normal cockroach look puny.  I'm talking David and Goliath stuff here ;-)  Anyway, I just knew that I had to have a picture for a keepsake.  I closed the bathroom door so it wouldn't get out and ran to my room to grab my camera.  Enjoy the evidence!!

Yeah, that JUST happened!

I had more training this morning but it had nothing to do with teaching.  It was sermon preparation and vespers training day.  AHHHHH!  They were trying to equip us with as much advice and resources that could best help us prepare and do a good job.  They aren't suppose to be just regular talks or sermons.  They need to include english pronunciation practice, powerpoint presentations, and culturally relatable details and examples.  My first few sermons and talks will definitely require much research and preparation.  Prayers will be greatly appreciated.

That ended our training for the morning and we were off to do whatever the rest of the afternoon.  I walked about half a mile down to a basketball court near the river.  Three other guys from my orientation group came along as well.  Not long after we arrived there it began to rain.  And this was not like normal rain...oh NO!  It was quasi monsoon rain.  It-was-epic!!  We tried to wait it out but it just would not let up.  So we just said whatever and proceeded to play in the rain.  What a great decision that was.  I have not had fun like that in quite sometime.  We were all drenched from head to toe. It was extremely difficult to play because of the terrible conditions, but we couldn't stop laughing =)  Several Koreans were taking solace under some shelter right next to the court and they were looking at us like we were crazy.  I think they enjoyed watching us flail about in the pouring rain.  I would occasionally see them crack a smile or even chuckle.

It has been a very pleasant day.  We capped it off by attending vespers and then facilitating the afterglow program with the students.  It was our (new teachers) first time in a classroom with students.  I think we all did pretty good.  I was with my new buddy Jason and some other teachers.  Initially he led out and then I took over.  I was the leader of hangman!  The students and teachers were great participants and the whole experience turned out quite well.

Anyway, it is time for me to hit the hay.  I'd like to wake up at a reasonable time so that I'm not late for breakfast and/or sabbath school haha.  Side note...pictures will be showing up on the blog soon.  I've got a little story about a cockroach and there needs to be some visuals to help you understand.  Until then!!

FYI #1 - Interesting Discoveries

Being here in Korea has been a pleasant experience thus far, and as each day passes by I learn something new.  So far here is what I've gathered and/or learned.

In the United States, most of our foods are salty.  Right?  Right!  That is not the case here.  Things are more likely to be sweet.  Believe me, I've been shocked than on more than one occasion.  For instance, I have eaten both sweet Korean brand Cheetos and potato chips.  It was totally unexpected.  And as recently as this morning, I got egg and toast and a nearby toast shop and would you believe it, the egg had sweet corn in it...HAHA!  That was a little unusual but it turned out okay.  Spaghetti sauce is sweet.  Even pizza sauce is on the sweet side.  I don't even have to eat candy or have dessert most times =)

Now onto bathroom etiquette.  There is a new system that we are all currently adjusting to.  The pipe system is not very good here, and on account that there are so many people, things can easily get clogged.  So how do we combat this issue?  Well, we have a waste basket in each bathroom/stall which is used for discarded toilet paper.  GROSS RIGHT?!  It has taken some getting used to but I think we are all getting the hang of it.

Onto happier things...our training is complete for the day.  I'm about to venture to Costco with a group of the new teachers.  I'm excited to see what it is like over here.  I am still sick but I figure I'll just go out anyway.  I'm feeling slightly better by the way...

I hope you are all doing well!

Oh NO!!

So I'm sitting here on my bed listening to a little Michael Bublé on this rainy Korean evening.  It's soothing.   Quite appropriate after a long day of work.  


Today consisted of more adult and junior training.  I enjoy the training, because more than just seeing the trainers model it for us, or watching videos, WE as a class have to model our teaching for each other.  There is a lot of repetition to the practice but it's for the best.  It allows us to evaluate each other and work out the kinks.  We are a very easygoing and rambunctious bunch, which makes the whole process easier.  The training room and cafeteria were full of laughter today!  Ya'll know I love to laugh so it suits me perfectly =)


The current teachers here, the main institute in Seoul, have been very hospitable and helpful.  They are quick to answer any questions or give advice on how to do things.  I have done my best to deliberately interact with them and pick their brains as much as possible.  I'm trying to learn as much as I can even though I understand that the experiences of each teacher vary.  However, the way I see it is, the more I learn, the better off I will be.


Now for the reason of the title.  I've been here in Korea for what, a week?  Yeah...and guess what?!  I'm already sick!!  Yeah.  I started feeling that infamous little tickle in my throat Sunday night, and I was like "oh boy!"  It took a little longer than I was expecting, but the positive is that I can go through this now before teaching and greater responsibility begins.  I've been consuming my vitamin C twice a day, and have recently started taking my multivitamin, so we'll see how it all pans out.  All I can say is to continue to pray for me.  Lord knows I'll need it!


Until the next time...

Weekend Festivities

Sorry it took me so long to give an update.  Life has been busy around here and what a weekend it has been!  Let’s begin with Friday...I already mentioned that we went out with the All Day Club.  Friday night was business as usual and included vespers and afterglow.  The vespers is called Friday Night Fellowship (FNF) as to encourage the students to come continue to practicing their English while learning about God.  It’s a pretty nifty idea, and there were several students who attended.  

This program was a bit usual, but customary for the last FNF of the term.  The new teachers and current teachers were both present.  But what made it unique was the musical focus of it all.  Students and teachers were able to display their musical talents over the course of the 1 1/2 time we had together.  I must say that I am completely amazed how well the Koreans here can sing.  It totally blew me and the other new teachers away!!  After the conclusion of what was one of the most amazing vespers I’ve ever been a part of, I mingled with the current teachers and students.

Saturday had it’s own set of craziness.  Breakfast, sabbath school, clubs, church, lunch, nap/rest time, dinner, and some more free time.  Let me start with the explanation of clubs.  Clubs are kind of like attending sabbath school but with more emphasis on English.  There was a Breakfast Club, Conversation Club, Music Club, and Signs Club (which I joined).  Signs Club consisted of an article from Signs of the Times, which was then broken down.  We were able to study vocabulary and pronunciation all while reading the informative article.  We then had discussion questions to talk about what we read.  It was really fun working with the current teachers during the club and now I have a better idea of what to look forward to once I reach my institute.  Church was pretty interesting as well.  The Academic Dean, Leo, who I admire and now have a good working relationship with, was the preacher for the day.  Church alternated between English and Korean speech, and there was a translator there to translate into the other appropriate language.  It was indeed and interesting service to attend.  Surprisingly everything turned out ok =)  

I spent my afternoon napping and finally getting a hold of family and friends via Skype and Facebook.  It was nice to see my family’s faces and hear their voices.  Side note - for those of you who have yet to contact me, shame on you!  Anyway, after dinner I spent my Saturday night in because I didn’t want to over do it on the weekend.  Sunday was going to be a busy day and I was already preparing myself.  I had a good time cracking up at Happy Feet and eventually fell asleep pretty early.  

Sunday!  Today was the beginning of our adult teacher training.  We ran through most of the basics in our three hour morning session.  Everything seems very organized and understandable.  From what I’ve seen so far, it seems as if I will be able to adjust rather easily to the format, schedule, and even expectations.  Aaron is our trainer for the adult training and he did a great job explaining the nooks and crannies.  After lunch we had lunch which consisted of pizza (tasted like actual pizza), kim bap (seaweed+rice+vegetables), pineapple, and aloe juice (which everyone here has become so fond of).  

Today, we had an excursion planned for the afternoon/evening to go explore Seoul and see an Original Korean musical.  I can’t even begin to tell you which sections of Seoul we were in today namely because I can’t spell them lol...  The musical was called Miso and ran about 1 1/2 hours.  There were several drums, costumes, and spectator interaction.  I didn’t care for the show all that much and actually fell asleep for about 10 minutes of it.  All the walking and sun had drained me of my energy, so there!  That’s my  excuse haha.  Afterwards we walked over 15 blocks, in humid and sunny conditions mind you, to a Subway of all things.  It looked like a Subway.  Smelled like a Subway.  Even had sandwiches like Subway.  But in the end, it didn’t taste like Subway all that much.  Either way we were all satisfied to finally get some food and liquid in our starved and dehydrated bodies.  

Pictures to come later!  Goodnight for now =)