My Introduction to Seoul

Although I have been in Korea for just over two days, it is truly hard to believe that this is really happening--I have just moved 7,000 miles away from home and I think I'm going to LOVE it! The flight from San Francisco took over eleven hours, which left me lots of time to ponder what things would be like in Seoul and at SFS. From the moment my 747 touched down at Incheon Airport, my brain has been working overtime as it tries to take in the sights, sounds, and smells of my new home. I breathed a sigh of relief as I cleared customs and was promptly met by an excited group of administrators and volunteers from SFS. The ride into the city from the airport revealed lush green hillsides, stretches of sand scattered with boats waiting for the tide to come back in, and lots of buildings. My first impressions told me that any ideas I previously had about Korea were probably going to be challenged and replaced.

That first night I saw little of the campus and was relieved to get to my apartment. Minutes after dropping my suitcases on the floor, the emotions that I had skillfully avoided at the airport decided to unleash. There I was, standing in the middle of my new apartment, crying my eyes out. This place is quite different from my posh, bright, new apartment in Spokane. None-the-less, it won't take long for me to make my mark on the space. Here are a few photos of my new home...D21:

My kitchen...What to fill all of those cupboards with?!

Cozy living room

Teeny, tiny bathroom...I couldn't even fit in there to photograph the rest! Yes, that is a periodic table shower curtain:).

The "study" equipped with LOTS of closet space!

The bedroom is separated from the study by rice paper sliders. Asian chic!

Since that first night, those wicked emotions have not returned and I'm finding myself having an absolute blast here. Yesterday saw us walking down the backside of the hill to Severance Hospital for our check-ups. We passed through Yonsei University on our way, and all I can say is WOW! The university is old, beautiful, and charming...unfortunately no photos yet but I plan to go exploring there again soon. Later in the afternoon we grouped up with some veterans and wandered around the Yonhi Dong neighborhood that surrounds the campus. Here are a few of the neighborhood sights...

Signs in Korean and English-yay!

Streets of Yohni Dong

Buildings in Seoul

This is what you get for approximately $120 at the grocery store. Ouch!

Today we finally got to tour the campus (sure, wait until AFTER I've wandered around aimlessly trying to find building X or room Y!!). While a bit confusing at first, the campus is lovely. Take a look...

One of two Korean gates on campus

Several of the school buildings

View of Seoul from the rooftop of the F building.

Playing field and high school building from above

Second Korean gate...pretty cool huh?!

Inside the main gym

What you've all been waiting for...the inside of a science classroom. Awesome!

While the campus itself is impressive, the best part hands down are the people I've met so far. Today I sat with a Frenchman who is married to a South African woman (they married just days before arriving in Seoul), two ladies from London (one of which was born in Korea), a Parisian who has taught in Korea for the last two years, and several girls from the States who are also embarking on their first teach abroad adventure. Some couples have taught in all corners of the world--Venezuela, Turkey, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Bolivia, Mumbai...the list could go on and on! Tonight as I attended a dinner at the headmaster's home I could see how easily this group has begun to form into a community and it is so exciting to see how we'll all grow over the course of our time here. More from Korea soon...

One More Day

As I sit here waiting for music to download I thought I would write a quick entry. With just one day left in the United States before the big move to Korea, I imagined I would be very stressed yet I feel a sense of calm (of course this may change in the next few hours as I continue packing). Over the last several weeks I have spent time with family and friends, met my mentor, slept, shopped, and learned to use the video chat feature on Skype. I have also tried to imagine what my first days in Seoul will look and feel like--I believe I got my first taste of this yesterday.

Last night my mom, friend, and I went to a nail salon for manicures and pedicures. As I sat back and enjoyed being pampered, I took note of two nail technicians talking back and forth. After five years in the classroom I have developed a special gift that is both a blessing and a curse...I hear every conversation that takes place in a room regardless of its proximity to me (and usually in far more detail than I'd like). As I listened, I quickly figured out that I could not understand a word of what was being said. In this circumstance it was easy to dismiss what I heard because I knew that I was not being invited to participate in the exchange--in just a few days, however, this will become a reality for me on a daily, perhaps hourly, basis. I can imagine there will be many moments of confusion and downright frustration as I begin to explore a new culture with a complex set of social rules and an entirely foreign language. Inevitably I will become frustrated, exasperated, and disheartened. On the flip side, I get to have the incredible opportunity to explore a country, and learn about a culture and its people, from the inside. What little I have seen of the world has been done as a tourist, but I will soon be able to consider myself an ex-pat (and a resident alien:)).

As I wrap up this post and prepare to head to bed here's what I know and hope for:

-I will miss my family and friends terribly...but I will find comfort in knowing that I will see you all again in just 5 short months!

-I must learn to break out of my comfort zone more so I can thoroughly experience the adventure that is to come!

-There will be many highs and lows during the first days and weeks of my life abroad and when these occur I will acknowledge them, cry when necessary, get in touch with friends who have done this, look to my new colleagues for support, and tell myself that this is a normal part of living in a foreign land (isn't self talk wonderful?)

-I will observe, listen, and learn everything that I can in hopes that this experience will help me figure out what it truly means to be a global citizen.

Well, enough for now. I will write again about my first impressions when I arrive in Korea!

Nearing the End

Although I should be planning for my classes and writing a final exam, I find myself wanting to write about the happenings of the last week. I felt a major sense of relief as I turned in my Professional Certification portfolio on Wednesday after a frantic weekend of analyzing data and writing narratives. Looking back on the process I can actually say that I experienced growth as a teacher in several areas. That aside, it feels great to be done!

The end of the week brought a chance to celebrate with my science colleagues. We all gathered after school on Friday at Twigs for a Bon Voyage party. I can hardly believe how quickly my fours years at Ferris have passed. I am certain that I will dearly miss my wonderful science friends but I am so excited when I think about the amazing people I will meet throughout my two year journey in Korea. God sure knew what he was doing when he provided an opening for me at Ferris--I have learned so much about teaching and learning from everyone I have encountered at Ferris and I am so grateful for their support as I battled two years of illness and decided to pursue opportunities abroad.

The countdown until the end of the school year reached zero for my seniors on Wednesday. I was thrilled to join a group of selected guests who attended the senior breakfast on Thursday to celebrate with these lovely men and women. I have felt so lucky to watch these kids grow as we both began our first year at Ferris in 2006--some I have had three times in class over the last four years and they have grown as individuals by leaps and bounds.

Today, I watched their high school career come to

an end as my students walked across the stage to receive their diploma cover (don't you remember the "Look mom, no diploma" photo?!). I wondered how some actually made it to this day considering the memories I have of them as a wingnut freshmen. Others I watched with pride as I knew it took a tremendous amount of effort and commitment to recover from mistakes made early on. All in all, today was a reminder of why I decided to teach...to celebrate the successes of my incredible students. Leaving the arena was a bittersweet moment as I realized I won't see many of these young adults again. Here's hoping our paths will cross in the future.

Now it is time to get serious about my preparations for wrapping up the school year with the rest of my students and getting ready to move to Portland en route to Korea. I'm sure there will be many more emotions that come as the end draws near. I just hope I can handle all of them at once!

A Little Nostalgia

I seem to have major revelations about my life during the few hours I spend ignoring the to do list and spending time with a cherished friend. Tonight Erin and I went to see Sex and the City 2. We had planned this get-together from the time we both heard the movie was coming out and tonight's outing happened to coincide with Erin's moving weekend. After nearly two years in Spokane, my bestie is moving back to Beaverton. Although we haven't seen each other nearly as often as I'd imagined, we have the kind of friendship that carries on and we both know that the other will be there in a second if a need arises (ahem, like when one has appendicitis requiring a trip to the ER in the middle of the night). Erin departs Spokane with a master's degree in school counseling and an engagement ring and I am thrilled for her about both. We've spent several hours in the last few weeks talking about wedding plans, but until this evening I hadn't really sat down and considered the finality of what is to come for us both. I am used to having someone to vent to, laugh with, shop with, and call when the craving for Applebee's appetizers hits. Soon, my bestie, and every other member of my support network, will no longer be accessible at a moment's notice. Nights like tonight will be few and far between. I am feeling sort of left behind, although soon it is I who will be actually doing the leaving.

I can imagine myself in Korea...picture my classroom, my apartment, and see myself learning to navigate the streets of Seoul just as I have learned to get around Paris or London in a short amount of time. This time, however, I will be doing it alone and that is difficult to process. Though my life is not anything like Carrie Bradshaw or Charlotte York, I feel the same sort of sisterly camaraderie with my closest friends and it saddens me to know that it will take a great deal of time to build friendships like that again.

Burning the Candle at Both Ends

For the entirety of my freshman year I saw this quote by Edna St. Vincent Millay on the wall of my english class and it seems to have ingrained itself in my brain: "My candle burns at both ends; it will not last the night; but ah, my foes, and oh, my friends - it gives a lovely light!" Today I am burning the candle at both ends, trying to accomplish a number of tasks. When I started to feel overwhelmed to the point of collapse, I decided it was time to stop, fill up the tub, and just relax for a little while. Now, back to work!

The Beginning of the End

Tonight I attended a choir concert that showcased the vocal talents of the most gifted men and women at Ferris High School. It gave me chills to observe my students doing something that they clearly had a great deal of passion for and I loved seeing their confidence exude from the stage-I would have been terrified. As the concert wound to a close, the women's select vocal ensemble performed The Heart (in French no less!) and as they entered the second part the new members of the group filed on stage and stood behind the senior girl they would be replacing. When the third part began, the new members stepped forward into the circle and the seniors tearfully left behind the group to which they had been so connected. The entire experience was quite moving and I found myself nearly crying too. Tonight I began to realize that in four weeks I will say good-bye to my beloved students, colleagues, and Ferris High School. Like those seniors, I too will be replaced. As the seniors count the days until graduation, I feel as if I am going through the build-up to commencement myself. I remember the bittersweet feelings that came with "being done" and "moving on". Strangely, I can relate to these children who are soon to be out on their own in an unknown world. As a high school graduate I had high hopes of maintaining relationships and holding onto memories, and I can say that ten years after the fact I still hold tightly to some of my most cherished friends from my teenage years. Some things, however, do not survive the separation of miles and years. Now that the countdown has begun, I must gear-up, not wind-down as I so wish to do. There are many things still to accomplish as this is only the beginning of the end. More to come...

Dreams...

Yesterday I sat in the stands of McCarthey Athletic Center and watched my best friend graduate with a Master's degree in School Counseling. As she marched in with her counseling classmates I experienced a sense of pride for her accomplishment, thanksgiving that I had already conquered my own master's program, and a moment of contemplation over the possibility of returning to school at some point in the future (insanity, I know). For a moment I experienced a flashback to my own Master's graduation five years ago-I don't remember much about the ceremony itself, but I do recall walking across the stage to receive my diploma and feeling an overwhelming sense of hope and possibility. I can only imagine that Erin felt something similar as she shook the hand of the Gonzaga president and received her diploma case. If nothing else, I am certain that she had quite a lot of time to ponder the future as this was not a particularly short ceremony.

When the student speaker stepped up to the microphone and opened his mouth I immediately thought, "What a goob (my term of endearment for my goober of a brother)" and spent the next several minutes shifting uncomfortably in my chair. At some point, however, the goob caught my attention. He spoke about the importance of dreams and having the fortitude to work tirelessly toward accomplishing them. Hmmm... He reminded us how many dreams we had as children. He asked us to consider what happened to those dreams. Do they just disappear as we reach adulthood? Or do we simply find a way to convince ourselves how stupid we were at age ________(fill in the blank here). How many adults actually, "follow their dreams"? What do I aspire to and dream about now?

A long time ago I decided to become a teacher. I think I have my fifth grade teacher to thank for that. While several other options were considered and dismissed, teaching stuck. Back then I knew how to make a plan and see it through. I knew how to set goals and follow the steps necessary to get where I wanted to go. Do I still have this gumption? Perhaps, but for awhile I felt that I had lost the passion of one who chases their dreams. A year ago I began dreaming about teaching abroad. In the last few months the pieces have come together and it's happening. Though my dream sequence never included Korea, I think God intervened on my behalf and so I will continue on this path for the next two years to see it through. Then what? For a girl who is an expert planner, I hadn't a clue. Since yesterday's small epiphany many ideas have started to swim around in my already crowded head. The more I ponder, the longer the list grows, but here's what my heart has revealed thus far: MUCH more travel--I have started to dream about seeing places I had once never considered, perhaps a return to school to pursue a PhD in education or possibly a path towards counseling, attending a summer session on Jane Austen at Oxford, and, if all goes well during my two years in Korea, I hope to continue my teaching career abroad somewhere in Europe. Over time I'm certain that a shift will happen in my head where some of these "pipe dreams" will develop into goals and the planner inside of me will devise the steps necessary to make them happen. All in good time... For now I am content to continue dreaming, doing, and following where God leads me.