Fall is here!

Well as ashamed a I am to admit this.. it has been another month.. and I'm finally updating again.. but I have to say that this whole blogging thing isn't something I'm used to and it's a lot harder than I thought it would be to keep consistent updates. So, for that, I'm sorry!
So as I just said, it has been exactly 2 months (today!) since I have been in Korea.. and I honestly can't believe it. This month flew by! It makes me think that the rest of this year will probably do the same. I have finally gotten into a pretty good routine with most things and keeping very busy! I just started taking my Korean language class last week, so now I can read most Korean words, even though it takes me a while sometimes. The Ulsan Education Center is providing all the foreign teachers with these classes for free, meeting twice a week for two hours each time; it's such a good opportunity and I'm really happy to be learning more than just the very essential/ basic words. I can even spell my name now!
얄리슨 !!! haha.. not that that means anything to any of you, but I am excited. :)
Well, I have been travelling a lot on the weekends; trying to see as many people and things that I can. I actually went to Busan twice since the last time I wrote in here (it's so close and it's such a big city that it's a pretty popular destination). But I also went to visit a friend on an island off of Busan a couple weekends ago, which was beautiful! Last weekend, we went for a Fireworks Festival and, wow. That was just about one of the coolest things I have ever seen. We sat on the beach, overlooking the ocean where the fireworks were being set off (on the water) with a beautiful bridge behind it. The show easily put every Fourth of July display that I have ever seen to shame. It lasted for about an hour and was accompanied by music and a light show as well.. simply amazing, and a good reminder that I'm in Asia. haha..
I am still liking the food a lot, except for the occasional fish soup.. but my favorite food is called bibimbop, and it is basically just rice with a bunch of different vegetables and a little touch of a sauce that gives it more flavor, but you mix it all together and it's reallly good. I also like kimbop which is kind of like california rolls, except you can buy a whole roll for $1, so it's really cheap and tasty- you can also find it on just about every street corner! :)
It's finally starting to feel like fall here! The leaves are just starting to turn and the temperature is cooling down. I love it. :) I just want to spend all my time outside! Apparantly it usually gets cooler a lot earlier in the year than this, but they all blame it on global warming (the earth is sick, as one student put it). I also found out that they celebrate Christmas here very similarly to the way we do in America! They even have Christmas trees and decorations and everything.. I was kind of surprised by that, but I'm glad!
And speaking of Christmas... I am officially coming home for the holiday!!! YAY! I will get home on Christmas Eve and then be in the states until January 4th.. it worked out perfectly with my schedule here and my allotted time off, etc. Also, I am especially excited because I will be in Christie's wedding; (which is the primary reason I wanted to get home) it's not something I could imagine missing... so I am very thankful that it all worked out! I'm sure that that time will be a whirlwind of events, and reverse culture shock.. but I'm more than sure it will all be worth it. :)
Well, this is getting a bit long, so I will sign off for now.. but again.. I love you all so much and still feel your prayers on a daily basis, so thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope all is well with each of you. Feel free to write me more personally if you want! (Believe it or not, I'm usually pretty good at responding to emails) My email is allison.n.fritz@gmail.com. Oh and I have put a lot of pictures up on facebook, but I will try to get some up on here soon too!

Sarangheyo, 살란데요 Much love.
Anneonghigayseo. ㅇ나녀힠세요 Goodbye :)

Finaaaally... Sorry for the delay!

Wow. I'm sooo incredibly sorry to those of you who have been waiting for a post from me... it has been about one month exactly since I got to Korea, and guess what? I just got internet at my apartment today! So I finally have some time to work on this lovely blog. (:  Sooo, now the hard part is figuring out how to begin... there is so much to tell! I will try to just pick a few of the highlights so I don't bore you to death!  

My new home. Despite the fact this blog is called allisoninBUSAN..., haha, turns out I'm living in Ulsan, the industrial capital of South Korea. I found out the week that I was leaving that Busan (my first choice) had been filled up and they moved me to my second choice placement (Ulsan). But I am more than convinced that God had this all planned out far before I knew anything.. the school, the kids, my co-teacher, even the other teachers on staff at my school and the other english teachers in my city... I have been so incredibly blessed so far with amazing people and friends already.  I have so much to be thankful for.  My apartment is really nice, it came furnished with an american style bed, desk, table and chairs, tv, and apparently is a lot bigger than some of the other teacher's apartments!  I even have my own walk-in closet.. who would have guessed??  I live about three minutes (walking) from my school and I am pretty much in the heart of the city, so it's pretty easy to get around on the busses and everything.  Oh and that's another thing! I'm living in a city for the first time ever, so the bus, taxi, people everywhere thing has taken some getting used to! But I am getting really comfortable with all of it, so that's good.

My co-teacher. She is amazingly wonderful.  She is a Christian and reminds me of mom sometimes (:  She is sooo sweet and goes out of her way for me all the time.  She tries so hard to make sure everything is perfect for me. It has also been her job to make sure I get settled (internet, cell phone, alien registration card, bank account, etc. etc.) And let me tell you... that has not been an easy list of things to attain... we have spent many, many hours together working on this 'essential' stuff, and I know she is exhausted.  I'm pretty sure she doesn't get any extra benefits (money or anything) for doing all this either.  She is such a blessing.  One short story... the first week I was here, I didn't have hot water yet, because the gas wasn't turned on in my apartment.  Well, I mentioned it to her, just to see if she knew who to talk to. And when we asked the owner of my apartment, she said it would be at least a few days.  A couple days later, my co-teacher showed up at my door before school, unexpected!, and came in and said "Oh! I took a cold shower this morning to see what you have been going through and it was terrible! If we don't get this fixed today, you will come to my home to shower tonight!" Haha, it just made me smile.  She took me out to eat last night at the Outback Steakhouse, which was quite a treat... mmmm sooo good.  (:  Oh and she tells me about all the important nutrients all the korean food has... I get a lesson at lunch every day!! Haha, believe it or not... even the soup with the little fish in it is good for you because the fish are so small you can eat their bones and that has calcium in it... haha. maybe I didn't want to know that.

friends. I have made a few really good friends (other native english speaking teachers) and they have been a blessing also. They have been so much fun to hang out with and share stories with and I think we help keep each other sane sometimes.. haha.  We have been exploring around our city some, but a group of us also went to Busan last weekend, which was a lot of fun! We got to swim in the ocean, sing in the norebang (karaoke), and kind of experience a public bath house and a 'love motel.' All those elements made quite the adventure... haha. If you would like to hear more about any of those things, I would be more than happy to share! 

Well, I love you all! Thank you for your prayer and support. I am so thankful for you!

allison

I have survived my first week in Ulsan!

written on September 1, 2008

wow. i feel like.. crazy. this is crazy. i am reaally in a different country now and i think im experiencing a little bit of culture shock. i think that started to happen about 5 minutes after i was seperated from all the english speaking people. haha. but its good! i live in the middle of an alley right down the street from my school, but i really like my place, its a small, studio apartment, but everything in there is new and clean. i have a twin sized bed (a little hard.. but okay) and a desk, table and two chairs. oh yeah, they also provided me with a brand new rice cooker. i guess you know when your in asia when.... haha.

i just found out today that i dont think i am going to have internet in my apt until sept 20.. i didnt really understand why, but there was a reason. haha. there are these places called pc bangs that you can pay to use the internet, so thats where i am right now. its a little smokey and noisy, but its okay.

my co-teacher is what the koreans call an ajuma.. a woman who is middle aged, but has no granchildren (or children in this case) so they are considered the "most powerful beings on the planet" because they haven't been softened by motherhood i guess. haha. she is definitely an ajuma, although very sweet and very helpful. she took me to the store yesterday to find some of the essentials and then we went to lunch and ran some other errands. today she took me to the sea, which, by the way, do not be mistaken.. is NOT the sea of Japan.. haha. the koreans call it something else and apparantly get mad when the japanese claim it.. hahaha. so anyway. we also saw some old military smoke towers and then went out to dinner. i dont know what she ordered, but it was seriously a feast. for two of us! i stuffed myself as much as i could, and then she ordered some kind of rice soup... i was like, lady. seriously. you are gonna kill me. we were at a more traditional restaurant where you sit on the floor and we sat there for about an hour and a half.. im not gonna lie, i was in serious pain.. haha i dont know how they do it! i have made about 3 trips to the lottemart, which is like a walmart, so far, because i dont have any of the essential things. (towels, a plate, a bowl, food...) but luckily its only about a 20 minute walk from my apartment, so i haven't had to face the challenge of the taxi or bus yet.

my apartment is already starting to feel like home; im happy about that. a lot fewer people here speak english than i kind of was anticipating.. i think my only option is to learn korean. ha. although my principal said he wanted to start studying english so that he could talk to me, it was sweet. but in the grocery store and around the town, im pretty much left to sign language and charades.. i also found out that only 4 teachers at my school speak english, so that should also be interesting. well i guess i should go, i need to get some sleep before tomorrow, we have to go to school, but classes don't actually start until tuesday. my co-teacher and i are going to do some planning i think. i love you so much! and i hope everything is wonderful at home. i wish we could skype, but i don't think that can happen until i have internet at my place.. so ill let you know. until then, the pc bang will have to do. i love you! keep me in your prayers this week.

Getting Prepped and Pumped...

As I sit here at my parent's house in Spokane, Washington; I am soaking up every bit of quiet, comfort, and relaxation that I can before I leave for Korea. I have ten days..and counting.. before I leave. My departure date has come much faster than I thought it would! This time at home is kind of like taking a deep breath before the whirlwind of events ahead of me. I am also working hard to get everything finished before I leave. These things include finishing the visa application process, getting my plane ticket, packing, and some other miscellaneous things. I am also trying to prepare myself mentally for my move. I know that it will be a BIG change from my life here... mostly I am trying to go into everything with an optimistically open mind!

If you could keep me in your prayers...
That I recieve all the documents that I need in the mail before I leave
That I can pack everything that I will need
That I can enjoy and soak up this time with family before I leave

Much love,
Allison

PS. If you follow the link, you will find a website that tells you all about Busan, the city I will live in!
http://english.busan.go.kr/main/