Hi peoples! I decided to write a blog about my experiences here in Korea. I have never done this before so we will see how it goes. My plan is to give you a new Korean word to learn with every blog and a fact about Korean culture that you may or may not know. I hope you enjoy.
Korean word of the blog: Chin gu = friend
Korean culture fact of the blog: Koreans will ask you 3 questions when you meet them. They will ask your name, if you are married, and how old you are. The third question is asked so they can determine where you are in relation to them on the respect scale. I will give you examples of this in subsequent blogs.
I wasn't sure what I would do here when we moved. My only thoughts were, I am moving to a new country and this will be an amazing opportunity for my husband. I have since then found a job with a hag gwa. Hag gwas are after school places. I teach at an English Hag gwa, but there are also karate hag gwa, tae kwan do hag gwa, Chinese hag gwa, etc. I have quite a few different classes depending on the week. The youngest kidlits are 8 the oldest are 15. When I first started, I was awful. I had no idea what I was doing or even how to teach. It has gotten much better since then. I have a feeling of accomplishment teaching these kiddos, and seeing them understand. Seeing that little light bulb go off by their heads is great. I also tutor a college age girl. Her major is English. She desperately wants to go to the United States for a year for college, but she needs help with her speaking and grammar first. This is still not my life long career, but I am glad that I have gotten the chance to try it.
There are two ladies a little younger than my parents that I "hang" out with. I have lunch with them a couple of times a week. They are especially nice people. "Kelly" is the wife of Ken's boss. She lived in the U.S. for 6 years. Her English isn't great, but she can understand me, and I can usually understand her. "Sonja" is the other lady. Sonja and her husband"Bob" are well known around this area. They own quite a few different businesses around here. Sonja can't speak English except a couple words or phrases. I have lunch at her clothing store. I know that sounds quite odd...In Korea most businesses have a small kitchen in the back of their store to prepare food. They have both done many nice things for Ken and I. They have tried to make it a little easier for us to transition to living here.
Ken and I have done a little travelling around Korea. This is when I have the most fun. I love seeing new places and getting to spend quality time with Ken. We go to Seoul very regularly. I love Seoul. There are many different neighborhoods to see. We find a new place almost every time we go. The best thing about going to Seoul is the food. We don't have many options here in Taean. So when we go we gorge ourselves. We have also gone to Seokcho on the North East coast. My birthday was spent there. :) Pyeongchang/Sabuk/Jeongseon area is where the 2018 Winter Olympics will be held. We spent Korean New Years there. We have also been to Jinju on the South Eastern coast. That was when we first got here. We went to an air show.
In these blogs I will also try to give a funny or interesting story of some kind...
When I first got to Taean, Ken and I had to stay in his dorm room at the school that he is instructing at. Our apartment wasn't going to be ready until the next day. He had warned me that there were many mosquitoes and huge spiders in and around the school. Of course these are two things that I really don't like. I couldn't sleep that night because for one thing the bed was as hard as a rock, it was a bunk bed, so I couldn't sleep next to Ken, and there were mosquitoes buzzing around my face. We wake up the next morning and Ken needs to go into his office to see what they need him to do that day. I take a shower and as I'm getting ready to step out of the bathroom, I see several long legs peaking out from under a towel on the ground. I think oh crap, it is one of those ginormous spiders. Then I see it crawl out of the towel a little more and realize it is a crab. A tiny one. It would have been big for a spider. Of course I still freak out a little. It isn't every day that you see a crab walking across the floor inside. So I wrapped up the crab in the towel. That is the only way I could think of to deal with it. When Ken came back I told him about the crab. He stepped on the towel. Crunch! That was my first day...
My life in Korea has definitely had is ups and downs. It is very hard to live in a culture that is so different from your own. I always say that everybody in this world has the same basics in life. We all eat, we all drink water, juice etc., we all sleep, and we all go to the bathroom. After those basics though, things can be incredibly different. I'm trying to feel better about living here. It isn't easy but I'm trying. So if any of you that are reading this could pray for me I would appreciate it.
I hope that this blog gets better for you readers. I'm sorry if it is a little dry. This is my first time writing a blog. If you have suggestions or things that you would like to hear or learn about let me know. :)
This is a picture of me at a Fortress/castle in Insadong(an area of Seoul).
This is the private jet we flew in on to Sacheon
Ken went skiing at High 1 Resort. Notice the guy that has totally biffed it in the right hand corner of the picture. It's not Ken. :)
Korean word of the blog: Chin gu = friend
Korean culture fact of the blog: Koreans will ask you 3 questions when you meet them. They will ask your name, if you are married, and how old you are. The third question is asked so they can determine where you are in relation to them on the respect scale. I will give you examples of this in subsequent blogs.
I wasn't sure what I would do here when we moved. My only thoughts were, I am moving to a new country and this will be an amazing opportunity for my husband. I have since then found a job with a hag gwa. Hag gwas are after school places. I teach at an English Hag gwa, but there are also karate hag gwa, tae kwan do hag gwa, Chinese hag gwa, etc. I have quite a few different classes depending on the week. The youngest kidlits are 8 the oldest are 15. When I first started, I was awful. I had no idea what I was doing or even how to teach. It has gotten much better since then. I have a feeling of accomplishment teaching these kiddos, and seeing them understand. Seeing that little light bulb go off by their heads is great. I also tutor a college age girl. Her major is English. She desperately wants to go to the United States for a year for college, but she needs help with her speaking and grammar first. This is still not my life long career, but I am glad that I have gotten the chance to try it.
There are two ladies a little younger than my parents that I "hang" out with. I have lunch with them a couple of times a week. They are especially nice people. "Kelly" is the wife of Ken's boss. She lived in the U.S. for 6 years. Her English isn't great, but she can understand me, and I can usually understand her. "Sonja" is the other lady. Sonja and her husband"Bob" are well known around this area. They own quite a few different businesses around here. Sonja can't speak English except a couple words or phrases. I have lunch at her clothing store. I know that sounds quite odd...In Korea most businesses have a small kitchen in the back of their store to prepare food. They have both done many nice things for Ken and I. They have tried to make it a little easier for us to transition to living here.
Ken and I have done a little travelling around Korea. This is when I have the most fun. I love seeing new places and getting to spend quality time with Ken. We go to Seoul very regularly. I love Seoul. There are many different neighborhoods to see. We find a new place almost every time we go. The best thing about going to Seoul is the food. We don't have many options here in Taean. So when we go we gorge ourselves. We have also gone to Seokcho on the North East coast. My birthday was spent there. :) Pyeongchang/Sabuk/Jeongseon area is where the 2018 Winter Olympics will be held. We spent Korean New Years there. We have also been to Jinju on the South Eastern coast. That was when we first got here. We went to an air show.
In these blogs I will also try to give a funny or interesting story of some kind...
When I first got to Taean, Ken and I had to stay in his dorm room at the school that he is instructing at. Our apartment wasn't going to be ready until the next day. He had warned me that there were many mosquitoes and huge spiders in and around the school. Of course these are two things that I really don't like. I couldn't sleep that night because for one thing the bed was as hard as a rock, it was a bunk bed, so I couldn't sleep next to Ken, and there were mosquitoes buzzing around my face. We wake up the next morning and Ken needs to go into his office to see what they need him to do that day. I take a shower and as I'm getting ready to step out of the bathroom, I see several long legs peaking out from under a towel on the ground. I think oh crap, it is one of those ginormous spiders. Then I see it crawl out of the towel a little more and realize it is a crab. A tiny one. It would have been big for a spider. Of course I still freak out a little. It isn't every day that you see a crab walking across the floor inside. So I wrapped up the crab in the towel. That is the only way I could think of to deal with it. When Ken came back I told him about the crab. He stepped on the towel. Crunch! That was my first day...
My life in Korea has definitely had is ups and downs. It is very hard to live in a culture that is so different from your own. I always say that everybody in this world has the same basics in life. We all eat, we all drink water, juice etc., we all sleep, and we all go to the bathroom. After those basics though, things can be incredibly different. I'm trying to feel better about living here. It isn't easy but I'm trying. So if any of you that are reading this could pray for me I would appreciate it.
I hope that this blog gets better for you readers. I'm sorry if it is a little dry. This is my first time writing a blog. If you have suggestions or things that you would like to hear or learn about let me know. :)
This is a picture of me at a Fortress/castle in Insadong(an area of Seoul). This is the private jet we flew in on to SacheonKen went skiing at High 1 Resort. Notice the guy that has totally biffed it in the right hand corner of the picture. It's not Ken. :)