Second, I’ve had to learn about responsibility. I’m not only a teacher here, but an IWE leader. Since I’ve been placed to help lead the Welcome team and give some direction to them, I’ve realized that I have to watch myself and how I present myself to others. I need to be ready to lead and be Christ-like to any one who walks or wanders into our doors. In a way, and I’m not trying to boast, my job at church is one of the most important jobs when it comes to volunteering. I’m basically acting as IWE’s face when new people come. Not only do I send out the emails, but also I’ve been calling the people who have been attending two or more times just to say “hey.” But I’m starting to find out that by calling people and talking to them I’m making some kind of impact on them. Honestly, I don’t know exactly what I do to them, but whatever it is it’s the Holy Spirit at work in it. It’s definitely a blessing for me and such a awesome thing to see God work in other people’s lives.

Third, I’m starting to find out that I’m becoming closer to my family back home. I guess when you’re away for some time even the people you normally don’t talk to start to miss you. I can’t tell how long I’ve spent on the phone with my brothers. They are definitely interested in what I’m doing over here. I’ve also spent several hours talking to my grandma and my parents back home. My grandma told me if anything bad happens to me here, she’ll buy my airplane ticket so I can come home. It kinda makes me giggle, but I know she means it and I’m thankful that she cares. I just wish I could be at my grandma’s house right now so she isn’t so lonely.

Being here has definitely changed my perspective on things. You don’t want to take any opportunity for making friends here for granted. You never know when you’ll need people to help you. Already the John family (the Pakistani family I spend my weekends with) seems to have taken me under their wing. I’m really blessed and honored to know them and spend time with them. They’re such a wonderful family! This winter they’ve invited me to go to Pakistan with them for a family wedding. I’m not sure if I want to go yet because I kind of want to go to Japan, but it’s definitely something I’m considering. It would be wonderful to see Pakistan though. I can tell you that Pakistani food is amazing! I asked them if there would be any problems with me going since I’m an American, but they told me that since I don’t act like an American or walk like an American it wouldn’t be too difficult to hide the fact that I am one; I would just have to wear Pakistani traditional clothing. It sounds fun, but I do want to go to Japan. We’ll see.

It’s already starting to cool down here. I think it was 27 degrees outside last time I checked (that’s Celsius for you). This weekend I’m visiting my friend Jin in Seoul. This guy has really been a good friend to me. I met him at a time when I was really looking for some Korean friends, so his friendship means a lot to me. I really want to improve my Korean just so he doesn’t have to speak so much English (English is really tough for Koreans to speak). I don’t know what we’ll do, but I know it will be fun.

So, yeah, that’s just some of the things that I’ve been going through and thinking about lately. Perhaps my blog is becoming a little too personal, but I just really want to share what’s going here with me as much as possible for you guys back home. I know you can’t be here with me, but maybe offering some glimpses into my Korean life here will be a blessing to you. I know you guys are praying for me and I am humbly honored. I love you all very much!

Perhaps I’m just being too hard on myself. I know that in the past I’ve been noted for being an over achiever when it comes to doing things for the first time. Basically, my instincts from being the oldest child kick in and tell me, “You don’t know what you’re doing, so work your butt off and make everyone happy and pleased with you so you don’t get in trouble.” Sometimes it’s a good thing, but other times it isn’t. My biggest problem here is being stubborn and prideful. Not trying to accept people’s help and trying to do things on my own. It’s not physically possible for me to live with that mind set. Not only is it a spiritual issue, but also being a foreigner doesn’t allow me to operate under those beliefs as easily as I would like them to. I need other people to help me. I can’t speak the language yet and I don’t understand how to get around fully either.

Slowly, this is evaporating from me. But it’s still evident.

I’ve started learning the language. I can read the alphabet. It’s pretty easy. Actually, Korean is a little more advanced I think than Chinese and Japanese, especially when it comes to writing. I mean the alphabet has these constanants: ㄱ,ㄴ,ㄷ,ㄹ,ㅁ,ㅂ,ㅅ,ㅇ,ㅋ,ㅌ,ㅊ,ㅈ,ㅎ,ㅍ, and these vowels: ㅓ,ㅕ,ㅏ,ㅑ,ㅗ,ㅛ,ㅜ,ㅠ,ㅡ,ㅣ. So, I can write words like 영, 한, 서 울, 인천, 가삼함니 다, 우 유, 용현동, 동 인 천, 아이, 이, 미 국, 한 국 and a few others. So, it’s getting better. It’s just taking time.

 Anyways, I would spend more time writing, but my time here at the PC 박 is almost up.

 Peace.

Anyways, in order for the Israelites to be saved from this final plague, they had to take a lamb and let it live with them for 2 weeks. At the end of the 2 weeks they had to slaughter it. Hold on, they had to kill it! That had to be difficult. That’s like taking your pet or an animal and letting it live with you for two weeks and then killing it.

Just imagine for a moment. Let’s say it a dog. You adopt this dog. You nuture it, feed it, take care of it, but more importantly you love it. Now, after two weeks you’re told to kill it and then eat it in haste. You don’t even have time to think or mourn about it. You just have to do it.

In some ways, I feel like I’ve sacrificed something in the past couple of months. I feel like I’ve sacrificed my American life for another one. No matter how hard I try not to think about it I’m a foreigner here. I didn’t have a lot of time to think about leaving when it came down to it, it was either you want the job or not. I’ll admit there are times at night where I can’t sleep. Sometimes I wonder if I feel homesick. So far, I haven’t felt homesickness yet, but I’ve definitely feel as if things aren’t the same for me.

Last Sunday, one of the pastors at church asked me if I was willing to lead the Welcome Team at IWE (International Worship in English). He told me that right now the only people on it are Koreans, but they want to have more foreigners on the team. He said that I would have to meet people, send out emails to newcomers, probably call people, and do some other stuff. I told him that I would pray about it and see if this is what God wants me to do. Already I’m involved in VBS with the kids as a game leader, and I help check the spelling and format of the bulletin and songs that are posted on the screen for worship on Sunday mornings, so I don’t know if taking on another responsibility is a good thing for me. It means that I would have to devote my weekday mornings to sending out emails and calling people. I just need some prayer about it.

Also, work has become more difficult. Though the work isn’t that hard, the social dynamics are becoming frustrating. When something goes wrong, they think that I did something. It’s really annoying. Sometimes, they ask me why I haven’t been doing something, when I just reply, “Because nobody told me that I was supposed to do it.” It really makes me feel incompetenent at my job. Lately, I’ve been going up to the roof at work or locking myself in a bathroom stall and just pray to God about it. I just get so frustrated about these things! I’ve even found myself judging them unfairly about it. And that’s not something I should do.

I really just want to be around church and the people I’ve met so far. However, everybody that I enjoy spending time with lives in Seoul, which is about 1 hour and 30 minutes away by bus and train. Though they only live 30 miles away, it just takes so long to get to them because of the way the cities of Incheon, Seoul, Bucheon are layed out. But, I know that God has something for me here in Incheon, even though there aren’t many Koreans who speak English and foreigners around here to keep me company.

Though this update is pretty brief, I’ll try to update it more often. My blogging skills aren’t that great, so I hope you can bear with the awkward transitions.

Peace.

 This past weekend I spent Saturday and Sunday night at my friend Gulraiz John’s house with his family. It was cool. I learned a lot about his country, Pakastan, and his culture. It was just really awesome to get to know people from another country, especially when they are brethen in Christ.

Sunday was really cool! I spent most of my day at church (I’ve spent lots of Sundays at church since I’ve been here), and met more people. The message was really convicting, and made me think about how things have been for me since I’ve came to Korea. God has really shown me things in my life that I’m ashamed of, things that I didn’t know I could do, things I didn’t even know I was capable of doing. One thing He has definitely showed me is how to just trust Him and not to rely on myself. This has been the most difficult thing to do. I always want to be in control. However, since I’ve been here, I haven’t been in control of anything. So trusting Him is a must. I really have no choice.

Sunday night, I met this guy named Tom (it’s his English name, lots of Koreans have English names because their Korean names are hard to pronounce) and his wife. Apparently, the company he works for told him last week that he has to go to Europe in September. His problem is that his English isn’t very good. So, he asked me if I would teach him English in a month and a half. I freaked! I thought that there would be no way I could do this! Not only that, but also he was willing to pay me anywhere between $50 and $90 an hour. I was flattered and nervous. Not only would this guy pay me, but also he wanted an intensive course. Well, I wasn’t sure what to do. The first thing I did was pray. Then I reduced the amount because he is a believer to $30 an hour. So, I took the job. Even though it’s illegal to teach private English lessons in Korea without notifying the government, lots of Koreans and English speaking foreigners do it apparently. So, I teach him on Wednesday nights and Saturday afternoons. It’s hard. Last night after work, I came to his apartment (which is the largest home I’ve been in since I’ve been living in Korea) and helped him for an hour. It was hard, but I believe God will provide and give me the necessary tools and knowledge to help him.

On Tuesday, there were some problems. I thought I was going to lose my job. Evidently, because Immigration took my passport in order to register me, my boss was given a receipt. Well, I was told that I was the one who should have the receipt just in case a cop or someone asks for my passport I can show them the proof. Well, I asked him several times on Monday about it. Well, evidently, in Korea if you ask too many questions people think you don’t trust them. That’s exactly what my boss thought. When he sat me down with the head teacher he told me that he knew that other hagwons treat their foreign employees miserably (partly because foreign teachers will sometimes leave in the middle of their contract, so many hagwon principals will hold your passport from you), but he didn’t want to be like them. It took me a while to figure out what he meant, but then when I explained what I was thinking and that I did trust him, he soon figured out that there was just a misunderstanding due to cultural differences. I just wanted to know if I really needed my passport receipt and nothing more. But it scared the crap out of me big time!

 So, yeah, this week has been weird and strange. But, I wouldn’t change it for anything less or more. God has blessed me so much! I just feel unworthy to receive His blessings or faithfulness because I lack so often. Because Korea, and Asia in general, is a communal based society, people trust each other heavily and share food, their homes, and goods liberally. The fact that men in Korea will walk down the street holding each others hands and no one thinks about it because it isn’t gay is definitely a testament to how people care for one another. I just wished I could be more loving like that sometimes.

Peace.

Usually though, everyday I show up to work around 2:30 pm. I usually just sit around and talk to kids, coworkers, or just read a book until something happens. Around 3:10 pm my first class starts. My first class is usually kids who know little to some English. Most of the time, they can’t carry a sentence or say a few words correctly. My job, is to just expose them and get them to start speaking English. However, it’s freaking hard! You would think that these kids would be some stereotypical, obedient Asian kids who listen intently to their teachers words, but no. Most of the time, they’re talking, hitting each other, throwing things at one another, and the only way to get their attention is to either not talk or make threats. Although I’m a little sensitive to do it, I’ve been told that I’m allowed to whack them on the head or yell at them in their faces. However, I just don’t feel up to it yet.

After my first class, I start getting students who are still beginnners, but know more English. Their English level is at least around the level of speaking phrases and some words, but sometimes it’s like pulling teeth to get them to talk. Some of them just stare at you or talk to their friends. But usually it’s not too bad.

Around 4 or 5pm I usually eat dinner. This is usually a ramen meal. Sometimes I’ll eat some take out, but I’m too poor to afford take out often. My dinners are usually around an hour or more. Most of the time I just go and talk to kids.

After dinner, the middle schoolers show up. These kids usually can speak English in sentences or broken phrases. Some of them should be in the elementary level, but parents get really pissed if their kids are considered dumb. These kids are usually a little more fun to pull pranks on since they can understand you more, but they sometimes just stare at you too. Around 9 or 10 pm, I’m usually finished for the day. It’s not too hard of a job, just a tiring from dealing with kids. But, I love it!

Speaking of staring, this is probably the most difficult thing to experience as a foreigner. Even though I’m from another country, I’m also another race. So, usually everywhere I go Koreans will stare at me, especially around here since foreigners aren’t as common. For example, yesterday I was at a McDonald’s and this kid kept staring at me the entire time I was there. If I looked at him he would just look away, but I knew he was watching me. I guess it just really makes me realize how much I need to watch what I wear, say, and do. Not only because I’m different here, but more importantly because I’m a follower of Christ. If I want anyone to remember me here I want them to remember Christ in me. Even if I leave this place with nothing else, just leaving knowing that would make me thrilled.

I told them my problem.

Honestly, I wasn’t planning on expecting much, just some advice. However, I got lots of help. God was merciful to me. I just don’t know how to explain it. They gave me some food, gimbap. It’s like some version of sushi. It isn’t bad, but it was filling.

During the service, I just kept praying that God would deliever me from this mess. I’m so tired of being in these types of situations. When it came time for the offering I prayed that God would take what was his from me. I only had about 5,000 won on me. I gave it all. I wasn’t sure if I could make it. I had NO money. Yeah, I had debit cards and some spare change, but it wouldn’t be enough to make it. I just prayed that God would provide. And that was it. After I gave it, I just had this immense feeling of peace come over me.

I don’t really know how to explain this, but I was humbled.

After the service, which I really needed, I went with the pastor to a US military base. We took his motorcycle, but had to park outside the base. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. Evidently, all the ATMs on the base act like ATMs in the US. So, if you make a withdraw, it’s as if you’re withdrawing money in the US. It was pretty sweet. I took about 100,000 won. Then we went to some cafeteria that serves pretty much anything you can get in the US, including my favorite soft drink: Dr. Pepper (they don’t serve it in Korea… very sad). I got some Taco Bell, and we talk about some stuff. I told him a bit about my situation. What was awesome though, was that he has been preaching about 1 Cor chapters 3 and 4 since I’ve been here. What providence God has!

Ever since I’ve been in Korea, I’ve been asking God, “why am I really here?” I know it’s to teach English, to gain experience as a teacher and a student, but why? I realized something about myself today: I’m full of pride. It was pride that kept me from calling people here for help. It was pride that kept me walking towards Incheon alone. It was pride all the time. Pride in my life. I just keep thinking about myself. I don’t really consider God, not in the full sense. I’m always on the look out for me. I just never took the time to realize it. I just kept believing that pride was an issue that other people I knew struggled with, and that my struggles were more intimate, more personal, and that no one would really understand. I was just different. WRONG!

I stayed at church for the 3 pm service. It was during the song “Jesus Messiah” that I just began to break apart completely. I was overwhelmed my God’s grace and presence in my life and in the world around me. He truly is Lord of all!

Now, I’m off to bed.

Peace.

Around 1p yesterday, I decided I wanted to visit Itaewon in Seoul. It’s a city/suburb of Seoul where lots of foreigners hang out. It was kinda cool. I met a Korean. His name is Jin Hyeok. He helped me find my way through the maze of subway lines to Itaewon. The thing about the subways and train lines in the Seoul-Incheon-Suwon area is that they zig-zag all over the place and it takes longer to get from point A to point B. For example, Incheon is only 25 miles away from Seoul, but it takes a little over an hour to get from Incheon to Seoul by bus, train, and car. So, it sucks.

When I got to Itaewon I wasn’t really impressed. Evidently, lots of foreigners were there too hanging out too, but they were all kind of rude. Plus, the Koreans knew more English, so they would try to sell you things which was really annoying. So, I left.

When I got to Yongsan, it was about 6pm. So, I decided to watch Harry Potter 6. Yes, I’m a Harry Potter fan, so you can go eat it. But, because it was in IMAX and it was 3D, I had to wait until 9 pm to see it. The only problem was that the train system would be closed for the night by the time the movie was over. So I thought, “why not? I need a little night time adventure. It will be fun!” At least, I thought it would be.

Well, right before the movie started, I decided to get some popcorn and a drink. It wasn’t bad until they told me my card wasn’t working. “OK,” I thought, “I’ll just use some cash. Maybe it’s just their system.” So, after the movie was over, I left Yongsan Station, which is also a mall and movie theatre, and went outside. I thought I would just find some place to stay around Yongsan.

Well, I would have except when I started looking around on the streets, I kept noticing these half naked girls hanging out in these windows, and men walking up and paying them some money. Then some woman came up and asked me if I wanted sex with some sexy woman. I definitely turned her down. Although, I was really tempted. I won’t go into detail of what I thought, but I knew I would destroy my body, God’s temple, and hurt me greatly. I just didn’t want it. It took a lot to not think about it.

When I got away from that mess, I found an ATM. I tried using my card, but it wouldn’t take. So, I tried calling my parents. Even though it was 1 am, I knew it would be about 12 pm on Saturday. However, my phone service was canceled or something weird like that. “Great,” I thought, “this night is going to get really interesting.” So, I started walking home. Or, at least, I tried. I got about 1/4 of the way home when I realized that I would never make it. That my best bet would be to go to church and see if anyone there could help me out. As much as I wanted to get home, I needed some help. But more importantly, I needed God’s help… desperately.

I don’t know how I can explain this, but I’m so broken right now. I’ve been trying all night long to be positive and pray and think of other things. But, I don’t think I can any more. I don’t know why I’m really here. I know God called me here to teach, but for what?! WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO GET FROM THIS! I’m so pissed right now! I want to go home! Back to the US! Back to my life! I was comfortable there! I was fine!

WHY AM I REALLY HERE?!

I’m so tired and sore right now. I’m about to cry. I won’t, but I can’t speak the freakin language, I don’t know many people around here, and I’m desperate. I’ll be another 3 hours before church starts. It’s the traditional service, but I don’t care. I need God. I need His help! Honestly, I feel alone. For the first time since I’ve been here I actually feel alone.

Please pray for me. I can only trust God right now. I know that no matter what happens He will be good to me.

On Wednesday, I visited one of my friends Pam. She’s the woman who recruited me. Anyways, I gave her a call on a payphone. It wasn’t too bad, except I kept running out of money. We decided to meet each other at Yeongsan. However, I had no idea how to get there. So, I took a taxi to Dongincheon Station.  From Dongincheon, I took the train which cost about 1,500 won, or $1.50.  It was about 45 mins to Yeongsan, which is in Seoul. Prior to this, I have never been to Seoul. When I got there I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many people running around to transfer. It was crazy! I ended up waiting for her for about another 45 mins. When we finally met up she seemed a little pissed because I didn’t call her even though I followed her directions to meet her at the platform. Evidently, there was a miscommunication between us.

Anyways, we decided to go back to her place for some food.  It was about 8pm.  So, we took a train to Seoul Station, got off and took a bus to Goyang City which is about 45 mins. north of Seoul and 30 mins south of the DMZ. When we arrived in Seoul, I was overwhelmed! The city is HUGE! It’s even bigger than New York City! And cleaner too! Compared to Incheon it is cleaner.

Evidently, Incheon is an underdeveloped city that is going through remodeling. And I live in one of the more underdeveloped parts called YeoungHyun5Dong, or to pronounce it, “Young-Hewn-Oh-Dong” in English.

Well, back to my story; I was really taken away by it. Not to mention that from Seoul to Incheon it’s all city as well.

Apparently, the Seoul Metropolitan Area is the second largest in the world. The fact that it takes 2 hours by train to get from one end to the other should testify to that too.

Anyways, we got to Goyang City about 9 pm; met up with some friends of hers that were some what drunk.

If there’s one thing everyone should know about Koreans is that they drink like the Irish. Ironically, Korea and Ireland are both divided countries, even though that’s not really relevant to that fact, but it’s interesting to note.

Well, both of her friends wanted me to drink. So I had some beer and soh-ju (spelling?). But, they kept trying to get me to drink.  However, even though they were drunk, I wasn’t. Apparently, I can hold my alcohol better than I thought I could.

So, about 12 am, I decided that I needed to head back to Incheon. Well, that was my plan, until they told me that the trains stop running at midnight. So, I was stranded in some city about 2 hours by bus and train from my home. I wasn’t thrilled needless to say.  However, Pam let me stay at her place until her boss’ son came back at 5 am. Which was cool with me. So, we went up to the roof of her apartment building and drank some more and talked. Then I went to bed sometime around 1 am. When I woke up at 5 am, she took me to the bus stop and told me what bus to take. When I got back to my apartment it was about 8 am.

When I woke up at 11 am, some people that I met came by and wanted to take me to there church. Now, for the past couple of days I thought that this church was a Christian church. Well, it is, but not really. They believe in something called God the Mother. It’s really weird. The hard thing is trying to tell them that I don’t believe in that stuff. But, they don’t like it when I try to tell them my thoughts or try to explain what I believe. They just treat me like I don’t know the Bible and that any faith I have isn’t true. It’s really frustrating.

Anyways, later that night I decided to do some shopping. So I went to Dongincheon. Around Dongincheon there’s the underground shopping arcade and the Shinpo Market. Both places are really big! However, when I went to get some cash, I couldn’t get any. Though I told my bank that I would be overseas, my cards weren’t working! I was pissed! Fortunately, I could get stuff when I made purchases with my cards; however, I couldn’t get cash. 

In Korea, about 75% of the places only accept cash, especially local restaurants, buses, and trains. It sucks if you just have cards.

When I got back to my apartment, I was really tired.

Today, Friday, I woke up later than usuall. One of the guys that has been trying to convert me came by and got me, so it was tough trying to get away. When I finally got to a bank it was closed. Strangely, I wasn’t freaking out. Somehow I knew God would get me through this.

Sure enough, He did!

One of the teachers at my school let me borrow 100,000 won, which is about $100. I was so grateful! God was very gracious to me! I can’t describe how I felt. 

So, yeah, I tried to make this post short, but I don’t think I succeeded. Well, just keep praying for me. I’ll try to update soon.

Peace.

I haven’t started work yet. They have to make some schedule changes, so I’ll probably start sometime next week. It isn’t too bad. It just means that I get to explore for sometime.

Living in another country is strange. Stranger than visiting a country. While Europe was fun and exciting, I didn’t have to worry about not seeing other people again. I see the same people everyday… so far anyways.  Where I’m living in Incheon is an older neighborhood. So it hasn’t seen any remodeling in the past 20 to 30 years. Which is cool in a way because everything is local and untouched by modernization. However, there aren’t any foreigners around here to talk to either. It’s also different than what I’m used to. In the mornings, Koreans usually go to work, school, or they just walk around looking at stuff, especially the old people.  There are stores open in the day, and a few restaurants; but at night, that’s when all the bars, clubs, and most of the restaurants open up. Traffic is strange around here too. There aren’t many stop signs or stop lights, so Koreans usually just either go around cars that are in their way, or blow their horns at them. If you’re walking around on the streets, you either get out of the way of a car or you just wait for cars to stop coming. Common sense is pretty important here. I feel as if in America everything is designed for handicap people. Here it’s just move or get run over.

The other day, my boss was taking me to the school. Well, the school is on the 6th floor of some office building. So, to park there you have to take a little tunnel that goes under the building, which is pretty cool. However, someone was parked awkwardly up on the top, so my boss (Mr. Woo) made his way around it. But, as we were going down to the underground parking lot, a woman came driving up toward us and it’s only one lane. So, Mr Woo told her that he couldn’t back out because there was a car in the way and it would make it difficult, and he asked her if she would back down so he could get in. But this woman decided to argue.

I’ve never seen Koreans get mad before. It was interesting.

All I saw was Mr Woo get out of his car and walk down to the underground parking lot and yelled at this woman. The next thing I knew there was this old man that came up got into the car I was in and moved it out. He then moved her car. When I saw Mr Woo and this woman they were in each others faces yelling. Mr Woo then spit on this woman’s windshield. Honestly, it was quite funny. The old man just seemed to not care. It was just yelling and spitting. Later, Mr Woo apologized to me, and told me that this woman has always been rude and mean, and that he just had enough.

So, that was one of my big experiences on Monday. I met the people I’ll be working with. They’re all cool. I’m only working with one American, but the rest of the people I work with speak English too, except the math and science teachers.

I’ve been invited to several churches. There are lots of churches around here. And what’s funny is that all the crosses have neon lights around them that light up at night. Some of the churches are a bit heretical, but most of them aren’t. The biggest Protestant denomination here is Presbyterianism, primarily the orthodox version.  I don’t mind that though, most of them have English services too. It looks like the churches I’ve been invited to are in Seoul. So, it’ll probably take me an hour and 20 minutes to get to Seoul via bus and subway on Sunday.

Overall, everything is pretty convienent here. I do get lots of strange looks. Mostly because I’m white and I have blue eyes, but also because I’m a foreigner. Being an American can be a good thing or a bad thing. It’s good if you’re around older Koreans. If you’re around younger Koreans, not so much. Younger Koreans will either love you or hate you. If they hate you it’s because they think you just want to get drunk and act stupid. Evidently, a lot of American soldiers tend to get bored in Korea because they don’t know the language, so they go out and get drunk when they’re not on duty, and that’s not cool. Some of the American English teachers do the same too. But what’s funny is that Koreans drink like there’s no tomorrow. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen drunk Koreans on the street who want to fight. Oh well.

Well, that’s the update right now. I’m living in my apartment now. Just trying to find food is difficult. But things are turning out OK.

Peace.

Anyways, while I was waiting on my flight,  I met this Korean-American family traveling from Cooperstown, NY to Seoul. God was definitely watching out for me! Not only were they fellow New Yorkers who actually KNEW where my hometown in New York is, but also they were believers! It was an awesome meeting! They introduced me to a church here in Korea (it’s in Seoul, the downtown area, about 1 hour from where I live). I was so blessed to meet this family! God is awesome!

The flight was LONG! I spent half a day flying in a plane! It was even longer than my flight to Europe. But the food and the service was amazing! It was better than the American and European airliners, and it was cleaner too! It was on the plane I had my first taste of Korean food. Korean food is very spicy! So, if you like spicy stuff, Korea is the place for you. It made Mexican spices look like crap! When I got here it was raining, which, evidently, Koreans believe that if you move anywhere when it is raining that is a good thing. It means you’ll be wealthy. I hope so!

Anyways, the owner of the school picked me up. He’s a really cool guy. Very laid-back and relaxed. I feel very honored to be teaching in his school. When my flight landed it was 3 am Monday morning; so, he took me to my apartment. It’s a brand new place, and nobody’s lived in it yet. However, there wasn’t any furniture it yet, and the owner looked upset about that. So, he put me up in this weird hotel. The room isn’t bad, but the place uses black lights to light up the hallways. It’s kinda creepy. Interesting, but strange.

Everything here is packed! I feel kind of stupid because I don’t know any Korean yet. But everyone seems happy to help me and nobody’s looked upset when I didn’t know any Korean. I keep forgetting to take my shoes off before I enter people’s houses and I forget to bow sometimes; however, nobody has given me a hard time for it yet. Hopefully, I’ll get these cultural differences down pat, and I won’t look so stupid.

I really hope I’ll be able to make church this Sunday. I might not work this week, which is kind of disappointing. But, it may be a good thing if I don’t yet. Who knows?

I know you guys have been praying for me. God has definitely been looking out for me even though things have been happening so fast. Fortunately, I haven’t felt scared or frightened doing this at any point. The only thing is that I miss my family and friends back in the States, or at least I will.  If you get Skype, I can call you for free just as long as you have it and have a headset (headphones and a microphone combined).

Well, I don’t know when the next time I’ll be online. It costs 500 won an hour, which is like 50 cents a minute roughly. So, I’ll talk to you guys later!

Peace.