Cheonan Temple and Weekend Studying

This weekend, I went to a temple in Cheonan, and spent the rest of the time working on some of the large projects I have due in a few weeks. In my Politics and Global Society classes, I have some presentations due after Easter, but I like to get assignments done well in advance. I don't like to rush through an assignment. I always want the projects I submit to be a good representation of my ability. I don't like my work to be halfway. I also want to get these assignments done because I have a few small trips planned in the next few weeks. I will be going to Seoul this weekend for Seoungyoung's birthday and I am hoping to go to the southern part of Korea again in a few weeks for some spring hiking. The first national park of Korea is near Busan. I want to see this area as everything begins to come back to life. This trip will depend on if I can get these assignments done, so I'm determined to have them finished soon!

On Friday, I went with Heather to Cheonan to Boksan temple just outside of town. It is a larger Buddhist temple. There is also a thirty foot bronze Buddha just up the hill from the temple complex. It was the first temple Heather has been to, so it was really fun to explain all of the details of Buddhist temples. I still have a lot to learn about Buddhism in Korea, but the things I have learned are quite fascinating. Buddhist temples, like the palaces, are painted green because it is the color of peace and serenity. There are always at least three different temples to Buddha. One will have three Buddhas placed in the middle to represent the three main reincarnations of the Buddha: Sakyamuni the original Buddha that we all know, Vairocana the cosmic Buddha that spreads Buddhism throughout the world, and Amithabha the Buddha that governs paradise. The second temple has a Buddha statue, along with the patron monks of the temple. The last temple has a Buddha statue, along with over 100 small Buddha figurines placed in the walls.

Korean Buddhism was first introduced to Korea about 1500 years ago during the Three Kingdoms period. It had to compete with both Confucianism and Shamanism. Rather than compete with these two philosophies, Buddhism reshaped itself to fit Korean culture.

Confucianism was the belief of the educated and powerful, so Buddhism presented itself as the spiritual side of Confucianism. This created a phenomenon know as Neoconfucianism, which is the belief in the moral principles of Confucianism while believing in the spirituality of Buddhism. Confucianism does not provide an answer for where the soul goes after death, rather it teaches men to be responsible while on earth. The Korean people were craving an answer for their questions about what happens after death. Buddhism provided that answer. In contrast to China, Buddhism and Confucianism worked well together to form a kind of Buddhism in Korea.

Shamanism was the religion of the common people. It was the ancient folk beliefs. Shamanism is the channeling of spirits and ghosts through Shamans, people with the ability to communicate with spirits. It is similar to the ancient Shaman traditions of Mongolia and China. Ancestor worship, offerings to spirits to gain favor, and Shamans speaking on behalf of people to spirits are the main components of Shamanism. Buddhism provided the common people with a religion, rather than spiritual traditions. Buddhism included some of the major spiritual beings of Shamanism: Sanshin (mountain spirit), Toksong (the recluse), and Chilsong (spirit of the seven stars). They gave these spirits a place in Korean Buddhism. There are some shrines and festivals that honor these Shaman spirits in Korean Buddhism today.

I find it interesting how Buddhism adapted itself to appease the people of Korea. It saw exactly what the Korean people wanted, and compromised itself in some ways to fulfill that desire. Korean Buddhism looks completely different from Thai Buddhism or Tibetan Buddhism. They have disagreements about the Buddhas life and the requirements to achieve Nirvana. Granted, there are some small differences in Korean Christianity and Western Christianity, but it is the order of worship, not the message. The Gospel message in Korean churches is identical to the message in American churches. This gave me so much peace when I first came here. To see that Christianity is a universal message that is understood and accepted regardless of the cultural differences. I guess that it's a difference of what a person wants and what the person needs. A person needs Christ, and that's why His Word is so powerful.

Ok, that was a really long tangent, but it is so interesting! Buddhism is the religion of a quarter of Koreans, so I want to understand as much as I can about this religion that is very important for so many. After visiting the temple and saying hello to the Big Bronze Buddha, we went back to Cheonan to wander the street market. The street market in Cheonan is packed with fresh fish, fruit, and all sorts of random stuff. You never know what you may find, which makes it so exciting!

Thailand Trekking: Day One

Today was the beginning of our three day trek. We took a 1 1/2 hour drive out of Chaing Mai. We stopped for lunch at a small park halfway to our starting point for the hike. We had some delicious fried rice with some fresh fruit for lunch.

After lunch we reached the beginning of the trail. For the trek, we were going to hike through the hills to two different rural hilltribes. The first village we were going to visit were from the Karen tribe.

The hike was about three hours up and down a few steep hills. It was the dry season, so the dirt was like a fine powder, which made it easy to slip. Our local guide, Gee, was hiking in Crocs and jumping from rock to rock, saying "slowly slowly, smiley smiley." We were hiking slowly. We were not smiling because he was not hiking slowly. It was like a game of tag trying to keep up with him.

The hike was absolutely gorgeous. Once we were about an hour into the hike, all signs of civilization disappeared and we were surrounded by unbelievable hills. There is an amazing sense of peace when hiking through a place that is not often seen by others. You lose all sense of time and priority, replacing it with a focus on the small things: a beautiful flower, the warm breeze. It is something that reminds me how important it is to slow down and appreciate every moment.

We continued to hike until we reached the village. The village is home to about 200 people. The Karen people are nomadic, which means that they stay in one location about five years, after which they will move to a different area in the hills. Most of the people in the village are farmers. The Karen people are very conservative people. It is also the group of people that in some villages, the women elongate their necks with brass rings. The village we stayed in did not carry this tradition.

We set our backpacks down in our hut, which was a traditional home about two feet above ground. It was very cozy inside: several raised sleeping areas with mosquito nets. Before dinner, we walked around the village, meeting a few of the locals. We met an elderly couple and walked around their farm. Even though they were probably in their late 60's, they were a fiery couple, putting their very disobedient water buffalo in line.

For dinner, Gee made us a delicious pumpkin soup with a chicken stew. It was so good, especially after the hike. After dinner, we watched the sun set, and headed off to bed. The next day would be our long, difficult trek, so we wanted to get some rest.

Weekend in Seoul and B Dorm Meeting

This weekend, I was able to get away from school for two days to spend some time in Seoul. I have been extremely busy with classes and my exchanges. A part of my international program here at SCH requires me to meet with Korean students for cultural exchanges, where we talk about basically anything, mostly in English but I have been able to start discussing a few things in Korean. Last semester, I had six exchanges per week with ten Korean students. This semester, I have thirteen hours of exchanges with twenty-four Korean students. When I am not in class, I am almost always in the exchange room, it has been crazy! I am happy that I have these exchanges though because all of my exchange partners are very enthusiastic about learning more English and helping me with my Korean. I hope that by the end of the semester, I will be able to have the last exchanges with them in Korean, we'll see!

On Saturday, I went to visit the Byeons. I hadn't seen them since I left for school a month ago, so it was great to catch up and hear what they have been up to. Hyesun is finishing her last semester of University, Kyunghye has been busy studying for the college entrance exam, and Seungyoung has recently picked up basketball, so he plays with some neighborhood friends at the court in the apartment complex. I went with Hyesun and Kyunghye to see "The King's Speech" which was absolutely fabulous. I have read quite a bit about that era in English history, so it was great to see it come to life. It is so inspiring because the main character overcomes a speech impediment to become a leader for his people in one of the darkest chapters in history. I think everyone has individual mountains we have to overcome to become the person we are meant to be. I feel like I am trekking a few of these mountains as I continue to learn Korean and live in a different culture. I am excited to see where this journey will lead and what kind of future God has planned for me.

On Sunday, I went to ILC (International Lutheran Church) and visited the Wasmunds. I have come to realize, being only able to attend an English speaking church about once a month, how important church is for me. It truly renews, encourages, and connects my faith and soul to my Creator. I am going to try to visit ILC more often, because it is such an encouragement for my faith to be surrounded by so many devoted and passionate Brothers and Sisters in Christ. While at church, I met Autumn, who is an English teacher not too far from my school. She was a missionary in Papau New Guinea and now teaches here in Korea. It was interesting to hear about her experiences and the places she has seen.

She joined the Wasmunds and I for lunch. I was so happy to visit with Matt, Dee Dee, Lily and Olivia again. I hadn't seen them since my Sisters and Mom came to Korea, which was over a month ago. Dee Dee is working with the girls at home as well as sending them to Chinese school part time. Lily started Explode the Code, which for all us homeschoolers, is the textbook for learning to read and write basic words. Dee Dee asked Lily if she had some exciting news to tell me and Autumn. Beaming with pride, Lily announced that she read her first words by "sounding it out." A huge milestone! Another exciting thing that is happening with the Korean Lutheran Church is that the first outreach missionary is coming to Seoul this Summer. Matt also said that all of the missionaries in Japan are safe, which is a huge relief.

I got back to school Sunday evening, just in time to help a few of the girls with English homework and study for my two Korean language exams. On Monday, I had my Korean Speaking class and my Korean Dance class. Korean Dance is a lot of fun! The girls in the class have a good sense of humor and the teacher is very helpful. We are learning a traditional Korean Fan Dance, which requires a new kind of coordination: keeping knees together, while walking gracefully without changing the level of your body. Extremely complicated, but it is fun to learn with the my classmates who always have a smile on their faces as we stumble through this dance.

Monday evening was the date for the much anticipated "Meeting" with one of the guys suites. In the Global Village Dorm, there are four towers: two for girls, two for guys. Girls aren't allowed in the Boys towers and Boys aren't allowed in the Girls. It is this gender separation that coming from a coed public university dorm last year, I was quite shocked to see. I didn't like the extreme of anything goes in my home university, but at the same time this is quite the other extreme.

So, in order for guys and girls to spend time together in the suites, they have to set up a prearranged "suite meeting" approved by the head of the dorm. In these meetings, a guy suite invites the girls from one of the girl suites to come and hang out in their suite. Girls are never allowed to invite the guys suites to the girls dorms. In these meetings, the two suites order food and spend time with other people from Global Village.

My suite was invited to one of these meetings a few weeks ago. It has been the main topic of discussion for the last week. The girls in my suite started getting ready for this "meeting" around an hour before. They were so busy fixing their hair and picking an outfit that was cute but casual. It still amazes me how much thought they put into their appearance, American girls do this, but not to the amount of detail as the Korean girls. I just slapped on a pair of sweats and a T-shirt, we were going to eat and hang out, not to meet the president or something. After everyone was dressed and ready, we paraded from our girls dorm to the boys dorm. It was so funny to see the girls faces as they walked down the "forbidden" hall to the illustrious boys dorm. It was like Belle in Beauty and Beast walking to the West Wing: a place once forbidden, but curiousness and anticipation overcoming the initial reservations. Seriously, they were hyping up this boys dorm way too much. It reminded me of a bunch of junior high girls going to the first dance of junior high.

Sure enough, the adolescent like behavior continued. When we reached the third floor to suite 301, all of the girls stood away from the doorway like it had a contagious disease. Me and the other older girl in my suite led the parade of giggling, blushing girls into the boys suite. The guys were very polite, bowing and greeting the girls as they sat down. Their room was unbelievably clean, cleaner than our suite. Then again, they may have cleaned it because the "girls" were coming, but I did see a cleaning schedule, something our suite lacks. The boys sat on one side of the suite, while the girls sat on the other. It looked like an American middle school dance: boys and girls separated, awkwardly glancing at each other. After a few minutes of this, I couldn't take it anymore. Granted it's cute for twelve year olds, but everyone in the room was 18-24 years old! I know Koreans are very outgoing when given the opportunity, so I decided to shake things up. I told some of the guys to move to the girls side, while moving some of my suitemates to the boys side. We were there to meet one another and have fun, not to awkwardly stare at the other side. Once people moved around, the rest of the evening was a lot of fun. We ate Chitang, played some Kpop, and got to meet some of our fellow Global Village residents.

The Disaster in Japan

I won't discuss the earthquake and tsunami that occurred in Japan last week too much. I just want to ask everyone to keep praying for Japan and to do whatever they can to help as Japan recovers. All of my friends from Japan are safe and their families are fine, but the loss of life from this disaster is breaking my heart. After visiting Japan, I learned how unbelievably kind and gracious the Japanese people treat others. I hope that the recovery is quick and healing can begin for the Japanese people.

For those who don't know, this earthquake was the largest in Japanese history, and is becoming one of the worst natural disasters in Japanese history. It is so devastating because it is a disaster that continues with more destruction. The earthquake and tsunami were so horrendous, but now the radiation from the damaged nuclear plants is becoming such a concern. The USA consulate has advised all US citizens in Japan to stay indoors and has chartered flights for US citizens who would like to leave. The radiation concern has moved from Japan to China and Korea.

This concern is understandable, but it isn't really a legitimate concern. Korea has been checking air quality in the areas closest to Japan, and they haven't found any nuclear radiation. The wind stream from Japan to Korea is at a high altitude, so the radiation disperses, making it less concentrated. By the time that air reaches Korea, it has safe amounts of radiation, like the radiation from the sun. No big deal. But, just like Americans, some Koreans are absolutely paranoid about the possible radiation, and have gone out and bought iodine tablets (which fight the side effects of nuclear radiation exposure.) This sensationalism hasn't reached Sinchang yet, but I think it will happen if the issues with the nuclear plants in Japan continue. I'm not too worried, but I will continue to check the US consulate news (which I do anyways, since we have one of the most hostile nations in the world 60 miles away), to make sure there isn't high concentrations of nuclear radiation.

Please keep praying for Japan.

White Day and Ariyang

So, today was another obscure Korean holiday. My Korean suitemates told me that every month there is a holiday. I think it's to keep the Hallmark like businesses in business. Anyway, so White Day is the sister holiday to Valentines Day. On Valentines Day, girls give gifts to boys. On White Day guys give gifts to girls. Next month is Black Day, which is singles day, where you eat a black noodle dish with your single friends. Very strange holidays, but still interesting how Korean culture likes to have celebrations.

Also today, my friend Bermet filmed her section of Ariyang TV. Ariyang is a TV program that does little competitions. They wanted to film here at SCH, and asked some of the international students as well as Korean to compete for a scholarship. Bermet is fluent in five languages, so they asked her to compete. Today, they filmed a little documentary about her and her life here at SCH. She asked me to do a segment with her, so I may be on Ariyang TV! Exciting, my Korean TV debut! For our segment, I played the typical Western student (no Korean language experience), asking her a question about Korean. It was so fun to see how scripted these "real" shows are here in Korea. They try so hard to make it look natural, but it is scripted even more than I had initially thought. I hope Bermet wins the competition, she has worked so hard to prepare for Ariyang. I will keep you guys updated about the Ariyang results (I am also looking to see if I can find a recording of Bermet's section).

Valentines Day in Chaing Mai

We arrived in Chaing Mai around 7:30am, a little late, but we were told that the train is always late. We left the train and went to our hotel downtown Chaing Mai.

Chaing Mai is one of the oldest cities in Thailand. It is home to a lot of historical temples. It also has a city wall that is over a thousand years old. It is a much smaller city compared to Bangkok and it has an old laid back feel. We could tell the difference instantly. Chaing Mai doesn't have the river of cars, tuktuks, and scooters like Bangkok.

After checking in, I went with the Australian sisters and the UK girls to the Elephant Sanctuary. The Elephant Sanctuary was about an hour outside of the city. It is home to over 100 retired or rescued elephants.

One of the interesting things I learned while in Thailand is how much the Thai people have depended on elephants over their history. In Thai history, elephants were used by rural farmers and loggers to help with the work. Elephants were better fit for this work in the northern regions because they are sure footed, powerful animals that could carry heavy loads over rugged terrain. Elephants also form a familial bond with its owner, they will remain loyal to its master. For many families, a father and son would purchase an elephant together, because elephants can live for over eighty years. The elephant would get passed from one generation to the next. Raising the elephant together, they could share that bond with the elephant.

Sadly, when logging was restricted by the Thai government in the past century, many families were unable to continue their work. With a family and an elephant to feed, they were forced to either: 1. Abandon the elephant 2. Sell the elephant 3. Move to the city to try to make some money on the street with their elephant. One hundred years ago, there were over 70,000 elephants in Thailand. Now there are less than 5,000.

The Elephant Sanctuary in Chaing Mai is owned by the government to rescue abandoned elephants. They also house the only elephant hospital in Thailand, where farmers can bring their elephants to receive care. It is home to over 200 retired elephants.

It was so much fun to go to such a unique place and learn about these gentle giants. We watched an elephant show where they demonstrated some of the different jobs elephants would have working with farmers. We also got to feed a baby elephant (which thought I was a giant banana or something, so it tried to wrap its trunk around my waist) and we also went to the elephant hospital.

When we got back from the Elephant Sanctuary to Chaing Mai, we met up with the rest of our group to spend the evening together. We first went to the night bazaar, which was filled with all sorts of trinkets, spices, and souvenirs. After looking around, we had dinner on the roof of the tallest building in Chaing Mai. Being Valentines Day, we thought it would be crowded, but it was quite empty. I had some delicious Pad Thai, and we were eating dinner just as a fireworks show began in the city. It was a great way to kick off our three day trek, which would begin the next day.

It was a great way to spend Valentines Day: Visiting an Elephant Sanctuary, getting attacked by a baby elephant, and having dinner overlooking one of Thailand's oldest cities.

Thailand: With the Intrepid Group

So after a week of visiting Bangkok on my own, I met up with a tour group called Intrepid Travel. I wanted to travel to the more rural parts of Thailand, but I did not think it would be wise for me to travel there alone. I found this Intrepid online, and basically they organize tours that try to be as much a part of the local culture as possible. They use local transportation, eat at local restaurants, and tour places off the beaten path. For the tour I chose, we would stay in Bangkok for a day, travel to Chaing Mai, and then backpack for three days in the rural parts of northern Thailand. We would then make our way back to Bangkok by train.

I reached our meeting point, which was a hotel right downtown Bangkok. After checking in with the group, I wandered a nearby market, which sold a lot of lightweight clothes for extremely cheap. It was fun to see so many colorful clothes while eating fresh fruit and drinking coconut milk.

That evening, we had a group meeting. Another thing about this tour group that I really liked is that the group does not exceed twelve people. My group consisted of three girls from the UK, two sisters from Australia, an RN from Australia, a guy from Belgium who has traveled extensively, and an American girl who teaches in Korea.

The next day, we walked around a food market. It is interesting the similarities and differences between Korean and Thai markets. In both, there is an abundance of fresh fish (some still alive), fruit and vegetables. In Thailand, there was a variety of other interesting foods in the market including turtles, eel, and ant larvae.

After visiting the market, most of the group went to the Grand Palace. Since I went there a few days before, I went to a nearby fortress right on the river. I also visited a riverside park and two temples before heading back to the hotel.

That afternoon, we took taxis from our hotel to the train station for our overnight train to Chaing Mai. As we were driving to the station, we found ourselves right in the middle of a Red protest. For those who don't know, the Red party is the opposition party in Thailand at the moment. If you remember back to last summer, there was a lot of violence in Bangkok between the Reds and the police. Our guide told us that the Reds hold a protest twice a month, and it just so happened to be right as we were heading to the station. Our taxi driver was a no nonsense type, so he just drove straight through the protest. The protest was peaceful, just a bunch of people in the main square of the city dressed in Red walking around. There was a police presence, but they were just observing the protest. It almost looked like a carnival: people in bright clothes, people selling snacks and Red merchandise, and music being played in the background.

Once we reached the station, we had about an hour before our train. I went with a bunch of the girls to buy some dinner before boarding the train. I had some awesome Pad Thai with chili sauce. We boarded the train at about 5:00pm and were scheduled to arrive the next morning in Chaing Mai at 6:00am. It was my first experience on an overnight train. At about 9:00pm, the attendants converted our benches to beds. The train was air conditioned and quite smooth. It was nice to talk more with my fellow travelers and hear about what brought them to Thailand.

The Australian sisters, Yvonne and Kim, were here on a three week sister trip. Yvonne is the mother of three and has never traveled outside of Australia. Kim has traveled quite a bit, and wanted to travel with her sister.

The Australian RN, Kerry, has traveled quite a bit as well. She recently went to Nepal to backpack, and wanted to do some additional backpacking in Thailand.

The girls from the UK, Claire, Helen, and Ellie, were here for a holiday. They are friends from Manchester and wanted to escape the cold England weather to do something new together.

Jan, the guy from Belgium, has traveled extensively in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. He was on a three month holiday around Southeast Asia and wanted to see something new in Thailand.

Maggie, the USA teacher in Korea, was on the same holiday from school as I and wanted to travel somewhere warm. I think it's amazing the interesting places you meet people who share so many similar experiences. Maggie lives about an hour from my school. She was a music major like me, but realized that her passion was for Asia. She majored in Japanese and Anthropology, and is teaching in Korea for the year. We have so much in common, swapping marching band stories along with Koreaisms. Who knew that I would meet an American teacher teaching in Korea while on a tour in Thailand? We have stayed in touch since the tour and we're planning to travel in Korea sometime this spring.

To Be Continued....

Well, things around here sure are getting interesting! I had mentioned that God was shutting a door, but opening a new opportunity, here it is...

Initially, I planned to be here in Korea for two semesters. From what I understood, two semesters in Korea would meet my language and culture requirements for my Global Studies major. This semester, I am learning a lot more Korean, and I feel that I am appreciating the culture so much more. I really wanted to stay for a third semester because I believe that I have so much more to learn. However, I believed that my requirements would be met in two semesters. Why would I stay if I needed to return home to finish my degrees? My requirement was completed, so it makes sense to go back to my home university.

I was really torn about this for the past month. I would have dreams about being back at my home university and wake up in tears. Don't get me wrong, I really like SEMO. I love my friends, professors, and St Andrews, my church home at SEMO. However, I love Korea and I don't believe that my education here in Korea is quite finished. I want to learn more of the language and culture before returning home. I prayed about it for the past month, asking for clarity about where God wants me to be after this semester is over. He sure likes making things black and white for me!

Earlier last week, I emailed my advisers back home about registration for next semester at SEMO. I received an email from the Global Studies department saying that there was a misunderstanding about the amount of language credits I was required to take for the major. Instead of two semesters, I am required to take three. Because of this, I am required to stay at Soonchunhyang for a third semester to complete all the language credits. This means I will not be returning home this summer. I will be home at Christmastime after I complete my third semester here in Korea. I will then continue to study at SEMO to finish my degrees.

I was surprised to say the least, but at the same time, I felt a sense of peace about the news. I know this is where I am meant to be next semester. Because of this change in plans, I am unsure if I will be able to graduate in four years, but I am sure going to try my best to finish on time! I am so excited to have this opportunity to continue to study in this beautiful country.

The Adventure Continues!

Songtan and Studying

On Saturday, I went to Songtan with some of my international friends. Amanda and Heather, both new students from the USA, wanted to see a new town and were craving a taste of home. I took them to Songtan, about an hour from school by subway and home of the USA Airforce Base. Because it is home to about 500 USA servicemen, there is a bit of America in town. We went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch, which was pretty good. We also walked around a nearby market and bought some fresh fruit. It was a nice afternoon away from quiet Sinchang, which is extremely empty on weekends because many of the Koreans go to their homes.

I have had one week of classes, and they are going well! I am sticking to my goal of learning more Korean by studying ten new words a day, as well as working with my suitemates on grammar, spelling, pronunciation, all that language stuff. They are great teachers, and keep me accountable to learn Korean every day so I can reach my goals. I feel so blessed to have so many great girls in my suite who want me to succeed in my goal to become conversational in Korean. I hope by the end of the semester I will be able to join in the Korean conversations they have during our suite parties. I am starting to pick more words out when I hear Korean and I can follow most conversations, I just struggle with thinking of the words to respond with, and then to put those words in the proper structure. ARGH!

One thing that is interesting about Korean that I don't think I have talked about is that there are levels of formality, meaning that you use a different word/ending when speaking to different people. For example, when speaking with your peers, you would greet them with "Anyong" kind of like our "Hi." You would never address anyone older than you in this way though, you would use "Anyonghaseyo" or if in a really formal setting "Anyonghashimnika." It is the same basic "Hello" but depending on the person you are speaking to, you use a different form. There are several other levels of formality, but these are the basic three. I guess we kind of use this with some words, but with Korean, every verb has levels of formality and many other words have it as well. It's just one more thing you have to be aware about: Who am I speaking to, what level of formality do I use?

Oh, I added a link to my YouTube account on the side of the blog. I was having trouble loading videos to this blog, so my videos from Korea are on the YouTube site. I will try to post more videos there when I have the chance. Right now, I need to study the ten words my suitemates gave me as well as the vocabulary my Songsangnim (teacher) gave me for homework.

Beijing: Pandas, Winter Palace, Delicious Food 1/27-28

Today was Panda day! Hannah had been looking forward to seeing a panda for the entire trip. Xiao Chen planned us an amazing itinerary for while we were in Beijing, so we went to the Beijing zoo with her as our guide. She is so sweet and would always tell us: "It is my pleasure to show my friends around my city and my country."

Once at the zoo, we went straight to the Panda exhibit. Sure enough, in black and white, were three very cute pandas. Hannah was so happy, and we were so excited to see these sweet creatures.

After spending time with the pandas, we walked around the zoo. It was so funny to see Raccoons in a cage with a Chinese description of these "wild" animals. When we told Xiao Chen that we see these animals in the wild from time to time, she was amazed. It really is a perspective thing: to her it is exotic, to us it's an annoying animal that gets into the trash.

We also saw some Zebras up close. Hannah got to pet one, and sat there in amazement of how close she was. She didn't sit for too long, because one tried to eat her panda hat!

After the zoo, we went to see Xiao Chen's University downtown Beijing. It is a very compact school, like many universities in cities. We got to see her dorm, which she shares with three other girls. After visiting her school, we went to lunch with her friend. That evening we had to move from our hotel downtown to another hotel. After that long migration to hotel number two, we were exhausted and fell right asleep.

The next day we went to the Winter Palace. It is the place where the Emperor would spend time when he wanted to escape the hustle and bustle of Beijing. It is in the modern day Beijing vicinity, but it is a huge space of land. You wouldn't know you were in one of the largest cities in Asia walking around the palace. It has a huge man made lake and several small houses on the property where the emperor could relax. Because it was close to New Year, there was a lot of festivities going on in the Winter Palace. There was ice skating, ice sculptures, ice sledding, a pop concert, and lots of vendors. It was fun to see so many festivities on the grounds, especially since we had never celebrated Chinese New Year. To be in China the week before was pretty incredible.

We also went to a part of the Palace that had many European style buildings. An Emperor requested European artisans to come and build him almost a small European town. There were quite a few buildings in the area. Many of them were destroyed however during all of the government changes of the 20th century. It was still interesting to walk around this very European area. I think its interesting that Chinese royalty wanted European buildings, while many European monarchs would request Asian style rooms, again all about perspective. Whats "exotic" to one person is normal to another.

After the Palace, we went to lunch and had this amazing BBQ fish. They served the fish whole, and I'm positive that fish was pouting! Xiao Chen said that they kill the fish and immediately cook it, so it really fresh. The fish was outstanding!

After lunch, we spent some time relaxing at our hotel. It had been a busy week and we wanted to spend some time with Xiao Chen that didn't involve running from place to place. We would leave the next day, so it was our last evening with Xiao Chen.

We went to dinner with Xiao Chen and her boyfriend. I had met him via skype, so it was great to meet him in person. He is very sweet and speaks English extremely well. He works in Beijing and lives in Xiao Chen's hometown, so they were going to leave for home for the New Year the next day. For dinner we had Hot Pot. Hot Pot is a dish where there is a large bowl with a cylinder in the middle. Hot coals are placed in the hollow part of the cylinder, and water is placed in the bowl. You then purchase whatever food you would like to cook in the bowl (beef, fish, mushroom, cabbage, etc). You cook it in this Hot Pot and eat the cooked pieces. It is a community style meal, so everyone uses their own chopsticks to get their food from the pot. It is a lot of fun and very delicious. I have never seen Hot Pot here in Korea, so it was a new experience. They did a great job picking foods for our pot.

It was interesting to hear more about life in Beijing from them. Beijing is extremely expensive, and everyone rents apartments from the government for the most part. You can get a lease on land for 70 years, but after that time, it is uncertain what would happen because it is a young program. For most people, they have to save for about ten years before they can get a decent home in Beijing. Another interesting thing is that there are so many cars in Beijing, and so many people applying for new cars, that the government has started a lottery to pick 200 people per month who can license their car. You could be on the list for a very long time considering that over 5,000 people have put their name in this lottery, and it is a new program.

After dinner, it was time to say goodbye. Goodbyes are always hard, but it is especially hard to say goodbye uncertain of the next time you would be able to see each other again. It was great to see Xiao Chen in Beijing for a few days, I hope that we will be able to see each other again sometime soon.

Saturday morning, we headed to the airport for our flight to Seoul. We said goodbye to China after a great 1 1/2 weeks touring one of the oldest and fascinating countries in the world. We were very excited to get to Korea and see the Byeons. Korea here we come!

Passport and First Week of School

So after a day off class for Independence Movement Day, I had two new classes on Wednesday. I had Korean Politics and Diplomacy and International Society. They are both taught by the same professor, who is a professor at one of the top universities in Seoul. He comes to SCH once a week to teach these two classes, so I am so happy I chose to take these two. He is very knowledgeable and organized, plus he is an amateur yodeler. Yes, you read that right, yodeler. He sang us a few of his personal favorites while handing out the syllabus for the class. It was the most unique first day of class. Usually the teacher hands out the syllabus, answers a few questions, and then heads out the door. My professor gave us the syllabus, and then asked us if we had any requests for him to yodel. My class was not too knowledgeable in the yodeling world, so we asked him to sing his favorites. I think those two classes will be interesting, not only for the subject, but for the yodel ballads we will hear every week from our teacher.

I am also excited about these two classes because our teacher wrote a book specifically for our class (like I said, he is organized). I skimmed the book, and it is absolutely fascinating. We will cover a brief history of Korea, the relations South Korea has with the world, and the politics of North and South reunification. It is everything that I wanted to learn this semester, especially considering the latest tension between the two Koreas.

Speaking of latest tensions, this week the South Korean army is doing joint drills with the USA army. The North has threatened to "turn Seoul into a lake of fire" because of the drills. It is the annual Spring drill that the two armies conduct, so it isn't anything out of the ordinary. The only concern is that the North cut talks with the South a few weeks ago, so the two sides aren't speaking, which is usually an indicator that the North may cause a skirmish at the border.

It is interesting, there is a trend of actions from the North: North needs food, supplies. North cuts talks with the South. North causes an incident. South calls for a truce. North demands food, supplies for truce. South agrees. North begins talks again with South. North needs more food...

It's a simplified set of events, but that's pretty much the relations between the two. It breaks my heart because the South Korean government wants so badly to reunite with the North, but the preconditions made by the North are absurd.

In order for talks of reunification to begin, the North has for about ten years demanded that:
1.The USA military leaves the South
2.The two sides continue their own sets of government.
3.A central government is established with equal representation from each side, instead of representation based on population (The South has twice as many people as the North).

Of course, the South would never agree to these preconditions. The South believes that if the USA military left, North Korea would invade and disregard the other two parts of the North's preconditions. The South wants one Korea under one government. The North's idea of government would cause a lot of internal contradictions within the proposed central government. It would also mean that the leaders of the North wouldn't have to answer for all the atrocities they committed against their people.

So, no agreement, the cycle of tensions continue. The North would be foolish to attack the South with USA troops stationed minutes from the border, and additional allies hours away. I think they continue these "incidents" because believe it or not, they depend on aid from the South to survive.

I personally believe that the North will eventually collapse. The military monster that the North has created cannot be sustained forever. Since the Soviet collapse, the North only has one true ally and friend: China. But China has begun to step away from its past ally (N. Korea) because China wants to be accepted in the free world. China has begun to trade with S Korea considerably. It will be interesting in the next few years who China will choose to have close ties: their old but backwards friend (N Korea), or their new trading partners but past enemy (S Korea). As aid from both China and S Korea is removed, the North will face a difficult choice: Open themselves like China, and risk backlash from their people when their eyes are opened to how atrocious their government, possibly leading to a revolution. Or continue this incident making trend until the aid no longer outweighs the need, leading to an internal collapse.

Gosh, get me talking about the North and South, you can't get me to stop. Oh well, back to the joint drills, security is high, especially near the border.

On Thursday, I didn't have class, so I went to Seoul to get my passport renewed. Korea has absolutely amazing public transportation. I got up at 8am, walked to the subway station. My school is the last station on one of the Seoul subway lines. I got on the subway at 9am. Two and half hours later, I was downtown Seoul in front of Gyeongbukgung (the famous palace near the USA embassy), and the trip cost me 2,500 Won (about $2). Crazy cheap, considering it was a 60 mile trip. Once I got to the embassy, I waited in the USA citizens service line. In line in front of me was this American couple who were at the embassy to get a drivers license. We started talking about life in Korea, it turns out they had been teaching here for about five years. They gave me some tips about the spring (yellow dust season), and some good places to travel. They have traveled extensively in Asia since living here, so their information was very helpful.

After waiting for about half an hour, I went through security, got an ID card, and proceeded to the citizen's service office. It was really strange to be surrounded by so many Americans speaking only English, I felt like I was on USA soil for a time. My number was called, and I proceeded to the counter. The lady informed me that my pictures background were too dark (I don't know how a white background can be too dark, oh well) so I had to take a second set of pictures. Regardless, passport pictures always look atrocious, so it didn't make a difference to me, I just wanted to submit my application that day. The embassy has really weird hours: every weekday, no weekends, from 9-11am, and 1-3pm. So once my picture was the right tint of white, I submitted my application and it's now USA bound for processing. I will have my new passport in two weeks.

My lessons with my Korean suitemates are going really well. They are some tough teachers! I feel like I am really understanding the language. Something is just "clicking" for me, and it's exciting! I hope that I can continue to learn more as the semester progresses.

Please keep me in your prayers this week. I have recently faced a situation where God is shutting a door but opening a window. I just want clarity to see where God wants me to go from this situation. I will give you more details when I think it is the best time.

Independence Movement Day

Happy Independence Movement Day! I had the day off of school (I had my first day of class yesterday, and now we get a day off...I'm liking this semester!) so I had some time to finish unpacking and played some games with my suitemates. We played some UNO while eating Kimchi Pizza. Kimchi Pizza isn't a pizza, but fried chicken covered in cheese, pizza sauce, and kimchi. It sounds like a really disgusting combination, but it is SO GOOD! It is a college favorite to order for delivery here in Korea.

So, I was curious to learn more about this holiday here in Korea. It is one of the National Public Holidays here, similar to our Memorial Day or Independence Day. This holiday, also called the March 1st Movement, commemorates the protests against the Japanese Occupation in 1919.

In 1910, Korea was annexed to Japan. For 35 years, Korea lived under the brutal rule of Japan. Over this time, Japan destroyed evidence of Korea's history, forbid Koreans to speak their language, and in many ways made the Korean people second class citizens. The occupation has been described as a "Cultural Genocide." Monuments were altered to become pro-Japanese. Historic poems were rewritten to laud praise on Japanese royalty rather than the Korean kings. Korean people were pressured to surrender their Korean names for Japanese names, which would make them more acceptable in Japanese society. Children were indoctrinated in Japanese propaganda, and were forbidden to learn of their Korean heritage.

During WWII, the Korean people were mistreated and used to fuel the Japanese war machine. Some Korean men were drafted to fight in the Japanese army, fighting for a cause they abhorred. Some of these men were forced to become Kamikaze fighters, flying suicide missions for the country they hated.

Some Korean women were taken from their homes to be "comfort women" for the Japanese soldiers. They were raped daily by multiple men in these military brothels. It is estimated that there were over 100,000 Korean women at the end of WWII in these comfort women brothels. This aspect of the Japanese occupation makes me extremely angry. These women were from poor areas of Korea, and were either kidnapped or fooled into believing they were joining factory work. It was government sponsored sex slavery where women could be treated in the most disgusting ways and could not protest their mistreatment. There is evidence that after the war, Japan intentionally destroyed official record of the government initiation of the Comfort Women. To this day, Japan has never formally apologized to the abused women. Some of these women are still alive, telling their stories with courage, and waiting for an apology from the Japanese government.

Many Korean people were taken from their homeland to Japan to work in the military factories. They were forced to work long hours, and did not receive much pay. It is estimated that almost half a million Koreans were working in these factories in Japan. It is also estimated that about 70,000 Koreans were victims of the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan has given some money to the Korean government as compensation, but has never apologized to the families of these victims for taking them to work in Japan against their will.

The Occupation was a terrible time for Korea. There was an underground movement throughout the occupation to retake their country. There were also many times during the occupation where people would rise up in protest of this illegal occupation. The most famous movement was the March 1st Movement.

On March 1st 1919, a group of 33 nationalists wrote a declaration of Korean independence from Japan. It contained a list of complaints against the Japanese government and a statement of independence.

Here is an excerpt from the statement:

"We herewith proclaim the independence of Korea and the liberty of the Korean people. We tell it to the world in witness of the equality of all nations and we pass it on to our posterity as their inherent right."

"We make this proclamation, having 5,000 years of history, and 20,000,000 united loyal people. We take this step to insure to our children for all time to come, personal liberty in accord with the awakening consciousness of this new era. This is the clear leading of God, the moving principle of the present age, the whole human race's just claim. It is something that cannot be stamped out, stifled, gagged, or suppressed by any means."

It was read in Pagoda Park in Seoul to a large crowd. All across Korea, about 1,500 protests by over 2,000,000 Koreans occurred on this day. The Japanese government suppressed the protests with Japanese brutality. 7,500 people were killed, 16,000 were wounded, and 50,000 were arrested over the course of two weeks following the initial protest. One of the most brutal suppression of these protests occurred in Hwaseong, where Japanese police herded the protesters into a church, locked it, and burned it to the ground.

The movement served as the motivation for the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai in April 1919. This would later become the place where the South Korean government would be established. It wouldn't be until August 15th of 1945, the day that Japan surrendered to Allied Forces, that Korea would be free. August 15th Korean Independence Day. It's interesting how perspective can change the view of an event. For Koreans, August 15th is one of the greatest days in their history: the day they were free from the only time in their history they were occupied. For Japan, August 15th is one of the darkest days in their history: the only time in their history that they had to surrender in a war.

Many brave Koreans gave their lives on this day, 92 year ago, for their belief in a free Korea. They believed in restoring their country and cultural identity independent from foreign influence. It is a long process to undo all the damage that was done during those 35 years, but someday their dream will be a reality.

My Goal for the Semester

So, typical of SCH, there has been a lot of interesting things that has happened in the last two days. First, my international suitemate Perpetua, was moved to a different dorm because of a mistake that was made when she moved in. She came late at night, and the dorm administrator gave her the key to the wrong dorm, C instead of D. We didn't know of this mistake until two Korean girls came to her room. She had to move all her stuff to the other dorm the night before classes, not fun!

So now I'm the only international student in my suite. I miss Perpetua in our suite, she is so funny. But at the same time I think this is good for me. It will give me so many opportunities to improve my Korean that having another English speaker in my room would impair.

Last semester, my goal was to understand Korea: The History, Culture, and People. This semester, my goal is to become conversational in Korean. It is kind of a large goal, but I want to study as much as possible so I will be able to hold a conversation in Korean. I want so much to be able to talk to my Korean moms in their language, and I want to learn as much Korean as I can before going back to the States. Up to this point, my Korean is still very basic, and I want to get to a point where I feel comfortable speaking with Koreans in their language.

I tested into the upper level 2 Korean language class. I had my first class yesterday. My teacher seems nice, and wants the class to be entirely in Korean. My teachers last semester spoke English for the most part of the class, which was comfortable, but I feel like it acted as a crutch and as a result we didn't learn as much Korean as we could. I am excited about this semester, because my Korean teachers plan to push my class to learn as much as possible. I am also in a small class (five students), so it will be really helpful.

Another way that I am improving my Korean is working with my suitemates. They are all really amazing girls and have agreed to teach me Korean. One way that I am learning from them is everyday, one of my suitemates gives me ten new Korean words, which I have to learn for a "quiz" the next morning. It has been extremely helpful to have eleven teachers living with me whom I can bring my questions to. One of my suitemates, Youngeun, is an English education major, so I will be working with her on her English. She is really sweet and has already been extremely helpful for me in learning more Korean, answering my questions about grammar and vocabulary.

It will be an interesting semester, but I am ready to push myself and learn as much Korean as I can. I hope I can reach my goal and spend the summer talking with my Korean families in their language.