Sunday, August 30, 2009

Soul 2 Seoul!

안녕하세요, 영의 세계!

Translation...

Hello, YoungWorld!

Yep, it's your MainMan, OuttaBoundz, givin' y'all a shout from Daejeon, South Korea!

...yes, indeed, I am currently 14 hours away from the Time Zone of my birth...and I can feel every bit of the difference. But, alas, difference is GOOD...because, in this case, difference is GROWTH. I have decided to "climb outta the crib" (so to speak) and take a look around the world for the next year. I'll be teaching English at a local high school in the City of Daejeon. But, as I TEACH...I'm sure I'll be LEARNING just as much about South Korea, the City of Daejeon, Korean culture and customs, AND....myself!

Without a doubt, the decision to come to South Korea took MUCH soul-searching. To date, it was probably the most soul-searching I've done. But, every so often, I find myself craving a new challenge...and this is the challenge God has presented me with at this point. So, here I am. Ready to accept. I DO NOT know WHY, but I DO know that I am here now....and it is definitely for a reason. And one reason that is pretty easy to figure is to be a looking-glass for all these ghettoGEEKS back in the States! So, y'all stay tuned...and make sure you got ghettoGEEKS bookmarked...'cause we are going to continue tradition and keep bringin' you that "MachineGunFunk" the only way we know how!

So, let's start now....

Don't take the phrase "Follow your Heart" lightly.

I have attempted to do just that for much of my life...and when I look back, it has not been to my detriment. It has actually been to my benefit. In MANY instances, it will take courage...and some people will call you "crazy." To be honest, I thought was "crazy as hell" for jumpin' on the series of flights to get here...but guess what? I kept jumpin'.

...and I landed on my feet...and then I put one foot in front of the other...and went to Jeonju University for ESL training...and then to Daejeon....and then to PC World....where I then walked to a computer....and sent this message to all of you! Moral? Keep walkin'...keep goin'....don't stop!

I've only been in the country for four (4) days at this point. Once I get myself situated, and I get my camera and computer operable, I'll be sending photos and such to all y'all ghettoGEEKS StateSide!

Onward.....March!

WeBeGeekin'
www.ghettogeekin.blogspot.com

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Goodluck professor!!

Anonymous said...

Dr. Durham,

Thank you for the update! Actually, when I was about two years old, my parents
and I were in South Korea while my father worked for Raytheon on assignment
there.

Right now I'm working part-time and taking my third speech course with HCC.
After Fundamentals, I took Business and Professional Speaking and completed
it. Now I am taking Interpersonal Communication.

Thank you again for helping with my learning and professional development.

Best Wishes,

Maurice

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!

R. Flores

Anonymous said...

Well, this is really good! I hope you learn a new language and get familiar with the things that can help you out and benefit you. Have a good year!

Anonymous said...

Good luck to you in your endeavors! My brother teaches out there, I will contact him & see if he has any advice or insight on restaurants, culture, anything. Be safe & I look forward to the blog! -Cecilia

Anonymous said...

Glad you made it to Korea! This is P. Garner from speech 1311. Enjoy your time in Korea.

Anonymous said...

Good luck teach have fun enjoy the experience

Anonymous said...

Cool have a lot of fun. And keep in touch with us.

Anonymous said...

Wow that's exciting, all the best.

Anonymous said...

안녕하세요 An-yŏng-ha-se-yo. Hello!
잘 지내셨어요? Chal ji-nae-shŏ-ssŏ-yo? How are you?
(have you still been learning?)

Wow! It seems like you've been pretty busy so far getting adjusted. I think I have heard of Incheon and Daejeon but I'm not too familiar with it. I know it's a bit away from Soeul though. Is your apartment nice? I'm not too sure how your apartment is set up but from what I've seen of pictures or things on Youtube, Korean apartment rooms may be smaller but they look homey (sp?). But if it's just you living there then it should be nice.

Oh! And I didn't realize you would be teaching at a high school. Since you don't know too much Korean then should I assume that these students know some English? Otherwise communication would seem difficult for you and them. It seems really interesting though. I kind of wanted to go to Korea to teach English too (I got an email from school or some website advertising that like last year).

On a side note, I started my Japanese 101 course for this semester. That just adds on to the languages I want to learn. Hopefully one day I will be able to speak Vietnamese (more so than I know now), Mandarin, Japanese, and KOREAN!

Well I hope you're still doing okay. When you get pictures and such I'll try to find them on your blog It was great hearing from you!

행운을 빕니다! Hang-u-nŭl bim-ni-da! Good luck!
Courtney

Anonymous said...

Best wishes in South Korea.

Anonymous said...

Best of luck to you Dr. Durham!

First football game today v. New Mexico.

I'll keep you posted on that.

-Jeff