It has been a while

I have neglected my blog...

I have realized that I don't really like writing about myself...it is slightly boring considering I am simply writing about events that have already occurred in my life. I find that I would rather play guitar, read, eat, or sleep. But, for the sake of continuing on and finishing my blogging experience in Korea, I will do my best to persevere. :)

Well, my last post was in November, so quite a lot has gone down since then. I had an amazing Christmas in Thailand. It didn't feel like Christmas, and I think that is exactly what I needed. I was worried that there would be Christmas songs playing and snow falling here in Korea and that I would be really homesick for a "normal Christmas." Fortunately, I was on a beach relaxing in the 92 degree weather of southern Asia. It was a nice break from Korea and the monotonicity of teaching. Since I have been back, four foreign teachers at my school have quit and gone back to the U.S. Mainly because the administration at our school is...well... incompetent at best. All of them were my friends and I miss the work atmosphere that was once present here. I also lost my weight lifting partner...(Josh you better be lifting in Cali. 5 times a week). Work has not been too bad because there are only so many classes that I can teach and I am pretty much maxed out. We are supposed to get all of our new teachers next week so I am eager to find out who my new co-workers will be. Other than that, I have been hanging out, teaching English, playing guitar and catching up on my reading.

I am always a person who tries to discern why things are happening in my life, just because I know that there must be a reason for everything so I naturally want to know what it is. I have come to the conclusion that the Lord is taking things from me in order to create in me a greater dependence on him. I have no internet at my house, no T.V, my gym shut down for a month, and my best friends in Korea have left. If you would have told me six months ago that this is how my life would turn out in Korea, I would have run for my life and stayed in the States. The amazing thing is: I am 100% content with my life right now. I know that the Lord will always provide, and I think that always scared me a bit. Because, to be dependent on the Lord means that we have to be "without" the things that make us comfortable. Well, I am work now and I have to begin preparing...

Maybe I will blog again soon...:)

Dittoe

Halloween, Visit from Mom and a Gym membership...

Whew...has it really been a month since I last updated my blog? I have recently remembered why I have never and will never again keep a blog after this journey...I enjoy the fellowship of real people over writing to the masses. Now don't get me wrong, I love keeping those who want to be kept up to date in the loop, but I find myself getting more and more busy and running out of time to update my blog.

We had a Halloween celebration at school and I was, to say the least, not too excited about it. I miss having a huge Halloween party on a college campus, and I really didn't feel like putting in any effort this year. Well, we "had" to dress up for school so I threw together a zombie costume out of some old clothes I found with some influence from the new Resident Evil movie I had just watched. It actually turned out to be a pretty fun costume, it was more of a success than I had imagined. I was mainly put in charge of the haunted house, of which I was quite apathetic towards, once again. It also turned out to be a fun job and a great way to spend my Halloween. I say this only because I got to scare the piss out of a bunch of little kids and then listen to them the next day talk about how "not scared" they were...it was very entertaining. I lost count but we had to have made at least 40 kids leave in tears. I don't really take pleasure in frightening little kids, but I do enjoy putting on a "good" Halloween experience for the students...lets be honest, the haunted houses that suck are the ones that the kids leaving talking about how lame it was. They like the haunted house because it frightens them. Anyway, it was also a great break from the norm of teaching. That was it for Halloween, no cool parties or late nights out. but it was a lot of fun.

So my mom came to visit two weeks ago and it was so good to see her. I dropped the ball and didn't have a lot planned, but we went into Seoul and she got to see how my daily life was like here in Korea. The first night she got here we were having a work dinner so she got to meet everyone from work and enjoy traditional Korean bar-b-q on the expense of my school. On Saturday we had the chance to go over into Seoul and head into a market and do some shopping, so she got to see how the mass transit system works here and all that jazz. She also brought me some amazing snacks that I have partaken in quite eagerly the past couple weeks. On Sunday she was able to come visit church and see me "in action" stumbling around trying to do my best to lead worship. Then, as quickly as she arrived, she was on a plane back to the States. It felt good to see her and share part of my life with her over here in SK.

I also joined a gym over here last week. It was much overdue, but hopefully I can get back on track to gaining some good weight over the next few months. It is a small and humble gym, but it is close and it has everything you could need in a gym. The trainers are also really cool. They have a couple trainers on staff that watch over the gym as a whole and help people if they have questions. Fortunately for us, one of the guys is an ex-body builder who wants to practice English so he has quickly become our personal trainer. He has put us on a program, shows us how to do all of the lifts properly, and even helped us order supplements online. It is yet another cool and somewhat random experience to add to the many that I have had here. He actually yelled at me for only eating four eggs with breakfast yesterday and calls us women if we lift too light or with improper form...haha kinda reminds me of how Chris Stevens would be if he was my trainer :)

Well, that is about it. I am becoming more and more accustomed to life here with every week that passes and the time is flying by...I can't believe that I have been here for almost three months. I don't think I have any other news...um...oh yeah I just bought a plane ticket to Thailand for 10 days for over our Christmas break...I am assuming Christmas on the beach in Thailand will be somewhat different than what I am accustomed to. Needless to say, I am quite excited...

Until next time,
Dittoe

Picnic in the Park, Mexican Food and a Microbrew...

Well the workweek was normal...go to school, teach/babysit a bunch of little kids and then hang out with friends at night. Yeah, I know it is a rough life! The weeks are starting to fly by and I can't believe that I have been here nearly two months...crazy. If you have been keeping up with my blog you will notice that this is the largest break that I have had in between posts...two weeks. You see, I usually sit down on Sunday night and write, but last week was the first time that I didn't feel the overwhelming need to write. It was the best feeling in the world, to be out with people and decide that I would rather enjoy the company of friends than go home and post my thoughts. I have liked the people I have met here, but last week was the first time that I actually started to enjoy that these are the people that will be my friends for the next eleven months. I began this journey thinking that it would be a "trip" for a year but I am beginning to realize that this is my "home" for a year. I have a South Korean I.D., a cell phone, an address, health insurance, and as of last week a bank account. Sounds like a little more than a long trip to me! I guess the point of me saying this is that I have come to the equilibrium of comfort between being away from home and being here.

This weekend was great too. We went to a German owned wine bar that was really nice to relax and enjoy a high quality drink. We got to talk and meet some new people and listen to live piano music. It was such a nice change. I headed to bed early on Friday, which means that I went to bed before two thirty...I have become a night owl here. On Saturday we had a picnic in a lake park near my apartment with about twenty five people. We enjoyed some multicultural foods...from potato salad and pasta to Bulgogi (Korean Meat) and Mongolian fermented mare's milk. The weather is also amazing right now, it is about 70 during the day and it gets into the 50's at night, so the picnic was a hit. Then on Sat. night, we headed into Seoul for some Mexican food...yes I said Mexican food...I miss La Huerta :( That is surprisingly the food that I have missed the most, there are virtually no "good" Mexican restaurants here, but "Dos Tacos" still tasted amazing. After Dos Tacos, we headed to Cold Stone Creamery, then we were off to a micro brewery right down the street...needless to say my Saturday was a day of indulgence! It was absolutely amazing to enjoy a fresh brewed brown ale in the middle of a country who's best mass produced beer barely rivals the taste of PBR.

Today was yet another learning experience in the department of leading the music portion of worship at church. Not that things went wrong, because no matter how bad I screw up and look as if I am destined for failure during practice, The Lord always bring it together during the service so that my lack of musical talent does not distract the congregation from worshiping. I can just see how many things I have to learn, but the good news is that I have a year to do so! I am forced to take leadership in so many more areas of my life which, if you know how easy going I am, is a good thing.

Well, that is about it... I have to go now, it is time for me to blast rap music and do push ups and the ab roller in my apartment...haha, yes Jordan I have moved halfway across the world and I still have the same home workout plan (only temporary til I get a gym membership). I think about all those that are dear to me in the States and I miss all of you a lot,

Until next time,
Dittoe

Muido Island...Chuseok Holiday

Last week we had a five day weekend and it was nice to take a break from everything and just relax. We would have loved to take a cool trip to China or Japan or Thailand, but due to the fact that we have not gotten payed yet, we decided to try to go somewhere inexpensive and easy in Korea. We searched through the tourist books that we have and decided to go to a small island off the west coast called Muido Island. So we headed out on Sunday afternoon and attempted to find a way to Muido Island. We managed alright, thanks to another English speaking couple that we met on the bus out to the ferry. Before we knew it, we were sitting in an 8x8 hut on the beach. The weather could have definitely been better(it was raining), but it was really peaceful to walk out during low tide in the rain. We explored the beach a little on Sunday and walked way out into the water, because the tide was so low. It was a good 800 meter walk to get to the tide! After it started to get dark, we walked up the beach to a little restaurant that served fresh clams, oysters, and snails. We sat under an umbrella in the rain with a small charcoal grill in the middle of our table. We didn't really know what to order, so we just got an order of assorted shellfish. Immediately, the waitress walked twenty feet away, grabbed a net full of assorted clams, and brought them live back to our table. We figured out very quickly that we were the intended cooks so we just started placing the clams on the grill. The best part is that the clams fly open when they are ready to eat, sort of like a built in timer...lol. After dinner we grabbed a few beers, played some cards and went to sleep. We had a great time, but my favorite part of the trip occurred later. I was having some trouble sleeping and instead of tossing and turning, I threw on my headphones and headed out to the beach. I sat outside for about an hour listening to "The O.C. Mix" on my mp3 player and watching the tide role in. It was the most peaceful experience I have had in a long time. I love having the time to sit, reflect and enjoy God's creation...I don't even have the words to describe it. The next day we walked a little more and then headed home to relax for the rest of the holiday.

I have been sick this weekend so I have just been watching movies mostly. I played with the worship band this morning, but I didn't sing because I sound like Darth Vader. I am starting to get really settled here and comfortable with the schedule and I am getting even more excited about the winter because that means i can go skiing! I hope everyone is enjoying the States and football...which I miss dearly :( Oh well, football will be there when i get back! Well, it is time for me to go lay down in bed ad try to shake off this sickness before the week gets under way,
until next time,

Dittoe

Another Week of New Experiences

So I had my first experience leading the music/worship at church this morning. It was quite nerve-racking and a very humbling experience as well. Not that I hold my guitar/singing skills in high esteem, but any comfort I had in playing the guitar flew out the window as I stepped out in front of the people that were present at church. I am just glad I had an experienced bass player and a talented keyboard player to help me through it! All in all it was great, I love being in uncomfortable situations because once you have worked through them, the satisfaction is so much deeper. I am starting to realize more and more each day that this opportunity is not really about "teaching", but more of a learning experience for me. My job is simply a means by which this learning experience is too be carried out. With that said, I am really starting to enjoy hanging out with my friends here. It is weird to come over here because it is almost like you are forced into relationships with those around you because, well, they are the only ones around...lol. There are a lot of weird foreigners that come over here and I am so blessed to have cool co-workers that I can spend my time with.

We also found out some interesting news at work this week that ruffled the feathers of a few of the foreign teachers. We found out that all 10 of the foreign teachers will be moving to a different apartment building "within the next five months." Basically the beans were spilled at work and we all found out, so the administration had to call a meeting to officially inform us. To make a long story short the rent in all of our apartments is going up 150,000 won ($160). The administration has found the building that they want to move us into, but there are no vacant apartments so we will just have to wait and all move in sporadically over the next few months! Some of the teachers that had requested pics of the apartments, and now are having to move to different ones were a little upset because they felt as if they had been cheated, but I had no preconceived notions about the apartments so it is only a minor inconvenience for me. Then I found out that the school was hiring "luxury movers" which means that I just bring my valuables to school one day and then the movers move all of my stuff and set it up exactly how it was in the old place. Then when i go home, I simply go to a new building! I don't know if I can even call that a "minor" inconvenience. Okay, now on to the new foods! I have now experienced compressed fish patties...uh huh, they taste exactly how they sound. Think of them like a fish hot dog, dense, chewy, and made up of things that would be best not to think about. On a brighter side, I have found out that pomegranate juice is dirt cheap here, so I have been drinking it non-stop. Simply amazing... I also have found that I don't like Korean sushi as much as Japanese because it is more like a California role, with little or no uncooked fish. Although, there are some great Japanese sushi places here. For anyone who knows good sushi prices, I got 8 pieces of sashimi(various kinds) and a bowl of Japanese noodle soup for 8 bucks. I think I will spend some time there this next year! Well, other than that, I have just been teaching. We have Korean "thanksgiving" or chusuk coming up next week so I am trying to plan a cheap trip, of course I will discuss that soon!

Until next time,
Dittoe

Spa Time

So I have finished another work week and the stress has started to fade away. Thank you so much for all of your prayers, they are much appreciated! Of course the interesting things have not stopped by any means. On Monday morning we had a meeting to inform all of the teachers that we were going to move our offices up to the seventh floor so we could be next to all of the classrooms (they were on the sixth and the classrooms were on the seventh). Not only were we told that we had to pack up our desks, which we had set up four days before, but we were asked/told that we needed to help move all of the books/computers/desks upstairs on Friday night after work. Needless to say, we were in the mood for some relaxation after helping, which was not really bad at all. Regardless of the intensity of the work, the gin-jil-bang (Korean style spa) was calling our name. After paying my six bucks to get in, yes I said six, we got some peach tea and headed to the sweat room. The sweat room is set up like an authentic Indian sweat room with sage all around the walls and a lot of heat, of course there was no open flame burning sage in the middle though. After that we moved on to the hot rocks room where we sprawled out on thousands of small grape sized rocks that were heated...yeah, it was amazing. The rest of the night consisted of rooms such as a pine sauna, cold room(to cool off), massage chairs, and I finished off the night naked in a green tea bath in the men's side...it was quite refreshing! ;)
The rest of the weekend I just relaxed with some of my fellow teachers and just tried to get all settled in to my place. But something completely amazing and unexpected presented itself to me. Last week I had played back-up guitar for the worship team at church because a member had been unable to play. What I didn't know was that the girl who was not playing was the previous leader and was not playing to start phasing herself out because she is moving back to Canada. So after a few conversations with the pastor this week about my heart and desires, he asked if I would be comfortable being the new worship leader at church...my response was, "well, I wouldn't necessarily be comfortable with that, but I didn't move halfway around the world to stay in my comfort zone." So as of this afternoon, I will be the worship team leader at Onnuri English Ministry...wow, I feel a little in over my head. I have always had a desire in the back of my heart to be able to invest in a church in this way, who would have thought that I had to move to Korea for it to happen? I am excited about the added challenge and experiences that I will have because of this opportunity. Well that was basically my week. Oh, I did find all of the best places to find sweet clothes and suits which I am excited about. I also finished aquiring materials for my new granite coffee table that is in my living room...it is pretty cool too. I think that is all the important stuff, I hope all of those reading this had a great week! Until next time,

Dittoe

First Week of Teaching

Hey all!

Well, I have finished my first half week of teaching and I had a great weekend. Teaching was...well...stressfull, to say the least. Apparently three days of class on the teaching material at the Sogang Language Program didn't make me feel prepared to teach. All of the previous notions I had about what teaching EFL would be like, went out the window when I got my class schedule. Oh, and they gave it to me the day before classes began. But as if that was not stressful enough, I found out that I was going to be teaching nine different skill levels in my classes. Yes, I said nine...from second semester elementary aged kids all the way up to students that had been learning English for at least five years, and everything in between. Needless to say, Wednesday was a difficult day. Oh, I forgot...I also moved into my apartment on Wednesday morning which did not help with the stress. With that said, I think this teaching experience will be wonderful preparation for any job I will have to do in the future. There are lesson plans for most of my classes, but I have so much freedom to do what I want and I even am responsible for making the tests for a few of my classes. While that freaks me out right now, I think once I get used to the schedule I will love having the freedom. It just makes the start a bit rough.
My apartment is also surprisingly nice. I live on the eighth floor of the building that overlooks the highway and other residential areas(I will post pics soon). It is not a studio apartment like I thought it would be, so I do have a separate bedroom. I have also already taken up the Korean way of scavenging. I found a sweet desk chair that an office building that was closing down put on the road and I am in the process of putting together a granite coffee table out of extra granite tiles from a construction area. I also acquired a Trek bike equipped with rockshox that was left by a teacher a year ago. He lost the key for his lock and none of the current teachers wanted it enough to figure out how to break the lock. I have no tools with me but was determined to free the bike from it's shackles and ride it. 20 minutes with my leatherman and the bike cable was severed(thanks for the great groomsman gift bobby). I also now own The Simpsons Movie, 300, and The Bourne Supremacy...3 for ten dollars and nice quality.
On to my weekend and my first experience with Korean history. I got to see a lot of Seoul, and learn how to navigate the subway system, which will be helpful in my everlasting quest to become self sufficient in this country. Yesterday morning, we went to one of South Korea's many palaces. It was pretty cool to see the architecture and scenery around the palace, it definitely embodied what I thought Asian cultures would be like. I cannot think of the correct spelling of the palace so I will hold off on that until I can look it up. I also travelled to the Korean Folk Museum. It is a history museum about the Korean people and their way of life from food customs to attire. It was very interesting and I am glad I could go an experience first hand some of the history of the country I will live in for the next year. Last night we tried out the night life, which actually lasts until breakfast time Sunday morning, but that is besides the point. We went out to one of the University districts and had some Soju(Korean rice wine) and went dancing. It was actually nice to go dancing here because the Koreans guys are very respectful of the girls and will not act all creepy when we are just dancing in a group having fun. That is a nice and refreshing change from the states.
Well, that was my week, a very busy and eventful one, but I can't slow down cause I only have a year to do so much. I would ask for all of you guys to keep me in your prayers. It has finally hit me that I will not see or hang out with any of you for a whole year and that has been rough because I cherish every single one of your friendships. I miss my friends and fam, but cannot wait to year about the great things that go on this year for all of you! Have a great week, until next time,

Dittoe

Safe and Sound in Incheon

Hey All!

Well after a long and stressful series of travels I made it safe and sound to Incheon, Korea. To make a long story short, the attendants in Houston did not check my baggage all the way through to Incheon, they only checked them through L.A....go figure. And of course, I only had an hour and a half from the time I landed in L.A. until the time my flight to Korea took off, so I was running through LAX with a sixty-five pound duffle, 2 carry on bags and a guitar just praying they would let me check in to an international flight with less than an hour to go. Well, apparently prayer works and before I knew it, I was on a plane. On the plane I caught up on all the movies i missed this summer and had my first experience with seaweed soup! Oh, I also had Bim bim bap...yeah I dunno what that is either, but I consumed it with a glass of red wine and a smile. Thirteen hours later, I was in Korea...

It is great here. I will live in the Seoul/Incheon metroplex which is home to about 15 million people, so there will never be a shortage of things to do. The people at the school are great and I have been training to teach English for the past week, I start in the classroom on wed! They kinda just like to throw us in there and ask us to simply do our best. My classes will consist of less than ten student, each of which has had at least a year or two of English instruction, but I also have some slightly more advanced classes(the A.P. classes are going to be taught by a couple who are certified to teach ESL/EFL). I am sorta nervous so keep me in your thoughts and prayers this week. My co-American teachers are really nice and I have enjoyed getting to know them this week, and there is an English service at a nearby church that most of the foreign teachers attend! I am excited to go tomorrow. That is basically the extent of my trip so far, I have been trying out some crazy food, going exploring in the city, and getting to know those at the school. My new foods include: seaweed soup, bim bim bap, kim chi, galbi, squid with blood curry sauce, and countless others. Next on the to-do-list, Indoor skiing(tigerworld is a ten min. walk), visiting the nightlife in Seoul, and starting my year as a teacher! I am so excited about this year, but I do already miss my friends and family with all my heart...please stay in contact! Well that is it for this entry, I am new to this whole blogging thing, so hopefully It is good, lol. I will post some pics and send out a link to all, when I update the site. Until next time,

With Love,
Dittoe