It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like . . . Well, You Know

We woke up this morning and the world was blanketed in a fresh layer of snow. Having lived in a tropical climate for the past 8 years, I couldn't help but be a little inspired. As I stepped outside my front door, a group of middle school kids walking to school stopped under a tree to sprinkle each other with snow. The gleeful giggles lilted across the parking lot and set the tone for the day. My walk from the bus stop to my school is a tunnel of evergreen trees, and I stopped to take some photos that I hoped would be artistic. They turned out to be normal photos, but after all, I've made no claim to photographic aptitude.

My day only improved as I presented a lesson on "Truth and Lies." I told the students three lies about me (I have been on TV, I have worked for the CIA, I have owned an iguana), and one truth (I have swum with sharks), and they had to distinguish which three were lies and which was the truth. Can you believe most thought I worked for the CIA? Then I separated them into groups of four. Three of the students would write lies about themselves and one would write the truth. I compiled the results into a list, shown below. Keep in mind that these are middle school students, and that some of these statements are actually truth. Which do you think are which?

TRUTH AND LIES
I have had 10 boyfriends.
I have lived in Seoul.
I have stolen money.
I have had twenty hamsters.
I have met Big Bang.
I have broken my leg
I have vomited ten times in a day.
I have been to the Phillipines.
I have been to China.
I have been on TV.
I have gone bungee jumping.
I have ridden in a limousine.
I have been all the way around the world.
I was born in Great Britain.
I have eaten dog.
I have eaten lion.
I have eaten grasshopper.
I have scored one hundred on all my final exams.
I have fallen from a building.
I have been bit by a lion.
I have dreamt I was a crab.
I have talked with a lion.
I have been to Mt. Baekdo.
I have driven a car.
I have seen many ghosts.
I have eaten rabbit.
I have fought with 18 people at the same time.
I have fallen from the 7th floor.
I have met 문군연. (a movie star)
I have been hit by a car.
I have ridden a cow.
I have played computer games for 72 hours.
I have stayed away from home overnight.
I have never watched porn.
I have not washed for eight days.
I have had a one night stand.
I have slept with a girl.
I have worn a miniskirt. (written by a boy)
I have been to a club.
I have been drunk.
I have met Lee Myung Bak.
I have seen a UFO.
I have eaten a scorpion.
I have kissed my sister.
I have slept with my friend’s girlfriend.
I have eaten lion.
I have played with an Indian.
I have played computer games with my teacher.
I have killed a snake.
I have eaten frog.
I have tried to kill myself.
I was adopted.

So long and thanks for all the fish...

We just came back from Busan this past weekend. Busan is the 2nd largest city in Korea, and according to the information around the city, the 6th largest container shipping port in the world. We found Busan to be beautiful, particularly so since we spent time with Azure's mom and sister Amber there. Here's some more pictures, particularly the ones of all the fresh fish in Busan.

Nothing new and usual

Well, I wish I had some fantastic news to put up on this blog for you, our deal friends. However nothing really new has happened other than its starting to get chilly here. So instead of rambling, I decided I'll just put a series of pictures that represent highlights of our 3 month sojourn.

Joel

Long Time No Post!

You'd think that once you move across the world, your lifestyle would change some but that's not really the case here. Everything in Korea is "Bali, Bali!" Or hurry hurry. I'm sure Gwang-ju is much less rushed than say, Korea, or Miami, but there's still a haste to the pace of life.

As for that life, things are still going very well. Azure and I are quite happy in our schools. Azure's two schools are quite close, she can take the bus to them. That allows her some time to prepare on the way to school, something that we never enjoyed at home. My two schools are vastly different. My visiting school, Song Gwang, has great facilities and a young staff. However, the kids here are much more challenging than at Song Jeong, my home school. Song Jeong in many respects is falling apart, but the teachers there keep the students in line far better. Overall, I like Song Jeong better, but either way, it's still the easiest job I've ever had in my life.

As for the congregation, we're fortunate. A new American couple just moved in. Now, we have someone to comiserate with. Not that there's a lot too comiserate, but we can at least joke about how so many Koreans don't really understand what we say. Koreans are a funny bunch, overall. They'll never admit to not understanding you. They'll simply nod their head and say "Uh huh". That's our clue now. When we see that, we repeat ourselves in some new manner, using very deliberate, effected speech, and large gestures. I suppose it's a good thing that no one understands us. It means we'll have a job for some time to come!

Joel

B-ball in K-town

Last night, we played basketball with a few Korean friends. Here's a switchup for you - usually I hate to play basketball because everyone is so aggressive and competitive that it makes me uncomfortable. Last night, the Korean brothers all gaped as I jumped right into the game and slapped the ball out of other players' hands. Suddenly, I began to feel like a monster - a little like that big furry guy that was Wolverine's rival in X-Men. Although I was just playing like I'm used to in the States, it is clearly a whole different ballgame here. The style of gameplay here is just so much more hands-off.

After the first round, our friend Chris said, "Azure, the next game will be brothers only." Although the number of players was uneven, I couldn't help but feel that it had a little bit to do with the fact that most sisters come to the courts in skirts and heels and practice dribbling and shooting between games. Rather than get offended or insist, however, I've come to appreciate that yielding to this difference is equal to respecting their culture. If a Taiawnese person came to the States and continued to belch loudly in public (one sister in my old congregation actually belched into a mic during her talk), people would be offended and no one would want to be around him or her. So let the boys have their b-ball. While not content to sit on the sidelines munching on rice crisps with the sisters, compromise comes in the form of a jogging track. Who knows, maybe one day I'll even join the group of middle-aged women in the aerobics room practicing the tricky solo waltz.

Photo to be added later!

Azure

Korean-American Flee Trade Agleement

We've now been in Gwangju for a week, and I know you'll forgive us for waiting so long to describe our initial experiences. It has been a whirlwind of activity - no, scratch that - it has been a bipolar week of frenzied plans and panicked preparation punctuated by moments of synapse-coagulating boredom. The definite impression is that it will be this way most of the time.

Let me give you a run-down of my day at school today as an example. I arrived at school at 8:30 am, hurried down to the supply area to laminate some flash cards. Walking down the hallway, I jumped over students who had tripped and run into each other because they were staring at me and exclaiming, "Waaaaaaaa! You are so beautiful!" It's quite an ego boost, but I can't help but think how disenchanted they'll be once they get used to me. After that, I started my first class, dancing around the classroom and acting out the vocabulary. Between classes, there is a ten-minute break - much too long for unoccupied students who generally just wreak havoc for 9 1/2 minutes while the teachers desperately seek the relative serenity of the teacher's work area. I say relative serenity because students are constantly in the teacher's area, being rebuked or turning in assignments or finding another reason to come in and gape at the new foreign teacher. After this, three more classes follow in succession. By this time, it's time for lunch - an entire hour during which basically unsupervised children do whatever they want. On most days, the building starts to shake at a certain point. Several students were having a water balloon fight in the stairwell yesterday. There is something to check the madness - the students clean the school after school every day. If that's not a deterrent, I don't know what is.

After lunch, I have nothing to do for three more hours but surf the internet, read a book, or just stare at that brown spot on the wall to try to decipher what it could be. Thrilling.

When school ends, I head back to our cozy new home. We have all the necessities - stove, A/C, washer - but none of the luxuries that we're used to at home, like a microwave, a clothes dryer, or cheese. Our home is located just off a street that is named for the special dish that nearly every restaurant on that street sells, called ttukgalbi.
It's beef short ribs, chopped up, cooked up, and wrapped up in a lettuce leaf like a burrito. Good stuff.
We'll post pictures of our place soon. For now, rest assured in the fact that we're safe happy, and "beautiful teacher!"

Azure

Ramping Up

It's bizarre to speak of another country as home. The fact is, though, that South Korea will be our home for the next year (and, depending on how things go, who knows how much longer). However, it's starting to become easier to think of this new life in that light. On that note, two otherwise seemingly incongruous idioms converge here : 1) Home is where the heart is; and 2) Love means knowing and loving someone's faults. These sage sayings, when put together, accurately illustrate how I have begun to feel about South Korea. There are many aggravating things (delayed decisions, prejudice, vanity), but there are also so many exhilarating, beautiful, unique things to balance them out, things which we have begun to outline in earlier blogs.
We've only been here two weeks - I'm being overly sentimental, I know. Not to mention the fact that we haven't begun working yet. A month from now, this blog will probably turn into a rant and rave page to vent our frustrations. But let the magic continue for a bit. Imagine this - one month from now, Joel and I have trouble making time in our schedule for all our Bible studies. We walk into the Kingdom Hall and are surrounding by loving, supportive fellow workers. Five days a week, we jaunt happily into school, knowing that each day will be filled with fun activities and enthusiastic students. Every night, we go home to a perfectly peaceful apartment, ideal for rest and study. To top it all off, we savor every succulent, spicy bite of our favorite Korean dishes.
Maybe none of this fantasy will be realized. Maybe half of it will be. I have to believe that attitude plays a large role. Watching the Olympic swimmers offers an admirable model - the last few moments right before they dive into the pool, they stare intently down the wide racing lane, appearing to be entranced by the ripples. But any athlete knows this is no zen relaxation technique; the Olympians are picturing in their mind every stroke to the most minute detail. They know that in order to be successful, they must not only be prepared physically, but mentally. Only by visualizing a winning race can they actualize what they envision. Life abroad is no competition, or if it is, it is only a competition against oneself. However, envisioning the most successful outcome has never failed in the past to bring me closer to that ideal situation. So fire the starting pistol - we're ready to go.

Azure

P.S. Guess what this is . . .

Still in Seoul

Monday afternoon, three days left of training. Thursday night we're supposed to know what school will be our new home. We're anxious. We'd like to know exactly where it is in the city, where our place will be, etc. Simply stated, we're anxious to settle down and begin.

The EPIK classes are relatively interesting. There have been a couple odd classes, where the stated purpose does not correspond to the actual information/instruction. What can we say? It's Korea!

On a different note, we took a field trip yesterday to a Korean folk village. That was kinda cool. There is a genuine feel that Korea is trying to hold on to traditions of yestermillenia, but as with everywhere in the west, it's proving vain.

Thus we begin...

Here we are, in Seoul, Konkuk University more precisely. Orientation has begun. So far, it's been really nice. All the employees for EPIK have bent over backwards to help everyone. They room us in college dorms (pretty sweet rooms with awesome views), they feed us three times a day, and they do their best to provide meaningful instruction and entertainment as well.

Are there problems? Sure...things are a bit disorganized. One girl who has taught in Korea for five years calls it organized chaos. For instance, the training manual we're given is fantastic. Lots of good suggestions for classroom instruction are provided. However, none of the employees seem to know what's in the book! They look at it as if they have never seen it before!

Problems? Sure...there will always be problems. Anything we can't deal with? No way! Truth is, the majority of the teachers here seem very ready to overcome any hurdle to being good teachers and guests in Korea. The few that aren't...well, they simply won't make it and we'll be seeing their posts on Dave's ESL website!

I Found My Thrill on Dangdaemun Hill

"Besame . . . besame mucho." The lilting, softly accented voice was somewhat overpowered by the electronic keyboard. Neither were any match for the sparkling personality of Mr. Han, the self-proclaimed "Korean Louis Armstrong." The fedora-topped elderly gentleman approached us while we searched one of the many electronic markets in Seoul for a converter. After inviting us to a "nightclub," the dance hall for empty nesters where the following video took place, Mr. Han regaled us with stories of his karaoke escapades and attempted to cajole us into drinking with him. Young people chuckled as they walked by, noticing how the white-haired crooner had cornered us. Mr. Han claimed, "I love to talk to foreigners," and although his touchy-feely approach made me wonder whether he was on ecstasy, it was a fun detour during our night exploring the vibrant city of Seoul.
Azure

South Korea's got Seoul..........

Ya ya, corny I know. But Seoul is a soulful city. It is a case study in uncontrolled urban expansion. It is a case study in capitalism gone wild. It is a case study in 20 million people running everywhere they go.

Sound bad? It's not. Seoul is amazing. However, Azure and I are glad we aren't living here. Gwang-ju will be a great town to work, with Seoul being a great town to visit. Hey, it's only four hours away on the most comfy bus you'll ever ride on!

More later....time to find breakfast.
Joel

The First Supper

There is a saying that when people who love each other are far apart, an invisible yet infallible string ties their two hearts together to span the distance. Well, Joel and I have many such strings that now reach the distance between the US and Korea. Although stretched, those strings will never break. They are only strengthened every time a new string is added. Since our arrival here in Korea, it is clear that there are many strings yet to discover.
After travelling by bus for five hours from Incheon Airport to Gwangju, we were greeted with no small amount of fuss by the congregation welcoming committee. As the meeting had just ended, many of the brothers and sisters popped by to meet us and escort us to David and Olivia Jo’s house, where we will be spending the next few nights. Nine of us chatted for several hours over pizza, and before you could say kimchi, I started to feel at home. They are a remarkable group of people – in the group were two MTS graduates, a couple who had worked where the need is greater in Malaysia and New Zealand, and several other brothers and sisters who made room in their lives to walk through the open door to expanded ministry.
It’s difficult to describe the level of hospitality afforded us. It makes one a bit uncomfortable to be treated with such honor when in the past directions to the nearest bus stop would do. It made me even more eager to do all that I can to draw closer to these brothers, to study this Lydia-like mentality and emulate it.
Today, we are off in service for our first time here, accompanied by a tour of our new city. We arrived at night, so it is somewhat difficult to formulate a solid impression, but from what we have seen so far, the city is clean, modern, and lively. More on that later!
Azure

Wednesday August 13th, Final Packing Day

Here we are....packing our life in 4 convenient size 50lbs bags (plus carry-ons). One doesn't realize how much stuff one has until one tries to place it all in a weight restricted small sack. Those bindle stick bums of the 20's and 30's had the right idea...

We'll put our next posting up when we get to Seoul, which after the time change, will be late afternoon Friday.

Yikes....
Joel

Deciding....

So here we are, wound up with uncertainty (or as The Cure puts it, "spinning on a dizzy edge") about our location in South Korea. Originally we were told we would be assigned to Daejeon, but as it turns out, we were too slow with the apps. Therefore, we were given a choice of other locations. Examining the list, we located an English congregation in the city of Gwangju, first online - here's the link to their YouTube video (that's right, the English congregation in Gwangju has a video!) -and then through the brother with whom we had been corresponding in Daejeon. We decided that despite the Costco dearth in Gwangju, it would be no less foreign to us than Daejeon, and we could still be of help to the congregation.

Here's some Gwangju facts:
Population (2006) - 1,415,953
Pop per sq mile - 7,310

Azure