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.