xteethx

Joe

I visited a small North Korean church this past Sunday. This girl named Kara, who I met at church, has a heart for North Korean refugees and invited some people to visit them. The North Korean congregation is all in their twenties and attend college. You wouldn’t be able to tell that they were from North Korea since they have adjusted to South Korea for a few years now. Actually the only difference if you were looking for it is the height. After awhile I noticed that everyone was around my height which means they are quite short in comparison with South Koreans who are much taller these days.
After eating lunch with them, we went to service which was like any other Korean service. I couldn’t understand the message but I understood enough to know that the pastor at times addressed political and cultural differences between NK and SK. It’d be interesting to know everyone’s story of how they came to Seoul. I wonder what they think of their new life here. I wonder how they got here. I wonder what they miss from the life that they left; undoubtedly they must miss their family… I wonder where they want their dreams to take them. I wonder if I can relate to them at all.

After service was over, Kara and I had the fortunate experience of listening to Joe’s testimony at Starbucks. He shared about how he left for China without telling his family. He didn’t know where he was going but eventually crossed the Tumen river and got into China. He had relatives in China but they refused to let him stay with him so he had to work relentlessly for a family who didn’t pay him or treat him so kindly. He shared how he would sleep with his shoes on in case policeman raided the house. At night he would sing at the moon to comfort himself in his loneliness. Eventually he ran away and found odd jobs at a hotel and eventually at a club where he lived a harder nightlife. He tried to seek asylum at a Korean embassy or church but they both turned him down in fear of getting caught for aiding a North Korean refugee.

To make a long story short, he found the website of a NK humanitarian organization and emailed them for help. Eventually he got a response and instructions to meet a guide in Vietnam and eventually Cambodia. He stayed with a church in Cambodia for 6 months and became a Christian. Eventually he was brought to Seoul where he now lives.

At times I couldn’t believe I was in the middle of starbucks sipping toffee nut latte and listening to a former NK refugee share in English about the difficulties and hardships he endured to come here. I want to believe that the quality of life has gotten better in N. Korea but he says it’s the same and it breaks my heart. He first escaped because he heard it was so much better in China, where his dad told him that even pigs ate as much rice and corn as they wanted while North Koreans often had to boil their rice to a soupy consistency to save as much rice as possible.

While I am so happy for Joe who is pursuing a veterinarian degree and is engaged, there are so many others who don’t have a happier ending. While I am in no place to answer the question why some don’t have the same fortunate ending, all I can cling on to is the truth that God is still ‘close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.’ I often forget his heart is a lot larger than mine…
If anything, I think knowing of people’s pain and suffering can compel and push us to love more than we thought we ever could. I want to believe that learning how to love larger would be worth it…I don’t know what to do from here but to pray and work with Kara and the missions team from church. I also want to befriend some of the NK girls I met who are so sweet; though they were shy they clung onto my arm and spoke some English with me. (I love how they say ‘Just say it in English’ after I try to speak to them in Korean lol)
this is Kara who I admire for her big heart and dedication…

..and joe, whose enthusiasm, kindness and love for life is contagious…

This Sunday I am going to a thanksgiving banquet at the US youngsan army base with Jubilee church. I feel like all these remnants from the Korean war be it the NK refugee crisis, the presence of the US army, the DMZ, the required two year service in the army for S. Korean males, are still so needlessly palpable today.

but I am still thankful.

On love and Korean pinatas

Saturday night I hung out with my cousin’s friends from his Korean traditional drumming club during college. It was the anniversary of the founding of their club so current club members came out along with members who graduated long ago and now have kids.

I don’t think alumni relationships are nearly as strong in the US. My father still meets up with his classmates for goodness sake. It’s definitely interesting to see such strong ties like this. I see a lot of cheong (ì •,love) in these relationships and I become a part of it just because of my relation with my cousin. Initially they are shy because they don’t want to speak English with me but after awhile they open up and become silly and uninhibited

At first I was really squeamish when I saw that they were eating off of newspapers on the floor and worried about using someone else’s cup or chopsticks by mistake but by this time around, i didn’t care.
Food. Lots of it. This time around we had curry, korean-style pancakes, soup, fried chicken and pork…so good.

We had 빼빼로 (beh-beh-ro) cookies since the next day was 11/11, 빼빼로 day. The skinny wafers sticks dipped in chocolate resemble the ’1′s…

Outside they played Korean pinata. There are two pinatas and each is designated to a team. Instead of using sticks to break them open, each team throws these pouches full of sand and uncooked rice at the pinatas. No one takes turns; everyone just starts throwing when the time is called. The team that breaks their pinata first wins. (my team lost)

Each team has a designated person to grab as many pouches to their teammates as possible.

No candy pops out; just some streamers and a banner that says something

Afterwards we went inside for some drumming…

and some other stringed instrument…

ã…‹ã…‹ã…‹…(i think that means kee kee kee as in ha ha ha)

Since everyone tends to hang out way past the last train or bus, people just sleep in a sauna, a PC bang (room) or wherever they’re at…the guy closest to the camera was drooling so another guy wiped it for him. Now that’s ì • (love, empathy)

Wedding Crasher

For all the weddings I missed in the US, I could’ve easily made up for during my time here. Apparently it’s not a big deal if you want to go to someone’s wedding and you don’t have an invitation; you just go. And never mind the present or if you mess up the seating arrangement. RSVPs dont seem to be like a big deal here….i guess cause there are 500+ guests and there’s always an overflow room on another floor.
My aunt and my cousin invited me to go to two weddings with them but I couldn’t make it because there were other things going on. But I finally went to a wedding this Saturday even though I never met the couple. It’s pretty much the same thing as in the states, except you have a ball of rice with your steak and side dishes of kimchi and other kinds of panchan.
Koreans are so garish and gaudy in their presentation sometimes; it gets kind of cheesy. Frills, bows, sparkling studs and everything girly I loathe tend to make its way on shoes, shirts and cakes.
Check out the cake; it was about as tall as yao ming so they needed a samurai sword to cut the thing. And I suppose for dramatic effect, smoke started coming out of the cake. I wasn’t there for it but it lifted off into space after all the cutting was done.

Cause Girls Just Wanna have fun

Feeling incredibly content, thankful, and blessed after this weekend.

Since I’ve been here what I cherish the most is all the people I’ve met who have been so kind to me. To be able to connect to people, to be able to give and receive love gives all of life meaning and brings me closer to God but also demands a response in all ways big and small, doesn’t it? i guess more thoughts on that later…
Friday night I met up with Kelly at Coex for dinner and went to her apartment afterwards to have some wine. Staying in curled up on her couch and talking until 2:30 AM was one of the most enjoyable times I had in Seoul; there was no need to be out to have fun. I’m really thankful for her because I can look up to her as an older sister. So many people I’ve met here are so young and fresh out of college so it was nice to meet someone who’s closer to me in age. It was nice that we could talk so frankly about things close to our hearts; I really learned a lot from her and was encouraged by her faith and all that God’s doing in her life.

But it’s also fun hanging out with younger people who make an energetic partner for a late night out. Jen and I went shopping out at 동대문 (dong deh moon) and she haggled relentlessly for me which was fun to watch. I am indebted to her.
First time eating 포장마차 (pojang macha or street cart food) was with her; isn’t she cute? Anyhow the food was ok…i felt like the underlying taste of the intestines (i don’t really like it), dumplings and kimchi pancake was just grease..

My cousin’s friend, 정자, (chungja) and I go on a different excursion once a week for our language exchange. This past Thursday we went biking along the Han river which was fun. The weather has been really nice out since I’ve been here; it only rained twice and it hasn’t been too cold here.

Since 정자 is a landscape designer, she takes a lot of pics of the plants, flowers, foot bridges, paths or any other elements designed in parks and other recreational outdoor areas. No host sightings though….(sorry had to be that in there)

We went out to eat duk boki afterwards and it was the first time I had it with noodles…

It was good and cheap; it’s definitely been a yummy culinary adventure here….

snow day!

Class is canceled! Well, no snow, but my student canceled so same feeling of exhilaration. And now i can blog at my leisure with a dog crawling all over me.

No snow yet but the weather is definitely cooler. Yesterday I went hiking with my cousin’s friend, Chungja, and the foliage was beautiful. It reminded me of Japan...down to the same Uniqlo fleece I wore while I was out there. There were lots of old people or little kids cause you know, everyone else is being a responsible adult and working during the day or something. But it was still a learning experience; I taught her English and she taught me Korean. For one when leaves hit the ground, it’s not called a leaf anymore; it has a different name. Also, Koreans like to use a lot of onomatopoeia; things like ‘woof woof’, or ‘moo, moo’ is not just for kids; adults use them in everyday conversation too. Soft, for example, is ‘moolang, moolang’ and my aunt likes to laugh at great lengths when I say it.

It’s great when people are eager to learn, unlike some of my kids =| She puts a lot of effort into pronunciation and making sure she uses the correct prepositions and everything. To compensate me for teaching her English, she pays for my lunch. I feel like I’m ripping her off since I’m learning Korean at the same time but oh well, it works for me.

Since Seoul University was nearby we went to the outskirts of the campus and ate chestnuts and tangerines for a bit. We were still starving after hiking of course so we went to eat this:

which perfectly satiated my appetite.

In other news, I got the red ring of death on my 360, a day after Al did. But i turned it off and turned it on back again and it was fine….but this might be the beginning of the end! and i didn’t get to finish the fight!

Going shopping this Friday in dong-deh moon with this girl i met at church. I’m about like 10 years older than her but we’re at the same point in life of going to grad school next year lol. Anyway should be fun…not like last sunday when I had to go to my uncle’s annual banquet event with all his hometown buddies. There must have been more than a thousand 60+ yr olds there to eat, listen to boring speeches and karaoke all day. It might have quite been the most boring day I had in my life to date. Even if I could speak Korean, I would have nothing to say to anyone. The food was good though and since my cousin went, it was bearable.

here’s a bonus clip for those who want to hear them sing the Korean national anthem

Korea’s Got Talent

edit: ah thanks Chris

I just believed she was Korean from the caption on the video.

So for the record, her name is Charice Pempengco from the Phillipines!

(And IMHO she’s better than the Korean girl)

http://tinyurl.com/2adryk

Though I still can’t understand half of what she is saying she does deserve all the bubbles and all the WaaaaAAaahhHhHhHhHhhhs and OoooOooOoooooohhhhhs

Actually Korea does have a lot of talent. I enjoyed a jazz gig over the weekend; the girl who played the flute was really impressive. It’s definitely a break from watching all the Korean drumming.

Miscellaneous

This site has been hiccuping a bit yesterday but seems okay now.

It’s been one month since I left for Korea. I know this because I ironically left for Korea the day Halo3 came out, which was Sept. 25. I’m still busy trying to meet up with the last of my relatives and friends that I haven’t met yet, and meeting up with new friends so my social life is gettin’ kinda hectic, it’s gettin, it’s gettin kinda hectic. I barely have enough time to post about it before a ton of other things happen.

I’ll start off with meeting Laura, a friend of my friend Ellen. It’s kind of weird to have dinner at someone’s house if you’ve never met them before and only been introduced to them via email but I’m finding that it’s the norm here. Once I got to Laura’s though, we talked as though we were always friends and it was nice to have met her husband and baby boy too. They cooked me my first American meal here, which was penne with spaghetti sauce and Betty Crocker brownies and it couldn’t have tasted any better. I was glad to have gotten along with them so well and we exchanged different advice about living here.

I can’t imagine what it’s like to live as ex-pats. They have worked in at least four different countries for a long period of time. (they met while working in Europe) I’m sure living in different countries must be exciting and rewarding. At the same time I wonder if it’s stressful and how much you must miss home in the US. I just found out that my cousin’s cousin who I met up with in Tokyo last year already moved to London this year.
I guess the lifestyle is doable until the kids are old enough to go to school.

Speaking of school, I visited my aunt’s classroom last Saturday. The students she teaches are really cute and it was nice to see her classroom.

Later on in the day I finally got to visit my other cousins and their kids who stayed with us in the US last year. We went to the public bathhouse together where we soaked in communal hot tubs, sat in saunas and yes, exfoliated the dead skin cells off of each others backs.

I’ve also been meeting new people at Jubilee, the church I currently attend. It reminds me of Harvest in some ways because the service is contemporary and casual and they sing a lot of Hillsong United and Passion songs. Most of the congregation is Korean hyphenated and there’s a few whites, blacks, and other ethnicities.

It’s not surprising that most kyopos (korean foreigners) seem to be in Seoul for a temporary time; few are here for the long run. Most people want to teach for some time, intern at some company before heading back home or do some other type of gig. People are here for a myriad of different reasons.  In my first small group meeting, we had to introduce ourselves and what we do. This one guy in our group said he was contracted for another 4 years and I had to ask him what he did since I was curious about which company would make a contract for that long. He said he was a singer and then a couple minutes later, I realized that this guy was the singer from the US that seems to be well known in young Korean-American circuits. I felt kind of sheepish after asking him that, esp. because I realized then that he was also the praise leader lol. He is simply known as Tim, and I found him to be very laid-back and easygoing. He showed us his new album that came out today so it was nice to have seen it before it was released.

Anyway while I’m thankful to befriend a lot of kyopos or foreigners, I’m also thankful to hang out with my family and befriend Korean nationals here too. I want to see the genuine experiences in Seoul and practice Korean.  My mom’s younger sister and her family treated me to my first kalbi dinner here in Seoul so I was pretty happy today. It’s these little things that my family here do for me that make me thankful and made my transition here so easy.

Beer+ kalbi + kimchi = :) Sohui my cousin, always makes sure that the best customer service is given. It kinda amuses me cause I could never ask for ‘service’ (basically, free bonus food) and for refills of this dish or that dish the way she does. It’s cute and endearing.

When I got home, I found out that my uncle and my cousin were going to perform ‘chul’, or paying respects to their deceased parents. It’s a tradition where they bow down before a table full of food offered to the deceased mother or father. All I could think of was how much work my aunt put into preparing all that food. After the rite is over, the food is eventually eaten.

I should be go to bed as it’s 2:30! I’ll be meeting up with my cousin’s friends tomorrow for our first language exchange so I’m anticipating a lot more hand gesturing and laughs.

Here’s a random pic du jour:

Finishing the Fight

I tell myself everyday at 1:00 AM that I should be sleeping and everyday I don’t.

Why do I find it so important to blog about my cousin who snuck my 360 out of my room to play halo3 while I was away for the weekend beats me but that’s exactly what he did. I cant believe he did that, but on the other hand I can because who wouldn’t sacrifice sleep and their eye vision to play halo 3? (rick are you done with it already?)
So he told me that he found it so addicting that he played it until 4 in the morning. He described some villain that he came across that i have never encountered so he’s past me. (He’s doing easy though). he was at least nice enough to create his own profile on my 360 so as not to ruin my own campaign.
One of the new features about h3 is the metagame in it where you can rack up points and win more awards and what not. There are skulls hidden throughout the game and if you find them, they have a slight debilitating power. At the same time, it unlocks an achievement award and gives you different armor and helmets that you can sport. You can eventually get to the point where you don’t look like master chief at all. (and you can finally have a female voice…’bout time!)
And I still can’t believe I am playing halo in Korea.

For those of you worried that I’m glued to the TV set, I can assure you I’m not. I’m also  working a daunting 8 hours a week you know. =) But I’ll also post on Korean ‘potato’ soup, meeting my younger cousins, visiting my aunt’s elementary school, odd-jobs, my first American meal here, Korean lessons and naked ladies at public bath houses. Pictures included! no not really.

good night y’all …

Echelon…

Reporting for duty on 10/17/07 22:00 Eastern time. Comrades, it’s an honor to serve by your side. *sniffs

Top Ten

observations I made here so far:

1) Korean fried chicken places are ubiquitous.
Still have yet to try it though. Can’t wait to consume all that glorious saturated fat. yum.

2) School guys still like to hold hands.
It’s called cheong, the ever so difficult to word to translate to English. It’s that loyal, unconditional, uninhibited affection and love you have for your friends and enables guys to hug each other.

3) A lot more international people here.
And speak Korean fluently. They often make appearances in dramas, talk shows, and documentaries. It was interesting to see Europeans speaking Korean, along with Indians and Latinos. It often sounds like this guy. (Doesn’t he remind you of Bethany speaking in Korean?) Today alone I met a Pakistani student peddling necklaces and a Peruvian who spoke a good amount of Korean. (I also got a free ring from him by speaking a good amount of Spanish lol)

4) You do NOT have the right of way.
I repeat, pedestrians do not have the right of way.

5) Money bills have changed.
They’re smaller and the color changed too.

6) People don’t wash their hands after using bathroom.
Not even the women.

7) I have a small face.
It’s often the second comment I get from people I just met…and that I don’t look thirty. People also say that I look Indian (from India) and like Pocahontas. Go figure.

8) They sell a lot more stuff than candybars on the subways. Folding mesh laundry baskets, magnet hooks to hang towels or keys, flashlights, etc. And if you happen to have craving for squid, they’re still roasting them by the subway entrances too.

9) Technology is more advanced than the states.
You can chew on squid while watching TV on your PDA or cell phone while riding the subway. It’s real-time broadcasting; not downloaded videos. I’d be happy if our cell phones worked on the subways.

10) If clothes are cheaper in the US cause they’re made in Korea, then they’re that much cheaper here. I just bought a nice $5 short-sleeve turtleneck at Kangnam station and bought $15 pants at another subway station. You can’t get any cheaper or more convenient than that.

=) bday es!