Time passes so quickly here, I've already been here for almost a month. Korea is such a great place though, I already can tell I'm not going to want to go home.
We traveled kind of all around Seoul this week, so I got to see lots of the city. It started off on Thursday, which was our "once every 6 weeks" temple day. The temple days become your Preparation Day, so on that Monday you just email and then get back to work. Anyways, I don't know if any of you have seen the youtube videos of the super crowded Asian trains, but I definitely got to be a part of that this week. The Seoul temple is actually in the Seoul mission, so we had to get on a train that crossed the Han river. It was about 9 am, so it was packed. When the doors open, everyone just uses their body to force their way into the subway. I barely got on, and the doors were about to close, but then a woman jumped in behind me. The worker there had to help push her into the train so the doors could close, but she got in. However, she was completely squished against the door, and I'm almost certain I could hear her gasping for breath behind me. Then the train went on a slight curve and pushed everyone in the train towards our side, and I legitimately thought this lady was going to suffocate because of me. But the curve eventually ended, and sure enough she could breath again, so all was well. I got to ride another "sardine" train again later in the week, my companion and I just end up laughing the whole ride because of how crammed everyone is.
The temple was amazing though, and they have a bookstore there so I got to get some compact Korean scriptures.
Later that day, we went all the way to Gangnam to work with someone that my companion used to teach.
The next morning, we had our interviews with our mission president in Songpa, so our travel expenses were definitely above average this week. Our mission President is so great, and I love the office couple there.
Also this week, I did my first exchanges. The zone leaders actually decided that I would stay in my area and that my companion would go somewhere else, which was initially terrifying because I still don't know my way around very well. But we went over the routes I would take the night before, then I had a great exchange with Elder Barton, one of our zone leaders. The address system in Seoul is crazy, but most missionaries seem to get a hang of it by the end so I still have some hope.
I didn't eat many new foods this week, but I did eat 순대국 (soon-dey-gook), which is pig intestines (and whatever other part of the pig they decide to throw in) in a soup. The texture was definitely new and took some getting used to, but it tasted pretty good. I also ate a bacon cheeseburger this week, but the ingredients probably don't need much explaining.
This week, a member of the Area Quorum of the Seventy came to our ward and spoke, I wasn't exactly sure what he was talking about but I'm taking my companion's word for it that it was a great talk. There was a ward meal after church, which is one of the benefits of being in a small ward. Everyone just brings whichever food they want, and everyone in the ward eats together and has a good time.
Korean is still as hard as it was last week, but I know a little bit more than I did last week, which is what matters. I've begun to realize the importance of setting goals, because it is so much easier to work hard and focus when you have a goal in mind. So I try to focus on how well I want to be able to communicate with the Korean people by the end of my mission, and it helps to keep me studying hard.
And even more important than that, I've learned the importance of missionary goals. Always being conscious of how well I want to be able to know the scriptures, how many people I have reached out to, how unshakable my conversion is, is so helpful when you're tired or discouraged. Missionary work is so rewarding, I definitely recommend it!
I hope you all have a great week!
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