Did you know that in Korea buses have their own private lane
of traffic on the freeway? It’s true. And that’s why I’m going to get home at
10pm tonight instead of midnight. Right now I’m on a bus back to my home in
Dongducheon after having spent 2 very eventful days in Seoul and today in
Songtan, a smaller town south of Seoul.
I am so thankful to have a friend here from Anderson
University—Josh—who I spent the last three days with. Last week, I was trying
to decide what to do with myself over the rather long 6 day vacation for
Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) and I remembered—or rather God brought to my
mind—that Josh had come to Korea to teach at Pyeongtaek Christian International
School. He didn’t know that I was here yet. Ha! So, I found him on facebook one
night while drinking coffee in one of the wonderfully abundant cafes below my
apartment and he suggested we get together over the break. We decided to go to
Seoul and he invited another friend of his, Laura, who teaches in Busan (on the
southern coast). So, we all met up at Seoul station on Saturday afternoon and
began our adventure!
King Sejong the Great
The prospect of going to explore a new city with one other
guy who I didn’t know very well and a girl who I’d never met was a little
ominous, but there is something about being in a foreign place that can really
bring you together with others from your own culture. The food for conversation
is endless because we are all experiencing a brand new culture for the first
time. Not only that, but we all three happened to be Christians, so God was
always welcome in that conversation as well. The Lord was watching out for all
of us because I think the encouragement we gained from each other is what we
really needed more than anything.
We started from here...
Oh and this was at the palace, earlier in the day... it was beautiful
The first night was a blast. It had its ups and downs, but
all in all we had a great time exploring together. After filling our tummies at
a Korean McDonalds (You betcha!) we headed to the big royal palace at the heart
of the city, Gyeongbokgung, but
that wasn’t the best part. After exploring the palace and taking some pretty
sweet “jumping pictures,” we decided it would be a good idea to go to the top
of N Seoul Tower. We didn’t know how we would do it, but we were determined to
make it there…
Now, you should be aware, most people take a bus or ride the
cable-car to get to the top of the mountain that this tower stands on the top
of. Us? We took the scenic route. To
give you the short version, we basically got off the subway in Itaewon and
headed toward the tower until we got to the top! I’m not sure how many stairs
we climbed to get there, but it was by far the best workout I’ve had since
arriving in Korea.
The staircase to the tower....
Later that day we visited Insadong... a big shopping district near the city-center
Well, that's it for now. All in all, I had a wonderful and encouraging experience with some new friends. Now I am back in Dongducheon and starting to plan for the upcoming week of classes! Please pray for me as I continue to seek the Lord's guidance in this position of incredible responsibility teaching His little children. My first lesson will be on Thursday afternoon, October 4th!
Psalm 39:7 -- "And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you."
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