Clean Clothes Saga

On Saturday, I took a mighty adventure and went to Home Plus (=Walmart) by myself. My mission was to find laundry detergent. After wandering through the store, I found the aisle that I thought looked correct. As I stood there staring at bottles with words I couldn't understand, an employee woman came up to me and said ...... well, I have no idea what she said. I shook my head and quickly went to another aisle. However, by the process of aimless wandering, I stumbled upon something that made my heart begin to sing....COFFEE!!! Andrea, if you are reading this, I can't thank you enough for that french press mug you gave to me. I use it every day. No joke. Every day. My co-workers in all of their kindness gave me a gift bag full of goodies upon my arrival, including these instant coffee packages. While I by no means wish to diminish their heartfelt gift and am incredibly thankful to them, non instant coffee that is not more sugar than actual coffee is quite literally a god-send. I'm fairly certain the children will like me much better with this discovery as well.
So, though I was escstatic to find coffee, I still had no laundry detergent. So I made my way back to that aisle (a few times) and the same lady came up to me again and pointed to a sale sign. I could see that it was 50% off. So finally I held my shirt out a bit and rubbed it, asking "for clothes?" She nodded yes. What kind of detergent was it? I have no idea, but after putzing around for nearly an hour, the fact that it was for clothes was all I needed to hear....well, that and 50% off. I took my coffee, detergent, and apples that I decided would be my breakfast for the week to the check out. Ahn-yong-hah-sayo to the clerk. (Hello) The amount owed was on the screen. I handed it to her. She gave me change. She said something else I didn't understand, but I'm pretty sure it was "do you want a bag?" so I shook my head no. Gam-sam-needah (Thank You) to the clerk and from the clerk to me. Success!!
I came home.
I stared blankly down at the washing machine.
How the hell do I work my washer!?!
I pushed some buttons. It lit up. I closed the lid. A few minutes later I return to check on what I think should be a successful washing. The minutes had not counted down. There was no water in it. The clothes remained dirty and dry in my foriegn machine.
(Tonight...3 nights later, my coworker has shown me what to do, and I now have clean clothes drying on the rack in the kitchen.)
Clean clothes at last!

The First 48 Hours

Well, I've arrived safely. I got in around 5:30pm Wednesday night (Seoul Time...3:30am Wednesday Central time). Customs and whatnot was easy. I was picked up at the airport and within 2 hours of landing, I arrived at the school that I'll be working at. I was greeted very warmly, surrounded by the teachers who will be my co-workers. They gave me a gift bag filled with coffee, tea, tissues, crackers, cookies, and even peanut butter (which is very hard to find), jelly and bread. They are all very nice.
I slept like a rock that first night. Then, Thursday, I rested throughout the morning, and then went to the hospital for routine check up. They are really concerned about Swine Flu here, and I can't blame them, with so many people crammed into such a small place. Though honestly, the area I am in is not packed like I thought it would be. Traffic is pretty constant, but the sidewalks are not crowded at all. And I'm so thankful that my apartment building is off the main road, and it's really quiet!
Last evening, a coworker took me to Home Plus (like walmart) so I was able to get a few necessities. Then we had dinner. The two of us ate for around $4 USD and I was full! Then jet lag set in again and I was asleep by 9:30.
Today, Friday, I woke up a little before 6am and couldn't get back to sleep. I watched a bit of TV and quickly learned that there are not the same restrictions as home. Not that I was expecting there to be, but I was surprised to see topless women. It was one of those hidden camera shows, and I think it was Russian. They would play pranks on unsuspecting passers-by, and one of them was set in a supermarket. The woman was pretending to demonstrate the good effects of laundry detergent. She had the people squirt her shirt with various liquids, then stripped it off to put it in the soapy water. The men smirked. The women tried to make her put it back on. :)
I decided I'd had enough TV (there are 3 or 4 English Channels) and I couldn't get back to sleep so I decided to go for a walk. I'm noticing it's only the older folks who stare, for the most part.
There is a river in front of the school, with a river walk following it. It's so green and really a pretty walk. There are so many trees! There were ducks in the river and bright butterflies, and this large bird that's black and white and noisy! (No, it's not a penguin)
Tonight, I'll have dinner again, and tomorrow I'm off to Seoul for the first time. I'm looking forward to it.
Once I have internet in my apartment, I'll be able to use my computer and put up pictures and talk on Skype and whatnot. For now, I'm using the computer at the school. Everyone is really nice and really helping me adjust and find what I need. I'll enjoy the weekend, and then start observing classes on Monday. The kids are really cute and I'm excited to get to know them.
Ok...all for now.

Beginning Goodbyes

Well, things are falling into place for the grand Asian adventure. My visa arrived, my plane ticked was reserved, and suddenly the fact that I'm soon going to be in Asia is becoming more real. Though honestly, it still really seems surreal, and I think that will continue even after I've set foot in South Korea. My plane ticked was secured yesterday. I don't have to pay for it, however. The school that I will be working for foots the bill. If I fail to complete the one year contract, then I have to pay it back. When my one year is completed, I have the option of renewing, otherwise they pay for my plane ticket home, plus one month of severance pay. While I'm there I get two weeks paid vacation, which I plan to use to further explore Asia. I'm really eager to get to Japan. I have a friend from high school who was an exchange student from Tokyo, so I'm planning on visiting her. However, it's only a 2 hour flight or so from Seoul to Tokyo, so that trip could even be made on one of the several long weekends I'll have due to Korea holidays. I'll be in a Southern suburb or Seoul called Seongnam City, but my particular area of that suburb is called Bundang, which is nearly considered its own city. From what my friends who have taught there have told me, it's pretty much the nicest neighborhood in all of South Korea. I will leave from Kansas City next Monday, June 15 (that's so soon!!) and fly to Minneapolis, where I have an overnight layover, which is fine, because I have a friend from high school who lives there that I will stay with. I leave at 7:45am Tuesday morning from Minneapolis and fly to Seattle, which I'm really excited about, because even though it's not a super long layover, I'll have enough time to hop off the plane, get picked up by my friend, have a very quick lunch and coffee (of course) with some Seattle friends, and get back to the aiport in time to leave Seattle Tuesday afternoon on an 11 hour flight to Seoul. Once I arrive at the airport in Seoul, I will have a ride waiting for me from the agency I have gone through to find my job. He will take me to the school I'm going to be working at, and then to my own apartment that comes fully furnished. After that, I'm sure I'll crash from jet lag and insane time changes. So for the last few weeks, I've been tooling around the midwest, trying to spend time with as many friends and family as possible. With the exception of Garrett, today was the first time I've had to say goodbye to family. Dad, Jami, Samantha, Tyler, Wyatt, and I spent the day playing games at Grandma and Grandpa's, which to me really was the perfect way to spend it. As grandpa said in another email, Sam and I and a friend of mine stayed there for a few nights earlier this week, so I went downstairs to do a quick run-through just before leaving. I walked into the wicker room, and there in the middle of the floor was a nice shiny penny.Honestly, I never really bought the penny thing to much, but in these last few months they have been turning up in ways that may be swaying my mind. Like I said, things have been falling into place for this whole crazy venture to begin, and well, finding the penny was kind of like the cherry on top of an already well topped sundae. I know this next year will be hard in so many ways, but the reward of the experience I believe is going to far outway the hardships.

People ask me if I'm afraid. Honestly, I feel like I should be far more afraid than I am. I feel like because I'm not terrified, the culture shock will be that much worse. I think it may be more overwhelming that I anticipate. Yet, this is something I've wanted to do for years.
A few months ago, as I was beginning to understand that I was infact going to go, I found a journal from nearly 4 years ago. As I was flipping through it, I found an entry in which I was debating between teaching English in Asia and going to seminary. I had written, "God, if there's a way to do them both at the same time, please show me." I almost fell off my bed. I don't think I actually expected to do them both at the same time. Yet, here I go. What a whirlwind adventure this will be.

By the way, Bundang, when pronounced correctly, sounds like Poondong (so far as I can tell)
Hence, a rhyming blog title. Enjoy.