So School's been in session for a little over two weeks now. Today started the third week of classes already and it's crazy to think I've been living here in Seoul for about a month now!!
Things have been kicked into high gear and are definitely up and running school wise! Last week was our first "full week of classes", so after-school groups were in the process of being "set up" and "getting started". On Tuesday the 24th, I held the first "Psalms Choir" rehearsal. Psalms is made up of both faculty and high school students and meets from 5-7pm. The first half hour and the last half hour are dedicated to "praise time", where everyone comes together to sing worship songs. It's kind of like a mini contemporary praise band - the hour from 5:30-6:30 is choral rehearsal time where I go over repertoire with the group and rehearse them as I would any other choir. Our first rehearsal proved to be a successful one and I was so glad that I was able to keep the pace of the rehearsal (and the attention of everybody) at a solid level! I was glad when my mentor and colleague, Ken Caldwell (the band teacher here at SFS) complimented me on my "quick rehearsal pace" and "no nonsense" technique! I was really glad he and others complimented me regarding the rehearsal because I'd been VERY nervous leading up to it and was afraid it wouldn't come together, but it definitely did! I hope this week goes just as well, if not better!
The next night on Wednesday, the 25th, I held auditions for the top choir "Moonlight"! This audition-only ensemble has only 16 members and performs at the APAC (Asia Pacific Activities Conference) Choral Festival (this year, the festival will be held at Concordia International School in Shanghai, China!!) The auditions were supposed to be from 5-7pm with each kid doing an individual 3-minute slot audition, but we definitely got behind schedule....I felt really embarrassed because me and the other teacher I had helping with auditions (Darrell Roddick, the Director of Performing Arts Facilities) realized the sightreading portion of the audition was WAY too hard....so after the first 4 or 5 kids came in, we switched up the sightreading so that it'd still be challenging, but somewhat easier ;-) I ended up posting the results of the auditions on Friday at the end of the day - turns out not all the kids that had been in it last year made it into the group this year....oh well! I feel solid about the kids I chose and I'm looking forward to our first rehearsal together, which will be this Thursday, Sept. 2! Praying it all goes well....
Aside from being super busy with school stuff, I've had a chance to see many spots in Korea the last couple weekends! Last weekend especially was a blast because all of the new teachers were invited to go on a "Seoul CIty Tour"! While we passed many places to and from our destination, the "hot spot" that we really spent a good portion of our time at was the North Seoul Tower! It's located on the summit of Mt. Namsan and had spectacular views! I got some great shots of the city from up on the observatory deck! Later on, we all ventured to Itaewon, a part of the city known for having many "foreigners" since it is near to the U.S. Army Base~ We enjoyed a tasty lunch, a manicure/pedicure (of course!) and then headed back on the subway towards SFS! I loved being able to get out and see more of Seoul! It's great to have the chance to get out and see what's around!
This past weekend, me and 3 of my closest friends I've made since being here (hye-sin, Joy, and Jason) all teamed up to make a traditional Korean dinner on Saturday the 28th! Being that Hye-sin is Korean/British and Jason has been living here in Seoul for the past 11 years, they helped Joy and I to create a delicious sam-gyup-sal (Korean grilled pork chops) meal, complete with kimchi and all ;-) It was a great time to hang with new friends, eat some Korean food, and just relax over the weekend!
Then on Sunday night, all the new teachers were invited to a "Bulgogi Dinner" (bulgogi is a Korean style of marinated meat) - we traveled about 45 minutes from the school in two buses with our pen-pals (the people who'd been assigned to us prior to our arrival in Korea to answer any questions, concerns, etc.) and truly enjoyed a night out together!
There's been lots of eating, lots of praying, and lots of loving since I've been here~ Korea is an amazing place, as are the wonderful people I've met, the food I've tasted, and the God who's been with me day-in...and day-out....
Peace to all back home~
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