Hanging Out with My Brother

Yesterday, I met up with my brother Woosik (Derek). I haven't seen Woosik in almost five years, so it was great to catch up and hang out in Seoul. Derek is finishing University in London. After graduation in the summer, he is hoping to move to the USA to get a PhD. He may also move back to Korea and complete his required two year service in the Korean army.

I don't know if I have mentioned the two year service policy so here is what I have learned since coming to Korea. All Korean men have to serve a required two years in the army. This policy has been around since the end of the Korean War. Most young men serve either right after high school, or after university. Because of this requirement, most men do not begin their career until their late 20's. I think requiring all men to serve in the army for a short period of time is a good idea. It teaches discipline and patriotism. I have talked with many Korean guys from my school who say that after serving, they stay up to date with what is going on in their country more than before. On the other hand, South Korea is a nation that has a very dangerous neighbor that is ruled by a madman. It is not like Korea is a nation at peace with required service in the reserves. All men in the army learn learn how to fight in combat, because it is a possibility with an unpredictable neighbor. It is the constant worry of families with sons in the army that they will never see their sons again, especially since the Yeonpyeon Island hostility.

I met Woosik downtown Seoul in some of the college towns. Hyesun came with me to see Woosik, and the three of us went to get some coffee. It was great to catch up and for my two Korean siblings to meet and swap stories about America. It was so funny to hear them compare teachers and classes at Lutheran North. Hyesun had to leave for a while, so me and Woosik went to a nearby theaters to see a movie. We saw this movie called "The Next Three Days." It starred Russell Crowe, and was about a man who breaks his wife out of jail. I knew nothing about this movie before I saw it, so I was surprised at every twist and turn. It was a good action movie.

After the movie, we met up with Hyesun to go eat dinner together. We went to a fusion restaurant near Hanyang University. The area around the University is filled with coffeehouses, unique restaurants, and other shops geared towards students. It has a great atmosphere, there are always a lot of people hanging out. The fusion restaurant was really good. It was a mix between European and Japanese food, a mix that I would never think would be as good as it was.

Next week when I get back from my trip, I'm going to meet Woosik and his parents for dinner. It will be great to meet his family and hang out more before he leaves for London again. I'm hoping that I can make them some American food.

Now I'm packing for my trip to Japan. I leave tomorrow morning for the Ferry Terminal. The ferry ride will be about ten hours, luckily it is an overnight ferry, so the time will pass quickly. I'm excited to go explore a new place and culture. I will not be blogging during my trip, so I will tell you guys all about my trip when I get back.

So this is Christmas

Merry Christmas from Seoul, South Korea! I am having a wonderful time celebrating this time of year with the Byeons. Derek just got to Korea a few days ago, so we are going to catch up later this week after Christmas. I miss all of you back home and thinking about you especially at this time of the year.

It has been interesting for me to see how Korea celebrates this time of year. In Korea, Christmas is mostly a couples holiday, a sister holiday to Valentines Day. It is so strange to see a lack of red and green, wreaths, and nativity sets, but rather flowers, chocolates, and teddy bears dressed as Santa. I miss the family aspect of Chistmas, it doesn't seem the same without families together.

In addition to that, Christmas Day is the Korean version of "Black Friday." I woke up this morning and Kyunghye told me we were going shopping. I was really confused because in America everything closes on Christmas. She told me it was the largest sale weekend of the year. After Skyping my family before they left for Christmas Eve candlelight service, we went shopping. It was madness! There were clothes, toys, and I don't know what else flying all over the place. I think everyone in Korea came to the department store we were at to go shopping.

Even though Korean Christmas has been over commercialized just like in the USA, I did find a way to celebrate the Reason for the Season. Last night me and Kyunghye went to the International Lutheran Church in downtown Seoul for Christmas Eve service. There was even candlelight singing! This was the first time I have attended an English speaking church in almost five months. It was a great encouragement to my faith to meet with a diverse group of people from around the world to worship together. It was heaven to be in such a beautiful, peaceful place that had its focus on the true purpose of Christmas: to celebrate the birth of the Savior who came to save all mankind. Amidst all of the chaos Christmas brings even here in Korea, it was nice to let time stand still while worshiping the Savior. Me and Kyunghye are planning to go to this church every Sunday when we are in Seoul.

Being in a foreign country during Christmas time has shown me the true meaning of Christmas even more than before. As a child I would read the Christmas story and hear how Jesus came to save the people of the world. That message has resounded even more this Christmas as I live in a new culture. I have learned the magnitude of the purpose in which Jesus came to this earth. He came to save the people of every nation and culture. It is hard for me to comprehend this concept, but I have come to appreciate it even more this Christmas. It has been such a blessing for me to be in Korea to celebrate Christmas.

Merry Christmas once again! I hope you have a blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

Limbo

Woo hoo! Today was my 20th birthday. I am in the year of "Limbo": no longer a teenager, but not yet 21 when you are completely "legal." It's the transition year from being a teenager to becoming a young adult. As I look back to where I was a year ago, I have seen how much I have matured and grown as a person. I have learned independence while being true to who I am. I am so excited to see where I will be when I turn 21, what new experiences I will have and what I will learn.

Today I made lasagna for my birthday dinner. Yesterday I went to a Western Market with the Byeons to buy all the supplies and ingredients. We had to search through three Western Markets to find Lasagna noodles, but we did find some. It was so strange to go to a store that had all of the products that I buy at home. One of the stores looked just like the Schnucks that my family goes to back home. It was so weird yet so normal at the same time. I don't know how to explain that feeling: going somewhere that resembles a place you have gone to your whole life, yet being away from such a place for a time in such a different environment makes it seem so foreign. It was nice to know it is there for when I plan to make another "Western Dish" for the Byeons.

The Byeons Aunt and Uncle came along with their children: Jun-Young and Eu-Jin. The Byeons aunt made this awesome salmon salad and made me a cheesecake for my birthday! I was so surprised to receive so many presents from the Byeons and their relatives. It was so overwhelming after all of the generosity they have already given me. It was a great birthday. I think the lasagna was a hit. I made two seven layer lasagnas, and a Seung-Young pan. Seung-Young is Hyesun and Kyunghye's brother. He is super shy but is very funny once he warms up to you. It has been almost six months and he is finally leaving his hiding place (his room) to come and hang out with me and the girls. He is also 16, which means he eats...a lot. I made him a three layer pan of lasagna because I knew that he would plow through at least half a pan of a seven layer lasagna. He ate the entire three layer pan...I was shocked! Not only that, he proceeded to eat a piece of the other lasagna as well. I think it is a new favorite for him.

After dinner, I went to see Harry Potter with Hyesun, Kyunghye, Seungyoung, Junyoung, and their uncle. We had to sneak out one at a time because Eujin wanted to go, but seeing he is only five and the movie was rated PG15, he wasn't going. The movie was good, but was kinda depressing. I still liked it, and it was fun to go with the Byeons on my birthday. Definately a great birthday memory. Tomorrow, me and Kyunghye are going to continue our Japan plans, we leave in a week...AAAAHHHH! Hopefully, we get everything planned in the next few days so we can have time to hang out more in Seoul.

I'm Going to Japan!

It has been quite a process to get things in order, but I do have a trip planned before I leave for China in January. I am going to Japan with Kyunghye for a week after Christmas. We will take a ferry from Busan to Kyushu, the southernmost main island of Japan. It is home to several famous cities including Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, and Kumamoto. It is famous for Japanese ceramics, Hot springs, Samurai, and Volcanoes. I am super excited to go to such a diverse place, but it will be even better because I will get to share the adventure with Kyunghye. Neither one of us know a lick of Japanese, so I am sure there will be some pretty funny moments.

This afternoon, we went to eat at the restaurant that is owned by the company that Hyesun worked for as an intern and will soon work for after graduation. It was an American grill so I got to eat pasta for the first time since coming to Korea.

After we ate, we went to visit the Byeon's cousins and Aunt and Uncle. It was the older cousin, Jinyoung's 11th birthday so we got to eat cake and play games with the family. It was great to catch up with them since the last time I saw them at Chuseok. I have a video below of Jinyoung's younger brother, Eu-Jin singing for me and Hyesun. He was too shy to sing in front of the camera so he sang from a distance, rolling around as he sings. I couldn't understand him, and Hyesun couldn't either. It is super cute.

I'm Back at the Byeons

I left school yesterday with five bags in tow to travel back to Seoul to stay with the Byeons. I couldn't leave anything in my dorm room because they use them for the Winter English Camp for high school students. I took a taxi to the Asan bus terminal and then took a bus to Seoul station. I met the Byeons in the terminal, from there we went to their house. I am so thankful to Hyesun for allowing me to stay in her room (with all my stuff) until the beginning of February when I will be able to move into my new dorm.

Derek is coming to Korea on the 21st (just in time for my birthday!). I am very excited to see him and meet his parents, we are planning to go to the largest church in Korea on either Christmas eve or Christmas day.

Today was a relax at home day, tomorrow we are thinking about going to see a movie or to do something in the city. I don't know my plans for my birthday, Christmas, or New Years, but I will keep you updated

I'm Done with Finals!

Today was my last two final exams. I am officially done with my first semester abroad! Today I had Korean Writing and Korean Drumming final exams. It is so weird to know that tomorrow I don't have to go to class or exchanges. I have over two months off for Winter Break, so it will be a transition. The next few days will be bittersweet as I say goodbye to my friends here at school, some that I will see next semester, and some that I don't know when I will see again. It will be a crazy couple days between goodbyes, laundry, packing...the list goes on. I have to finish packing all of my stuff because I can't keep anything at school. It will be interesting trying to haul all of my luggage up to Seoul via public transportation. I am sure there will be some funny stories to tell! I will try to upload my Drumming final here in a few days. Stay tuned!
(Oh, the picture was from the first day at school. All of the international students are in the picture...I'm somewhere in the back row)

Last Day of Class

Today was a bittersweet day because it was the last day of regular class. Next week I have four final exams. I am going to miss my classes and my teachers. For the most part, I have really enjoyed having the professors that I had for the semester. My language teachers were patient, my history teacher was insightful, my drumming teacher was funny, and my North and South Korea teacher, well I have said enough about him in previous posts. I have learned so much and I hope I continue to learn more in the coming semester.

This coming week will be filled with tears as I say goodbye to new friends that will leave school. It is hard for me to come to terms that I may not see these amazing friends for a long time. It is hard because we have become so close, but distance will now separate us as they go back to their home nations. We are going to make the most of the time we have.

It is exciting though because it is a new chapter in my adventure here in Korea. After my finals, I'm going to Seoul to spend Christmas with the Byeons and Derek's family. I am hoping to travel to Southeast Asia at the beginning of the new year. I have some paperwork that I have to complete before I can leave the country, and it won't be processed until the end of this year.

Last night was the goodbye dinner for the Global Village. It was bittersweet to look back at all of the memories of the last semester. I have grown so much as a person in this past semester. I have become more confident and independent. I am so excited to see what will come next in this journey!

Snow! And a Letter from the Frontlines

Today was the first snow of winter! I woke up and looked out my window to see big fluffy snowflakes. It snowed on and off today, but later it warmed up so most of it melted. It was still beautiful.

I had my final exam for my North and South Korea class today. It was an essay comparing and contrasting the two Korea's economy. It went very well, I like essay exams because it is not muscle memory, but analyzing information and organizing it into a paper. I am so glad that class is over because I did not enjoy the teachers methods of presenting the information for the class. I won't go into details, but it seemed that he was more interested in criticizing the Korean students english rather than teaching the subject. I will be more careful about the classes and teachers I choose next semester.

Oh, today I got a letter back from the Korean soldier I wrote to. I don't know if I mentioned this in an earlier post, but one of my exchange partners has a friend currently serving his required two year term in the army. His name is Sang Hoon and is a Marine serving near the border. In fact, he said that he is stationed not too far from where the attack occured two weeks ago. My exchange partner asked me if I would write him a letter because he wanted to write an English speaking person, I guess to keep his English up until he returns to school. I wrote him a letter about a month ago, and today she gave me his response letter. It was super cute, he sent the letter on this Marine stationary that has this funny saying on it: "Love is a game. Easy to start. Hard to finish." Really strange thing to have on army paper, but I got a kick out of it. It was really sweet, I had written that I really appreciated his service to his country and keeping it safe. He wrote back that I shouldn't worry about the growing tension between the two Koreas: "Don't be afraid. I should defend our country against the enemy." He finishes his service this Christmas and will be back at Soonchunhyang in the spring. I am excited to meet him and to hear more about life on an army base that can see into North Korea. I'm sure he has some very interesting stories, especially from the last few months.

Taegukgi: Brotherhood of War

You know, when you see a movie that is a masterpiece you just have to share it. Today in history class we watched Taegukgi: Brotherhood of War. Oh my gosh, this movie was so moving. It is a Korean movie about the Korean war. It is the highest grossing Korean movie in the history of Korean cinema. Over one third of all South Koreans went to see this movie when it was released. It is probably the best war movie I have ever seen.

It is about two brothers who are forcefully drafted into the frontlines of the South Korean army at the start of the Korean war. The older brother is a shoe shiner who sacrificed his opportunity to go to school so his younger brother would be able to go to college. The older brother is determined to find a way to get his brother out of the conflict as soon a possible. They fight in some of the most significant battles of the War. As the War continues, they see the bad and disturbing aspects of the war.

What I liked about this movie was that they showed both the South and the North in an unbiased light. The unhonest draft, the massacre of Northern troops that surrendered, and the excecution of Southern civilians suspected of joining the communists without a trial showed the horrors that the South committed. On the other side, the North's unflinching massacre of civilians and their cold manner in killing showed that they were not saintly either. It was a movie that showed the ugly side of war from both sides. That is one thing that bothers me of some war movies: they present one side as pure evil while the other side is good and noble. War isn't like that: it is ugly, disgusting, and terrible acts are comitted by both sides. I think every person should see this movie once in their lifetime so that they can see that war is not a game, it is a human tragedy.

I am not usually a crier when it comes to movies. Sure I can get teary eyed, but I usually don't completely break down. Watching this movie I was crying my eyes out at least three times. It was so painful to see not only the two brothers in the story experience so much pain as the war progressed, but to see that the two sides of the War were brothers filled with hate for each other. When looking at the Korean War, it was brother against brother. To see the hate that infiltrated this one people by two idealogies a mere five years after they were united (under occupation) was so distraghtful. Not only that, but to know that this hate continues today with the separated Koreas made me cry.

I pray for the day that this one people can be reunited together once again.

A Day in Suwon

Today, I went with my friend Katie to Suwon. Katie is in my North and South Korea class, and is a such a sweet person. She is from Oregon and is finishing her degree next semester. She is also getting married next summer, and her fiance was able to visit her a few months ago, so cute! We met up with Katie's friend from college, Maddie. Maddie came to Korea to teach English in Asan. We also met Maddie's friend Julie, she just came about two weeks ago to Korea to teach in Asan. It was fun to hear about their classes and students. They teach kids between the age of four and seven, and they said their English is pretty good. I am always shocked by the intensity that the Korean students have to study. School is a means to an end rather than a journey, it is quite sad how the priority is scores rather than progress. I feel so blessed to have been taught the joy of learning, rather than the pressure to maintain a certain score. I hope that Korean students find that joy in all of the stress.

Suwon is about an hour by train from school, so it is about halfway between Seoul and Sinchang (my school). When we got to Suwon, we went to Hwaseong Fortress. Hwaseong is a late Joseon Dynasty fortress that was built to protect the southern borders of Seoul. It is a perfect example of Korean/Asian defense architecture. It is built up a mountain, so that the lookout tower can see much farther. There are a lot of lookout posts and places in the wall where the defenders would be able to attack any offensive. It was absolutely stunning, but like a lot of Korea, it has had its heartbreak. During the Japanese occupation, it was neglected. The fortress fell apart and the Japanese converted parts of it into a hospital and a government center.

I can understand how many of the older Korean people have such animosity towards the Japanese. Almost every great piece of Korean cultural heritage was destroyed and turned into some kind of Japanese building. Not only that, but during the occupation, I have been told that Koreans weren't allowed to use the Korean language and couldn't speak of their history. It is one thing for a nation to take control of another nation in the fashion that the Japanese took Korea, but to try to erase the history of that country is absolutely disgusting. Don't get me wrong, I love Japan, it is a beautiful nation. I have several Japanese friends here at school and they are some of the sweetest people I have met. However, what the Japan of the past did to Korea is wrong on so many levels. I can still see some older Korean people carrying prejudice against the Japanese today. I think they still see the old hateful Japan that destroyed so much of their national identity. I think the feelings towards Japan have improved, but it is still a recent scar that shouldn't be opened.

But back to the story of Hwaseong: After the Japanese occupation ended in 1945, the remainder of Hwaseong was caught in the middle of the Korean War. By the end of the war, it was torn apart like the Korean people. It took another thirty years until the rebuilding process began. The South Korean government took the original building plans written in 1801 and rebuilt Hwaseong. They used the tools of the nineteenth century and built the fortress in its original location, tearing down the buildings built during the occupation. Today, it stands in its original state, presenting an inspiring symbol of perserverence. It was quite an experience, knowing the history behind this fortress, to walk beside its walls. I am always amazed by the strength of the Korean people. In spite of all they have gone through, they continue to rebuild and look to the future. Hwaseong represents that strength to me. It was originally built in the past for physical strength, and it has been rebuilt for the strength of the spirit of the Korean people.

Oh, kind of off subject, but still a cute fact. The city of Suwon has this adorable Christmas light display, and a lot of the stores in Suwon had Christmas decorations. I even heard some famous Christmas songs being played in some of the stores, something that I miss from home. I am hoping as Christmas gets closer, I will see more evidence of the season.

SCH Dance Concert

As promised, here are a few of the dance performances from the SCH Dance concert last week. The first dance is Bermet and another girl from Kyrgyzstan dancing a traditional dance. The second is a group of the Chinese students (including my friend Hong) doing Tai Chi. There is also a skit from the SCH Theater Department, which is in Korean but it's still funny!

Kpop music

Before I came to Korea, I knew about Kpop music, but I didn't realize how popular it is in Korea. Kpop is like the entire USA music industry concentrated in one genre of music. You hear it everywhere: stores, subways stations, buses. I haven't been to a Kpop concert yet(one of the things on my list to do) but I have heard they are different from USA concerts and are a lot of fun.

Most Kpop is in the style of 90's pop in the USA. Because of this, Amercan artists like Brittany Spears and Madonna are very popular in Korea. It feels like I am reliving the 90's in respect to music again as an adult. To make it even more 90's, women's style here in Korea right now is very 90's. Leggings are the "it" item with oversized sweatshirts. So funny! For those of you who would like to hear some of my favorite Kpop songs, I have links to them on the blog. Most of the singers have good voices. One of the funny things is that the Kpop groups aren't the usual four or five singers like in America: There are at least seven. Some groups have over ten members. It is almost like a choir rather than a singing group!

Oh, funny thing happened yesterday as I was walking to my South and North Korea class. To get to class I have to take these wooden stairs down a very steep hill. There are two staircases that join together halfway down the hill. As I was walking down one of these staircases, I noticed a lot of Korean students standing on the stairs looking at the other set of stairs. I saw Brian and Katie, two of my international friends also looking at the stairs. They told me that a Kpop singer was filming part of his newest music video on the staircase. Sure enough there was an entire film crew, and the famous singer that I had not heard of previously. I quickly pulled out my camera and caught a shot of the film crew and a short video of the singer before an intimidating security guard dressed in black covered my camera. If you look in the top left corner of the video, you can glimpse the singer for a second before my camera was covered. Too funny! Didn't think I would see a Kpop music video being filmed while I was in Korea!

A Weekend in Danyang

This weekend, I went with Kyunghye and her parents to Danyang to tour and to see Mom Byeon play in a Ping-pong tournament. I left after my Korean writing class to catch the subway to Seoul. I met them in Seoul on Friday and we left for Danyang the next day. Oh, that night I watched this awesome Bollywood movie with Hyesun called "3 Idiots" it was fabulous and I recommend it to those who like good Bollywood.

On Saturday, we went to see Omma (Korean for Mother) Byeon play Ping pong doubles with her partner. The ping pong tournament was held in a gym with about thrity ping pong tables spread across the room. There were at least twenty different matches being played at any given time. There was never a dull moment at the tournament because there were so many matches to keep track of. Omma Byeon and her partner finished the tournament in second place. Oh, I also met an Olympic gold medalist, one of my life goals! One of the hosts of the tournament won a gold medal for Korea in Ping pong. Omma Byeon introduced me and Kyunghye to her. She was very sweet and took a picture with us.

After the game, we went to our hotel and ate Samgyepseol with Omma Byeon's partner and his father. It was nice after a day jam packed with Ping pong to sit and eat together. After dinner, I played Blokus with Kyunghye, Omma Byeon's partner, and his father. We also played Go Stop, which is a game played with Korean cards. It is a ton of fun once you know the rules. We also watched part of the Asian games while playing Poker, an interesting combination!

Today, I went with Oppa (Korean for Father) Byeon and Kyung Hye for a day full of touring around Danyang. We first went to a cave, which is one of the things that Danyang is famous for. The cave was absolutely stunning! It was a lot different from caves in Missouri, the ceilings were much taller, which I think produced more gorgeous formations in the cave. It was much warmer in the cave than outside, where we witnessed the first snowfall of the year!

After we explored the cave, we went on a boat tour of the man made river in Danyang. Danyang has a lot of tall rocky mountains, which was beautiful to see from the river. In Asan where I go to school, it is flat with the exception of a few large hills. It was a nice change of sites to see the imposing mountains of Danyang.

The last part of our Danyang touring was a huge temple complex just outside of the city. There were about twelve different Buddhist temples in the complex. To get to the temples, you had to climb over half of the mountain, which was not an easy task! The temple was not the same as the majority of the temples in Korea. For starters, they were all built within the last ten years, which means they don't have the same feel as the old temples out in the countryside. In one of these temples we went to, there was an elevator and a computer room, a far cry from the centuries old temples in other parts of Korea.

I was so happy to join the Byeons to see Omma Byeon play the sport she loves and to see a new part of Korea. It was great to spend time with Kyunghye now that her exam is over. I have three weeks left in the semester, time has gone by so fast!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from South Korea! This is the first Thanksgiving I have celebrated away from home. This morning, I had exchanges with Korean students. I talked with my exchanges about American Thanksgiving, we even watched part of last years Macy's parade. In the evening, I had dinner with Dyra, Sarah, Michelle, and Xiao Chen. We had chicken (the closest thing to turkey) and watched "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." We also discussed Thanksgiving and the upcoming Christmas season. Talking about Thanksgiving helped remind me the reason for the holiday: giving thanks for the blessings of the past year.

As I looked back to last Thanksgiving, there are so many things that I am thankful for. My family is in good health. God has given me another year to learn and grow as His child. I completed my first year of college. I am now studying in a beautiful country. I have so many new friends that a year ago, I would never have imagined I would meet. I have learned so much about myself and the world around me since last Thanksgiving.

I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Conference and Border Tension

Today I went to a school sponsered conference in Seoul that discussed the development of regions to benefit the global economy. The official name of the conference was "International Forum of Regional Development." About twenty students from Soonchunhyang went to listen to speakers from around the world talking about ways that small communities can survive in the global economy.

We had to meet in front of school at 7:30. I overslept and woke up at 7:20! I scrambled to get my stuff together and I got on the bus a few minutes before we left. The conference was held in the auditorium that the G20 was held a few weeks before, pretty cool! In the morning, there were a few speakers summerizing several approaches local communities can stimulate their economy by utilizing local products to attract a larger consumer group.

The conference provided lunch. The conference was held in one of the nicest hotels in Seoul, and we ate at the hotel restaurant. It was a buffet with lots of different cuisines: sushi, ribs, lamb chops, crab legs, and Korean food. There was this great fruit bar as well with lots of fresh fruit (which is quite expensive in Korea compared to the US). It was an awesome lunch and made the day a whole lot better.

After lunch was more speakers in the conference room. When the speakers spoke other languages, we were provided earpieces with a translator. It was pretty cool, I felt like I was at the UN or something! I learned a lot about the importance of small regions to maintain their identity by selling local products rather than producing foreign products. I think as the world shrinks, we are losing the individuality of different regions. I really liked the premise of this conference because it promoted this return to individuality.

On our way back to school, I saw on the TV (every bus has a huge flat screen TV at the front for the passengers to watch) that North Korea attacked two of South Korea's western islands. It was a retaliation towards the military drills that South Korea has been practicing for the last week. One Korean marine was killed and there is a lot of tension at the border. I could tell that it was serious because the usually happy-go-lucky newsreporters didn't have their typical smile but instead a solemn look. The director from the international program that went with us to the conference reassured us that this happens almost every year, and if it escalated to a more serious problem, he would let us know.

Personally, I am not worried. I know, here I am in one of the most dangerous countries (The South and the North technically are still at war since the South refused to sign a peace agreement back in the 1950's), but the way I see it: I am more likely to die or get seriously hurt back in the States. More people die of car accidents or violence in the US than from North Korean bombs. I don't want to live in fear of what may happen and pass chances of a lifetime (like coming to study in Korea). If it is my time to leave this earth, it will happen regardless of what I do. I will not deny opportunities that will enrich my life just because of the possible risks. I don't think this makes me brave or crazy, it's just the way I see it.

Suite Field Trip

This weekend, I went with Jin Ju, Belle, Carrie, and Jin Ju's friend to Icheon. We stayed in a traditional Joseon Dynasty house, went to a temple, and made pottery. When we arrived yesterday afternoon, we walked to the temple, which is similar to all of the other temples in Korea. I like to go to temples and find what makes it different from other temples.

After we explored the temple, we went back to the traditional house that we were staying in, which was connected to the pottery building. The house was definately rustic! The room didn't look like it had been cleaned and the sheets were dirty! Oh well, it was an experiance that we will remember. We had a great dinner: Beef BBQ, Korean style. Belle cooked the meat outside. After it was cooked, we wrapped the meat in a leaf with kimchi, garlic, and other spices. It was really delicious, especially since beef is not a common meat in Korea.

After dinner, we went to the pottery building where the host gave us a brief history of pottery in Korea. He spoke in Korean so I have no clue what he said, oh well. He helped us mold our pottery pieces, I chose a serving dish, which is a large plate with a small edge. After making our pieces of pottery, we went back to our "rustic" room where we turned on the floors (all of the heat in Korean homes comes from the floor) and played cards. Carrie and I taught the girls seven different card games. They loved playing all of the games, we played for about three hours.

Today, we woke up and etched designs on our pieces of pottery. I was not feeling to artistically inspired, but it turned out ok. Carrie made this really cool Bamboo design on her jar. We left in the late morning and began to make our way back to school. It is about a two hour bus ride from Icheon to Cheonan, which is another twenty minutes by subway to school. When we got to Cheonan, we had lunch and went shopping in one of the markets. We went to two of the famous cosmetic stores here in Korea: The Face Shop and Skin Food. They are like Bath and Body Works except they have a lot of facial skin care products. Women in Korea are obsessed with the appearence of their face. I like to go to these stores and pick a cheap facial product to try for fun. It is a huge part of Korean culture: the desire for the perfect face. The Korean girls in our group were buying all kinds of products, it always surprises me how they are so focused on their appearence. I have been taught to value inner beauty, and it breaks my heart to see women who do not feel confident in themselves unless they work on their appearence for over two hours each morning (there really is a girl in my suite who does this). Don't get me wrong, I like to glam up from time to time, but it is not a defining factor of who I am to the point that I would feel incomplete without appearing a certain way. I don't think this obsession for so called beauty is only a Korean thing, you can see it in every culture. I just wish that we could look past our outer appearence and value people for the person inside, argh!

On Tuesday, I am going to a conference in Seoul. It is a seminar for college students about the growing trend of buying local and how it is benefitting the global economy. It sounds interesting and will be a good reason to leave campus to learn something different.

Bali Bali Bali!

Today, I had exchanges in the morning. After my exchanges, Dyra invited me to go see "Social Network" with her in Cheonan. We decided to plan to go to the early evening showing, which meant that we would have to leave about an hour before the show. I took a nap before we were supposed to meet, bad idea! I slept too long and we missed the early evening show.

We decided to go to one of the nearby markets while we waited for the later show. We ate some street food, which included boiled fish, fried shrimp, and fried Korean dumplings. A lot of the street vendors in the markets have small enclosed spaces with a table and chairs for people to eat their food. The vendor we went to also had a TV with the Asian games on the channel. The Asian games are like the Olympics only on a smaller scale. There is a Korean swimmer who is doing very well, a few days ago he beat his Chinese rival in the event that he lost in the Beijing Olympics. There is a lot of excitement about this swimmer in Korea because he is doing very well. After eating our food and cheering for Korea with the store vendor, we went to a few of the small boutiques in the market.

After some shopping, we headed over to the theater for the movie. In Korea, the seats in the theater are assigned. We had to find the seat that matched our ticket. In Korea, most English movies are played in English with Korean subtitles. It is hard to find dubbed movies while they are in theaters. The movie was in English, which was great. It was hard for Dyra at times to understand some of the actors mumbling, but she liked the movie.

When the movie was over, we looked at our phones, and it was 11! We had an hour to make it back to campus. We hurried out of the theater, yelling to each other "Bali" which means "Hurry" in Korean. We got to the subway station, but we missed our train by five minutes! We had to wait until 11:40 to catch the subway, which is a twenty minute trip. We would be cutting it very close! At midnight, my dorm is locked, so you can't get in until morning. If locked out, you have two options: Tough it out by spending the night somewhere, or climbing into the second story window of the guys dorm tower that is left unlocked so people can get in. We didn't want to have to face either of these options. We met Bermet at the station, she was on her way back from Seoul. As we got closer to the station, we were reving up to dash out of the station. We grabbed a taxi and told the driver "Global Village, Bali Bali Bali!" He drove like he was in the Amazing Race, I think if I ever run the Amazing Race, he would be my ideal driver. He got us to the dorm just in time to run through the front door. It was quite an adventure rushing back to campus before curfew.

The King and the Clown

Today in Korean History, our teacher gave us a break from lectures and presentations by showing a Korean movie called "The King and the Clown." I have seen this movie once with Hyesun, but it was hard for me to understand what was going on because of the cultural and historical details. Watching it a second time allowed me to enjoy the movie rather than trying to figure out what was going on. It is about the most notorious King of the Joseon dynasty and probably all of Korean history. He murdered his brother to become king and was the only king to be removed from his post by the Korean people. Records of his rule show that he was paranoid and would kill anyone who threatened his position as king. The movie follows two fictional clowns who become the kings entertainers. As the king becomes more insane, the clowns begin to fear for their lives. It is a great movie and accurately shows life in the Joseon dynasty. It was also nice to watch history come to life in a sense that would have been impossible to grasp from a textbook. One of my Korean friends from my class is trying to find the movie with English subtitles for me to take home, so you guys can get a taste of Korea.

I have to admit, now that we are getting closer to Thanksgiving/Christmas season and my birthday, I am feeling a little homesick for the first time. I am having the time of my life here in Korea and wouldn't trade it for anything, but this will be my first holiday season without my family. Korea doesn't celebrate American Thanksgiving and Christmas is a smaller holiday that isn't celebrated with family. It will be very strange for me not to celebrate these two very important family holidays with my family at home. I am so thankful that I have the Byeon's and Derek's family here in Korea, I think I would be a complete mess at times if I didn't have their love and support so close to where I am. They are family to me, and it will be great to celebrate Christmas and my birthday with them. Derek is coming back to Korea for Christmas, which is great! As of right now, I am planning to celebrate my birthday with both of my Korean families together. For Christmas, I am hoping to spend time with both families individually, but we are still figuring out the details.

My mom and sisters are coming in January, which I am very excited about! I have over two months off in the winter, so I am still deciding on travel plans. I am hoping that after Christmas, I will not be in Korea for too long, I want to see as much of Asia as possible. I will keep all of you updated about my winter break plans as I get them worked out.

A Quiet Weekend

So, I think this week of classes was the first "normal" week, by saying that I mean that: none of my classes were canceled and I had homework and/or quizes in all of my classes. I don't know if there is a definition of a normal week because this week was very strange to me. I think we create this image of what we think normal would look like, yet when we see that image in reality, it does not provide the comfort that we were hoping for. This idea has resonated for me in a larger scale than a weekly schedule. I have come to realize that I enjoy life with flexibility. I know a year ago I couldn't have imagined that I would be in South Korea having the time of my life learning and traveling in such a culturally rich country. I think it's important to have goals and dreams, but also be able to be open to different ways to carry out those ambitions. That is one of the most important lessons I have learned in the past year: Be flexible!

Today, I went to Osan to explore the markets and streets of the town. I had invited a few friends to come, but almost all of them went to Seoul for the weekend. The people that didn't go wanted to stay around campus for the day, so I ventured on my own. I had read that Osan has one of the oldest markets in Korea, so I wanted to see this 400 year old market. Unfortunately, I didn't find it, but I did find another market that had a lot of character. It was fun to see a new town and get off campus for a while.

On Tuesday, I have a Korean writing test. Along with that, my CID group has a presentation due next week. My group has a terrible case of procrastination and we haven't started our presentaion! The rest of this weekend will be pretty quiet, I will be studying for my test and trying to get my CID group together so we can get this project done! Along with studying tomorrow, I am going to have a movie/game night with Xiao Chen and a few other friends. The next few weekends will be pretty crazy. I have my suite fieldtrip next weekend. In two weeks I'm going to see Eomeoni (Mother) Byeon play in a ping pong tournament with Kyunghye. Of course, plans are subject to change!

I Voted Today

On Friday, after requesting an absentee ballot for the midterm election almost two months ago, I received my ballot. Granted, it came three days after the election, and it says that if it isn't received by November 2nd, it won't be counted. Regardless, I wanted to vote by completing the ballot, even if it won't be counted. For all of you who remember, I was a month shy of being able to vote last election, so this was my first time voting!

Today, I set some time aside to vote. Tomorrow I will mail it back to Missouri, it will then be up to them whether to count it or not. My voice was heard six thousand miles away about my convictions concerning the future of my country!

Friendly Korea

Today, I decided to take a trip to Cheonan just to wander around. I haven't traveled too much on my own since coming here, so it was nice to explore markets, several streets, and different shops on my own. For those of you who may be worried about my safety traveling alone when I know very little of the language, there is no reason to worry. Korea has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. I think this is because Korean culture is the production of almost two thousand years of Confucian influence. Korea applied Confucious teaching to every aspect of society. As a result, commiting a crime is the greatest dishonor not only to you, but to your family. Causing your family pain is the greatest disgrace in Korean society. That is one thing that I really appreciate about Korean culture: people are very concious about how their decisions will affect their family and community. Granted, there are times where individuality takes precedence, but I really respect the sensitivity Korean people have about the ramifications of their decisions.

I took the subway to Cheonan, where I walked a few of the main streets, browsing a few of the shops. I also went to Yawoori, which is the mall in Cheonan. Malls in Korea are a bit different from the USA. They are usually at least five or six stories, one in Seoul is over ten stories tall! They are not as wide as American malls, but they make up for that in height. In the mall, there are only small stores. Each floor is open with no walls to divide each store. It feels like a fancy open air market. I don't really like Yawoori because the stores are really expensive and mostly sell Western brands.

After visiting Yawoori, I bought some lunch at a restaurant down the street. While I was eating, this adorable four year old Korean boy walked over with his mom. He bowed (another Confucian influence!) and introduced himself in pretty good English. I was very impressed. His mom told me that he has been learning English and wanted to meet me when he saw me eating a few tables away. I was also able to talk with them in the little Korean I have learned.

I also went to an open air market, which has a lot more personality than Yawoori. The first time I went to one of these markets, I was hit with some culture shock! There are shops that sell chicken feet, small beetles, and an assortment of live seafood for you to choose from. The yells of the vendors, the smell of the piles of fish, and the taste of Korean street food was one of the first times I knew I wasn't in Missouri anymore! Now walking through these markets is a kind of comfort for me. They have so much character and really represent everyday life for Koreans. I met this lovely lady who owned the store I was browsing. She asked me a few questions about where I was from. Though we couldn't understand each other very well because of the language barrier, we were able to laugh and try the best we could! I really think Korea should make "Friendly Korea" their motto. At different points today, there were countless people who came up to talk to me. Even though I went around Cheonan alone, I felt like all of the people from Cheonan were my travel buddies.

Tomorrow, I'm going to watch a movie with Hong, Yun Yue, and a few other friends. We haven't had a lot of time to hang out, so it will be great to catch up. I also have to study for a Korean speaking test on Monday.

Karaoke

For those who don't know, Koreans love Karaoke, big time. It is one of the most popular pastimes of Koreans young and old. In Korea, there are "Karaoke rooms" which are buildings with several rooms equipped with huge screens, speakers, and crazy lights. When you go to a Noraebang (karaoke), you pay to use a room to sing per hour. It is always loud and tons of fun singing with a large group songs you recognize and songs you can't even understand the language. You could completely butcher a song and it wouldn't matter, Noraebang is about spending time with friends. Coming from America, where you can only find Karaoke in bars, I was excited to see how much Koreans get into Karaoke.

Today was my friend Savonne's 21st birthday. She is from Cambodia and speaks Korean really well. She is such a sweetheart and always has a huge infectous smile on her face. Dyra planned a surprise party for her, and boy was she surprised! We bought her a cake and some kimchi chicken (fried chicken sauted in kimchi, a popular takeout dish). After celebrating in her suite, we went to a Noraebang to sing Karaoke. The Karaoke group included Savonne, Dyra, Sinath (from Cambodia), Sovannarith (from Cambodia), Elena (from Uzbekistan), and two Korean students from one of Savonne's classes. We went to a Noraebang near campus and belted out Korean and English songs. When you sing Karaoke in Korea, you can't help but conjure your inner pop star. It is so much fun, especially singing with a large group that is belting out songs even when you don't know all the words. Dyra has a great voice, her voice reminds me of Maraih Carey. I told her I am expecting to hear an album from her in five years. After about an hour and a half of singing and dancing, we left the Noraebang, laughing all the way back to campus about our Karaoke party.

SCH Fall Field Trip

I just got back from an awesome 36 hour trip with both the International and Korean students in the Global program. Every semester, SCH (Soonchunhyang) plans an overnight field trip somewhere in Korea for the students in the Global program. This semester, we went to the east coast of Korea.

The meeting time in front of the dorm was 6:00 am, so everyone was pretty tired. I managed to stay awake to see the sunrise while we were leaving before I fell asleep. We had lunch on the beach after a four hour bus ride from our school on the west coast to the east coast. I love the ocean so having a picnic lunch on the beach was awesome.

After lunch, we went to Seoraksan National Park. If you have ever seen any ancient paintings of the mountains of Korea, you would know what this park looks like. It is the most beautiful painting of mountains you have ever seen in real life. The pictures don't do this park justice because it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I went hiking with two of my suitemates and a few other Korean students up a small mountain to the Moving Rock. From what they told me, the Moving Rock is a holy place in Korean Buddhism. Near the rock were a few Buddhist temples. One of them was built into the mountain. It was so beautiful to see the mesh of nature and architecture. It was the most beautiful Buddhist temple I have seen because it was simple and allowed the beauty of nature to shine around it. From what my suitemates told me, the Moving Rock is a giant rock near these temples where people try to move it. They were not sure what the significance was of this rock, but it was fun to try to move it. I couldn't make it budge, but three of the international guys were able to make it slightly rock. There was also a Buddhist temple down the mountain. Down the path from the temple was a giant bronze Buddha. It was the first big Buddha I have seen here in Korea, however there are many all over the country. I'm sure it will not be the last giant Buddha I will get to see during my time in Korea.

After hiking in Seoraksan, we went to a resort a few miles from the park for the night. Each suite from the dorms got a suite room in the resort. In my suite was Jin Ju and her friend Anna, Jin Young, Carrie and her roomate Belle. We had a gorgeous view of the mountains from our room. We had a seafood soup for dinner, followed by preparing for the Halloween party. All of the girls started getting ready two hours before the party: doing their hair, putting on the right makeup, and perfecting their costumes for their first Halloween. It was so fun to see all of the creative costumes that the Koreans prepared. It was very difficult to find a Halloween store near school since Korea doesn't celebrate Halloween. I don't know where they got their costumes and accessories, but I felt like I was in America for a moment when I walked into the "haunted" ballroom. Maiday was the DJ, and even our Global program leaders dressed in costume for the party. After three hours of dancing and pictures, we went back to our suite. The girls in my room unwinded with some "Korean Idol" on TV. Korean Idol contestants are much more talented than their American counterparts because they are required to practice not only singing, but dancing, songwriting, and arranging other artist's songs. It was so fun to get to know some of my suitemates better along with many of the other Korean students in our program. During the week, they are always so busy, so it was nice to see them relax and have some fun after midterms.

Tomorrow, I'm planning to watch a scary movie with some of the international and Korean students for Halloween. The rest of the week is a typical school week, along with an exam in my North and South Korea class. I am leading a study session with some of the international and Korean students on Monday. In a few weeks, I am planning to go to the DMZ with a few of my friends. It looks like November will be pretty busy with lots of small trips. I'm so excited to see and learn more about Korea.

Global Day and a Cold

On Tuesday, Soonchunhyang celebrated all of the countries represented in our program with the Global Day. It is a festival where every country can share their culture and the Sister Universities (SEMO included) could advertise their study abroad program. I am the only student from SEMO, so I worked at the SEMO table, inviting Korean students to consider studying at SEMO. My friends from Thailand wore their traditional dress, which is a sleeveless silk dress. It was about 40 degrees outside, so they were freezing! It was nice though to see their traditional dress, so beautiful! Global Day reinforced the feelings I had about the program here at Soonchunhyang: It is beautiful that so many people from different countries can come together in this awesome country to study and grow as individuals together. I feel so blessed and honored to have this learning experience. I have learned that we have so much more in common in this world than our differences. A friendly smile, a comforting hug, and an infectous laugh are universal.

Oh, I have learned about another thing that is universal: A Cold. No matter where you are in the world, a virus can always find you. I realized that when I woke up Sunday morning completely congested. I am feeling better now and I hope this will be my only cold for the winter.

Tomorrow is the field trip with the entire international program, including the Korean students in our dorm. We are going to the east coast of Korea and we will be hiking in one of the National Parks. We are also celebrating Halloween with a party. All of my suitemates have been preparing their Halloween costumes since this is their first Halloween. Korea doesn't celebrate Halloween, so they have been asking me about the holiday and what "Trick or Treat" means. I'm really excited because I haven't been to the eastern part of Korea.

A Weekend in Busan

I just got back from an awesome three days in Busan. Sarah joined me for an adventure to the coastal city of Busan. We left on Thursday morning and took a five hour train ride from Cheonan to Busan. It was great to see so much of the countryside on our way. When we got off the train we had to find our way through the Busan subway to our hostel.

When we were planning our weekend trip, Sarah found this hostel on the hostel website called Indy House. It was cheap and centrally located so we decided to make a reservation. The hostel was Indiana Jones themed (which was pretty sweet!) and was owned by these two knowledgable Koreans. They were very kind and made us feel at home. They also helped us find the places we wanted to see and gave us maps to our destinations. The hostel had two private rooms and one mass coed room that had about six bunk beds. Me and Sarah were the only girls in the coed room, which was definately a new experience. We met the guys in our room, and learned of their adventures. Mom, you were right, there are some really interesting people that you can meet at hostels. There were no Americans in the hostel besides me and Sarah, so it was great to meet so many people from around the world. In our room, there were four guys from Australia, one guy from Norway, and a guy from Italy. One of the Australians, Andrew, is here in Korea for five weeks to visit his Korean girlfriend. The guy from Norway, Allen, is on his way around the world. He started in Norway and is making his way based on what he wants to see next. He plans his next flight a few days before the flight. The guy from Italy, Matteo, is also on his way on a trip around the world. He took a trip from Alaska to Mexico a few years ago and after getting the approval of his girlfriend, he is on his way around the world. There were also two girls from Thailand on a break from school who were very funny. It was great to meet so many interesting people and to hear thier stories about their travels. It's nice to see that there are so many people that have the travel bug!

I have to admit, I'm hooked on hostels. They are very cheap and you meet so many people who share their travel experiences with you. They have so much more personality than a typical, closed in hotel. I love hotels, but hostels have so much character and they are so reasonable, it's hard to pass. Hopefully, this winter while I'm traveling around Asia, I will get the opportunity to stay in a few hostels to save some money and meet more people.

On Thursday afternoon, we went to the UN sculpture park. It is connected to the UN Korean War cemetery and memorial, but they were closed by the time we got there. The sculpture park has many different sculptures representing different emotions about the Korean War. What was really interesting was that there was one sculpture created by an artist from every country that fought for the UN in the Korean War. It was very fascinating to see so many different perspectives of feelings towards the war. After the sculpture park, we went to the beach for a pop concert. There was a free concert with up and coming Korean pop stars performing. The fact that it was on Haeundae beach in the middle of downtown Busan only made it more awesome!

On Friday, we got up in the morning to go hiking at Yigdae park. It is a protected area right next to the city. It is a penninsula that overlooks downtown Busan. We hiked to one of the peaks in the park and then walked along the coastline, overlooking the skyscrapers of Busan. It was absolutely beautiful. It was so much fun to explore the beaches and rocky coastline with the city as a backdrop. I was very surprised that there was such a beautiful untouched park so close to the downtown part of Busan. It really illustrates the importance that Koreans place on maintaining the old while progressing to become more modern. I think Korea really values its history and natural sites because they have been destroyed and taken away so many times by others. On our walk along the coastline, we met a group of Korean ladies who invited us to join them for their picnic. We visited and ate lots of homemade Korean food with them. Although they spoke very little English and we knew hardly any Korean, we were able to laugh and eat with them. I will never know why they were so welcoming and invited us to eat with them. My only solution is that they are like everyone else in Korea: warm and welcoming to anyone and everyone. I have never seen an entire country that is as kind and friendly as the people of Korea. They have shown me that even with such a tragic history, you can move on and refuse to allow that as an excuse to be bitter and angry.

On Friday night, we went to the International Fireworks Festival show. Every year, Busan hosts the International Fireworks Festival. It just so happened that this festival was this weekend. The show featured fireworks from all around the world. We went to Haeundae beach in downtown Busan to join over 1 million of our closest friends for the show. I think they have the Florissant fireworks show beat (but I still love the show at home). The fireworks were coordinated to music, creating an hour long music and light spectacular. The precision and coordination of the fireworks to the music was amazing. With the Busan bridge as a backdrop, I can't imagine a more perfect setting for such an awesome show.

This morning, we went to the UN cemetery and memorial. After the Korean War, the troops that were killed in the war, but did not have a grave in their homeland were buried here. There are about 2,000 men that are buried at this memorial cemetery. Most of them were from the UK or Turkey. I was surprised that there were not as many American troops buried here because of the large number of US casualties. One of the Korean men at the memorial said that the reason for this is that the US government made sure that the families received their loved one's body after the war. It was an emotional experience walking through that cemetery and seeing all of the men from around the world who fought to keep South Korea free.

One of the memorials at the cemetery was a Wall of Rememberence. It was two marble walls with the names of every man killed in the Korean war apart from the troops from South Korea. In the Korean War, over 40,000 men from over 40 different countries were killed. This does not include the South Korean casualties, which is higher than that number. Of the 40,000 international troops killed in the war, over 36,000 of them were from the USA. It was overwhelming seeing all those names. When you see a number, it does not have the same meaning as reading every single name. What was even more crushing was the point when it hit me that behind each of these names was a man who had hopes, dreams, families, frustrations, memories, and lives that were destroyed in this war. Many people call the Korean War the "Forgotten War," we must never forget this war that cost so much to maintain the freedom of South Korea. Without the sacrifice of these men, Asia would look very different, and I'm sure the rest of the world would not be the same as well.

I absolutely loved Busan. It was so beautiful with urban and natural splendor. I would love to go back because there is still so much to see.

Midterms are over!

Today was my last midterm test! Both my Korean speaking and writing midterms went very well. I will not know my grade until next week, but I feel that I did the best I could, which is all I can ask for. For my speaking test, I had to introduce myself in Korean and answer questions from my teacher in Korean. For my writing test I had to write sentences and answer questions about grammer/spelling. In the past, I have struggled with language exams, but Korean is very logical. It was created by the most intelligent minds of Korea at that time.

Hangul (Korean writing) is one of the few writing systems that was artificially created. In 1443, King Sejong the Great requested his scholars to form a written system for the Korean language. Before Hangul was created, Koreans used Chinese characters as their writing system. The problem with using Chinese letters was that they did not have the same meaning as the Korean words. Only the well educated who could learn Chinese could understand the characters and read. King Sejong decided that the Korean language needed a writing system for common Korean people to understand. He wanted it to be simple enough for anyone to learn. It has been called one of the easiest languages to read because all of the letters make one sound and one sound alone. Once you learn the sound that each letter represents, you can read anything in Hangul.

This weekend, I'm going to Busan with Sarah for a few days. We are going to a few of the beaches. I am hoping that we can see the UN memorial from the Korean War. There is a large cemetary in Busan from the Korean War. Most of the soldiers that fought in the Korean War were Korean or American. I feel like I need to pay my respects to the brave men who fought so that South Korea could be free. It is one of those places in Korea that I feel like it is my duty to visit out of respect for the brave men who gave their lives for freedom.

Midterms!

It's hard to believe, but midterms are next week! I can't believe that the semester is halfway through, it seems like I just got here. I guess that's the way life is: Time can suddenly move very rapid or drag along. I definately feel like time is trying to dash faster than Usain Bolt or something.

On Sunday, I went hiking in Gyeryongsan National Park with two of my Chinese friends: Yun Yue and Hong. They attend a school in Beijing, although Yun Yue is originally from Nanjing. Hong is in my Korean drumming class, and we have been talking about touring somewhere together since the beginning of the semester. It was quite an adventure trying to navigate the bus system in the town of Daejon, which is the closest town to the park. We took a bus from our town to Daejon and then tried to find the right city bus that would take us to Gyeryongsan. We got lost a few times, but we made it to the park. In Korea, many people are hard core hikers. We walked by several hiking supplies stores as we got closer to the park entrance. When we began our hike, I was surprised by the amount of hikers in the park. Not only that, but all of the hikers were dressed like they just left an LL Bean magazine: The hiking clothes, hiking stick, and the boots made for mountain climbing. I felt so underdressed in my jeans and T shirt. The park was so peaceful and beautiful. We hiked to a temple and a small waterfall. There is a trail up the mountain that we are planning to hike in a few weeks (now that we know how to get to the park).

After a great weekend filled with two great trips, I have to focus on studying for midterms. I have two Korean language tests next week, along with two papers due in two other classes. In Korea, midterm tests are as important as the final exam. Many of my suitemates have been busy studying for midterms, one of my suitemates has eight tests next week, so stressful! I have been making vocabulary flashcards for my language tests today, hoping that studying with flashcards might help me remember the 75+ words I need to know for my midterms. I will be spending the weekend studying Korean style: study from morning until night.

The exciting news is that after my midterm exams, I have a four day break! A few of my teachers cancelled Friday classes because our exam is earlier in the week. I am hoping to go to Pusan to see the ocean. But first, I need to focus on these exams. Argh!

Field Trip!

Today was the first of several highly anticipated field trips that the school plans for the international students. A large part of the study abroad program at Soonchunhyang (or SCH) is to provide international students with the ability to see as much of Korea as possible. They provide several trips for all of the international students to see parts of Korea as a group.

Today we went to the southern part of our province (Chungcheongnam-Do) to see the Baekje festival. The Baekje dynasty was a kingdom in Chungcheongnam-Do from 18 BC to AD 660. It is an ancient kingdom that many people in Chungcheongnam-Do take pride in. For the entire month of October, there are many festivals and celebrations to commemorate this dynasty. We went to the town of Buyeo, which is about an hour by bus from school. In Buyeo, we went to a replica of the palace that was in Buyeo. Many of the palaces and temples in Korea were destroyed when Japan occupied Korea. Japan claimed that they were modernizing Korea, but they destroyed the majority of the historical and cultural buildings, which to me looks like an attempt to remove two thousand years of Korean history. They built the replica with the tools that they would have used when the original was built. It was nice to see that Korea is restoring the historical sites that are still standing and building replicas of the buildings that were destroyed. I have been amazed by the Korean peoples ability to bounce back. It is hard to imagine that only about sixty years ago, Korea was in poverty because of the Korean war. Today it is a powerful force in the world because of the determination of the Korean people to move past their struggles.

For lunch, we went to eat Samgyetamng, which is a whole young chicken stuffed with an assortment of vegetables and rice. It was really good. One of the vegetables that is in the soup is the healthy but bitter tasting ginseng. It is a root that is used in energy drinks and it is said in Korea if you eat ginseng, you will live a long life. I hadn't tried ginseng whole here in Korea, so it was my chance to try it. When I picked up the root, everyone at my table stared in shock because they told me that it is the most disgusting thing I will ever eat in my life. Having already tried squid head, I thought that a root wouldn't be too bad. I took a bite...it wasn't too bad. It tasted like an unsweetened carrot. I finished my ginseng to everyone's amazement. two of the guys I was sitting with, Malik (from California) and Shauqi(from Indonesia) decided they would try is as well. They could only take one bite, it tasted too horrible. Malik told me that he has never tasted something so disgusting in his life. It had a strong bitter taste, but I didn't think it was too bad.

After lunch, we went to a festival that celebrates the Baekje dynasty. It is a month long festival with traditional music, food, and crafts. I got to see several performances: traditional Korean music, break dancing, and part of a Korean opera. It was great to see so much history and culture in one place.

Tomorrow, I am planning to go to Daejon with a few of my Chinese friends. We are going to try to navigate the buses, so it should be quite an adventure! We are planning to go hiking at a nearby national park and possibly visit a temple.

A week in October

I can't believe it's already October. I can see the signs of the season: going outside wearing a jacket, the leaves falling, and Korean students already talking about midterm tests. The amount of pressure on the students to do well is astounding. One of my suitemates will study for at least four or five hours everyday outside of her classes. I think studying is a good thing, but I worry about the Korean students when I learned that the suicide rate in Korea is increasing because of academic expectations. I had noticed that all of the apartments in Korea did not have balconies. When I asked one of my Korean friends, she explained that because of the high suicide rate, the apartment owners do not build balconies.

This weekend, I went to Cheonan to see a movie with two of my friends. The theater was in a four story shopping center. In this kind of center, there are many individual salespeople all sharing the space. It is like a mall without the individual shops. We had time before the movie to walk around this center. We also went shopping in one of the nearby markets after the movie.

Today, I had two exchanges in the morning. I then had a two hour break before my afternoon class. I had the chance during this time to meet two Korean students. I taught them how to play "Go Fish" and "BS" (aka "Chicken"). After a while a few of the international students joined in, making the game very exciting. We had about six or seven people playing, which was a ton of fun.

This weekend, all of the international students will be going to a nearby town for a festival celebrating the Baekje dynasty, a kingdom that was located in this provence. I am very excited to see all of the cultural festivities and to learn more about this dynasty.

Korean cards and a Squid head

I think Thursday is my favorite day of the school week. I have three exchanges with five different Korean students. They are tons of fun and I really enjoy our time together. Today, I was supposed to have three exchanges. Only one of my exchanges came, the other two were sick. In my exchange I learned how to play a Korean card game with Korean cards. Korean cards are smaller and made of plastic. They do not have the numbers and characters like the Western cards. Instead they have different pictures and they are grouped in fours for each number. So there are four "eight" cards, each with a different, but similar design. I loved the card game. It's hard to explain, but I would love to teach you guys when I get home.

This evening, I went with Stella and four of the Japanese students to a restaurant in town for dinner. We went to a Korean restaurant, which included the traditional seating on the floor (so fun!). In most Korean restaurants, you order a group dish and eat from it as a group. The Japanese girls ordered for us a seafood noodle soup. It had a variety of seafood: crab, shrimp, shellfish, and squid. What is so unusual about Korean seafood dishes is that they serve the fish whole, leaving you to "prepare" the fish into more bite size pieces. Me and Stella left the "preparation" to the Japanese girls. They told us that the squid head is the best part, which I was already hesitant to try even the tentacles. However, I did try the head, which was pretty good. It was very chewy and didn't taste too fishy. The Japanese students were shocked that I can't buy squid at home.

This weekend, I am hoping to tour the southern part of the province. I am hoping to visit a nearby national park to go hiking or to see a nearby temple.

It's Fall!

I never knew that a season could change overnight. For the past two weeks, it has been the perfect weather: mid 70's, sunny. This morning, it was upper 50's, with a dry, brisk feeling in the air. Fall is here. I looked around and almost overnight, some of the trees have lost their leaves. I feel like Fall is coming in a hurry. I have begun to sort through my warmer clothes now that I will need them. This week it will be mid 60's, nice weather.

My Korean language classes have started to become more of a challenge. Yesterday in Korean Speaking, my teacher introduced us to the sentence structure of Korean: Subject, Object, Verb. Within five minutes of learning this, she started asking us questions in Korean and wanted us to answer her in Korean using this structure. It was hard! I took Latin in high school which follows the same sentence structure, so I had an idea about how to form the sentence. The most difficult part of Korean for me right now is to learn more vocabulary. My teachers tell us not to worry about vocabulary, but I want to understand more Korean. I want to know what my pastor says in church, what the Korean students say when they walk by, and I want to be able to talk to my exchange partners in Korean. Argh! I am hoping now that we are talking about grammer, our teachers might introduce more vocabulary into our classes.

In Korean History class next week, I am giving a ten minute presentation about Confucianism and the differences between how the Chinese and Koreans applied it into their society. I am almost done writing the paper, and I have learned so much about Confucius' philosophy. In China, Confucianism constantly competed with Taoism and Buddhism for influence in Chinese society. In Korea, the people found a balance of both Confucianist philosophy and Buddhist spirituality. It was so interesting to learn about how one societal philosophy could be applied in two very different ways.

In a few weeks, I will be joining a bunch of the international students to climb one of the nearby mountains. Korean mountains are never much higher than 700m so it will be a good hike. We are hoping to be able to go when the leaves are changing, should be beautiful.

Back to the Books

Well, Chuseok is over. I'm back on campus, ready to tackle the next few weeks. I have a Korean language test on Monday and a big history project due in a week. Midterms are right around the corner, and I'm sure there will be a few last minute assignments due.

I had a great time in Seoul with the Byeons. The Byeon parents were amazing hosts for me and Sarah. They would make us breakfast and dinner. I love their home cooking! They toured with us around Seoul with us, giving us more insight about the history of some of the sites. They also drove us back to school, a good two hour drive. I was overwhelmed by their hospitality. They have invited us to come back anytime. They are some of the nicest people I have ever met.

We also got to visit with the Byeons Aunt, Uncle, and two cousins. They were so glad to see me again and to meet Sarah. We had dinner at their house one night. I learned how to play a traditional Korean game called Yut. It is played by tossing four sticks in the air. The way they land determines how many spaces you can move on the game board. The Byeons Aunt made one of the best meals I've had here in Korea. She made a cajun chicken salad, and Chinese pork dish, and a traditional Chuseok dish that was eated only by royalty made of beef and rice cakes. She also made us Gimbap for our next day of touring. Gimbap is a Korean snack; it is made of rice, meat, and a variety of vegetables wrapped in a piece of seaweed. It is really good, one of my favorite Korean snacks.

Yesterday, we went to a house that was home to Korean Royalty. Many of the members of the royal family would go there for meetings with officials and there were several royal weddings that took place there as well. It was the place where Korea's last King, Emperor Gojong, married his wife, Empress Myeongseong. He was appointed King because the previous King did not have an heir. This was the only time in Korean history that this took place. The Empress was orphaned at a young age and was chosen to marry him because she did not have family, therefore, no political ambitions. They were married for almost thirty years. Empress Myeongseong was murdered by Japanese assasins in 1895 in Gyeongbokgung palace (one of the palaces we went to this week). This is one of the most tragic stories in Korean history. After we wandered around the house, we went to the N Seoul tower. It is an observation tower in the heart of Seoul on one of the many mountians in Seoul. We climbed the mountain (much more fun than the three minute ride on the cable car) and went up to the observation deck in the tower. It was so beautiful, we made it about an hour before sunset, so the light on the city was gorgeous. On the observation deck, the direction and distance of major cities all around the world was marked above the windows. I said hello to everyone back home. As we hiked back down the mountain, we witnessed the sunset over the city.

In all, we toured two palaces, one Buddhist temple, one traditional village, a royal house, the N Seoul tower, three markets, one huge department store, the World Cup stadium for a movie, and probably some other places I can't remember right now. It was a great week filled with sites and time with the Byeons. I hope to visit them for one weekend every month.

Chuseok!

I am in the third day of the ten day break for Chuseok! Chuseok is like Christmas in America: all businesses close and everyone visits relatives during the holiday. It is a three day celebration filled with festivals at historic sites and lots of eating.

Hyesun, Sarah and I were planning to go to Pusan to visit her grandparents. We decided to stay in Seoul and tour around the city. The roads become very congested during the break, so we were looking at a ten hour bus ride to Pusan. We would only have two days in Pusan before we would have to make the trip back to Seoul. Seoul is very empty because families get together in the countryside. We have been touring Seoul and outside of the city. After Kyunghye's test in November, we are planning to go the Pusan with the entire Byeon family to see their grandparents.

Yesterday, I got to see the Byeon's Aunt and Uncle with their two children again. I met them the first week I was in Korea. They were very excited to see me again and hear about school. They also helped me and Sarah study for our Korean language test that we have to take when we get back from break. It was great to hear their speaking to help us understand the Alphabet. We also went to see "Despicable Me" in 4D with them. For those who don't know, in a 4D movie, you wear 3D glasses. But that's not all: the chairs move, water splashes on you, and there is wind to go with the movie. I have never been to a 4D movie in a theater, but here in Korea it is very much the norm. The theater was in the World Cup Stadium. After the World Cup, they converted part of it into a shopping center. The 4D movie was so much fun! I was laughing almost the whole time because of all the crazy things that were happening to the audience.

Today, we went to Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul. It is in the historic part of Seoul that has three other palaces within walking distance from each other. This part of Seoul is over two thousand years old. Gyeounbokgung was built about 700 years ago during the Joseon Dynasty. It was partially destroyed in the 1500's by the Japanese during Korea's war with Japan. It was rebuilt in the 1800's only to be partially destroyed in 1910 by the Japanese during the occupation. It is being rebuilt and many of the buildings have been restored.

When we got to the palace, we watched the changing of the guards. It was so exciting to see the guards in Joseon style dress (some of the men had fake beards because it was the style of the dynasty to have a beard, but not today) and to hear the traditional instruments being played as they marched. After the ceremony we walked around the palace. Korean palaces have many buildings built on about forty acres. They have over thirty separate buildings. The entire Royal family would live in the palace. This could include grandparents, siblings, and cousins of the King. Hyesun said the reason the palace has so many different buildings over so much land is that the Royal Family was rarely allowed to leave the palace. Many of the members of the Royal Family were born and died in the palace, never seeing outside of the walls. They were never to be seen by the common people. I thought this was very tragic: the King in a sense was a prisoner in the palace walls. He ruled over a beautiful country, but he was never allowed to see it.

Tomorrow, we are planning to go to the Seoul watch tower and possibly the fortress in Seoul. I'm very excited to see what other things we may do in Seoul this week.

25 days in Korea

So, I have almost officially been in Korea for a month! It's kind of crazy to think that because it has not felt that long. I have met so many amazing people and have learned so much in 25 days of living in Korea. I have adjusted pretty well to all of the differences between Korea and the US. Here's some news about life around campus.

I love all of the Korean food (except for the hot chili paste). Koreans love soups, Korean style BBQ, and rice dishes with meat (usually pork) and a variety of vegetables. I enjoy eating Korean food and I have not really missed Western food (though I do eat pizza sometimes). I have had Chinese food a few times with my Chinese friends, which is very different from American Chinese food. It is really good, but my friends told me it is not like real Chinese food. I'm very excited for my trip China in January so that I can eat real Chinese food! All of my Chinese friends are very excited that I will visit China and they have started planning things for us to do.

I have seen a variety of Korean TV shows. Many of them are written for mothers and homemakers. Because of this "target audience," the shows usually talk about cooking or solving home problems like: protecting your kids from knocking a knife on the edge of a counter on themselves, keeping your family safe from running into sliding glass doors, and making sure your baby doesn't pick up something dangerous off the floor (all of these were half hour specials). There are some Korean dramas and game shows, but they are very few compared to these homemaker shows.

I have also seen a few Korean movies. My favorite movie that I have seen is called "Windstruck." It is about a policewoman who is in love with a teacher. They meet when she mistakes him for a purse thief. He decides to go on the night watch with her on the streets of Seoul. After that, it is this adorable love story. What is interesting about Korean movies is that there is never any kissing, rarely there is hugging. Instead, these movies focus on the friendship that is in a relationship. In Windstruck, the couple surprise each other at work, fix the girl's apartment, and travel to the mountains of Korea. I didn't understand any of the dialogue and the movie had its cheesy moments, but it had more depth than most of the movies in America. You could see that they really cared about each other. It is so different from American movies where if the couple doesn't kiss in the first ten minutes, they won't stay together. American movies can be so shallow, missing the point of a relationship. I have found that I really like Korean movies, even though I can't understand them. Luckily, I have many translators who enjoy watching movies with me.

I have also started my exchanges with the Korean students. Basically, I meet with twelve different Korean students over the course of a week. I meet with two students for an hour. The point of these exchanges is to help them improve their English conversation skills while learning about each person's culture. As the international student, we have to plan the subject we want to talk about and help the student with any questions they have about English. I decided to get to know my exchange partners this week and ask them if there is anything they would like to talk about in future exchanges. I had two exchanges today. The first meeting was with one girl. She was very sweet and spoke English very well. She is graduating this semester and hopes to work in Japan. The second meeting was with two girls. They were both my age and very nervous. It took them about five minutes after spotting me to come over since I didn't have a picture of them and they had a picture of me. They were very shy to speak English but after a while they opened up. By the end of the exchange, they were asking me when I could come and meet their friends outside of the exchange! I was very surprised by how much they enjoyed their first exchange after being so nervous. Tomorrow, I have three different exchanges. I am very excited to meet with the students. I am so glad that we have these exchanges because I can bring questions I have about Korean language and culture to my partners. I think I will learn more about Korea from my partners than in my classes.

My classes are going well. My language teachers are moving at a good pace for me. My other classes are interesting and the drumming class is a blast! There is not too much homework in my classes, which is so refreshing after my insane semester last year.

Tonight was the Wednesday night service at church. I absolutely adore all of the ladies at church. They are so sweet and remind me of church back home. The pastor is wonderful. He always has a smile on his face and enjoys discussing Korean culture with me. He also gave me and the other students that come to church a Korean Bible and English/Korean New Testament. The love that the church lavishes on us international students is unbelievable.

Tomorrow, my floor is having our weekly floor party/get together. We decided as a suite that we wanted to have time every week to get to know each other more and have fun. I think the plan this week is to play a game and watch a movie. All of the girls on my floor are awesome and so funny. We always have lots of laughs at our parties.

On Friday, I will be traveling to Seoul for Cheosuk. We will then travel to Busan for the week. I am very excited to see Busan because many of my Korean friends say it is the most beautiful city in Korea.

Temple and Village

I first want to start today's entry with a quote that defines what I have learned from 9-11-2001:
“These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of America’s resolve.”
–President George W. Bush
September 11 was a tragic day that we should never forget. America was more united and patriotic in the aftermath of 9-11 than I had ever seen in my lifetime. Now nine years later, we are back to division and anger. Even though we disagree, we have the freedom to do so. That is the beauty about America. Being away from my home country has given me a greater appreciation for what I have been given in America. I am so proud to tell people that I am from the USA.

Today, I went to a Buddhist temple and a traditional Korean village with Hyesun and some of her friends. I invited one of my friends from school to come on this all day excursion. Her name is Sarah, she's an Art major from Pennsylvania. She's in my language classes. She is interested in seeing historical and cultural sites, my favorite things to visit. We met Hyesun in Cheonan and met her two friends that she brought to travel with us. Eunil is her best friend from high school who very knowledgeable about Seoul and Korea. Petro is Eunil's boyfriend from Germany. They met in India and have been together for two years. He came to visit her for a few weeks and see her home country.

We first went to a Buddhist temple outside of Cheonan. It was near a few rivers, so there was a calming feeling in the complex. The complex was a collection of about six different temples in an area of about ten acres. There were about four temples in a square together and the others were set near one of the rivers. Today it was raining on and off because it is typhoon season. As a result, the temple was completely empty except for one monk. It was so peaceful to walk around the complex and see all of the intricate details on each of the temples. Each of them had their own personality with the kinds of Buddha's that were placed in the temple. There was one temple that had at least 200 Buddha's placed around the walls. So different from the Midwest! The monk was very nice and talked with us. It is one of my favorite places I have seen here in Korea.

We then went to Anyang to eat lunch at a restaurant that Hyesun wanted to try. It was a three course Korean meal. They first brought out Korean side dishes. They also brought an assortment of vegetables and pork. We then put a little of each into a leaf and ate it, a famous thing to eat in Korea. I had a new food today: fish eggs. The funny thing is I didn't even know it until Hyesun told me later while we were eating. I was putting a little of everything on a leaf to try it all together. The fish eggs looked like some kind of spice, so sprinkled some on top. A few minutes later Hyesun said: "I just love these fish eggs! They are so good." I then realized why the "spice" didn't have any taste. They were very good, I'm just glad I won't be going around Korea looking for this "spice" that doesn't exsist. The last course was a bowl of rice and some more sides to add to the rice. There was no Kimchi! Shocker! There was the signature red pepper paste that has given me a new appreciation for cold water. I decided not to destroy my taste buds today and opted out of adding it to my rice.

After we ate, we went to a traditional Korean village. It was adorable! There were houses built in the style of the ancient homes with a grass roof and the pagoda style houses. What was really interesting about this village is that it is a functioning village. People live in the houses. It was really funny walking around some of the houses and seeing a Hyundai parked on the side. We got there an hour before it closed, so the village was pretty empty. It was really fun to explore all the homes and see what Korea looked like 500 years ago.

It was great to see Hyesun meet some of her friends. I was so glad that Hyesun could come and help us find our way with the buses (I got lost the last time I took a bus). It was also great to see some of Korea with Koreans who absolutely love their country. There is no better tour guide! Today was one of the best days I've had in Korea. I learned so much and saw so many amazing sites. I have one more week of classes and then I have a ten day break for Korean thanksgiving. Hyesun, Sarah, and I will be going to Busan for a few days to visit Hyesun's grandparents. We will then go to Seoul and visit with the Byeons. I'm super excited about our break because I will get to see more of the country and visit with the Byeons again.

A few hours in Cheonan

Today, I didn't have any classes. I was able to make my schedule with a day off during the week. Since I didn't have a class, I invited Stella (or Csilla) to come with me to Cheonan. Stella is from Hungary and she is a very interesting person. She came to Korea because two years ago, she began to watch Korean movies and felt a connection to the Korean culture. She is absolutely adorable because she loves everything Korean! She is very knowledgeable about Korean history and culture, plus she speaks Korean fairly well. She didn't have a class today either, so we hopped on the subway for Cheonan.

When we got to Cheonan, we stopped for lunch. We had one of favorite Korean dishes: Samgyopsal. Samgyopsal is a traditional Korean dish. The server brings out a skillet with pork, garlic, and onions. You cook your meat at your table on a burner built into your table. They also bring out many side dishes (including kimchi of course.) When the meat is cooked, you take a piece and wrap it in a piece of lettuce with the vegetables and eat it. It is so good (I think when I get back to the States, I'm going to open a Samgyopsal restaurant, could be the next Starbucks.)

After we ate, we went to a park in Cheonan. It was raining, so the park was empty. It was very peaceful walking through the gardens and to have a relaxing day after a week of classes. On our way back to school, we stopped in the underground mall in Cheonan. It had over fifty stores and it was under a large street. It was a new experience for me to walk around stores with the sound of traffic above me.

When we got back, we had our orientation with the Korean students. Many of the students didn't come because it was optional for them, however it was mandatory for us. The entire ceremony was in Korean, so I have no clue what they talked about.

In two weeks, I have a nine day break for Chuseok (Korean thanksgiving). I am hoping to go to Seoul and see more of the city with the Byeons.