I'm Meeelllltttttiinnngggg!!

It's so hot here in Yesan, South Korea. It's about 32C (90F roughly) but it feels like 37 C (or 99F) with a humidity of 60%. So yes, it's hot out there. And, it's only going to get hotter as the summer goes on.

Today I had to get some errands done so Tamara and Sarah came along with me. I needed to go to the post office to mail home a couple of boxes filled with some winter clothes, knick knacks (or is it nick nacks...I never know how to spell that), and souvenirs from my trip to Egypt. I figure it's better to do this (and probably cheaper in the long run) than to try and stuff everything in my alotted two suit cases and end up going over the weight and being charged extra for that - and who knows how much that would cost. So, we headed out in the heat, Tamara and I carrying two large boxes. Sarah would be the one to flag a cab to get us to the post office. The boxes weren't overly heavy. Mostly, they were just awkward to carry because of their size.

I also had to go to the bank to transfer some money home to my account in Canada. I went to a new teller this time (I think they have two who can do this now, but before there was only one). He seemed really nice and his English was very good. He made conversation and told me he was scared to speak English - but then he laughed. I told him he was doing good, and I wasn't lying either.

So, I'm glad I have those two things taken care of now. It'll be that much less that I have to do before I head home at the end of August. I'll probably pack another couple of boxes to ship home during the summer as well, so I'll have another trip to the post office to make. Sarah's going to do this as well, so we'll probably go together and mail them over the next few weeks - definitely before we leave.

After the bank, Tamara wanted to stop at the outdoor market (it's market day today) to get some veggies. Sarah didn't want to go so she headed home, but I tagged along with Tamara. I bought a zucchini for 500 won (about 50 cents). I've never really had zucchini until I came to Korea and I find it to be pretty decent. I also got some plums - Peter (the Korean English teachers who heads up our Wednesday weekly get together dinner) had brought some to our little party we had last Friday and said they are sour plums. I tried one, and while I didn't find it sour in the least, it was tasty. These cost me 3,000 won (about 3 dollars) for a dozen or so (to be honest, I didn't count them but I didn't mind since it was cheaper than buying them at the grocery store). I also got some rice cakes - similar to what we refer to as rice cakes in Canada, only thinner. The bag was big and packed full and I only paid 2,000 won (about 2 dollars). Then on the way back we spotted watermelon. Actually we saw several stalls with watermelon, but they were big ones. These ones were a lot smaller and half the price (5,000 won/5 dollars). I bought one of those too, and I plan on cutting it up and putting the pieces in ziplock type containers or maybe even just cutting it in half and giving one half to one of the other foreign teachers.

So, the day was quite productful even though it doesn't seem like I got a lot done. It only took a couple of hours as well, which is nice. The rest of the day I just plan on staying in the apartment where I will keep the air conditioning running at regular intervals so I don't melt. I'll also probably read, watch tv, surf the net (or go on Facebook), and go over my lesson plans for summer camp. Those need to be in by Friday the 11th. I am using a lesson from one of the ESL sites, so I just have to go through it and divide it up in to 4-5 lessons, add some games/activities, and make the lesson plans up. Really, I just have to get the information they need to make up the work books in by the 11th - I can actually do the lesson plans, etc. a a little later. We'll see. I have tomorrow off as well, so I can work on it then.

Speaking of having tomorrow off, I have not had to go into work yesterday or today either. The schools are in the middle of final exams for the first semester (their school year starts in March whereas ours starts in September). I don't have to go to school while they write the exams because there is nothing for me to do. I go back Thursday and Friday and all next week, and I am going to show a movie since the kids won't be interested in working at this point (school ends for summer break on Friday the 18th). After that, I have a week off, then a week of summer camp (with the other foreign English teachers as well), then nothing so far...unless the school plans on having me teach a week or so in August (really, the never seem to let the kids have much of a break - it's all work, work, work). But, as it stands, I don't have anything after the summer camp. School also starts back up for the next semester on August 20. I leave August 31 and will more than likely have to teach that week and a bit...though it really makes no sense to me since they'll be getting a new teacher when I leave. I don't see the point of having to teach, but if I have to I will; not much I can do about it. Besides, I'll be leaving shortly after that anyway, so it's not a big deal.

Well, this has ended up being a much larger post than I had intended. Hope your summer is going well so far!

Have a Christ filled day!

A Sunday/Monday Update

There is no real news here in South Korea lately. It's been cool and rainy this weekend, which is fine by me. I know that very, very soon the weather will turn quite hot and humid. We've had a lot of hot weather already, but not the unbearable kind we will have within the next couple of months. I'm not exactly sure when this extrememe heat and high humidity will begin, but it's soon.

Today, well tomorrow in my hometown (there is a 12 hour time difference between there and here, with Korea being 12 hours ahead), is supposedly my dad's last chemo treatment. That will be nice, and I'm sure he's thankful for that. I don't know what happens next though. The original plan was to try and shrink the lump in his esophagus and then remove it. I guess once these chemo and radiation treatments are finished (he has already finished the radiation), they will do whatever tests are necessary to check on the results and take it from there.

It's frustrating for my dad and mom, no doubt. It seems that they don't know much about what's going on. As far as I know, my dad hasn't even been given a prognosis yet. I don't know if that is something they can only decide once his treatments are finished, or what. A few months ago - well, after the chemo treatment two months ago - my dad had problems with his heart. It was beating erratically, which caused him to feel weak and dizzy. They've put him on a pill to help regulate his pulse, and it seemed to help. After the last chemo treatment, they kept him in the hospital (he was actually in the hospital before that as well - about a month in total) to try to get this new pill and his blood pressure pill regulated so that they would work together. He's since been discharged from the hospital, and has been out a couple of weeks now.

While he was in the hospital for that month, they put a heart monitor on him, but never told him any results. Finally, one of the doctors who helps the cancer doctor (the proper name escapes me at the moment) told him it was ok. They had also stuck a tube down his throat, again the name is escaping me (it's early in the morning and my brain isn't awake yet), to check his esophagus and why he wasn't keeping his food down again. They had thought that around Easter his stent had dislodged and he threw it up, but apparently it's still there. However, what is frustrating about this is that this same doctor told him that the stent was blocked, and that is why he was throwing up. However, within a week, the doctor who had performed this procedure and had put the stent in, came in to see him and said the stent wasn't blocked. Talk about being confused. But, no, it is not blocked, so I am led to believe that it's quite possible that he has been throwing up from his chemo treatments.

In other news - well, ok, there really isn't much in the way of news. I just needed something to say to show I was finished talking about my dad...anyway, I have been getting antsy to go home. The time draws near when I will actually leave, and I will be on the plane heading home in 9 more Sundays!

It's hard to explain, but the feeling I have is like my "release" is being dangled in front of me, just out of my reach. It's just out of my reach, and I feel a little frustrated - like I can't get to it. I know that it's just a matter of time before I will be packed up and heading back home to Canada, but it's so close I can almost taste it. At the same time, it still seems to be far off and this is what is causing the frustration.

I want to be home. In Canada. Back among my family and friends. Back among the familiarity and convenience of my hometown. Korea has been good; it's been an experience for sure. It's had some good things and bad things, but I'm at the point where I want to move on with the next chapter in my life (going back to university to get my bachelor of education), and I'm getting antsy. It's just a matter of waiting now.

Two months. That's all I have left of my time in Korea. There are times I can close my eyes and it feels that when I open them, I'll be home. Like I've only been dreaming. But, the reality is, I'm still in Korea. I'm just getting anxious. There will be so much to do - packing and whatnot. I'm going to attempt to pack some things and mail them home so my suitcases won't be so heavy and go over the weight restrictions. I'll be doing this soon. I just don't know when - hopefully this coming weekend.

Anyway, it's time for me to get ready for work now. I'm hoping today will go well without any problems. Have a Christ filled day!

The Latest

Tonight I am feeling a little blah. I don't know why, but perhaps I'm just bored.

School has ended for the year, and the new semester (new school year actually) begins in March. Currently, for the month of January, we are required to teach the winter camps. I'm not sure why they call them camps, but they do. What it is, is basically extra classes that the children sign up to take - it's not something they have to do though, just if they want it or if their parents want them to take it.

I've taught for two days so far. I'm teaching the Earth Sciences class, which I know nothing about (though to be honest, I don't know anything about any of the other topics either). Our first topic is the solar system and that will take two classes. Yesterday's class went fairly well; the kids participated, answered questions, etc. Today's class was like pulling teeth - they didn't want to speak...even when I would ask a question and tell them the answer was on line one. I hate teaching classes like that. To be honest, the material might have been a little difficult for them - that is their English is limited so they probably didn't know a lot of the words; therefore, I tried my best to explain some of them. I would ask them what words they didn't know (yesterday's class would tell me the words they didn't know) but no one said a word. Grrr, I hate that.

So, all in all, my first semester went fairly well. I know that I need to make my classes a little more enjoyable (like more games, etc.) for the kids so they aren't bored. I also need to make the boys more involved - going up to the board to write answers, putting them in groups to do team work. The thing with making groups (even if it is just a group of two), the majority of them don't even do the work; they just sit and talk in Korean about whatever they want to. Some of the boys will do the work, but most of them won't. That is so frustrating. How do you make it fun so that they learn and enjoy the classes and they aren't bored out of their minds?

I'm looking forward to vacation next month. I'm heading to Egypt with three friends from here for the month. We've got our airline tickets paid for and the money out for the hotel/tours/etc. The odd thing is that we pay the travel agent guy who booked us when we get to the hotel in Egypt. I've never heard of that before; usually you have to pay before you go. My friend, Tamara, who has been setting things up for us has dealt with this guy in the past and he's very good at what he does. She also saw people talking about the tours (online), etc. and they said they are awesome and that the way you pay is correct (paying when you get there), and there are no problems with that. We have one girl who might not be able to join us, but she will find out on January 7th if she can or not. If she can't go, then the rest of us will have to pay a little bit extra, but it's less than $100 I believe - wasn't all that much from what Tamara said.

I'm excited to climb Mt. Sinai. The tour (the way it's done) has you climb all the way, or take a camel part way and walk the rest of the way (the camel can't climb the whole way) at night. From what I read somewhere online, the climb will take about four hours. Then you are at the top for the sunrise. It's supposed to be an awesome experience, and I can't wait - I'll be taking lots of pictures. Just think; climbing and standing on the same mountain that Moses did when he got the Ten Commandments from God. I don't know if we will be going to the same spot (that is if they know which level or whatever that they believe he was at when he got the Commandments) or not, but it doesn't matter - it's still the same mountain. There is a monestary there, at the bottom, that you can tour somewhat (I don't think you can actually go into the building though), and they have in there what they believe is a 'descendent' of the burning bush. I don't know how they would know that, but I find it interesting nonetheless.

So, we leave Korea on January 31 and come back February 25. It will be a long way to travel - about 10 hours I believe, but I'm sure the trip will be exciting. It's definitely a once in a life time opportunity (at least for me). My parents had said something to the effect of me not saving money (one of my main objectives here) for my student loan, but I said I am saving some and making my payments, and besides, the way I am looking at this trip is that once I get back to Canada, I probably won't have the opportunity to go to Egypt again. And besides, it would more than likely be a lot more expensive to travel from there.

Well, I just wanted to give a little update on how things are going for me here in South Korea. I'll try not to wait so long between postings next time.

Feelings of Frustration

Well, I've been in Korea now nearly two months. Things are going about as well as they can I suppose. I am still trying to get used to the customs, the people, and the culture.

I have been feeling a little frustrated lately with the whole "lack of communication" thing. It's rather irksome to not be able to communicate with people. The thing is, I'm not frustrated or irked at the people who don't understand English; I'm frustrated with those who can (the Korean people that is). I think what it boils down to has to deal with translation issues. I try to explain things to one particular co-teacher and she just doesn't seem to understand. Her English is very good though. One example is just yesterday I was asking her if she could ask the computer teacher if he could change the language over on my computer at school as well as the lap top they gave me to use. Everything is in Korean and I can't understand it; therefore I can't really use the computer. I'd like to do Power Point in the classroom, but I can use it because the program is in Korean. I'm trying to install a webcam on the laptop, but it's not working because the program (cd) is in English, and the computer might not be recognizing it because of the language thing - at least that's what I'm thinking because my friend Sarah has the same computer in her apartment (from her school) and her's is in English. She also has the same web cam and her's works fine. Anyway, long story short, my co-teacher went to ask him and a couple of the other Korean teachers got in on the conversation, one of who is another of my co-teachers. This co-teacher comes over and tells me if I'm wanting an English site to just type it into the computer and it will come up English. I said I know that, and I do that. I want the whole computer changed over so I can use the programs and know what to do when the boxes pop up on the screen with errors and whatnot....aarrggghhhhh!

My last class on Thursdays are horrible. These kids, I've been told, are the worst class in the school and they also have the lowest marks. I can totally see why! They don't listen. They talk when they shouldn't be. They are smartalecky (or however you spell that). They are loud. They just don't care. My co-teacher said that all the teachers, including the Korean teachers, can't control this class. Nothing seems to work, and finally I am at my witts end - I've given them all the chances they are going to get. My co-teacher was only in the class for five minutes and she was yelling at them and hitting them (that is still allowed over here...I don't agree with it, and I refuse to hit them). She had to leave, and was gone the rest of the class. I told her afterwards that I didn't get anything done (again) with that class and that I told them next time they are getting kicked out of my class. I don't know how well the boys understood me, but I asked her if kicking them out into the hall or somewhere else was allowed. She said it was. So next week as soon as someone starts acting out, I'm kicking him, or them, out. I don't care if I'm left with the three or four or five that actually seem to try to listen and do the work.

Thankfully, my classes today aren't like that. They are pretty good, so I shouldn't have any problems with them. There is another class similar to this class I was just talking about, but they aren't nearly as bad. That class is on Mondays. I pray that my classes go well, and that I can especially handle that Thursday class.

Well, I had better go and start getting ready for work. Have a Christ-filled day!

Note To Self

I really need to invest in a pair of indoor shoes for school. You see, the school has a policy that you don't wear the shoes you wear outside in the school. I can understand why. What I can't understand is that we have to go outside toget to and from the cafeteria and you don't change into your outside shoes. Doesn't make much sense to me, but it's not something I worry about.



Anyway, the reason I need some is that I've been using a spare pair of shoes from the school. They are more like slipper than shoes, and the bottoms make for tricky walking if the floor happen to be a little wet. Trust me, it does. I found out the hard way.



On the way back from one of my classes this morning I stepped into some water that the boys (remember, I teach at an all boy school) had spilled on the floor. I did this weird funky dance and fell flat on my butt. How embarrassing!!! My main co-teacher was with me and she felt so bad. I think she went and told the boys to clean it up. It was nice, though, that two of the boys came right over to see if I was ok and they were more than willing to help me. This little incident happened again a bit ago when, after my final class, I went into the teachers meeting room to fill my bottle with water. Someone had dripped water on the floor and I slipped again. Thankfully, though, I didn't fall this time. The only thing I'm worried about is that it might further injur my back.



My back has been getting a lot better lately, but I still wake up somewhat stiff. Today I don't think I was as stiff a I had been, but I was still stiff. I would hate to have my back almot better only to have it get hurt again. I've taken an Advil a bit ago and hope that it will help. I still have a couple of pain killers and muscle relaxers, so if it starts acting up I will take those ASAP. I'm praying that my back will be fine and that it wasn't hurt further.



In other news, our escapade to Seoul was great. Seoul is a really big city. We didn't go to a lot of places, but we walked around and bought a few souveniers from vendors. We did go into some stores, but I didn't find any yarn stores this time so couldn't feed my knitting addiction. We plan on going again (hopefully soon) - maybe in October and I hope I'll be able to find knitting/yarn stores ahead of time online so we'll know where to look for them.

So far, work is going well this week...though to be honest, it's only Monday so I have four more days to go. I found out today that they've added three classes to my nineteen. These new three are teaching conversational English to Korean elementary teachers. This will be on Tuesdays, and it will make my day even longer...longer than Monday. Monday I have five classes; Tuesday used to have three classes, but now including teaching the teachers, I will have six. As well, we are supposed to teach for about three hours on Saturday afternoons (we get extra pay for this, and I'm told it is very good money). We're not sure exactly how Saturday will work out because they've changed this program from last semester. The other ESL teachers in our building that are doing this have told us that they could tell us one thing one minute and in a five minutes change thins...it's very frustrating, and you can't really make plans.

Well, I'd better go for now. God bless and have a Christ-filled day!

School Is In

Well, I have now finished my first week teaching Engish here in Korea! My lesson was the same for all 19 classes I teach - a basic introduction lesson where I would tell about myself and ask them questions to "test" their listening. I've been told that I can do just one lesson plan for all the classes, and just adapt it so that it will reach those who don't know very much English, and also those who would be classified as intermediate beginners.

Monday is my busiest day with five classes in a row. My easier days are Tuesdays and Thursdays (so far), with only three in a row. I teach at Yesan Middle School for boys. That's right, I teach all boys all the time! The grades I have would work out to grade seven and eight in our school system. Here, though, they go by levels and I have all the level ones and twos - each class (there are 9 classes in each level) is 45 minutes long and has roughly 30ish boy in each.

The heat has pretty much disappeared, thankfully. We had several days of rain in a row, which brought welcomed coolness. Today is sunny and cloudy and very warm (though I'm not sure of the exact temperature). Those first days were so unbearably hot, so I am enjoying today's weather.

I'm pretty well settled into my apartment. I'm just waiting for my stove to be hooked up and my chair to be delivered. The apartment is a bachelor/studio type - just one room; two people could comfortably live in it though.

On Tuesday, Sarah and I were taken to one of the main cities that is about two hours away so that we could apply for our alien registration cards and a multiple entry visa. The visa is so that if we want to travel while we are in Korea, we can do so and still be able to get back in (our work visa only allow for one entry, which was when we landed in Korea two week ago). We were told that it would take two weeks for us to get but one of the ESL teachers in our building said she got hers in ten days, and another one told us she got hers in seven days. We need the alien registration cards before we can open a bank account, and have internet and phone and cable hooked up. Thankfully I have access to the net at school! Not to worry though, during school hours I use it to check email and surf for ideas to use in class. The only time I do anything personal is at lunch or after classes. All the ESL teachers have told us the schools don't care what we do at our desk just so long as we look busy. One teacher told us she reads a lot of books and another has said she has observed other ESL teachers playing computer games...

Tomorrow Sarah, Lorie, and myself are heading to Seoul with two other ESL teachers that live in our building. Sarah and I are in the same town and her apartment is above mine, but Lorie ended up getting placed about 15 minutes from us (she's coming in tonight on the bus to go with us in the morning to Seoul).

Latest prayer requests would include that my back continues to get better (it is now more stiff and a little sore rather than the excruciating pain I was having), that I do well with my teaching, that I can handle the boys, that I get along well with all my co-teachers and develop good relationships with my co-workers (I'm the only foreigner here - everyone else is Korean). Also, please pray that Sarah and I can find a church that speaks English. There are none in the town we ended up in (the town is called Yesan).

God bless, and have a Christ-filled day!

Day Four - Or Is It Five?

Well, we have been in orientation now for three days and so far it's not going too bad. We've had some lectures on things such as how to teach English in Korean schools, Conversatonal English, Co-teaching, being an ESL teacher...it's been interesting but nothing too exciting.

On Sunday we went to a Korean Folk Village. That was pretty interesting. It is a village done up to show and tell about the Korean history and culture, with replicas of the types of houses the Korean's lived in, their lifestyles, etc. It is fully a working village and has actual people planting and raising crops, taking care of animals, etc. As I said, it was pretty interesting. There was only one thing that really ruined this trip for me and that was the heat. It was so uncomfortably hot! I don't normally do well in heat, so I'm surprised I didn't totally faint or anything. I had about 4 bottles of water during the course of our stay there (about 5 hours), and a slushie which was really refreshing! My stomach was turned from the smells of the food being cooked in the eating area so I didn't have anything to eat. I was also not really hungry because of the heat but I had a couple of cookies to help me get by.

I've actually not been eating a lot - not because I don't like the food or anything, but because of the heat. I just haven't felt like eating. I've tried a little of the Korean food - Kim Chi, which was too spicy for my liking, and some kind of vegetable dumpling things (don't know what they are called). There was a couple of other things, but can't remember what they were. Today was special, food wise. For supper they served spaghetti and french fries, among other items to choose from. I was so excited to eat "real" food - not that I haven't eaten it already this week. They have salads of different kinds, lots of fruit, cereal and scrambled eggs at breakfast, chicken wings, and some other items I can't recall offhand.

Tonight we're going to a movie they are showing in the auditorium in one of the university buildings. It's a Korean movie with Englih subtitles, and I hope it will be good. We went to one last Friday night as well, and that was rather enjoyable.

I've had an answer to prayer today. We met a couple of other Christians at orientation, and they informed us that they've met other Christians here too. I was beginning to think that we were the only Christians here. Two of the Christians are assigned to the same province we are assigned to, but I don't know about the others. We don't know if we'll be in the same city or not though because we only find that out at the end of the orientation.

Please keep praying for my back as it is still bothering me. It is getting better, and is generally the most stiff and painful when I wake up in the morning or if I've been sitting any length of time. I'm getting better walking without the muscles clenching up and can also walk a little faster. I'm still praying for healing, and I know that God can heal me.

Well, we'll probably be heading to the movie very soon so I'm going to sign off for now. Have a blessed and Christ-filled day!

Korea

Well, we made it safe and sound to Korea. We left my hometown and arrived in Toronto and had no problem finding our gate where we had to board our flight to Korea. After a roughly two hour wait, we left Toronto and arrived in Korea about 4:00 pm, Korean time.

We are staying in a dorm at a university where we have our orientation, and it took us about four or so hours to get here from the Inchon airport. We had to go through customs, get our luggage, get some money changed to Korean Won, and finally make our way to the counter of the organization we signed on with.

On Friday, we didn't have anything to do because orientation only started today. It's been extremely HOT and humid here and thankfully we have air conditioning in the dorm rooms. Sarah, Lorie and I didn't do much of anything because we were feeling the effects of jet lag, so we stuck around campus and ended up having a three hour nap which helped a little.

I've been suffering from back pain - muscle spasms it looks like to me. It's rather painful at times and I've been taking some muscle relaxers that help a little. Unfortunately I hadn't planned on it lasting this long (I had it a day or so before leaving for Korea) so I only brought a few. I've got 3 left. I spoke with some of the women who are coordinating the orientation and asked them if they could tell me where the nearest pharmacy is. They asked what I needed, so I told them I wanted something for the muscles in my lower back. They got one of their co-workers (she was on her way to the university we are at) to stop and pick up something for me. It is some kind of medicinal patch type thing that you peel off one side and stick it to the area you need the relief. This has helped quite a bit as I have longer periods of time when I'm not in pain (or very little). It doesn't help, though, that we are sitting a lot and that is when I get stiff and find it hard to move because of the stiffness and pain (it also happens after I wake up).

I've been praying about this, my back, and have got others praying too and I am trusting that God, the Great Physician and Healer, will take care of things. The pain is affecting me here, in that I feel frustrated at limitations I have and that I have to be slow. I just want this pain to go away - now!

Other than sticking around the campus the last two days, we haven't gotten out to explore the area. We're hoping to do this some evening before we leave to our schools. We don't find out where we are going until the end. This, I have found out, is because they have had problems in the past of people finding out where they are going and then for whatever reason tearing up their contracts and not honouring them.

I've only taken a couple of pictures, but not of anything really important or noteworthy. Unfortunately I forgot to bring the cable to hook up to my computer so I can download them so it will be a little while before I am able to share them. We also found out that it's going to take a little while before we can get internet hookup in our apartments...just the red tape that needs to be dealt with first. So until then, I'll probably have to use a computer at whatever school I am placed with. At the moment, I'm using one that is on my floor of the dorm.

That's all for now. Time is running out and our lunch break is almost over. We have to go back for more orientation this afternoon, and then this evening they are having a welcoming get together for us so I'm not sure if I'll have time to update later. I will try to update as often as I can.

So, until the next time I post, have a blessed and Christ-filled day!

T Minus 10 1/2 Hours

Well, it's down to the wire. In less than 12 hours I leave for Korea. My back is still hurting, so please be in prayer about that.

I think I'm all packed..."think" being the key word. I've got two bags to check, and hopefully they aren't over the 50 lb weight limit (or else I have to pay extra). I also have my laptop to take as a carry-on, plus one other bag. If it wasn't for taking my laptop, I could have taken another piece of luggage for carryon, and I might have gotten everything packed. I know there are things I couldn't get packed, and that disappoints me. I don't think I'll have them shipped to me because mailing things from here in Canada (at least from the east coast) to South Korea is EXPENSIVE! Alas, but my knitting items will have to come from Korea...though I did get a little bit of yarn packed and some double pointed needles to knit socks. Otherwise, I'll have to make a special trip to Seoul to get knitting things. Somehow, that doesn't disappoint me, LOL!

I still don't feel as though this is really happening. I still feel like I'm not scheduled to leave for a few more months. I had a little bout of fear/panic earlier this week, but that has passed. Maybe that's an answer to prayer. I'm not as excited as I thought I would be, but that just might be because I'm still feeling like I'm not all packed.

Please pray that the flight goes well, that Sarah, Lorie and I have all our necessary documents with us - that we don't forget them. Pray that everything goes well for us.

I'm off to bed now, and hope that I'll be able to sleep. The next time I'll write will probably be in Korea...unless I can get a connection on the plane for a little update!

Have a blessed and Christ-filled day!

Two More Sleeps!

It's Monday. That means in two days I will be leaving Canada for a year, and heading off to South Korea. Things are starting to come together, but at the same time there still seems to be a ton of things to do - pack, call the bank with regard to banking matters (of course), getting a few more small items to take (sheets, towels, pantyhose, makeup - things like that), getting my hair cut...I've got my list started of what to pack (quite a bit on it so far), so that will be a help.

Last week we got our Korean money that we had ordered. We didn't get a whole lot, just enough to get by on until we get there. Apparently there is a place at the airport in Korea where you can exchange money. It was actually suggested to us by the company we were hired by to only take a little bit of Korean money with us, and then exchange the rest when we get to the airport; that's what we're going to do.

I've had my dentist appointments to get my teeth out. They weren't hurting or bothering me in any way, but I thought it might be a good idea to get them out while I'm still in Canada. I didn't want to get to Korea and end up having them start aching or something. I don't know what the dental system is like over there, though I'm sure they are good. Still, I didn't want to take chances - especially since I am really, really, really phobic of going to the dentist!

My face was a little swollen after the first appointment (looked a little like a chipmunk), but I haven't noticed any swelling after yesterday's appointment. My mouth is healing nicely, but I'm still taking it easy on what I eat so that I don't accidentally jab the wound with something sharp (like chips or the crust off a pizza). I'm also taking antibiotics so that the wounds don't get infected, and those will be done on Thursday.

I ran into a bit of a problem yesterday morning. My lower back got wrenched or something and it's been bothering me since. It feels like it's the muscles acting up (spasms or something), and I've taken some muscle relaxers which seem to be helping. For awhile yesterday afternoon it was rather excruciating...well, it was when I would try to get up off my bed (I had taken a little nap after my dentist appointment because the pills I had taken to relax had really made me relax - they pretty much knocked me out for a few hours) and try to walk for a bit. I was in tears. By the evening it was a little better, and I took some muscle relaxers then. It's better today, but I am still slow in standing up and walking for a bit. I hope this is all better by Wednesday - after being on a plane for nearly 24 hours, I'm sure my back would really be hurting!

This whole experience still doesn't seem "real" to me. I'm leaving in two days, but it still feels like the trip is going to happen sometime in the distant future...like in a couple of months. I've had moments of feeling a little anxious, and even scared; I've had a few moments of feeling a little excited, but it still doesn't seem like the trip is taking place in only a matter of days. I'm sure once Wednesday morning dawns and I'm putting my luggage in the car and heading to the airport...and even moreso when I'm at the airport...the excitement (and/or the fear) will really set in.

I'm trusting God in all of this, and I've been praying a lot as well. I know that He will protect me, guide me, and is going ahead of me. A lady at church told me yesterday that this is a perfect opportunity in which to trust God. I don't know anyone there (aside from the Sarah and Lorie who are going with me), I don't know the culture, customs, etc. I'll be doing a lot of leaning on God - especially when I get homesick.

Well, I must head off now and go do some packing, shopping, etc. I'm not sure if I'll get to post here again before I leave or not, but I'll try to. Until my next post, have a blessed and Christ-filled day!

One Week Left

In roughly exactly one week (by roughly, I am meaning the time as it is 10:00am now and I leave at 10:05am) from this moment, I will be on the plane that will take me to Toronto where I will wait for an hour or two (can't recall the exact waiting time offhand), and then board the plane that will take me on to South Korea!

Lorie, Sarah, and I got together for a little while yesterday to talk. We haven't been able to do that in a long time. Usually it was only two of us at a time, or we'd send messages on Facebook or email between the three of us. This was because our schedules were never the same for all three of us to meet up at the same time. Anyway, yesterday we got together for coffee and just talked about what to expect, what we need to get before going over...that sort of thing. I think the next time we'll all be together will be when we get to the airport.

I have to pick up more little things to take - makeup, toiletries, maybe another pair of jeans or dress pants or a skirt. I also haven't started packing yet. I've started the thought process of what to take, but haven't actually started to pack. I'm afraid that if I start too early and get it all done, I will worry that I forgot to pack something and have to dig through everything to see if I packed it. I also don't want to wait too late to pack (like the night before) because then I'll get frustrated and wish I'd started earlier...and then might forget something. I think I'll start by making a list of what I need to take, and what I want and go from there. I need to pack for a year, but at the same time the luggage has weight restrictions (70 lbs each for checked, and 10 lbs total for carry on).

I still have other running around to do as well. I have to go to the dentist tomorrow afternoon to get a couple of teeth pulled, and then I have another dentist appointment on Saturday to get another tooth pulled (and possibly a second one that day...the dentist recommends it because he thinks it's going to get abscessed). This is an unexpected expense - an expensive one at that. My teeth aren't bothering me, but I thought I'd get them pulled (they had old fillings in them that fell out and parts of the teeth broke off so they are beyond fixing - according to the dentist) before heading over to Korea and have them end up aching over there. I have no idea what dentists are like over there, or if they even use freezing. I detest going to the dentist so much that I don't want to chance having to get them pulled without freezing. I'd probably pass out or scream loud enough that everyone at home would hear me from way over in Korea. Nope, I'll swallow my pride and fear and take my prescription for the pills (from the dentist) to knock me out and get them pulled here.

Anyway, I'm off to do a little relaxing and write up my list. I'm going to try to get some knitting done today too because I haven't done any for a little while now. Have a blessed Christ-filled day!

God Is Good

You know how God comes through on prayers, often times at the last possible minute? You pray and pray and then as the last of the sand slips through the hour glass, you begins to wonder if everything will work out or if you'll have to change your plans. Then, everything falls into place - God has answered your prayers!

Well, God has answered my prayers (and the prayers from others who've been praying for our situation)! Sarah, Lorie and I got our visas yesterday! We were also able to book our flights for Korea - the one we wanted with the departer and arrival times being half-decent and not at terrible hours (like leaving at 6:00 in the morning or arriving at 4:00 in the morning).

Because we were only tentatively reserved for the flight, we had to have payment into the travel counsellor by closing time yesterday. We could only actually get our flight once we had our visa (or at least knew that we were getting it and it was on its way to us). So, in order for us to confirm our flight and make sure we were on it was to get our visa yesterday at the latest (with enough time so we could get to the travel agency).

My dad had called me at work to let me know that the envelope from the Korean Consulate had arrived, so I got him to open it for me to see if the visa was in it. After figuring out that it was IN the passport, I got him to give me Lorie's phone number so I could let her know and to find out which travel agency she had booked us with. When I called her she said she was finally able to get through to the consulate (prior to that she couldn't get an actual human on the phone and the extention number she was given was wrong) and they told her we were getting our visas. I told her I already had mine and she should check her mail when it comes in. From there I got the travel agency info and got my mom and dad to go down and make the transaction complete for me since I was at work and I didn't have a definite time that we'd be finished (we are finished when the work is complete, even if we have only been there 6 hours. They are actually able to do a count and figure out an approximate end time). My parents were great and went down and took care of things for me and now all I have to wait for the departure date - and pack and spend time with family and friends.

Praise God for answered prayers!

Just wanted to post a little update on the visa/flight situation. I'll try to get something more about the preparations and whatenot posted as I get closer to my departure date. I'll probably be using this blog to talk about my experiences over in Korea and post some pictures here (and on Facebook as well). Unless I create a blog that is simply for my Korean adventures...I haven't figured that out yet...but I'll probably use this one.

Have a Christ-filled and blessed day!

A Little Closer To Lift-Off

This is the last day of June, and in a little over a month and a half I will be heading to South Korea. Slowly, I have been getting things together - though nothing is packed yet. What I have been gathering is what I've needed for documentation.

I've gotten a another diploma (we had to pay for it, but it was worth it so that we wouldn't have to send our originals - especially since I got mine framed rather nicely) - it's not a copy per se, but is official and signed by the registrar and president of the university. I also got two copies of my TESL certificate and sent one to Korea. I had to get two passport sized photos (probably for the visa and/or Ministry of Education records), two reference/recommendation letters, sealed transcripts, copy of the picture page of my passport, a criminal record check (sealed, and a medical report. I've yet to get the medical report as I can only get into the doctor for July 24. I received an email from the Ministry asking for me to fax a copy of the signed report when I get that; I'll also take the original with me in case they would like that over the faxed copy.

Within the next couple of weeks I should be getting the contract an official letter of acceptance and the documents for the working visa. We are to go to the nearest Korean Consulate and get those documents signed. The only problem is the nearest Korean Consulate is in Montreal! Neither my two friends nor I can afford to take a weekend trip up to Montreal to do this, so one of the girls contacted the woman from Vancouver that we've been in contact with throughout this process. She's been the middle person, so to speak, between applicants from Canada and the Ministry of Education in South Korea. She told us to mail the documents and our passport (which is needed for this) to the consulate. That bothers me somewhat.

You see, information that was included with the passport says not to let your passport out of your possession. Now, you don't have to keep it on your person at all times, but you shouldn't give it away or lend it to someone or anything of the sort. However, the only option we have is to mail it to the Consulate...I'll definately be using Registered Mail or something of the sort which means they'll have to sign for the envelope (and thus I'll know they received it), and I think I am going to request that they send it back in a similar way. I will be praying that my passport doesn't get lost or stolen in that process - otherwise I could be in trouble (not for sending it to them, but for not having it when I need it to go to Korea). I'm sure that things will be fine in this area, though.

Also, something I've been running into a lot lately is that a lot of people are assuming that my trip to Korea is for missions. That is not the case. Yes, God can use me over there should He so choose; but my reasons for going to Korea are not mission oriented. I'm simply going over there to teach English and hopefully earn enough money to pay off a significant chunk (if not the whole thing, which would be nice) of my student loan.

Yes, I will be looking for a church when I get there, and I plan on using my God-given talent of knitting to make items for homeless/less-fortunate/orphans, etc. as I do here. I don't know if I will get involved in the church I attend as I've been involved here at my own church (such as teaching Sunday school and helping with the mid-week program), or if I will take a "break" and rest and replenish myself from such things for the year, so that I don't get burnt out. That way, when I come back I will be rested up and can start fresh in at my own church again. I know I'll be busy with the teaching, and if I volunteer at a church there (doing Sunday school or some other program or whatnot), I know I will run myself ragged and get burnt out - and I don't want that to happen while I'm in Korea. But, I shall have to wait and see what the direction that God will lead me in while I'm in Korea.

So comes the end of another updated post on my journey to South Korea. God bless, and have a Christ-filled day!

Another Step Towards Korea

I still haven't gotten everything together to send to Korea to get the visa. I do have most of the required documents/information, however.

I was able to take one day off a little over a week ago. I was able to go to the police station and submit the form to get a police check done. I also included a self-addressed stamped envelope so they could send it to me. I got that back last Wednesday - less than a week later. We have to submit that in a sealed envelope, so naturally I did not open it. I will send it as is when I send out my documents.

I've also been able to get my two reference letters, one from my TESL teacher, and one from my employer. Those, too, have to be sealed. My TESL teacher is sending his letter directly to Korea, but my employer gave me her reference in a sealed envelope and I'll send it as is.

One of the girls who is going to South Korea with me stopped into the university last week and she and the third girl (who happens to work at the university) spoke with the registrar about our diplomas and TESL certificates. You see, we are supposed to submit our originals but we don't want to do that in case they get lost or ripped or damaged in some other way. The school's policy is that you can't get a replacement unless you submit the original first. However, since our situation is somewhat unique, they told the girls that they will get us copies of the diplomas and certificates. The only thing is, we have to pay - which I suppose is fair.

I emailed the woman in the registrar's office who is responsible for getting these documents for us. She said that they were waiting for the paper to print them on, as well the president of the university had to sign them. We should get them at the beginning of this week (I checked my email tonight and there was no word on them yet). I also inquired about my transcripts and those are ready, but this same woman in the registrar's office said she thought maybe I'd want to get everything at the same time, and save a trip into the school. That is fine with me. I just need these documents very soon.

As for the passport, Sarah and I drove up to the provincial capital to the passport office there. We went on a Tuesday morning and submitted our applications. We were told it would take three weeks for us to get our passports. Two weeks and a couple of days later, we got them. Had we sent them to Ottawa (actually I think the passport office is in Gatineau, Quebec which is just across the border from Ottawa I think), we would have had a minimum of 10 weeks to wait before getting the passports. The reason is because very soon (unless it is required now), Canadians will need passports to enter the US via air. As well, in the not too distant future, you will be required to have a passport the enter the US via car as well (right now you only need a birth certificate). I think people are preparing for that, especially with the summer season upon us and many people will be travelling.

Anyway, if you are a Canadian citizen and wish to avoid the long wait when sending your passport application into Ottawa/Gatineau, take it to your provincial office if it is at all possible. You'll have a shorter wait.

So, I am mostly waiting on the diploma and TESL certificates and then I can get those and what I've gathered so far, documentation wise, to send to Korea so they can work on getting the visa. Once I send in, at least, the three important items (diploma, transcripts, and two passport size photos), they can begin the process. I think the rest of the documents are for the Ministry of Education's (in Korea) office files, though to be honest, I am not totally sure about that.

The days and weeks are passing by quickly; June is half over already. I don't know exactly when we'll leave yet, but the orientation starts August 24. I would expect we will leave Canada no later than August 22 (it takes about 24 hours to get there, including stops/layovers or whatnot from what I read).

Two months (approximately) from now, and I head to Korea. I don't think it has really hit me yet. I have a lot to do before then, and I know the time is going to fly by. I'll keep you updated on how things are going prior to leaving. I'll be taking my laptop with me, and we are told that we will have internet access at the schools, and we can have it set up in our apartments; I will be able to blog from there and update on what is going on with me in Korea.

Until then, I'll try to come up with other things to post about as well so I won't be too boring...

Have a Christ-filled day!

I'm Leaving On A Jet Plane

Well, not for a little while yet. A couple of friends (from my TESL class) and I had applied for jobs teaching English in South Korea. We had to send in our resumes, photos, a medical form (a simple general self-evaluation type), then if we got through that we would have to take part in an interview via phone from South Korea. Thursday night we had our interviews (mine was at 11pm my time, one girl was before me but I don't know what time hers was, and the other one didn't have her interview until 1am our time). We waited all weekend to find out whether or not we passed the interview.

This evening we found out. I haven't talked to the other girls yet, but I passed the interview!

Now I have to gather together two reference letters, a medical report from the doctor, a police check, my diploma, copy of my TESL certificate, transcripts of my marks, and some other items. All of this is needed to optain the visa. We need to get this done this month. In July we'll receive an official acceptance letter, our contracts, and something else that I forget at this moment...oh, probably the visa.

Next comes the airline ticket (though I wonder if that can be obtained prior to getting the visa), and flying to South Korea to take part in an orientation, after which we will begin teaching.

Whew! That's a lot to get done between now and then. I'm going to have to take a day or two off work so I can do the running around I need in order to get my transcripts, police check, etc., because all of these places will be closed by the time I get off work (which is typically 4:30). Taking the time from work doesn't bother me. I even have to ask my boss for a reference letter, and I'm sure she'll give me a good reference; that doesn't bother me.

I'm excited but at the same time, I'm scared. I've never been out of the country (except to visit in Maine a couple of times several years ago), and have never been that far away from my family and friends before. That will take getting used to, and I'm sure I'll suffer home sickness some as well.

Anyway, just wanted to update the blog and let you know what's been going on. I can definately use prayer for this - getting all the documentation done up, and on time; saving money; safe travel and safety in South Korea...and so much more. I'll keep you all updated on how things are progressing, so until then, have a Christ-filled day!

Whew...Time For A Little Breather!

Well, finally a day to relax...well I'll be relaxing the whole weekend mind you, but none the less, I will be relaxing!

Exams are finally over, yay! I don't know how I have done; we haven't received our marks yet. The only one I really care about is the TESL course, and I know I did pretty good because the prof told me. I think I messed up on the history exam, but I'm not overly concerned about it. As for the Post Exilic Writings class, I think I did not too badly in it. But, we'll see when I get the marks - not sure when that is though; probably in the next week or two I think.

I finished up my TESL practicum this week - the actual teaching part of it. Monday morning I taught in the low beginner/beginner class and it went not too badly. I was VERY nervous, not just in teaching, but because my prof was there the entire time to observe. He was good about it though and gave some positive feedback, things that I should work at, etc. He said a lot of the mistakes I was making was just because I was new to teaching ESL, and that all new teachers of ESL fall into the same "traps". These are things that would come with time, though. As well, he knew I was nervous and that would contribute to some of it.

There were about 8 in the class that morning, and it was a little harder because of having just come off the weekend when the students hadn't spoken English since their class on Friday - it is hard to get them back into the swing of things. Actually, even their teacher said that is the worst possible day for a student teacher to teach the class, and my prof agreed and said that in the future they would probably not have a student teacher teach on mondays (at least in the mornings). The students were good though, and I didn't run into any real problems.

On Tuesday afternoon I taught the low intermediate level, and it was a LOT easier to teach them. With this level you can at least talk and they understand you. With the beginner class you are limited to what you can say because of the lack of understanding. The low intermediate class had about 7 students that day, and they were all friendly, understanding of me being new, etc. We had a lot of laughs as well, and that is always nice...it helps you relax some (or at least I found it did).

Wednesday morning I was back in the beginner class and it was, once again, a little difficult to adjust back to being limited. It wasn't so bad though, and this time there were 9 in the class. We reviewed more of what we had done in Monday's class, and started a new topic after that. We ran short of time, though, so I mentioned to their teacher what we had done and that it might be a good idea to go over it with them again because I don't think they had really grasped it yet. Also, I gave them a little handout and they hadn't finished that. I mentioned that to their teacher and said she might want to go over it with them as well.

Yesterday, Thursday, afternoon I was back to the low intermediate class and there were 10 - the biggest class I had taught to that point. It was a lot of fun again, and lots of laughs. They seemed to grasp what I was teaching, and that's always good. Their regular teacher said she thought I was doing an excellent job, and asked them what they thought...they agreed. That felt good.

Over the summer, I may be going to the same place (the multicultural association) to do some one on one teaching for an hour or so. The woman (actually the one who teaches the beginner class) I talked to said that would be a great welcome because there are some students who could really benefit from the extra help. She mentioned one of the ladies in her class and that they were going to get someone to translate to Spanish (this woman's mother tongue) and ask her if she would be willing to come in for some extra help. It's totally up to her, though. I'm just waiting for an email back about it. I'm not sure when I'd start - probably as early as next week. I figured that not only could the association use the extra help (they really need more people there but they don't have the funds to pay for additional staff), but also I could get some practice in teaching as well.

Anyway, that's all for now. I'm off to catch up on a few blogs and do some knitting. Have a Christ filled day!

Been Awhile...

It's definately been awhile since I've posted here. School has now finished - well, all except for exams and the rest of my TESL practicum.

I had the TESL exam this evening, and I think I did ok on it. I have one more class of observation for the TESL practicum, then I can start the teaching part of it. We have to do 10 hours of observation and 10 hours of teaching, and where we go to do the practicum, the classes are 2 1/2 hours in total (they are there for 3 hours, but there is a 1/2 hour break which isn't counted in the hours we have to do).

I've enjoyed the observation part of the practicum, and have been in the beginner class and the high intermediate class. The students are from all over the world, but it seems like the bulk of them are from South Korea (at least from what I've seen so far). Most of the students seem to be anxious and desire to learn English, which is nice. The levels of learning are varried with ones who know no English (or very, very little) to ones who have a great grasp of the language. Of course, they are divided into their appropriate classes.

My next exam is in Post Exilic Writings, and that is this coming Monday. The exam will have one major essay question and about 30-odd short answer questions. He has already given us these questions, we just have to study the answers (for the short answer, which are pretty easy anyway), and prepare the answer for the essay question. I'm not overly worried for this exam, but I do still need to prepare the essay question (which I'll just cut and paste from my notes to form my answer and study that).

The last exam I have, on Tuesday, is for Maritime History. Now that one there is a TON of notes to study. We have class notes, articles we've had to read for discussion classes, and the text book. Most of the exam is going to come from the text book, which I need to go over and highlight. I haven't read all of it so that is freaking me out some. The good thing, though, is that our notes contain a good deal of what is from the text book, so that helps.

Other than school, there hasn't been a whole lot going on. I did improve somewhat on my spiritual life, but still feel stagnant. I've been doing more prayer, though they aren't all that great, and usually just little ones tossed up here and there. My Bible reading has been coming along nicely; I've been reading every morning. I haven't been doing indepth or meditative studying from it, but I have been reading. I know that I need to improve in this area of my life - I've been lazy in my walk. Prayer for me in this area is always welcome :o).

Anyway, I'm feeling quite tired tonight, so I'm going to go do a little knitting before bed. Have to get up and do more studying tomorrow (tonight I'm taking a little break from it) - I'm sick of studying...but it needs to be done. I'll be glad when it's all said and done with Tuesday afternoon!

Have a Christ filled day!

Observation

Just a quick post. This past week I had two of the four days of observation for my TESL course. Whe have to have 10 hours of observation and 10 hours of teaching to get the certificate.

I've attended an intermediate to advanced intermediate class, as well as a beginner class. I really enjoyed both classes. The intermediate/adv. inter. class is easier to teach because they have a better grasp on the language. And even though the beginner class is a lot harder (most of them are doing well, but one of them is just learning and doesn't know very much at all yet and another one is a little further ahead of her), it was a lot more fun because the students were very interested in learning and were making jokes and what not...a lot of laughter in the class.

I'm going to the local multicultural center for the practicum, and they have a wide variety of countries represented. There were people from Costa Rica, Columbia, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Russia (or one of the former Russian states), Congo, Ethiopia...interesting to see how well they get along and how much they want to learn the language (though some had more enthusiasm than others, which is normal).

I have my last two days of observation this coming week, and then move on to the teaching aspect of it...that is scary! I'll be observed some by my teacher, and that is what makes me the most nervous. I'm not sure off hand when that starts...it might start the week after next, and it might not. Exams come up starting April 19th so I won't be doing any teaching during that time.

Anyway, just wanted to post a little update since it's been awhile. I am hoping to get something written for CWO's In Other Words this week as I haven't for the last couple of them for one reason or another. But, until then, have a Christ filled day!

Oh, and if any of you are knitters, I am having a little contest over on my knitting blog, Kitten Knits Yarn - come on over and enter!