So many answers to prayer
within the last two weeks:

a beautiful niece born,
a perfect 22nd birthday,
a job for me tutoring a wily seven year old, (once a week)
another job for me teaching adults online, (monday-friday nights)
a paid gig as a makeup artist,
the end of Peter's first term teaching,
the beginning of his second,
two visits to museums,  (National Museum of Seoul and Seoul Museum of Art) and
two reunions with two friends from home, (We love you Carly and Tae!)













Walking up the hill to our apartment today, I stopped a runaway soccer ball for a little Korean boy.
He said, "THANK YOU!!" (in perfect english). It made my day.
It is ridiculous how excited I am to hear english after only a month here.

Also along the lines of familiar, comforting things that remind us of home,
I am proud/ashamed to say that Peter and I have eaten Taco Bell 3 times here already. Haha.
They have a bulgogi burrito.. which I tried.. the beef is sweet.. so it is weird..
and I tried the bulgogi burger at Burger King.. also weird..
but other than the few token bulgogi items, all of the American chains here
have pretty much the same menu items we are used to.

Besides our adventures in strange fast food, Peter and I have both been keeping busy.
He is very busy! Monday through Thursday, he has class from 10am-12pm, then 3pm-9pm.
On Fridays, he only has the morning class so after 12 he is off and we begin our 3 day weekend!

I am learning how to make my own schedule.
The last few weeks I have slowly carved out a structure for my week.
I started a motivating workout program. A friend showed me an excellent website for learning Korean.
In Gangnam (about 30 minutes away) I attend a bible study (through our church which we love) at a cafe/spa. On the upper level of the cafe are open fish tanks built into the floor where customers can stick their feet in and have them chewed by hundreds of little fish.
..I have not been brave enough to try this yet.
There is a weekly awareness-raising meeting for Christians persecuted in North Korea
held by a couple who lives in Seoul and works to aid refugees from the north.
We discuss news from North Korea and pray for their people.
It is a sobering reminder of how frequently I take everything in my life for granted.
Hebrews 13:3 "Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them,
 and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body."
The atrocities being committed against the citizens of North Korea, and Christians especially, are unimaginably horrific. Please pray for them, as well as for others suffering for Christ's name all over the world.






It's an exciting thing to be forced outside your comfort zone.

Completely helpless.
Strangers. Unfamiliar streets. Impatient questions in a language I don't understand.
My first few days alone exploring the city; unable to navigate or ask for help.
Crying. "Can I really do this? Can I do this for a year?"
Culture Shock.

Feeling alone, but not actually being alone.
Everything seems different, but God is the same.
He is faithful in Seattle, and faithful in Seoul. Unchanging.
And my Peter, the most patient, loving, encouraging, and understanding
husband I could possibly ask for and far, far better than I deserve.

But then the weekend! Peter has weekends off, so we reunited
with all of his orientation group friends, fellow english teachers
now dispersed throughout Korea. I am the only spouse, but
instead of being the odd one out as I feared, they welcomed
me, included me, and afterward added me on facebook (the true test!).
We met in Gangnam.. yeah, that Gangnam.. ate food, then took in
the sights of the city life. I've heard that Gangnam is a very rich district
of Seoul, but we weren't near any residential areas, so that side I did not
see. What we did see seemed more like the "party district" of Seoul. A long
lit up strip of restaurants, clubs, and bars. Dance music constantly blaring.
Posters of Psy everywhere advertising everything.

Sunday, Peter and I had hoped to attend our first service at Seoul Covenant Church,
but by that morning my messages asking for directions were still unanswered. Since
then we have heard from a few members and we are meeting up with a couple this
Sunday who are going to show us the way (: .  It is about an hour from where we live,
so without guidance it would be impossible for us to locate.

Presently, my culture shock has faded. Partly because I spent the week learning
Hangul, the Korean alphabet, and because their language is mostly phonetic, I
can mostly read! Although of course I usually don't know what I am reading, so now
I am working on vocab (starting with food, naturally).

Today I found a grocery store. We have many 711s and similar food mart type
stores near us, but until today I had not found anything comparable to an Albertson's
or Safeway. Very exciting. I bought vegetables and noodles. Since arriving, we have
only eaten out, so it will be nice to eat a homecooked meal in our teensy apartment.

Time to cook stuff.



I am here and I still can't believe it.

Peter finished his 2-week crash course on teaching english
in english to people who speak no english,
and today is his first day of teaching!

It is FREEZING here.
14 degrees fahrenheit,
the streets are sludgy, there are patches of snow on the ground,
and it is windy, but it isn't snowing. I don't even know how many layers I'm wearing.

After Peter left for work and I finished unpacking, I headed out to find lunch.
Before long I found a porridge shop. Korean porridge is like thick, pasty soup with rice.
Upon entering, I sat down at a table and waited for a menu.
After 5 minutes of waiting, the employee finally asked me in Korean,
"What are you waiting for? Are you going to order? What do you want?"
(That's what it sounded like at least.)
I opened my hands like a book and asked, "Menu?"
She laughed and pointed at the walls which had Korean writing all over them
..and no pictures. Great. Should I point at something randomly or try to go
somewhere else? I pretended to scan over my many unintelligible options
for a while and then saw a poster with three bowls of porridge at the front
of the shop. Two of the bowls had objects floating in them that I couldn't
identify, so I pointed at the third bowl. My porridge was warm and hearty,
but very bland. I think next time I might slip some spices into my purse
and sneakily sprinkle when she isn't looking.

So my first meal on my own was successful,
somewhat embarrassing, but it could have been worse!
At least I didn't accidentally order something with riceworm pupas..
supposedly a common restaurant item.

Anyway, I am having fun already, but definitely feeling the culture shock.
I knew I would be in a foreign city surrounded by a foreign language,
but until actually experiencing it, I had no idea how completely foreign
I would feel. 

It is a very strange feeling to have a whole year abroad without a job to do.
My instinct in this frigid climate is to curl up and hibernate until spring,
so I am going to have to discipline myself to use each day to grow;
in knowledge, and hopefully wisdom,
in love and support of my husband,
and in godliness, through earnest study,
meditation, worship, and fellowship.

Looking forward to attending Seoul Covenant Church on Sunday!

Hopefully pictures will come soonish.