|
Greetings from
Korea
By Carrie Jo Miller & Marty Kendrick
Dear Friends,
Our time in Korea is drawing to a close - less than two weeks from today
we'll be back in Muncie. The time has gone quickly. We have
been busy teaching English as each of us has an adult Everyday
English class from 10:30 to 11:30+; a Kindergarten class from 3:00 -
3:50; and an adult Bible Study class from 7:30 to 9:00+ (this class is
only 3 days each week.) We spend many hours planning for our
classes. We love the classes and the students who are so
appreciative. They bring us gifts of food, pictures,
CDs, healthy drinks, and souvenirs of Korea. They also take us
out to eat and to see special sights around Seoul. We have made
many good friends.
We usually start our day around 6:00 a.m. with a brisk walk in a nearby
lovely park. A short walk out the church door brings us to the top
of a little hill from which we can see the double soccer field that is
surrounded by a soft-surface track for walking/jogging (we walk).
Around the track is a sidewalk surrounded by all sorts of fitness
equipment that is in constant use and beyond that stand tall green trees
and bushes. A women's aerobic exercise group goes strong
daily. Groups of people lob badminton cocks back and
forth. The aerobics women sit and chat after finishing their
exercising. We have been accepted as regulars there and many people
greet us - in Korean or English. We then have breakfast in our
"home away from home" - a guest room on the 4th floor of Yum
Kwang Church - and get ready for the day: planning, working on the
computer, and preparing materials.
We've had two good weekends with old (dear/young) friends. Ryan
Naylor came up the weekend of July 17th and we went by way of the Metro
(subway) to the National Museum. Under Ryan's guidance we
learned how to use the Metro to get around Seoul. Jim Needham,
a Ball State professor who was teaching English in Inchon, joined us for
our sight seeing. On Sunday Ryan and the two of us traveled by
cable car up a steep mountain to Namsan Tower for a really
spectacular view of Seoul. Ryan then went back to his teaching and
we navigated the Metro on our own--and made it back to the church. It was
a wonderful time together.
Our next weekend was to Busan , via KTX (fast train), where
we had a joyful reunion with several Korean teachers who had been in
Muncie last summer studying English at BSU. Each of us had a
homestay guest then. This time Hyun Shil and Hye Jeong were our
hosts in their hometown, the second largest in Korea. We also had
dinner and an evening with several other elementary teachers involved in
that program. Other highlights included visiting the United Nations
Memorial Cemetery, touring the irregular coastline, exploring a
1000-year-old Buddhist Temple in a mountainous setting, walking in
Korea's Chinatown, viewing the city from a popular high point at night,
and walking barefoot on the beach.
Last Friday some adult students treated us to the movie,
Salt, followed by a Rice Italiano dinner. On Saturday a different
group drove us to downtown Seoul where we visited the National Palace
Museum, Chung Gye Stream, and Gwang Hwa Moon Square - the location of the
statue of King Sejun (founder of the hanguel alphabet), the statue of
Admiral Yi Sun Shin, the site of the traditional changing of the guard,
and cooling water fountains for public enjoyment. A stop at the art
studio of one of our students was the icing on the cake.
Our adjustments include: living in the church, having no
English-speaking TV, drying laundry on a rack in our room, using
chopsticks, getting around the immediate neighborhood on foot, attending
3 - 4 services on Sundays/Wednesdays, having access to the church office
staff from 4:00 a.m. to midnight, using Korean/English
computers, keeping umbrellas handy, and generally being treated
like royalty. One day, after reporting that we were out of towels,
the elevator door opened and there stood a "servant" with fresh
towels in his outstretched arms. Also our white heads trigger
Korean thoughts of "catering to the elderly" in many ways!
We have become acutely aware that our cultures, habits, languages, and
environments may be vastly different; but the heart that beats within
each of us draws its life from the same source - a loving God..
In His name we send you our love, Carrie Jo and Marty
|
