UpDaTe

Well, here I am. It's day three in Korea.

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.

iN KoReA

I left Saturday evening from Charlotte, NC to Chicago. It was tough leaving my family, but I know God will watch over them and protect them. When I got to the Chicago airport I almost got lost. Apparently, every terminal in Chicago is separated and the only way you can get from one to the other is to take a train. It sucked. Not only was the international terminal on the other side of the airport, but also I had to go through the security check-in again!

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.

mY LaSt DaY

So, here I am on my last full day/night in the US. Am I nervous? Am I ready? Was I crazy? Who knows? I don’t. Honestly, the fear of being over there hasn’t grasped me yet. I don’t know if it will. After traveling to Europe, going up north, and doing things by myself for most of my life, I haven’t really felt the fear of being alone. The only thing that scares me about being alone is the fact that it’s easier to sin. And I hate sin!

I’m glad that I get to go though! I needed to get away and I needed to really figure things out on my own. Though I’m going to be living and working on another continent, in another country, with people speaking a different language that’s not even Western, I know God is going to work in me and change me. That’s what really excites me! I don’t deserve all that he has done for me, and I really wish opportunities like this would never come my way because I’m so undeserving, but I’ll just have to trust Him and give myself up. That’s all.

Yeah, I know I’m going to miss you guys here in the States, but I know I’ll make new friends and have awesome experiences, like eating dog (I’ll personally write a book about eating dog. I’ll call it, Marley Is In Me. Take that!), sleeping in Buddhist temples, teaching lessons, hanging out with kids, traveling around Asia, etc. But, what God has to reveal to me is going to be awesome! Not only will I get to see what He does, but also I’ll get to see how Koreans worship God, which will be really interesting.

Well, maybe I’ll post something here tomorrow, but I don’t know. I’ll probably get in the habit of blogging more often once I figure out how to hook up my laptop in my apartment (Now, that’s nice! A place of my own!)

Peace.

tHe NeW tHiNgS

Eight years ago on June 4, 2001 I became a believer. Though it was never "this day and this day alone," but a working up to a point where I finally gave in to Christ.



Back then things were different.



Now, I can say that I have changed. Though the struggles are worse now then they have ever been, my relationship in Christ has wavered considerably especially in the past couple of years. Now I'm really starting to realize what it means to be crucified with Christ. The cost of it is frightening.



Up to now, I've been looking back at the moments where I failed. I have to admit there have been more moments in my life where I failed Christ than where I brought glory to his name.

The thing is now my struggles are more difficult than ever. Yet, I know he is merciful and gracious, and through him I have victory over sin. Each day is just another challenge.

Now, I'm moving away. I'm not going on vacation, I'm going to live in another country. I'm going to live and work in the Republic of Korea (a.k.a. South Korea). I'm really excited about this. I know this is something God has willed in my life since he told me on June 4, 2001. I just didn't know it would be Korea of all places.

I'm starting to see why.

Some facts about Korea:

1. The capital city, Seoul, is known as the city of poets.

2. Koreans seem to like the outdoors a lot.

3. The nightlife is pretty active, which is a good thing since I'm a nite owl.

4. It's a modern country that really cheap.

Yeah, I am scared. I'm scared because it's a foreign country. Korea's neighbor to the north has nuclear weapons pointed at it. I don't know any Korean. And, I don't know what's going to happen.

But, I trust God. Or, I'm learning to trust God.

So, if you're reading this blog, and you have my number, give me a call sometime. It maybe one year or two years before I come back to the States.

So, yeah.

Peace.