As of today, we have been in Korea for 3 weeks. A lot of life has been squeezed into that time! As promised, our first order of business is to share a few pictures from our visit to Gyeongbokgung Palace with you....JPG)
The journey began here. At the entrance to the Palace grounds, we took a pictures with a palace guard before entering the first courtyard. Once inside, we learned a lot about both the history and culture of "Palace Living." Joy posed in front of a room in a building where the king would think before making big decisions. Bennett posed as the king walking through the courtyard. Did you know only the king could walk down the center of this path? The middle section is elevated a few inches and was reserved for the king's feet only! We enjoyed seeing the gargoyles, some of which were real animals, others of which
were not. You can see the "protectors" of each building lining the roof. There were generally 2 larger stone gargoyles with open mouths, which appear to be chasing off the smaller gargoyles PacMan style. Bennett made friends with one of the mythical protectors of the throne room. We learned that after a fire burned down the royal pavilion, 2 new stone dragons were placed beside the new pavilion to protect from fire and water damage.Our last picture is one of the prettiest areas of the palace grounds. We sat in the shade by the pond to get out of the heat, rest our feet, and enjoy the view.
Want to learn more about the palace? Check out this link! http://www.royalpalace.go.kr/html/eng/data/data_01.jsp
For more pictures, check out our NEW FLICKR ACCOUNT! http://www.flickr.com/photos/100089101@N07/
The second week we were in Korea, Joy had New Teacher Orientation and was at work everyday while Bennett enjoyed playing computer games, getting together with friends and students, and helping Joy set up her classroom (What a great husband!).
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We decided to do our grocery shopping for the week last Sunday at eMart. It was quite the adventure and Joy's first moments of feeling real culture shock. "I can't read what any of these things are...there are so many people...everybody is yelling around me in Korean...I keep responding in Spanish...I can't find what I'm looking for..." In the meantime, we enjoyed eating "dinner" as we walked through the store. There were about 50 (or more!) free samples - everything from little fried dumplings to seaweed to whole crawfish! Joy also enjoyed seeing some of the things commonly sold in Korea that you just wouldn't find in a Publix or Jewel in the States (Octopus, anyone?).We've spent our third week in Korea working hard. Lots of meetings. Lots of copies. Lots of planning. Why? School starts TOMORROW! Friday was our New Student Orientation, and it was fun to have families on campus (The mixture of kids and cookies in the lobby made for some high energy madness!). For both of us, the real excitement of teaching is the relationships we get to build with students and families. Please pray for us as we start the new school year. We both want to be intentional in building relationships with students. Pray for energy, efficiency in planning, and wisdom as Joy continues to "figure out" a new grade level. Pray that our new students will make good friends quickly, and also pray that our students grow in their knowledge of and love for the Lord this year.
Goodbye summer, hello school!
Hasta la proxima,
Bennett & Joy
