안녕하세요 an yeoung ha se yo!

Wow! Our first week actually on the job went EXTREMELY quickly! Which is a good thing I would think! Brian and I both seem to be getting into the routine fairly easily, so hopefully we'll be settled very soon!

The weekend also went extremely quickly which is very sad! It was a relaxing weekend though! Friday night we went out with the other foreign (American and South African) teachers from our school. We went down to the University area, which has lots of pubs and bars, and is also where most of the foreigners in Cheongju hang out on weekends. We went to a bar called 'Ethnic' which was very relaxed and cool. But it was also funny, because as we were walking there someone tapped our coworker on the shoulder and when we all turned around it was the girl we had met on the bus our very first night! She is a friend of our co-workers! What a small world!

Saturday morning, we had to get up the same time as normal and go to some type of orientation with the Cheongju board of education. It was fairly boring... The first half of the orientation was in Korean and it included a bunch of speeches by some important people, but obviously we didn't pay much attention... Next a British guy talked, in English thankfully, about E2 Visas, cultural differences, and sexual assault in regards to children in Korea. It was a little bit more interesting, but nonetheless, I would have rather been in bed!


Later in the afternoon we ventured out, via the public bus, to a shopping district about 20-30 mins away from our apartment. It was a walking market with lots of different clothing shops and food vendors. Also, right near the market is a giant homeplus, which is comparable to a superwalmart or even a sears. We picked up a few things and then headed back home on the very crowded bus.

 This part of the mall is actually right UNDER the road

 The right is the road where the mall is underneath

 The outside part of the market- definitely the less busy part

 At night this place is bright with neon signs

 Apparently you're not allowed to bring in icecream, burgers, wieners?, or puppies???

 Homeplus! Pretty much has everything you will ever need!

These are the alcoholic coolers they have here... taste like bacardi breezers, but more funny name

Today, Sunday, we went to church (we even were able to tell the cab driver where we wanted to go reasonably well, San dong Church(e)?). The cab ride to the church cost us under 3,000 won so not even $2! Here is an alright picture of the church, it's taken from the side of the building so it's not the best angle:

 The church- where the English service takes place is on the main floor

Another neat thing happened at church today as well. We were sitting down waiting for church to start and a girl walked in and sat down in front of us who we know from King's! This is the second time, that I've really thought how small the world is! Just when you think you're in a place where you don't know a single person! also, she introduced us to some of her English friends and another one is a Degroot! It's neat to make those dutch connections in Korea! It's an amazing thought to think that no matter where in the world you go that community that you formed at home never leaves you!

 After church we ran over to E-mart (which is right next door) for a quick bite to eat at the McDonalds! Then we met a nice Korean lady for some Korean lessons. She went through most of the Korean alphabet with us, how to say it and how to write it. She said we were good students and fast learners, but it was A LOT of information to take in at one time! Brian has already spent some time going back over the letters. I'd be happy to just be able to read all of the signs that are on the street!

After the lesson we decided to try and walk home, since it didn't seem that far, and it was a beautiful day out! It only took us about 30-35 minutes to walk home so not bad at all. The scenery on the walk home is amazing, but not horrible. It's neat because here in Korea they use up all the space that they can. So often in between building or up the side of a hill you'll see gardens or rice fields like the one below that we saw on our way home from church.

A rice field in the middle of Cheongju on the way home from church

Sannam-dong is the neighbourhood we live in.

Tonight there is another devotional service at the church which is combined with the Korean and English congregation. They're going to sing some Korean songs than English, and also have a short message in English and then translated to Korean. We're thinking of going to check it out, and see how big the Korean congregation is, and also to experience what their service is like.