It's been five weeks today that I stepped off the plane. Since that time I have bought a fan (the a/c was wracking up my electric bill), visited five different churches, attended a wedding, made many new friends, saw the ocean up close, perused the largest floating book fair in the world, and taught 126 separate English classes. Quite the five weeks!
The churches I have visited have varried in size and flavor to be sure. The smallest gathering numbered six, including myself, and the largest was several hundred. The churches in the area with English services have all been very friendly and welcoming. Deciding where to go is much harder than I remember. You see, I want to be involved in the church that I go to and when the decision is made I want to stick it out until next July, I guess that is why this is hard. I have been so blessed and encouraged by the churches that I have been to, that the thought of staying with one is exciting.
The wedding I attended was for the cousin of a recent friend that I made in Bucheon. Almost all weddings here are held in wedding halls and this was no exception. This wedding hall was located about an hour away in the Samsung headquarters. The groom was an employee there, so they were able to use the venue. The first thing I noticed was that the bride had a room set up as a photo studio, where she would sit and take pictures with people before the ceremony. Nothing was kept until the ceremony as a surprise, as far as the dress is concerned, which was something new for me. The ceremonies all consist of a speaker, who doesn't have to be licensed, and a time of respectful bowing before the parents of the bride and groom, where the groom is completely on the floor and the bride is allowed to stand and bow. The speaker was apparently quite witty, which is unusual, and the groom included his own surprise for his bride, a song. He sang to her. His voice was pretty terrible, which put everyone in good humor because of the sweet gesture and bravery of their friend and relative. He was applauded for his efforts and they walked together down the isle with streamers exploding overhead. Afterwords many standard group pictures were taken and all of the guests were invited to eat in a cafeteria where there was a variety of great food. At the same time the family members, bride and groom, went to another very traditional private ceremony. In this ceremony, I am told, the married couple serves their parents and spends time with their close family. Because the speaker was not credentialed I asked if they sign a marriage license after words. My friend told me that they had probably already signed it, maybe even weeks ago. So many new things!
I visited the ocean with my new friends from a church here in town. We went to the docks were we boarded a ship, the Logos Hope, and were shown around. The Logos Hope is a ship crewed by people from all over the world, ranging in age from 18-84, I want to say. Their mission is to tell people about Jesus in anyway that they can. When they dock, they have many volunteers who often come to take over some of their duties, that they might go ashore and do ministry in that country. Every nation is different and so they are able to do ministry in all different ways. They also have the Worlds Largest Floating Book Fair aboard ship, so cool! While I was there God gave me the opportunity to talk to two crew members about what it is like for them on the ship, how they'd gotten there, and if their lives had changed since. I was so blessed by all of this and could have stayed aboard for much longer, but after attending a seminar onboard and getting a private tour, from someone who knew someone, we had to go.
It is kind of crazy what I have had the opportunity to do in the last few weeks and the people I have been able to meet. I have been so blessed I don't even know how to respond. This week I was particularly blessed financially. Upon arrival I was supposed to apply for an Alien Registration Card, which would allow me to get a bank account and stay in the country for more than three months. After going to the hospital to make sure I didn't have any diseases (hahah, but really), my boss and I dawned the doors of the immigration office to complete the application. The visit was fairly quick, which is hit or miss in these offices, and the card was to arrive in a week. I brought money with me, but it was running out and it had been more than a week since the application was put in. I had just talked to my parents that morning about what I wanted to do if I ran out of money before the AR card arrived, I wasn't really sure. That day, my boss came to me at work, having thought the same thing and handed me my salary in cash. God was providing for me one step ahead of my needs. It reminded me that we aren't trying to live our lived to earn God's blessing. We cannot earn it, even on our bad days his blessings don't wait for us to be better, they come anyway...ahh grace, I don't even know.
Tomorrow is Victoria's last day at work, she is the other foreign teacher at my school and tomorrow she will make her way back to Pennsylvania. She has helped me enormously and has made these last few weeks in Bucheon much easier for me, helping me with everything from where to get my hair cut to how to travel on the subway. Before this becomes to sad, I will let you know that today is also the first day of work for Victoria's replacement teacher. I don't know anything about her, except that she is from the ATL, not to far from my old stomping ground. I am both very excited and a little nervous. I am excited to welcome her and hope that we will be great friends, but I am nervous because I will probably be the one who will show her around...like I know something. Upon first arrival, Victoria took me to eat and talk. She welcomed me with her four years of experience. I, on the other hand, have been here five weeks and do not even have a bank account. I am practically a fresh bean sprout still trying to understand the bold new surroundings in which I find myself (feel free to enjoy the metaphor ;). Still, I have learned a lot in those weeks and will do my very best to help, but maybe we can learn together too.
Thank you for your prayers! I love ya!!
Haley (Gingin it!)
