Life in November

Anneyong Haeseyo from Suwon Korea. That is the greeting here so thought I'd try it out on you all. Life is going really well these days. We are really enjoying our time and jobs. (for the most part :) Teaching English can be really rewarding especially when those few kids are improving and you can see it from week to week. I say few because that's the truth of it. So the student looking into the camera in the picture is my favorite kid. I know you shouldn't have favorites but he's awesome. He just learns so well and gets 90-100% on all his assignments and tests. Not to mention his amazing behavior and attitude.
Chris and I really feel as though we are in a good routine with teaching are really comfortable with our partner teachers. So that's the school update for now. Looking forward to Christmas break though. We wont be going anywhere out of Korea. We've decided to go to a hot springs and stay in a hotel a few nights. Just have to figure out where. It'll definitely be a different kind of Christmas for us. Miss all of you family!
I am starting to get adventurous with cooking Korean food. It's actually really easy and has turned out quite delicious. We live super close to a market so we can get a lot of fresh food everyday all the time for really cheap. It's awesome to get to know the local people and support their businesses. Well we cant really get to know them to much because of the communication gap but they appreciate our business. These people work so hard their little shops are open from like 9-9 every day. No day off in this country it seems. I don't agree with that but that's how Korea has become so successful in 30 years, serious hard work.
So it's finally getting a little chilly out side. We hit -8 a week or so ago. I am really appreciating the four seasons you get prepped for winter instead of getting hit with it in October. We did a bit of sightseeing around one of the universities here in Seoul. The campuses are huge and the buildings are old and look really similar to the styles of Canadian and American ones. It really matters what university you get into in this country, it's so competitive and companies prefer degrees from specific universities. I guess it is a bit like that in N.America isn't it.?
So Chris got in his first KBL league game which we quite enjoyed. I think we will be seeing a lot of games here. It's super cheap to go to and lots of fun and we can get great seats because we know some one who has a VIP pass to the games. The basketball is definitely decent nothing like NBA or good college but I am not complaining.
We've been able to make quite a few friends through lots of connections so it's been fun to meet for dinner and other such things.
This pic is from Suwon Station on a Friday night. Always so busy, it's amazing how many people fit in this small country and how they all get around. There is a constant flow of people, cars, buses trains. If you are walking on the side walk you cant just stop with out someone bumping into you, it's like driving, you have to pull over on the shoulder. There are sometimes when you just wish you had your personal space for a moment when using the public transport. But it's the culture and you just get used to it. Good times :)
So if any of you reading this have questions for us about our adventure here please feel free to leave them in the comment area below and I will address them in my next post.
That's all for today.
God bless you~

It's about time for a blog post!

Greetings from Korea, it's been a while since I updated please forgive me for that. We haven't been doing anything to exciting these days because we are trying to save money. That means weekends are low key and staying around home and going to church. We did however make it to a hockey game in Korea. Yes that's right hockey in Korea. I didn't believe it at first but it does exist. There is only one team they are called the Anyang Halla, they play in what is called the Asia Hockey League. There are teams from China and Japan as well. I guess Asia is trying to be Canadian or something!! Haha just kidding around. The hockey was fun and entertaining though and we were invited by some people we didn't know very well and now they are becoming our good friends.
Thought to put up a few pics from the market right near our place. The open meat shops are always so busy but they actually gross me out a bit. All these pig carcasses hanging out in the open and raw fish everywhere. I don't mind the fruit and veggies but nothing is covered it's all out in the open with cars driving by and yeah just different. It is usually really fun though to walk around and see everyone doing business. Making a living really it's just totally different than in Canada. There are grocery stores with wrapped meat :) just the markets are really popular.
Oh fishy smell how I do not love you. There is not just fish here for sale but octopus, squid, clams, shrimp, and some weird looking worm thing.. yuck Lets just say we do not frequent this shop.
This is a typical afternoon in the market, nice and busy. You have pedestrians, cars, motorbikes, and bicycles all mixing together trying to get where they have to go. It's a bit overwhelming to walk through every single day but it's their way of life and we are the foreigners so we have to adjust. It's tough at time because personal space in public is almost non-existent.
The change in seasons has been amazing here. Fall is really fall and the leaves change slowly and beautifully so many rich and vibrant reds, yellows and oranges. I really love it so much. Also, we've really only had to turn our heater on a few times so far this fall, it's been wonderful.
At church we've gotten involved in a few things lately. We are doing a homeless ministry for the men who live near Suwon Station once a month. We bring them shoes, food, toiletries, blankets, and Gospels. We went this past Friday and it was such a blessing. We stayed for a while too just to talk with and encourage them. It's tough with the language barrier but they are so needy and the smiles and hellos go a long way. We need to take care of the poor it is commanded in the Bible.
Also the past few weeks has offered a marriage course. It has been really good to go and learn much about each other and how to communicate in a Godly manner. I am so thankful for these opportunities we have here. Chris has also joined a new basketball league and hoping to continue witnessing to guys who he plays with. Teaching is going well for both of us we have settled into a nice routine so nothing to exciting has been happening there.
Well I hope this updates every one with a little of what is happening here in Korea. Oh for those that didn't know my sister just had a baby boy! First grandchild in the family, so that is very exciting and my heart is definitely in Canada with my family.
Blessings from us both~