Independence Day Party

     I left for Korea on July 3rd and traveled for over 24 hours and arrived on July 5th, meaning I completely missed the 4th of July. Soo... this weekend our OCT decided to set off fireworks for us. Everyone got a sparkler and we held rockets as the fireworks flew out and over the field. Very cool! Afterwards I played basketball and Ultimate Frisbee with a bunch of people from the team.

     I have still been waking up really early, I guess I am not over the jet lag. But Saturday I was up at 5 and today I was up at 4 45. I laid in bed for a while both days but finally couldn't take it anymore and decided to go to the gym. It was closed this morning so I can on the track outside. The Fog was so think I could feel it against my skin as I was running, pretty crazy.
     After my run I came back and got ready for church. About 12 people from the team attended the local Methodist service in Goesan (all in Korean). I am pretty sure he preached from John 1:29-34 where John testifies about Jesus. Although I couldn't tell you his interpretation of the passage, he seemed very enthusiastic. The people in church were very nice and welcoming and invited us to lunch with them after service. Some of the people that spoke better Korean than I decided to join them and I met some other friends for lunch at a bakery in town. We did a little shopping and headed back to the school for our first workshop on the Korean Education System. The speaker was organized and well informed, I really enjoyed hearing her perspective on how it really is in a Korean school.
     Tomorrow will be our first visit to a local Korean school. I will be going to an elementary school in Cheongju. Can't wait!!! I am getting sooo excited to start teaching :)

Anchovies and Octopus...Yum

So I just wanted to share what I had for lunch today, or in some cases what sat on my lunch tray and certainly did not enter my mouth haha. I also took pictures of my dorm and the view from my dorm window that I wanted to share.
Lunch: Octopus

 Anchovies:

Here is my dorm and the view from the window:

Good Morning Korea!

Good Morning Everyone!! This is my first morning in Korea :) Our plane came in yesterday at 6am but I don't think I am going to count that. I am all settled in and our Korean classes begin today, yikes! (Good thing they are having a review before class haha).

My roommate, Michelle is from Bellemead, New Jersey. I have met soo many people and everyone has been very nice. This is definitely going to be a fun and rewarding experience. I am looking forward to it sooo much. I am still not sure that the length of time I am going to be here has sunk in and I miss my friends and family so much already. But I am really excited to get back into the classroom and start teaching.

It has been really rainy and humid here. It looks like that's how it will be today also but the next few days should be partly cloudy. I will be sure to take some pictures and post them then. After that though its back to thunderstorms and humid weather. No straight hair for me :)

I am terrible at keeping up with my blog, but I will try really hard :) Time to start the day!

Jungwon University

Here is the University I will be staying at for the first 6 weeks...
http://eng.jwu.ac.kr/menu.do?key=26

I also got my international drivers permit this week, so if the opportunity for presents itself for me to drive, I will be able to. Now it's time to read up on Korea's traffic laws :)

Beginning Stages of the Fulbright Scholarship

As many of you have heard already, I applied for the English Teaching Assistant Fulbright Scholarship for South Korea and I was accepted!! I got the letter on March 27th :)

Today I received a packet of information about some of the logistics of my Scholarship. I will be in South Korea from July 5th 2012 until July 13th 2013. I have never been out of the country for such a long time and this is really going to be a great experience.

My first 6 weeks will be spent in Goesan, Chungcheongbuk-do (about 3 hours south east of Seoul, South Korea's capitol). My time there will be orientation and training, we will learn the language, culture and teaching strategies. After that 6 weeks, I will be placed in a school somewhere other than Seoul. We will not know where our placements are before arriving in South Korea. That is about all the information I have for everyone right now, but I will keep you updated!!


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