So, here I am in Myeongdong waiting for church to start. It's about 6:30 am. I've been in Seoul since 4 pm yesterday.
Around 1p yesterday, I decided I wanted to visit Itaewon in Seoul. It's a city/suburb of Seoul where lots of foreigners hang out. It was kinda cool. I met a Korean. His name is Jin Hyeok. He helped me find my way through the maze of subway lines to Itaewon. The thing about the subways and train lines in the Seoul-Incheon-Suwon area is that they zig-zag all over the place and it takes longer to get from point A to point B. For example, Incheon is only 25 miles away from Seoul, but it takes a little over an hour to get from Incheon to Seoul by bus, train, and car. So, it sucks.
When I got to Itaewon I wasn't really impressed. Evidently, lots of foreigners were there too hanging out too, but they were all kind of rude. Plus, the Koreans knew more English, so they would try to sell you things which was really annoying. So, I left.
When I got to Yongsan, it was about 6pm. So, I decided to watch Harry Potter 6. Yes, I'm a Harry Potter fan, so you can go eat it. But, because it was in IMAX and it was 3D, I had to wait until 9 pm to see it. The only problem was that the train system would be closed for the night by the time the movie was over. So I thought, "why not? I need a little night time adventure. It will be fun!" At least, I thought it would be.
Well, right before the movie started, I decided to get some popcorn and a drink. It wasn't bad until they told me my card wasn't working. "OK," I thought, "I'll just use some cash. Maybe it's just their system." So, after the movie was over, I left Yongsan Station, which is also a mall and movie theatre, and went outside. I thought I would just find some place to stay around Yongsan. Well, I would have except when I started looking around on the streets, I kept noticing these half naked girls hanging out in these windows, and men walking up and paying them some money. Then some woman came up and asked me if I wanted sex with some sexy woman. I definitely turned her down. Although, I was really tempted. I won't go into detail of what I thought, but I knew I would destroy my body, God's temple, and hurt me greatly. I just didn't want it. It took a lot to not think about it.
When I got away from that mess, I found an ATM. I tried using my card, but it wouldn't take. So, I tried calling my parents. Even though it was 1 am, I knew it would be about 12 pm on Saturday. However, my phone service was canceled or something weird like that. "Great," I thought, "this night is going to get really interesting."
So, I started walking home. Or, at least, I tried.
I got about 1/4 of the way home when I realized that I would never make it. That my best bet would be to go to church and see if anyone there could help me out. As much as I wanted to get home, I needed some help. But more importantly, I needed God's help... desperately. I don't know how I can explain this, but I'm so broken right now. I've been trying all night long to be positive and pray and think of other things. But, I don't think I can any more. I don't know why I'm really here. I know God called me here to teach, but for what?! WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO GET FROM THIS! I'm so pissed right now! I want to go home! Back to the US! Back to my life! I was comfortable there! I was fine!
WHY AM I REALLY HERE?!
I'm so tired and sore right now. I'm about to cry. I won't, but I can't speak the freakin language, I don't know many people around here, and I'm desperate. I'll be another 3 hours before church starts. It's the traditional service, but I don't care. I need God. I need His help! Honestly, I feel alone. For the first time since I've been here I actually feel alone.
Please pray for me. I can only trust God right now. I know that no matter what happens He will be good to me.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
ChUrCh, WoRk, & ChiNaTOWn
So, I haven't updated this thing for quite some time. A lot has happened this week, so I'll try to tell what's happened as best as I can.
Where to begin?
Sunday
Well, this past Sunday was awesome! I woke up around 7 am to get to Seoul as soon as I could. However, the bus system is a little confusing around YeoungHyunDong, so it took about 15 mins to get it right. I wanted to check out this church called Youngnak Presbyterian Church. Evidently, Presbyterian churches tend to be more biblical based in Korea than most other churches, and they usually have English services that are better too. So, I had it all planned out how I was going to get there: take bus 16 to Dongincheon Station, take the train from Dongincheon Station to Yongsan Station, switch over to the subway to Seoul Station, transfer over to the blue line and get off at Myeongdong, and find this church. The only thing was I ended up waiting longer for things to go than I anticipated. I got to the church at 10:45 am, and the service started at 10 am. At least I found the church I thought. I'll just go to the 1500 service (by the way, after 1200 pm, all the times in Korea become military times. Yeah, everthing here is in Celsius, meters, and military time. It's weird, but cool) So, I decided to walk around Seoul a bit.
While I was walking around Seoul, I had this awful craving for Western food. Now, Korean food is really good, and you can get lots of Korean food for under $5 here, but after eating bulgogi, kimchi, rice, dried fish, and a bunch of other stuff your body really starts craving something familiar. So, I found a Pizza Hut that looked pretty good.
After I left Pizza Hut, I found some bookstores. The only thing is that there aren't many that sell English books. So, I gave up right around 1430 pm. When I got to the church, I found out that it's an actual ministry called International Worship in English, or IWE. It was awesome! It felt so good to worship Jesus! I can't really describe how I felt, but it was an amazing release. After all the stuff I was going through: moving to a foreign country, struggling to find a way to explain my faith to some Church of God cult, and just trying to figure things out in general, it was something.
Well, the preaching was awesome too, because it touched on something I'll need to remember while I'm here in Korea; it was 1 Corinthians 3:10-17. The verse that really hit me was 1 Cor. 3: 17, which states, "[i]f anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple." That last part was convicting. It just reminded me about all the crap I've been going through the past couple of months, but it was like God was telling me that now I have a choice to make: either I will serve him wholly, or I will live as one in the world.
Coming here is refreshing. I don't know anybody. I can't speak the language or understand it. I'm almost vunerable to anything. But through everything God has been faithful to me. Now, it's my turn to be faithful to him.
After the service, I went to some info class about IWE. Evidently, it's a ministry that exists to plug foreigners into the ministry for different things like student ministry, children's ministry, helping out at orphanages, feeding the homeless, etc. It was pretty cool. Afterwards, I made a bunch of friends there. We went to see Transformers 2 at an IMAX theater. Apparently, you have to reserve tickets here about a week in advance because most movie theaters get packed out pretty quickly. But, God had other plans when I thought and figured that I couldn't go. Cause I did. And, though the movie was OK, it was great to meet other English speaking people.
On Monday, I went to work. It was interesting. I taught about 7 classes on my first day. Needless to say, I was tired. Tuesday thru Thursday weren't too bad, I taught about 3 to 4 classes on those days. Friday was just about as busy as Monday. The only thing that made it difficult was that everything is completely unorganized. You don't know what your schedule is going to look like each day, nor do you know what your going to teach. But, I realized how underdeveloped the field of teaching second language is. The books were awful. It didn't make any sense the way the texts were organized. Some of them were too difficult for the age group, and others were too easy. So I improvised in some cases. Fortunately, my English background helped out a bit. But, most of the theory was useless, as most theory tends to be.
Other than working and going to church, I visited Chinatown today. It's located in the city I live in. It's a pretty cool place. There's tons of lanterns and restaurants to visit. I went to Jayu Park, which is a park dedicated to the Americans and Koreans who died in the Korean war. It's a pretty cool place to sit, relax, and look at the Yellow Sea. On clear days I heard you can see China, but I haven't been there on one.
So, that's the abridged version of what's been going on. I don't always get to write in my blog because it costs money at these PC bongs (Internet cafes). It's cheap, but I only have an hour to do stuff.
So, yeah, that's about it.
Peace.
Where to begin?
Sunday
Well, this past Sunday was awesome! I woke up around 7 am to get to Seoul as soon as I could. However, the bus system is a little confusing around YeoungHyunDong, so it took about 15 mins to get it right. I wanted to check out this church called Youngnak Presbyterian Church. Evidently, Presbyterian churches tend to be more biblical based in Korea than most other churches, and they usually have English services that are better too. So, I had it all planned out how I was going to get there: take bus 16 to Dongincheon Station, take the train from Dongincheon Station to Yongsan Station, switch over to the subway to Seoul Station, transfer over to the blue line and get off at Myeongdong, and find this church. The only thing was I ended up waiting longer for things to go than I anticipated. I got to the church at 10:45 am, and the service started at 10 am. At least I found the church I thought. I'll just go to the 1500 service (by the way, after 1200 pm, all the times in Korea become military times. Yeah, everthing here is in Celsius, meters, and military time. It's weird, but cool) So, I decided to walk around Seoul a bit.
While I was walking around Seoul, I had this awful craving for Western food. Now, Korean food is really good, and you can get lots of Korean food for under $5 here, but after eating bulgogi, kimchi, rice, dried fish, and a bunch of other stuff your body really starts craving something familiar. So, I found a Pizza Hut that looked pretty good.
After I left Pizza Hut, I found some bookstores. The only thing is that there aren't many that sell English books. So, I gave up right around 1430 pm. When I got to the church, I found out that it's an actual ministry called International Worship in English, or IWE. It was awesome! It felt so good to worship Jesus! I can't really describe how I felt, but it was an amazing release. After all the stuff I was going through: moving to a foreign country, struggling to find a way to explain my faith to some Church of God cult, and just trying to figure things out in general, it was something.
Well, the preaching was awesome too, because it touched on something I'll need to remember while I'm here in Korea; it was 1 Corinthians 3:10-17. The verse that really hit me was 1 Cor. 3: 17, which states, "[i]f anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple." That last part was convicting. It just reminded me about all the crap I've been going through the past couple of months, but it was like God was telling me that now I have a choice to make: either I will serve him wholly, or I will live as one in the world.
Coming here is refreshing. I don't know anybody. I can't speak the language or understand it. I'm almost vunerable to anything. But through everything God has been faithful to me. Now, it's my turn to be faithful to him.
After the service, I went to some info class about IWE. Evidently, it's a ministry that exists to plug foreigners into the ministry for different things like student ministry, children's ministry, helping out at orphanages, feeding the homeless, etc. It was pretty cool. Afterwards, I made a bunch of friends there. We went to see Transformers 2 at an IMAX theater. Apparently, you have to reserve tickets here about a week in advance because most movie theaters get packed out pretty quickly. But, God had other plans when I thought and figured that I couldn't go. Cause I did. And, though the movie was OK, it was great to meet other English speaking people.
On Monday, I went to work. It was interesting. I taught about 7 classes on my first day. Needless to say, I was tired. Tuesday thru Thursday weren't too bad, I taught about 3 to 4 classes on those days. Friday was just about as busy as Monday. The only thing that made it difficult was that everything is completely unorganized. You don't know what your schedule is going to look like each day, nor do you know what your going to teach. But, I realized how underdeveloped the field of teaching second language is. The books were awful. It didn't make any sense the way the texts were organized. Some of them were too difficult for the age group, and others were too easy. So I improvised in some cases. Fortunately, my English background helped out a bit. But, most of the theory was useless, as most theory tends to be.
Other than working and going to church, I visited Chinatown today. It's located in the city I live in. It's a pretty cool place. There's tons of lanterns and restaurants to visit. I went to Jayu Park, which is a park dedicated to the Americans and Koreans who died in the Korean war. It's a pretty cool place to sit, relax, and look at the Yellow Sea. On clear days I heard you can see China, but I haven't been there on one.
So, that's the abridged version of what's been going on. I don't always get to write in my blog because it costs money at these PC bongs (Internet cafes). It's cheap, but I only have an hour to do stuff.
So, yeah, that's about it.
Peace.
Friday, July 3, 2009
SeOuL AdVenTuRe & nOt HaVinG MoNEy
So, I know I haven’t blogged for a while. Here’s the scoop.
On Wednesday, I visited one of my friends Pam. She’s the woman who recruited me. Anyways, I gave her a call on a payphone. It wasn’t too bad, except I kept running out of money. We decided to meet each other at Yeongsan. However, I had no idea how to get there. So, I took a taxi to Dongincheon Station. From Dongincheon, I took the train which cost about 1,500 won, or $1.50. It was about 45 mins to Yeongsan, which is in Seoul. Prior to this, I have never been to Seoul. When I got there I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many people running around to transfer. It was crazy! I ended up waiting for her for about another 45 mins. When we finally met up she seemed a little pissed because I didn’t call her even though I followed her directions to meet her at the platform. Evidently, there was a miscommunication between us.
Anyways, we decided to go back to her place for some food. It was about 8pm. So, we took a train to Seoul Station, got off and took a bus to Goyang City which is about 45 mins. north of Seoul and 30 mins south of the DMZ. When we arrived in Seoul, I was overwhelmed! The city is HUGE! It’s even bigger than New York City! And cleaner too! Compared to Incheon it is cleaner.
Evidently, Incheon is an underdeveloped city that is going through remodeling. And I live in one of the more underdeveloped parts called YeoungHyun5Dong, or to pronounce it, “Young-Hewn-Oh-Dong” in English.
Well, back to my story; I was really taken away by it. Not to mention that from Seoul to Incheon it’s all city as well.
Apparently, the Seoul Metropolitan Area is the second largest in the world. The fact that it takes 2 hours by train to get from one end to the other should testify to that too.
Anyways, we got to Goyang City about 9 pm; met up with some friends of hers that were some what drunk.
If there’s one thing everyone should know about Koreans is that they drink like the Irish. Ironically, Korea and Ireland are both divided countries, even though that’s not really relevant to that fact, but it’s interesting to note.
Well, both of her friends wanted me to drink. So I had some beer and soh-ju (spelling?). But, they kept trying to get me to drink. However, even though they were drunk, I wasn’t. Apparently, I can hold my alcohol better than I thought I could.
So, about 12 am, I decided that I needed to head back to Incheon. Well, that was my plan, until they told me that the trains stop running at midnight. So, I was stranded in some city about 2 hours by bus and train from my home. I wasn’t thrilled needless to say. However, Pam let me stay at her place until her boss’ son came back at 5 am. Which was cool with me. So, we went up to the roof of her apartment building and drank some more and talked. Then I went to bed sometime around 1 am. When I woke up at 5 am, she took me to the bus stop and told me what bus to take. When I got back to my apartment it was about 8 am.
When I woke up at 11 am, some people that I met came by and wanted to take me to there church. Now, for the past couple of days I thought that this church was a Christian church. Well, it is, but not really. They believe in something called God the Mother. It’s really weird. The hard thing is trying to tell them that I don’t believe in that stuff. But, they don’t like it when I try to tell them my thoughts or try to explain what I believe. They just treat me like I don’t know the Bible and that any faith I have isn’t true. It’s really frustrating.
Anyways, later that night I decided to do some shopping. So I went to Dongincheon. Around Dongincheon there’s the underground shopping arcade and the Shinpo Market. Both places are really big! However, when I went to get some cash, I couldn’t get any. Though I told my bank that I would be overseas, my cards weren’t working! I was pissed! Fortunately, I could get stuff when I made purchases with my cards; however, I couldn’t get cash.
In Korea, about 75% of the places only accept cash, especially local restaurants, buses, and trains. It sucks if you just have cards.
When I got back to my apartment, I was really tired.
Today, Friday, I woke up later than usuall. One of the guys that has been trying to convert me came by and got me, so it was tough trying to get away. When I finally got to a bank it was closed. Strangely, I wasn’t freaking out. Somehow I knew God would get me through this.
Sure enough, He did!
One of the teachers at my school let me borrow 100,000 won, which is about $100. I was so grateful! God was very gracious to me! I can’t describe how I felt.
So, yeah, I tried to make this post short, but I don’t think I succeeded. Well, just keep praying for me. I’ll try to update soon.
Peace.
On Wednesday, I visited one of my friends Pam. She’s the woman who recruited me. Anyways, I gave her a call on a payphone. It wasn’t too bad, except I kept running out of money. We decided to meet each other at Yeongsan. However, I had no idea how to get there. So, I took a taxi to Dongincheon Station. From Dongincheon, I took the train which cost about 1,500 won, or $1.50. It was about 45 mins to Yeongsan, which is in Seoul. Prior to this, I have never been to Seoul. When I got there I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many people running around to transfer. It was crazy! I ended up waiting for her for about another 45 mins. When we finally met up she seemed a little pissed because I didn’t call her even though I followed her directions to meet her at the platform. Evidently, there was a miscommunication between us.
Anyways, we decided to go back to her place for some food. It was about 8pm. So, we took a train to Seoul Station, got off and took a bus to Goyang City which is about 45 mins. north of Seoul and 30 mins south of the DMZ. When we arrived in Seoul, I was overwhelmed! The city is HUGE! It’s even bigger than New York City! And cleaner too! Compared to Incheon it is cleaner.
Evidently, Incheon is an underdeveloped city that is going through remodeling. And I live in one of the more underdeveloped parts called YeoungHyun5Dong, or to pronounce it, “Young-Hewn-Oh-Dong” in English.
Well, back to my story; I was really taken away by it. Not to mention that from Seoul to Incheon it’s all city as well.
Apparently, the Seoul Metropolitan Area is the second largest in the world. The fact that it takes 2 hours by train to get from one end to the other should testify to that too.
Anyways, we got to Goyang City about 9 pm; met up with some friends of hers that were some what drunk.
If there’s one thing everyone should know about Koreans is that they drink like the Irish. Ironically, Korea and Ireland are both divided countries, even though that’s not really relevant to that fact, but it’s interesting to note.
Well, both of her friends wanted me to drink. So I had some beer and soh-ju (spelling?). But, they kept trying to get me to drink. However, even though they were drunk, I wasn’t. Apparently, I can hold my alcohol better than I thought I could.
So, about 12 am, I decided that I needed to head back to Incheon. Well, that was my plan, until they told me that the trains stop running at midnight. So, I was stranded in some city about 2 hours by bus and train from my home. I wasn’t thrilled needless to say. However, Pam let me stay at her place until her boss’ son came back at 5 am. Which was cool with me. So, we went up to the roof of her apartment building and drank some more and talked. Then I went to bed sometime around 1 am. When I woke up at 5 am, she took me to the bus stop and told me what bus to take. When I got back to my apartment it was about 8 am.
When I woke up at 11 am, some people that I met came by and wanted to take me to there church. Now, for the past couple of days I thought that this church was a Christian church. Well, it is, but not really. They believe in something called God the Mother. It’s really weird. The hard thing is trying to tell them that I don’t believe in that stuff. But, they don’t like it when I try to tell them my thoughts or try to explain what I believe. They just treat me like I don’t know the Bible and that any faith I have isn’t true. It’s really frustrating.
Anyways, later that night I decided to do some shopping. So I went to Dongincheon. Around Dongincheon there’s the underground shopping arcade and the Shinpo Market. Both places are really big! However, when I went to get some cash, I couldn’t get any. Though I told my bank that I would be overseas, my cards weren’t working! I was pissed! Fortunately, I could get stuff when I made purchases with my cards; however, I couldn’t get cash.
In Korea, about 75% of the places only accept cash, especially local restaurants, buses, and trains. It sucks if you just have cards.
When I got back to my apartment, I was really tired.
Today, Friday, I woke up later than usuall. One of the guys that has been trying to convert me came by and got me, so it was tough trying to get away. When I finally got to a bank it was closed. Strangely, I wasn’t freaking out. Somehow I knew God would get me through this.
Sure enough, He did!
One of the teachers at my school let me borrow 100,000 won, which is about $100. I was so grateful! God was very gracious to me! I can’t describe how I felt.
So, yeah, I tried to make this post short, but I don’t think I succeeded. Well, just keep praying for me. I’ll try to update soon.
Peace.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, June 29, 2009
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.
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.
Friday, June 26, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
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.
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.
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