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Been here for awhile actually. Just too lazy and busy at the same time to update. (Make sense?)

It’s been a bit stressful and crazy since I’ve got back a couple weeks ago. I just got a phone today. House is in the middle of renovations. Furniture is in storage and all our stuff was packed in boxes ready to be moved to a smaller apartment that dad wanted to live in by seminary. But then the buyer failed to get a mortgage. Essentially, he sucks and so does the current housing market. (and banks and Spitzer) Freakin Spitzer.

My aunt (abruptly) flew in from Korea at the request of my dad to save the day. So she’s here helping to cook, clean, and talk to the Korean contractors. She is one loving, vigorous grandma. I’m not sure I would fly half way across the world to do all that, even if they’re blood. Then again, I’ve never been a mom or grandma for that matter.

But I digress. Korea was nothing short of amazing. I feel overwhelmed when I think about it actually. First and foremost, I feel quite blessed to have relatives who have treated me like royalty and with so much love and kindness. My mom’s sisters have let me live with them, cooked me sumptuous dinners, taken me out numerous times, made food for my apartment, treated me to spas, never let me pay for anything despite my protests, etc.
My relatives on my dad’s side, i.e. his cousins, have also treated me so kindly although I haven’t seen them for years and it was nice to have hung out with their kids and get to know them better. I was also treated so well by my father’s brother’s family who have taken me out to trips to go skiing or visit my grandparents’ tomb, or just take me out to restaurants and movies and connect me with tutoring jobs. It was nice to talk to my cousins, sometimes way late into the night, and catch up on the last few years.

There is a lot that I have learned but if there is just one word to sum it all up it would be opportunity. There is so much opportunity to be made on so many different levels in this little country, at least for now. Whether it’s being able to make a ridiculous amount of money teaching English, (esp. w/ President Lee’s new education initiatives for English only classes) going on missions, making friends or meeting fascinating people, there is so much to learn on a political, spiritual, economic, cultural, social level.
Seoul is more fascinating to me every year; it gets more glitzy and richer every time I go. There are more expensive cafes, luxurious malls, high-tech phones and gadgets, constant construction of apartments and office buildings etc. etc. It seems like Seoul is growing richer rapidly and gaining ground in everything from technology, fashion and food. This time around, I was also amazed at how many more foreigners are living in Seoul and speaking Korean fluently. Although Seoul is still more homogenous than many other countries, I have seen so many Pakistanis, Latinos, South Asians, and Arabs and have befriended people from Brazil to South Africa. I also felt very lucky to have met and befriended many north Koreans. I have learned so much from them and have been touched by their kindness and generosity to me.

But even with all of Korea’s modernization or globalization, the remnants of war and history still remain with the presence of the US army, Korean soldiers in uniform, and all the N. Korean rights activism going on. There is still so much history to be made and I look forward to seeing how different Korea will be again the next time I visit.
Pics to come…