Language Expeditions

Endings are hard. Most of us know that loss is not an easy experience to go through. I guess because when you lose something, it feels like you lost part of yourself. What most people don’t talk about is how beginnings can be hard too.

We landed in South Korea on Sunday, August 18, 2024 at 3:30 am KST. In spite of the early morning, we could still feel the heat when we stepped off the plane into the loading bridge. The school I work for sent a van to pick us up at the airport, so we went immediately from the gate, spent about 20 minutes in line at customs, collected our EIGHT large suitcases from the luggage claim (to go with our 1 carry on suitcase, 2 backpacks, and 1 guitar in a gig bag that were on our person), and headed to the exit to find our ride.

After being on the same plane for over 14 hours, it’s no surprise the exhaustion we felt, but we still had about an hour and a half ride from the airport to the school. With the darkness of night still being present, it was easy to sleep on the van most of the way. As we got closer to the school, the tall buildings started to disappear and were replaced with farm land and smaller businesses. Even though we knew it was in a small city, it was definitely what’s considered “country living” by Korea’s standards. At some point, the van started to trek up a mountain, swaying around sharp curves, and that is where we reached the school. By this time, the sun was coming up and as we were standing outside, waiting for the assistant head of the school to greet us at around 5:45 or 6 am, we took in the amazing sunrise views that introduced us to Anseong.

After a long journey, we felt peace. We were excited and hopeful for the new chapter to come.

We have been here for over a month now, and it has moved at lightning speed. The fast-paced living in Korea is known as “ppali-ppali” culture, which means “hurry-hurry.” We have definitely felt that.

Acclimating to this ppali-ppali lifestyle has been a challenge. The language has been a challenge. The unfamiliar foods have been a challenge. The loneliness has been a challenge. The beginning has been hard.

We knew it would be, but knowing doesn’t make the experience of it any easier or prepare you for it any better. However, just because we have challenges and struggles, does not mean we are not ok. We are definitely ok. We are finding joy in the midst of the frustration of learning how to do things in a new way, as strange as that sounds. There is a sense of accomplishment in knowing that you overcame the challenge or obstacle that seems so simple at the time. So that is what we will keep doing- taking the challenges head on and overcoming them little by little. Figuring out who we are here, and how this experience can enhance who we will be after we come back to the states. So please don’t be sad for us if hardship comes our way. That is just part of life, and we had our struggles in Birmingham as well. Changing geographical locations doesn’t necessarily make life harder or easier. It is part of learning and growing. We will keep on keeping on!

But there is one thing that we desperately need to survive.

We need our village.

We need your emails, messages, comments, phone calls, letters, packages. We need your love from a distance. We can’t see you or hug you right now, but we can talk to you and interact in different ways. Technology is a wonderful thing for communication. Those interactions are our lifeline while we feel isolated from connection by language barriers and rural living.

We need you.

Because we are still transitioning into life here. It feels like we have been transitioning since February or March when I started the process of interviews, turning in my notice at the end of April without knowing if I was hired yet, packing the house the ENTIRE summer, actually coming here, and now trying to build a foundation.

We are still at the very beginning of this journey, and beginnings are hard.

So please, ask us if we are ok. Tell us you were thinking about us. Call or facetime us on Instagram, Facebook messenger, and KakaoTalk. Send us an email. Set up a Zoom game night. Write us a letter.

We miss you. We love you. We need you.

We hiked a mountain near our apartment building. There was a traditional style Korean lookout pavilion near the seating area at the top!

We went to a pool villa for a teacher retreat during teacher orientation!

Our pastor from the US came to Korea for a few days and we got to see him in Seoul!! This visit was so good for our souls. We miss you friends!!

Game night in the apartment!! It was a tie, lol!

Selfie at the train station in Pyeongtaek. We loved taking the train to Seoul!

Outing in the Myeongdong district in Seoul!!

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