A Jog in the Park

AAAAHHHH!!!!! FINALLY! RACHEL FINALLY WROTE ANOTHER POST ON HER BLOG!!!!!

I know, I know… apologies. That’s how dang busy I’ve been. Sort of. That and there was a serious lack of internet for an entire week and a half! No cell phone, no internet, no place near me that has wi-fi. Talk about seclusion!

That kind of goes to show you how small of a town I live in. It’s verrrry country. Unlike the bigger cities, I can’t just walk on down to the nearest coffee shop and use their internet. I have to go to the nearest bigger city which is a 20 minute bus ride and ten minute walk to my new hangout coffee spot called Travel and Coffee. (Shout out to Coffee Rush! Missing my original hang out spot!)

So for the next year I will live in Goseong, Gangwon-do, which is a tiny tiny town just off of the northeast coast of South Korea. It is only a short bus ride north of the city you see on the map called Sokcho.

“OMG SHE’S SO CLOSE TO NORTH KOREA” you say? Ya, I’m pretty close. The DMZ is about an hour and a half north of Goseong, but I promise you all I’ve never felt more safe! Plus there are an abundance of attractive soldier men here, so ya I’m feeling pretty good about this place ;p

As for my apartment? I feel pretty darn blessed. I have a pretty big apartment that would allow me to host a few visitors. (PLEASE COME AND VISIT ME!!!)

But the best part about living where I do is that I am literally 2 minutes away from the beach, and I've got some amazing views:

The school where I teach is called Jukwang Elementary, and this school is probably the biggest blessing of all. There are a total of 45—Yes 45—students in the entire school! I teach K-6 English classes that are super small in size, my biggest class being 9 students. The kids are a lot of fun, and the staff has been extremely welcoming. Though we all have a great language barrier, they have already treated me like part of the Jukwang family.

This guy is my mentor teacher Choi Jin Hwee!

He’s literally a godsend. He has been such a great help with everything I’ve ever needed, from taking me grocery shopping to getting a cellphone and internet so I can contact family and friends! Totally giving God a two-thumbs up for this new friend of mine… who insists that I call him “Father” or “Real Brilliant.”

“Father” because he’s the one taking care of me here, and “Real Brilliant” because that is his literal name translation :p

I also have another friend from the TaLK Program living in Goseong, along with a handful of EPIK teachers around the area that I hang out with a bunch. There isn’t any lacking on the foreigner front so I am able to speak more than broken English when I socialize. Which is suuuuch a blessing. You don’t realize how much you love your language until you aren’t able to use it as often as you’re used to!

Overall, things have been a jog in the park. I say jog because time has flown by so quickly and I really am loving my life in Korea thus far. It seems that things have been a lot easier than I've expected them to be, but I think it's all because God's been holding my hand throughout all of the difficulties. He has been overwhelmingly good to me through blessing me with great accommodations, amazing people, and through situations and struggles where I had nobody to lean on except Him.

You’ve seen and heard about my living accommodations and town. I’ll tell you about the people and crazy situations where I’ve struggled and been strengthened this first month in my next blog post! I’ve got some lesson plans to write up!

For friends and family back in AZ: I’m missing you all like crazy! Please, if you haven’t already add me on Skype: raerae5018
For friends in Korea: HAPPY CHUSEOK! Safe travels and enjoy your holiday!
For everyone! If you would please partner with me in prayer for a few specific things throughout more of my journey in Korea and with my Papa:

-Not to lose sight of my value as God’s precious daughter
-More and more boldness every time I step out of my apartment!
-Diligence in studying the Word.
-Diligence in learning more of the Korean language and culture (I can get pretty lazy about it)
-Finally that I would be more and more aware of the Spirit in me!


Gracias! Gracias! Besos! Besos! Thanks for reading! Thanks for praying! Until next time!