Day 5

Attended Admin meeting this morning just to be introduced to some of the business administrators. Prayer and reflection is a very important part of this community and the meeting begins with scripture readings and a reflection of how it can be applied in our dealings with people. This is a totally new experience for me. It does seem to set on calm tone for the meeting, at least to me.

After checking in with Jan, I head to Student Life to meet with Virginia and Craig who will be on the LASA trip with me. I sign the typical forms of release(no turning back now!). We talked about the mission and our activities, schedule, etc. From the schedule I received we will be working at a construction site in the morning and afternoon. We will be taking a break between 10AM-2PM to avoid working during the hottest part of the day. During that time we be able to swim, explore the beach, shops and D'Mall( whatever that is, I am excited to see). After our afternoon work at the site we will meet and go to feeding sites. At these sites, I believe we will be bringing books, medical kits, and vitamins to children who rely on the missions for assistance. While I was there a couple of students came by to hang out a little(Hannah and Chelsea pictured above with Craig). I have had the opportunity to enjoy these spontaneous exchanges with the students and find them refreshing. I guess it is because they are not bringing me a broken laptop! Virginia informed me that she is unsure how secure the Philippine accommodations are and I am still trying to decide if I will bring my laptop to the island. Perhaps it will be best to leave with my other luggage at TCIS. That being said I will be unable to do the daily postings. I will switch to low tech journaling and put to good use the gift from my friends in the Development Office(thanks again!). Quite frankly, I look forward to the break. Keeping this up has been a little more work than I thought it would be. It has, however, filled many sleepless hours, and hope you are enjoying it. I will probably do one post to cover my whole Philippines experience when I get to the Seoul airport(provided I have the energy and a connection). At the very least when I get back stateside.

Set out for a walk after lunch to find a path that John Willoughby had told me about when I first arrived. I have tried to locate it, but have been unable to do so due to darkness in the morning. It doesn't get light until 7AM here.

As I set out I see the lunch wagon, coffee seems to be a big thing in Korea, and apparently goes with anything(previous posts from Seoul - no whiskey served on the street?). As you can see I found the path, what a neat, quiet place tucked in the middle of chaos.

The close up is the building where I have been trying to get some(it is getting better 4AM today) sleep.

Enjoyed a Korean sunset on my way up to have dinner with the Deweys, Grant, Rachel, and their three sons. We are joined by Kirsten a Spanish teacher at TCIS. I can't say enough about the people who have hosted me here at the school. They are so friendly and welcome you into their home so warmly.

Walk back to my apartment with Kirsten. She makes sure that I don't get lost, as the streets in the area are a little confusing to a newbie like me. These people are very thoughtful.

End Day 5