The Big Move

So here we are at last, the end of one journey and the start of another. For those of you who are uninformed, Rebecca and I are moving to Seoul, South Korea to teach English. We have signed a one-year contract and are unlikely to return to the United States until our committment is finished.

While we are over there, we hope to get a chance to work with some of the North Korean refugees who have defected (run away) from North Korea into China and then into South Korea. We don't know what is in store for us with them, but are trusting that if it is supposed to happen, doors will open for us. If you are interested to know more about North Korea, we found a couple of videos on youtube. The videos are somewhat gruetesque and hard to take, but very mind opening. They tell about the holocost-like concentration camps and show truthful images of starving people and orphaned children. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajATPo-HUfY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEY_b81F0Uo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrQllR5uA9U http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ6E3cShcVU

Our primary responsibilities, though, will be working at the Seoul English Village. We will be working with South Koreans children ages K-9 who want to be immersed in an English Speaking culture, but are not ready or financially able to live away from home. We will be teaching in situational classrooms such as a hair salon or the inside of an airplane in roles such as the flight attendant. We may also be playing games, sports, or just spending time with the children. The idea is that the more time they spend with native English speakers, the better their English will be. Our roles are invaluable because most Koreans, unless born in an English environment, develop dialects when learning English. And since the Koreans are so fanatical about learning English, they want the way they speak it to be as close to perfect as possible.

To give you a background, the Korean culture is fanatical about learning English because it is the language of business. Therefore, English = financial gain. It is also somewhat of a social status for them. If you are Korean, the better English you speak, the more well-to-do you are. People think more highly of you.

See the attached link to find out more specific details about the SEV, our roles, and what it looks like. http://www.ybmecc.co.kr/index.asp?sub1=loca&sub2=2&seq=65


Now many of you already know all of these details. The next thing is that all of this is happening very soon, meaning tomorrow! That's right. We just got our flight details two days ago and will be flying out at 7:05am from Tulsa. We'll have a layover in Chicago, and then fly at 1pm Friday until 5pm on Saturday, straight from Chicago, USA to Seoul, South Korea. Though there is a 14 hour time difference, we will still be in the air for approximately 14 hours! Luckily Rebs and I bought season 3 of "The Office" and plan to watch it along the way on our new Macbook. So as long as we don't end up sitting next to a very large person, the flight should feel fairly short.

So here I am, sitting at my parents house, getting ready to fly to the other side of the world, with no house, no car, and no regular expenses. It is a very freeing feeling to not be enslaved to anything of this world. But at the same time, we have experienced the hospitality and friendships of many since moving out of our house last Sunday, which makes it hard to leave. Sitting with my parents at the dining table, a fire in the fireplace, talking about past memories, makes it harder than ever to know that we aren't going to be here for Thanksgiving or Christmas. We spent two days at my sister and brother-in-laws, much of the time playing with my 2-year-old neice India and smiling at my 8-month-old nephew Jude. We listen to Jude scream with joy to hear his own voice, and "play a game" with India consisting of "you be the baby; I be the mommy." They are such good kids and so much fun to experience. It makes me sad to know that when we come back Jude will be talking and we will have missed so much. We are closest now to that which we will be missing, so we recognize what it is we will miss. I love my family.

But we know that this is right. So as hard as it is, I am sure Korea will be good to us and we will continue to have many more stories to share.

-----dusty--<><--