I'm home!

I have made it back to the US safely! My return was not as crazy as my trip there. We got upgraded to Business Class from Seoul to Taipei! It was wonderful. I stayed up the entire flight so that when I landed in Portland at midnight on Wednesday I could sleep and adjust to this time zone. But it is already Saturday night/Sunday morning and I am unable to sleep! I am still not adjusted!

I have already started working at the Rapids and it is nice to be back. It is very weird to use my cell phone again. I never check it and I often miss texts or phone calls because I am so used to not using one.

It was not too hard adjusting to the culture here, just the food. I can't eat a very big meal and I usually don't eat after 10pm, but I am always hungry now late at night. Kinda annoying! On Thursday I cooked Korean pizza (vegetable pancake), black noodles and pot bing su for my family, they all loved it. I made them eat the entire meal with chopsticks too, it was very entertaining!

I am so happy to be back but sad that I will not see my friends in Korea for awhile! I already miss it very much. I feel soooo blessed to have had this opportunity to travel overseas to a country I never dreamed I would visit. It was truly an insightful experience I won't soon forget!

The Final Days!

I fly back to the USA tonight!!

My last few days in Korea have been very fun!
On Friday afternoon we left Yangsan. My host family helped get our stuff to the train deck and when the train was approaching we said our goodbyes and my host mom, Jaeil started crying and then I did too. David, Hannah and Jaeil helped us get our stuff on the train but as they were walking down the asile to get off the train, it started moving! They had to ride the train with us to the next stop, which was about 10-15 minutes. Later David told us they ended up waiting an hour and a half at the next station to catch the next train back! I felt really bad but we were all laughing about what a great story and memory it is!

We arrived in Seoul around 8pm and met Jangmi, our friend from NNU. By the time we made it with all of our luggage back to her house we were really tired. On Saturday we met up with Jangmi at the subway near her work and went shopping at a street market because I had some last minute gifts to get. I ended up spending more money than planned! Dang cheap street markets, everything is a good deal! We met up with two of Jangmi's friends and just hung out the rest of the afternoon. All of the makeup stores give out free face masks if you go in their store so we ended up going in all of them and pretending to look around for a bit so we could get the free masks! Saturday night we just had a girls night watching movies, wearing face masks and painting our nails.

Last month, before Pastor Cho moved back to Seoul, we made a plan with him to go to his huge church's English service and then spend the day touring Seoul with him. His church is huge and beautiful there are 11 buildings scattered over a few blocks that make up the church. The sanctuary holds 2,000+ people in each service and it is always full. Pastor Cho said there are 50,000 members! The English service was wonderful. I have missed being able to understand the worship and sermon at church! After church we were walking around and I spotted a Mexican food restaurant (there were none in Yangsan) so we ate there! It was delicious! For the Seoul tour he took us to the Palace that I went to in May with Hyesu, except this time it was much more hot! And then we also went to the Seoul tower and saw the huge beautiful city of Seoul! I will upload pictures when I can get internet on my laptop. There is a chain waist high fence on the observation deck that couples lock locks on and throw the key over the edge. They are called love locks! And there is no blank space left on the fence to add more locks, it is amazing and beautiful!

On Monday Jangmi's parents bought us three tickets to Lotte World theme park! It reminds me of a mini Disneyland with a castle and everything! There was an indoor park and an outdoor park. It was a lot of fun! We rode a lot of rides and partway through the day Hyesu and Jangmi's friend Shinil joined us. He goes to college in Minnesota so his English was pretty good! It was a really fun day and when we got back to her house we were all exhausted!

I am sooooo excited to fly home tonight! We are leaving Jangmi's house in a couple hours to catch an Airport Limo Bus and fly home! This has been an amazing summer and I am so glad I had the opportunity to come here!

Final weekend in Yangsan!

Our final weekend in Yangsan was a blast! On Saturday one of my adult students, Peter, said he would drive us to a lighthouse that we heard was beautiful. It was an hour and a half away in Busan. When we got to Taejungdae park, where the lighthouse is, my other adult student Kate and her husband and daughter were there waiting! We had a wonderful time walking the one mile through the beautiful park to the lighthouse. While we were waiting for the bus to go back to out car, Kate's daughter, Haerim (6 yrs old) grabbed my hand and the rest of the day she was my little shadow. So cute! And even though we could not communicate we had a fun time! I also pointed at things throughout the park (tree, rock, flower, lighthouse, airplane) and taught her the English words. She called me seonsangnim, or teacher in English. After the lighthouse, we drove back to Yangsan where we all met up with another one of my adult students for Chineese food. When Haerim came in to the restaurant she yelled seonsangnim, and sat next to me :) She was adorable! It was a very fun day!

Sunday's service was great too. I still can't understand a word they are saying but the closing song was Be Thou My Vision, so after months of not being able to understand, I was able to sing along in English! It was wonderful.

Tonight Krista and I are planning on taking our host mom to Coffee Jigi, my favorite coffee shop, because our host brother and sister are at church camp until Wednesday and an outing with her would be fun!

We leave Yangsan on Friday afternoon and we will be in Seoul with Jangmi until Tuesday. We will also get to see Pastor Cho and he will be giving us a personal tour of Seoul! I am very excited!

Korea vs America

As my trip is coming to a close I though I would write down all of the things I love and will miss about Korea and things I wont miss and then the same for America!

Things I love and will miss about Korea:
~The people here are so nice!
~The culture is so respectful to everyone, especially their elders.
~How accommodating my host mom is to our likes and dislikes
~My host brother asking us every night after class "Were you funny" instead of "Was it fun" or "are you boring" instead of "are you bored" and "take a rest".
~No one being able to say my name...I get called Brake, Brick, or Bakes (L's are hard to say)
~The church and all of the services they have.
~Talking really slow so that they can understand us.
~Playing cards with my host brother and sister.
~Running stairs and doing ab workouts with my host sister and mom.
~Taking short sightseeing trips on weekends with my host family.
~Coffee Jigi
~Random people coming up to us wanting to talk to us and practice their English.
~That wearing a seat belt is offensive to their driving
~My host moms cooking
~Drinking watered down coffee
~Korean instant coffee
~Hang drying our clothes
~The lunches everyday at the church (even if the food was not to my liking)
~The very huge amount of snack food the church secretary leaves for us during our break in between classes.
(There are many thing I love that I cannot remember as I am writing this)

Things I won't miss as much in Korea:
~Paying for toilet paper at the subway.
~Squatty potties
~No ovens
~Walking everywhere in the insane humidity or pouring down rain
~Hour long subway rides
~Being bored some days
~Getting stared at whenever we walk somewhere
~Random people touching my pale arms and blonde hair
~Not being able to read anything or speak to anyone

Things I miss about America:
~My family
~The food
~My friends
~Being able to speak and read signs

With only 11 days left in this wonderful country the realization that I may never be able to come back here is sad. I was finally able to communicate to my students that next week is our last class and when they understood that I will be leaving for good and there will be no more class, they all said a very long, in unison, Noooo. It is sad that I will be leaving and going back to my life in America and they will continue their lives in Korea. I hope that somewhere along the way I had an impact on their lives similar to the one they all had on mine!

Waterfall adventure with my family!

Today we went on a what turned out to me a mini hike with our host family! A few classes ago one of my adult students told me about a waterfall that is very beautiful, just outside of town; but it is too far to ride a bus and walk so our family went today! It was a short drive and then when we got there we parked where everyone else did but after a 15-20 walk up a steep road we realized we could have driven up the road and then walked the remaining short distance to the waterfall. There were stairs that took us right to the base of the waterfall. Along the stairs there were a couple temples with very good smelling incense burning! It was beautiful! The waterfall is kinda small this time of year because it doesn't rain very much and because of the heat too. We had a fun time. Then on the way down we took a path and sat on a big rock and enjoyed some snacks that we had bought before we left.
After we got back, Krista and I walked to EMart because we are cooking chicken parmesan tonight for our family. As we were getting to EMart we ran into one of my adult students, Susan, and her son Daniel (also my student). She invited us to join her as Daniel got his hair cut. And after she bought us a deep fried-dipped octopus snack (which was interesting) and we went to my favorite coffee shop, Coffee Jigi, where she also treated us to Pot bing su (the shaved ice, rice cake, milk and bean dessert). It was very delicious and turned out to be a fun afternoon! We are going to start the dinner soon! I hope I can make the chicken good in the frying pan!

July is here!

So I learned that the 4th of July is no fun in a foreign country where you only know one other American. Krista and I did nothing for the holiday :/ I was bummed because it is one of my favorite holidays, Ill just have to have a BBQ when I get back to make up for it!
We are still pretty bored since we don't walk to the church or lunch anymore. This weekend we went in to Busan and walked a street market all day, it was pretty fun even though we didn't buy anything.
Last night in my 1-2 grade elementary students class, one of my students brought me a rice ball with a note that said I love You and another brought me a Starbucks Drink! I love those little kids! We took a picture at class last night!
Today, we got up early and decided to go to the beach for the day. We had to get on the subway at 2 to be back in time to shower and eat before our classes. The beach was hot and sunny with a nice cool breeze and since I forgot the sunscreen and couldn't put more on I got incredibly burnt on my back! :( It hurts! Might go buy some aloe vera tonight.

Interesting differences!

So this week has been good, overcast but still HOT and HUMID! It kills me! I don't know how Koreans do it! Teaching has been going well. The dinner with my adults class on Monday was very fun too! Last night for the opening question in my adults class, we shared out testimonies! It was wonderful. Even though it was a struggle sometimes, everyone enjoyed it!

Since being in Korea I have observed some interesting differences! One of them is that there are no ovens! They only cook on propane stoves and they use a lot of oil! There are no pale blondes, so I always get stared at or touched! Also, there are no trash cans or public restrooms around the city. So if we buy a coffee or ice cream on our walks, we carry the garbage the rest of the walk until our apartment or the church. At the subway stations you have to buy toilet paper before going in and using the restroom and half of the stalls have squatty potties instead of toilets! And my favorite one is that there are no shower curtains so the water goes everywhere on the floor! But there is a drain in the middle of the bathroom floor. They also eat specially raised dog here too (not pet dogs) but still different! Lastly, there are no dryers or fabric softener! We hang dry our clothes all old school like. I like these interesting cultural experiences!

Weekend

We have had a pretty relaxed, boring weekend. Last night South Korea played Uruguay and Krista and I walked to the soccer stadium in this city to watch the game on the big screen with all of the locals, but since it rained they didn't show the game there. We ended up just watching it back at our apartment with our host family.

Tomorrow (Monday) since we don't teach, one of the students in my adults class is having the whole class plus Krista and me over for dinner! She asked what we liked to eat and I told her beef so I'm crossin my fingers for no fish! Should be a good time getting to know my students even better!

Good News!

Today after lunch, we were drinking iced coffee and cooling off before we had to walk all the way back to our apartment and the secretary of the church came in and asked if we had any money. Of course we told her no because we are broke and she said she talked to the pastor about getting us money! About 5 min later she came back with 50,000 Wan for each of us! (about $50) She said it was not salary but spending money! It was good to hear that we will get a salary! :) She said they are also trying to get us a Korean cell phone so they can get a hold of us!

Another week begins!

Monday Krista and I were tired of not doing anything so we decided to go to the beach, overcast or not! When we got there it looked like it was foggy, but it was really smog. Yuck. But we layed on the beach and went in the water for a couple hours anyway. It was nice to see the sun! All of the walking to and from the church is getting me a pretty nice farmers tan that I hope to even out!!

Today we were back to the same old routine: lunch at the church and teaching from 6-10. Today my elementary class had more book work than games, they didn't like that too much. But those days happen. And my middle school class learned about "Places Around the Town" and we played picture BINGO in that class. They loved it and at the end of the class the person with the most BINGO's got an NNU hat! They really loved that!

I just got back to my homestay and waiting on the bed was a large care package from my family! Filled with familiar snacks and candy! I love them! It was a great surprise to see it so soon! I let my host family try some of the Mike and Ikes and Hot Tomales, I don't know if they actually liked them or not but they tried it! haha

Krista and I are gettin sad because Pastor Cho is moving back to Seoul on Monday so he wont be around to help us out all the time! He did, however, promise us a personal tour of Seoul when we go back up there for our flight home. So we are planning to spend the last 3-4 days in Seoul with Jangmi, our NNU friend, and get a tour from Pastor Cho! I am excited!

And after a long day, Krista and I are going to end the night with the latest episode of The Bachelorette! :) and then wake up at 3:30am for South Korean World Cup game! Life is good! :)

Saturday with our family!

Today Krista and I were hoping to go to the beach but the weather online said it was on 75 and foggy. We wanted to go lay in the sun. So, we asked our family what there was to do in Yangsan/Busan and after much confusion our host family decided to come with us to a Korean Temple! It was about a 20 min drive from our homestay. It was beautiful and there is a place called Temple Stay where, I believe, people can live in? There is a lot that is lost in translation. People were praying and bowing in the tamples so it was really cool to see people actually using them! It was also fun being out with our host mom, dad and brother. Hannah, our sister, had to study on her Saturday :( and our afternoon at the temple was short because David, our brother, had to get back to Academy school. But it was a fun afternoon!

My difficult class!

Tonight I had my 2-3 grade class. One of my students is incredibly difficult, especially with the language barrier and I cannot understand what he is saying about me that makes the class giggle! Oh well.. I think I have found a way to beat his little games though. Every class I try to end with a creative game and tonight was picture BINGO. They loved it! But at the beginning of the class I wrote everyone's names on the board and said if they talked or were bad then I would put a check mark by their names, three checks and they couldn't play the game. So after this boy got to two checks today, he started to see I was serious and followed direction!

My adults class right after is so much fun. We just talk the whole time and follow our simple but practical textbook. Today was learning how to talk about hobbies and sports and with the World Cup this was a very lively and interesting class. One of the women in my class is having the whole class plus Krista and me over for dinner in a couple weeks. She said her husband is very excited to talk to me and ask me questions :)

Just another Thursday..and Friday

Yesterday, Thursday, we walked to the church like we do everyday except it was incredibly hot! There were no clouds in the sky to shade us from the sun. And on Thursdays at the church is Senior day. So there are aerobic/dance classes for the older church members, a hair salon and the cafeteria serves a big lunch. I am not a big fan of Thursday lunch and neither is Pastor Cho, he says the food is terrible! So I stick to a small portion of rice. Last night, I had my 1-2 grade class. They are so cute and quiet. I was teaching them about school supplies so we played picture BINGO. Once they understood it, they loved it! After my Elementary A class, I have a Middle School class and only one girl showed up (because the World Cup Korea vs Argentina) so I attempted to talk with her for about a half hour and sent her home. When Krista and I got back to our homestay we all gathered around the computer and watched the World Cup game! There is a stadium a few blocks from our apartment that plays the game so every time there was a goal we could hear the cheering before we saw it on out computer. It was fun!! Too bad Korea lost :/

Today, Friday, it is overcast and rainy so our walk was not bad at all! When we turned the corner to the church, Pastor Cho drove past us and told us to get it. All of the other pastors were already at a Chineese restaurant for Ja Jung Meon (Korean black noodles) this is the second time this week Krista and I have had this week. I get a lot of compliments on my chopstick skills! I have gotten very good at using them :) Ja Jung Meon is kind of a bland dish with one flavor but I didn't mind! At least it wasn't fish! :) Tonight I have my 2-3 grade class, with a very misbehaved boy. So it is always a challenge. We are playing BINGO tonight too. And after that class is my adults class, I love the this class!

Humidity!

It has been SO hot the past couple days. Walking to and from the church is pretty killer at the heat of the day. I have started wearing tank tops and bringing a sweater to put over once we get to the church. We are still dying by the time we get there though. And we are sticky all day from the very high humidity. Today it is about 85 degrees!

Yesterday I taught my 2-3 grade class and my adults. The 2-3 grade are the most challenging! It is hard to discipline them with the language barrier. I hope it gets better! I really enjoy my adults class, their English is pretty good and they are all so sweet. We are trying to coordinate schedules to go out to lunch or dinner and get to know each other outside class time. They are quite a blessing! And every class someone brings some kind of treat for everyone. I am enjoying trying new and different Korean snacks! Though some of them are quite interesting!

Monday!

Mondays at the church are what they call holiday, or day off. So, yesterday, Pastor Cho wanted to take us to a movie! We went and saw Prince of Persia. It was in English and Koreans have to read subtitles, doesn't seem fair. But if they want to see it as soon as it comes out in the US subtitles are quicker than voice overs. It was a great movie!! After the movie he took us to pizza at Mr. Pizza. We had a really flat but good chicken pizza. There were some pieces with bbq chicken, some with alfredo, some with garlic and the rest had spicy chicken. The salad bar is family style so Pastor Cho got us bowls of fruit and whenever you order a pizza here you get free hot wings too! So after that very very late lunch we went and walked 250some stairs up to a temple and a war memorial. It was very fun! And as soon as we got back to our home stay our host mom had dinner almost ready. We were SO stuffed but I ate my bowl of rice anyway! It was a miserable feeling being that full!

Thursday Classes

Tonight I taught middle school and 1-2 second grade again. So, on Tue/Thurs I teach 1-2 grade (6:30-8) and middle school (8:30-10). And Wed/Fri 2-3 grade and then adults after. The half hour break is much needed in between these classes. I am not called to be a teacher! But this is a wonderful experience. It is exhausting not having a language in common! But we make it through each class laughing and smiling.

My 1-2 graders were learning colors tonight so we played "I Spy" for a portion if the class. Then we were learning body parts so I taught them "Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." I have also found that the LOVE word finds so I make sure to bring at least two for them to work on. I try to stick with the theme for each unit in the work book I am using, Tuesdays class is all about Farm animals! I am excited to teach them "Old McDonald"!

Krista and I are hoping that will be getting paid (like Josh and Justin did last summer) to help with the cost of the trip and hopefully end up with a little extra. We are unsure if this is the case this summer. In this culture it would be rude and impolite of us to ask about it. Another difference in cultures :)

영어 수업 일 2

We just got back to our apartment after our second day teaching! I had a 2-3 grade class and an adult class tonight. Both were an hour and a half long tonight! I'm tired! My 2-3 graders had a ton of energy! I taught them the colors and then we played "I spy" for like 20 minutes at the end, they loved it! But I got a headache from them running and screaming out items. It was pretty fun. Then in my adults class we just talked for the whole class. Which was quite exhausting because their English is not the best. They were all at a higher level than I expected though. It is fun talking and getting to know them. A few of the mothers in the class volunteered the class to bring snacks because they said I look too thin. So now we get snacks twice a week! Hope they are yummy! They also want to take us out to meet their friends. I love the mothers in my class! Krista and I are teaching this one together because she didn't have a class on Monday/Fridays at 8:30 and I do. It is easier to talk to the adults when there are two of us.

When we got back our host brother said I look tired and my host mom just made us banana milk. I don't like milk, but this was good! She just blended bananas with milk, 맛있은 (delicious)!

20th BDAY and 1st day teaching!

Today was my 20th birthday!

After our daily traditional Korean lunch at the church Krista and I went to a coffee shop, that we found yesterday, to work on our online classes and our lesson plans! We were there for only a few minutes when a middle aged Korean man and his assistant came up and started talking to us. He is a contractor or an inspector, from what we could understand, and he asked us what we were doing this summer in Yangsan (not many foreigners come here). After a few minutes he said good bye and left to go back to work. We were at the coffee shop for an hour or so and Krista decided to go back to the apartment where it was quieter. I get more work done in a noisy coffee shop, sipping a mocha :) When I was walking back I walked by and office and the contracting inspector came out and asked me to come in his office and talk more. He was really nice and we talked for a little bit. I explained that we are only teaching at night and hoping to find private students to teach during the day for extra money. He asked how much I charge and I had no idea what is fair here. He said he would ask around and see if he could find any students for me. I gave him my email and he continuted to tell me about his connections with Cuckoo, the worlds largest rice cooker manufacturer (located in Yangsan) and how the company does business internationally and would maybe like some private lessons in English! I hope to hear back from him soon about this, the extra students would help fill the time during the day and the extra money would be nice.

Tonight at my first class sessions, I taught 1-2 graders from 6:30-7:30 and middle schoolers from 8:30-9:30. Usually the classes will be an hour and a half, but not on the first night. My 1-2 grade class was where I expected. I spent the whole lesson today on ABC's and counting. I also taught them to write their letters and numbers. In my middle school class, we listened to the book cd and they were better at English than I thought. So I will have to prepare more activities for them on Thursday.

When we got home from teaching my host mom had a Baskin Robbins cake and some cookies for us and my host brother, sister, Krista and I enjoyed it! I thought no one here knew, but I guess my host mom remembered! It was definitely a birthday I will never forget!

Tomorrow, I will prepare for my 2-3 grade class and my adults class! Hope those go well too! And I hope to hear back from the contractor/building inspector!

Another Sunday

Today Krista and I went to church with our family at 10am. As usual we sat there and could not understand a single word in the sermon or the worship. Our host mom will show us the English translation of the verses from the Bible so we can at least follow along. Then we pretty much end up sitting there bored or reading more from the Bible. We came back after church and then went to the church again at 2pm for university age. This service was significantly longer than we expected because it included what they call Cell Meetings. In our cell small group a couple of the students spoke brief English. So we were able to communicate then which was nice. The leader of the small group who spoke some English said we should make appointment to meet up sometime. I hope we do this soon! Because Krista and I are bored out of our minds and with only teaching at night, from 6:30-10pm on Tuesday-Friday nights.

We found a website that allows us to watch American shows so I am catching up on Grey's Anatomy and The Bachelorette! We also do small workouts in our room and go for runs along the river to pass time. Can't wait to start teaching!

Class Orientation

Today Krista and I went to the church for lunch and then after lunch, Pastor Cho asked us if we wanted to go to the bookstore in Busan with him. After we went to the bookstore we went to the beach again! Pastpr Cho took us to Starbucks and then we walked to the beach. When we got there we realized it was the annual Busan sand festival! The sand castles that we watched being built were amazing!!

Later in the evening, after we got back to Yangsan, we walked back to the church for orientation with our classes. From 7:30-8 was my orientation with my Elementary A (1-2 grade) and Elementary B (2-3 grade) classes. There were only about 11 kids there from my classes. From 8-8:30 was my middle school orientation. In both orientations I introduced myself and told them they could call me Blake or Miss Weber because saying "L" is hard for Koreans. I told them where I was from, my age and then I went over what I would be teaching in the class. In both of my orientations none of the elementary or middle school kids could speak english! Luckily they could understand my hand motions and Pastor Cho came in to help me translate the more important stuff. I told them to pick an English name (some already had them from other English classes) by the first day of class next Tuesday. I also told them if they misbehave or talk while I am talking they have to stand up and quietly hold their hands above their head for 1 minute. I had one boy have to serve this punishment twice and it was only orientation! Ill have to keep my eye on him! I am also teaching an adults class, but there was no orientation for them. I finally have my teachers textbooks so I can begin to prepare this weekend!

A Yummy Dinner!

Today Krista and I went to the church and talked about our classes with one of the church leaders. Less people signed up than last year so I am nervous we won't get reimbursed for our traveling expenses here. But I won't worry about it! Since our weekend in Seoul cost quite a bit of money we don't do too much during the day now. We skype a lot, facebook a lot and I work on my summer school classes.

Our host mom made spaghetti tonight for dinner! And she served us pizza for lunch yesterday! The church pastors and cooks noticed I don't eat very much at lunchtime and last week one of them asked my favorite food. I said pizza, pasta and mashed potatoes! I wonder if we'll have mashed potatoes tomorrow night?? :) I ate the pasta SO fast because it was very delicious! It is feelin a bit more homey here with food I actually enjoy!

Tomorrow night is orientation with our classes. I am still teaching 5 classes they will just be smaller than expected-probably a blessing though!

Sam Yang Church services

Tonight was our second time attending Wednesday night service. During the worship Krista and I sometimes recognize the tune and can sing along in English. That has only happened twice maybe though. Tonight, at the end of the worship portion the worship leader was praying in Korean and even though I couldn't understand her, I got the goosebumps and I could feel God's presence in the service! Sometimes it gets quite boring attending services at least twice a week when we can't understand what is being sung or said. Especially when my favorite part is the worship and singing! I guess that is all a part of this experience. I look forward to attend church back in the states and being able to understand everything! I wish that I could find a violin though so I could participate in the service somehow. Music is a universal language!

Weekend in Seoul!

I just got back to Yangsan from Seoul! We had a great weekend!

We left Yangsan on Saturday morning at 6:50am. We arrived in Seoul at 1pm and Josh and Justin met up with Josh's host family from last year and Krista and I met Jangmi. On Saturday we just shopped and walked the streets of downtown Seoul. That evening we met up with Hyesu, Jin Soo and one of Hyesu's other friends and went our for dinner. We had this amazing beef that was cooked right on the table on a burner. After dinner we went and got Pot Bing Su and just hung out downtown. In Seoul, the subway and bus systems stop running at 11-midnight, depeding on the line, I think this is the governments way of assisting parents with cerfew because no teenagers have cars! :)

On Sunday I went to church with Jangmi, while Justin, Krista and Josh went to church with Peter (Josh's host family last summer) and his family. At Jangmi's church, we attended the main service and after a ton of the church members came up to us and were asking Jangmi and her mom about me. They also touched my skin and hair. Even though Seoul is more touristy, some people still don't see too many foreigners I guess! In between the main and college service we went and got pasta for lunch! It was different sauce than alfredo in America, but I had been craving pasta so it was wonderful. Later the other three told me that they went out for a traditional Korean meal including Beef Blood Soup! I made the right choice staying with Jangmi :)

On Monday, Jangmi had to work so Hyesu, Josh and I toured the city! We went to the Gyeogbokgung Palace, the 40 acre palace that was built in 1394. It was absolutely beautiful. Out front there were real male guards (actors) that reinacted the traditional changing of the guards. Hyesu and I were taking a picture on the steps right next to what would have been the main guard and right when we were walking down the steps they started their routine for the changing of the guard! We were almost in their way. We also went to a river that runs right down the middle of a street. The river used to be under the road but a few years ago they built the road around it. It is quite beautiful! After the river we met up with Jangmi and the four of us went to a street market where I bought a new suitcase because EVA Airline ruined mine on the way over. I was able to negotiate, with assistance from Hyesu and Jangmi, the suitcase down from $75 to only $40! I was quite pleased with my good deal!

This morning Krista and I said goodbye to Josh and Justin, who are going to Taiwan for an internship, and we returned to Yangsan. We will start teaching our classes next Tuesday, June 8th - my birthday! I am excited and nervous to get started!

Busan and the beach!

Yesterday and today we went to Busan. Yesterday we went to a different part of Busan and today we went to the beaches because it was sunny! But everyone here uses umbrellas in the sun because pale skin is more beautiful than tan skin! I like this culture :) The beaches were beautiful and are packed when it gets hotter outside. We have walked SO much these past few days that we are all exhausted tonight!

Tomorrow we are going in to Busan (about 20 min drive/ 1-1.5 hour subway) with the church to buy our books for our English classes! After we get back to Yangsan the four of us are going to Seoul for the weekend to visit our friend Jangmi (she goes to NNU). The guys leave for Taiwan for the summer on Tuesday so until then we will tour and shop in Seoul! Ill post pictures and everything when I get back! :)

Tonight we went to the Yangsan tower, much like the space needle. It was free to go to the viewing deck so we went up there and took pictures of the city at dusk. Very huge city and very pretty at night!

Homestay life

Today was our first full day at our homestay! Korean homes are small apartments that all look the same. Ours is a 3 bedroom with an open area including a kitchen and a family room. So they are pretty small. Krista and my room ended up being the master bedroom that has a bathroom in it. They offered and we didn't know so we accepted this room. Out host father works for the government 5ish hours away so he is not here during the week. Out host mother barely speaks any English so it has been a challenge! The bathroom attached to our room is quite interesting- there is no shower but a drain in the floor and a shower head/hose attached to the sink faucet. The shower head mounts on the wall and there is no shower curtain or anything. Water goes everywhere in the small bathroom, kinda odd to me!

Anyway, today we had plans to meet Josh and Justin at 1:30 at the subway a few blocks away and go to Busan! But at about 11am we got a bunch of phone calls (our family had already left for school or work) so we finally answered and it was a man saying, in broken English, that he would be at our house at noon. Krista tried to tell him that our family was gone but he hung up! So we went on with our morning. At noon our doorbell rang and rang but we didn't answer it because we didn't know who it was! The phone also started ringing non stop. After about 10 minutes we heard the code to our door being punched in and the door opened. I was in our room still doing my makeup and hair. It was a man from the church coming to take us to lunch! I had not gotten dressed yet! But we told him we would be ready in 2 minutes. So we ended up at the church without makeup on or our hair done! Oh well. I'm learning all about language barriers.

Krista and I just got done talking to our host brother before we go to bed. He is 15 in Korean age (everyone turns a year older on Jan 1st of their birth year here) and he wants to come to America to NNU or Nampa Christian High School and grow up to be a diplomat! He is pretty cute, with pretty good English! His name is David and my host sisters name is Hannah and she is 16 in Korean age. They are a very hardworking and smart family! What a fun experience living with them!!

Korean church and another meal

Today we attended San Yang Church, where we will start teaching in 2 weeks and it was quite the experience. This church is considered small in Yansang, there are several thousand members! The city of Yansang is considered small too at 300,000 people!

One of the pastors came and picked us up from our hotel and took us to the church where, before service, everyone gets lunch. This lunch was a traditional Korean meal including white rice and eel soup! I didn't like the eel soup but I tried it!

Next we went up for coffee in the pastors office and sat there for a few minutes, which made us late for the noon service-we were confused why we waited so long to go to service! The whole service itself was incredible, the sanctuary was huge! And we sat in the back with a pastor named Chang. (She will be helping us through the entire summer) She also translated as much of the service as possible which her broken English. After the service we went to a gathering room with tables and sat from about 2-4pm. We could have gone to the youth service at 3 but since we could not understand anything we decided to stay and sit. At 4 Chang came back and got us and took us to another service. At this service another pastor spoke and then the 4 of us were introduced, we all just stood up there and smiled because we didn't understand a single thing!

After this service a family from Josh's class wanted to take us out to dinner. Earlier, Chang had asked us what we wanted to eat and I said chicken! But instead Chang, the 4 of us and the family went out for octopus! ugh. Just what I needed in my stomach after the eel soup earlier. After I choked down one bite to not be rude I stuck with rice and veggies and Korean pizza!

After dinner Chang, Krista and I went to the family that we will be staying with. It is a VERY small apartment and Krista and I will be sharing the master bedroom. I am not that excited because only the dad speaks english and he does not live there during the week, only on weekends. And our room is really small! Even for just 2 of us :( Wishing we could stay at the hotel longer! I guess there are some bright sides to staying in the same home as Krista- we will keep eachother company when we can't communicate with the family.

Korean Culture

So yesterday (Friday) we were at the church where we will be teaching helping with international recruiting for NNU. We met the pastor and others in the church that will help Krista and I throughout the summer. However, they informed us that they were not expecting us for about two more weeks (one of the challenges with communicating with different cultures). So, for this first week they are paying for us to stay in the hotel and then next week they will have a small apartment ready at the church for us to live in. After the two weeks we will move in with our host families. I was hoping to move in with our families sooner than that because I am ready to get better settled. Krista and I were hoping to have some of our English teaching materials so that we could prepare a little bit but we are learning that that is not how Korean culture works. :) On the bright side we get 2 weeks to tour Yangsan, Busan or go back to Seoul for a day!!

In between recruiting sessions yesterday we went to a market in downtown Yangsan and walked around. We went in some shoe stores and I was tempted to buy some!! We also went to a restaurant the had swings for chairs at the tables! We had a dessert called Pop Bing Su. It was ice shavings, with milk, ice cream on top and then you could choose your toppings. Justin got fresh sliced watermelon. Josh, Krista, Hyesu and Jae got a variety of fruit and I got coffee! Mine was coffee and corn flake toppings. It was served in a glass bowl like cereal and it was VERY good! I like trying some of these different Korean treats!

Today all of the NNU representatives left so now it is just Josh, Justin, Krista and me. Though Josh and Justin leave for Taiwan on June 1st. So Krista and I are not completely on our own yet. It was raining today but we walked a couple miles to the EMart (WalMart equivalent). By the time we got back to the hotel we were drenched! At 6pm the secretary, and her daughter, from the church came and got us and took us to dinner. She took us out to McDonalds! Nice that it was a bit more familiar; the culture shock of the completely different food is becoming a bit more overwhelming! Neither the secretary, nor her daughter, could speak very much English. So Krista and I had quite the time understanding them. But through body language and a lot of pointing we had quite an enjoyable dinner! It is amazing how we are able to find a commonality even when we can barely share a single phrase. I really enjoyed this experience! I am sure there will be many more of these to come!

Being a blonde in Korea

I forgot to add this but when we landed in Seoul and I was exchanging currency my picture got taken 3 times! But I wasn't looking! Then today on the subway a man across from me tried to be sneaky and take my picture on his phone. We all saw him though! haha I get looked at everywhere I go! It is a weird feeling though. Can't wait to not stick out like a sore thumb anymore :)

First day in Korea!

We are just wrapping up our first day in Korea, quite the experience! We have seriously been on a bus, taxi, plane or subway over half of the last 3 days! We are in Yangsan at a hotel tonight.

Today we went in to Seoul to to have lunch with a man that Justin knew. He took Josh, Justin, Krista and me out to a traditional Korean meal. We sat on the floor at small tables and everything. The appetizers included a pumpkin soup and a kimchi soup along with raw salmon and shrimp. We were then served vegetable noodles. The main course was a bowl of rice with sides including oysters, baby octopus, seaweed, spinach, more kimchi and pork. We also had a soup with tofu, spices and clams. And the dessert was a cinnamon spice tea and oranges. I tried nearly everything that was served except the clams and shrimp! The baby octopus was really spicy! The raw salmon I had to literally choke down because our hosts were watching me. I learned how to use chopsticks for the first time today so our hosts were always watching me and chuckling at my efforts. It was an interesting experience and all of our legs were dying by the end of the meal at that mini table!

Because of this long traditional meal we missed our bullet train (2 hours) to Yangsan at 1pm. So we had to wait and catch a bus at 4 that took 5 hours+. We finally got to Yangsan and then had to take an 1hr and a half subway ride followed by a taxi to our hotel. But when we got to the stop at the subway we couldn't afford two taxis and a random man offered us a ride. So 3 went in a taxi and Josh, Hyesu and I rode with the man Hyesu was talking with.

Tomorrow we meet the pastor of the church that we will be teaching at! I am ready to get going with teaching and stop traveling everyday/all day!

Taiwan layover

We made it Taiwan! We left San Fran at 1 am on Tuesday and arrived in Taipei at 5am Wednesday morning. There is about a 16 hour time difference. And it was like a 12ish hour flight.

Since I flew United to San Fran and then EVA Air to Korea my bags had to be transferred so that I would not have to leave security in San Fran. I was a little nervous that this would not happen. When we landed in Taipei there was a EVA Air employee with a sign with my name on it and I could not understand the problem but he needed my baggage tickets. He copied the numbers on to his hand and then left. I never knew what that was about. Then, as we were walking by baggage claim in Taipei (we had a 12 hour layover) there was one bag still on the bag carousel from our flight and it ended up being one of my bags. The handle had broken and the airport baggage tag had fallen off! Luckily we walked by and saw it or my bag would have been lost forever with no airline tag id! I am still crossing my fingers that both of my bags will be in Seoul when we land there tonight!

Today, we left the Taipei airport and decided to see the city. But since we landed at 5am not much was open yet! It was 77 degrees when we landed at 5am with a high percentage of humidity! We found a Starbucks for me and then a small restaurant/cafe to get some breakfast. At 11am we walked to Taipei 101, one of the tallest buildings in the world, and walked around in it.

It has been an eventful, exhausting and fun day, we are back at the airport at our gate and the ticketing agent looked up my bags and said they made it on board, I hope she is right! I am ready to get to Seoul Korea and sleep in a bed, not an airplane!

First Delay

I just got to the Eugene airport. I was supposed to fly to San Francisco at 6:02pm but I just got to my gate and I am delayed for an hour+. I just heard them say because of weather in San Fran. So, when I make it to San Fran I am meeting up with my friends Krista, Josh and Justin and we have a layover until 1am. Then we fly to Taiwan where we have like a 12 hour layover and finally to Seoul, South Korea!

So the plan for this trip as of right now is the four of us are staying in Seoul for a week or so before heading to the town Krista and I will be teaching in. Josh and Justin will be with us there until June 1st then they go back to Taiwan for the rest of the summer. I have no expectations for this summer because I am pretty unsure of all that is going to happen, but I am excited for the adventure!