Alright, the week of studying like a Korean and test taking is over! This week, I had three Korean language exams, a marathon of language study. I didn't have other regular classes or exchanges, so it was quite a weird week. I think the exams went alright, I won't know my results until next week at the earliest.
I find it hard to believe that I am halfway through this semester. What's more, I have about two months left here in Korea before returning to the States to finish my degree. My emotions this whole semester have been varied because of this imminent move. I am very excited to see my family after about 18 months of being away, yet at the same time, seeing my family means leaving my family here in Korea. Returning to my home country means leaving this place that has both fascinated and inspired me. I suppose that is life: unending goodbyes with the hopes of having hellos once again. Life is a journey with various people and situations coming and going, yet you must press on. I hope that I can fill these next two months with many meetings with friends and new experiences.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Victoria Peak and Temple of 10,000 Buddhas
After my excursion to Macau, I spent my last two days in Hong Kong visiting the last of the touristy sites in the city. Friday was a day downtown while Saturday I went to the northern area of Hong Kong's city limits.
Friday I visited Victoria Peak, Hong Kong Zoo, and the Walled City Garden. Vitoria Peak is one of the most notable tourist destinations in Hong Kong boasting some of the best views of the city. On the top of the peak, there are a few shopping centers (it is Hong Kong after all, shopping opportunities around every corner) along with multimillion dollar homes. After a few photos, I had lunch in the shopping center overlooking the city before taking the famous tram down to the city.
Hong Kong Zoo is a fusion of gardens and animal pens. In addition, half of the zoo is on one side of a main street right downtown with an underground tunnel connecting it to the other half on the opposite side. I liked how the zoo didn't feel like a mass of cages on concrete, it had more of a park like feeling similar to the St Louis zoo. For it being right downtown a couple minutes from the bay, it had a nice calm atmosphere.
The next day I went to the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas on the northern city limits of the city with Mike. He hadn't visited this very peculiar temple, so it was something new for the both of us. This particular temple was built in 1974. It consists of over 10,000 different images of the Buddha in different artistic styles from different cultures. It is the second largest Buddhist temple in land mass in the Western Hemisphere consisting of several places of worship as well as a monastery. As you make your way up to the temple, the sides of the path are lined with several thousand Buddhas each displaying a different emotion that you must discard in order to reach enlightenment. I must say there were some pretty interesting Buddhas on that path! I'm not sure exactly what some of them were trying to let go in terms of emotions, but there were a few like the extremely angry Buddha or the glamorous Buddha that were pretty obvious.
The complex was pretty interesting, it had a very different layout compared to Korean Buddhist temples. The architecture was a lot more flamboyant and extreme compared the the subtle style of Korean temples. While I found that this temple had unique qualities, I don't think it represents the philosophy of Buddha in the same way Korean temples do. Buddha never wanted to be considered a deity, and while every Buddhist deifies him, I felt like this temple took it to a commercial extreme. Buddha was focused on letting go of earthly things and finding peace, I think the more subtle introverted approach is more fitting of the philosophy. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed visiting this temple, it displayed something to me in a new light: every individual religion has diversity in itself. I think we Christians like to focus on the differences we share, but we don't tend to look at other main religions and how they have argued for centuries over doctrine. I find this fascinating not only the variety of different religions, but the diversity of ideas within a religion.
After visiting this temple, we went to see the Lutheran Church of Hong Kong Synod's seminary. It is located a few kilometers from the temple. Oh my gravy.....this seminary is the most beautiful place of study I have ever seen! It was built in the 1970's as the seminary for the Hong Kong Synod. The Hong Kong Synod became the sole Lutheran church in China after the Communist Revolution. Christians were forced out of the mainland so many Lutherans from China moved to Hong Kong in hopes that China would open its doors again. The seminary is built in traditional Asian architecture, gardens included!
This place was one of the most beautiful places I have visited here in Asia. I loved seeing the way Christianity mixes with cultural aspects in order to display the diversity we share as the Body of Christ, yet there is unification in the message. I think it is beautiful to see a Christian church that embraces the splendor of a culture it is located in while resonating that universal message. It was nice to walk around this campus, seeing Bible verses written in Chinese next to a pagoda with beautiful greens and blues displaying a cross on the roof. I hope in the future Christians in Asia will build their churches in a similar fashion. God created us with diversity so I think it is wonderful to see different expressions of churches.
Friday I visited Victoria Peak, Hong Kong Zoo, and the Walled City Garden. Vitoria Peak is one of the most notable tourist destinations in Hong Kong boasting some of the best views of the city. On the top of the peak, there are a few shopping centers (it is Hong Kong after all, shopping opportunities around every corner) along with multimillion dollar homes. After a few photos, I had lunch in the shopping center overlooking the city before taking the famous tram down to the city.
Hong Kong Zoo is a fusion of gardens and animal pens. In addition, half of the zoo is on one side of a main street right downtown with an underground tunnel connecting it to the other half on the opposite side. I liked how the zoo didn't feel like a mass of cages on concrete, it had more of a park like feeling similar to the St Louis zoo. For it being right downtown a couple minutes from the bay, it had a nice calm atmosphere.
The next day I went to the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas on the northern city limits of the city with Mike. He hadn't visited this very peculiar temple, so it was something new for the both of us. This particular temple was built in 1974. It consists of over 10,000 different images of the Buddha in different artistic styles from different cultures. It is the second largest Buddhist temple in land mass in the Western Hemisphere consisting of several places of worship as well as a monastery. As you make your way up to the temple, the sides of the path are lined with several thousand Buddhas each displaying a different emotion that you must discard in order to reach enlightenment. I must say there were some pretty interesting Buddhas on that path! I'm not sure exactly what some of them were trying to let go in terms of emotions, but there were a few like the extremely angry Buddha or the glamorous Buddha that were pretty obvious.
The complex was pretty interesting, it had a very different layout compared to Korean Buddhist temples. The architecture was a lot more flamboyant and extreme compared the the subtle style of Korean temples. While I found that this temple had unique qualities, I don't think it represents the philosophy of Buddha in the same way Korean temples do. Buddha never wanted to be considered a deity, and while every Buddhist deifies him, I felt like this temple took it to a commercial extreme. Buddha was focused on letting go of earthly things and finding peace, I think the more subtle introverted approach is more fitting of the philosophy. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed visiting this temple, it displayed something to me in a new light: every individual religion has diversity in itself. I think we Christians like to focus on the differences we share, but we don't tend to look at other main religions and how they have argued for centuries over doctrine. I find this fascinating not only the variety of different religions, but the diversity of ideas within a religion.
After visiting this temple, we went to see the Lutheran Church of Hong Kong Synod's seminary. It is located a few kilometers from the temple. Oh my gravy.....this seminary is the most beautiful place of study I have ever seen! It was built in the 1970's as the seminary for the Hong Kong Synod. The Hong Kong Synod became the sole Lutheran church in China after the Communist Revolution. Christians were forced out of the mainland so many Lutherans from China moved to Hong Kong in hopes that China would open its doors again. The seminary is built in traditional Asian architecture, gardens included!
This place was one of the most beautiful places I have visited here in Asia. I loved seeing the way Christianity mixes with cultural aspects in order to display the diversity we share as the Body of Christ, yet there is unification in the message. I think it is beautiful to see a Christian church that embraces the splendor of a culture it is located in while resonating that universal message. It was nice to walk around this campus, seeing Bible verses written in Chinese next to a pagoda with beautiful greens and blues displaying a cross on the roof. I hope in the future Christians in Asia will build their churches in a similar fashion. God created us with diversity so I think it is wonderful to see different expressions of churches.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Chungnam Techno Park, Dog Meat, and Kimchi Making
This past week has included some unique cultural happenings apart from the Sports Festival. I suppose I'll start with the earliest....
Last Tuesday, I committed an act that some of you may deem unforgivable: I ate dog meat. Alright, let the initial shock and horror sink in and hear me out. First off, I love dogs, they are great pets and companions. I think that people that abuse any animal is disgusting. Ok, so why would I eat a dog? Dogs are animals. I believe that if an animal is raised as livestock and killed humanely for consumption, there is no distinction or partiality between animals. Korea has raised a particular breed of dog for its meat, thus it is like a pig we raise for bacon. It is livestock. I have lived in this country for over a year, but I had not tried eating something that many of my Korean friends enjoy. There are certain lines that I refuse to cross (ex. bowing to my friends dead ancestors and giving them ricecakes) but when it comes to food, there are very few things I would refuse to try.
So back to Tuesday: My Korean business teacher invited my class to come with him to dinner to try dog meat. We went to a small restaurant out amongst the rice fields to a little mom and pop shop famous in Asan for dog meat. Our teacher ordered a small plate of the meat for us to try along with some side dishes. I thought the meat had the texture of Veal, yet the taste of a combination of Mutton and Pork. Pretty tasty, but seeing that a small plate of it costs roughly $30, I think it will be a one time thing until I come back in the future.
Yesterday, I participated in a yearly school event for foreign students to learn how to make Kimchi. The amateur made Kimchi is then donated to a homeless shelter in Asan. There were about 10 international students participating this year. Kimchi is pretty straightforward to make once you have a good mixture of chili paste. Green onions, garlic, and sometimes seafood (little shrimps) are added to the chili paste to create the right combination of flavor. After you have made this paste, you spread the paste on the cabbage leaves and store it in a cool place for about a year to ferment. You can eat freshly made Kimchi, but it isn't as nearly as tasty without that aged fermented flavor.
In the middle of the Kimchi making party, the president of the university paraded in to pose for some publicity photos with us foreigners. It is always weird to be in school propaganda pictures with us token foreigners, the indication of diversity on campus. After posing with the Kimchi and saying "Kimchi" (which is what you say in Korea instead of "Cheese" making it ironically appropriate for this fermented photo shoot) over a dozen times, we went inside for some Bibimbap provided by the school for this event.
I'm glad I had this chance at a crash course into making Kimchi, seeing that I will be coming home very soon. I will most likely crave Kimchi constantly since it has been the constant of my diet here in Korea. I eat Kimchi for at least two meals a day, at the Byeons every meal. I have become a bit of a Kimchi snob in that I have great contempt for store bought Kimchi. Just like food at home, homemade Kimchi puts the best store bought brands to shame. I want to make my own Kimchi in the USA for those days that I am missing Korea terribly, which will be a lot so I will need to master my Kimchi recipe before leaving.
Today, my business class took a fieldtrip to Chungnam Techno Park, which is the largest Technology community in my province of Korea, the "Silicon valley" of Chungcheonamdo. Korea is home to over a dozen different Techno Parks, each with its own individual technological focus. Chungnam is famous for innovating 3D movie technology. Basically, they contract with Hollywood to convert both old and new movies into 3D format. We watched a few examples of some of the movies they have converted (including Transformers 2, the upcoming Titanic rerelease into 3D, and Saving Private Ryan, which would be extremely intense in 3D). We also had the chance to see some of the other moviemaking aspects included in this Park. We watched a team work on clay animation as well as a sound editor working on a new show for EBS (Educational Broadcast Station, the PBS of Korea). The program for EBS is an animated feature about dinosaurs that lived in Korea. It is geared towards kids, but it was quite intense! I guess Korean kids are more brave than I was when I was little, for petes sake I had nightmares from "Babe!"
Next week is Midterms, so the next few weeks will be a little out of the ordinary with no exchanges. It has also gotten a lot cooler, mid 50's, these past few weeks. I have not broken down and brought out my coat quite yet, but I have a feeling it will happen pretty soon.
Last Tuesday, I committed an act that some of you may deem unforgivable: I ate dog meat. Alright, let the initial shock and horror sink in and hear me out. First off, I love dogs, they are great pets and companions. I think that people that abuse any animal is disgusting. Ok, so why would I eat a dog? Dogs are animals. I believe that if an animal is raised as livestock and killed humanely for consumption, there is no distinction or partiality between animals. Korea has raised a particular breed of dog for its meat, thus it is like a pig we raise for bacon. It is livestock. I have lived in this country for over a year, but I had not tried eating something that many of my Korean friends enjoy. There are certain lines that I refuse to cross (ex. bowing to my friends dead ancestors and giving them ricecakes) but when it comes to food, there are very few things I would refuse to try.
So back to Tuesday: My Korean business teacher invited my class to come with him to dinner to try dog meat. We went to a small restaurant out amongst the rice fields to a little mom and pop shop famous in Asan for dog meat. Our teacher ordered a small plate of the meat for us to try along with some side dishes. I thought the meat had the texture of Veal, yet the taste of a combination of Mutton and Pork. Pretty tasty, but seeing that a small plate of it costs roughly $30, I think it will be a one time thing until I come back in the future.
Yesterday, I participated in a yearly school event for foreign students to learn how to make Kimchi. The amateur made Kimchi is then donated to a homeless shelter in Asan. There were about 10 international students participating this year. Kimchi is pretty straightforward to make once you have a good mixture of chili paste. Green onions, garlic, and sometimes seafood (little shrimps) are added to the chili paste to create the right combination of flavor. After you have made this paste, you spread the paste on the cabbage leaves and store it in a cool place for about a year to ferment. You can eat freshly made Kimchi, but it isn't as nearly as tasty without that aged fermented flavor.
In the middle of the Kimchi making party, the president of the university paraded in to pose for some publicity photos with us foreigners. It is always weird to be in school propaganda pictures with us token foreigners, the indication of diversity on campus. After posing with the Kimchi and saying "Kimchi" (which is what you say in Korea instead of "Cheese" making it ironically appropriate for this fermented photo shoot) over a dozen times, we went inside for some Bibimbap provided by the school for this event.
I'm glad I had this chance at a crash course into making Kimchi, seeing that I will be coming home very soon. I will most likely crave Kimchi constantly since it has been the constant of my diet here in Korea. I eat Kimchi for at least two meals a day, at the Byeons every meal. I have become a bit of a Kimchi snob in that I have great contempt for store bought Kimchi. Just like food at home, homemade Kimchi puts the best store bought brands to shame. I want to make my own Kimchi in the USA for those days that I am missing Korea terribly, which will be a lot so I will need to master my Kimchi recipe before leaving.
Today, my business class took a fieldtrip to Chungnam Techno Park, which is the largest Technology community in my province of Korea, the "Silicon valley" of Chungcheonamdo. Korea is home to over a dozen different Techno Parks, each with its own individual technological focus. Chungnam is famous for innovating 3D movie technology. Basically, they contract with Hollywood to convert both old and new movies into 3D format. We watched a few examples of some of the movies they have converted (including Transformers 2, the upcoming Titanic rerelease into 3D, and Saving Private Ryan, which would be extremely intense in 3D). We also had the chance to see some of the other moviemaking aspects included in this Park. We watched a team work on clay animation as well as a sound editor working on a new show for EBS (Educational Broadcast Station, the PBS of Korea). The program for EBS is an animated feature about dinosaurs that lived in Korea. It is geared towards kids, but it was quite intense! I guess Korean kids are more brave than I was when I was little, for petes sake I had nightmares from "Babe!"
Next week is Midterms, so the next few weeks will be a little out of the ordinary with no exchanges. It has also gotten a lot cooler, mid 50's, these past few weeks. I have not broken down and brought out my coat quite yet, but I have a feeling it will happen pretty soon.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Fall Sports Festival
Today was Global Village's annual Sports Festival. This semester, there were four teams of a combination of guys and girls suites. My suite was on team A along with five other suites.
The games were held in the gym this semester, which was nice considering it was cold and rainy outside. We had five events this semester: Human bridge (my personal favorite), relay races, tug of war, pass the cup, and mini games (individual basketball shots). After a practice cheer round and warm ups led by Sanghyeop, one of our coordinators, we began the games.
I played in tug of war, human bridge and pass the cup. Because there were so many people on each team, each person only had to play in two or three games. It was fun to cheer the other events. Last semester, everyone had to play everything, and I didn't have an opportunity to watch other games.
My team took first place overall, however we did not have as much team spirit as group D, which was led by our British student Richard in cheers with a giant blue trash tub. I think he picked up a few ideas from the soccer game last week, coordinating motions with the cheers. Sadly, good cheering doesn't equal good athletics, his team placed last among the four. However, his team would win "best team spirit" award for sure.
After a fun time with all the students living in Global Village, it was time for lunch! We had some BBQ along with some good Korean food (Lots of Kimchi). At the luncheon, I ran into a former student that was here my first semester, Greg. He studied at SCH for two years and is pretty fluent in Korean. He's teaching at a Hogwon (private school) in the middle of the countryside. It was fun to recall memories from my first semester and to catch up with him and hear about his time in the USA before coming back to work in Korea. It is interesting how my path is crossing again with some people I met my first semester. It makes me feel like I have been here a lot longer than I have, seeing people complete one phase of life and begin another.
This coming week is regular classes and next week is Midterms. It will a busy few weeks with tests and projects due, but I hope to go visit some family after my exams, just in time to celebrate with Kyunghye over her completed college entrance exam!
The games were held in the gym this semester, which was nice considering it was cold and rainy outside. We had five events this semester: Human bridge (my personal favorite), relay races, tug of war, pass the cup, and mini games (individual basketball shots). After a practice cheer round and warm ups led by Sanghyeop, one of our coordinators, we began the games.
I played in tug of war, human bridge and pass the cup. Because there were so many people on each team, each person only had to play in two or three games. It was fun to cheer the other events. Last semester, everyone had to play everything, and I didn't have an opportunity to watch other games.
My team took first place overall, however we did not have as much team spirit as group D, which was led by our British student Richard in cheers with a giant blue trash tub. I think he picked up a few ideas from the soccer game last week, coordinating motions with the cheers. Sadly, good cheering doesn't equal good athletics, his team placed last among the four. However, his team would win "best team spirit" award for sure.
After a fun time with all the students living in Global Village, it was time for lunch! We had some BBQ along with some good Korean food (Lots of Kimchi). At the luncheon, I ran into a former student that was here my first semester, Greg. He studied at SCH for two years and is pretty fluent in Korean. He's teaching at a Hogwon (private school) in the middle of the countryside. It was fun to recall memories from my first semester and to catch up with him and hear about his time in the USA before coming back to work in Korea. It is interesting how my path is crossing again with some people I met my first semester. It makes me feel like I have been here a lot longer than I have, seeing people complete one phase of life and begin another.
This coming week is regular classes and next week is Midterms. It will a busy few weeks with tests and projects due, but I hope to go visit some family after my exams, just in time to celebrate with Kyunghye over her completed college entrance exam!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Football Game and Sunkyungkwan
This weekend, I went to Seoul for the first time in a month. On Friday, Korea's national football (soccer) team played Poland. I went to see my first football game in Korea along with about fifteen other international students from SCH.
We left school after classes around 3pm and made it to the stadium by subway around six. Once we arrived, I went with Richard to get the tickets while the rest of the group bought some pizza for the group from Homeplus, a Korean Walmart. We made reservations online so we had to pick up our tickets. As we made our way to the ticket booth, we saw floods of Koreans in red Korea jerseys for the game. The energy surrounding the stadium was unbelievable. Do not get between Koreans and their soccer!
We made our way back to our group, ate some pizza, and then entered the stadium. The enthusiasm in the stadium was even more intense than outside. We sat on one goal end, and at the other side was a coordinated cheer squad that was leading the crowd in cheers. Some of the most memorable cheers included yelling "Korea will win" to the tune of Beethoven's Ode to Joy, singing "Ariyang" Korea's most cherished folk song, and a combination of singing and jumping with team flags being flown in synchronization to the tune. I found the cheer squad just as exciting as the game!
There were probably about ten Polish people near where we were sitting. Poor things were so outnumbered. The end score was 2-2, since it was a friendly match, they didn't go into overtime. After the game, the team did something that I thought was really cool: they went to each side of the stadium and bowed to the fans. They walked from goal post to the side stands and gave each group of fans a bow of both respect and gratitude. I thought this was one of the most touching things I have seen in a sporting event. Regardless of win, loss, or tie, the team thanks the people who support them through it all: the fans.
After the game, I helped a few of the students to Seoul Station to take a KTX back to school. I then went over the Byeons for a visit, the first time I've seen them since leaving for school. I got there just as Kyunghye was returning from studying. We chatted for about an hour before Hyesun got back. It was so nice to see them again after about a month away.
Saturday I went to Sungkyunkwan University, the oldest university in Korea. Founded in 1392, it was a place where Confucian philosophy was taught to the brightest of the Joseon dynasty. In Joseon society, scholars were second to the King, even above the Yangban (upper) class. This displays the stress and reverence Korea has always had for education. This is one thing I really admire about Korean society: the desire for power or wealth comes second for the thirst for knowledge. Koreans have known throughout history in order to be successful, one must realize the value of learning. Because Koreans were great thinkers, they accomplished a lot of scientific feats as well as built a stable society.
Sungkyunkwan continues to be one of the most distinguished universities in Korea. It is a pretty cool place. As you approach the school, there are hints of a college town: cheap restaurants, boutiques, places for nightlife, etc. The school is separated into the historic area, which today is only for tourism, and the modern academic area. I visited the historic area, which has some of the old Confucian lecture areas and shrines for the spirit tablets of deceased scholars. While I was there, a memorial ceremony was held for a deceased scholar. The ceremony included chanting, presenting food to the spirit tablet, and bowing in respect to the past great thinker. It was interesting to see a 1000 year old tradition continued in the shadows of the modern university. Fascinating to see the old and new intertwining together in this place with so much historical significance.
We left school after classes around 3pm and made it to the stadium by subway around six. Once we arrived, I went with Richard to get the tickets while the rest of the group bought some pizza for the group from Homeplus, a Korean Walmart. We made reservations online so we had to pick up our tickets. As we made our way to the ticket booth, we saw floods of Koreans in red Korea jerseys for the game. The energy surrounding the stadium was unbelievable. Do not get between Koreans and their soccer!
We made our way back to our group, ate some pizza, and then entered the stadium. The enthusiasm in the stadium was even more intense than outside. We sat on one goal end, and at the other side was a coordinated cheer squad that was leading the crowd in cheers. Some of the most memorable cheers included yelling "Korea will win" to the tune of Beethoven's Ode to Joy, singing "Ariyang" Korea's most cherished folk song, and a combination of singing and jumping with team flags being flown in synchronization to the tune. I found the cheer squad just as exciting as the game!
There were probably about ten Polish people near where we were sitting. Poor things were so outnumbered. The end score was 2-2, since it was a friendly match, they didn't go into overtime. After the game, the team did something that I thought was really cool: they went to each side of the stadium and bowed to the fans. They walked from goal post to the side stands and gave each group of fans a bow of both respect and gratitude. I thought this was one of the most touching things I have seen in a sporting event. Regardless of win, loss, or tie, the team thanks the people who support them through it all: the fans.
After the game, I helped a few of the students to Seoul Station to take a KTX back to school. I then went over the Byeons for a visit, the first time I've seen them since leaving for school. I got there just as Kyunghye was returning from studying. We chatted for about an hour before Hyesun got back. It was so nice to see them again after about a month away.
Saturday I went to Sungkyunkwan University, the oldest university in Korea. Founded in 1392, it was a place where Confucian philosophy was taught to the brightest of the Joseon dynasty. In Joseon society, scholars were second to the King, even above the Yangban (upper) class. This displays the stress and reverence Korea has always had for education. This is one thing I really admire about Korean society: the desire for power or wealth comes second for the thirst for knowledge. Koreans have known throughout history in order to be successful, one must realize the value of learning. Because Koreans were great thinkers, they accomplished a lot of scientific feats as well as built a stable society.
Sungkyunkwan continues to be one of the most distinguished universities in Korea. It is a pretty cool place. As you approach the school, there are hints of a college town: cheap restaurants, boutiques, places for nightlife, etc. The school is separated into the historic area, which today is only for tourism, and the modern academic area. I visited the historic area, which has some of the old Confucian lecture areas and shrines for the spirit tablets of deceased scholars. While I was there, a memorial ceremony was held for a deceased scholar. The ceremony included chanting, presenting food to the spirit tablet, and bowing in respect to the past great thinker. It was interesting to see a 1000 year old tradition continued in the shadows of the modern university. Fascinating to see the old and new intertwining together in this place with so much historical significance.
A Day in Macau
On Thursday I decided to venture over to Macau for a day. Macau is an hour ferry ride from Hong Kong, and like Hong Kong it is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China. As a result, I can travel to Macau without a Chinese tourist visa. Macau is a fascinating place with an interesting story. It receives more foreign tourists than Hong Kong each year and is considered the Vegas of the East, with many wealthy businessmen and leaders coming in search of luck. In fact, one of Kim Jong Il's sons comes to Macau quite often squandering his share of his father's wealth.
I left pretty early in order to catch a morning ferry. The ferry terminal is located near Hong Kong station, and it was pretty packed in the morning. I left Hong Kong around 9:30 and arrived in Macau about an hour later. Next was customs....oh boy.....
There was a designated line for Macau residents, while the rest of us foreigners (including Chinese nationals) stood in a separate line. As I was standing in line, a very dramatic scene unfolded. I noticed a Chinese family very subtly sneaking their way farther into the line. Not knowing the language and not in a huge hurry, I figured it would be best not to say anything, the last thing I would want would be to cause an international incident in the customs line to Macau. However, the couple right in front of me would not have it. They said something to this line hopping couple in Mandarin that I could only imagine was very blunt and insulting, because the next thing I knew, the line hopping man was putting his fist up as his wife tried to hold him back. It got very tense as the line hopper yelled at the top of his lungs and glared at the other man with a look of utter hate. The other man tried to ignore him at this point, because he was getting very threatening. As the line hopper tried to lunge at him again, a group of about six men made a human wall protecting the other man. A few of them indicated to that man to quickly get through customs and get out as fast as he could, which is what he did. One thing that really surprised me throughout all of this is that the guards glanced over once and besides that did not get involved. Very strange, but the whole incident was my welcome to Macau!
After getting through customs, I took a city bus to the old district of Macau. Macau was developed as a Portuguese settlement in the 16th century. It has very distinct European roots that have a significant place in the culture to this day. The old district of the city is home to the area that the Portuguese built their area for trade with Ming China.
While in the old district, I visited seven different churches, each with a unique story in Macau's history. I visited several smaller Catholic churches before visiting the ruins of St Paul's. I found it very strange to find churches reminiscent of European architecture not only in Asia, but well established pieces of the city. It was fascinating walking into these churches with all of the text in both Portuguese and traditional Chinese characters. Viewing the art of these churches reminded me of the Catholic cathedrals back home.
St Paul's Cathedral was built from 1582-1602. It is a sight to behold as you make your way over a hill to see this dominating stone masterpiece. It has fallen into ruin, but it is still an amazing place where history comes to life. One of the coolest things about St Paul's is that they have kept the catacombs of the early Chinese Christian's graves intact under the church. You can walk through this area and see the very beginnings of Christianity in this area. One thing that was very interesting as I walked through this as well as the relics chamber was to see the reactions of Chinese nationalist tourists. They approached these places with similar fascination as I approach a Confucian or Shinto temple: A curiosity for the traditions and an inability to fully understand the importance of this space to the people of that faith. It was weird seeing it from the other side of the spectrum (believing in the faith of the place while watching others who do not hold that faith)while walking through these ruins.
After St Paul's, I visited an old Portuguese fortress that overlooked the cathedral as well as the casinos today. I found it quite ironic that many of the cannons that have stood here for 500 years seemed to point directly at the casinos. My imagination?
I then walked one of the old winding streets to the Protestant church and cemetery. This was one of the few places of worship for non-Catholics. The graveyard holds a lot of very interesting historic characters, including Robert Morrison, who wrote the first English/Chinese dictionary and translated the Bible into Chinese as well as George Washington's grandson, Joseph Adams, who was an opium trader around the time of the Opium War. In addition, there were countless Opium traders that on their graves indicated that they were killed during the War. I have mixed feelings about these men. On their graves, they write about their deep profound faith, yet that faith was not enough to defeat the lust for greed and power. I did not live in that time, so I can't be too judgmental about their desire for comforts over doing what's right, especially when there are issues that happen today that I may not condemn with my actions as much as I could. It is interesting how at that time, they may have thought what they were doing was nothing too terrible, yet now history views them as some of the most manipulative individuals of that time. It makes me wonder how history will view my generation....
I made my way back to the ferry around 5pm. It would be another two hour trek back to home base: ferry, subway, bus...the tour of public transportation! Nevertheless, I was glad that I was able to visit Macau for the day. The short trip sparked my interest in learning more about this very deeply rooted European region of China.
I left pretty early in order to catch a morning ferry. The ferry terminal is located near Hong Kong station, and it was pretty packed in the morning. I left Hong Kong around 9:30 and arrived in Macau about an hour later. Next was customs....oh boy.....
There was a designated line for Macau residents, while the rest of us foreigners (including Chinese nationals) stood in a separate line. As I was standing in line, a very dramatic scene unfolded. I noticed a Chinese family very subtly sneaking their way farther into the line. Not knowing the language and not in a huge hurry, I figured it would be best not to say anything, the last thing I would want would be to cause an international incident in the customs line to Macau. However, the couple right in front of me would not have it. They said something to this line hopping couple in Mandarin that I could only imagine was very blunt and insulting, because the next thing I knew, the line hopping man was putting his fist up as his wife tried to hold him back. It got very tense as the line hopper yelled at the top of his lungs and glared at the other man with a look of utter hate. The other man tried to ignore him at this point, because he was getting very threatening. As the line hopper tried to lunge at him again, a group of about six men made a human wall protecting the other man. A few of them indicated to that man to quickly get through customs and get out as fast as he could, which is what he did. One thing that really surprised me throughout all of this is that the guards glanced over once and besides that did not get involved. Very strange, but the whole incident was my welcome to Macau!
After getting through customs, I took a city bus to the old district of Macau. Macau was developed as a Portuguese settlement in the 16th century. It has very distinct European roots that have a significant place in the culture to this day. The old district of the city is home to the area that the Portuguese built their area for trade with Ming China.
While in the old district, I visited seven different churches, each with a unique story in Macau's history. I visited several smaller Catholic churches before visiting the ruins of St Paul's. I found it very strange to find churches reminiscent of European architecture not only in Asia, but well established pieces of the city. It was fascinating walking into these churches with all of the text in both Portuguese and traditional Chinese characters. Viewing the art of these churches reminded me of the Catholic cathedrals back home.
St Paul's Cathedral was built from 1582-1602. It is a sight to behold as you make your way over a hill to see this dominating stone masterpiece. It has fallen into ruin, but it is still an amazing place where history comes to life. One of the coolest things about St Paul's is that they have kept the catacombs of the early Chinese Christian's graves intact under the church. You can walk through this area and see the very beginnings of Christianity in this area. One thing that was very interesting as I walked through this as well as the relics chamber was to see the reactions of Chinese nationalist tourists. They approached these places with similar fascination as I approach a Confucian or Shinto temple: A curiosity for the traditions and an inability to fully understand the importance of this space to the people of that faith. It was weird seeing it from the other side of the spectrum (believing in the faith of the place while watching others who do not hold that faith)while walking through these ruins.
After St Paul's, I visited an old Portuguese fortress that overlooked the cathedral as well as the casinos today. I found it quite ironic that many of the cannons that have stood here for 500 years seemed to point directly at the casinos. My imagination?
I then walked one of the old winding streets to the Protestant church and cemetery. This was one of the few places of worship for non-Catholics. The graveyard holds a lot of very interesting historic characters, including Robert Morrison, who wrote the first English/Chinese dictionary and translated the Bible into Chinese as well as George Washington's grandson, Joseph Adams, who was an opium trader around the time of the Opium War. In addition, there were countless Opium traders that on their graves indicated that they were killed during the War. I have mixed feelings about these men. On their graves, they write about their deep profound faith, yet that faith was not enough to defeat the lust for greed and power. I did not live in that time, so I can't be too judgmental about their desire for comforts over doing what's right, especially when there are issues that happen today that I may not condemn with my actions as much as I could. It is interesting how at that time, they may have thought what they were doing was nothing too terrible, yet now history views them as some of the most manipulative individuals of that time. It makes me wonder how history will view my generation....
I made my way back to the ferry around 5pm. It would be another two hour trek back to home base: ferry, subway, bus...the tour of public transportation! Nevertheless, I was glad that I was able to visit Macau for the day. The short trip sparked my interest in learning more about this very deeply rooted European region of China.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Gaecheonjeol and Korean War National Museum
Happy National Founding Day (Gaecheonjeol) everyone! Today was one of Korea's national holidays commemorating the mythological story of Korea's origins. According to legend, on this day 2457 BC, Hwanung descended to earth to live with mankind. He came to earth with his son, Dangun, who is the legendary founder Gojoseon, the first dynasty of Korea.
According to the story, Hwanin (god of heaven, father of Hwanung) permitted his son to descend to Baekdu mountain, because he desired to live on earth. Near the place where he established Sinsi (city of god), a tiger and a bear lived in a cave. They would come to Sinsi to pray Hwanung, asking to be made human. Hwanung gave them garlic and mugwort and told them if they ate this for 100 days and lived out of the sunlight, they would become human. The tiger did this for 20 days, but then gave up and left the cave. The bear fulfilled the 100 day requirement and was transformed into a woman. This woman, Ungnyeo, prayed for a child. Hwanung took her as his wife. She gave birth to Dangun, who became the first king of Gojoseon.
Interesting story right? I think the fact that this traditional story still is remembered on this day is a pretty strong indication of how much Korea reveres its history and traditions. Though all of my friends think the story is quite sensational, it is nice to see a country remember what its ancestors believed. You cannot fully understand your own culture until you know the history of your people. I also thought it was awesome because we got the day off!
For my Gaecheonjeol holiday, I went up to Seoul to visit the Korean War National Museum. Polina and Chelsea joined me on this day trip. We took the subway (only a 2 1/2 hour ride) to the museum and then had lunch in Itaewon before coming back to school.
The Korean War National Museum presents the history of Korean warfare, namely the Japanese invasion and the Korean war. It also discusses some of the little known conflicts from the Three Kingdoms period as well as the battles during the Japanese occupation. I consider Koreans a very peaceful people, for having a 4000 year history (going back to Gaecheonjeol again!), Korea has only had a few major wars, and all of them were in defense (from the perspective of the South).
One thing that I learned that was quite interesting was that during the occupation, the resistance fighters, which were Koreans that fought against the occupation, were supported financially by the US and Allied forces. A large group of these fighters were in Manchuria trying to take parts of the northern region of Korea from the Japanese during WWII. They were planning an invasion of Japan occupied north Korea when the atomic bombs were dropped, ending the occupation. I knew the Allied forces supported the exiled Korean government in Shanghai, but I didn't know that they supplied weapons to these guerrilla forces in the mountains of Manchuria. I wonder what history would be like if Truman did not drop the bombs in Japan....what would an invasion of Korea from the resistance fighters result in? What would the joint invasion of Japan by the USA and Russia result to? History would have been very different.
Another thing that really struck me seeing it displayed in the museum was how many people were involved and killed in the Korean war. The amount of Korean soldier casualties is overwhelming, about 600,000 were killed. That is a lost generation, considering the population of Korea was estimated around 30 million or so. The USA involvement in the war is quite extraordinary. Over 1 million troops were sent to Korea during the war. It is hard for me to comprehend the influence this war must have had on the USA. This took place right after WWII, with most of the free world believing that the outcome would define the decades to come.
After visiting the museum, we went to lunch in Itaewon, which is considered the foreigner street of Seoul. You can find just about any ethnic food on this street. It is a pretty cool place to visit, seeing people from around the world chatting in dozens of languages. We had lunch in a Saudi Arabian restaurant, which was very delicious! It was a nice change in pace from the routine chili pepper sauteed Korean food we eat at school. Don't get me wrong, I love Korean food, but I enjoy variety, which proves to be near impossible in small town Korea.
This week is regular classes. This Friday, I'm going to cheer the Korean National Football team as they play Poland at the World Cup Stadium. I am extremely excited about this chance to be in the atmosphere of some hard core soccer fans cheering their beloved team. Best believe, I'll be wearing my Korea Football shirt!
According to the story, Hwanin (god of heaven, father of Hwanung) permitted his son to descend to Baekdu mountain, because he desired to live on earth. Near the place where he established Sinsi (city of god), a tiger and a bear lived in a cave. They would come to Sinsi to pray Hwanung, asking to be made human. Hwanung gave them garlic and mugwort and told them if they ate this for 100 days and lived out of the sunlight, they would become human. The tiger did this for 20 days, but then gave up and left the cave. The bear fulfilled the 100 day requirement and was transformed into a woman. This woman, Ungnyeo, prayed for a child. Hwanung took her as his wife. She gave birth to Dangun, who became the first king of Gojoseon.
Interesting story right? I think the fact that this traditional story still is remembered on this day is a pretty strong indication of how much Korea reveres its history and traditions. Though all of my friends think the story is quite sensational, it is nice to see a country remember what its ancestors believed. You cannot fully understand your own culture until you know the history of your people. I also thought it was awesome because we got the day off!
For my Gaecheonjeol holiday, I went up to Seoul to visit the Korean War National Museum. Polina and Chelsea joined me on this day trip. We took the subway (only a 2 1/2 hour ride) to the museum and then had lunch in Itaewon before coming back to school.
The Korean War National Museum presents the history of Korean warfare, namely the Japanese invasion and the Korean war. It also discusses some of the little known conflicts from the Three Kingdoms period as well as the battles during the Japanese occupation. I consider Koreans a very peaceful people, for having a 4000 year history (going back to Gaecheonjeol again!), Korea has only had a few major wars, and all of them were in defense (from the perspective of the South).
One thing that I learned that was quite interesting was that during the occupation, the resistance fighters, which were Koreans that fought against the occupation, were supported financially by the US and Allied forces. A large group of these fighters were in Manchuria trying to take parts of the northern region of Korea from the Japanese during WWII. They were planning an invasion of Japan occupied north Korea when the atomic bombs were dropped, ending the occupation. I knew the Allied forces supported the exiled Korean government in Shanghai, but I didn't know that they supplied weapons to these guerrilla forces in the mountains of Manchuria. I wonder what history would be like if Truman did not drop the bombs in Japan....what would an invasion of Korea from the resistance fighters result in? What would the joint invasion of Japan by the USA and Russia result to? History would have been very different.
Another thing that really struck me seeing it displayed in the museum was how many people were involved and killed in the Korean war. The amount of Korean soldier casualties is overwhelming, about 600,000 were killed. That is a lost generation, considering the population of Korea was estimated around 30 million or so. The USA involvement in the war is quite extraordinary. Over 1 million troops were sent to Korea during the war. It is hard for me to comprehend the influence this war must have had on the USA. This took place right after WWII, with most of the free world believing that the outcome would define the decades to come.
After visiting the museum, we went to lunch in Itaewon, which is considered the foreigner street of Seoul. You can find just about any ethnic food on this street. It is a pretty cool place to visit, seeing people from around the world chatting in dozens of languages. We had lunch in a Saudi Arabian restaurant, which was very delicious! It was a nice change in pace from the routine chili pepper sauteed Korean food we eat at school. Don't get me wrong, I love Korean food, but I enjoy variety, which proves to be near impossible in small town Korea.
This week is regular classes. This Friday, I'm going to cheer the Korean National Football team as they play Poland at the World Cup Stadium. I am extremely excited about this chance to be in the atmosphere of some hard core soccer fans cheering their beloved team. Best believe, I'll be wearing my Korea Football shirt!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
A Weekend in Jeollanam-do
I just got back from a busy but awesome two day trip to Jeollanam-do, which is the southwestern province in Korea. It is an area that I had not yet visited, so I was very excited to see something new.
Jeollanam-do is the southwestern region of Korea. Some of the things this area is famous for include Bibimbap, Green Tea, and historical locations from the war with the Japanese in the 1500's.
SCH coordinated with a school tour group for students to go on this trip. Joining me on this trip were about 20 international students from SCH. We left school early Saturday morning to begin the long bus ride to the southwest coast. It took about 5 hours to reach our destination.
We first went to the Myeongryang Dacheop site, which is the place where General Yi won one of his most incredible victories over the Japanese navy. With his innovative Turtle Ships, Yi led a fleet of 13 ships to fight an intimidating 133 ship Japanese fleet. Yi was not only a general, he was a well educated individual. With the knowledge he had, he developed a new strategy to overcome the Japanese. He chose Myeongryang for this battle because it is a narrow strait and the Japanese ships could not maneuver well in tight areas. He had a few of his ships lure the Japanese to this area only to find the remaining ships strategically placed to eliminate the Japanese navy. This battle is considered one of the greatest underdog victories in the history of warfare.
At Myeongryang, we watched a reenactment of the battle as well as various cultural performances. It was a unique experience seeing history come to life among Koreans beaming with national pride as the story unfolded. It was incredible to see this place with so much historical significance and to see a glimpse of what that event must have been like.
After visiting Myeongryang, we went to the Gangjin Celadon Museum. Korea is famous for pottery with a green celadon glaze. At the museum, we designed a cup and had it glazed.
We then checked into our motel: The Prince Motel, which is located right next to the Belagio Motel (no joke!) It was a nice motel, clean and warm. We had dinner and then spent the evening singing at Noraebang.
Sunday morning after breakfast, we made our way to Boseong Green Tea Farm. Boseong is famous for some of the most tasty Green Tea in Korea. Being a green tea buff now, I was eager to see if Boseong would live up to its reputation. It was very yummy! I had some Green Tea ice cream which was the best I have had in Korea. It was a gorgeous yet brisk fall afternoon as we walked amongst a bamboo forest and then wandered the rows of Green Tea. The Green Tea fields were beyond beautiful: vibrant green contrasted with the deeper shades from the evergreen trees below.
We then returned to Myeongryang Daecheop to see some traditional performances. We watched a group of Ajumas (older ladies) perform a traditional Circle Dance. They were very lively, dancing very fast at times and at one point had one Ajuma gracefully walk across the other ladies' back with the support of two Ajumas. We then watched a group of school boys perform Salmulnori. It was so sweet to see all the elderly people in the audience rise from their seats as the music began and come down to the stage to dance. Witnessing this, I began to think how for many of these older people in the audience (75+), they never had the opportunity to learn their traditional music and dance as children because they grew up in a Japanese occupied Korea. They lived through what is considered a cultural genocide. Now in their old age, having seen Korea progress from an occupied state, to a divided nation, to finally a South Korea economically strong, being able to dance to the music created by past generations was beautiful to behold. After all they have endured in their lives, it was extraordinary to see such joy on their faces as they danced together.
After the performances, it was time to make the long journey back to school. We left around 3pm and arrived at school around 9pm. Monday is a national holiday so we will have a day to unwind before school on Tuesday.
Jeollanam-do is the southwestern region of Korea. Some of the things this area is famous for include Bibimbap, Green Tea, and historical locations from the war with the Japanese in the 1500's.
SCH coordinated with a school tour group for students to go on this trip. Joining me on this trip were about 20 international students from SCH. We left school early Saturday morning to begin the long bus ride to the southwest coast. It took about 5 hours to reach our destination.
We first went to the Myeongryang Dacheop site, which is the place where General Yi won one of his most incredible victories over the Japanese navy. With his innovative Turtle Ships, Yi led a fleet of 13 ships to fight an intimidating 133 ship Japanese fleet. Yi was not only a general, he was a well educated individual. With the knowledge he had, he developed a new strategy to overcome the Japanese. He chose Myeongryang for this battle because it is a narrow strait and the Japanese ships could not maneuver well in tight areas. He had a few of his ships lure the Japanese to this area only to find the remaining ships strategically placed to eliminate the Japanese navy. This battle is considered one of the greatest underdog victories in the history of warfare.
At Myeongryang, we watched a reenactment of the battle as well as various cultural performances. It was a unique experience seeing history come to life among Koreans beaming with national pride as the story unfolded. It was incredible to see this place with so much historical significance and to see a glimpse of what that event must have been like.
After visiting Myeongryang, we went to the Gangjin Celadon Museum. Korea is famous for pottery with a green celadon glaze. At the museum, we designed a cup and had it glazed.
We then checked into our motel: The Prince Motel, which is located right next to the Belagio Motel (no joke!) It was a nice motel, clean and warm. We had dinner and then spent the evening singing at Noraebang.
Sunday morning after breakfast, we made our way to Boseong Green Tea Farm. Boseong is famous for some of the most tasty Green Tea in Korea. Being a green tea buff now, I was eager to see if Boseong would live up to its reputation. It was very yummy! I had some Green Tea ice cream which was the best I have had in Korea. It was a gorgeous yet brisk fall afternoon as we walked amongst a bamboo forest and then wandered the rows of Green Tea. The Green Tea fields were beyond beautiful: vibrant green contrasted with the deeper shades from the evergreen trees below.
We then returned to Myeongryang Daecheop to see some traditional performances. We watched a group of Ajumas (older ladies) perform a traditional Circle Dance. They were very lively, dancing very fast at times and at one point had one Ajuma gracefully walk across the other ladies' back with the support of two Ajumas. We then watched a group of school boys perform Salmulnori. It was so sweet to see all the elderly people in the audience rise from their seats as the music began and come down to the stage to dance. Witnessing this, I began to think how for many of these older people in the audience (75+), they never had the opportunity to learn their traditional music and dance as children because they grew up in a Japanese occupied Korea. They lived through what is considered a cultural genocide. Now in their old age, having seen Korea progress from an occupied state, to a divided nation, to finally a South Korea economically strong, being able to dance to the music created by past generations was beautiful to behold. After all they have endured in their lives, it was extraordinary to see such joy on their faces as they danced together.
After the performances, it was time to make the long journey back to school. We left around 3pm and arrived at school around 9pm. Monday is a national holiday so we will have a day to unwind before school on Tuesday.
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