Cheonan City: Exploration

I’m definitely getting more comfortable in this environment!  Today I went to my school to meet my principal and some of the other teachers and a few students!  When I arrived there was 1 boy brave enough to jump right in and start asking me questions.  He asked me my name and where I was from.  I said Kansas City and he said, Oh, I’m from Korea (like I couldn’t figure that out… ha!).  This is going to be so great!

My head teacher took me to meet the principal.  His office was as big as a classroom and he had all the chairs sitting in a circle!  I said ‘Onyonghasayo.  Chonan Becky, immeda.’  (Translation, hello, my name is Becky.  FYI: that spelling is totally wrong, I wrote it out phonetically b/c that is the only way I can get the pronunciation correct!)  He bowed and I bowed (b/c that’s what you do here!)  We sat down and he began talking Korean to me (he does not speak any English and he has a very serious face!!).  He talked for about 3 or 4 minutes and of course I was just smiling and nodding b/c I had no idea what he was saying!!  Then I looked to my teacher for translation and she said, “He hopes you like Bongseo (the school) and will be happy here.  Welcome to our school!”  Wow… I’m assuming quite a bit got lost in translation there!  I also met the Vice Principal.  He seems very nice.  He smiled a lot and knows a little English.  He seemed a lot more open to me! 

We then went up to her classroom so I could see where I would be teaching.  We walked in to her room and there was a room of about 30 or 40 6^th graders who were unsupervised!  She just left her class ALONE to come and get me and meet the principal and what not.  She introduced me to the class and of course they had lots of questions!  They were so cute and enthusiastic!  She then took me to meet another teacher I will be working with and left her class alone AGAIN… she was away for at least 45 minutes!  Oh my word… this place is crazy!!

It was time again for lunch and I was anxious to see what our next adventure would be!  We ate at ‘Ashley’s American Grille’ (I think that’s the name).  It was totally NOT American food!  That must totally be how Chinese people feel about Chinese restaurants in the States… it’s really nothing like our authentic food!  And, they had the most random things!  It was so great!

This afternoon we took a fieldtrip to the City Hall!  (This is an important place for us, b/c this is how we are funded… gotta keep it good with them!)  They have this project that they want all of the apartments here in Korea to be a certain way by at least 5 or 10 years from now.  You will not have a key, you will walk up to the door and it’ll scan your face/pupils and open the door.  All of your lights and electronic items will be activated by your voice.  You will have a closet that puts outfits for you together and runs them across a mirror so you can decide what to wear.  You can punch a screen on the outside of your fridge to see what you have on the inside (you don’t have to open the doors).  You can control the temperature of your house from you cell phone if you’re away!  There were tons of other things like this too!  It was so sweet!  I said I’d so live here if that’s what my apartment would be like! 

We walked around the city hall and then we were taken upstairs where there was a memorial.  I’m not sure of all the details, but the former President of So. Korea (2002-2007 I believe), committed suicide last Saturday.  He went up on a hill and decided to end it all.  He had been being investigated for things that he had done while he was in office.  I think about 2 weeks ago, he made a formal apology to the country for his actions.  It was sad b/c I guess he was loved by the people b/c he was so generous, caring, and giving!  It’s tradition in Korean culture to mourn for 7 days, so that is why the memorial is still there.  It was pretty intense being in that environment.  People were weeping and were so upset!  It was definitely a surreal moment. 

After that, we were taken to figure out our routes to school.  This was kind of crazy b/c he drove the bus route.  Where I have to get off, it doesn’t have any major landmarks!  He was like, you got it… okay?!?  So, I just said yes and figured I’d practice taking the bus this weekend a couple times to get familiar!  I’ll just ride it in a big circle!  This should be fun!!

Tonight, we went to a concert here on campus.  It was pretty fun, even though everything was in Korean and we had no idea what they were saying!  It was really cool to experience their culture though!  It was very hip and modern!  They had a couple boy bands, who were actually pretty amazing (and I’m not just saying that!!)  We also experienced a couple doing a somewhat interpretive dancing… now that’s something you wouldn’t see at a Nazarene University campus in the states!  I loved it!! 

Oh, and I forgot to share the fact that at meals, not all restaurants serve regular water.  Some places serve this stuff that looks like water, but it’s actually called corn water… it takes like corn chips without the salt, but in liquid form!  Not a huge fan!!  And, Koreans really don’t drink with their meals.  They’ll drink a small cup of water after their meals!  I’m learning a lot!!

So, tomorrow is my last day of orientation and then my real schedule starts!  It’s a little nerve racking, but I’m excited and ready!  It’s going to be so great!!

Another Day, Another Dollar

Another day of training… yeah, gotta love that!  I will say we are getting to eat at some nice restaurants though!  We watched a movie today that said ‘Cheonan City… the Best City in the World.’  It was hard not to chuckle at it!  They set the bar high and they’re planning on achieving that status! 

We took a tour of the campus today and that was pretty neat.  It’s a pretty nice campus.  They have a whole section that is dedicated to Special Needs students.  They offer some pretty amazing things here for those students!

We also had the opportunity to meet our Korean/English Head Teachers!  This should be very interesting… she doesn’t really speak any English!!!!  Are you kidding me right now?!?  It was funny, she was like 5 minutes late and she said, sorry I’m late, I was buying this new shirt to wear to meet you!  I’ll give her credit though, it was way cute… I’d totally wear it!  I got my schedule and I’ll be teaching 21 classes of 5^th and 6^th graders.  2 of those are 3^rd grade classes.  Then, I’ll be teaching 2 classes for the teachers there.  We only are required to teach 22 hours, so I’ll be getting paid extra to teach the 2^nd teachers class.  I’ll be teaching it during the normal time I’ll be there too, so it’s not like I have to stay longer.  Pretty sweet, huh?!?  She was asking me what some of my hobbies are and I told her I really like going to movies!  She got really excited and said me too and then asked if I’d like to go with her sometime!  She made me ‘pinky promise’ I’d go!  I found someone to go see ‘chick flicks’ with me here!!  After meeting her once, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m going to have some great stories!! 

As we were walking around campus today, we ran into the Pastor and his wife here at International Church.  (Side Note: It’s funny b/c whenever you see a Western walking around you automatically say hi and wonder if you know them b/c there’s not a lot of foreigners here!)  We all introduced ourselves and they invited us to church.  I’m really excited to check it out b/c I’ve heard it’s really cool.  It’s an English church, but many Koreans go there!

I also found out that when I went to the bank to exchange my money the other day, I got too much back!  I took in a couple new teachers and the assistant manager was like you were here yesterday, right?  I was.  He told me that he bought my money instead of selling me money or vice versa… I really didn’t understand!  Pretty much I came out on top and made more money then I should have.  The mistake was in my favor! 

I’ve also experienced something different, that’s been pretty weird.  A lot of times when someone asks me a question or says something, Spanish has been coming to mind.  If I’m trying to figure out how to say something, I’ll say como dice _____?   Which means ‘how do you say _____.’  I’ll also respond si or say gracias.  It’s really pretty crazy.  I was telling that to one of the other new teachers and he was like yeah, me too!  Then another teacher said that her professor once told her that whenever you hear a foreign language, you subconsciously fall back to whatever foreign language are most familiar with.  Huh… who knew?!?  It’s totally true though!  There’s your new bit of information for the day! 

I’m beginning to acclimated to my surroundings more!  I’ve done a bit more exploring, which has been good!  I’m even learning some Korean words/phrases!  I know they are being patient with us, but in the inside I’m sure they are cracking up!  I’m sure we sound a bit ridiculous sometimes!  ‘A’ for effort, right?!?  Watch out… I’m going to come back fluent!  Ha… yeah right!! 

Orientation: Day Uno

I’ve been here a week and it’s already time to do laundry!  Easier said then done!  So, it takes about 3 hours to do one full load of laundry.  The washer and dryer is all one machine.  I started last night and only got one load done!  I was able to finish it up today, but man this is going to be a chore!

I had my first day of Orientation today.  There are 3 other new teachers starting this month as well.  We had to start off my going to the hospital and getting a minor check-up.  They did all the basics and then we had to pee in a cup.  It wasn’t just any cup though, it was a paper ‘Hello Kitty’ cup!  They had written our names on the outside of the cup in Korean, so that part was pretty cool!  Of course, I had to take a picture of that experience!

We were taken to lunch at a very nice restaurant today.  I have to remember to through socks in my bag b/c we had to remove our shoes.  We sat on the ground again and it was very authentic!  This time I got some pictures!  The food was pretty good.  I tried Kim-chi again.  This time it was cucumbers and I actually could handle it.  It was a little spicy, but good.  It was funny b/c they brought out all of these vegetables and other side dishes.  We ate and thought that was all, but then they came out 3 more times with more food!  It was a lot of food… it felt like a feast!  It was a neat experience though!  I’ll be so cultured when I get back home! Ha!

After our orientation I walked around campus with 2 of the other new teachers.  It was very comforting b/c we were able to share with each other some our anxieties and also what we were looking forward to!  As we were walking we also found a park on campus and they have workout equipment there.  Not your typical stuff, very Asian, but pretty cool I think!  The 3 of us then went to dinner and just got to know each other better.  We had genuine conversation and I have been yearning for that!  It’s so hard when all you hear is Korean all day! 

I’m starting to get more acclimated with the city.  I’m also realizing how important my alone time is to refuel!  Tonight I decided to hang out by myself b/c I hadn’t been alone all day!  I went for a run down at this park/track by the University.  There were all these family and kids walking and riding bikes.  Korean kids will melt your heart with their cuteness… oh I love it!  Then, when I was walking home there was a little boy about the same age as Brenlie and Darby and he just looked up at me and stopped.  I said ‘Hi’ and he got this big smile and started laughing!  It was the cutest thing!  It made me totally miss all my kiddos at home though! 

The weather was beautiful here today!  It’s hot during the day, but then at night it really cools off.  I like it!  I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!  It’s time like this that I miss being with my family! 

Oh, I forgot one more funny story from China.  We were riding a bus and the driver kept jerking on the clutch an Joel was like this guy can’t drive.  I looked up to see what was going on and I realized the bus driver was texting!!  Are you kidding me, a bus full of people and you are texting?!?

Enjoy some pictures! 

My staple food - Kim Bop:

The workout equipment we found:
My Orientation Group:
Our Feast:
Our food choices for today:






'Rebecca' in Korean:

Life Lessons All Around

Oh traveling in a foreign country… what fun that can be!  My flight was scheduled to leave Beijing at 5.55pm.  J & A took off early in the morning, so I decided to try and catch an earlier flight.  I attempted to make a simple phone call and ask if they had earlier flights available… yeah that didn’t go so well.  After being transferred to like 3 or 4 different people on the same airline (after I told them that this wasn’t even the airline I was flying) I decided to pack up and head to the airport.

Of course when I get there, there are no earlier flights.  It’s 10 am and my flight does not leave for anther 8 hours.  I hung out in Starbucks for most of those hours and read a book.  For a moment I felt like I was back in the states.  Starbucks has the same smell and feel no matter where you are… it’s your little piece of home!

You also cannot go into the terminal until 2 hours before your flight leaves, so I just had to wait out.  Waiting all of those hours really started to drain me.  I was already physically drained and then just waiting emotionally drained me.  I’m going to be honest, I did have my first break down since I have left.  Now break down is a strong word… it wasn’t that bad, I just can’t think of any other way to describe it.  I think it had a big part to do with the fact that I did not hear any English spoken all day and I wasn’t able to talk to anyone and I had a lot of time on my hands… all of those do not add up to a good combo! 

Not that I questioned coming over here, it was more a moment of ‘what the heck was I thinking?’  Let’s just say on this day God and I did a lot of talking.  I honestly had nothing else to do but start talking to Him.  I guess that’s one way to get through to me right… just don’t give me anyone else to talk to!  But, without skipping a beat, God showed me His faithfulness and gently reminded me that He is right here with me on this journey:

I was standing around waiting to check in and I noticed this girl who was also a Western.  We started making small talk and she asked me if I live in Seoul.  I told her no, but a city outside of Seoul and that I was teaching English.  She is actually a teacher in Seoul right now and she is getting ready to start her 12^th and final month here.  She was able to say a few statements that were very comforting to me.  She told me I will definitely have my up and down days throughout the whole process but it’s such an incredible experience!  Her few words definitely calmed my soul and I know it was God speaking through her to me.  I took a deep breathe and was reminded yet again that He knows exactly what I need when I need it!

That was a boost in my day!  We went through the terminal and sat down and waited for our flight.  I look at my watch and it’s 5.35 and we were supposed to board 15 minutes earlier.  Then I check my watch again and it’s 5.55, the time we were supposed to be leaving.  I checked it again and now it’s 6.15 and no one has said anything to let us know what’s going on.  Then, finally at 6.30 a bus pulls up and we all pile on and it takes us on about a 5 minute drive around the terminal outside.  We finally pull up to our plane, get off the bus and walk up the stairs to get on the plane.  It’s 7pm by the time we take off.

We get there, we unload, go through customs, all that fun stuff.  You haven’t experienced customs though until you experience it with Asians.  As soon as you step foot off the plane, it’s like one big race and people are running and telling people to hurry and pushing their way through.  You don’t want to get in their way that’s for sure.  We get to the baggage claim and we’re waiting for our bags.  I notice that there is a ‘Lost and Found’ sign right by the claim.  (Sidenote: On the original trip over to So. Korea, I forgot my CD case full of all of my favorite DVD’s and a few TV series DVD’s… 2 WHOLE seasons of Friends!!  I was stressing out majorly b/c a: that’s a LOT of money and b: what am I going to watch when I need a taste of home?  I didn’t tell anyone I left them though b/c it made me sick every time I thought about it so I didn’t want to talk about it!)  I figured, what the heck, let’s just go up and ask if maybe that might have it.  They asked me my flight number and I gave them my stub that I still had.  They looked it up on the computer and asked what it looked like.  My dad got it for me the night before I left and I couldn’t remember what it looked like.  I told them I think it was black and yellow with a bunch of DVD’s.  They looked through the inventory they had online and said yes, in fact they did!  I was beyond ecstatic!!  I went with the lady upstairs to the office and reclaimed it!  I was feeling good and was just ready to get on the bus and go home!

Man, I should know better then to get too comfortable with life!  So, I go downstairs to get on the AirBus.  The lady says ‘No more.’ And I was like what, what does that mean?!?  She just kept saying ‘no more’ and I realized she was telling me there were no more buses tonight!  I think I might have stopped breathing for a couple of seconds!  I had a moment of panic b/c I had no idea what to do.  I had the cell phone number of one of the other teachers so I thought I’d call her and see what I should do.  I don’t have a cell phone yet, so I was wondering around trying to find someone I could ask.  I found these 2 guys who worked at the airport and I asked if there was a phone I could use.  My face had this panic look on it and I felt that if I said too many words I might just have an emotional breakdown.  I think one of the guys noticed that too, so he just handed me his cell phone to use. 

I called Tracy and asked her what to do.  I hadn’t gone to the bank so I didn’t have enough won to get a taxi.  I debated whether to just stay in the airport over night and wait for the next bus that left at 6.30 am.  I figured I’d already spent all day in the airport, why not just make it a full 24 hours?!?  She said, no you can’t stay there, I’ll find you a way home.  She gave me the address to the University (which I had no clue what it was) and told me to get have a taxi bring me back and she would meet me at the entrance with money to pay the driver.  I thanked her over and over and by this time I’m just so emotionally drained that I have tears streaming down my face.  I hand the phone back to the guy and he just kind of looks at me and I know he’s thinking what is wrong with that weirdo (I know b/c I was thinking the same thing myself!)

The next task was to find a taxi driver that looked friendly.  I walked out to a line of taxi and saw a guy about my dad’s age and thought he looks nice as he smiled at me.  So, I gave him the address and 1 hour and 45 minutes later I arrived at KNU.  My total bill was 180,000 won, which is roughly about $180!  Tracy had called another girl, Brittany, at the dorms and she went around and helped collect money from some of the girls.  It truly was such a blessing to see this community who I just met come together and help me out like that!  All I could say was “Thank you Jesus!!!”  That situation could have been very bad!  I am so thankful for that experience though b/c it made me realize I am going to be fine and I can take on a lot!

This past week has been very humbling.  I feel like I am a pretty self-sufficient person!  I hate putting people out and asking them to have rearrange their schedules for me. This is exactly what I’ve been doing for the past week though!  The teachers just keep reassuring me though that they had to do the same thing and I will in return do this for someone else!  They buy me dinner and give me 90,000 won to go to the store.  I’ve had to learn to accept it b/c I literally have no other choice.  It is a great reminder of what true community is all about.  We need people around us to help us where we are lacking or to even simply to give us that look that says ‘I understand how you are feeling and I’m here to tell you it’ll get better.’  I feel sorry for those who have not experienced true community.  I believer this is what God intended by creating us and wiring us for relationships.  It’s also been a great reminder that our community does not have to be just like us and that variety is good.  We can learn a lot from others! 

I have already seen God’s fingerprint all over my experience thus far!  I’m barely beginning and He is so evident in every way!  I am so thankful to have this experience and I will try my hardest to not take one moment for granted!

China in a Glance

Our Hostel

Tiananmen Square

Summer's Palace

Olympic Village

Great Wall

Beijing 2008: At least that's what the signs EVERYWHERE said!

I had the opportunity to go to Beijing for a few days to see my great friends Joel & Amanda.  They are in China teaching at a University so we met in Beijing so we could see each other!

I stayed in my first Hostel ever!  It was way fun and I loved the atmosphere there.  It was super cute.  It was definitely different then a hotel room but it was good.  I felt a little out of place when I was carrying by big pink suitcase!  The typical Hostel occupant will be carrying an adventurous backpack… I kind of stood out!

I was a little nervous flying into China b/c you hear all these horror stories about how closed they are and how they don’t like Americans very much.  It wasn’t bad though.  One thing you need to know about Asian culture though is they don’t really have a concept of what a line is.  There is no waiting your turn, it’s survival of the quickest!  As soon as the plane stops everyone jumps up and starts pushing their way to the front.  There is absolutely no empty space.  So I jump up just like everyone else so I don’t get trampled.  Then an announcement comes on over the intercom (no idea what it is saying) and everyone starts going to seat (the first empty seat they saw, most of them were not their original seats!).  So I head to my seat and then some man comes on board and has a thermometer.  He starts putting them on random people’s foreheads.  He doesn’t say a word, just walks up and looks like he is going to shoot you in the head!  Then we got to get off the plane!

We went to Tiananmen Square when I first arrived.  I’m not real sure what the significance of this place was, but it was cool I guess.  It was a big open area and there were these guards everywhere.  Not real sure what their purpose was or what they were doing but it did make for some sweet pictures!

We went to the Silk Market.  There are no words to describe this experience.  Overwhelming does not even begin to describe it.  As soon as we walked in it was people trying to sell you things everywhere.  “Hey beautiful lady, you take a look inside at my  _______________ (insert whatever item they were trying to sell here).”  Oh my word I didn’t even want my eyes to wonder over something b/c they were like vultures ready to attack!  I did finally start bartering… which was very difficult for me… so not my personality!  I got UGGS for $20usd and Dolce & Gabbana bag for $8usd.  Not too bad if I do say so!

The coolest thing we did though was climb the Great Wall!  Let me tell you though I had NO IDEA what I was getting myself in to!  We pulled up after about a 2.5 hour trip and I see it and I’m like we are hiking up that?!?  When we were finished, I told Joel and Amanda that at the beginning of the hike I thought to myself there is no stinkin way I can do that!  That is going to be torture!!  It wasn’t by any means easy, but well worth the climb!  It was absolutely b-e-a-utiful!  The pictures I took do not even begin to give it the credit it deserves.  The weather was amazing and the sky was a bright blue!  There was a nice breeze from being so high up. 

There are these stairs that go straight up… literally!  You look up and you are like I’m supposed to walk up that?  Remember that Asians are rather small and they don’t have large feet so that was an experience all on it’s own.  You are pretty much walking on your tip-toes as you’re taking the steps.  Then there were these little rest spots (they were actually where the soldiers would sit and look out and make sure no one was trying to jump the walls and attack them).  They were shaded and cool and a nice break on the way up though!  Amanda and I liked to take lots of pictures (this was actually our cover for stopping half way up the stairs to take a break!!) on the way up.  It truly was such an accomplishment when we got to a high point to look down and see how far we had come!  This was the only time you were not completely surrounded my hundreds of people.  It was so peaceful!  Truly an incredible sight that I would recommend to everyone!  We had to be “those people” though and by the t-shirt that read ‘I climbed the Great Wall.’  Joel bartered for us though and got us 3 shirts for 30 Yuan (pronounced Qui-how weird is that), which is less than $1.50usd per shirt!  So worth it!

That night we headed over to the Olympic Village to check that out.  It was cool to say I’ve been there, but it was really just a bunch of buildings.  They looked cool though.  We saw the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube.  We also saw a National Arena, but not real sure what was in there… maybe gymnastics or basketball or something?!?  It’s so funny, they still had Beijing 2008 EVERYWHERE!  They are going to be riding that one for the next 10 years!  They tried selling us gold medals… we all laughed out loud on that one!

We also headed out to Summer’s Palace.  This was like a little community that was built with illegal funds by someone who was in some government position years ago.  I love that they have this place that was built illegally and it’s like a National Sight!  It was neat to see all the different Chinese architecture. 

They have this really cool community that I would compare to like Westport in KC.  It was sweet, but I didn’t really get to enjoy it that much b/c I had started to get sick from the food!  Oh the joys of eating new foods!

China was definitely different then I was expecting.  I enjoyed visiting and I’m glad that I did it!  A few little things that were different:

o   You do not flush the toilet paper.  You put it in the trashcan by the toilet.  They have ‘squaties’ for toilets.  Thankfully I never had to use one.  I’m not the best squatter… I don’t have the fondest memories of my attempts! J

o   Children don’t wear diapers.  They have slits in their pants.  When they have use the bathroom, they just squat right there in the street.  Saw a few baby’s bottoms!

o   You are like a celebrity there.  Everyone stares at you and talks about you… it’s the worse on the subway.  I had a couple girls talking about me and my freckles.  I don’t think they had ever seen them before.  They’ll come up to you and ask you to take a picture with them and they will try to secretly take pictures of you… they’re not too discreet though! 

o   People are always trying to sell you something!  We even had to barter a taxi once!

So, there was my China Trip in a nutshell!  Hope you enjoy some of my favorite photos!  I have many more that are on facebook!  I’m going to figure out an online place to store my photos too so those of you who do not have facebook can enjoy them all as well!