Wednesday, August 13, 2014

We made it!


Annyeonghaseyo! The Married Mansours have made it all the way to South Korea and we are so excited!

It’s been a long journey to get here but after many years of talking about Korea, researching about Korea, and applying to teach in Korea, we made it!

As we write this we are sitting on a charter bus driving from the Incheon International Airport to the Shinyang Park Hotel in Gwangju, about 4 hours away.  We’ve had a long 24+ hours of traveling and we’re exhausted, however we still can’t believe we are here and about to begin orientation tomorrow!

Many people have asked the who, what, where, and why’s about our decision to go to Korea. So before we describe our day of traveling we thought we’d explain ourselves and answer some questions!

Who: Us of course!

What: We are English teachers through the Jeollanamdo Language Program (JLP). This program recruits English speakers from the major English speaking countries (USA, UK, Australia, Ireland…) and places them in the southern most province of Korea called Jeolla. This program is government funded and the teachers work in public schools. 

Where: We specifically were placed in a town called Hwasun, a small town outside of the larger city Gwangju (where our orientation is). So, no, we are not close to Seoul at all, but we are so glad because we are not big city people and are excited to be in a town somewhat similar to ours!




I'm sure there are better pictures of maps..but this is all I could find quickly! 

When: We are contracted to work from August 2014-August 2015 here in Korea. There is always a possibility to stay an extra year, however we have a long time and many things to accomplish until we can even think about making that decision! 

Why: I (Val) got interested in the idea of teaching abroad early in college. Without much convincing, Tyler agreed that experience would be interesting and rewarding. Early on, we looked in to teaching in Taiwan, but it changed to Korea after we met some great Korean friends in college and researched Korea’s programs more. A friend who was teaching in this same program (JLP) referred us to her recruiter and we were set from there! We were going to Korea! As teachers, we know this experience will be very enriching and beneficial to our careers. As people, we know that this experience will help open us our eyes to the world more and allow us to learn and grow!

Well for now this can just be our first blog post and we can write later about our travels…it’s definitely time for bed! Talk to everyone soon!

~Valerie and Tyler 

2 comments:

  1. What an exciting way to start your married life and careers! Momma holds you in her prayers. Loving you…you guys will be seasoned travel guides by the time we come visit:)

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  2. Thank you for your prayers Mom! Loving you! <3

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