Ahh!! We’re here, in full swing. Today is our first Saturday
in Geoje, pronounced Go-jay.
To rewind, our 24+ hours of traveling were not as bad as it
could have been. We made all of our
connecting flights and as soon as we arrived in Busan, our director, principal,
and one of the current teachers met us complete with a sign with our names on
it! Also, on the shuttle from the international to the domestic flight we met
Ethan. We quickly found out that he was going to be our coworker at our school!
He’s from Georgia and we quickly became friends. We're pretty much already family.
The big surprise was that we were due at school Wednesday
morning at 9am after our 24+ hours of traveling! Needless to say by the
afternoon we were pretty zombie-like! That afternoon we went home and took a 3
hour nap. The good thing is that we were able to shadow the current teachers
for a few days. We also got our class
assignments and schedules and curriculum. It’s a bit overwhelming but I’m sure
it will all come together soon enough. Beka has the youngest kids which are 5-6
in Korean years and 4-5 in American years. In Korea they count from conception
to birth as 1 year. Also, their age doesn’t change on their birthday but on
January 1st. We’re automatically a year older here, but they told us
not to worry, that we would lose a year when we went back home. =) Ethan has
6-7 year olds and I have the oldest, 7-8 year olds. Those are our
kindergarteners. We don’t know much
about our afternoon kids yet. I do know
that the kids, especially the kindis, have definitely already stolen my heart!
They are so stinkin’ adorable, I can hardly stand it! Also, I’m pretty
fortunate because my kindergarten class only has 5 students, 3 boys and 2
girls. I’ll really be able to connect with them since it’s such a small class.
The students call us Teacher Alisha, Teacher Beka, and Teacher Ethan, as a sign
of respect.
We’re really excited because yesterday we found out that we
have Monday-Thursday off next week because the kids have spring break! We’re
currently deciding where to travel! We’re staying put today and tomorrow to
finish getting settled in and to try out a church tomorrow.
The best part about being here so far is that our school has
already taken us in as family. Mikyong is who we will work most closely with
and she speaks great English. She lived in Oregon for several years. Our
director and principal (a married couple) are great too. Our director is
excited because he’s a marathon runner too and found out all three of us run.
He wants to run a marathon with us. Also, he will most likely take us hiking
with him and such. So exited!
Our apartment is small and simple. We like it and we
particularly like the HEATED floors! We’ve joked about doing yoga in our
apartment. It has a small entry way and closet, a tiny refrigerator, a sink and
stovetop, no oven or microwave, a bathroom with a shower and western toilet
(thankfully!), a small bedroom with a window and a larger bedroom that has the
living space and laundry room in it with a window. We’re content and feel
blessed to be here.
The city is really a pretty city. It’s supposedly has a
population of a bit over 200,000; however it feels like a big city, in a good
way. We have had the chance to explore a
little bit. The first morning we were here we found Paris Baguette, a French bakery!
We were pleasantly surprised about our find. They also have what is called Home
Plus, the Korean Walmart. We went there and bought cleaning supplies and a blow
dryer. We’ve also seen many street corner markets with fresh produce and we’ve
heard good things about the farmer’s market but have yet to go.
On Thursday we went out to lunch with the school and current
teachers. We went to a Korean bbq place, which is a traditional restaurant. We
took off our shoes and sat on the floor to dine. Thankfully they had about 10
sides so I did not go without!
Speaking of shoes, most places you take off your shoes, and
if it’s a place you spend a lot of time, you put on indoor shoes. Outdoor shoes
and bare feet are viewed as dirty so you have to wear shoes that have never
been worn outside. Luckily Tamera warned me about this so I brought a comfy
pair of indoor shoes to keep at school.
I’m so pumped about having visitors in the future to show
them around and to have them (you??) learn about Korean culture.
Although, totally void of Korean culture, the three of us took a trek to the other side of town for some good ol' Quiznos. It was definitely worth the walk. Now we're hanging out at Barista-b drinking coffee and updating the world.
I should warn you all that typically my posts will not be
this long! This is just a vast catch up of our first several days here. =)
We were advised to have letters, packages, etc, sent to the
school. We’re only a couple blocks from the school. The address:
2F, 1166-14, Obi-Ri, Yeoncho-Myeon,
Geoje-Si, Gyeongsangnam-Do,
Korea.
We're hoping to have internet in our apartment soon!
love&peace
