Korea!

Ceci raised the money to buy a ticket to Korea with an organized group going to teach English. Once there, the Korean government paid for (mostly) everything else. She knew only one friend from school, Ava, who had been on a couple of these English-teaching trips before. Both were very adventurous to take such a trip, on their own, at 12-years-old!

We made a pillowcase for her to snuggle with at night, knowing that would be her most vulnerable time.

We felt very peaceful about her having this experience, although saying goodbye at the airport always feels a little vulnerable!

We watched her until she was out of sight.

We didn't hear anything for a few days. We were told she would be able to call us regularly to check in. We figured the first night in the hostel, the travel to the university where they would be staying, and other events may be delaying the check in. Then we got this on Facebook:

UPDATE: We had a GREAT day today in Seoul eating, shopping and having fun together. EVERYONE is really tired and by the time we got to the dorms it was near midnight. The rooms were/are hot, there is some mold and spiders in the rooms. This is normal here in Korea, however, we will make this issue better tomorrow. Many of the kids (and a teacher or two) were emotional, some due to the heat, homesickness instantly set in, and then of course sleep deprivation. IF you hear from your child, do NOT panic. We will work on making them as comfortable as possible. They are in total panic not having 24/7 WiFi, but this is a good thing!!! Please do not allow or encourage your child to have phone and internet access the whole time they are here. Please help with the following:

1. If your child calls concerned or upset, remember this is a NEW experience and it will improve over the days. Please encourage them to enjoy the experience and life sometimes is different or more difficult than expected. This is a great life lesson.

2. Please do NOT worry, your children are in good hands and will be well taken care of. If you feed into it, then they will have a more difficult time adjusting.

3. It is hot and the air conditioners are set to run just certain times. We are asking for this to be fixed as it is too hot to be in our rooms with no air.

4. Spiders...moms calm down. This is normal here, they are harmless, but still spiders. I will buy some spray tomorrow and spray all of the rooms :)

5. Cleanliness. This is unusual for Koreans to not have clean rooms, but clearly they were not well prepared for us. They have many camps and things going on in many dorms. We will be sure the rooms are cleaned, or we will clean them ourselves tomorrow.

6. PLEASE do NOT keep trying to contact your children many times per day. Their phones will be taken. They cannot have them in class or during campus activities. Students need to be a part of whats going on here and serving. That's what we came for :)

So it's been a rough first night and from some of the parents i see online right now they are probably chatting with their kids.

Your kids NEED to be in bed and sleep when asked to so they can have the energy and stamina for our long days.

The tears now are of adjustment the tears at the end will be of joy and sadness having it all end. Please allow them this experience.

Thanks so much! Please encourage and not baby your children while they are away, it will not help them adjust at all. Please try and refrain from calling or messaging for a few days so they can adjust.

Thanks and I'll keep updating as we can :)

Oh boy. So many assurances of being taken care of while there by the Koreans and this is all we heard. We didn't talk to her until she had been gone a week. After that only one more time. We trusted all was well, but the woman in charge wasn't fulfilling her promises in more ways than just phone conversations. While we were promised daily pictures, we did sporadically get some. Most of the ones I share are what the organizer posted on Facebook.

Here is Ceci and schoolmate Ava on the way there.



Touring Seoul:







They were organized into groups, and those groups consisted of some visiting teachers, student teachers and Korean students (who were at "camp" to learn English). They met with their group every day.

Most days they had an outing in the afternoon/evening. They visited museums, gardens, old villages and palaces. They saw performances, went to a spa where fish cleaned their feet, ate at a few unique restaurants, shopped in markets, went to a martial arts demonstration, played at a Korean water park, rode a lot of buses and ate a LOT of kimchi. The LDS kids and adults took a trip to the Seoul temple and did baptisms too.

We could hardly wait for her to get home. We welcomed her with the kind of sign she always makes for Geoff after his travels.

She came home with all kinds of observations about Korea, it's people and the culture. For example, to describe how crowded Seoul was she said, "If there is space, there is a Korean to fill it."

So did she have fun? Was it a good experience? The couple times we spoke to her she assured us that she was ok, and would BE ok, but that she was extremely homesick. The days were long and hot, the food was subpar (Korean, cafeteria-style), she wasn't really connecting with anyone there and felt alone, and she generally likes to be home, but she said it was all worth it for the relationship she developed with God. He seemed to be her constant companion and comforter; he answered every prayer, even those she offered up in her heart. Spiritually, her experience was remarkable and life-changing.

She championed through jet lag (barely!), was freezing for weeks in Utah's dry 90s weather and tried to give us a summary of all she did and experienced when we had bits and pieces of time. We still haven't heard it all. It is her own personal experience and part of her personal story. But no more going on long trips away from home for awhile!