annyeonghaseyo!

hard to believe i am already into my 3rd week of being here in korea. it seems like i just got here yesterday, but at the same time, like i have been here forever. does that even make sense?

glad to report that things are slowing down a bit in TESOL training. i had my first graded teaching practice last friday and by the grace of God...i somehow passed! such a relief. i will present another tomorrow, and then have the rest of the week off of homework and presentations! i won't even know what to do with that free time. we will then have 2 more weeks of TESOL.

we have a long weekend coming up as koreans celebrate the lunar new year. i hear it is one of the biggest holidays. all of the train tickets are already sold out as everyone travels to see relatives for the weekend. we haven't decided how we will spend this time yet...but there has been discussion about going into seoul for some sightseeing. we will have monday off of training, but have to make it up by going to classes on the following saturday. =(

this past saturday, our power was out for most of the day so i went into yawoori to visit some friends and shop. the mall has a giant stationery store that i could spend countless hours in. korean stationery is so wonderful. most of it has funny cartoons or designs on the front, and then some broken english. hahaha. i have been eating this stuff up. i had to give myself a spending limit and cut myself off after awhile. i bought a ton of stuff, so everybody email me your address if you want a card from across the world! i sent out a bunch of them today...only time will tell if you are in the lucky 1st batch. =) everybody run and check your mailboxes!

i got to attend my 2nd korean church service on sunday, and loved it as much as i did the first time. one of my very favorite things is being able to sing hymns and choruses alongside the koreans and know that we are singing to the same God, even if not in the same language. it's so humbling and i feel such a bond with them during those times. i am also proud to report that i have noticed a marked improvement in my ability to read hangul (korean). i can almost read & sing the characters with the rest of the church. music is a great way to practice your korean. again, this week, they translated the bulletin for me, gave me an english printout of the sermon outline, and the pastor sang some verses in english. i am so thankful! they also gave me a print with several of the pictures that we took last week together...it's so sweet! they are the most thoughtful hosts i have ever met. john came with me this sunday, and everybody loved him...the kids, especially. during the course of lunch, john mentioned that he had studied vocal performance in college, so before we could leave, the pastor made john get up in front of everybody and sing a hymn. hahaha. they were all so amazed by his voice and kept saying, "wow! wow! wow!" next week, my 2 translators will be gone to visit their family for the holiday, so communication will be more limited than it has been. we'll see how it goes!

i haven't given a food update in a couple of days, so i will share one of my new favorite foods here: rabokki.
i get hungry just looking at this picture. rabokki is a mixture of many things, just like most korean foods. it starts with a hefty serving of ramen, covered in a red sauce. then it is covered in all kinds of things, among them: fish cakes, rice cakes, hard boiled egg, and rice cake tubes that are stuffed with cheese. it is so good and so filling. there is a place really close to KNU that has the best, and it is only 3,500 won...or around $3 USD. you can't beat that.

time to sleep before another teaching practice tomorrow. i pray that all of you are alive and well in the states. keep in touch via facebook or email!

to put it lightly, TESOL is killing us. the course is much more intensive than any of us ever dreamed, so we weren't mentally prepared for all that is being thrown at us. we have ALOT of work in a short period of time...all while still adjusting to living in an absolutely foreign place (and for some, still getting over jetlag). we end everyday exhausted from information overload and stressed out til we cry. literally. hahaha. please pray for our endurance, but also that we would remember that we are expected to do our best in all things, working as though directly for the Lord. this is hard to remember when it's late at night and we just want to be finished with our lesson plans. 8 of us have our first graded teaching practice tomorrow (pass/fail)...i hope nobody faints or totally freaks!

on top of the craziness and chaos of TESOL, today i got the news that i have gotten an additional school. so i will be teaching at 2 schools, instead of just 1. another perfect example of how things ALWAYS change in korea. never write in pen, because you will always need to scratch it out. i have no idea how i got to be the chosen one to get 2 schools, as the only other teachers who have 2 schools are at least second-year...and are all males?! everyone held their breath when our KNU liaison told me about the 2nd school, knowing the stress we are all currently under and expecting me to break out into tears. i handled it surprisingly well. i know i will not be given more than i can handle, and trust that there is a reason i need to be at this 2nd school. it will mean a heavier workload and will double the amount of students i see weekly from a couple hundred to...ALOT. but i think i can handle it.

today, we received our alien registration cards. it was very exciting. we are now one step closer to getting cell phones. our liaison is working on opening bank accounts for each of us, then we will be able to purchase phones & plans! we are hoping to have everything settled by this time next week. we're all so happy.

i am getting to know all of the other new teachers better and better everyday. and i am enjoying it so much. there are so many personalities, likes and dislikes, quirks, and backgrounds represented in our group. these tough and stressful times are drawing us together so we don't really have a choice but to get really cozy and learn about each other. after a crazy day of class today, and then my finding out about my 2nd school, i had just about had it. so i said, "i NEED some pizza!" this resulted in everybody pitching into buy 10 large pizzas and piling into the common room for some time to relax and wind down before a long night of homework. it was such a great time together, sharing stories & laughing til our sides hurt. i am thrilled to have a year to spend with these folks.

time to rest before my first teaching practice tomorrow. can't wait for the weekend, even though it will be absolutely packed with homework & presentation prep! totally ready for TESOL to be finished and march to bring us the spring and time with our students!

here is my TESOL group...couldn't make it through without each others' support.

we are at the end of TESOL (teaching english to speakers of other languages) training day #2 and we are all hoping that we will make it. 4 weeks is relatively short but it seems so loooong when you are in the middle of it. we are attending classes everyday M-F from 9:30a-5p. it's pretty intensive with plenty of note-taking, homework, lesson planning, and project presenting to do. we pretty much feel like we're back in college. i probably won't have alot to share in the month of february since we are all pretty exhausted by the end of everyday. by the time we get back, have dinner, and do some homework, we're ready for bed! pretty lame.

since i don't have any long stories to share, i figured i would throw out some random tidbits that didn't quite fit in any of the previous posts & get some things out of the way...

first, i'll say that korean culture is always fluid, constantly changing. there are always spur of the moment schedule adjustments and spontaneous things that come up. anyone who knows me, knows that this is NOT at all my personality! it stresses me out so badly. hahaha. maybe this is one of the things i will learn this year: how to be fluid and adapt. anyways, all that to say, nothing is concrete here. it would seem...not even addresses! as far as i have seen, there isn't one standard way to address something. so i think there are many ways to get things mailed here, but just to be safe, here is my "official" address. at least for this week!

Whitney Casey
Special District of International Education
Korea Nazarene University (Attn: Jenny Kim)
#117 Faith Hall (Miteumgwan)
456 Ssangyong-dong Seobukgu Cheonan City Choongnam
331 718 South Korea

next, i can't wait to get a cell phone. none of the new teachers are able to get one since we don't have our alien registration cards yet. we are all going crazy! i do think, though, that since we are so anxious to have one again, we were probably too attached and a month long break is healthy for us. it's kind of pathetic how dependent we are upon modern technology...no one more so than me. however, cell phones do serve their purpose. for example, this past weekend, john & i were shopping at a mall in yawoori, an area that is about a 20 min bus ride from KNU campus. this was definitely the most confusing mall i have ever been in, with about a bajillion floors that each had different sub floors...basically an impossible maze. while we were in the mall, we got separated and couldn't find each other for anything. we're talking like 45min-an hour of just riding up and down so many different escalators. i was so incredibly frustrated. this is an instance when cellphones would have been helpful.

have i mentioned the heating system here? i think i have but i'll just reinforce how awesome it is. all of the floors are heated, which makes a great deal of sense since heat rises. in addition, it makes getting up in the morning a much more pleasant experience. who wouldn't prefer stepping out of bed onto a nice heated floor, as opposed to some cold linoleum or hardwood? i hear this type of heating also exists in the states, though i have never experienced it. in my opinion, america should seriously consider making this practice more widespread. it might make everyone alot happier in morning rush hour traffic. just saying...it's a good way to start out the day.

finally, i'd like to say that i am really amazed by how many people have been keeping up with this blog. family, friends, family friends, friends' families, and people i don't even know. wow-thank you! i really don't know why you would want to read this, but i am flattered by your patronage and hope i don't disappoint. i am so glad to be able to share this experience with you. there really is nothing like being able to get completely out of your comfort zone to see a different culture. i would recommend it to anyone.

and if you are reading this, leave me some feedback! questions, comments, criticisms...i'm open to it all. i think there is even a way to leave anonymous feedback (but maybe not). facebook me, email me...whatever. i want to be able to keep up on your lives as well. i'm seriously out of the loop now that i live 8000 miles away, so send me all the latest news!

i love you guys!