Recently, I have finished reading "Searching for God Knows What" by Donald Miller. I really enjoyed the book. Sometimes I got distracted by his writing style but overall, it is a very good book. The message is a very practical and well needed message. I think Miller accurately points out what so many young Christians and maybe even older Christians are searching for. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has the conviction that there is more to Christianity than simple feel good messages.

New places and New friends

I know this is a topic that I have already mentioned but I think it necessary to revisit. I am reminded that I am very fortunate to have come to ECC Ansan and not some other Hogwon (I don't know the correct spelling). ECC is a great organization and even though I had to go to another boring teacher refresher course this month, I can't complain.
We went hiking Thursday as a group of co-workers but it felt more like a group of friends than anything else. The group was made up of our boss Mr. Kim, most of the foreign teachers and one Korean teacher. It seemed somewhat like an odd group and yet there wasn't any kind of awkwardness apart from the usual; sometimes the language barrier is very evident even when everyone present speaks English.
The hike was quite difficult and we all had a wide range of skill level. I think the difficulty of the hike gave us a common bond (I know that sounds terribly cheesy but that is life). I found it very interesting that the conversation shifted so easily not only with regards to topic but also with people. A lot of times one finds themselves sticking with fellow hikers of similar ability and thus the same conversation but this did not seem the case. I do confess that some of us, myself included, found ourselves lagging far behind but we always seemed to catch up.
To get to the point, I find it very interesting that a group of almost strangers would enjoy each other's company so much. I am not the kind of person who can have conversations with people very easily. Those of you who have met me probably noticed that. My point is that most co-workers will talk only to past time at work but it seems like, dare I say it, the ECC Ansan family is different. I don't just mean among the foreign teachers either. Even though the Korean teachers have their own separate lives outside of ECC, they do find time to do things with the foreign teachers off the clock.
This may just be the innocent ramblings of a young man new to the work force but I think that ECC Ansan is not your usual work environment.
For those of you who have made it to the end of this post, I congratulate you. Go in peace.

It is official. Fall has swooped down and smacked me in the face. I don't know if this is usual for South Korea or not but one day it was hot and very much summer and then the next it is definitely fall. I attributed the cool weather to the rain at first but today was clear and very much cool. I'm glad that it is fall and I hope that Korean falls are as nice as American falls. That is all I have for now. Later.

Well, I'm back. I don't have very much to say. I'm starting to get in the groove of teaching. I am, however, still very self-conscious about how well I'm teaching. Most of my classes consist of fairly rowdy children. Most of them will calm down and participate but I still don't know if they are actually learning any English or if they are just repeating the sounds that I make. So far, I have encountered two problems in my classes. Either the students talk too much, in Korean, or they do not talk at all. That is enough about work.
We have done some traveling but there is still much more to see. We have made two trips into Seoul and both have been quite enjoyable. We have found that the best way to learn about a city is to walk around. On our last trip to Seoul, we discovered an awesome market that I think is called Namdaemun or something of that sort. It was impressive because of how much stuff was there. There was a wide range of nice things to some very cheap products. To get a better idea of our travels, visit www.humzoo.com/Lee_and_Nicki .
We have also started trying to learn Korean. This is proving very difficult especially for me. Not only are the written characters very different from the English language but there are also some very subtle differences in sounds that my southern ear and twang just can't quite distinguish.
Well, after reading over this post I have realized that I am rambling. It is time for me to go now. Until next time, An nyawng hee kye se yo

We have finally started teaching at ECC Ansan. The first day was quite overwhelming. Teaching would be intimidating enough but we are teaching kids who primarily speak a different language. We do have to confess that God has blessed us beyond measure. We are constantly reminded of His goodness when we meet a new friend or find out how great our experience has been thus far. Our flight was very nice. We also have had more of an orientation than many of the other foreign teachers at ECC. Also, our apartment is way beyond what we could have hoped for (three bed and two bath). Even when we feel desperately out of place, we realize that God will provide.
We have already experienced some cultural difficulties. We have come to find out that there is a lot less English than I had expected. I admit that I probably expected too much English. Despite the language barrier, we have managed fairly well so far. Pointing and grunting seems to work in many shops and we are able to "play it safe" on things like rice and pasta in the grocery store. This is all I have for now but there are and will be plenty more adventures to tell of. Later.

We finally made it to Korea and what an adventure. More will be coming soon.

I am about to embark on a once in a life time journey. I am going to South Korea to teach English; yes, English. I may be a Math major but you do what you have to to get a job. I will probably use this blog to log my experiences but I will also probably use it for the same old boring stuff. Until next time.

I've come to the end of the semester and it seems like this week will never be over. I had dreamed of a light last semester but unfortunately I had not planned accordingly. The thing that is keeping me the busiest is Senior Seminar. This wouldn't have been such a bad project if I had just figured out what I needed to do before I started. Now that I have started I find more and more things that I should have done. Sometimes I wish that I could just get it over with even if I'm not quite ready. My advice to anyone who may read this post is to always do thorough planning before you start an important project. A little bit of planning, real planning, goes a long ways. Go in peace.

This is not a real big complaint but I do find it somewhat ironic. I find it funny that people continue to complain about the Mirror and about things like the mission statement and yet the Erskine Mirror blog is hardly used at all. I also find it funny that the student forum isn't used either. I know that these blogs may not post the issues that we want to discuss but that is one of the best things about blogs; they are two way. You may say "the author of the Mirror blog has to approve comments before they are posted so I don't even bother." It is true that comments must first be approved. My suggestion is to try anyways and let me know if you are rejected. Save your post and if it is respectful, I will be glad to fight for your right to post on a school run blog. I don't know if any of this is actually relevant but I thought I would post it anyways.

here are some sites to look at:
http://erskinemirrorblog.blogspot.com/
http://ishmael.typepad.com/sf/

Question: Is Capitalism compatible with Christianity?