Jet Lag and More

WE MADE IT!!!! I sit writing this at the end of our first full day in Korea, and I'm exhausted as all get out. Supper is sitting on the stove waiting for us, and Shannon's busy decorating the apartment, but it's been a pretty wild trip.
First thing's first: to anyone who's never spent 14 hours on an airplane - try it. You'll never complain about a really long car trip ever again. I'd much rather sit crammed into the back seat of a car on a 14 hour road trip than be stuck on an airplane for that long, and the reason why is simple: in a car, when you make a rest stop, you actually have room to move around when you stretch your legs. On an airplane (especially when you're a big guy like me), stretching your legs involves navigating a very narrow aisle without bumping into people who are inexplicably able to sleep.
Anyway, after the plane ride, we were picked up at the airport by our boss, Mr. Park. He's a lovely man, if a little difficult to understand, as his English is a little broken and we're not fully acclimatized to the Korean accent. He brought us to our apartment (of which we will be posting pictures on facebook) where we started to get settled in and met the girl we're replacing, Jennifer, who is also a very lovely person. She gave us a little overview of what to expect as we get started, and this morning she and her boyfriend Greg showed us around the neighbourhood so we could get an idea of where to go to get things like groceries (and where work was, as well). Then this afternoon, we got to see the inside of the school and sit in on our first classes to get an idea of what we will be doing for the next year. The kids seem awesome and the material is really straightforward (probably thanks to Graeme's TESL class) so I don't think work will be too difficult.
After our first day in Korea, I have a lot of respect for people who come to North America who don't know much (if any) English. We North Americans often have far less patience with culture-shocked tourists than the Korean people do. Everywhere we went, people were very understanding and very kind. It should make the adjustment to foreign life quite a bit easier, but I can't wait until I know more Korean so I can communicate at least enough to show some respect to these people who are so kind.
We would ask for some extra prayer over the next few weeks as we overcome jet lag and culture shock and settle into our jobs all at the same time.