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