Happy Tuesday everyone!
We have jumped right into the work week and are at the busiest time of year. Last week ended in a mad rush to get everything done and resulted in Nathan and I working until almost 8pm on Friday, which in turn resulted in getting locked IN the school. It was an adventure trying to figure out how to get out and then find someone to properly lock the school back up, while convincing them that we are NOT trying to break into the school. Sometimes the language barrier makes it quite frustrating when trying to convey something very simple.
The weekend was fine and dandy. It's been rainy here, which has been EXCELLENT because it's cooled us down in the evenings quite a bit. However, it's in the high 80's with rain and massive amounts of humidity during the day... ugh. Thank goodness for A/C! The weather really does bite the big one, and even on the days when the sun is out, all you want to do is escape to sit in a nicely cooled refrigerator.
We did FINALLY find a church not too far from us. It's about an hour trek, including a 40 minute subway. We've not attended a church regularly for 4 months. Shame on us! Thankfully we've had a group to do a Biblestudy with, but we are SO excited for this church. It's called Jubilee and is the only independent English church in Korea. All other English churches are under the umbrella of a Korean church, so it tends to be filled with mostly Koreans just trying to learn English. Anyway, at Jubilee we met SO many incredible people in just one Sunday. Nathan and I are pretty excited for the ministry opportunities that we can now get involved in through Jubilee. It felt strange to be around so many English speakers and we ended up spending most of the day with new friends and learning more about the church and understanding a little bit more of Korea. We'll keep you posted on how we find it getting plugged in there!
We trust and pray that our family and friends are doing well back home. Please keep Nathan and I in your prayers as some future decisions are being made concerning what we'll be doing when we return home!
Enjoy the week!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Happy Dad's Day!
I know this post is a little late. Dad's Day was yesterday here and by now everyone is sleeping off the grilled steak dinners you had to celebrate your Dad's, but I didn't want to go without mentioning 2 great men. Thomas King and Brian Pogue. Thank you for everything you've done and what you do, not just in our lives, but those around you. We love our Dad's and miss them dearly.
"My Dad is the coolest." I said this when I was 5 and I'm still saying it at 24. That'll never change. I love who you are Dad! Don't worry, you're little girl won't stay in Korea forever.
"My Dad is the coolest." I said this when I was 5 and I'm still saying it at 24. That'll never change. I love who you are Dad! Don't worry, you're little girl won't stay in Korea forever.
We are a Third of the Way There!
It's now been just over 5 months since saying goodbye to our parents who graciously drove us up to the city of Vancouver to watch their kids fly very far from home. We've now been in Korea for just about 4 months and it's really starting to feel like we LIVE here. We've experienced a battle of emotions in being here and being away from home (particularly the wife... me), but it's true when they say time moves like a bullet here.
We are 1/3rd of our way through our year in Korea. It's flown by, yet when I think about home it feels like forever since I've been able to play with my nephews, watch American Idol with my parents, raid my sister's food cupboards, have bonfires in Seaside, etc.
This last week was a hectic one on the work front. We had what's called 'Open Class' on Thursday. This is where all the kids' parents come in and sit through all their English classes and rate the teacher in about 5 different categories. There is a HUGE/UNnecessary stress put on this day, but I completely bought into the stress. One thing about Korean education... the parents dictate everything. The school's foundation is to please the parent. It makes sense since the parents are paying for the service, BUT we find the teachers doing everything just to please the parents. The education system here is effective, but so much of what is done seems to be for show.
Thankfully, Nathan and I both experienced success. The majority of the parents felt like we were giving their children very good education in furthering their English skills. Woohoo for a job well done!
We're even at the stage now where we can look back and see significant improvement in some of the kids. Considering they're immersed in an English setting for 3.5-5 hrs each day, especially the lower levels have really started to show a much deeper understanding of what is happening in the class and they're able to begin communicating.
This week has started off with a bang. The kids have their semester finals in their Korean classes this week so our schedules are all over the place. We also have another fieldtrip this Friday, which we will embark on a 2 hr bus ride with 136 kids to check out some traditional houses and make a traditional food. That should keep us on our toes.
We do have one thing to check off the "list" now. As of Sunday, we've been to the biggest church in the world (population-wise). Youido Full Gospel Church has 1 million members and running 7 packed out services each Sunday. Even though we were 1 in a million faces (although sticking out like sore thumb with our translating headphones on), we felt like the message was challenging and were quite impressed with the church itself. While we never desire to be regular attenders of such a large church with it being difficult to get involved, we felt encouraged by the purpose it serves for so many Koreans here.
A few prayer requests to send your way:
-We would like to find an English church within an hour to find ways to serve here.
-Encouragement in being away from home.
-Future goals that we are setting for ourselves for when we return
-Nathan is also preparing a new curriculum for the English summer camp here, which lasts for 3 weeks in July/August. This will entail a lot of research, organizing, planning, and motivation.
Thanks everyone for your prayers and support.
We are 1/3rd of our way through our year in Korea. It's flown by, yet when I think about home it feels like forever since I've been able to play with my nephews, watch American Idol with my parents, raid my sister's food cupboards, have bonfires in Seaside, etc.
This last week was a hectic one on the work front. We had what's called 'Open Class' on Thursday. This is where all the kids' parents come in and sit through all their English classes and rate the teacher in about 5 different categories. There is a HUGE/UNnecessary stress put on this day, but I completely bought into the stress. One thing about Korean education... the parents dictate everything. The school's foundation is to please the parent. It makes sense since the parents are paying for the service, BUT we find the teachers doing everything just to please the parents. The education system here is effective, but so much of what is done seems to be for show.
Thankfully, Nathan and I both experienced success. The majority of the parents felt like we were giving their children very good education in furthering their English skills. Woohoo for a job well done!
We're even at the stage now where we can look back and see significant improvement in some of the kids. Considering they're immersed in an English setting for 3.5-5 hrs each day, especially the lower levels have really started to show a much deeper understanding of what is happening in the class and they're able to begin communicating.
This week has started off with a bang. The kids have their semester finals in their Korean classes this week so our schedules are all over the place. We also have another fieldtrip this Friday, which we will embark on a 2 hr bus ride with 136 kids to check out some traditional houses and make a traditional food. That should keep us on our toes.
We do have one thing to check off the "list" now. As of Sunday, we've been to the biggest church in the world (population-wise). Youido Full Gospel Church has 1 million members and running 7 packed out services each Sunday. Even though we were 1 in a million faces (although sticking out like sore thumb with our translating headphones on), we felt like the message was challenging and were quite impressed with the church itself. While we never desire to be regular attenders of such a large church with it being difficult to get involved, we felt encouraged by the purpose it serves for so many Koreans here.
A few prayer requests to send your way:
-We would like to find an English church within an hour to find ways to serve here.
-Encouragement in being away from home.
-Future goals that we are setting for ourselves for when we return
-Nathan is also preparing a new curriculum for the English summer camp here, which lasts for 3 weeks in July/August. This will entail a lot of research, organizing, planning, and motivation.
Thanks everyone for your prayers and support.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Escape to the Coast
Here we are again. We are alive and well. The last couple weeks have been filled with birthdays, adventures, teaching overtime, etc, etc. We were able to head over to a coastal town called Sokcho over our Memorial Day 3 day weekend. Ah, it was so good to see the ocean again and to feel a little bit of release from the 'trapped' feeling I've had here in Korea lately. It's just such a small place with SO many people that I can't even communicate with. I really miss being able to eavesdrop on other people's conversations ;).
We spent our holiday weekend relaxing at the beach, touring museums, and bike riding. First stop of course was the Teddy Bear Farm. Don't be fooled... it was incredible! We felt like nerds, but it was well worth weaving in and out of 5 year olds. Beyond that, we visited the Korean War Refugee museum, which was rather interesting. They had mock-towns set up from when North and South Korea were still one country. I'd be lieing if I said I wasn't a little nervous a few times over the course of the weekend. Sokcho is a mere 20 miles from the North Korean border... and they had protective boulders on some of their beaches, which we assumed were to slow down any potential attacks. Yikes! But like I said... we are alive and well. Fun fact: We saw the college Kim Jung Il's father went to back in the day.
We also checked out a ceramics museum and even took a class to tap into our creative side. You can check out some pics below of the "final" products (we're still waiting for them to be fired and sent in the mail).
I can't go without mentioning our dietary intake over the weekend as well. My tastebuds have officially changed to ACTUALLY enjoy stuffed squid rolls, barbequed clams, fishy soup broth, and of course Kimchi. My comfort food still remains something oozing with cheese, but we've both felt more enjoyment out of the Korean food than we thought we would.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading our updates. It may seem like all we do is go on vacations, hang out with friends, eat cake, etc, etc, but I promise you we're working hard. I have yet to post much about the school/ work week. It'll happen!
We spent our holiday weekend relaxing at the beach, touring museums, and bike riding. First stop of course was the Teddy Bear Farm. Don't be fooled... it was incredible! We felt like nerds, but it was well worth weaving in and out of 5 year olds. Beyond that, we visited the Korean War Refugee museum, which was rather interesting. They had mock-towns set up from when North and South Korea were still one country. I'd be lieing if I said I wasn't a little nervous a few times over the course of the weekend. Sokcho is a mere 20 miles from the North Korean border... and they had protective boulders on some of their beaches, which we assumed were to slow down any potential attacks. Yikes! But like I said... we are alive and well. Fun fact: We saw the college Kim Jung Il's father went to back in the day.
We also checked out a ceramics museum and even took a class to tap into our creative side. You can check out some pics below of the "final" products (we're still waiting for them to be fired and sent in the mail).
I can't go without mentioning our dietary intake over the weekend as well. My tastebuds have officially changed to ACTUALLY enjoy stuffed squid rolls, barbequed clams, fishy soup broth, and of course Kimchi. My comfort food still remains something oozing with cheese, but we've both felt more enjoyment out of the Korean food than we thought we would.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading our updates. It may seem like all we do is go on vacations, hang out with friends, eat cake, etc, etc, but I promise you we're working hard. I have yet to post much about the school/ work week. It'll happen!
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| Atop the Expo Tower in Sokcho on a beautiful day! |
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| Fish head soup! Not the worst, not the greatest. Sorry to disturb anyone with a weak tummy. |
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| Mama Bear and Papa Bear keep a tight leash. |
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| I don't really know how to caption this one, but it was a special moment. |
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| Cuddly cement Teddy Bears. |
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| Nathan's balancing skills. |
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| Clams! |
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| Playing with fire on the beach :) |
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| Creating our masterpieces. |
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| Random shot of the War Refugee museum. |
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