Ramping Up

It's bizarre to speak of another country as home. The fact is, though, that South Korea will be our home for the next year (and, depending on how things go, who knows how much longer). However, it's starting to become easier to think of this new life in that light. On that note, two otherwise seemingly incongruous idioms converge here : 1) Home is where the heart is; and 2) Love means knowing and loving someone's faults. These sage sayings, when put together, accurately illustrate how I have begun to feel about South Korea. There are many aggravating things (delayed decisions, prejudice, vanity), but there are also so many exhilarating, beautiful, unique things to balance them out, things which we have begun to outline in earlier blogs.
We've only been here two weeks - I'm being overly sentimental, I know. Not to mention the fact that we haven't begun working yet. A month from now, this blog will probably turn into a rant and rave page to vent our frustrations. But let the magic continue for a bit. Imagine this - one month from now, Joel and I have trouble making time in our schedule for all our Bible studies. We walk into the Kingdom Hall and are surrounding by loving, supportive fellow workers. Five days a week, we jaunt happily into school, knowing that each day will be filled with fun activities and enthusiastic students. Every night, we go home to a perfectly peaceful apartment, ideal for rest and study. To top it all off, we savor every succulent, spicy bite of our favorite Korean dishes.
Maybe none of this fantasy will be realized. Maybe half of it will be. I have to believe that attitude plays a large role. Watching the Olympic swimmers offers an admirable model - the last few moments right before they dive into the pool, they stare intently down the wide racing lane, appearing to be entranced by the ripples. But any athlete knows this is no zen relaxation technique; the Olympians are picturing in their mind every stroke to the most minute detail. They know that in order to be successful, they must not only be prepared physically, but mentally. Only by visualizing a winning race can they actualize what they envision. Life abroad is no competition, or if it is, it is only a competition against oneself. However, envisioning the most successful outcome has never failed in the past to bring me closer to that ideal situation. So fire the starting pistol - we're ready to go.

Azure

P.S. Guess what this is . . .

Still in Seoul

Monday afternoon, three days left of training. Thursday night we're supposed to know what school will be our new home. We're anxious. We'd like to know exactly where it is in the city, where our place will be, etc. Simply stated, we're anxious to settle down and begin.

The EPIK classes are relatively interesting. There have been a couple odd classes, where the stated purpose does not correspond to the actual information/instruction. What can we say? It's Korea!

On a different note, we took a field trip yesterday to a Korean folk village. That was kinda cool. There is a genuine feel that Korea is trying to hold on to traditions of yestermillenia, but as with everywhere in the west, it's proving vain.

Thus we begin...

Here we are, in Seoul, Konkuk University more precisely. Orientation has begun. So far, it's been really nice. All the employees for EPIK have bent over backwards to help everyone. They room us in college dorms (pretty sweet rooms with awesome views), they feed us three times a day, and they do their best to provide meaningful instruction and entertainment as well.

Are there problems? Sure...things are a bit disorganized. One girl who has taught in Korea for five years calls it organized chaos. For instance, the training manual we're given is fantastic. Lots of good suggestions for classroom instruction are provided. However, none of the employees seem to know what's in the book! They look at it as if they have never seen it before!

Problems? Sure...there will always be problems. Anything we can't deal with? No way! Truth is, the majority of the teachers here seem very ready to overcome any hurdle to being good teachers and guests in Korea. The few that aren't...well, they simply won't make it and we'll be seeing their posts on Dave's ESL website!

I Found My Thrill on Dangdaemun Hill

"Besame . . . besame mucho." The lilting, softly accented voice was somewhat overpowered by the electronic keyboard. Neither were any match for the sparkling personality of Mr. Han, the self-proclaimed "Korean Louis Armstrong." The fedora-topped elderly gentleman approached us while we searched one of the many electronic markets in Seoul for a converter. After inviting us to a "nightclub," the dance hall for empty nesters where the following video took place, Mr. Han regaled us with stories of his karaoke escapades and attempted to cajole us into drinking with him. Young people chuckled as they walked by, noticing how the white-haired crooner had cornered us. Mr. Han claimed, "I love to talk to foreigners," and although his touchy-feely approach made me wonder whether he was on ecstasy, it was a fun detour during our night exploring the vibrant city of Seoul.
Azure

South Korea's got Seoul..........

Ya ya, corny I know. But Seoul is a soulful city. It is a case study in uncontrolled urban expansion. It is a case study in capitalism gone wild. It is a case study in 20 million people running everywhere they go.

Sound bad? It's not. Seoul is amazing. However, Azure and I are glad we aren't living here. Gwang-ju will be a great town to work, with Seoul being a great town to visit. Hey, it's only four hours away on the most comfy bus you'll ever ride on!

More later....time to find breakfast.
Joel

The First Supper

There is a saying that when people who love each other are far apart, an invisible yet infallible string ties their two hearts together to span the distance. Well, Joel and I have many such strings that now reach the distance between the US and Korea. Although stretched, those strings will never break. They are only strengthened every time a new string is added. Since our arrival here in Korea, it is clear that there are many strings yet to discover.
After travelling by bus for five hours from Incheon Airport to Gwangju, we were greeted with no small amount of fuss by the congregation welcoming committee. As the meeting had just ended, many of the brothers and sisters popped by to meet us and escort us to David and Olivia Jo’s house, where we will be spending the next few nights. Nine of us chatted for several hours over pizza, and before you could say kimchi, I started to feel at home. They are a remarkable group of people – in the group were two MTS graduates, a couple who had worked where the need is greater in Malaysia and New Zealand, and several other brothers and sisters who made room in their lives to walk through the open door to expanded ministry.
It’s difficult to describe the level of hospitality afforded us. It makes one a bit uncomfortable to be treated with such honor when in the past directions to the nearest bus stop would do. It made me even more eager to do all that I can to draw closer to these brothers, to study this Lydia-like mentality and emulate it.
Today, we are off in service for our first time here, accompanied by a tour of our new city. We arrived at night, so it is somewhat difficult to formulate a solid impression, but from what we have seen so far, the city is clean, modern, and lively. More on that later!
Azure

Wednesday August 13th, Final Packing Day

Here we are....packing our life in 4 convenient size 50lbs bags (plus carry-ons). One doesn't realize how much stuff one has until one tries to place it all in a weight restricted small sack. Those bindle stick bums of the 20's and 30's had the right idea...

We'll put our next posting up when we get to Seoul, which after the time change, will be late afternoon Friday.

Yikes....
Joel