apparently blogspot knows i'm in korea, because all of a sudden everything is in korean! just because i'm here doesn't mean i can speak korean -as the lady at the corner grocer would be quick to tell you.

so i'm here! the idea of writing about everything that has happened in the past 5 days is incredibly overwhelming -so i think i'll spare both you and me, and just give some highlights.

tuesday (oct. 23rd) -my brothers, sisters, aunt sherry, and gramma jeri wave goodbye from the deck at home, and my mom, dad, and rach wave goodbye from the other side of security at the airport. some tears were shamelessly involved.

wednesday (oct. 24th) -elizabeth and i awake to "breakfast" at 3:30am. we go for the safe(r) choice -omelett rather than rice noodles. now that we're awake, we play a few rounds of "airplane trivia" -i get into the "top ten" by choosing letter A before reading the question every time.

thursday (oct. 25th) -8:30am -we arrive in Taipay and spend 2 1/2 hours as the only "foreign girls" in a waiting room full of middle aged business men. i start george macdonald's, "the tutor's first love," while elizabeth plays sudoku.
-11:30am -we arrive in seoul, make it through immigration with flying colors, and meet "big tiger" (our korean boss) in person. while he is tall, i can't see the tiger-resemeblance. in the elevator, he smiles and comments on our luggage, asking if we are going to stay for 10 years. we can't tell if he's joking, so we laugh nervously.
-1:30pm -big tiger drops us off at the school, "TTT (Take it To the Top) Englich Academy," and leaves us to learn the ropes from his wife, cindy. we work to remember the korean teacher's names (hannah, debbie, linda, patric, eunice, and leora) and which curriculem we're to use for each of our 9 classes, while desperatly willing our eyes to stay open.
-7:30pm -we get our first taste of korean food -barbecued meat (i don't think it was dog) and rice wrapped in lettuce. not many things have ever tasted so good! whether that says more about the food or about how hungry i was, i'm not sure. =) as soon as we get to big tigers' house, (and even before in the cab), we fall asleep, utterly exhausted.

friday (oct. 26th) -i follow josie (the english teacher i am replacing) around all day from class to class, desperately trying to remember everything. all i manage to retain is "they love happy faces."

saturday (oct. 27th) -elizabeth and i are dropped off at our new homes -small 1 room/1 bath (without a bath) apartments about 3 blocks from eachother. that night we head downtown to meet our friends brittn and seth from the states. a night of friends, english music, and pasta comforts us and reminds us that we are not the only foreigners in korea.

sunday (oct. 28th) -with "the robbie seay band to accompany me," i unpack my 2 very large suitcases and make my room as homey as possible. silk scarves do the majority of the work. elizabeth and i find bread at a bakery and make frenchtoast -we feel quite proud. my one jar of peanut butter is opened.

monday (oct. 29th) -12:30am -i wake up in a panic and feel sure that it's morning. a look at the clock sends me to psalm 27 for comfort and to george macdonald for heavy eyes.
-7am -i wake up in a panic again, this time because of the insanely loud volume of my alarm. the rest of the morning feels a lot like that same panic as i teach my kindergarten classes and hope that they don't cry for their old teacher. so far so good. during lunch break, the internet starts working at my apartment and i catch mom, dad, kaleb, katie and carrie on skype -talking to them is absolutely wonderful!
-2:30pm -i go back to school with a big smile, ready to conquer anything now that i have internet at home. my elementary age kids aren't really the conquering-type, but they seem to like me and think it's hilarious that my name sounds a bit like "america" -they enjoy calling me "america-teacher," which is more fun that "amanda-teacher."
-6:45pm -i break a huge sigh of relief at the end of my first day of classes. elizabeth and i repeat lunch with leftover rice and dumpling soup from the school kitchen, and hurry home to ultra-quiet apartment (elizabeth pointed out that the walls are probably made of cement).
-8pm -elizabeth smashes one of the mosquitoes that has left my left arm, shoulder, and the side of my face a big blotchy red mess. i wash my sheets in case any of mr. bug's friends found a nice, warm home, and hang them out to dry. they are still drying.
-9:30pm -mr. bug's mother in law flies past my computer screen and i just barely miss smacking her into the eightneenth century. at the moment she is still at large, which explains the slippers, sweatpants, sweatshirt, and hat i am sporting. being as my sheets are still wet, it looks like they will be my pajamas.

as you can probably tell, i have stories galore and i've only been here 5 days! i would't mind a few boring, story-less days but i don't think it's meant to be. God is so good.

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