Perseverance

And so it begins, another week of school.

This time is different than last, better, because the sounds of laughing and talking children now fill the halls again. I didn't realize how much I would miss not teaching last week, but I really did.Despite the fact that I've only got one day of teaching done since I've been here, it was so different, not having kids around the school last week. I mean, there were some good points, because I got to clean and organize my classroom in peace, but still, it just doesn't feel quite like a school without kids running around everywhere.



It was interesting to see how they are dealing with the 'new influenza' and the return of the students. As each student arrived at the school today, they had to have their temperature checked, to make sure they weren't sick. There were teachers at every door doing this, to make sure that no one got through without being checked.

Today begins another round of introducing myself, and having tons of students want to talk to me and ask me questions. I should get used to it, I guess, since I'll have to be doing this all week. Out of the 24 different classes I teach, I've really only met 4 of them, so I've got some catching up to do. I think that next week things should be calmed down, at least a little bit, because they students will all have met me by then.

So yesterday, I met up with some other english teachers in Suwon, to just hang out for the day. The plans were to go see the Hwaseong Fortress that is there. Now, since I'm obviously new to the country, I had no idea really what to expect. Well, we get there (which was a whole story in itself :P I took the metro for the first time...and on my own) and I discover that the plans are to walk around the whole wall of the fortress (it's about 3.6 miles). I didn't think anything of it really, it would be cool to see the city and stuff. Two things I was not aware of though: the length of the wall, and the height of the mountain we would be climbing at the end. Sure, I guess that 3.6 miles isn't really that long...maybe if it was just a straight smooth walk. But this was miles of a twisting fortress wall, going up hill and down hill and on somewhat rough terrain. I stuck it out though, and had some good conversations along the way, it wasn't that bad to walk.

And then...we get to the climb. Now, maybe if we hadn't just walked 2.5 miles, it would have been easier for me....or maybe not. (I found out later that it was an 800 foot climb) But as the rain started to come down, I looked up to see the steep hill we were about to climb, followed by many many steps. (Jamie, if you're reading this...I think I found my new hill of life :P) Honestly, I was not looking forward to this climb, but I knew that at the top, it was supposed to be a beautiful view. And besides that, I felt that if I stopped at that point, it would have been a waste to do the rest of it. So I started climbing, and climbing, and climbing. It's not a secret that I'm not the most athletic person, so this was a bit of a challenge for me. The others in my group were easily doing better than me, and I felt that at times I was holding them back. They were very patient though, using my slow times to catch up on their own breathing.:P I had to stop quite a few times, unsure if I would make it, but I knew I had to keep going. If I pushed myself, I could make it. And then I saw it...the end of the climb.

I pushed a little more, and I made it. It was seriously one of the toughest climbs I've done in quite some time. But in the end, I could say that I made it, I didn't give up...even though I wanted to at many points. And Mia was right, the view from the top was spectacular. It was hard to believe that I had actually climbed all the way up there. From the post were were at, you could see most of the city of Suwon, it was beautiful. By this time, it was dark outside, but the city was all lit up, which was pretty awesome.

That was a huge accomplishment for me, and I'm pretty sure I would not have done it by myself. So to my fellow english teachers/climbers: thanks for sticking to it, and waiting for me :P Yeah, I guess that sounds cheesy, but this really was a big thing for me, to be able to do it. My friends back home would agree, once we get some pictures up and you see how far this climb was.

So, I persevered, and in the end, saw the reward of my climb, both on the inside and out. And I as think on that one word, perseverance, I know that I will need to do that a lot in the next year. I'm sure there will be times that I want to quit, but I must keep going. I think it was great to do this climb so close to the start of my trip, because now I can look back on it, and remember that I can keep going, no matter what I'm climbing against. If I can make that physical climb, then I know that God is going to help me through any emotional or mental climbs I must endure while I'm here.

And so....I continue to persevere.