First Footsteps in Asia

I should probably attempt to write this when I am more rested and in command of all my faculties, but I want to give a quick update about how my 28 hours in Korea have gone.  My lack of sleep is definitely showing,  because I keep forgetting things everywhere - one of my suitcases in baggage claim, my computer bag in customs, cups of orange juice at the counter.....I could go on!  (I quickly recovered all of it, thankfully.)  All of the new staff is running on fumes, but fortunately everyone is understanding, encouraging, and supportive.  The Korean staff and the administration are all awesome - it was immediately apparent that the group of people I'm working with are of strong character and genuine hearts.

At our first "staff meeting" this afternoon, Dwight (head of academics - essentially the role of headmaster) led us in prayer and then spoke about the mission of the school.  He read from Psalms 78:2-4:
"I will utter dark sayings of old, things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us.  We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and His might, and the wonders that he has done."
This is our mission - not only to teach, but to tell the students the glorious works of Christ - in our lives, through our subjects, and in the stories we share.  He followed that with our ultimate goal (from verse 7:
"...so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments."
It was emotional for me - hearing him speak in such a heartfelt way, with tears in his eyes (and some of ours, mine included) about the purpose and hope of the Christian education at GSIS.  Learning is important, the IB curriculum and excellence in education is important....but ultimately there is nothing above what we can share with them about Christ.  For a teacher coming from the public schools of Oregon, that was incredibly moving and exciting.  Dwight was the one who interviewed me way back in February, and I felt then that I would love to work for him - I think that now even more so. 

As far as what has happened since we arrived, it has been a whirlwind of being tired but surrounded by great people.  Here's a rough outline:
-Arrived around 6:00pm Wednesday night
-Joined others from GSIS - Korean staff and new teachers - after getting through customs; we found each other by all wearing the same purple GSIS t-shirts.  Sounded cheesy at home but was SO helpful and nice once we got there.
-After some Jamba Juice and waiting for the rest to arrive, a school bus (like a travel coach) took us back to the school (an hour drive), and then divided us up to take us to our apartment complexes.  A group of 3 men from the Korean staff helped each of us get our luggage to our apartments and showed us how to use the key code, air conditioning, and phone.  I definitely had more luggage than most, but then found out most people had mailed boxes to themselves beforehand (so I felt better). :)
-Unpacked just enough to get ready for bed, set up my skype account for calling to phones, and called mom (woke her up at 5:45 her time, but I think she was OK with that). :)
-Slept, for about 7 hours, then woke up on and off before giving in and getting up a little before 6.
-School picked us up before 8, and we went straight to the hospital for a physical (we weren't allowed to eat after midnight because of blood work).  It was kind of like a cattle drive - we were herded through 7 or 8 stations to get the OK medically for our visas, filled out by an army of doctors, nurses, and technicians.  We were not the only group there, though, so some of us got through early on, while others had to wait a couple of hours before they even started.  I was one of the lucky ones, and got brought back to the school early - where we explored a little and were fed some much-appreciated snacks. 
-The rest of the day, following my first meal in Korea in the school cafeteria (unknown chicken dish, rice, salad, and PB and J) was more normal orientation: tour of the school, setting up our brand-new laptops (MacBook Pro - few more features than mine and with a Korean/English keyboard) and external drives, trip to the apartments with the general affairs staff to explain about trash and recycling (a big deal here) and other features of our new homes, and dinner in the cafeteria.  (In case anyone is curious, I avoided the kimchi at both lunch and dinner, but did try a zucchini version - hot was all I tasted!)
-All day long there was plenty of time meet and get to know the other new staff members.  I feel so comfortable with many of them already - its a great group! 
-At home for the evening - as I will come to know it soon - two hours scrubbing my small kitchen from top to bottom, and soon to bed. A full and tiring but good day, with a trip to Costco and some other places planned for tomorrow.

Good night and sleep tight (even though as I write this everyone who will at some point read it is either in a deep sleep or about to wake up in the morning)!

Best Bithday Present Ever!

About a month ago, my wonderful mom told me what she was getting me for my birthday this year.  Since I'm headed to Korea in a couple of weeks, she wanted to have a recording of my voice to listen to while I'm gone.  Most people reading this know that I am constantly singing, especially when I forget that others are around!  But I have always been completely comfortable singing at the top of my lungs in front of my mom, and she has said many times that she will miss it. 

On this past Tuesday morning, we drove together into Portland to find the "Magic Closet," a small recording studio run by an incredibly nice and easygoing guy named Ian.  He set me up in the sound stage, turned on his HUGE board that resembled an airplane's cockpit, and was basically ready to go right away.  Imagine something similar to the scene from the movie "Once" and you will have a pretty good idea of what it looked like.  I had the background instrumental tracks to a bunch of songs, which he input on to his computer.  From there, I basically stood in the other room, with a window into where he and mom were, and sang through the first song. 

After I was done, I could listen to the whole song out with them or through my headphones in the recording room.  Then we went back and recorded whatever parts I wanted to fix over the previous track - so by the end there were several takes of some sections and one take of others, put together like pieces to a long and straight puzzle.  After the songs were done being recorded, Ian would clean up each track so it was a complete and finished product.

The process went by really fast - we recorded a total of 9 songs in about 4.5 hours.  I was pretty nervous the first two, and then became much more steady and confident.  The middle tracks definitely came out the best.  The last two I was less practiced on and more tired, so they were also not my favorites.  But all in all, I am really happy with all of them and my mom is so happy to have them for while I'm gone!

Seven of the songs are some of my favorite worship songs, by some of my favorite Christian artists.  Two are songs by country/pop artists that I have really liked.  Here's the playlist in the order we recorded them:

Hope Now by Addison Road
Gratitude by Nichole Nordeman
Crazier by Taylor Swift
Hallelujah by Bethany Dillon
Set the World on Fire by Britt Nicole
Make You Feel My Love by Garth Brooks
Blessings by Laura Story
Listen to Our Hearts by Steven Curtis Chapman
Your Hands by JJ Heller

If you want to hear them, I can get you a copy.  My favorite one is Blessings. :)
Thanks Mom for an absolutely wonderful birthday present!!