Last week was summer vacation for our academy, which meant we had a five day weekend. We left on Thursday morning for Jeju Island, Korea's version of Hawaii. We took a bus to the airport in Busan and took a 40 minute plane ride to Jeju. When we arrived, we took another bus to the southern part of the island where our inn was located.
The best part of our trip was our stay at Tae Gong Gak Inn, a small 15 room hostel-type inn. The owners were very personable and remembered our names throughout our entire stay. They spoke fluent English and were very helpful in giving suggestions and directions for what we wanted to do.
On our first full day, we decided to hike Mount Halla, which was a total of about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles). It was a beautiful hike, but very difficult on our feet as we did not have proper hiking gear. Parts of the hike were jagged, slippery rock, so it was a long process and our feet and legs were sore for the rest of the trip.
The next day, we were sore and exhausted so we tried to have a relaxing day at the beach. Unfortunately, it was hot, humid, and there was absolutely no breeze, so we ended up pretending to be guests at the Hyatt hotel (right by the beach) in order to enjoy their air conditioning. In the evening, we took a walk to a waterfall near our inn. It was quite pretty and the mist from the waterfall was cool and refreshing.
On our third and last full day in Jeju, we took a long (hour and a half) bus ride around to the eastern side of the Island and took a ferry to Udo Island, a very small island near Jeju. We rented an ATV and spent a few hours riding around the circumference of the Island. It was quite beautiful with many green fields and open spaces, and the coast line was gorgeous. It's atmosphere is surprisingly very similar to that of the Irish coast.
Our trip home the next day was very smooth, which we were very thankful for after our experience in Seoul.
We had a nice summer vacation and are looking forward to more travels when we have more vacation time.
Last week marked the end of our second month teaching in Korea, and the time has been going very slowly. It feels as though we have been here more like 6 months rather than 2. Teaching is very hard work: though sometimes rewarding, it is often frustrating as the curriculum we are teaching the children is of little to no value. We have also encountered some ridiculous rules and micromanaging at our hagwans which make the whole experience even more frustrating. It is difficult to take this job seriously, but we are doing our best to find the good and at least teach the children something of value.
We will write more later.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
I know it's been awhile. We haven't done a good job keeping you updated, but here's what's happened in the past few weeks.
Scott's birthday was on Monday July 19th. Amy cooked him birthday pancakes for breakfast and we had macaroni and cheese for dinner, which was sent to us from Amy's parents. Scott also received a cake at work, great gifts, and cards from my family. All in all it was a good day. Unfortunately the same could not be said for our weekend trip to Seoul.
When we arrived it was raining quite hard and Scott did not have an umbrella because it was accidentally taken by one of the students at his school the day before. Also we found out that the rain jacket that Scott bought from H&M, was not actually water proof. Needless to say Scott got very wet. It continued to rain hard most of the day making it hard for us to really do anything or see much. We were able to grab a decent lunch at a Thai restaurant, hang out at a coffee shop, and buy some books from an English bookstore in the foreigner section of Seoul. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing in our nice hotel room; one of the few highlights of the trip.
The next day was extremely humid. Our only goals for Sunday were to go to Seoul tower which shows you a great view of the city and get some Mexican food from the foreigner part of town. It should be mentioned here that Amy started getting sick on Friday and had a nice cold during this trip. So we set out for Seoul Tower via subway, got off at the correct subway, and continued to walk. Unfortunately Seoul Tower is located on a hill in a large park that has twenty foot high walls surrounding it, with no visible entrance that Amy or Scott could see. With it being so hot and humid and Amy not feeling well, we gave up frustrated and hungry for Mexican food. We were disappointed once again as the Mexican food was sub par. We ordered enchiladas and what we got were not enchiladas. After that we decided to give up and catch the earlier train home.
Of course we did not budget enough time to get back to the hotel grab our bags and make it to the station in time for the train and we missed it by one minute. It was either wait another couple of hours for the next train or take the express train which was a little more expensive. Scott decided to take the express train, but in order to take that train we had to go to another station to catch it. We got our tickets and waited for the connecting train to come. However, it came late and by the time we got to the station the express train was leaving. So we marched up to the counter and tried to tell the ticket counter attendant in very basic English what happened. As result of our efforts we got only half of a refund and had to pay for two more tickets. We finally got on a train headed towards the direction of home. We arrived in Busan found out no trains leave from that station going to Ulsan, so we took a subway to another train station waited another hour and finally got on a train going to Ulsan. After an hour and a half train ride we made it back to our apartment in Ulsan at 11:00.
All in all it was a terrible trip, but we definitely learned a lot from the experience.
Scott's birthday was on Monday July 19th. Amy cooked him birthday pancakes for breakfast and we had macaroni and cheese for dinner, which was sent to us from Amy's parents. Scott also received a cake at work, great gifts, and cards from my family. All in all it was a good day. Unfortunately the same could not be said for our weekend trip to Seoul.
When we arrived it was raining quite hard and Scott did not have an umbrella because it was accidentally taken by one of the students at his school the day before. Also we found out that the rain jacket that Scott bought from H&M, was not actually water proof. Needless to say Scott got very wet. It continued to rain hard most of the day making it hard for us to really do anything or see much. We were able to grab a decent lunch at a Thai restaurant, hang out at a coffee shop, and buy some books from an English bookstore in the foreigner section of Seoul. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing in our nice hotel room; one of the few highlights of the trip.
The next day was extremely humid. Our only goals for Sunday were to go to Seoul tower which shows you a great view of the city and get some Mexican food from the foreigner part of town. It should be mentioned here that Amy started getting sick on Friday and had a nice cold during this trip. So we set out for Seoul Tower via subway, got off at the correct subway, and continued to walk. Unfortunately Seoul Tower is located on a hill in a large park that has twenty foot high walls surrounding it, with no visible entrance that Amy or Scott could see. With it being so hot and humid and Amy not feeling well, we gave up frustrated and hungry for Mexican food. We were disappointed once again as the Mexican food was sub par. We ordered enchiladas and what we got were not enchiladas. After that we decided to give up and catch the earlier train home.
Of course we did not budget enough time to get back to the hotel grab our bags and make it to the station in time for the train and we missed it by one minute. It was either wait another couple of hours for the next train or take the express train which was a little more expensive. Scott decided to take the express train, but in order to take that train we had to go to another station to catch it. We got our tickets and waited for the connecting train to come. However, it came late and by the time we got to the station the express train was leaving. So we marched up to the counter and tried to tell the ticket counter attendant in very basic English what happened. As result of our efforts we got only half of a refund and had to pay for two more tickets. We finally got on a train headed towards the direction of home. We arrived in Busan found out no trains leave from that station going to Ulsan, so we took a subway to another train station waited another hour and finally got on a train going to Ulsan. After an hour and a half train ride we made it back to our apartment in Ulsan at 11:00.
All in all it was a terrible trip, but we definitely learned a lot from the experience.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
This last week marked our first month living in Korea. So far it's been a very up and down journey with a broken bathroom, spicy food, a fun volunteer experience at the orphanage, a fixed bathroom, good students and not so good students. We look forward to the many more experiences and adventures in the coming eleven months. But enough of that; on to this last week's highlights.
Last Sunday, we went to a foreign church service at Simin International Church in Ulsan. It was good to worship with other believers together after more than a month of not attending a church. Unfortunately the main pastor was out of town so a member from the congregation preached a sermon about names and their significance. It was okay but we want to go again to hear the main pastor give a sermon. Also, apparently, in summertime church attendance drops as many people leave to go on vacation, so there were even less young foreign teachers there than we expected. Nevertheless we were able to go out to lunch with a group of foreign English teachers in attendance that Sunday. In celebration of July 4th we decided to go and get the traditional American food, burgers and fries, at a burger place pretty close to where we live. The food, although a little pricy, was not bad and it was good to connect with other Christian English teachers.
The work week was fairly uneventful for both Scott and Amy with a few exceptions. On Monday, Scott was informed of a kindergarten field trip to the Ulsan whale museum happening the following day at 9:30 am that he was required to go on. Despite the very short notice, he had a fun time with his students at the museum. There were dolphins, a small aquarium of many different fish, and a 4D movie with sharks, a giant squid, puffs of air and water, and, therefore, many crying children.
On Thursday evening after work, Amy and a fellow foreign teacher at her school, Rachel, were invited to their boss, Cathy's house for pizza and chicken. Amy had a nice time getting to know her boss more and the free pizza and chicken wasn't bad either. On Friday night, Scott attended a farewell dinner for fellow Korean teacher who was quitting. It was a great farewell dinner with delicious food. Yesterday, Scott and Amy cleaned the apartment in the morning and went to Ilsan beach with Rochelle and a couple other foreign English teachers in the afternoon. We had a relaxing time talking and laying on the beach. Finally, today was spent lounging around the apartment reading and relaxing. It has been raining since last night non-stop, which swayed us against going to the orphanage and in favor of having a lazy day at the apartment.
We are looking forward to several trips coming up, including an overnight trip to Seoul this coming weekend.
Well I need to get to bed now. We will write again soon.
Last Sunday, we went to a foreign church service at Simin International Church in Ulsan. It was good to worship with other believers together after more than a month of not attending a church. Unfortunately the main pastor was out of town so a member from the congregation preached a sermon about names and their significance. It was okay but we want to go again to hear the main pastor give a sermon. Also, apparently, in summertime church attendance drops as many people leave to go on vacation, so there were even less young foreign teachers there than we expected. Nevertheless we were able to go out to lunch with a group of foreign English teachers in attendance that Sunday. In celebration of July 4th we decided to go and get the traditional American food, burgers and fries, at a burger place pretty close to where we live. The food, although a little pricy, was not bad and it was good to connect with other Christian English teachers.
The work week was fairly uneventful for both Scott and Amy with a few exceptions. On Monday, Scott was informed of a kindergarten field trip to the Ulsan whale museum happening the following day at 9:30 am that he was required to go on. Despite the very short notice, he had a fun time with his students at the museum. There were dolphins, a small aquarium of many different fish, and a 4D movie with sharks, a giant squid, puffs of air and water, and, therefore, many crying children.
On Thursday evening after work, Amy and a fellow foreign teacher at her school, Rachel, were invited to their boss, Cathy's house for pizza and chicken. Amy had a nice time getting to know her boss more and the free pizza and chicken wasn't bad either. On Friday night, Scott attended a farewell dinner for fellow Korean teacher who was quitting. It was a great farewell dinner with delicious food. Yesterday, Scott and Amy cleaned the apartment in the morning and went to Ilsan beach with Rochelle and a couple other foreign English teachers in the afternoon. We had a relaxing time talking and laying on the beach. Finally, today was spent lounging around the apartment reading and relaxing. It has been raining since last night non-stop, which swayed us against going to the orphanage and in favor of having a lazy day at the apartment.
We are looking forward to several trips coming up, including an overnight trip to Seoul this coming weekend.
Well I need to get to bed now. We will write again soon.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Quite a few things have happened in the past several weeks, and we are finally feeling more settled in Korea. We got our bathroom fixed a few weeks ago, and we are starting to get used to the fact that the shower in Korea is merely a shower head attached to the wall.
We also finally got our alien cards (a form of Korean ID), so we were able to set up our bank accounts on Friday and get our cell phones yesterday (we are still trying to figure out how to make our phones work in English).
Last week's teaching was a bit more stressful than usual. On Tuesday Amy had a parent's meeting, where one of her classes performed memorized speeches and other English-speaking skills for their parents. It is a way for the hagwan to impress the parents with their child's English skills (although it is not really English skill, merely rote memorization). They feel that this will convince the parents to keep their child in our hagwan and not send them to another one. These meetings are stressful for both the foreign and English teachers because they are expected to put on a perfect performance for the parents. It falls on our shoulders to make sure the students know their speeches, as well as for us to memorize comments to say to the parents. Parent's meetings are probably the worst part of working at the hagwan. Luckily, neither of us have a parent's meeting coming up in the next few months.
On Thursday, we switched schools to get more "training" and to be observed by teachers at the other school (which of course was completely pointless as the two campuses do things very differently and we were already in the swing of things at our own schools). We were both observed by the school's directors as well as some of the teachers, and they gave us "comments" on our teaching. The one thing we learned from the experience is that Amy's campus is overall much better than Scott's--the schedule is better planned and everything is much more organized. There is also more collaboration between the Korean and foreign teachers, which helps the classes run smoother. It was also interesting for us to experience teaching each other's kids, as we have both heard so much from the other about them.
Last Sunday we went to the Ulsan orphanage. Scott had a great time playing soccer with the high schoolers, and Amy had fun playing with preschoolers and babies. The orphanage seems very well run and not over-crowded. The buildings seem fairly new, and the children have plenty of space both inside and out to run around. It honestly felt more like a day-care center than an orphanage. We also met quite a few foreigners--mostly Americans and Canadians. We plan to make the orphanage visit a bi-weekly event.
The next few weeks of teaching should be much less eventful than last week. Both of us our hoping that our worst classes will improve their behavior. Amy's worst class just changed from having 9 students to 13 which will be an added challenge to her days.
We are looking forward to celebrating Scott's birthday on the 19th, and to our summer vacation from July 29th to August 2nd. It is only a 5 day weekend, but we are taking a trip to Jeju Island (the Korean version of America's Hawaii).
We also finally got our alien cards (a form of Korean ID), so we were able to set up our bank accounts on Friday and get our cell phones yesterday (we are still trying to figure out how to make our phones work in English).
Last week's teaching was a bit more stressful than usual. On Tuesday Amy had a parent's meeting, where one of her classes performed memorized speeches and other English-speaking skills for their parents. It is a way for the hagwan to impress the parents with their child's English skills (although it is not really English skill, merely rote memorization). They feel that this will convince the parents to keep their child in our hagwan and not send them to another one. These meetings are stressful for both the foreign and English teachers because they are expected to put on a perfect performance for the parents. It falls on our shoulders to make sure the students know their speeches, as well as for us to memorize comments to say to the parents. Parent's meetings are probably the worst part of working at the hagwan. Luckily, neither of us have a parent's meeting coming up in the next few months.
On Thursday, we switched schools to get more "training" and to be observed by teachers at the other school (which of course was completely pointless as the two campuses do things very differently and we were already in the swing of things at our own schools). We were both observed by the school's directors as well as some of the teachers, and they gave us "comments" on our teaching. The one thing we learned from the experience is that Amy's campus is overall much better than Scott's--the schedule is better planned and everything is much more organized. There is also more collaboration between the Korean and foreign teachers, which helps the classes run smoother. It was also interesting for us to experience teaching each other's kids, as we have both heard so much from the other about them.
Last Sunday we went to the Ulsan orphanage. Scott had a great time playing soccer with the high schoolers, and Amy had fun playing with preschoolers and babies. The orphanage seems very well run and not over-crowded. The buildings seem fairly new, and the children have plenty of space both inside and out to run around. It honestly felt more like a day-care center than an orphanage. We also met quite a few foreigners--mostly Americans and Canadians. We plan to make the orphanage visit a bi-weekly event.
The next few weeks of teaching should be much less eventful than last week. Both of us our hoping that our worst classes will improve their behavior. Amy's worst class just changed from having 9 students to 13 which will be an added challenge to her days.
We are looking forward to celebrating Scott's birthday on the 19th, and to our summer vacation from July 29th to August 2nd. It is only a 5 day weekend, but we are taking a trip to Jeju Island (the Korean version of America's Hawaii).
Sunday, June 20, 2010
The start of week 3
Sorry it's been a long time since we blogged, last week was very busy.
Last Friday we had our first full day of teaching. We were both observed by the other NSTs (native speaking teachers) at our schools and given some pointers and advice.
Friday evening we went out to dinner with the entire staff of our school--bosses, Korean teachers, and NSTs--went out to a traditional Korean meal where they serve you raw steak and bacon and you cook it on a little grill that is on your table.
Then, you combine/dip the meat with one of the dozen of side dishes on the table and eat it. Also, the meal was eaten sitting on cushions on the floor. There was also a lot of Korean beer and Soju (a type of Korean liquor similar to but not as strong as vodka).
After dinner some of us went to a "nori bang," where your party gets a private room with a karaoke machine. The entire evening was a fascinating cultural experience to say the least.
We had a relaxing weekend going hiking on Saturday and taking a day trip to Hyunduae beach in Busan on Sunday, a city that is about an hour train ride from Ulsan. Busan beach is very similar to beaches in Southern CA--sandy beaches and children playing in the water. The only difference is that the building next to the beach are high rise buildings rather than expensive beach homes.
Our first work week was exhausting but we both felt that we learned a lot about our jobs and the kids we will be working with.
We are excited to build relationships with the kids we are teaching and hopefully make a positive impact on their lives.
On Wednesday we finally were able to move into our own apartment. It is much smaller than Rochelle's, but also much newer. It was difficult moving in the middle of the work week because we did not have the time or energy to get properly settled.
This weekend we spent most of our time shopping at "Home Plus" (the equivalent of Wal-Mart in America but much bigger and better quality) for some necessities, cleaning, organizing, and trying to resolve some issues in the apartment. As of now both our sink and toilet are broken, and probably won't get fixed until late this next week (apparently in Korea a broken bathroom is not a big deal).
Korean bathrooms are VERY different from America. The bathroom is literally the size of a half bath (room for a toilet and sink) and there is a shower head right above the sink that you take off and rinse with standing right by the sink and toilet. There is a drain in the middle of the bathroom that all the water runs down to. It's lucky for us that the bathroom has a drain, because other wise our bathroom would be flooding right now from our leaking toilet.
On Sunday we took a break from cleaning and took a bus to Ilsan beach (the beach in Ulsan) that is about 45 minutes away. This beach is rocky and very similar to beaches in Oregon--more people hike and exercise rather than sun bathe or swim. We hiked for about 2 hours, then got some Korean food at a local restaurant. It was nice to get away from the city, get some exercise, and feel the cool ocean breeze, a nice break from the still, humid air in our area.
We will update more later!
Last Friday we had our first full day of teaching. We were both observed by the other NSTs (native speaking teachers) at our schools and given some pointers and advice.
Friday evening we went out to dinner with the entire staff of our school--bosses, Korean teachers, and NSTs--went out to a traditional Korean meal where they serve you raw steak and bacon and you cook it on a little grill that is on your table.
Then, you combine/dip the meat with one of the dozen of side dishes on the table and eat it. Also, the meal was eaten sitting on cushions on the floor. There was also a lot of Korean beer and Soju (a type of Korean liquor similar to but not as strong as vodka).
After dinner some of us went to a "nori bang," where your party gets a private room with a karaoke machine. The entire evening was a fascinating cultural experience to say the least.
We had a relaxing weekend going hiking on Saturday and taking a day trip to Hyunduae beach in Busan on Sunday, a city that is about an hour train ride from Ulsan. Busan beach is very similar to beaches in Southern CA--sandy beaches and children playing in the water. The only difference is that the building next to the beach are high rise buildings rather than expensive beach homes.
Our first work week was exhausting but we both felt that we learned a lot about our jobs and the kids we will be working with.
We are excited to build relationships with the kids we are teaching and hopefully make a positive impact on their lives.
On Wednesday we finally were able to move into our own apartment. It is much smaller than Rochelle's, but also much newer. It was difficult moving in the middle of the work week because we did not have the time or energy to get properly settled.
This weekend we spent most of our time shopping at "Home Plus" (the equivalent of Wal-Mart in America but much bigger and better quality) for some necessities, cleaning, organizing, and trying to resolve some issues in the apartment. As of now both our sink and toilet are broken, and probably won't get fixed until late this next week (apparently in Korea a broken bathroom is not a big deal).
Korean bathrooms are VERY different from America. The bathroom is literally the size of a half bath (room for a toilet and sink) and there is a shower head right above the sink that you take off and rinse with standing right by the sink and toilet. There is a drain in the middle of the bathroom that all the water runs down to. It's lucky for us that the bathroom has a drain, because other wise our bathroom would be flooding right now from our leaking toilet.
On Sunday we took a break from cleaning and took a bus to Ilsan beach (the beach in Ulsan) that is about 45 minutes away. This beach is rocky and very similar to beaches in Oregon--more people hike and exercise rather than sun bathe or swim. We hiked for about 2 hours, then got some Korean food at a local restaurant. It was nice to get away from the city, get some exercise, and feel the cool ocean breeze, a nice break from the still, humid air in our area.
We will update more later!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
First Day at the Hagwan
Yesterday, we parted for the first time since arriving in Korea and went to our separate hagwans (Korean after-school tutoring centers). Scott's is within walking distance of Rochelle's apartment, and Amy took a bus to get to hers (the situation will be reversed when we move into our own apartment). We both spent the day observing the Korean teachers and NSTs (native speaking teachers). Class sizes range from 3 to 16, and ages range from kindergarden to middle school.
These hagwans are owned by the same people and have very similar curriculum. The curriculum is very focused on rote memorization, which does little good in helping the students truly learn to speak English conversationally. Because it is a business for privileged families in Korea, the hagwan is very focused on keeping the business of the parents, so they have the students memorize speeches and conversations to display to their parents. If the student does not perform up to the parent's expectations, the parent will simply pull the child from the hagwan and send them to another one next door (there is literally a hagwan on EVERY corner here). Thus, it is a very big deal at the hagwan to make sure the students are well-prepared to "show off" their knowledge to their parents.
The Korean teachers are very strict with their students and many use corporal punishment (slap on the back, flick on the head, slap on the hand with a ruler) to punish them for bad behavior and even for incorrect answers. This kind of punishment is the norm in Korea and the children seem very used to it. It causes the students to be very attentive and well behaved, but also quite terrified of their Korean teachers.
The students' time with the foreign teacher is thus viewed as a break from the intensity of their Korean teacher, which is why many of the students either act out with pent-up energy or feel comfortable putting their heads down and showing how tired they really are. It is a very heartbreaking experience to see these children (many of them are very sweet, kind, and truly want to learn) spend their entire days in such a strict environment with little room for fun or recovery.
It is going to be a great challenge for us to find a balance of getting through the curriculum to the owner's and parent's satisfaction, getting them to have a little fun, plus actually doing our own thing that will help them speak better conversationally. All in 30-40 minutes sessions.
We went out to dinner with all the other foreign teachers after work, and had a good time getting to know them all. Other than Rochelle, we are the only other Americans. There are teachers from England and South Africa. Amy is hoping to come home with a British accent since the only proper English she will hear around work other than her own will be with spoken with a British accent. :)
Please pray that we can find small ways to get through to these kids, and find volunteer opportunities to help out in other areas. There is a weekend orphanage trip that we are interested in getting involved in, and Amy would also like to find poorer Korean families who can't afford hagwans looking for English education and tutor the children for free (or perhaps for a home-cooked meal and some Korean lessons).
Please also keep in your prayers our health. We are both struggling with the spiciness and fishiness of the food, and are eating considerably less than normal. Amy is also struggling with stomach aches and head aches. We are hoping not to get sick as we adjust to our new environment.
Today we will be doing some more observation, and tomorrow we will be teaching most of our classes. We are looking forward to the weekend, exploring the city, and hopefully going to church on Sunday.
Thank you all for your support, and we will write again soon.
These hagwans are owned by the same people and have very similar curriculum. The curriculum is very focused on rote memorization, which does little good in helping the students truly learn to speak English conversationally. Because it is a business for privileged families in Korea, the hagwan is very focused on keeping the business of the parents, so they have the students memorize speeches and conversations to display to their parents. If the student does not perform up to the parent's expectations, the parent will simply pull the child from the hagwan and send them to another one next door (there is literally a hagwan on EVERY corner here). Thus, it is a very big deal at the hagwan to make sure the students are well-prepared to "show off" their knowledge to their parents.
The Korean teachers are very strict with their students and many use corporal punishment (slap on the back, flick on the head, slap on the hand with a ruler) to punish them for bad behavior and even for incorrect answers. This kind of punishment is the norm in Korea and the children seem very used to it. It causes the students to be very attentive and well behaved, but also quite terrified of their Korean teachers.
The students' time with the foreign teacher is thus viewed as a break from the intensity of their Korean teacher, which is why many of the students either act out with pent-up energy or feel comfortable putting their heads down and showing how tired they really are. It is a very heartbreaking experience to see these children (many of them are very sweet, kind, and truly want to learn) spend their entire days in such a strict environment with little room for fun or recovery.
It is going to be a great challenge for us to find a balance of getting through the curriculum to the owner's and parent's satisfaction, getting them to have a little fun, plus actually doing our own thing that will help them speak better conversationally. All in 30-40 minutes sessions.
We went out to dinner with all the other foreign teachers after work, and had a good time getting to know them all. Other than Rochelle, we are the only other Americans. There are teachers from England and South Africa. Amy is hoping to come home with a British accent since the only proper English she will hear around work other than her own will be with spoken with a British accent. :)
Please pray that we can find small ways to get through to these kids, and find volunteer opportunities to help out in other areas. There is a weekend orphanage trip that we are interested in getting involved in, and Amy would also like to find poorer Korean families who can't afford hagwans looking for English education and tutor the children for free (or perhaps for a home-cooked meal and some Korean lessons).
Please also keep in your prayers our health. We are both struggling with the spiciness and fishiness of the food, and are eating considerably less than normal. Amy is also struggling with stomach aches and head aches. We are hoping not to get sick as we adjust to our new environment.
Today we will be doing some more observation, and tomorrow we will be teaching most of our classes. We are looking forward to the weekend, exploring the city, and hopefully going to church on Sunday.
Thank you all for your support, and we will write again soon.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
We made it to Korea safe and sound. We arrived at our friend Rochelle's apartment around 11:30 pm last night. However the trip to get to Ulsan was a little more involved than we expected. After the 12 hour flight from LAX to Seoul, we went through customs, grabbed our four suitcases in addition to our 4 carry-on bags, took a 30 minute bus ride from Incheon Airport to Gimpo Airport to catch a flight to Busan. Once we got to Busan we got our bags again and boarded another bus and an hour later we arrived in Ulsan. All in all we were quite exhausted by the whole trip. Unfortunately Amy was jet-lagged and did not sleep very well.
In the morning, we got up and had some breakfast and coffee with Rochelle and relaxed. Once we showered and got ready we went with Rochelle to a little restaurant she eats at often and had lunch. Amy had bibimbop, a standard Korean dish of rice, egg and vegetables mixed together. Scott had gogi mandu, Korean beef potstickers. After lunch Rochelle had to leave for work so we walked down to a nearby park and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. On the way back we stopped by a cafe and got a mocha for Amy.
Tonight Rochelle is going to cook us a meal at her apartment. Tomorrow, we will try and do some more exploring. We'll write again soon.
In the morning, we got up and had some breakfast and coffee with Rochelle and relaxed. Once we showered and got ready we went with Rochelle to a little restaurant she eats at often and had lunch. Amy had bibimbop, a standard Korean dish of rice, egg and vegetables mixed together. Scott had gogi mandu, Korean beef potstickers. After lunch Rochelle had to leave for work so we walked down to a nearby park and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. On the way back we stopped by a cafe and got a mocha for Amy.
Tonight Rochelle is going to cook us a meal at her apartment. Tomorrow, we will try and do some more exploring. We'll write again soon.
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