Update

Hello everyone!

It may seem like a long time since we've sent out an e-mail. That would be because it has been a long time since we've sent out an e-mail. Things have been really good here so far this year and it's funny how things like e-mails and blog posts and whatnot can just fall by the wayside.

As Julie Andrews has taught us so well, when we're going to start somewhere we should probably start at the beginning. Since it seems like such a very good place to start, that's exactly where I shall begin.

Emily and I both arrived safely in Korea, I on August 22 and Emily on September 3. My job orientation went really well and I met a lot of really neat people. The sessions were useful and (generally) interesting, which I guess was a first. I hung out with a group of people from England and we played a lot of soccer and had an overall good time. The facilities were sufficient (not amazing, but apparently good enough to write home about) and the food was well thought out. It began with a lot of western style food and a little bit of Korean food and ended the 10 days with mostly Korean food and a little bit of western food, which should help with the cultural adjustment for the people new to the nation.

Emily arrived on my first day back in Gwangju (our city) and so we walked into our new apartment together for the first time. I'm glad that we were together - alone, that thing would have eaten us alive. The previous occupants had left a fair amount of "stuff" behind in their apartment and the moths/ants had taken leave to move in. It was a few days of cleaning and some new furniture, but now it looks smashing and we really enjoy it. It's a good size and it's in a great neighborhood.

I am teaching at two different middle schools (junior high) - Yong Bong and Buk Sung middle school, for those of you familiar with the area. They're a little far from home, but both schools are fantastic. The people I work with are amazing and I love the students. Their English level is certainly lower than the students I worked with last year, which presents a special challenge. However, they really are neat kids. I teach grade nines at my Monday/Tuesday school (Yong Bong) and 7 & 8's at my Wednesday/Thursday/Friday school (Buk Sung). I work with a total of seven different co-teachers and they're all gold.

Emily's been continuing her degree through IBOLT and that has been going well. She's been keeping busy with it and never ceases to amaze me with how disciplined and productive she is. On top of her full time studies, she also maintains the apartment and does most of the cooking. She's been enjoying her courses, which is good.

Church has been also going well. We've been back at the same church as last year, so it's good to be with all the people we know and love again. We haven't gotten involved as of yet, but we're likely to start doing something soon.

The weather here has been absolutely fantastic. Fall in Korea is gorgeous - weather in the mid 20's (Celsius), leaves turning brilliant shades of yellow, brown and red and the occasional rainfall. It's the best time of year here. As of today, the weather is still around 20 - 25 degrees in the day and about 1/2 of the trees have actually changed or lost their leaves.

My schedule has been blissfully erratic thus far. I've been working for about 9 weeks so far and have only had 3 five-day weeks. There's been sports days, exams, picnic days, school festivals, camps, singing competitions and other such things to liven up a regular schedule.

We also have our address and phone number ready and working. I got a cell phone (my first one ever!) so if you want any of that information, send an e-mail to either myself or Emily and we'll let you know.

To sum it up, this year is even better than last year was. We're really experiencing God's blessing here and we love it. We do love and miss our friends and family in Canada, but we're also making a life for ourselves here.

Please do drop a line sometime as it's always great to hear from people back home. An unfortunate part of my working during the days is the fact that I can only phone Canada on weekends due to the time difference - Canada is working while we're sleeping and I'm working while Canadians everywhere are enjoying their evening. Emily is home most of the time during the days, though, so feel free to phone anytime. Well, not anytime - do the mental math conversion of time zones and figure it out first. Then please do call! We are sixteen hours ahead now, with daylight savings time.

We love and miss all of you very much. God bless!

Jon

PS: We are perfectly safe here and feel no danger or threat from anything happening on the northern side of the Korean border. Rest assured!