Trip to Seoul

Hello!

Hope everyone is doing well! :) 


I wanted to share with everyone my trip to Seoul yesterday. I went with a couple coworkers and it was a blast! We had a wonderful time! We rode a train to Yongsan station and then rode a Subway to Gyeongbokgung Palace. This palace was built in 1395 and was home to the Kings of the Joseon Dynasty. It was incredible! We walked around the palace grounds and went to the palace museum! Then we went to Itaewon to grab lunch. Itaewon is the international hub of Korea. I saw people from all over the world there and it has restaurants that I am familiar with. We then went to the Korean War Memorial. This place was so neat and it really made me stop and think about those who fight for peoples' freedom and safety. My grandfather, Harry Hughes fought in the Korean War (1950-1953). He was a pilot and flew planes during the war. Seeing this place really put in perspective the sacrifice one must give during war. Thank you grandad for your service. 

Yesterday was full of history and I LOVED it! 

Here are some pictures I took yesterday, both of Gyeoungbokgung Palace and the Korean War Memorial. I hope you enjoy them. :)

This is for you Grandad. Again, thank you for your service. I love you!

For Hailey and Jamie, I met Kwan! He's rather older than I am though! ;) 

Thank you everyone! 

God bless,

Jena 

Starting to Settle In

Hello family and friends,

I hope everyone is healthy and doing well! Glory to God, each week is getting better. Monday of last week was a hard and challenging day. I was exhausted, didn't feel well, and just felt defeated. However, as the week progressed, things got better. I was able to go out on the town last night with a new friend and we had a wonderful time. We went to a couple shopping malls and helped her pick out workout clothes, went to dinner, then ate delicious carrot cake and drank lattes! We are going to try and travel together so we will be starting to plan our adventures here soon. Went to church this morning, and I just felt the LORD'S presence and His love all around me. The people He has placed in my life are truly a blessing. For example, the Pastor's wife is so kind and though I only met her last week, she told me she has been praying for me all week. I have also made new friends at church. Very sweet!! Next Sunday, we are hoping to go to lunch after church.

So this week, I only have to teach Monday and  Tuesday. It is Chuseok. Chuseok is like a Korean Thanksgiving. Everyone travels to be with their relatives. It's going to be nice having a 5 day weekend!! I'm hoping to go to Seoul next weekend with a coworker! We are in the process of trying to figure something out.

Anyways, here a few pictures I took yesterday while on a 2 mile run and then when I was meeting up with Jaclyn for dinner. :) Thank you all for your prayers! I miss and love you all!

God bless,


Jena

First Week of Teaching

Greetings family and friends!

I hope the start to your September is going well! Fall is coming and that means cooler temperatures...hallelujah! It's been pretty warm here but we did get a touch of cooler weather at the beginning of the week when a Typhoon skimmed us. It was heading north from Taiwan. That weather was really nice. 

Anyways...I made it through the first week of teaching. I am exhausted. I go to work between 10-10:30 am and I teach in the afternoon except on Mondays when I have a couple morning classes. I usually leave around 8:30 pm at night. Last night was a pretty late night, but overall it was a good first week. I teach Kindergarten in the morning on Mondays, 2nd grade Language Arts and Social Studies, 4th grade reading, writing, grammar, debate, and a project based learning class, 5th grade Literature, Journalism, and debate. Haha it's hard to keep all these classes straight. I do enjoy the students though. They are funny and so sweet and they are so smart!! I especially love hearing 'Jena Teacher' from the little Kindergartners. I look forward to teaching all my students and watching them improve. I still need to learn all their names...in time I'll learn them. However, Friday was very rough day. I was tired and grumpy...but we all made it through. I thank God for that. I wouldn't be able to do all this without Him. "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." ~Phil. 4:13. Thank you everyone for all your love, prayers, and support. I truly appreciate it. 

I've also gotten really close with one of my co-workers, Christie. She is like my Korea mama or older sister. lol She has taken me under her wing and I am so thankful and blessed to have her. On Monday after my first day of teaching, she and I met up with one of her close friends and the three of us went out to dinner and had a wonderful time. We also went to this bagel shop...it was soooooo good. I got a plain bagel with cookies and cream whipped cream cheese. YUMMY! It was nice to let down and just enjoy each other's company. 

Here are a few pictures of the city and there's a picture of me eating Bibimbap; a famous Korean dish. It's made of rice, various vegetables, meat, and a spicy sauce. It is very good! Also, a couple of the pictures (the sunset pictures) were taken when I was on the bus driving from the airport to Cheonan. 

Thank you everyone for your prayers. Miss you and love you all!

God Bless,

Jena 

Week 1

Hello friends and family!

I hope everyone is doing well! I was going to update my blog next weekend after my first week of teaching, but I had some time this morning before church. The past week I have been training at Poly Magnet school. It has been great! My coworkers are so kind and helpful! I am very blessed and thankful to have them. My students are so adorable!!! In Korea, they don't say Ms. Hughes. They say Jena Teacher. So as I walk the halls of the school, I often times hear some of the students yelling "Jena Teacher" "Jena Teacher" and they run up and give me a hug...so cute!!! Additionally, the whole week, I was living in a hotel. My apartment wasn't ready yet, but it was fine because the hotel was about a 2 minute walk from the school. Yesterday (Saturday), I moved into my new apartment, unpacked...FINALLY, and walked around the neighborhood for a while in the evening. Here are a few pictures of my apartment and a picture of the buildings across the street. The clouds are really cool! 

Moving to a new place let alone a new culture and country that doesn't speak your language is very difficult. There have been moments of loneliness and tears. It's uncomfortable and scary, but God doesn't want me to be comfortable. I've been working on leaning on Him especially in those moments. It's been challenging but it's brought me even closer to Him. 

As I begin my first day and week of teaching, can you please keep me in your prayers?? There is a lot to remember and do and I am praying that God would help me not get too overwhelmed. I need to remember He is there with me always. Please pray that I remember I don't have to be the "perfect" teacher, I just need to do the best I can. I am here for a reason so I will do this with a heart for God and a way to serve Him and His kingdom. 

Thank you friends and family!! Love you all. 

God bless,

Jena