DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Hello readers,

 

Internet has been spotty our first few days in Korea so I have elected to sort of combine two blog entries to catch up on our last leg of the United States tour and bring you up to speed on our first few days in South Korea! Let's see what's going on...

 

The last stop on our adventure through the United States was the Pacific Northwest, primarily Washington. It's been four years since I was a counselor at Camp Lutherwood, and I've been trying to return for a visit ever since. It was a place where a lot of wonderful memories were made and a lot of growth happened, and I've always wanted to take Maria there to show her around. It meant a lot that I could, and that I was able to see a lot of familiar faces (and a few old campers recognized me as Manatee!). If you're following along with the Lord of the Rings metaphor, I suppose Lutherwood is sort of a Rivendell. After months of travelling and being away from home, here was a bucolic refuge that provided shelter (they were gracious enough to allow us to stay in a cabin) and familiarity. Also, it was the last stop on our tour before the real adventure began: South Korea. From Washington, we would embark for the uncertain, the real goal of our quest: teaching english overseas.

 

We are now a few days into that quest. After an 11 1/2 hour flight across the Pacific, on which I watched a more boring than racist (but still really racist) 1st half of Song of the South while crossing the International Date Line, we made it to ultramodern Incheon International Airport. I'll save some descriptions of Korea for when I've seen more of the country, but for now let me leave you with a word: 

 

Humid.

 

Merlin's beard, is it humid. And the A/C is kind of iffy depending on where you are. Luckily, the EPIK program was prepared and has provided lots of water bottles. Despite the heat, and a few cultural differences (I can't flush toilet paper? What do you mean that's not just a trash can?), Jeonju University (The Place For Superstars) is very modern and not much different from any other university. Students still complain about the cafeteria food, which I assure you is still better than our cafeteria food, and dorms are small. Overall, orientation is going extremely well, with awesome lecturers and effective planning all around. There's a great group of Americans here, as well as Canadians, British, Irish, Aussies, Kiwis, and South Africans, and the last few days have really reaffirmed our decision to come here. Excited to find what the next day has in store!

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.