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.

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.