I woke up and hit the bathroom like any other day. About 8am it was time to head to 8 Ho Gwan and feed my belly. Dak Kalbi looked good so I had to get that. Actually come to think of it I ate at 8 Ho Gwan for every meal today. That's a pretty good day in itself.
After breakfast I walked to the global lounge for class. I was there even before the teachers who open our classroom up, so I waited outside. They showed up relatively soon after though so I wasn't waiting long. I put my books down and went to the bathroom. After leaving I saw a white guy outside so I said "hi" to him. Turns out he is an English teacher there from Canada (surprisingly there are a lot of people from Canada here). I told him why I was here and that I was interested in teaching English. He asked me if I had met the head of the English department, and I informed him that I hadn't but that I had been wanting to. He told me that he would introduce me next time he gets a chance. I look forward to picking his brain on the best way to get myself ready to teach English here in the shortest amount of time possible.
After that chance meeting I went back to class feeling pretty good. Class time was rolling by and the teacher asked if we all had health insurance. I just signed up for global heath insurance, but Nathan the other American guy in our class told me that you can get insurance through the school and it's pretty cheap. I went to the OIA (Office of International Affairs) and asked about it. They told me to check in during the next break but unfortunately I didn't get a chance. I can see what they found out tomorrow. Nathan also informed me that the director of the English department was his teacher for his other class he's taking. That's fortunate, I'm going to try and meet him Thursday after my class. Things are falling into place today!
I head back to the dorm to see if YJS wants to grab some food. I decided to go big today. That's right, I got the hot dog I've been waiting a month to try. These hot dogs look like giant corn dogs. I found out the hot dog itself was pretty tiny, and there's about 3 inches of batter deep fried on top of it. I also got some chicken curry bap to go with it just to wash the hot dog down with. I have to be completely honest, I wouldn't get the hot dog again. It only cost about $1.25 but it just wasn't good. Here's a pic so you can imagine what it tasted like.
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| Chicken Curry Bap and a Hot Dog for lunch! |
I don't remember how much I mentioned about this yesterday so I'll fill you in. The K-PACE center did an interview on me (which I posted some pictures of earlier). That interview was sent to the publicity department here and I guess they thought it was an interesting enough story to take on themselves. That brings us to earlier today when I got interviewed by the publicity department. Choi Young-Moo (yes he spelled his own name that way) interviewed me. He knew about my blog and had actually read some of it. (안녕하세요 최영무 씨!)
He asked me mostly the same questions that I had been asked for the K-PACE interview. What I was doing before I came here, how I liked Korea so far, what were my motivations for coming, etc. I was and always will be happy to talk about it, even though as most of you know who I have discussed this with, I don't have a definitive answer. God put it in my heart to come here, and I listened. End of story.
This has already been a crazy ride. I didn't expect to get any attention for coming here, but they seem to think this is a pretty big deal. I am so grateful to God for all the amazing opportunities and just plain cool things I've already been a part of.
This one is even better. Apparently the publicity department likes my story so much that they want to write an article on me and try and see if some of the news stations here are interested in it. That blows my mind. It's hard not to let your imagination run wild when something like this happens. What if they put me on TV? What if some big news station in Seoul gets a hold of this and brings me there? What if this blows up and I'm famous in Korea?! Haha fat chance, but fun to think about. All things are possible with God, and I'm gonna go where His plan takes me. I harken back to one of the last things my boy Freddy Lee told me at church before I left. "Don't let them put you on TV." I'll try Freddy, I'll try.
So after the interview they mentioned that they'd like to get some video or pictures of me in action with the students. The students have been working on song and dance routines for their MT (membership training, don't ask me what this is) this Thursday and Friday. I was invited but unfortunately I have my midterm Thursday, and class Friday that would be too much to miss.
I figured that was the end of it. Then I went to dinner and this guy was there taking pictures of me. I literally felt like I was a Kpop star or something. Haha it was pretty awkward I'm not gonna lie. He did a great job, but never having this happen to me I didn't really know what to do. I acted as natural as possible but it's hard not to smile all the time when you know people are looking at you. Imagine the scene: not only am I a giant white dude in Korea, but I walk into a cafeteria full of people and this dude is walking around taking pictures of me.
Luckily I recognized him as the same guy who ran the camera while they were filming my interview at the K-PACE center earlier in the day. Otherwise that would have been so random and confusing. Like why is this guy just following me around taking pictures? Haha classic. Anyways, this lasted for about 4 hours. We went to the K-PACE center so the students could work on their routines. I went from group to group so the guy could get good pictures of me. I did my best to be natural and get what were good shots, but what do I know about what looks good? I'm just a giant dude who doesn't shave and I get my hair cut once every few months. Why is this happening to me?! Haha. Don't get me wrong, I am absolutely loving the adventure and I know God's plan is in action for me. I made sure the interviewer knew it too.
I finally got back to the dorm with the students around 8:30pm. There was time for more pictures. We got 5 students together with me to take staged pictures doing silly things like making Korean hearts. Finally about 8:45 it was time for him to go and I got a chance to start working on homework and visiting the students. Today was wild, but I'm excited for where the future is going to take me. I am learning more and more each day to trust in God, and this experience is definitely taking me closer to Him. Maybe I'll get a chance to reach a lot of people for Him. Maybe not. Either way I'm in full submission to His will.
That's it for today, not a whole lot of interesting stuff. (LOL) It's time for me to pass out and digest all the things that happened. I thank you once again for joining me! 잘자네 (Good Night)!
Korean Word/Phrase of the Day: 시험 (She Heom) EXAM! THURSDAY! OMGGGGGGGGGGGG HALP! Jay Kay El Oh El...I'll be fine...I hope (ohs noesssssssss)
TL:DR I'm in Korea.
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