Visa! and a Confucian School

I got my Chinese Visa today! After weeks of uncertainty about being able to get my visa before I leave, I finally can say that I am bound for China! I will not have to adjust any of my airline or hostel reservations, which is a huge relief. Now I can make plans of what I would like to see in Shanghai before my mom and sisters arrive. I am so excited to travel to another awesome country and share the experience with the girls. I am also excited to meet with my Chinese friend from school Xiao Chen. She left Korea about a month ago, so it will be great to catch up with her and spend some time touring Beijing together. She has offered to be our guide in Beijing, which is such a blessing.

Today, I went with Kyunghye and her friend Eun-Jin to see a few sights in Seoul. We went to the northern part of Seoul to see a few places. We went to a museum filled with artwork from Gyeomjae Jeongseon, a famous late Joseon Dynasty artist. We also went to see a 500 year old Joseon Dynasty Confucian School that still holds classes.

The museum had both artwork from Gyeomjae Jeongseon and some contemporary art. It was very interesting to learn more about Gyeomjae. Before going to the museum, I only knew that he was the most famous artist in Korean history. It was interesting to learn more about his life. He lived to be 84 years old, and continued to paint as he went blind. His later paintings shared so many similarities with Monet paintings, blurred lines and impressions of objects. One thing about his life that I thought was really amazing was that he traveled to every Joseon province, and painted landscapes of every region he visited. It was unusual for a person at that time to travel beyond their province. He was a traveler!

After browsing the portion of the museum about Gyeomjae, we went to see the contemporary art. They were based on seasons and times of the day using only colored squares. Sometimes I really don't understand some art, but it was still pretty fun to try to guess what each group of colors represented. I think we only got two right.

We began our walk to see the Confucian school, and we stumbled across one of the "workout areas" that I have seen all over Korea. In parks and along pathways, there are groups of workout equipment that are open for people to use. I think it is interesting that Korea is very health conscious, and they put that into action by building means for people to make healthy choices. A few other examples of this health awareness include: American style junk food is expensive, there are sidewalks everywhere, and there are many TV commercials encouraging living a healthy life.

The Confucian School was very close to the Han river. There was a pavilion overlooking the river, which had an awesome view of Seoul! The school looked very similar to other Joseon Dynasty architecture. There is one gate to enter the walled three building complex. The buildings were green (a sacred color for Korea) with flowers and other designs painted on it. When we got to the school, a class had just started, so we were quiet as we explored the grounds. It was a neat experience to walk around this 500 year old school, listening to a Confucian scholar lecturing in the background.

The focus Korean culture has had over the course of history has not been conquering other nations or other means of power, but the quest for more knowledge. This remains the focus of Korean culture to this day. I have never seen a country so hungry for more education. Korean students have a two month break from school right now, but for most students, this break is filled with more coursework then when they are in class. There are "winter break classes" that focus on a certain subject that most Korean students attend this time of year. There are some families that use this time to hire a tutor to teach their child six days a week for most of the day. Some of my Korean friends have told me that students look forward to school beginning again because the classes they take during the break are more difficult. Education philosophy here in Korea is so different from the USA. It is your duty as a student study hard, respect your teacher, and do well in school. There are many things that have changed for Korea over history, but education remains the focus of Korean culture. This still amazes me even after five months of living in Korea.

A Week with Friends

Wow! I haven't blogged about anything post Japan! I guess the craziness of the week is the reason. It's hard for me to believe that just over a week ago, I was in Japan. It seems like we were running around Japan a long time ago.

I got back from Japan last Tuesday. Wednesday I met with Woosik, his mom, and his cousin with Kyunghye. We went to lunch together and spent some time remembering some memories from Woosik's time in America. It was so nice to meet some of his family and to spend some more time with him before he left for London. It turns out his cousin went to the same school as Kyunghye, not only that, but Woosik's house is within a few miles from the Byeons. Small city and a small world. His mom is so sweet, she has offered to help me if I need anything while I'm here in Korea. It is great to have such an amazing support system here in Korea while living abroad, I can't imagine what it would be like without them. After having lunch, we went back to Woosik's house to watch some movies and snack on some Japanese food. The love and hospitality that I have received here in Korea is beyond words, I am truly thankful.

On Thursday, I went down to my school to try to get some paperwork worked out. There are some conflicts with my Alien card that are preventing me from being able to get my Chinese Visa. Not good considering I leave in a week! I was able to spend some time with my friends that are in the GKS program. GKS is a group of the international students that are sponsored by their home country's government to come and study in Korea. Most of them are fluent in Korean. I really enjoyed hearing about their new Winter Break classes and all of the activities they have been doing this winter. We talked and laughed about memories from last semester. I am truly going to miss them when they go back home in February. They are some of the closest friends I have here in Korea. On Friday I was unable to get my paperwork, so I would have to come back the next week to complete it.

On Sunday, I went to the International Lutheran Church and met with Mike Kersten and his friends Matt and Dee Dee Wasmund. Mike is one of my dad's former youth who has been working in Asia as an LCMS missionary. Currently he is teaching in Hong Kong, and stopped in Seoul to visit. He met Matt and Dee Dee while working in Taiwan. They recently moved to Seoul with their two adorable daughters: Lily and Olivia. Matt works as the East Asia LCMS missions coordinator. After worship at church, we went out to lunch at a local Korean restaurant. It was great to spend time with Christian Brothers and Sisters that are working here in Asia. After lunch, we went back to the Wasmund's home in downtown Seoul. I chatted with Dee Dee about homeschooling (she would like to teach the girls at home while they are young) while the girls settled in for some reading with Mike.

Both Lily and Olivia (ages 5 and 3) were adopted from Taiwan, so they speak Chinese. Not only that, but they also speak English, Spanish, and they are learning Korean. Matt only speaks Spanish to them, while Dee Dee only speaks English to them. They learned Chinese from their time in Taiwan, and they are enrolled in Korean preschool. I was astonished! Here are these two little girls who have a better grasp of languages than I could only dream of. They are so smart and very friendly, greeting me for the first time with a big hug.

I have so much respect for the Wasmunds. Not only have they taught their girls at a young age multiple languages, they have also exemplified their compassion for others. One of the ways that they do this that I thought was fantastic is that every Tuesday they have Compassion Day. They eat a small bowl of rice for dinner, and talk about how for many people in the world, this bowl of rice will be their only meal for the day. They then place money in a jar, and when it is filled, use that money to help a charity. Dee Dee explained that they do this because they want them to understand even while they're young the world they live in. Our world isn't a perfect place: there is so much pain, injustice, and poverty that we in Western countries forget at times.

While Dee Dee was putting Olivia down for a nap, Lily decided to teach Chinese. I have never felt so intimidated in a classroom in my life. She had the "what kind of answer is that?" and the "you can't be serious?" glare down perfectly. Luckily Mike was also enrolled in Lily's class, so I was able to get a little bit of help between flashcards. Sadly this wasn't enough. I was sent to the "naughty corner" multiple times because my tones were completely off. It was fun to see Lily's imagination soar as she lectured in Chinese. It was definitely worth a few times in the "naughty corner" to see her infectious smile as she taught.

It was great to spend time with Lutheran friends. It was encouraging for me to meet with other Christians who share so many similar experiences that I have had living abroad. Matt and Dee Dee attend the church that I attend here in Seoul, so it will be wonderful to see them every Sunday. I hope in the summer to be able to serve on a mission trip here in Asia through LCMS.

Today, after returning from school for the second time (with paperwork in hand), I went to visit the Byeon's Aunt, Uncle, Jinyoung, and the infamous Eujin. For those who don't know, Eujin has every wild habit imaginable for a five year old boy. He bounces off the walls of his family's apartment, destroying anything that looks important to Jinyoung in his path. He is very sweet when he calms down however. We were able to get him to build domino paths with us, and I was surprised how steady he could keep his hand. It was so nice to visit and spend some time with them again.

1-3-11

Today is our last day in Japan. We will board the ferry later in the evening to sail back to Busan. We got up and had Japanese ramen for breakfast. We packed all of our stuff and checked out of the hotel around 9am.

We decided to spend the day in Fukuoka to see more of the temples in the city, Fukuoka tower, and the castle ruins. We took the bus to see two Shinto and one Buddhist temple, all of which were close to each other. The first Shinto temple was very similar to the others that we had visited earlier in the week: Large complexes with vendors selling things to use in different ceremonies. We then visited the Buddhist temple, which was home to the largest wooden Buddha in Japan (sadly no pictures allowed). It was so massive, one of the largest Buddhas I have seen. The other Shinto temple we went to was a small shrine. It was built in the 1200's by some fishermen who supposedly caught a mermaid and buried it under the place where the shrine is today. It was a small pagoda with some places to make offerings. There was also a graveyard behind the temple with tall black stones marking the graves.

After visiting the temples, we went to Fukuoka tower. It is one of the tallest buildings in Japan. It was a lot of fun to see the city from above, and to see the islands out in the ocean.

We then went to a third Shinto temple and the Fukuoka Castle ruins. The temple was very similar to the others, except it was built on a larger piece of land. It felt more like a carnival with vendors selling objects and people running from place to place. After the temple, we went to the ruins. The Castle is over 500 years old. Unfortunately it was destroyed about 200 years ago, and has never been restored to its former state. There are remnants of the castle: a wall here and a pathway there. It reminded me a lot of the Mayan ruins I had seen in Belize: Nature merging with the abandoned man-made architecture. We saw some very old trees that were a good three feet wide. They were absolutely majestic and gave the area a calm atmosphere.


After visiting the ruins, we took a bus back to Shimonozaki, the place where we board our ferry. We went to buy some dinner and snacks for the ferry, seeing that the food on the ferry was very expensive. We began to leave port as the sun began to set. As the sun was setting, we went on the deck to say goodbye to the Land of the Rising Sun.

1-2-11

We got up and decided to go back to Sasebo to see if the boat tour of the nearby islands reopened. We got to Sasebo around noon and took a bus to Pearl Queen resort to take the Pearl Queen boat tour.

While on the boat, we saw several islands that had small towns and villages. Most of these islands with villages are home to fishermen. One of the islands however was first inhabited by a group of Japanese Catholics who were being persecuted. The people who live there today are also Catholic, and a large Cathedral is the center of the town. Most of the islands have been left untouched. We also saw a lot of oyster cages in the ocean. The winter is the time for oyster fishing, so we saw a lot of fishermen out in the ocean checking the cages. It was the warmest day so far, with no snow! It was warm enough to stay on the deck for the entire tour. It was so nice to see the natural beauty of Japan.

We had a Sasebo Burger for lunch. We then went to a market in Sasebo on a mission to find a teacup. I collect teacups from different countries that I visit. I wanted to find a cup made in Japan. Most of the Japanese teacup companies today make their teacups in other countries, so it was hard to find one made in Japan. I did find one though, so our mission was a success!

After a warm afternoon in Sasebo, we headed back to Fukuoka. We went to eat pork ramen one last time and went to sleep early because tomorrow will be a long day heading back to the ferry.

1-1-11

On this first day of the new year, we went to the historical city Kumomoto. It took a little over two hours to get there by train. When we arrived, we took the city trolley to Kumomoto Castle. We were very lucky because the castle had free admission for New Years day, something we didn't know until we got there. The castle was built originally in the 1300's by a noble family. I didn't realize the similarities between Japan and Europe in the Middle Ages. Both were split in small feudal states rather than one large nation. The castle was partially destroyed during the Meiji Restoration, but it has been rebuilt to its original state. It was so intimidating, so tall and massive. We also saw a few turrets, which were very large for a defense building. It was great to see something very "Japanese" and be able to walk through such a beautiful castle.

After we toured the castle, we walked to a house that was owned by one of the most successful Samurais of the area. On our way, walked past a New Year's day festival in one of the Shinto shrines. There was a lot of street food and people praying for a good year.

The Samurai house was very large a elaborate. It was a group of about seven smaller buildings connected by walkways and gardens. The interior of the house was filled with paintings, carved furniture, and beautiful porcelain jars. We were the only people at the house, so it was very peaceful to wander each room and garden.

After touring the house, we walked to the trolley to head back to the train station. On our way we saw a lot of door posts with a palm branch and a tangerine over the top of the post. It is a New Years custom in Japan, which was neat to be there to see. We were hoping to go to Mt. Aso, but when we got there, we found out that the cable car was closed because of the snow. It was disappointing to not be able to see the volcano, but we had already seen two very unique places, so we were happy. When we were at the Mt Aso station, we ran into four of the Korean guys from our tour group. I guess there aren't too many tourists in Kyushu in January!

When we got back to Fukuoka, we ate some dinner (sushi and ramen). We decided to relax after a long day where we saw a lot of places and traveled on the train for over seven hours. We made plans for tomorrow and watched a Japanese TV drama about a Samurai.

12-31-10

We got up at 7am to catch a train to Nagasaki. We got to Nagasaki at 10:30am. We took the city trolley, a piece of Nagasaki's public transportation for over sixty years, to the Peace Park. The Peace Park is a memorial to remember all of those that were killed when the atomic bomb dropped on August 9th, 1945. The fountain of peace in the park is a place for all of the souls that died thirsting for water after the bomb. There are also over twenty sculptures given to Nagasaki from various countries. The Peace Statue in the center of the park is a sculpture of this very commanding looking person watching over the park. When we got to the park, it was snowing. This made the park look very peaceful and a place of restoration.

After we went to the Peace Park, we went to the nearby Epicenter Park. This is the place where the bomb dropped, the second time in history an atomic weapon was used. The exact place where the bomb landed has been marked by a tall black marble stone with the date of the impact. Next to this dark reminder of the tragic history of the area is the one corner of the Urakami Cathedral that remained after the bombing. It has been left untouched since that day, it serves as a reminder of the magnitude of the destruction of this one bomb. Part of the wall is charred black from the bomb. The whole Epicenter Park was very overwhelming to see. It was so simple, only the marker and the corner of the church, which served as a reminder that at the time of the bombing the entire area was charred and bare. It was difficult to go to a place that was the place of one of humanity's most tragic events, but I felt like I needed to see it. Refusing to see the dark parts of history will only make you more likely to repeat those events.

After visiting the two parks, we went back to the train station to travel to Sasebo. Sasebo is another coastal town, about two hours from Nagasaki. It is home to rural fishing villages, a USA military base, and the famous "Sasebo Burger" (a very large burger with very fresh ingredients). We were hoping to take a boat tour, but because of the snow, it was closed. We decided to try the Sasebo Burger, which was the best burger I have had in Asia. We went to a nearby local market and walked among the stores. We saw a lot of fresh seafood, including a fish that was at least three feet long.

We took the train back to Fukuoka. We were hoping that there might be a New Year's celebration in the city, but like all of Japanese culture, everything closed early. We were determined though to celebrate the new year, so we went to Family Mart (like 7eleven) to buy some snacks. We then went back to our hotel and we watched Japan's New Year special. There were a lot of comedians, TV actors, and Jpop musicians all together to remember 2010 and look forward to 2011. It was neat to learn more about Japanese pop culture by watching all these artists together. When it got time to countdown, instead of showing a large city like Tokyo counting down, they went to a Buddhist temple where they ring in the New Year with 33 bell chimes on the temple's large bell. I have seen this bell in every Buddhist temple I have been to, but I had never seen a time where they have used it in a ceremony. It was so fascinating that they went to this celebration of the New Year instead of a group of people counting down with confetti and fireworks. It was a peaceful and thoughtful way to begin 2011.

12-30-10

I woke up at about 7am to get ready to get off the ferry. Poor Kyunghye only got about three hours of sleep because of a screaming toddler. We had some ramen that Omma Byeon packed for us. We got off the ferry around 9am. Our next mission was to find the bus to take us from Shimonazaki to Fukuoka, where our hotel was. We couldn't find the bus terminal, so we went into a nearby Starbucks to ask directions. We met a nice couple from America that live in Japan. Not only did they help us find the bus terminal, but they reserved our tickets and got us a student discount. Their Japanese was excellent, me and Kyunghye were shocked! After a huge thank you, we got on our bus for Fukuoka.

We couldn't check into our hotel until later in the afternoon, so we took the subway to see a local Shinto temple outside of the city. I think we picked a good time to go to Japan. We learned that during the New Year, most Japanese people go to a Shinto temple to pray for a good new year. When we got to the temple, we saw a lot of people writing wishes for the new year on paper, and then tying them to a rope. They would then go to the main temple building, throw coins into a box, and bow saying a short prayer for their wish. In Japan, many people practice multiple religions. They will celebrate Christmas in a Christian church, Buddha's birthday at a Buddhist temple, and various times of the year at a Shinto shrine. It is very different from Korea, where people practice either Christianity, Buddhism, or nothing.

The temple was very beautiful. It was mostly red, which is a sacred color for Japanese. In contrast, most Korean temples are green, which signifies peace. Red is signifies bad fortune in Korea. I think this is because red is a special color for both China and Japan, the two countries that over history have attacked Korea. There were a lot of animal statues and vendors selling incense sticks and paper to write new years wishes. From what I understand about Shintoism, it is the ancient Japanese religion that was formed and only practiced in Japan. There is a lot of ancestor worship and praying to local gods.

After visiting the temple, we went to our hotel(getting lost on the way). After dropping our stuff off, we went to get our JR tickets. Japan has an amazing rail system, the trains are very convenient and prompt. If you are a foreigner, you can buy a rail pass that allows you to travel on all rail lines for a certain amount of days.

Once we got our rail passes, we took the city bus to Canal City. Canal City is one of the largest malls in Japan. There is a canal in the middle of the shopping center, hence the name "Canal City." We went to Ramen Palace (an area of the mall with over 20 different ramen restaurants) for dinner. We ate pork ramen, a famous dish from Fukuoka. It was delicious, one of our favorite dishes while we were in Japan. After eating in Ramen Palace, we explored some of the stores in Canal City. We found a Pokemon Center! It was a store that sold all things Pokemon. I felt like I was eight again: looking at all the Pokemon stuff, comparing different Pokemon, and trying to explain to Kyunghye the difference between Charmander and Charmeleon. We also went to a store that sold Kimonos. They were so exquisite. When we were ready to leave, we were deep into the mall. This mall was really hard to find your way around, and the size didn't help either. We would walk around for ten minutes, thinking we were close to the exit only to see the indicator that we were back to where we started: an ad selling boots that had these Nazi looking girls on it. Half an hour later and after walking past it five times, we were desperate to find any door out of Canal City. We found an exit, but we then had to walk to the opposite side of the mall to our bus stop.

12-29-10

Me and Kyunghye embarked for our adventure to Japan early to catch a train to Busan to board our ferry to Kyushu. We got on the train around noon and arrived in Busan a little before five. It was a long train but the anticipation made it go by faster.

When we got to Busan, we headed over to the ferry terminal. We signed up with a tour group that Hyesun found online. It was more like a giant group that got a lower price at both hotels and the ferry to Kyushu. Because we went with this group, we got the ferry and hotels over 50% off. Great to travel to Japan at a bargain price! When we got to the ferry terminal, we had to check in with our tour group. The group was Korean and as a result, I was the only non-Korean registered with the group. When me and Kyunghye went up to get our packet, the guy behind the counter said "Ah, Rebecca here's your packet" so funny! After we got our hotel, ferry, and JR (Japan Rail) reservations, we had some time to eat dinner before boarding the ferry.

The ferry held about 400 passengers. It was an overnight ferry, so we each had a bunk to sleep on during our trip across to Kyushu. After dropping our stuff off at our bunks, we went to see the ship leave port. This is my first time out of Korea since I came, so it was bittersweet to say goodbye to my home away from home for a week. It was also very exciting to be traveling to a new place.

Once we left port, we went back to our bunks to get a good nights rest. We were going to get off the ferry early the next morning, so we didn't want to be tired. I fell asleep to the rocking of the ferry as we got closer to Kyushu.

Back from Japan

Me and Kyunghye just got back from a great week in the Land of the Rising Sun. We left in the morning of the 29th and took an overnight ferry to Kyushu, the southernmost main island of Japan. We just got back today from Busan where the ferry returned us from Japan. It was an awesome jam packed week filled with Japanese food, temples, castles, and much more. Instead of having one huge post about our time in Japan, I'm going to type parts of my journal entries that I wrote while in Japan. I will write a new post for each day. Stay tuned!