One Year in Korea

Since it is January 1st, I thought I would try and recap the past year. (I will try to keep it short.)

I began my new adventure living in a new country. (Technically, I moved here in November of 2008, but who's counting?)

I met my first friend in Korea, 정길. (Jeonggil) He introduced me to many others.

I participated in my first "big bow" with 정길의 엄마. (Jeonggil's mom.) This is done at New Year's. You stand in front of your elder and bow all the way to the ground. (They usually give you "pocket money."

I went to 거제도(Geoje Island) with 정길, Amy, and my 선생님 배소영(Teacher Bae So-young.) It was a beautiful place. If you ever get a chance, visit.

I worked and met many more friends. (Sorry, not too sure what I did between 거재도 and Japan.)

Well, I guess that brings me to Japan. It was my second country to visit outside of Korea. I would like to go back and experience more of it. My goal is to visit an onsen, but because I have tattoos, most will not let me enter. **Background Info** Korea and Japan both have ideas of people with tattoos being yakuza(Japan) or 깡패, 조폭(kkangpae, jopok, Korea) which are gangsters or mafia. Therefore, in Japan, if you have tattoos, you aren't allowed into their onsen. What is an onsen? It is a natural bathhouse. Because Japan has so much volcanic activity, its springs are naturally heated. These are used in bathhouses. Just something I would like to try one of these days. If you are Japanese and reading this, maybe you can help me!

I got back from Japan and met some more friends. I met these cool kids who are part of an English study group. They are a lot of fun and we have traveled around together. They say they enjoy my cooking, haha.

I got to enjoy my first ever mud festival. I went with a few friends to Korea's annual mud festival and got well, muddy. I had to walk around all day without my glasses which is partly the reason I ended up buying contacts a little bit later. I can't stand not being able to see clearly.

Around September, I had to start deciding what I wanted to do at the end of my contract. I didn't feel, I was done with Korea so I had to figure out what to do. I knew I wanted to really dive into Korean since I had only been studying it here and there with my private teacher. I applied to Seoul National University for their language program. Then, I actually got accepted. A friend introduced me to a kindergarten school that would allow me to work in the mornings and go to school in the afternoon. I guess you could say it worked out perfectly.

I went to move into the dorms, but found them completely disgusting. I don't think I would have been clean even if I showered. Luckily, my friend 정우(Jeong-woo's) family said I could live with them for the semester!!

Now, I am working with Kinder Schule and love "my" children and going to school in the afternoon. I have a midterm next week and will hopefully do well on it. So far, I haven't done too bad. Currently, I am looking for a new place to live and trying to listen to God for where to go to next.

Well, I guess that will be all down memory lane. Hopefully I didn't forget anything too important.

2009/12/26

What's new? Well, I had my third speaking test in 3 weeks. So far, I have made a perfect score on each. Hopefully, I can keep this up. I think if I am at the top of my class I can get some scholarship money!! I guess you can say school is going well. I enjoy my teachers and classmates.

Christmas was Friday. On Christmas eve, my friends and I met up at a hotel room for our party. It was a good way to celebrate Christmas. Other than the fact I was extremely tired from work and school all day, I had fun. I cooked chicken and hotteok. I am pretty sure I have explained it before, but I will do so again. It is basically a pancake with cinnamon sugar and crushed nuts inside. Oh so good!! After the party, I went home.

On Christmas, I met with my friend 정길 and had lunch. Afterwards, we went to 교보, but it was so crowded, we decided to leave. We both went home and I rested for a bit. I met with my 선생님 and had dinner. We ate some sushi, then went to a bar and played darts. Apparently, last night wasn't my night. I ended up losing 2 out of the 3 games. I'm not saying that I am good at darts, but I am better than how I played last night, haha. Afterwards, we went home.

Today, I will meet with a friend and watch Sherlock Holmes. I'm hoping it is good since it has been a movie I have been looking forward to all year. Maybe in my next post, I will let you know what I think.

This week has been a week of thought. It seems as if I hit a brick wall and couldn't figure a way around it. Today, I was able to talk to a good friend, David Miller, and we had a good conversation. I think through the conversation, some things were made clear. I know I need to find some time for myself and that is my goal for this week. To find a place where there are no expectations of me. A place where I am alone and can think. A place where God and I can have a conversation like we use to. I want to come back to that.

Christmas. Would Jesus celebrate it?

It would be hard for anyone to go anywhere and not relate December 25th with Christmas, the day to celebrate Jesus' birth. However, this day has not always been a day to celebrate Jesus. If you look up the history of Christmas, you will find many reasons why people chose this day. Some say it was to hide the fact they were celebrating a Christian God while others say it was because some people thought Jesus was born on the same day as the rebirth of the sun.

Now, in this blog, I do not want to you to walk away with the idea that I hate Christmas. I merely hope for all of us (including myself) to look at why we really celebrate Christmas and why it is we think we should "up the ante" for loving Jesus.

Growing up I have learned about Christmas and Chanukah. As a child, I experienced both and to some, had it made. I got Christmas and 8 other days of gifts. In all reality, as a child, I only cared about the gifts. I didn't give much thought about what the days meant. To me, it meant the newest Lego set. As I got older, I began to realize the importance of the celebration. Then, as I got a little older, I noticed I wasn't as happy around this time of the year as I was when I was a child. Why?

Well, I began to look around me. I saw people who would rush to the store at 5 am to buy the newest toy for their child. I saw people standing in long lines so they wouldn't run out of that doll they forgot to buy their daughter. I saw people standing outside in the freezing cold to pick a tree, chop it down, and decorate it. Is there anything wrong with any of this? No. If nothing else, it shows that you at least care enough about your children or friends to do some of these "crazy" things.

Along with this, I would go to church and would listen to a pastor preach about how we should show God our love, especially during this time of the year. Now, I fully agree that we (those who claim to be a Christian) should indeed show God and those around us our love. The problem I have with this statement is the, "especially during this time of the year." Now, what does that mean? We should show God's love, but during Christmas, we should give extra effort? Then, I can "really" show God's love in December and slack off during the rest of the year? This seems like pretty good news to those who like to slack off on this.

However, I believe that there is no certain time of the year that we should "especially" show Christ's love. I believe we should strive to show it with the utmost effort everyday of the year. God's love doesn't revolve around a certain day and neither should ours. His love is constant and never changing. We shouldn't think about the homeless or that old lady down the street who simply wants you to listen to her stories just on Christmas, but year round.

I guess it all comes back to your heart. Does a pastor really mean to show more love on Christmas when he says something similar to the statement above? I don't think so. I merely wanted to share my thoughts on some of the things I have seen and heard.

This morning while I was attending a church service, I heard a very similar phrase and it just made me slightly indifferent to the idea of what Christmas is all about. Is it really about Jesus who we(Christians) say it is about or is it more about personal desires? Since I have been in Korea, this question keeps coming up. Not just about Christmas, but about my every day life. Is this, what I am doing now, about Christ, or is it about my own desire?

Tired

At the moment, I am pretty tired. I need to learn how to stay at home and relax. However, that is a little hard when you don't exactly feel completely comfortable living where you are. Don't get me wrong. The people I live with are extremely nice and have done what they can to make me feel at home, but it's still hard to get completely comfortable living in someone else's home. Maybe this will pass with time. I mean, I have only lived here for a little more than 2 weeks. We will see.

On other news, I aced my first speaking test. I had my second one on Friday and will find out the score next week sometime. I guess you can say that so far, school is going well. The classmates are nice and we are talking to each other more and more.

Tonight, I helped out with an English study group. That was interesting. All the people were really nice, but teaching English is quite tiring. It's funny how the language I have used every day for the past 25 years (Korean age) can at times be hard to explain. There are parts of speech and phrases that through using the language, you just know what they mean or how they are used. However, when it comes time to explain them, it seems impossible. Nonetheless, I had fun. It's always great to meet new people.

I'm not sure if it is just me being tired or what, but I don't really have much to say for this week. I went to work... which reminds me. This past week, a student who is about 4 years old asked if I was a father. I said, "No! I'm too young!" Then the Korean teacher began to laugh. I also went to school and repeated this every day. Its life. I enjoy it!

Week 1 of School

Okay, I am going to try something new with my blog. I will try really hard to post at least once a week. This way, you guys can know how school is going and what not. By you guys, I mean my mother and the 5 others who actually take the time to read my babbling.

Anyway, I just began my life as a 한국어 학생. (Korean Student) Right now, it is kind of easy since I have already learned how to read and write Korean. The teachers are pretty nice. I somewhat have a crush on one. Well, her character anyway. She has a lot of energy and makes the class fun.

The students are pretty cool as well. One other student is from America(Boston) and the rest are from Canada, China, Japan, Mongolia, Singapore, Germany, and Australia. A lot of them can speak English, but there are a few who just know a few words.

Side-note: China actually just says, "hi" and "bye-bye" when they greet. Apparently, movies are not the best source to find out what people say when they see each other. Thanks 25 years of watching Chinese movies and being lied to.

It has been fun talking to some of the students and to hear their stories. Oh yeah, about half of the class has studied some form of psychology and 3 of them are lawyers.

To make money, I am a kindergarten teacher now. I teach for a few hours every morning working with children who are between the ages of 4 and 7. They are extremely cute. I will try to get pictures of them soon. I think you will agree when you see them. Work is good. The teachers are all really nice. It should be a good, tiring year, haha.

In other news, I had a 소캐팅 (blind date) and must say that it was a complete disaster. My friends and I had a lot of laughs about it afterwards. When we met, it was like pulling teeth to get the girl to speak. In fact, I am not even sure what her name was. (I know, I'm a terrible person.) Anyway, after about 15 minutes of this torture, I wanted out of there fast. My friend showed up and pretty much rescued me. I slid over and let him sit in front of the girl. Then I mentioned that I needed to go to 교보 (It's a bookstore here in Korea.) in hopes of getting away. However, they all went. My friend 바우 and I walked around without the date while I was shopping. We talked about how terrible it was going and then left. We all ate some ice cream and then the girl went home. When the person who set up the date came back we all began joking about what just happened. I told her she should never set anyone up on a date again. It was a complete bust.

Now, I just finished my homework for class and have to study for my test on Monday. That's right, only a week of school and we have a speaking test. I will let you know how I do.

November 20th

This morning I awoke around 7:00 AM to go to a meeting for a job with a kindergarten school I will be working for while I attend school at Seoul National University. However, while I was walking towards the bus stop, I received a text telling me not to come and that they had to revise the contract some more and I could sign it on Monday. Needless to say, I had some time and thought I would share my thoughts.

Since I have moved to Korea, I have felt that I was brought here for a purpose. It has been my goal to constantly strive for that purpose, whatever it may be. Throughout my stay in Korea, I have developed a desire to reach out to the people of Korea. I sincerely believe God has been putting this in my heart. However, the past few months, I have been so busy with everything, I feel I have completely forgotten why I am even here. Every now and then I will have a conversation that brings it all back, but it seems to vanish as quickly as it came.

I get caught up in my every day life and forget about all those around me. I haven't called my friends or family in such a long time. For that I am sorry. Living here has really shown the importance of friendship. But more importantly than that is the relationship with God. I believe at times, I have sacrificed my relationship with God for my ambitions or for His goals. I get caught up in why I "think" I am somewhere and forget to allow the Holy Spirit to lead me.

I remember in Florida that when these situations arose, I always had my friends who could set me straight. They could call me out and I appreciate that. That is the one thing I desire here. I want a friend who can call me out. A friend who can say, "Hey, what you just said wasn't right." Or just a friend who could ask, "How is your relationship with God these days?"

It's funny. Out of all the things I miss the most, having friends who were not afraid to call each other out is by far top of that list.

Life: Past, Present, Future

Okay, so I think a few of my friends have begun to wonder, "What's going on with Johnny?" Well, I am here to give you the scoop.

Last year about this time, I was preparing for my big move to Korea. I had no idea what would be in store for me. I had never traveled before other than to Mexico when I was a child, so I really didn't know what to expect. I knew that the transition wouldn't be easy. Not only would I be moving to another country, but also to a country where most of the people speak a different language. However, even knowing all of this, I had a peace with me the whole time. There was never any doubt or fear. I knew where I was going was the direction I was suppose to go in. (Quite possibly for the first time in my life.)

Then, I got to Korea. I immediately fell in love with the place and the people. Korea is beautiful and hopefully my photos are able to show just a little bit of that. (Which I have a ton I need to edit. Hopefully, real soon.) Anyway, since I have been here, I have done some traveling around Korea and was also able to go to Japan. It has all been quite exciting. As my year was beginning to end, I began to wonder what my next step was. I had begun to learn Korean, but I wanted to know more. I also began to feel that I wasn't done with Korea yet. I believed and still believe that I have more to do here in Korea.

Currently, I am still working. I have about 3 more weeks before my contract is up. I have decided not to extend my contract with my school and have given them my notification. However, I still had this desire to live in Korea. I have prayed about it for awhile now and I finally decided to apply for 서울대(Seoul National University.) Well, I was accepted and will start class on December 7th. I will study Korean 4 hours a day for 5 days a week. This will hopefully go on for the next year and a half. My contract with my school now will end at the end of the month. From there, I will go straight to school.

Which brings me to the future. I will not be able to come back to the States this year. I would not have the time to visit nor the resources to do so. I have been saving up for my school and housing. I am hoping that this allows me more opportunities to speak to those whom I think God would like me to. I have also found out that teaching is not something I would like to do for the rest of my life. I studied film and would like to pursue something in that field. My hope is that when I finish school, I will be able to speak enough Korean and get a job here in the film industry. It is really growing here and there is progress being made in expanding to do more overseas. I hope I will be able to contribute to that some day.

So, my dear friends, I am sorry to tell you that I will not be coming the States this year. However, I am happy to say that I am completely happen with where I am and who I am. God has huge things in store and I ask that you would keep me in your prayers. A lot has happened with me over the past year, some of which happened overseas, and at times things can seem difficult. Know, that I constantly think of you and pray for you as well.

Heres to another year in Korea!

48 Hour Film Contest

It is 11:53 am Sunday morning. I have wrapped up shooting and editing a short film and now sit on my bed after having a shower. I must say that I am quite exhausted, but I hope that I am coherent enough to tell you of the journey that was the 48 Hour Film Contest.

Well, my day started around 8:30 on Friday morning. I woke up and got ready for my day. I was excited to be working with a camera and doing a project. However, I was also a little nervous and was not sure how it would all turn out. From the previous meetings, I came to realize that I might be the only person on the team with any technical background for film. This had me very worried. It meant that I would be working with people who may not understand the process of film making. But, I put my worries aside and moved on. I went to work and waited with anticipation for the contest to start. I got off work and rushed to Seoul to meet a few team members at the camera rental store. We looked over the camera and the rest of the gear, then headed to my friend's apartment where the rest of the group were located.

When we arrived at the house, it seemed a little chaotic. People were playing a video game while others were talking about the story. My friend Sun-ho began to tell me about the story. "Oh no!" My head began to scream as I am sure that tiny smirk appeared on my face that often shows up in these types of situations. I began to discuss what would work and what wouldn't work. What followed was about an hour or so of arguments. It was clear the "technical" and the "creatives" were not seeing eye to eye. This was when I was introduced to Sarah, who thankfully also had a background in film. We began to explain why some things would work and why some things simply would not be able to be done. I think we wasted a good portion of our time on these meaningless arguments.

Finally, a story was produced and Sarah and I began the hard task of trying to make sense of the story and come up with a shooting schedule. We knew in order for the story to make any sense, things were going to be added. Well, the "creatives" didn't like us tampering with their work. However, we talked them into it and proceeded. About 6 am we got the camera gear and looked for a place to shoot. We found a bus stop that would be the ending of our short. We got the shots we needed and headed back to the apartment. Not too much happened other than a tiny old Korean man began watching us and ate a banana with some of the others on the team.

We arrived back at the apartment around 9:30 am and rounded everyone up. We knew our next location and headed off to the cafe. Suddenly, things took a turn for the worst. The director and I were not seeing eye to eye. People were sitting around and nothing was happening. People were tired and hungry. The director and I began talking about the shooting and it seemed we couldn't come to any agreement. He then took the camera and began filming. At this point, I haven't slept in 24 hours and wasn't too keen on someone doing the job I was supposed to do. We began to argue where I told him we need to stick with our jobs, but this didn't go well. It ended with me walking outside to take a few minutes and pray. I began to ask God what I should do. I wanted to just grab my bags, go home, and call it quits. Just before 1 pm, the director called me and asked me to come back. I did so, only to find out they were all thinking of quitting. They had found out, this idea wasn't working. Then people were thinking we could just write something new and shoot that.

At this point, that was out of the question. Sarah and I told them, if we were to continue shooting, we needed to stick with what we have. Otherwise, I was out of there. We got back to the apartment around 2 pm where they began discussing what should be done. Sarah and I went to get some food. When we came back, they had made the decision to press forward with what we had. We found our next location and began shooting right away. I think my favorite shot was of a friend named Donny Yoo. He is a really funny guy and a good actor. Look him up and check out his commercials. They are funny.

Night was upon us and we had a few scenes to shoot. I was tired and knew that edited was right around the corner. We began shooting the last shot and it ended with a lady cheering out her window, quite sarcastically, I must add. We moved to a different area shot the scene and went back to the apartment. It was around 10 pm on Saturday when we began uploading the footage to the computer. Sarah and I were to begin editing. We went through the scenes shot by shot and then another confrontation. We had to tell everyone in the room that we were the editors and everyone must leave. This wasn't exactly heard too well, but eventually happened and editing was underway. At this point I have not slept, other than the 5 minutes in the cab, for over 48 hours. I let Sarah take the helm and trusted she could do it. Sarah tried a few times to keep me awake, but my body wanted some sleep. I ended up getting about 6 hours of sleep and woke up to a somewhat finished product. The editing was done. All that remains was for some music and touch ups on audio and transitions. At least my part was over and I could go home.

After all of this, what have I learned?

1. Make sure the team is well balanced with a technical team. Having 2 or 3 people do everything is not a good idea.

2. Make jobs for everyone and everyone MUST stay in that job.

3. Do not allow too many people offer advice. It causes too much confusion and wastes way too much time.

4. Sometimes we have to put our foot down and simply say no.

Was this a total failure, by all means no. Was it a success, I would have to also say no. But it depends on how you look at it. Did we make a short film? Yes. Will people understand it? I'm not sure. However, I did learn a lot from this experience and will be able to use that in the future.

Scenario with Scientists

Apparently the moon is being bombed today, Oct. 9th. I am still wondering how this idea came about and who would ever think bombing the moon could possibly have any good outcome. Here is the scenario I came up with.

INT. Board Room

Group of scientists are sitting around a large table discussing matters of how to cure serious illnesses, space exploration, sea exploration, and the moon. All dressed in white lab coats.

Scientist 1 pushes his glasses up on his nose

Scientist 1

Okay, I think the answer is simple. We have been thinking

about it the wrong way.

Scientist 2 leans forward, placing his hands together.

Scientist 2

We are talking about the moon. Water is underneath the

surface. There is no simple way of proving this fact.

Scientist 1

Bomb it.

Scientist 3 rubs his eyes as if he were just awakened from a nap.

Scientist 3

Pardon?

Scientist 1

Bomb it.

Scientist 3

And how would that solve anything.

Scientist 1

Think about it. If we were to send a rocket to the moon

attached with a bomb, followed by another rocket with a

camera, we would be able to cause enough destruction to

cause a cloud of debris. With the second rocket having a

camera on board, we could take photos of the debris, thus

proving water exists on the moon.

Scientist 2

You know, that isn't a bad idea.

Scientist 3

It could work.

Scientist 1

Like I said. Simple. Bomb it. All in favor?

All Scientist

Aye.

Fade to Black

추석 (Chuseok)

I know I should be writing about what I have been doing in the past, but then I thought about this weekend and wanted to go ahead and write about my first 추석 in Korea. I am sure you understand.

Well, I am sitting on the floor of my church and just thinking about the past weekend. It was 추석 which I have already mentioned is like Korea's thanksgiving. It has been a good relaxing weekend. I have been able to hang out with some old friends and met some new ones. Thursday, I met with 정길 who introduced me to 김다헤 (Kim Ta-hae.) We met up for dinner and then tried to get coffee. We walked into a Coffee Bean, but it was too crowded so we decided to head over to the Dunkin' Donuts because it had less people and comfy couches. However, when we arrived, we were informed the second floor (the floor with the comfy couches) was closed. We decided to leave and look for another place. We found a coffee shop that I think was open 24 hours. We chatted for 30 minutes or so and then headed to our homes.

On Friday, I slept in which apparently means sleeping till 8 or a little after. I didn't do too much. I wanted a few days to just relax and that is what I did. I made some sandwiches and had some coffee. Afterward, I met up with my friend 동주. We met up in 건대 for some chicken. After dinner, we did the Korean thing and went to a second place. He suggested a bar, so we went there. I can't remember the name of the place, but it was a lot of fun. We played darts and then began to have fun bets with the bartenders there who began playing with us. Before we left, they put on a little show where they made some drinks and set part of the bar on fire (completely intentional.) Afterwards, we began to leave, at which point one of the bartenders stood in the doorway and told us we couldn't leave. After joking around for a little bit, my friend and I left. When I find out the name of the bar, I will write that in. It will be a place I will visit again. It was just a fun atmosphere.

Saturday came around and again I slept in. (8 am) I again just rested around my apartment, made food and what not. I met up with some friends to discuss the 48 hour film competition we are entering. We discussed things we should be aware of and some things we shouldn't do. As long as we stay focused, I believe we have a good chance to put something good together. After the meeting, I met up with my friend 바우 for dinner. We ended up meeting around 8:30 pm and had my favorite Korean meal. We went to this little place in 서현 that I have been to several times. Also, I think every time I have gone, I have been with different people which the waiter pointed out to us last night. It's a good place. Look forward to many more meals there. After dinner, we decided to go watch a movie. We went to 죽전 and watched "Surrogates." It was an okay movie. The story was okay and acting was decent. I didn't think it was anything too special. It was also really weird to see Bruce Willis airbrushed.

And now I sit at church waiting for the service to begin. After church, I will probably go home and cook some lunch. Then, I will meet with 다혜 and try some traditional rice cake that is eaten on 추석. I am kind of excited about that.

The Past Remembered Part I

Before you start, I want to let you know this will be split up into parts. I wasn't exactly planning on doing another series like I did in the past with my trips, but as I began writing I quickly found out there is too much to cover in one post. Here is part 1 of... well we will just have to wait and see how many parts there end up being. I mean, I am covering a whole year.

Well, it is almost 추석 (pronounced Chuseok) here and I thought I would recap this past year. And why would I be doing this because it is almost 추석? Well, that is because it is a kind of Korean thanksgiving therefore, I want to take some time to reflect what has been happening and give thanks to all the friends I have met here. Hope you enjoy this "look back" at my stay in Korea thus far.

I can still remember the first day I came to Korea. I remember the 14 hour flight and which the lady next to me kept asking about the time we would land and how to calculate how much time we had left. I got the feeling she didn't understand the concept of time change and even though we were changing time zones, the flight would still be 14 hours long. (It would also be good to point out that on the monitor in front of us was a counter where it told you exactly how much time we had left.) I remember how uncomfortable I felt sitting in the thin rows of chairs on the plane and how I couldn't really sleep. I think it was a mixture of excitement and being completely uncomfortable. I remember landing on the ground and remembering I had no clue who would be meeting me at the airport. Well, no one met me at the airport. After buying a calling card and making a phone call to my school, I was told to get on a bus and head for 서현(pronounced Seohyeon.) When I got there, it was around 8 at night and I had no clue where I was. A few foreigners passed me, at which point I asked if I could borrow a phone so I could call my school again. They allowed me too (almost unwillingly, which really surprised me. Here I am with luggage, which was a good indication that I was new and had no clue where I was, and they didn't really want to help. First sign of many about what to expect from foreigners here.) Anyway, I was finally picked up and checked into a hotel. The place I would be staying wouldn't be ready for a few days.

This was the weekend in which I met my first friend in Korea. His name is 정길(pronounced Jeong-gil, kind of like jungle) and has been a great friend in Korea. We met at a church neither one of us actually attend anymore. I guess you could call it fate. Well, the following Monday was my first day at work. I was picked up from my hotel and driven to where I would be working for the next year. Simon was the first co-worker I would meet and the one who showed me my apartment. I then met my boss and other co-workers: Karl, Jenny, Mrs. Kang, Ryan, Kathy, Travis, Sally, and Sunny. All of which have been great to work with. At the end of the week, I was taken out to dinner with my co-workers. I was told as a new employee I would have to try 소주 (pronounced Soju.) Let me go ahead and state that I absolutely do not like 소주. But as it was a kind of Korean tradition, I drank it. It is a very strong drink and later found out that Koreans love to drink it.

Well, I moved in December which meant I would have to spend Christmas and New Year's alone. At least that is what I thought. I ended up working on Christmas day, which didn't exactly bother me. It was also nice to not have all of the annoying Christmas songs that you would normally hear in every store you walked into back in the States. For Christmas, 정길 invited me out to dinner and introduced me to two new friends, 유정 and 은진. We met at a nice restaurant and had some sort of spicy chicken. As for New Year's, my co-worker Karl came over to my place along with 유정 and her cousin. We ate dinner and watched the festivities on TV. I actually came down with a pretty bad cold (I actually got a shot in the rear region for the first and second time that I can actually remember. A few days later, it was gone.) and that was the reason we stayed at my place instead of going out. I was afraid I would get worse being out in the freezing, Korean winter. One in which I was not well equipped for living in FL for the previous 2 or so years. However, I made it through my first month in Korea and loved every bit of it.

강화도 (Ganghwa Island)

This past weekend some friends and I went to 강화도 for an outing. My friend 바우 is the leader of an English study group and we have been planning a trip for a few weeks now for the group. Everyone finally made a decision to go to this island. It was about 2 hours away from where we live... without traffic. A little longer if there is some unexpected traffic. However, we made.

Our trip started around 10 A.M., I say around, because we were all late. We met at a Home Plus which is kind of like a Wal-Mart. We bought all the food and what not we would need for the weekend and headed off. Three of us went in the first car and it was our job to find a place to stay at a cheap price. Once we got to 강화도, we drove around for a few hours calling different places until we found one that slept 9 people for 100,000 won. We put our stuff and the room and checked out the surroundings.

We saw a mud flat about 5 minutes away from the room and decided to head there. It was nice to walk around in mud and try to keep your balance. We even "threaded" through a little stream to try and walk to a small island. Well, we didn't make it to the island, but we had fun anyway. I think we spent about an hour walking around in the mud (sometimes up to our knees.) Afterwards, we headed back to our room and decided to prepare the food for when the others arrived, it would be ready to cook.

Well, while waiting, I developed a headache which turned into a migraine. I decided to sleep it off while waiting for the others. Our friends arrived and I woke up... in more pain then when I went to sleep. I tried to eat but moving around just made me feel sick. I laid back down and slept some more. All the while, my friends ate and played games. I woke up again around 2 A.M. and my headache was gone. A friend asked if I was hungry to which I said yes. We cooked some chicken and played more games. I think I went to sleep around 3 or 4 in the morning. Some went to bed shortly after. The room we all slept in was a decent size room where a blanket was shared by two people. We sort of looked like Tetris, the way we organized ourselves.

The next morning we all woke up and got dressed. One of the members had to send off a resume so we had to find a PC 방 (a room where you can play games and get on the Internet.) We went in and she filled out her resume. Oh! Apparently, there is only 1 PC 방 on the entire island. I think we drove 20 minutes to find one. Once she finished, we went out to find this burial site. It was created by 3 stones to mark the grave. We found it. I guess we all were expecting something a bit more. We walked around and saw "Stonehenge" and some other "stone" that were of some significance in one way or the other. 바우 touched one and it sounded like it was made of styrofoam. We made some jokes about it and headed home.

Once we got home, we decided to have some dinner. We ended up trying a new 닭갈비 restaurant. It was good food to which we ate way more than we should. But I just can't pass up the rice you get after eating the main meal. I should learn how to make it myself. After dinner, we all went home. Even with the massive headache, it was a great trip. Tomorrow starts a new week.

Oh and I keep getting reminded of why I really enjoy living here. Korea is quite the beautiful place.

Night Club (Very different from a club.)

So, I have said that I would like to experience all of Korea, get to know the culture, the language, and things of that sort. Well, this past weekend, I got to see a different side of Korea. I have been to shows, bars, and clubs here and well, this one takes the cake. It is simply called a "night club."

When my friend and I walked it, we were greeted by a doorman asking us what we were doing. My friend 바우 형 told them we were meeting friends and they already had a table/room for us. He walked us through another set of doors and were greeted by another person in a suit. The scene was quite unbelievable. I thought I just walked onto the set of "Casino" where men in vests holding trays, were rushing around and sometimes holding the hand of a girl. (I will get to this later.) The scene was surreal. We were led to a table where we sat down. My friend said he had to check on something and he would be right back. While I waited, some girls began singing on stage and dancing. The room was very dark and noisy. Almost too much to take in. But there is more.

바우 comes back and says his friends have rented a room. This is a place where guys can hang out with each other in a much, much quieter setting. When I enter the room, there are about 5 guys sitting around a table. Next to one guy is a girl whom I have never met. The guys, I had only met about 30 minutes prior to showing up here. The table had fruits, sodas, and some other drinks. There was a karaoke machine set up in case someone felt the urge to sing. I sat down next to my friend and began chatting. Then, the door opened and a host pulled a girl in and had her sit next to me. He actually made me stand up so she could sit in between my friend and I. (This is why the waiters were holding girls hands. They bring them to the tables of guys.) Now, if you know me at all, at this point I am feeling quite awkward. I had no idea what was going on. A stranger was just sat next to me and now I am suppose to talk to her. (Remember, I live in Korea and know very little Korean.) We talk briefly, then she gets up and walks out.

A few minutes later, the waiter walks in with another girl. This whole scene continues on for the rest of the night. I enjoy meeting people just as much as the next person, but this seemed a little to awkward for me. Everything was forced. I was glad when one of the guys asked if I wanted to go out to the dance floor. I thought this would take me away from all the awkwardness in the room. It did, for about 4 songs at which point the DJ ended the dancing.

Despite all the awkwardness, it was a fun experience. Would I ever do this again? Probably not. It just isn't my thing. What did I learn from it? Not sure. Maybe, I learned that I really do like the idea of respect for women. This place put women at the same level of cattle or sushi at a sushi bar where you can pick and choose what you want. Also, if you are sitting by a crazy girl, be careful. If you have to use the restroom, let her know before you get up. Otherwise, she might grab your arm (in the process scratch you) and yell at you in Korean. (I actually understood what she said, but pretending like I didn't.)

My friend and I ended up getting home after the sun had risen. I was completely exhausted on Sat. and my friend 화선 told me I was acting weird. It was a mixture of not getting enough sleep and I was starving when we hung out. I finally got some food and she said I was normal again.

Dancing, Movie, and a Valley

The weekend as I remember it.

After work on Friday, my friend 바우 형 and I met up and decided to head to 강남. Another friend was supposed to meet with us at this point, but was out with his co-workers and said he would meet with us later. We arrived in 강남 and decided to get some food while we waited on our friend, JK. This led to some pretty good conversations all the while having some Korean girls eavesdrop on us the whole time. I still wonder if they understood what we said. At one point, I made direct eye contact with one of them at which point she smiled quite big, so I returned the favor.

Our friend arrived and we headed out. We wanted to go dancing. Now, some people go out to meet girls or whatever, I on the other hand, simply want to goof off and have a good time. We got to one place that pretty much played rap. If you know me, then you know I am not the biggest fan of rap. It was also very crowded... too crowded for me. We decided to leave and go to another place. This place was a bit better. The music was a mixture of Rap, Korean Pop, and some Indie Pop from the States. At one point, I was feeling the groove (so to speak) and had a blast. Afterward, 바우 said my dancing was quite different from the way Koreans dance. Maybe I will start a trend, haha. (I did get a thumbs up and a pat on the back from some guy wearing sunglasses.)

Saturday, I slept in since we were out pretty late the night before. I ate lunch around 1 PM, then met with my friend 은진. I wanted to buy a derby hat but I am apparently too tall or too small for anything in Korea to fit me. The lady selling the hat pulled the hat over my ears and said, "It fits!" This was of course in Korean to which I said, "No, it doesn't. I want it above my ears." (I pulled the hat up demonstrating how I wanted it. She said she could fix that by putting sizing tape on the inside. I said it would still be too big and left.

Afterward, we went to eat my favorite Korean dish, 닭갈비. During this time my friend, 바우 and I were planning on watching Public Enemies. We found a time and a way back home. Most buses stop around 12, but there are a few that will go until 1 or 2 AM. 은진 was acting silly and kept asking to see my text. I told her no and that she was being nosey. (All in good fun.) We met my friend and watched Public Enemies. Maybe I will write a review for it in my next post. Parts were good, some not so much.

Then on Sunday, I went to church in the morning. I met again with 형 so we could go food shopping for our afternoon in a valley. I am not sure the name and will hopefully add it soon. We met with a few other friends, found a nice spot to lay everything out, and began preparing out food. I cooked chicken while my friends cooked pork. Well, they guys cooked and the girls washed the vegetables and pots once we were done with them. We sat next to a few older ladies and an older man who were quite nice. They wanted to trade us an apple for some mushrooms but we had just used the last of our mushrooms for our chicken. They insisted we take the apple anyway. We ate, played Go-Stop and Dutch Blitz. Also, I was able to have another great conversation with 형. We packed everything up and left. On our way out, we stopped at this bridge in the mountain where you could see the city of Seoul. The sun was setting and made the site really beautiful.

This was a great weekend with good friends. Now if I could only stop being lazy and work on my photos.

Who is the Villain?

I have been reading a book called "The Writer's Journey" and in it, the book talks about all the archetypes in a story. One is the villain. Every story tends to have some sort of a villain, whether it be the guy who is trying to take over the world, the man who is trying to steal the hero's girlfriend, or a con-artist. But a question came up. Does the villain see themselves as the villain?

My friend and I had a discussion about it today. Does the villain really see themselves as evil? Do they think what they are doing is wrong or that it is something necessary in order to survive? The dictionary defines evil as morally wrong; injurious, accompanied by misfortune or suffering. Does the villain believe what they are doing is morally wrong? Does everyone believe in the same standards of morals? Did Adam and Eve see themselves as evil when they ate from the tree of life?

So, now I ask you, does the villain see himself as evil?

Unexpected

"Now, I Nebuchadnezzar praise, exalt, and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride."

The last part of this verse hit me. "He is able to humble those who walk in pride." I have a tendency to walk with pride that is not rightfully mine. Just last night, I was given a blow. A few friends and I were talking about church and when I asked if they knew I was a Christian, I was told no. Until this point, I thought I was doing okay. I thought I was living my life for God. I thought, I was showing through my walk and everything who I lived for.

This is what I thought.

Last night, when I got home, I began praying and asking for forgiveness. Then, I cried. I was crying because of my pride and shame. However, I will not live with this shame. God has restored me. He gives us people to show us an outside perspective. I thank God for showing me this. I hope I can continue to grow and that He continues to show me more of the things I am doing well in and the things I should change.

Thank you.

From July to August

Well, it has been awhile since I have posted anything on my travels in Korea. I have been quite busy with working and doing some traveling. I have been thinking about my future in Korea as well, but that is another subject for another time. Where to begin?

Well, the last place I left off was my trip to the Mud Festival. Since then, I have traveled to 궝주 to visit my friend Wes. He moved here from FL as well and this was the first time I have been able to visit him. While here I was able to visit a bamboo forest and a bamboo museum.

The day we went to the bamboo forest was probably the hottest day in Korea. I don't really know if that is true or not, but it definitely felt that way. But once you got into the forest the temperature dropped to a reasonably temperature. To get there, we took a bus for about 45 minutes which dropped us off at a small station. We decided to get a taxi to drive us to the forest. As my Korean is not very good, I tried the best I could to tell the driver where we wanted to go. After a few minutes and some conversing with other drivers, we were finally on our way. We began our drive on a nice paved road which turned into a long, wavy dirt road that eventually dropped us off in the middle of nowhere. However, we got out of the cab and enjoyed our time there.

Afterwards, we got another cab and headed towards the bamboo museum. It was neat to see the different things you can do with bamboo. We walked around the shops and left to head home. Also, while in 궝주 we went to a baseball game. We actually got the crowd to do the wave which went around the entire stadium around 3 or 4 times. I guess you can say we were proud of ourselves, haha.

I also met a girl who I thought was cute. Found out her name, that she lives in Seoul, is an actress, and a Christian. However, I failed to get any sort of contact information. I guess it wasn't meant to be.

Then there was 가평. A few weeks ago, I was asked if I would go with a group of kids. They said it would only cost about 50,000 won. I thought that was a good deal to venture around Korea some more. We all met at a subway station in Seoul and headed towards the train. When we got to the train station, the train we were supposed to take was leaving. Therefore, we had to wait about 2 hours for the next train. This is also when I found out we would have to stand for the whole hour and a half train ride. (Was not a fan of this. But it only cost about 3,000 won, so who cares right?) We made it to our destination and unloaded our things. We jumped into a van and headed to the river. Once there, we began riding on a banana boat and some other floatation devices. It was definitely a good experience. We also went swimming which had a small slide. We played around trying to knock each other off some floating objects you would see in a game show like "Wipeout."

We left to head to our pension. Once there, we showered and begin preparation for our dinner. We began cooking and they began watching me as I began grilling the chicken we had brought. It is funny how grilled chicken is such an oddity here. But once they ate it, they loved it. It is such a good feeling to have someone appreciate something you have done (even if it is something as simple as grilling chicken.) We all hung out chatting until we fell asleep. The next day, we woke up quite sore from our day at the lake. We cleaned up the place and put our things together. We jumped into another van and headed to the train station. Again, we had to stand on the train. Well, we eventually just sat on the ground. I guess we were too exhausted from our trip to care.

Now, I think this has caught you up to where I am. Korea has been a blast. I have been meeting so many people lately. I thank God for every day I am here. This will be an adventure to remember and one that I think will continue for quite awhile. My promise is to keep you updated as much as possible.

The 12th Boryeong Mud Festival

This past weekend, I got to attend the Boryeong Mud Festival down in Daecheon Beach. It was kind of weird to see so many foreigners. But the whole experience was a lot of fun. I did participate in some traditional Korean wrestling called 씨름. Here is what you do.

You both start out on your knees and grab the other person by their belt. (In our case, we just grabbed their shorts by the waist.) You both stand up and begin wrestling. The object is to get the opponent on the ground. I wrestled this one Korean who apparently is some sort of amateur boxer and won! Then, his friend who was a little bigger than me asked if we could wrestle. I said yes and well, he won. After he beat me, he hugged me and said, "It's okay, you are still handsome."

After playing in this tub of mud, we got out and walked around. My friends and I walked to the beach and jumped into the ocean. I was surprised that is wasn't too cold. The wind was blowing pretty hard and made things quite cold, but the ocean was actually a decent temperature. Then, we met up with the others and had some lunch. I am not sure the name of the place because I did not have my glasses on. But it was decent food. Once we were all full, we decided to get muddy again. This time, we got into what they call the "Mud Jail." Here, you stand in this "jail cell" and people sling mud at you. I then hugged my friend, 유정 who no longer had mud on her.

All in all, it was a great time. A good chance to ignore all those times when we were children and told not to play in mud. If you are in Korea around July next year, this is one event you should check out.

My Trip to Japan (Anime in Real Life)

Recently, I had a few days off and decided to travel to another country. I looked up flights, ordered the cheapest tickets I could find, and reserved a room in a tiny hotel.

My journey began around 5 AM where I woke up and got dressed. I hoped on a bus and headed to the Incheon Airport. From there, I let the pilots take over and was flown to Narita, Japan. On the flight over, I sat by a Korean couple and we didn't really talk to each other. We did have a moment of laughing together when we found out we could move our tray (after we had finished eating.) We landed a couple hours later and I headed towards the subway. I boarded and sat down. A few moments later the couple I sat with on the plane walked in. The husband and I saw each other and both stood up. I did a small bow while saying, "안녕하세요" meaning hello. We both moved toward each other and sat down. On the hour and a half ride we communicated with a mix of broken English and Korean. He asked what I did and why I was in Korea. I found out that he was a traditional doctor and just liked to go to Japan to watch a Korean baseball player. Oh and he enjoyed the onsen. We arrived at Ueno and exited the subway station.

I walked to my hotel, which I had to ask for directions because I apparently didn't go out the right exit.

Side-note: If you have to ask for directions in Japan, know that you will probably here something to the effect of, "Go straight and then take a right."

Anyway, I got to my hotel and checked in. I was suppose to meet a friend at 4 and had a few hours to waste. I decided to walk around the neighborhood and see what was around. At 4 my friend showed up and left to see some of the tourist spots.

Our first spot was Asakusa. Here there is a beautiful temple and people selling all sorts of traditional Japanese items. I was taught the proper ways of doing things inside the temple. The whole experience was interesting. After the temple, we headed for Rainbow Bridge. Here you can see a bridge that connects a small island to the rest of Japan. At night, the bridge lights up, hence the name, Rainbow Bridge. This is also where you can see a smaller version of the Statue of Liberty. Still not quite sure why this is there.

On Sunday, I walked around Harajuku, Shinjuku, and Shibuya. These places are famous for the way kids dress. If you have ever read or watched any anime, you will have some idea of how they looked. If you haven't read or seen any anime, look it up. The images you see will be very similar to what is in these cities. To be honest, it is a little weird to see people looking exactly like a comic book or cartoon. But you would even see business men with crazy hairdos. All and all, it was very interesting.

On Tuesday, I walked around the Imperial Palace before my flight. The photo above is the actual palace which no one is allowed inside. From here, you have to walk a nice little distance to enter the East Garden.

This photo is on my way to the East Garden. The Imperial Palace is surrounded by beautiful green grass and assortment of trees. And just beyond the grass and trees are skyscrapers and cranes.

This is an image I took at the Edo-Tokyo Museum. I am not sure why, but I really like the miniatures in some of the museums I have seen in Korea and Japan. This was showing the westernization of Japan.

This is a famous street in Harajuku. Here, you can hear people yelling (with boys and girls sounding strangely similar.) to come see the sales they have at the moment. I didn't spend too much time here. The main reason was to get away from the voices, haha.

I wanted to save this part for last. This was the highlight of my trip. I was introduced to a friend who got us tickets to the Ghibli Museum. Here are some facts about Ghibli Studios if you have never heard of it. Ghibli Studios was founded by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. They have made such films as "Howl's Moving Castle," "Princess Mononoke," "Spirited Away," as well as many more great films. The animation tell great stories so people of all ages can enjoy. If you haven't seen any of these films, I would recommend you to watch one or all. You won't be disappointed.

Well, they decided to create a museum with Hayao Miyazaki involved in the whole process. I guess I was a bit impressed. I spent over 3 hours in the museum and had no clue. To get here, we had to take a subway to Mitaka. We left the subway and got on the bus you see below. This bus took us directly to the museum.

This is the robot soldier you see in "Castle in the Sky." It stands at the top of the museum in a garden. When you are in the museum, you are able to walk up some stairs and up to this spot. Just around the corner, you will find the Keystone, another character in the film.

They have even made faucets in the shape of a cat. The whole place was like this. Everything was very unique. A lot of thought went into the making of it. They wanted different themes throughout the museum. I believe they really captured the inner child in everyone.

A miniature "Moving Castle." This is seen as you walk into the museum.

This is the front of the museum. You can also see a stairwell that leads up to the robot soldier. (I had to duck the whole time walking up these stairs.)

I am not sure how to really describe the museum. I spent a lot of time in one room watching a three-dimensional zoetrope called, "Bouncing Totoro." In the same room with "Bouncing Totoro," they have a set of "Panorama Boxes." Each box contains 7-10 painted glass panels that are placed in rows from front to back. They have added some lights to create depth in the photos. You also get a chance to see one of a few short films that are only shown at the museum. Words can't really describe the museum. If you are ever in Japan, I think this is one exhibit you should not miss.

A Small Update

Last weekend I was given a few days off and decided to spend them in Japan. I was there from Sat. June 27th - Tuesday, June 30th. I am currently working on the photos that were taken while touring around Japan. Some photos have just been posted on my flickr site which can be seen here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jbland/

I will be writing about my trip to Japan and just wanted to keep everyone updated. Sorry, this isn't the actual blog about the trip. That is to come soon.

A Korean Church

This past week, I was invited to my friend 창선's church. I accepted and went. The church was inside a building next to some retail stores and restaurants. We walked into a hallway and to an elevator. My friend punched the number 7 and we began upwards. At this moment, I didn't really know what to expect. I was a little nervous. I was going to be the only foreigner.

We walked out of the elevator and walked over to some of his friends. We introduced ourselves in some Korean and some English. It seems most of the conversations that would occur would be in both languages as I only speak a little Korean. Sometimes, a person would find out I spoke a little Korean and would begin to speak to me as if I was going to know everything they said. It usually ends with me saying I don't know in Korean.

At this point, I am beginning to expect a very traditional church. I thought the worship would be old hymns or something to that effect. After a short time of meeting new people, we went into the sanctuary. They began to practice for the service. Boy was I in for a surprise. The worship was not that of a traditional Korean church. Then, the service started. Everyone began singing, including me. I didn't know what I was singing nor do I know if it was correct. I was simply following along the words and trying to do my best.

The funny thing is, I could feel God. I wasn't worshiping in English, but in a language I didn't know very well. But God knew my heart. He understood the words. And He thought it was beautiful.

After the service, they asked everyone to come closer. My friend and I moved a little closer and after one person speaking, they asked me to come up in introduce myself. I was not prepared for this. I was extremely nervous and I am quite sure my face turned bright red. I said, "안녕하세요. 제 이름은 자니입니다." Which means, "Hello, my name is Johnny." Then my friend took the mic. and told what he knew about me.

Afterwards, his parents invited me over to their house. They greeted me and made me some plume tea. At least, that is what I think it was. We spent a few minutes at the house before we left to go have dinner. They took us to a restaurant that served mainly fish. The fish was good, but too many bones.

This was a good day. I enjoyed the people I encountered and hope to spend more time with them.

거제도 Part III (외도)

We woke up around 6 in the morning to a phone call from 사장님 saying we needed to be ready to leave by 7. We all got up and began to get ready for the day. We made sandwiches once again to take with us. Around 7, we walked out our door and met up with my 선생님(teacher). We walked down stairs and packed into a car.

We rode to a harbor where we would take a ferry to our destination. Today, we would be seeing 외도(Oedo Island). This place is a private owned island with many flowers, trees, and statues. Needless to say, it was beautiful. But before we get to 외도, we have to talk about the ferry ride there.

We were all lined up to board a boat. As we boarded, we were each given a tag that is suppose to be able identify us for when we leave the island. All but 정길 got one. They told him children didn't need one. (He eventually got his right before we got to the island.) Anyway, we had our laughs and headed on our way. While we were on the ferry, a man was telling everyone about what we were doing. He also asked people to clap and if you clapped, you were suppose to live a good life. He made jokes the entire ride, none of which I could understand. My friends were laughing, so I take it he was funny. On the way to the island, we came across a rock formation in the middle of the sea. At one point our ferry went into a crack in this "mountain" and then backed out. I must say he was a good driver to get us in and out of there without hitting anything. We circled the rock and headed for 외도.

I am not sure how to really describe this place. All I can say is that it was really beautiful. At one point you get to this look-out cliff and can see the ocean with mountains in the background almost hidden in the fog. The only bad part of this trip was that we only had an hour to walk around the whole island. I do not think an hour is long enough to really experience 외도. We walked through the first part slow, taking our time to try and take it all in. Then, we realized what time it was and sort of rushed through the last part of it.

We boarded the ferry once again and headed for the port. We got off the boat and decided to climb a mountain nearby. I think if we knew how much walking we would have to do, we might have thought twice about it. On the way up 선생님, her friend, and I played 가위 바위 보 (rock, scissors, paper) to see how many steps you could take. The first one at the top, won. Well, I won. As we were walking up, a person told us there was nothing at the top and not worth it. We decided to continue up and got to the first look-out point. We asked if the next one was far and were told that is wasn't. They also said it was much better than where we were. So, we all decided to head up. We got there and it was quite the view. We were surrounded by the sea with mountains out in the distance. I think one of the things I like most about Korea is that almost everywhere you look, you will see mountains in the distance. We rested, took some photos and made our descent.

When we got to the bottom, 정길 and I decided to go climbing on the cliffs. On one side, I saw a man take a starfish out of the water. I am still curious what he wanted to do with the starfish. We climbed around and decided to eat our sandwiches on the side of one of the cliffs. We could feel the ocean breeze as the waves would crash next to the rocks. While we were sitting there, we noticed two girls who we thought were on the bus the day before. We asked them to take a photo of us and then asked if they were on the bus. They were. We saw our friends waiting for us and decided to go. When we got to our friends we told them who the girls were and they insisted we go talk to them more. So, we did. Apparently, the whole thing was quite funny to watch. 정길 thought they were from 서울(Seoul) but turned out to be from 부산(Busan). He was pretty shocked because people from there tend to have a different accent but these girls did not. After a few minutes, we said our goodbyes and left.

We decided to walk to another rock beach. This beach was extremely small. To be honest, I am not sure you could even call it a beach. Well, after walking up hills, we finally made it. We sat down on some rocks and decided to rest. The place was quite peaceful. You could hear the sound of the water rushing up against the rocks. After a little bit of sitting there, we decided to head back to our pension. When we got back, we realized we were pretty exhausted from the day. 정길 and I ended up falling asleep and waking up around 7 or so. We walked downstairs and cooked our dinner. We met up with my 선생님 and began eating. We took a few photos with 사장님 and then headed to our rooms.

The next morning we woke up and got ready to leave. We said our goodbyes to the owner and got into a taxi. We arrived at the bus station and headed back to 분당. This trip was a lot of fun. This experience has made me want to see more of Korea and work harder at learning the language. I look forward to seeing more places and writing about them as I do.

거제도 Part II (Journey to the Abandoned Park)

Before we went to sleep the night before, we all decided to wake up to see the sun rise. Well, around 5:30 in the morning, the alarm went off and was turned off just as quick. I simply rolled over and thought there was no way I was going to get out of bed. We were all pretty exhausted from the day before, so I decided to just sleep in. Good thing too. My friend Amy said she got up and went to watch the sun rise. Apparently it began to rain and was too foggy to see anything anyway. I guess you can say I was happy with my decision to not get up at 5:30 in the morning.

Around 8 am, I woke up and began to get ready for the day. Everyone else was still asleep until 9 or so when the TV turned itself on. 정길 and Amy woke up and began to get ready. We made sandwiches for lunch so we wouldn't have to spend money while we were out. We decided to head north along the coast. We got on a bus and began our 40 minute ride to a small flower garden with a few statues and what not. While we were there, my friend 정길 began talking to a family. They were telling us a few places we should go.

I, however already knew where I wanted to go. I wanted to visit the abandoned amusement park in 옥포 (Okpo). 정길 asked about this but they said it had been completely demolished. They were also very curious why we would want to visit an abandoned amusement park. Even 정길 was curious why. We decided to head to 옥포 and see if the park was still there.

After a short bus ride to 옥포 we had to climb this amazingly tall hill. We finally reached the top (and not knowing if we had just climbed for nothing) and saw the gate to the park. We moved back some of the barbed wire and made our way through it.

Side-note: The park was at one point owned by a corrupt business man. When 2 children died, the park was closed. The man ran off and never paid the family for any damages.

We walked around the park, climbed onto some of the coasters, and were able to take a few photos. It is kind of a shame the park ended the way it did. From the top, there was a nice view of the mountain leading into the sea. You could also see 옥포 shipyard. I think the park is going to be turned into an apartment building for the shipyard. While we were in the park 정길 looked at me and said he now understood why we wanted to visit that place. I tried to explain before we got there, but he along with so many other Koreans, just did not understand.

After the park, we went to another hill to sit on a pagoda, or at least that is what it reminded me of. We ate some food and just relaxed for a bit. We talked to another family with a really cute kid and headed back to the bus stop. We got on the bus and headed back to our pension. On the way there, we saw a beach and decided to get off. I am glad we did, because this was the only time we got to see the sunset. We stood on the beach and watched the sun go down behind some mountains. While we were standing there, 사장님 (means owner) called us to make sure we were okay. He then informed us there were no more buses coming our way but that he would be happy to come pick us up and take us home.

He arrived in somewhat of a small car and took us home. When we arrived to our room, we decided to make some 호떡 (hotteok) which is a kind of Korean pancake with a cinnamon filling. I think you can put whatever you would like in it. After they were done, we gave some to 사장님 and my Korean teacher who arrived while we were out. After the 호떡 we decided to go to bed, because we had to wake up around 6 the next morning.

More on that in the next chapter.

My Trip to 거제도 Part 1

This past weekend I went to an island off Korea called 거제도(Geoje Island). I am not even sure where to begin with this blog. The place was amazing.

Well, Friday night after work, I met with my friend 정길 and my new friend Amy. My co-worker Simon gave us a ride to Nambu Station where we would take a bus to 거제도. We thought the bus ride was going to be about 5 hours and ended up only being about 4 hours. So, we arrived at our destination a bit earlier than expected. When we got to the island, it was about 4:30 in the morning and we had some time to kill. We went to a PC room to check on a few things before we started to venture around the island. We tried to find a coffee shop to waste some time, but nothing was open. We decided to take our luggage to the pension and leave it with the owner. None of us wanted to carry around our heavy bags.

By the time we were able to check into the pension, we were all pretty beat. We bought some groceries for the weekend and headed to the pension, which was about a 40 minute cab ride. This cab ride only cost us 20,000 won. We checked into the pension, took a nap, and then cooked our dinner. I was able to introduce grilled chicken to the pension's owner. He liked it, so 정길 told him how I prepared it to be cooked. After dinner, we went back to our room and went to sleep for the night.

(In fear of making one really long post that people would get bored reading, I am going to post about my trip to 거제도 in separate parts. The next part will be posted soon. Hopefully along with photos in each post. Maybe a video too.)

A Wedding and the Lotus Flower Festival

This weekend I was able to attend a wedding and the Lotus Flower Festival. I will start with the wedding.

First, it was not a traditional Korean wedding. It was held in a Cathedral. The wedding itself was nice but a little boring. We were also told to stand, sit, stand, sit, stand, sit, stand, sit, stand some more, and then finally it was over. I guess the wedding was about an hour or so.

Second, was the reception. Well, the bride and groom do not even eat in the same area as you. They, along with their family, eat by themselves in a room. They do walk around and say hello, bow, and thank you for coming.

Last, I was the only foreigner there. This was to be expected. I am glad that I was able to meet some of the family before the wedding. A few weeks ago, my friend invited me to her house to meet her sister (who was getting married) and mother. While I was there, I was able to meet her aunt, uncle, cousin, and grandmother. They are all very kind. Even at the wedding, they remembered me and tried to talk to me. I say try, because I still don't know enough Korean to have a conversation and they don't know English. So, we smile, nod, and bow. I appreciate being invited and glad I was able to attend.

Now, the Lotus Flower Festival. It is a festival for Buddhists mainly, but anyone can come out. While there, you can enjoy some nice tea and make some paper lanterns. I went into one of the tents to try some of their tea. I sat next to a monk while the woman serving me tea, showed me the proper way of drinking it. There is a method of how to drink tea properly. She told me that you can not use the tea leaves for more than three cups or so. All of this was very interesting.

Afterwards, I got on a bus and headed home. The following photo is of a mountain off in the distance. I just thought it was pretty and took it from the bus. The rest are from the Lotus Festival.