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.