Greetings from Korea

I made it safe and sound to the Land of the Morning Calm. My flight was uneventful. I had a window seat, so I was delighted to see far northeastern Russia as we flew over. The mountains were beautiful, but did it ever look cold down there!Two of the other teachers and one church member met me at the airport in Seoul. I thought it was really funny that they were holding a sign for me. It said “WELCOME” in big letters and my name in little letters at the bottom. My name was too small to see clearly until I was pretty close to the sign, so it didn’t help me to locate them at all, but I thought it was cute. From the airport, it was a 2+ hour drive to the town I'm now living in. We drove past, but not through, Seoul, and I was struck by what a big city it is. The rows and rows of apartment buildings remind me of dominoes, all lined up and ready to topple, which left me feeling a little uneasy. As it got darker outside, I could see all these neon red crosses on the tops of buildings. The other teachers told me that they’re all churches. It seemed a little like a surreal graveyard

Today church was at 11:00, but everyone goes at about 10:45 because they do all the music before the service. The congregation was really friendly, and the people seem genuinely glad to have me here. The church service today was very nice, though I didn't understand any of it. The service, of course, is in Korean, but they have volunteers who interpret the sermon into English, and we five teachers wear little earpieces to hear the interpretation, which I probably could have done without. The only thing I could really make out was that the interpreter said about 15 times, "Even though Rahab was a prostitute and sold her smile for money, she was a sensible woman." Hmmm . . . I think there must have been more substance to the sermon than that! Everyone at the church was so friendly and welcoming. I had about a dozen people tell me I'm beautiful!

After church, Dr. Kim and his wife took a bunch of us out to lunch--the five teachers, Pastor Jeong and his wife, and another lady. I have no idea who the other lady is. No one introduced themselves by name, only by relation to other people. The other teachers call Pastor Jeong's wife "Pastor Jeong's wife". That's going to take some getting used to. We went to a restaurant in Yesan, the next city over. I have no idea what I ate, but it all tasted good--a little spicy but not too bad. Everyone was impressed by my chop stick dexterity. Apparently Dr. Kim and his wife take the teachers out to lunch most Sundays.

I just got back to the apartment and have free time until evening services at 7:00. I think I'm going to take a nap, because it's Sunday and that's what I do. The apartment leaves much to be desired, but the heated floors are nice. Kathy and I each have a very small bedroom, double bed, nightstand with a little cabinet underneath, and a little wardrobe. There is a kitchenette and a table with 4 chairs (only 3 of which are usable, I found out the hard way), and then a sitting room with a desk and chair, two stuffed chairs, a coffee table, and a credenza. It's pretty bare. There's some serious mildew on the wallpaper, but they say they're going to fix it. The bathroom has a bathtub about half the size of a regular bathtub and a shower head, but no curtain or door, so the water goes everywhere. Fortunately, there is a drain in the floor. It's all sufficient, but bare bones. My room has a little balcony which will be nice when it gets warmer, but for now, it just means that it's drafty. Our apartment is on the first floor. The associate pastor and family live above us, and I think there is another apartment above them.