October Update

It seems odd that only a month ago I was writing about Chuseok. My weekdays are very full and demand a lot of energy. I don't always feel very optimistic about my job (teaching kindergarten 9 am to 2 pm and elementary school students 3 pm to 7:30 pm), but I've thought through my feelings and realized that part of my discontent is that I'm still adjusting. Teaching 4 and 5 year olds is a whole different ball game, I work more hours here than I ever have in my life, and the work involves balancing a lot of material and information. At this point I definitely think I'll look for a different job next year, when I finish my contract, but as my dad said, just because it's not the perfect job doesn't mean it's not where God wants me. Sometimes God wants us in more challenging situations.

This past month I've done things like change my cell phone, sign up for a fitness class, and get a special bank account for sending money back to the US. It feels satisfying to be able to do these things in Korean, but it's also hard.

I'm involved in the North Korea ministry at my church, and one of the guys talked to me about starting an English/Korean exchange group. I definitely want to help out, because North Koreans are usually at a disadvantage when it comes to prior English education, and I want the opportunity to get to know them better. However, we decided the best time to meet is Sunday mornings before church and the North Korean ministry group meeting- pretty early! Please join me in praying for good ideas and a good attitude about going to church so early.

I miss life when I was language student sometimes, but I enjoy teaching and I needed to start making money again. I am not sure what the next few years hold, but hopefully by next year I'll be able to discern a bit about different teaching options, going to graduate school, and if I should be open to leaving Seoul or not. Right now, I'm trying to just take care of myself (and study Korean). Living alone isn't horrible, but it's a lot of work. I do pray that I'll have some type of opportunity to live with others next year.