Three Weeks...

doesn't seem that long until I actually type it out.
I sincerely apologize for not updating my blog. In some aspects I forgot, in others I just didn't know what to write about. So I will do my best here.
Everyone has asked me how school is going--
It's awesome!!
I have been so blessed with this school, the people I work with, the friends I have made, the new things I will get to try because I actually get to TEACH!!! 
Is it perfect? No, nothing in life is. Point me to the man or woman who claims to have a perfect job and life and I will call them a liar and it will be true.
There are things that the school, myself as a teacher, and others need to work on- but that is always the case. Bettering ourselves to do the best we can for our students- Isn't that a big part of what a school should be doing? And I feel that my school is trying it's best to do that. It's a slow process and sometimes purposefully delayed because the school is new. APIS has only been open for 5 years. And what it has done in 5 years has been great, but there is always room for growth. :)
In short- this is what I thought teaching was going to be. Hard work, good work, fun work. Easy? No. Children that behave all the time? No. Academically sound students? No.
But God has shown me that I still love teaching!!! I don't really think I realized this, but I think part of coming here was to really figure out if I could teach long term. God has answered me- Yes! Does it mean that is the path God will lead me down, not definitely. But he has been faithful through the tears, confusion, discontent, and shown me that I am meant to teach right now. I needed a fresh start. :)
So, how is school going?
I'm tired. It's hard work. I'm busy. I'm joyful. I'm smiling all the time. I really love it.

In other news- I am blessed to be able to help out with our church's children's ministry. What church do I attend, you ask? Asia Pacific International School... Church. I don't think it really has a name. I attend the church at our school. The pastors from our school also conduct church and a small group of teachers (including myself and some great friends) rotate in helping with the children's ministry. It's small, but it's a great community of believers who encourage each other and are sincere in their actions and words.

In even other news- I have made some great friends here already! God has been so faithful and awesome! It's funny how being in a foreign country can make friendships form fast and deep. I'm grateful to God for it, though.
It's really fun to have such close friends work with me. I had some of that at home and I'm grateful to have that here. We mainly eat together... quick bonding can be done over food. We go on little adventures in Seoul. Work together outside of school (there is a great coffee shop next door with excellent wifi). And hang out in each other's apartments. It's fun that a lot of other teachers live in our complex.

I've been asked about food- So all of this is my opinion, but I find my opinion seems to be pretty close to other foreigner's opinion as well. Food in Korea is pretty solid. Kimchi is pretty gross (some people like it, I do not) and we normally leave it in it's tiny bowl untouched the entire meal. Food here is "spicy." And by that I mean, it's delicious and has the perfect amount of heat. My mom might need it less spicy, but it's perfect for me. I have had a few lip burning sensations, but it alleviates quickly. :) My favorite is:
Shabu Shabu. I had it my first day here and wasn't extremely impressed (I think I wrote on my blog that it was great... but it really wasn't. I was just being nice.) The place next door is amazing. The lady who owns it doesn't really like us that much... I don't think. I think it's because we don't always cook it the way it's supposed to be done and we don't really like it when she snatches the ladle out of our hands to do it the "right way." Our way is more delicious. Here is what it is- There is a big bowl of broth on a burner (how's that for some alliteration!!??) and they bring out a giant plate of vegetables- bean sprouts, onions, leaves of different kinds, mushrooms, and some gross fish cake things that we leave on the plate. There is also a large plate of thinly sliced beef, a plate of raw noodles and one dumpling per person, a bowl of rice, vegetables, seaweed (not gross in this, but gross in everything else), and a small bowl with a raw egg. So, the first step is to cut up the veggies (with kitchen scissors-- very efficient) and cook the meat with the veggies in the broth. Spoon them into your personal small bowl, add the delicious red sauce, and enjoy. Then once you have eaten a lot of the veggies and meat, add the dumplings and noodles. Let those cook, then spoon into your bowl and enjoy. Then once most of that is gone, dump the bowl of rice and stuff into the broth (there's only a little left by this point) and let cook, then add the egg and let cook-- and you have delicious rice porridge with all the flavors from everything you already cooked in the broth. Spoon that into your bowl and enjoy. Then they bring you a prune juice slushie... just because, well... apparently Koreans think prune juice needed after Shabu Shabu. It's delicious, though.
Mandu (dumplings) are amazing- the kimchi dumplings are actually good. Go figure.
Fried Chicken- Now this is not like home or Grandma Hall's fried chicken. (unfortunately) It is fried chunks of chicken usually smeared in a delicious sweet and spicy sauce with rice patties. Good, but home is better.
Korean BBQ- Again, not anything like home. This is another place (like shabu shabu) where you cook it yourself at the table, but I find that it is pretty good, but not all that people rave about. Maybe I'm not going to the right places... but I find the meat has a lot of fat and folding it into little lettuce tacos (while good) take too much time. When I'm hungry, things should not take a lot of time. :)
Tofu Soup- Delicious! I know, it sounds gross. But there is actually meat in it!!! It's boiling soup in a bowl- you crack and egg in it and stir it up, ladle it into another bowl over rice, and enjoy. (The Koreans love their tiny bowls here).
Bibimbap- Pretty good. This is a bowl of rice, meat, veggies, and a raw egg. I like the Bibimbap that is in a hot bowl-- so you stir everything up and add Korean red sauce and eat up. I like Bibimbap especially because you get to eat it with a spoon and not mess with crazy chopsticks. Chopsticks are hard!

Truthfully, that's about all the Korean food I've had. It's all really close to my apartment (as in downstairs or next door) and super convenient. I've had American food here as well. I don't miss it too much yet, but I'm sure that will change.

I'm truly blessed here. I miss home and wish I had my own internet and phone so I could contact family and friends more easily, but it might be a blessing that it hasn't worked out that way yet because I have been forced to get out and do things. God works in everything! Even little things like that!

I have my alien card and can get my internet and phone! I will hopefully be doing that this coming week. So you should all get your skype ready, because I like to chat!!

I will update more on my students and things that I've been doing later. I miss you all and love you. I'll leave you with the awesome verse that my students and I studied this week:
"But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and who make the Lord their hope and confidence." Jeremiah 17:7
May you trust in the Lord and his workings, timings, and actions. May your hopes be His Will. May you confidently walk in the knowledge that you are His and truly loved by His perfect love. Please pray that I remember this as well.
-Sara