my schools!

here are the 2 schools that i'm working at:
sinchon elementary
and jocheon middle school
good luck navigating the sites... but there are pictures of the schools on there!
sinchon is the one that is beautiful and fancy... jocheon is not quite as nice, but still good. and i have to bring my own slippers there. i'm getting my own for both though, so it's ok.
anyways... there you go.
good stuff :)

work

so right now i'm in my school... sinchon elementary school, right outside of jeju-si. there are no students, and i actually don't have to be here right now, which is why i don't feel bad blogging. tomorrow is my first day at my other school, jocheon middle school, and i actually have to do a lesson! really all i have to do is introduce myself and play games, but it's still intimidating!
anyway... i haven't seen that school yet, but if it's half as nice as this one it's going to be great!
can i just say that i think there is a reason korea is rising so quickly in the world, and it's because of their education system. i've only been here for like 10 days, but it's already very evident that they put a lot into education. on top of the massive amount that is just put into bringing native english teachers here, they clearly place a high priority on keeping the schools up to date and nice. maybe it's just this one, but it is honestly the nicest elementary school i've ever been in. it's gorgeous. it actually looks like it would fit right in in colorado... lots of wood everywhere, but still really bright. and the classrooms are really modern and colorful. and i have a smartboard! i don't know how to use it, but i have it! it's just really nice. and all the people i've met so far have been great... my co-teacher, mi ri, is awesome. she's really young and fun, but really dedicated to the school and doing a good job. also... this is the coolest... i get to wear slippers all day! i had heard about that before i came, but i didn't know whether to believe it or not. but it's true! when you come in the school, you drop off your shoes and put on a pair of slippers. they're super comfy and awesome, and everyone has them! haha... it's awesome. plus then the school is way cleaner because people aren't tracking in all their crap from outside. really, koreans do some things so much better than we do in america.
anyway... i'm excited to get students. also a little nervous, but i think once i do just a couple days i'll be good to go. it's going to be hard work, but it'll be good :)
tonight i'm going to dinner (at an eel restaurant!) with all my coworkers... including the principal and vice principal. by "dinner" i mean we will eat and drink a lot of beer and soju. also apparently the wine and whiskey i gave the principal and vice principal. oh gosh.
**right after that stuff was written my co-teacher came to take me to meet the principal. cue the most awkward 5 minutes of my life**
right after we walked in and i gave him his gift (crown... keeping it classy.), mi ri (my co-teacher) left to get us all some water. my principal speaks no english. and i have no idea how much i'm supposed to try to talk to him because of the whole heirarchy thing. so we sat in awkward silence for a long time. but don't worry because when mi ri came back, he told her he thought i was "pretty and beautiful"(her translation) and he's excited to show off his gift at dinner tonight. whew! this should be interesting, considering my first day at the other school is tomorrow and i actually have to do stuff. eek!
anyway... i promise i'll put up pictures and stuff once i have my own internet. and the uganda post is done... i just haven't been able to upload the pictures to go with it.
but i should have it soon and there will be lots to come.
God is so good! He's reminding me more and more of that at every possible moment :)
i love and miss you all!
oh yea... and if you want my address my mom has it. or just ask me and i'll send it to you.

yay!

welp... i'm finally here! i moved into my apartment last night. it's tiny but i actually still have a lot of room. and i love it! it's right in the middle of jeju-si (jeju city), which is where i was hoping to get. AND i can see the beach from my window! and my friend who has been living here for 2 years lives in the same building! whoa! i'll talk more about it later (with pictures), but i don't have internet so right now i'm in an internet cafe.
but anyway... i'm here, i'm safe, and i start work on monday!
yay!
i just can't help but feel like this is exactly where i'm supposed to be... the way everything has worked out so far just shows me that God is right here with me. He is so good!

today i...

ate fish with scales and fins... and it was not bad!

ate a quail egg. it tasted like a regular egg... gross.

saw my first korean cockroach. that's gonna be a treat...

...

ok... we couldn't take any pictures of this, but here's a video of what i saw.

it. was. awesome.

fillers

haha... i promise the uganda blog is coming! i just haven't had time to finish it or upload pictures yet...

but here's what i have been doing:

yesterday we took our first korean language class. we learned the vowels (a, ya, eo, yeo, o, yo, eu, i), some consonants (and i can't remember any except l/r) some words, and greetings. the only ones i remember are annyeong ha se yo (hello... or, literally, "are you at peace?") and kam sam ni da (thank you). the class was fun, and we have a few more to just learn basic survival phrases and such. it should be good...

today was stinkin awesome! we went to a traditional korean folk village to learn about traditional stuff, and we got to watch a few performances of some drumming/dancing, a guy on a tightrope (who was seriously probably like 80 and it was awesome), and a traditional wedding ceremony. it was pretty neat, but the best part came after. we went up to this other place (with air conditioning! yay!) and first learned how to do a mask dance, then how to play some traditional drums, THEN we got to do the best part!

we went to this performance called breakout that was basically a funny play about some prisoners, but it was all B-BOY STYLE! for those of you old people who don't know what that means... it's pretty much just awesome dancing that has things like break dancing, popping and locking, krumping, and other cool things that i wish i could do. it was so awesome. seriously.

so now we are back with a short break before dinner, and then after dinner we're going to go to this sweet shopping district that is nearby (oh yea... we went there last night too). i don't have room in my luggage, but i might just have to buy some of the ridiculously cheap stuff they have there and just figure it out later.

anyway... that's what i've been up to! i have pictures of some of the stuff, but i'll put them up later.

ok love you all!

first impressions..

so i have a post about uganda that i started in the airport... but it's not done yet.

so here are my first impressions of korea so far:

it's hot. and humid. today we walked around the little area of seoul that we are in and i wanted to punch someone then go hug an air conditioner. i may be a little screwed living on jeju... but it's ok. i'll get used to it.

the people are really nice... i've mostly just been around other teachers and the EPIK staff, so i don't really have a real impression yet, but everyone so far has been pretty wonderful.

here's a funny story that happened today:

in our class we had to tell a little bit about ourselves, including our guilty pleasure (for those of you who were wondering, celebrity gossip and glee were said before it came to me, so i said pop music and told them i went to the backstreet boys concert... i don't feel guilty about it, but it works haha!) so anyway... one girl was like "i don't really have any guilty pleasures, but i have a guilty secret. can i share that?" when they said yes, she proceeded to say, "i secretly got married the night before i came here." HA! what?! who says that?! we all laughed, because it was funny. she was pretty serious though.

then the lady who is in charge of our class, a korean woman named yuna, was put on the spot to share hers. here it is (a little bit condensed): "ok, so i have a boyfriend. in korea, women my age... late 20s and early 30s... are supposed to find husbands. so my parents set me up on a blind date with this man with that in mind. and he's really nice. but he's about the same height as me, and i don't know how i feel about that." HAHA! that was her guilty pleasure. she's precious...

ok, so those are the things that have happened so far. i don't have any pictures... sorry. i'll take some when we start doing stuff, but right now there's really not a lot to see.

if you think about it, please pray for me to continue to stay healthy, to pick up on things quickly, and to trust that God is going to put me wherever i'm supposed to be (i have a preference, but i'm really trying to not get my hopes up about it because i know that there is a good chance i won't be there, and i want to have a positive attitude if i don't).

i love you and miss you all! i'll try and update soon!

a promise...

so... in approximately 8.5 hours i will be on a plane headed to los angeles, where i will get on another plane headed to korea, where i will be for at least one year.

and i have been so busy that i haven't even had time to think about that fact, and i have a feeling the reality is going to hit me about halfway over the pacific. it should be fun. that is why i can't even really write about how i'm feeling about it... because i haven't really thought about how i feel.

this busyness is also the reason i have yet to write about pretty much anything that has happened... most importantly: uganda.

so here is a promise: as soon as i am in korea and settled down, i will write about uganda. also my first impressions of korea. also anything i might have forgotten about at the moment that seems important to write about.

so do not worry... it is coming.

until then... please pray for safe travels to korea, and for me as i go through orientation and get settled in with almost no preparation or idea of what to expect.

i love you all, and i will get back to you from the other side of the world.

promise.

until then... here's a preview of my uganda post:

meet chubby baby :)