settling in...

Wow... so much is happening here!  Recently I was able to spend an afternoon exploring a little bit with Bird and we wound up on park benches to read and relax on a beautiful day.  Kindle + Park + Beautiful weather = a perfect afternoon!!  Over the weekend I went on a short trip with Bird and some of her friends to Daejeon... a city that is 3 hours away by bus.  Bird and her friends were going to the city to run a 13k race and I decided I could cheer from the sidelines.  We arrived on Saturday night, checked into a hotel, and went out for Italian food!  Sunday morning we took a shuttle out of the city to the mountain where the race was being held.  This probably comes as no surprise, but as everyone was getting registered for the FREE race I just couldn't resist and signed up... chino shorts and all.  I signed up to run the 5k figuring that it couldn't hurt my knee TOO badly.  Oh, and did I mention that this was a barefoot race???  Yes, 5 kilometers through the mountains on clay/gravel paths without any shoes.  I'm here to have new experiences, right?!  To help all of the runners get hyped up there was an amazing drum team playing.  The were incredible!  I think drums should be a mandatory part of all foot races!  I then removed my shoes, had a Korean flag painted on my face, and hiked the 2 kilometers to the starting line.  I could already tell that the race would be quite interesting as it had rained quite heavily the day before leaving everything wet, slippery, and muddy.   Once at the starting line everyone started chanting.  I joined the chanting having absolutely no idea what I was saying... turned out we were counting backwards.  Before I knew it we were all off and running.  Here are some things that I observed while running:

• Running on wet clay isn't as soft as you'd think... especially when there are pieces of gravel mixed in with the clay.
• BEAUTIFUL scenery.  It was so nice to look around at God's beautiful creation in a completely new place.
• At one point in the race there was a monk sitting up on the mountain side playing a wooden flute.  I remember looking around at all the beauty, listening to the beautiful music, and thinking: "Last week at this time I was at home in Rockford, MI and this week I'm running barefoot through the mountains of Dae Jeon, a city I didn't even know existed, while a monk plays a wooden flute.  Wow."  It really made me realize that I am going to have so many unique adventures while I am over here and it also made me very grateful for the opportunities I have been given.
• The Koreans are great encouragers!  Scattered throughout the trail were several Koreans cheering on the runners.  Their cheer of choice?  "FIGHTING!!"  Who knows where this came from but they were all pumping their fists and yelling at each passing runner.  I fought as best I could. :)

So my injured, untrained body and uncallussed feet were feeling the pain of the mountainous run 4 kilometers into the race causing me to anxiously look forward to the finish line so that I could sit and show my feet the medical attention they so desired and rest my very much in pain injured knee.  As you can imagine, I was very disappointed to see that the 5k point was just that... a kilometer marker.  No finish line.  If only I understood Korean I would have been informed that the 5k runners were to turn around at the 2.5k point and finish at the starting line... a finish complete with rose petals and gold medals.  Awesome. After much confusion and wandering around by myself looking for anything resembling a finish line, I decided to turn around and walk the 5 kilometers back to the starting line.  At that same time two young men from Pakistan were also realizing the 5k dilemma.  We started talking and quickly became friends.  The 5 kilometer walk back, although painful (still had no shoes on!), was quite enjoyable because of my company.  We spoke about our countries, our culture, our families, and most intriguing, our faith.  Yassir and Ali are both Muslims.  I'll be honest, before that day I really did not know much about the Muslim faith.  I was very excited to share my faith and my hope that is in Christ Jesus with them.  Our biggest disagreement came when they expressed that they also believed that Jesus will be returning one day and that they look forward to His return... unfortunately they are looking forward to His return because they believe that Jesus will then proclaim that He is not the son of God. Ali told me that he looks forward to the day in heaven that he can tell me that he was right about Jesus.  I told him that I will be sad that he never believed the truth.  After crossing the "finish line", taking pictures and exchanging information we parted ways.  I am so thankful for the opportunity to make friends with these two men.  I don't think the 3 of us would have joined company in the US and I would have missed out on great conversation, but in Korea we had something in common, speaking english, that caused us all to stick together.  I will definitely continue to pray for my new friends.

After completing my 10k race I met up with Bird at a clay pot making tent.  Bird, a bunch of children and myself sat around a table and made some beautiful pieces of art. :)  After leaving the race we went back into the city for dinner and shopping.  The 3 hour bus ride home provided me with a restful nap.  What a great first weekend in Korea!!

Monday I moved into my new apartment!  Thanks to all of you who were praying!  It is a very small space filled with all the colors of the rainbow, but I really like it!!  It's a 20 minute walk from the city which is so nice.  My neighborhood is very quiet and I have a great view of the mountains right from my front door.  Once I get everything put away and organized I will post pictures.  Here are some interesting things about my new apartment:

• The washing machine, which takes up most of my bathroom, has buttons that are all in Korean.  Trying to do laundry is always interesting just pressing any assortment of buttons.  Hopefully I don't ruin all of my clothes!
• I don't have a bathroom sink!  I don't know many people that keep their toothbrushes and toothpaste in the kitchen, but it's something I'm going to have to get used to.  
• I have to turn on the hot water, which is controlled near the front door, before turning the water on.  Forgetting to do so results in a very cold shower.  Trust me.
• The non-english speaking landlord tried to explain to me how to turn on the gas to start the stove.  I hope I didn't misunderstand her hand gestures or making noodles could prove to be quite  dangerous.

I am absolutely loving all of my classes!!  I teach 2 classes in the morning and 3 in the evening.  Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I have a 1-on-1 student in the afternoon and on Thursdays I have a 1-on-1 student in the morning.  Basically, I'm getting paid to talk to very fun and interesting people!!  What a great job!

A few Korean observations:

• The 2 young men holding hands walking around town probably aren't gay.  Just good friends.
• Toilets come in a great variety!  Some provide toilet paper, some don't.  Some provide toilet paper at the entrance to the bathroom and not in the stall.  Don't mistake this toilet paper dispenser for paper towel after washing your hands... wet toilet paper stuck to your hands.  Awesome.  Some toilets, like the one at my school, are only a few inches off of the ground requiring a squat.  Some are so ridiculously and unnecessarily technnologically advanced.  I'm talking 10 to 15 buttons.  I was only brave enough to try 2 of the buttons.  I got my butt sprayed and fanned.  That was enough experimenting with the buttons for me.
• If 2 Koreans are dating each other it is essential that their outfits match completely... all the way down to their underwear.  All lingerie stores sell matching bras, women's underwear, and men's underwear sets.  The patterns I've seen so far have been animal prints, flowers, and hearts.  Awesome.

Well, I guess since I've written a novel and probably nobody but my own mother has read this far, I should wrap it up.  Prayer requests and praises:

Praises:

• I got a great deal on a cell phone and cell phone plan!
• My apartment is very comfortable.
• Opportunities to share my faith.

Requests:

• That I will get my alien registration card soon.  Until I get that card I don't have any insurance and I can't open a bank account.
• That I will find a cheap bike.  Currently I am making a 20+ minute walk 4 times/day... sometimes after midnight.
• That I will choose my activities based on what will give God the most glory and not what will bring me the most pleasure. 

Korean BBQ

Bird and her lunch.

Statue at the mall.

Kindle in the park on a beautiful day.  Ahhhh.

Fun with friends.

Clay pots.  (Unfortunately neither of the pots made it home to Changwon.)

Our foot prints.

Shyla and Bird shopping in Dae Jeon

Thank you for reading and for your support, encouragement, and prayers!!  Until next time!