The Bible, Soccer and Fruit

I start this post with an apology for the lack of creativity in the accompanying title.  Although in the simplicity of the the title there is also significance.  For two weeks I have lived in Korea, and I am settling in well and getting into a routine.  The routine is similar to what I did in the states, but it's the little details of this new life that are drastically different.  I have been very cognizant of these little details over the past week, and that is what I'm sharing with you this evening.  

One detail that I learned about today during orientation is biblically-integrated lesson plans.  I am so excited to have the privilege to connect the Bible and God into what I am teaching daily.  I don't know about each of you, but the orderliness, preciseness and beauty of mathematics propels me to glorify God even more for His glorious creation! There are many, many other ways that God and math can be connected - this is what I get to explain as I am teaching!

Soccer. Yeah, it's a big deal in Korea just like the rest of the world, besides the USA.  In case you haven't pay attention to Korean olympics, Korea was one of the top four finalist.  Unfortunately Korea lost to Brazil.  However, on August 11th at 3AM my time, Korea and Japan will play for the Bronze.  I sure hope we beat Japan!  Besides the olympics, I played soccer today - teachers-against-students style (kind of).  My opposing team was PICS (Pyeongtaek International Christian School) high school boys.  The team I played with consisted mostly of teachers, but we had a few high school students from the local youth group play too (these students attend Osan High School on the Air Force Base in Songtan).  I'm pretty sure that the teacher team won!  It was a blast, and very exciting to meet some youth!

On my way home from the game, I walked through the market and bought some yummy foreign fruit!  The market is open on days that end with a 4 or a 9.  Going to market is a pretty fun adventure with tons of unfamiliar food crammed under tents that are almost on top of each other.  I have noticed a yellow fruit that looks like a squash for a while now and so today I decided to try it! It's name sounds like 'cha-meh' and is pictured below.

I peeled the skin with a potato peeler then just ate the rest of the fruit, seeds and all.  It is crunchy like a red delicious apple, and tastes a little like cantaloupe.  Very yummy and refreshing especially after a hot game of 'chew-goo'.

There are a couple other details that I've noticed the past few weeks that I wanted to tell you about, so here's a bulleted list below:
- Living near an air force base is very loud.
- Banana milk is yummy!
- I can find my favorite toothpaste here and Pantene ProV hair products!
- The kids of fellow co-workers are super fun to play with! ;)
- Running on trails is the best!
- Red Japanese sweet potatoes are just as good as regular sweet potatoes.

That's all the random things I can think of right now.  School starts next Wednesday, and I'm very excited and nervous.  Please pray that our staff is prepared and we always remember that we are here to minister to our students along with providing a high quality education.  Pray for the relationships I will begin to form with students.

Thanks for reading my blog.  I pray that God is blessing you and working in your life! Good luck to all my teacher friends and/or students who are preparing to start school too!