Well, there it is. I'm officially a documented and registered alien here in the Republic of Korea. After several of us new faculty picked up our registration cards at the Immigration Office, we were then driven by Ms. Iris Kim, from the University's International Affairs Office, to Good Samaritan Hospital where we all underwent the routine medical exam which we were told would only take 20 minutes -- that's 20 minutes for each of the six of us -- so we ended up spending the next two hours walking about the hospital from department to department -- blood pressure, EKG, eye exam, hearing exam, dental exam, chest X-ray, blood and urine tests.
They are very thorough. They even checked my blood pressure three times since on the first two attempts my reading was a bit on the high side -- 157/82 at first. The nurse thought I might have had too big of a breakfast (I'd made myself two eggs fried, bacon and toast -- a good Western breakfast, right?) On the third try, I was down in the 120's/80's range. The nurse looked at me and said, "OK, you pass."
After completing our medical exams, we had planned to go by the local bank and open account, but several of my colleagues had to get back for departmental meetings. Those of us who need to do our banking will be heading back to town tomorrow morning. On the whole, it was a nice little outing. Prof. Harry Jee was along again, and three new English language faculty from Canada -- a couple, George and Nancy, and Debi van Duin, all from Winnipeg.
This morning at our first faculty chapel, I was warmly greeted by a dear older sister, Gayle Henrotte, from San Francisco. She is such an encouraging soul -- she could be Helen Horn's twin sister! Pastor Young Hwang preached a challenging message from James 1:5-8 and reminded us that wisdom comes only from God, not through the intellectual capabilities of humans. Handong is a place of learning, yes, but even more important is gaining the wisdom of God for living responsibly in the here and now!
The service concluded with an extended time of intercessory prayer and the hearty singing of "More Love For Thee." What a way to start a day! Each day I'm encouraged by the vitality of life here. I'm experiencing in deeper ways the reality of life together under the Word.
They are very thorough. They even checked my blood pressure three times since on the first two attempts my reading was a bit on the high side -- 157/82 at first. The nurse thought I might have had too big of a breakfast (I'd made myself two eggs fried, bacon and toast -- a good Western breakfast, right?) On the third try, I was down in the 120's/80's range. The nurse looked at me and said, "OK, you pass."
After completing our medical exams, we had planned to go by the local bank and open account, but several of my colleagues had to get back for departmental meetings. Those of us who need to do our banking will be heading back to town tomorrow morning. On the whole, it was a nice little outing. Prof. Harry Jee was along again, and three new English language faculty from Canada -- a couple, George and Nancy, and Debi van Duin, all from Winnipeg.
This morning at our first faculty chapel, I was warmly greeted by a dear older sister, Gayle Henrotte, from San Francisco. She is such an encouraging soul -- she could be Helen Horn's twin sister! Pastor Young Hwang preached a challenging message from James 1:5-8 and reminded us that wisdom comes only from God, not through the intellectual capabilities of humans. Handong is a place of learning, yes, but even more important is gaining the wisdom of God for living responsibly in the here and now!
The service concluded with an extended time of intercessory prayer and the hearty singing of "More Love For Thee." What a way to start a day! Each day I'm encouraged by the vitality of life here. I'm experiencing in deeper ways the reality of life together under the Word.
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