Annyong Haseyo!

Annyong haseyo (Hello)!


Your Korean phrase of the blog:
Hangugma-reul chom hae-yo (Hahn-guuk-mah-ruhl-chome hay-yoh)
Translation: I don't understand Korean.


Sarah and I have started packing, and have been making our rounds to say goodbye for now before we head off to South Korea for 1 year. The idea behind this blog is to post pictures, share stories, and try to keep in touch with all of our friends and family. Also, if anyone has any questions about our trip, at any time, just e-mail us, and we can post some of the questions and answers right here.

Sarah's email address is: sarahoreto@gmail.com
Troy's email address is: troy.harkin@gmail.com

Actually, I can answer some questions that Sarah and I have received since we decided we were going to teach English in South Korea.

Question: ARE YOU REALLY?!
Answer: Yes, we really are.

Q: Where are you going to live?
A: We are going to live in Gwangju, also called Kwangju. It is currently the 5th largest city in South Korea. The picture located on the page right now is actually a shot of night-life in Gwangju. Gwangju is located in the southern tip of South Korea, in the Chollanam-do province.

















Q: Where will you stay?
A: The school provides housing at an apartment of sorts just 10 mins walking distance from the school where we will teach.

Q: Who will you be teaching?
A: We will be teaching children, teenagers, and possibly adults. The name of our school is the Oedae (pronounced Oh-Ay-Dye) Language Institute.

Q: Can you speak Korean?
A: Not fluently. Right now, Troy is learning common phrases to get us started.

Q: But don't you need to speak Korean in order to teach Korean people English?
A: There is staff that will be assisting us during class who are native Korean speakers. Also, there are teachers from other native english speaking countries (Great Britain, Australia) who have been teaching for over a year now, and we are sure they will help us learn.

Q: Is this some sort of missionary work?
A: No. We are going to be paid a salary by the school and our primary purpose there is to help people learn English.


Well, time to get back to packing. We will update this on a regular basis (we are going to try once every 2 weeks). Hope everyone stays well while we are gone.

Anyong-hi kyeseyo!

- Troy and Sarah