Saturday, March 31, 2012

Z

ZAMBONI

잼보니
[jaem-bo-ni]

I have been ice skating twice since I've been in Korea. The first time was with the college group from church and the second with 한국어학당 [Korean Language School]. I really enjoy skating and had so much fun!



[Sadly, the second time ended in a not so fun way...Anna was plowed into and over by a well intending classmate and ended up with a fractured wrist. Eeekkk! It healed quite well, and we may or may not be trying to work another trip to the skating rink into our schedule.] 

Friday, March 30, 2012

Y

YOGURT

Okay...actually, drinkable yogurt - sometimes it comes taped to milk jugs, we have it for dessert at work, and the bank gives them out!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

X

XYLOPHONE


just jammin' at 삼성지역아동센터 
[my children's center]

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

W

WATER DISPENSER - WEIRD FISH

This snazzy thing lives in our kitchen. It is a water filter that dispenses both cold and hot water. It is quite convenient, and they can be found everywhere: homes, restaurants, school buildings, community centers, etc...


Uncle Simon suggested this weird fish be part of my 'W' blog, so here it is! It was part of my lunch yesterday [apparently after spending some time in a blender]. Yum?

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

V

VULNERABILITY

This year I have watched quite a few TED Talks. TED stands for technology, entertainment, design and "is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading." I have watched talks about everything from education to running to heart disease to food to introverts to energy and even a prank by Improv Everywhere, but I wanted to share with you one by Brené Brown called The Power of Vulnerability.

I think the word vulnerable has always brought to mind an image of Achilles' heel rather than an opportunity to connect and live. I have begun to think of it differently. 

"There can be no vulnerability without risk; there can be no community without vulnerability; there can be no peace, and ultimately no life, without community."
-M. Scott Peck

Monday, March 26, 2012

U

UNRESOLVED PROBLEM?

solution:
가위, 바위, 보
[g/ka-wi, ba-wi, bo]
scissors, rock, paper

가위

 
바위

 
 

Yes, it is pretty much the same as rock, paper, scissors in the United States but played much more frequently and a variety of ways [in a big group, with a song, etc...].

Sunday, March 25, 2012

T

TAEKWONDO

Last semester Mr. Hong, a University Church member, invited us to his taekwondo 장 to learn some moves while experiencing a part of Korean culture. We started out going every Friday, but around Christmas he asked if we would like to start coming 3 times a week during the next year...OF COURSE!

We were the tallest students in the class, yet started, like everyone does, at the bottom of the totem pole, with white belts:

안녕하세요
Since then, we have moved up to green with a blue stripe and have a test in two weeks, where we will hopefully upgrade to blue with a brown stripe. The colors go white, yellow, green, blue, brown, red, and...BLACK!

For each test we usually have to do a form, a few kicks, some fitness activities, and break a board. There are 8 태극 forms which are sort of like choreographed fighting dances and remind me just how bad I am at remembering dances...Maybe it's okay because I really enjoy the kicking!

 기합
Nicknames continue at taekwondo: glasses master, laughing master, uni, bear & lemur [quite a dynamic duo], lil mama, lil nugget, Harry Potter, and lady master. 

Participating in taekwondo has led to a few enjoyable things outside of class too: 

We went to a an exhibition at Kyung Hee University [the #1 taekwondo school in Korea] where watched an awesome performance by the students, ate lunch, wandered around the campus, and then learned a few new tricks.    


I have been able to bond [though Konglish and laughter] with one of the teachers from my center when she occasionally takes me from work to class.

We started eating and Englishing [that probably removes all confidence you once had in my English teaching abilities...] with Mr. Hong's wife and son.

twinzies with lady master!

Thomas went on a bike ride with fellow taekwondoers!

[pictures arriving soon] 
 
I have also created a list of things not to eat before taekwondo: anchovies, kim, dinner with Reverend 최...


Those foods aside, it has been an excellent experience to make new friends, spend time with a few youth group members, and practice 태권도. I am so thankful that Mr. Hong invited us!   

rocking our yellow belts

 removing a splinter #totalmasterhongmove

Friday, March 23, 2012

S

SWEET POTATOES

Korean sweet potatoes are white on the inside! In the fall we visited 2 youth group members' house, ate lunch, and picked sweet potatoes. It was a very nice time!

 sweet potatoes

 working hard!

 so many for everyone to take home!

lunch [not pictured: chips and salsa - yum!]
 
and of course 'V' for victory

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Monday, March 19, 2012

Q

QUOTE

At YAV orientation, the leader of my small group gave each of us a note card with this Pablo Picasso quote:

"I am always doing that which I cannot do, 
in order that I may learn how to do it.


That has definitely been a big part of my year as a YAV. From teaching English to learning Korean to doing Time for Young Disciples to figuring out my way around to helping at 새나루 to leading Bible study with the hurdle of the language barrier, I am learning.

P

PRAYER
"Prayer leads you to see new paths and to hear new melodies in the air. Prayer is the breath of your life which gives you freedom to go and stay where you wish and to find the many signs which point out the way to a new land. Praying is not simply some necessary compartment in the daily schedule of a Christian or a source of support in time of need, nor is it restricted to Sunday morning or as a frame to surround mealtime. Praying is living."


-Henri Nouwen, With Open Hands 

O

OCTOPUS

Coming to Korean I never thought I would eat so much octopus, but it is quite popular!

[I can't find my camera at the moment, so pic via]

Sunday, March 18, 2012

N

NAMES

The typical Korean name set up is three syllables. The first is family name, usually followed by two given names. I'm for it. Sometimes siblings or even cousins all have the same second or third syllable, in addition to the first. Two of my students are sisters; the older sister's name is 윤미, and the younger sister's name is 윤미정. Some names can be directly translated to English, and it is more difficult to understand the meanings of others because of their Chinese roots.    

Haejung 이모 gave us Korean names:


Thomas
박믿음 - Park Mid Eum - Faith Park


Anna
박소망 - Park So Mang - Hope Park


Anna Curl
박사랑 - Park Sa Rang - Love Park





name gourds in Jeonju

I really enjoy knowing people's names and calling them by name, but that isn't the Korean way. It is very impolite to call people older than you by their name unless it is their family name followed by their title. Most of the time though, just their title is used: teacher, director, pastor, elder, mom, older sister, older brother...

This has led me [or really Thomas, Anna, and me] to have descriptive names for people and occasionally make up English names for them: the nice lady/Beth, the classy lady, happy camper, smiley guy, kim cutter, spunky/Ellen [because of her resemblance to the character in Mary Poppins], hipster, kitchen lady, nice new teacher, head honcho, Boston hat, Lorelai Gilmore, man teacher, glasses girl, and loud girl...just to name a few.

Friday, March 16, 2012

M

MAD GAB

Many times I think that my life is quite similar to a game of Mad Gab.

  
I feel like I'm playing when I [try to] speak Korean, when I am talking with my students, and...when I read signs. While I am trying to figure out what the Korean means, I realize that it sounds more like English:

sometimes it's because it is a brand or store with an English name:


spam --> 스팸 --> seu-paem

at

costco wholesale --> 코스트코 홀세일--> ko-seu-teu-ko hol-se-il


and sometimes it's because the English word and the Korean word are almost the same [tomato and internet] and sometimes it's totally random [chicken, style, sky...]


It also seems like the titles of English movies are usually just translated into Hangul [Korean letters] rather than actually translated into Korean. Most of the time it's pretty easy to figure out, but last night I went to see 존카터 with my children's center. Having not seen any previews for quite some time, I didn't realize that jon-ka-teo was actually John Carter until the movie started. I knew it was from the U.S. because the Disney logo, but I never would have guessed the title was a name! Also, it was quite funny when the martians [is that the right word?] were talking toward the beginning and there were both Korean and English subtitles.




[Listening to Korean is an entirely different story...it's more like a word search.]

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

L

LIBRARY

The English conversation group at Ansan Library started up again. I am excited to get to know the new folks! I also spent some time searching for English books and checked out Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Whoop whoop.


LOVE
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 

Colossians 3:12-14

Monday, March 12, 2012

K

KIMBAP

Kim is dried laver seaweed, bap is rice, and kimbap is a classic Korean snack.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

J

JJIMJILBANG [찜질방]

A jjimjilbang is a Korean public bathhouse. 

I had my first jjimjilbang experience last month, and it was stellar! I met up with some friends in Seoul, and we decided when in Korea...do as the Koreans do!

We spent the night at the oh so swanky Dragon Hill Spa near Yongsan Station for 12,000 [less than $12] each. To say that it is just a bathhouse is quite an understatement. It has two restaurants, two snack stands [complete with bing-sus and baked eggs], an arcade, a cinema, a common room with TVs and tons of people and automatic massage chairs, a computer room, a gym, a kiddie play place, a few outdoor pools, a putting green, and sleeping rooms. As far as the spa part goes there is a hair salon, a nail salon, Emperor's Stiz Hip room, a facial thread shaving area [yes, like in the Auburn mall], rooms with their own temperature and ambiance [charcoal kiln room, ice room, pine tree wood fire sweating room, pyramid room, salt room, and a Finnish sauna] and places for facials and massages. 

 [photos from Dragon Hill Spa's website]

Okay so...public bathhouse?? I must say I was rather nervous about that [naked] part when we were waiting in line to get in, but it really was not a big deal...or even awkward at all! The baths range from rather chilly to almost scalding [my favorite] and are gender separated, attached to the men's or women's locker rooms. Then, to go into the co-ed area everyone puts on these snazzy green outfits:


Also, upon entry everyone is given a handy wristband that can be used to charge things like food and spa treatments with a locker key attached.

 V for victory from the jjimjilbang!  

I

"IS THIS REAL LIFE?"

That is a question I commonly step back and ask myself. Somehow the answer is always "Yes," yet it always surprises me and fills my heart with joy!

surprise spend the night party at my children's center  [and many other times there too]

spending time with my friends from language class from all over the world 

 
borrowing a restaurant's kitchen to make Chinese food

seeing two great friends from Auburn on this side of the world

this being in the international food section

Nepal.

South Korea. 

taking pictures of Uncle Simon and Haejung 이모 

just to name a few times I think that...

Friday, March 9, 2012

H

HOLY GROUND 

"Our first task in approaching 
Another people,
Another culture,
Another religion,
Is to take off our shoes 
For the place we are approaching is holy.
 
Else we find ourselves treading on another's dream.

More serious still, we may forget 
that God was present before our arrival."

-Unknown

[It's Korea: shoes are left in the entryway of homes, places like the community center 
where I work, and in many restaurants . I like this both literally and metaphorically.] 


“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, 
for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
-Exodus 3:5 

Thursday, March 8, 2012

G

GRAPES

You know how grape flavored candies and drinks and medicines rarely taste real grapes?? Well, there is something that bridges the gap:

 Korean grapes!

They're very enjoyable but can be slightly awkward when eaten while meeting new people and trying to make a good impression. In addition to having seeds to spit out, there's the skin...which people don't eat [unless it's accidental]. Yum.

GOD

God in Korean is 하나님 [ha-na-nim]. One in Korean is 하나 [ha-na]. 님 [nim] is a respectful syllable added to the end of [for lack of a better word] titles, like parents [부모님], teacher [선생님], and minister [목사님], just to name a few. Anyway...I think it's pretty fly that the word for God could sort of be translated as #1 sir/ma'am

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

F

FOOD STREET

The address system in Korea is different than it is in the United States. Cities are divided into districts, 구 [gu], which are then divided into neighborhoods, 동 [dong]. Then, neighborhoods are divided into blocks and numbered, and buildings are numbered in the order they are built.

This leads me to two things:

1-We make up names for streets, usually just by describing what's on them or where they go [although not all streets in Daejeon are named, they seem to do the same sort of thing with those that are]

2-Living in a house that doesn't have a mailing address [our mail goes to the campus post office], I have no idea what our building number is. That isn't a big deal, but it does mean that we don't take advantage of South Korea's excellent food delivery service. Here you can order any food and have it delivered to your door with no extra charge...and they come back and take away your dirty dishes when you're finished!!

but...maybe it's okay because we have food street and the street that food street runs into than five minutes away

food street

 the street that food street runs into

how food is delivered

also, there are quite a few neon lights in South Korea

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

E






ESTE MOMENTO

This is the Moment! Now is the time. The time is now. Let's do this.

Although Baylor Men's Choir sounds slightly [okay...a lot] different than we did at placement event and orientation, I thought I would share their rendition with you.


[sorry the embedding is disabled, I really don't know how to deal with that]



Monday, March 5, 2012

D

DAEJEON [대전]


 

Daejeon is South Korea's fifth largest city and home to over 1.5 million people, one of whom is me. This is the first time I have really lived in a city with more than 60,000 people. Big cities never appealed to me before, but I really enjoy living in Daejeon! It is located near the middle of the country and known as the Silicon Valley of South Korea.


some fun things around town:

path by the river where I sometimes run and Expo Park in the background

 
exercise equipment like this is everywhere

Expo Park

 Hanbat [large field] Arboretum 

Daejeon Culture & Arts Center
Anna and I went to a classical concert there with a family from the library English conversation group.

 National Cemetery

Dunsan Prehistoric Settlement...in the middle of downtown
 
and the inside...

계룡산 [Gyeryong Mountain]

Other awesome things in Daejeon that I've been to but do not currently have pictures of: Yuseong Foot Spa [very pleasant hot springs, outside, open 24 hours], the express bus terminal [buses, Baskin-Robbins, E-Mart, fashion mart, movie theater, bank, tons of restaurants, book store with English books, and more buses], Jungang Traditional Market [has pretty much everything you could ever need]  


And other things on my Daejeon to-do list: Daejeon Citizen soccer game, Hanhaw Eagles baseball game, more neighboring mountains, Daecheong Lake, Municipal Museum of Art, Currency Museum, World Cup Stadium...