Kyongwha Girls' High School

This will be a short post, as I am sitting in what they call a PC Bang (bang means room) and I'm surrounded by teenage boys playing Starcraft and other ridiculous fighting online games.  I won't have internet in my apartment for at least a couple of weeks, so I guess I might as well get used to the background noise of shooting guns and teenage korean boys!  Onto the more exciting news...

I am officially going to be teaching at Kyongwha Girls' High School in Daegu.  The last two days have been overwhelming to say the least (I feel that's the theme of this trip - overhwelming.)  On Thursday I found out that I will be teaching at the girls' high school and my friend Holly will be teaching at one as well so that's reassuring! That night we had a huge celebration/farewell dinner and then most of us quickly packed and went and walked around town for the night! It was fun and a great ending to orientation - I'm sad it's over...mostly because they spoke my language!

Yesterday was....scary.  I dressed in my professional best although we had no idea what we would be doing after we got off the bus in Daegu. We were called up one by one in front of a ton of important looking people and we left with our co-teachers.  My main co-teacher is amaaaazing. Her English name is Amy and she's young and has spent time in the States and speaks wonderful English.  We get along well and she really helped me out.  After grabbing my 150+ lbs of luggage, we headed directly to the school (good thing I dressed up!) I met the head of the english department (who can't speak much english haha), the principal, the vice-principal, and was shown my desk.  They then took me to my apartment.  It's small but not bad at all (except for the contrasting wallpapers. bleh!) and it wasn't toooo dirty.  Apparently it's bad luck to clean a house before you move out, so I've heard some horror stories. I'll post pics of it soon.

After showing me how to work everything, Amy drove back and the English Dept Head and I walked back to school so I know the way.  It's about a 20 minute walk which will be good for me in the mornings!  It was fun to try to talk with him.  He showed me the "English Zone" where I'll be teaching, and it's really nice!  Then I hung out in the office, wrote a quick email to my family, talked (well attempted to) to some of the other teachers, and was asked which young  male korean teacher was more handsome! hahaha it was fun.  Then I had to a teachers meeting that was for ALL the teachers and guess who had to stand up and be introduced even though I had no idea what they were saying? yea, me.  I stood when they all looked at me, waved, and said hello.  They all laughed in a good way I think.

To round the day off, Amy took me to a close E-mart (kind of a small walmart) and we picked up a few things like cereal and milk and cleaning stuff to hold me over.  I spent the rest of the evening cleaning my apartment top to bottom and unpacking all of my stuff.  I think I have it all situated now and it should be just perfect for me!  I finished the evening with watching a funny movie on my laptop and eating a Korean version of a KitKat -- a Kicker.

All that to say, it's still overwhelming.  I'm more nervous now than ever.  It's hard to imagine myself being comfortable in this country to be honest.  I can't read signs, I stick out like a sore thumb, I don't even know where in Daegu my apartment is.  Even though yesterday went well, I'm still scared. I want to speak english to someone.  I know it'll get better - and it's not bad, it's just uncomfortable.  Anyway, I need to go so I don't have to pay much.  This turned into a longer post than anticipated.  But encouraging emails are much appreciated....I kinda need them.  I'll update soon!

orientation adventures. (and the upcoming adventures)

As of now, days have been filled with classes that have all been surprisingly helpful and full of useful resources for teaching and practical knowledge for living in Korea.  Monday we were able to take a day off from sitting on our bums all day in classroom chairs and instead spent most of our day on a bus that took us to Pohang, South Korea, which is about 2 hours from Busan, where orientation is being held.  

Adventure1: a Steel Factory!! (yes, what an adventure!)

We toured the POSCO Steel Factory which is the 3rd largest steel manufacturer in the world.  Impressive, yes, but why would we drive 2 hours to receive a bus tour that we could barely understand and get out for 5 minutes and see steel flattened into sheets (that part was actually really fascinating)? We don't know why.  Apparently because POSCO has played such a huge part in the advancement in Korea they wanted us to see.  Anyway, I was glad because it got us out of the classroom.

first furnace - and the only place we could take pictures at the factory.

the bus was decked out.

 After POSCO we had an amazing lunch at a place back in Busan - it was so delicious and we were able to walk around and see a different view of the city than Pukyong University (where orientation is being held)

Busan Bridge.

near the place we had lunch

Adventure 2: Jump!
Our second main adventure of the day was to see a performance called Jump! It was basically a martial arts comedy and was so impressive and entertaining!

the Jump! stage

Jump Promo Video

This is the promo for the show we saw - the quality isn't great but just imagine the fun! :]

Adventure 3: Exploring Busan and using what little Korean we know!

So after the delicious food at lunch, we didn't want to ruin our palates by eating cafeteria food for dinner, so we (me and 2 girls who I've been getting to know, Stephanie and Holly) ventured out for some Korean BBQ.  But first matters first, we went to get our nails done.  Now, I don't know how much experience you have with communicating with people who don't speak your language very well (or you there's practically at all!) but it is entertaining and a challenge to say the least.  The ladies laughed at our nails - I guess they were bad or something haha - but it was so fun and a good time! While the other girls were getting theirs done, I went for a short walk alone because I figure I should start small and gain confidence as I will be on my own from Friday on!

main street by Pukyong Uni at night

crazy parking garage!! the building goes straight up...how do they do these things?!

 With beautiful nails, we found a Korean BBQ place and ordered by pointing at a picture.  We had NO idea what to do and just tried to watch other people and ask the other group of foreigners in the restaurant.  Most of it was delicious and it was a good price!

Let me explain Korean BBQ (or at least the one we experienced).  They give you hot coals, a grate, raw seasoned meat and a TON of side dishes like sprouts, kimchi, large pieces of lettuce, random veggies, garlic cloves, etc.  You then cook your own meet right at your table and when it's done you either wrap it in the pieces of lettuce and eat it or order a bowl of rice and eat it with that instead.  It's absolutely delicious. New favorite for sure.  They also put like a scrambled egg mixture around the outside so you eat that too as it cooks. ingenious.  A side note about the food here - it's so fresh.  They say if you eat korean food all the time you will lose weight because it doesn't have preservatives normally and is just so fresh.  If only I wasn't sick of rice already. haha  Here are a few pics from our meal:

cooking the meat.

Stephanie (Left) and Holly (Right)

yummm!! I'm a master with metal chopsticks now too!

The last two days have been filled with classes yet again and preparing for our lesson demonstrations which are tomorrow.  For these we had to come up with a lesson plan for a certain topic/age group in teams and will present 15 min versions for our classes. woo.

Okay, I'm going to switch gears a bit now.  Tomorrow is a BIG day.  Tomorrow is the day I will find out what grade I will be teaching and meet our Provincial Office of Education (POE) bigwigs basically.  They will be the ones taking us to our areas on Friday and connecting us with our head co-teachers.  We're going to all be dressed in our business best - well as best as we can look with slacks etc. right out of suitcases.  It's starting to become real that I'm here for a year to teach.  These classes have been such a rollercoaster of emotions.  Half of the time the information freaks me out and makes me nervous for what is to come while the other half I'm thinking "yes. I can do this." I know I can, but it's scary.

So in conjunction with the thought of being scared, I've decided that this year is a year for God and I.  I want to grow in Him and learn to have to rely on Him and His strength.  I know I will feel lonely at times, especially in the next few weeks where Internet will be limited in my most difficult season of the year - but I want to learn to turn to God for the strength that I always want to provide for myself.  I've already had some wonderful interesting conversations with others here about God and I want them to keep coming.  I've also decided to view my time here as less of a "job" but as a service opportunity.  Teaching in Korea is my new Kidder. Just with electricity, less horses, more buildings, less English, no Auqaglide, less ants, and no Etna....okay, okay, it's very different from Kidder, but you get the concept.  I get excited when I think of this place in this way.

If you're inclined, here are a few specific prayer requests:

• Confidence as a teacher and my abilities, in my ability to live alone, and to attempt Korean
• Solid friends who have similar beliefs as I do
• A church I can get plugged into in Daegu
• A wonderful head coteacher who is extra helpful and I click with
• Calm and ease of nerves while attempting to trust God with this huge transition.

 Thanks friends. :] it means a lot.  I'm loving your comments, encouragements and updates on your life.  I'll try to do another one of these soon, as usual.

One who fears failure limits his activities.
Failure is only the opportunity to more
intelligently begin again.
Henry Ford

rice, seaweed, and kimchi.

well friends, I've been here for about 3 full days and it's been a whirlwind to say the least.  There are 400 EPIK teachers here at orientation, and I've been meeting people and attempting to remember their names non-stop.  I've met people from around the world and am absolutely loving it.

the view of Busan from our balcony

the shower/sink.bathroom! (sorry it's sideways...I'm having issues with that)

Yesterday was our first full day where I had a medical checkup in the morning.  By medical check up, I don't mean some little physical that took 5 seconds. No, it was an 8 station set up where they checked me for colorblindness, my hearing, my blood pressure, made me promise I had no diseases, my height and weight, my eyesight, drew blood (in a FREEZING room after we hadn't eaten or drank anything since 9pm the previous night), tuberculosis test, and urine sample.  Um, thorough? yes.

a normal BRIGHT store!

hello, Busan!

Umm, Starbucks, yes please! (I didn't get any, but I was excited!)

After that whole ordeal, I went out for a walk by myself off campus.  I had done that with a group the day before and decided I was brave enough to try it alone and just would stay very close to campus and get coffee or something.  It was fun and adventurous but after about 15 minutes I luckily met up with some others out for a walk and joined them.  We explored the area a bit, attempted to talk to Korean salespeople (entertaining), and just walked around.  Once you get over the initial shock of not being able to read most signs, walking around isn't that intimidating and I'm already getting more comfortable!

Then we had an orientation official welcoming ceremony with speakers and performances of dancers etc. and my favorite part was after dinner going out with a few newly found friends to find a waffle vendor.  Fresh waffles with ice cream? okay!  It was so fun! I talked to this guy Joe from Norfolk who has the brightest red hair ever and is hilarious.  I also have talked to a guy, Stephen O'Reilly from just outside Dublin, Ireland!  Ah, all of these other foreigners make me so happy, not to mention getting to know the Korean "class leaders"!

Today, after braving the shower once again, we began our actual classes.  Today I had Exploring Korea, About the Secondary Schooling in Korea, Co-Teaching, and Classroom Management.  All of the classes were surprisingly interesting and captivating and the lecturers were hilarious. They were frank and honest and just so refreshing.  Plus they give out snacks and juice like we're in elementary school. It's wonderful.  Tonight I had a Korean Survival Class (basic Korean we NEED to know) and I can now say: hello, thank you, my name is...., I'm from... and nice to meet you.  I know. I'm basically fluent.

Let's talk about food. Rice, seaweed, kimchi, spicy sauces, fermented this, fermented that, more seaweed soup, rice with pork, rice with seaweed, kimchi chopped up, mystery meat things, spicy squid legs, warm grape and orange juice, more rice, mini oranges, minimal veggies.  That's about been my selection. I'm trying everything and even the Korean class organizers say we're brave (or just stupid is what they mean) to eat the food here and they say it's waaay better out in restaurants.  But it's not bad at all and everything is an adventure!

Some of you may be thinking, okay this has been a play by play of her days...how is she feeling about all of this? 

Short answer: I'm SO glad I'm here.
Long answer:  I'm still terrified to teach.  I still am searching for a solid group of friends.  I've gotten to know a few solid Christian girls but I'm still desiring to get to know people I relate to well.  The food is quite an adventure every meal, and to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of most of it, but that's life (and maybe just because it's cafeteria food).  I'm loving the culture experiences so far and meeting people from literally around the world and it's still SO surreal that I'll be here a year and will get paid to teach.  But I'm glad. so glad.

Well, I'm still sick with a head cold and am trying to stay awake so I can actually sleep through the whole night tonight, but apparently 10:20 is my limit because I'm fading fast.  I'm sorry about the pictures being sideways, I'll work on that.

annyong hee gay saeyo! (goodbye!)

"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."
(St. Augustine)

hello, south korea!

I guess I should be saying "annyong haseyo south korea!"

so I'm currently sitting in my room in Busan, South Korea at the university that is hosting the EPIK Orientation.  I'm sharing it with another teacher, Michelle and we have a quaint little typical dorm room except the showers aren't so typical.  The shower is not really a shower - it's a showerhead on the wall above the sink.  I just attempted to shower and miraculously didn't get my towel wet - what a feat!  I'll post pictures as soon as I have the time.

As I'm sure you're all aware...traveling is exhausting.  Coupling normal exhaustion and jet lag with a stuffy nose and motion sickness, I have been through the wringer. After I tearfully said goodbye to my parents in San Francisco (and finding out my bags were perfectly 50 lbs each!), I waited for that plane no problem.  The problem was the bumpy flight and lack of Dramamine in my system. bleh.  LAX was quite an adventure though.  After being told the wrong terminal, I had to power walk to the right terminal, stand in 3 lines, and finally get on the plane. Korean Air was amazing. Wonderful service, great inflight movies etc, fairly comfortable seats, and I sat next to a sweet korean couple that spoke a little English.  I tried my first Korean meal Bibimbap or something like that which was good - even for airplane food!  I slept most of the way, and then into Seoul we landed!

Seoul was insane. Well for me at least.  I was told to get in one line which wasn't correct so I had to push my way out. Then through customs, then to get my bags which I could only find one.  After panicking for 20 minutes, a Korean Air rep helped me find it (thank goodness) and I had to get ALL of my luggage to another terminal and check in yet again.  I finally found a TON of EPIK teachers - I think there were about 40 on my flight from Seoul to Busan which was so fun!! It's kinda a hurry up and wait kinda deal here so we do that a lot which has given us plenty of time to talk to each other!

A lot of waiting and a 45 minute bus ride later and I'm here! We don't have anything scheduled for today (it's 3:30pm here) so we're going to go for a walk, eat another meal and go to bed!  I still feel kinda motion sick, but that's life.  Seeing characters everywhere is overwhelming to say the least.  But, I'm here! finally!  I'll update more later with pics and all that jazz.

see you later, USA.

This won't be long, as we're leaving our house in 2 hours for the airport!!

My flight is at 6pm from SFO (who sadly doesn't have free wireless) and then my adventure begins!!

My bags are packed to the max weight limit.  They're both 49.2 pounds...let's hope the airport scale is calibrated the same as our home one! I have books, snacks, ipod full of music, neck pillow, and Dramamine to make my 12 hour flight bearable. I've read about the culture, my job, what I should be bringing, etc over and over.  If I'm not ready now, I never will be. I'm ready to get this show on the road.

Thank you to everyone for your support, encouragement, and excitement for this grand adventure.  I can't wait to share with you all of my crazy/life changing experiences.  Sadly, I don't know when I'll have internet over there - it could be up to a few weeks!  However, I'll post something as soon as possible and keep journaling between now and then so you won't miss much.

I love you all and prayers for a safe flight, easy transition, and quality friends are greatly appreciated!!

Talk to you in Korea!!!

just for my mom and her love of John Denver:
"So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane
Don't know when I'll be back again"

(however, I do know I'll be back next March, so don't you worry)

one week.

In exactly one week from this moment, I will be flying over the Pacific Ocean on my way to Busan, South Korean. Can I just say how ridiculously surreal this whole adventure is?  I feel that I will still feel that way even when I'm over there - until work starts I'm sure.

Now for the million dollar question that everyone is thinking: am I ready??

Short answer: yes. (and no.)

Long answer: Preparation wise, I'm ready. I've bought all of the recommended items (a years supply of deodorant as it's not as available over there, all the medication I might think I'll need, shampoo and conditioner to last awhile, warm jackets, vacuum seal bags for travel, and plug converters to name a few). I went to San Francisco on Monday with my mom and picked up my E-2 Visa that will allow me to live without fear of being deported in Korea.

Outside the Korean Consulate after getting my Visa!

I have begun packing.

What I want to pack...I need to downsize.

Think it'll all fit in this?

as always, there's a however. while I have all the necessary things done, I still have so much to do.  I mean, how do you pack for a year in two suitcases??  How do I know what to pack, what to leave behind, what I can buy while over there, and what I can't and should definitely pack from here? How do you say goodbye for a year to people you love and care about? If you know the answers to those questions please let me know - because I am at a loss. 

Blanketing all of this questioning, overwhelmed feelings, and anxiety is an overpowering excitement.  I'm so ready to go.  I'm ready for preparations to be over and to go.  I want culture shock and weird showers and korean food and a language barrier and adventures.

I'm still working on this trusting God for everything - for safety for myself in korea, for my family here, for Him to provide solid friends, for everything to fit in my bags, for a political calm in between the Koreas, etc.  I keep going back to this quote:

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God" - Corrie Ten Boom

I know He will provide in the next year.  Provide strength, comfort, love, reassurance, courage, determination, and so much more. 

7days. it's flying by.

Holy Moly, I'm actually going.

so, yesterday was a big deal.

I mailed my most prized possession at this point off in the ever so unreliable Post Office yesterday.  In case you are confused, I'm talking about my passport.  I sent it to the Korean Consulate in San Francisco to hopefully be granted an E-2 VISA in a very timely manner. (here's hoping).

I then proceeded to shell out $820 for a one way ticket to orientation in Busan (or Pusan, same thing), South Korea.  My flight will leave from San Francisco at 6:10pm Tuesday, February 15th. Which is currently less than 3 weeks away. Goodness gracious.

Realizing this is probably redundant, I will say it again anyway: I can't believe I'm moving to South Korea. Just thinking about it brings up giddiness followed by fear followed by adrenaline followed by sadness followed by giddiness again.  Basically my emotions never cease to confuse me.  People ask me how I feel about it and it's so hard to explain!  This process has been sooo long and tedious I feel that just going will be an achievement in itself. 

I don't know if any of you know what all I have been doing to get to this point, but I'll share the short version:
1. Pre-Application just to see if I qualified
2.Apply for FBI Criminal Record Check (fingerprints etc.) back in early Sept
3. Online application (essay, acquire 2 letters of rec, 15 pg application questions, sealed transcripts)
4. 45 minute nerve-racking phone interview with EPIK interviewer in South Korea
5. wait. wait. wait.
6. Passed the interview, now keep waiting for FBI CRC.
7. Get FBI CRC, take it to Sacramento to get it apostilled (internationally recognized version of notarizing, but docs must be notarized first. dumb.)
8. Send in all paper documents.
9. Wait and wait some more.
10. Find out my top 4 city choices had no more teaching positions available - thought I wasn't going (early December)
11. Position found in Daegu! (early Jan)
12. Contract finally arrived late Jan - apply for E-2 Visa, do Tax Residency Form, buy plane ticket, figure out how to pack for a year in 2 suitcases in 4 weeks, see as many people as possible.
13. Finished TESOL course back in December and am still waiting on certificate. great.

I'm glad the tedious, time sensitive agenda items are almost done - now if only I can get my Visa in a timely matter I think I'll be good.  After looking back at all I've been working through the past couple of months to get to this point, I'm even more excited.  I can't wait to explore and meet people and have culture shock and an apartment and find a Christian Korean Church and adventure and hike and experience life in Korea.  I can't wait to try crazy food and not understand the signs and maneuver the subway and meet people from around the world.

I. Can't. Wait.

Luckily, I only have 19 days to wait. I guess I can do that.