when in rome...

These last two days have been quite wonderful. :)  Yesterday Bird and I met some friends for lunch and I had my first Korean meal dulsap bibimbap.  It was rice, vegetables, egg, and a spicy sauce... very good!  Then we toured the city and visited the market.  Right now it feels like I will always be lost, but I know that it won't be too long (hopefully) before I know it like the back of my hand.  Dinner last night was QUITE the experience.  One of Bird's students took us to a traditional Japanese sushi restaurant.  It was a very nice restaurant and they fed us a ridiculous amount of food!  Most of it was very good, some of it, ie crab sac, was quite terrible.  A funny custom was to tip the chef with a drink... from your own glass.   I guess sharing germs with strangers isn't a big deal.

Today I got to meet the other teachers at my school!  We all went to a buffet for lunch.  Mr. Kim picked out a lot of different foods for me to try.  The most interesting thing I saw there was a sushi roll with a purple sauce drizzled over it and topped with sprinkles... like ice cream sprinkles!  Needless to say I did NOT try that one.  All of the teachers are so wonderful!  They are very fun, friendly, welcoming and they all go to church together on Sunday morning.  I think I will fit in here very well.  After lunch I got to see my new apartment.  It is in a residential area in a very cute brick house.  I am on the top floor.  Although it is VERY small, it is clean and relatively new.  I was able to go to the teacher's apartment that I'm replacing and pick out whatever furniture or utensils that I wanted.  Move in day should be early next week.  Thank you for your prayers in this matter.  They also are allowing me to drive the school mini van while I'm here so I guess I will be testing to get my Korean drivers license in the near future!

This evening I observed my evening classes and they are all so great!  Tonight we just introduced ourselves to each other and Michael, the teacher I'm replacing, taught the classes some slang phrases.  I think I will really enjoy my classes!  The size of the classes are very small ranging from 3-8 students per class.  After class Bird picked me up and we walked to a nearby lake.  Every night they do a laser fountain show on the lake... it was very cool!  I enjoyed the rest of the evening eating dinner and hanging out with some of the other foreign teachers here.  They are all so friendly and welcoming and Im excited to get to know that better in the weeks to come.

Praises:

• I have my new apartment and I think it will be quite cozy!
• I have been able to sleep well each night and am adjusting to the different time zone quite easily.
• The teachers that I work with are great people that I know I will be able to enjoy working with them and build great friendships.

Requests:

• That the Lord will continually use, grow, and stretch me while I am here in Korea.

God is so good and I am so blessed and happy to be here!  Thank you all for your prayers, I am already seeing God answer these prayers and I am very encouraged!

Bird at the market

My school!  It is the one with the blue sign with white writing.

                                          

Pretty fountain in the city.

                                      

                                                             

Some of the city.  This is what it looks like block after block... makes it very easy for me to get lost!

                                  

Bird and I at the Japanese restaurant.

                                                

One of the MANY dishes we were served: Baked eggplant with pumpkin, shrimp, edamame, and other vegetables.  VERY GOOD!!