Sangsu Elementary School

I think now I will talk a little bit about my school.

My hope with this blog is that my family and friends would know where I am and what I am up to so that they know how to pray. Also, I hope it will be a means of accountability for me to all my Christian brothers and sisters back home watching my steps.

So, about my school. I teach English at Sangsu Elementary. It is small... super small. There is a total of 46 children in grades 1-6 and 15 faculty members. Miss. Kim is the best English speaker at the school and she teaches grade 5 (if I remember correctly). She and Mrs. Jung (the next best English speaker who is also my co-teacher for the English classes) have both been helping me as I make the transition to teaching at their school. Now, keep in mind that neither of them speak English "fluently." Communicating with others at my school has been a great challenge during this first week. That said, most of the faculty knows at least some English and they have all been as accommodating as possible to me in their willingness to attempt to communicate. Another teacher, Mrs. Nam, who teaches first grade, studied French in college, so she and I have had a great time exchanging sentences in some form of Franco-Konglish (the best term I can think of to fit the bill).

Not only has God blessed me with a working environment full of hospitality, but He has also placed (already!) two Christian friends in my life. Mrs. Jung, the fourth grade teacher, is a Christian who lives in my town (Dongducheon). She has helped me find a church nearby (in Uijeongbu) that has an English service--which I will be visiting for the first time later today! Another lady (whose name I can't recall at the moment unfortunately) who works in the office at my school is also a Christian who lives in Dongducheon. She gave me a ride home one day last week. That ride saved me about 30 minutes that I would have spent on a crowded bus! I am hoping we can car-pull more often ;)

Naturally, the kids at the school love me despite the fact they don't even know me. They are probably the most welcoming part of my school. If I leave my door open even just a crack, every time the students pass by I am greeted by a wave and a joyous "HELLO MR. WASSSON!"