2 great days in a row!

Yesterday. I met some friends, who are also teachers in Korea, at Songdo Beach (the closest beach to my house) for a Kareeoke (sp?) contest/ beach festival... I had read online that it started at 5pm, so we arrived shortly after, but they were still setting up the stage, so we ended up sitting here - on this jetty of sorts.

It was here, that I had one of the most meaningful, raw, and exhillarating conversations about God, life, and love that I have maybe ever had in my life. It will be a fond memory of mine for years and years and years to come.

While we were sitting talking, there was a dad and daughter fishing for tiny crabs within the rocks. The mom sat on the edge of the jetty, watching, proudly, as her family caught dinner for the night. When I asked if it was okay for me to take a picture, I quickly noticed that the mom and dad were both deaf... I don't know why, maybe it was because of the conversation that we were having, but it hit both of us that this little girl's life was drastically different from our own... and we wondered how it would affect her that her parents couldn't verbally communicate with her.... Would it cause her to be a stronger person, more compassionate and understanding of people's situations, or would she become bitter that her life was not like her friends? We'll never know, but the love that was shown between the 3 of them was really special. :)




Yesterday was such a gorgeous day, I have to include this picture!


After the sun went down, the city lights came on, and the reflections on the water were magical. I caught myself wondering why I had never come here at night time before? (sorry it's blurry)


At around 8:00pm, the festival began, and it was AWESOME! The weather was gorgeous, there were tons of people there watching, the kareeoke was really good, and really bad :), and the background dancers were mediocre at best, but it was really fun!










At one point, there was a Korean rapper who was trying to get the crowd to put their arms up and "wave them from side to side," but these women had their arms up and were only moving their hands - imagine hula dancing hands to a rap song! It was sooo funny!



Our friend Aaron met up with us too!



The water was so warm that we ended up walking along the beach from one side to the other and played around with a live eel on the shore...

... We saw a huge rat running across the rocks, climbed a bridge, listened to live acoustic music, wrote with our toes in the sand, walked on a rock path (specifically designed for your feet) that hurt really bad,

... and ended the night with ice cream at Baskin Robbins! Couldn't have asked for a better night!

Surprise in my bread!

I stopped by the market to pick up a loaf of bread on my way home from work today.  Without a 2nd thought, I grabbed a loaf and paid for it.  When I got home and pulled a piece out to make a sandwich, this is what it looked like!  

What the heck are all those vegetable/fruit chunks?!   gggrrrr.... Once I pulled them all out, I had a bunch of holes!  I have to admit, it is kinda funny.  Aahh, the joys of living in a country where I can't read the packages! 

All my favorite hobbies!

Tonight, I did some of my favorite things, with some new, really great friends.  I played screen golf (basically real golf, but into a screen) for 3 long and hilarious hours, with blisters to show for it, played dominoes (which reminded me of my grandaddy!), and jin rummy (my favorite past time with Cornerstone kids back in HS).  The time just passed me by, and before I knew it it was midnight, and a school night!   Thank goodness for the Swine Flu showing it's ugly face in my school's neighborhood and canceling all my classes this week!  ... and according to my VP, I have to come to work for 2 hours, but I can do whatever I want...  I think sleeping at my desk will probably be my chosen activity for tomorrow's work day!  

Next on the agenda will be bowling, which I love!! ... and it wasn't even my idea! Seriously, where did I find these people who love everything I love?!   

*** Pics to come soon!

My Sunday Hike

Today was a gorgeous day... the perfect day, in fact, for a hike! Luckily, there's a huge mountain right behind my apartment with tons of beautiful hiking trails awaiting me at all times! I packed my camera along with a fresh apple, a bottle of water, some healthy crackers, and an adventurous spirit!



If you look really closely, you can see an old Korean man walking down the trail. It helps put into perspective, just how huge and majestic this area is!

And finally, I made it to the very top!

Back to the babies...

I can't stay away... I think about them everyday and am forming bonds with so many of them. Today, Kristen came with me and we spent the afternoon with the 3 babies in the area of the orphanage that I wrote about in my last blog. These babies have been abandoned on street corners in the last 3 months.

Stand up for what you believe in!

This is the 1st street protest I have ever witnessed in my 28 years of life. I wish I could have known what they were saying, or why they were protesting, but I think they were making their point - They were stopping rush hour traffic in Kyungsung (one of the busiest traffic and pedestrian areas of Busan) for goodness sake! Hope it was for a good cause!

Poison!

This may look like your typical bottle of 1/2 drunken diet coke, but no, no, no... don't be deceived! It's modern day poison - to Koreans at least! Literally every time I drink a diet coke (which is not often by the way) I have at least 1 woman tell me it's "ani choa" (not good for me)... and most of the time, they are complete strangers. How funny is that?!

Bagel toast

I saw a cute little toast shop this afternoon and thought it would be a yummy afternoon snack. I looked at the menu and saw "Bagel Toast." I though GREAT, I love bagels and haven't had one since I left the US!

"Hangeh (One) bagel toast juseyo (please)."

My "bagel toast" in the making.

As you can see, it wasn't a bagel at all. It was actually 2 pieces of bread, 1 fried egg, a few pieces of fatty bacon, and to top it off, globs and globs of sweet jelly. Can you imagine the weird taste this mix created?... but more importantly; since when was that called "bagel toast?"

Sharing Soup with Strangers

Yesterday, after work, I went to a Kimbap (kind of like California rolls) hole in the wall restaurant in Gamchun-dong (The village around my school). It was really crowded, so I sat at a table with 2 older women, who happened to have offered me a seat. They were eating rice and 1 communal soup that they were sharing. They kept smiling at me and offerring some of their soup. I decided, what the heck, it is one of my favorite soups, and dipped my spoon in for a taste! Hey, I'm not sick yet!!

I think there's something to be learned from Koreans in the way they eat. Everything is fair game... Everything is ordered with the intention of being shared, even with strangers - foreigner strangers!!

My heavy heart...

Tonight, I went back to the orphanage. While I was there, I met the director, a tender hearted 65 year old Korean woman, battling her 4th year of kidney cancer. When she saw me signing in in the office, she asked me to take a seat on the couch to chat with her. Her English was really good, so I took advantage of the moment and began asking her questions that had been on my mind since the last time I was there. She told me all about the kids, why they were there, and the history of the orphanage.

* Most of the children are given up for adoption because their parents weren't married.

* Many of them were abandoned in the hospital. The mom gave birth and then secretly ran away.

* Most of the biological moms are between the ages of 19 and 21.

* All of the children in the orphanage have lived there since they were babies.

* When they turn 6 years old, they move to the next orphanage that holds children between the ages of 7 and 10 (I think).

* Before the Olympics in 1988, Korea allowed foreigners to adopt Korean children because the country was very poor, and they could not take care of the babies... But after the country's financial system was rebuilt from the Olympics, they changed the law to allow for only Koreans to adopt Korean babies.

* Korean's don't think highly of adoption the way many Americans do. They can't understand why someone would take care of a child who isn't their blood. Because of this, only a few children are adopted each year in Busan.

* The moms can come back anytime to get their baby back from this orphanage. The director told me that a few moms do it each year, but always within 3 months, they bring the baby back again.

* 99.5 percent of the children in the orphanage system will remain in an orphanage until they have finished high school. At that point, they are on their own.

There is a special area of the orphanage for babies and children who are abandoned on the street. She asked me if I would like to go see them... so tonight, I spent my night there.

I walked into the room and saw 4 beautiful babies, (1) absolutely adorable one year old girl and 1 junior high aged girl. I was informed that each of the babies were found on street corners and brought in by the police, and that the junior high girl's parents had recently divorced and neither wanted her. I sat watching the junior high aged girl and was pierced by the pain in her eyes and the despair and anger on her face. Most of the children in the orphanage don't know any better, because they have grown up there, but this girl knew exactly what was happening to her and was feeling all of the emotions of abandonment. I think my heart broke for her the most.

The 1 year old girl loved me. We played around and I flipped her upside down and she would laugh and laugh and laugh. There was such joy in her soul. After only about 5 minutes of playing with her, she called me Omma (mom). My heart melted. I couldn't image why anyone would give up this precious little sweetheart!

Tonight, after hearing so many heart wrenching stories, I told the director that my heart was heavy. I don't think I've ever used that expression, because I've never truly felt a heavy heart. I've never fully allowed myself to engage in people's lives who have heartbreaking stories because of the anxiety it has caused me in the past. Although, tonight, I understood exactly what that meant to have a heavy heart, and embraced it with all I had within me... because when it comes to justice and mercy, I believe that we are stagnant until we become so angry, or in this case, heartbroken, that we have to do something about it.

I pray that each one of you who are reading this, experience what it's like to have a heavy heart because of someone else's situation, and may it push you to make a difference in the world around you!

Bady Cleanger

I never regret carrying my heavy camera around all day if I spot things like this!

Dr Ken's Toothpaste

One of the guys who works in our Administration office came to my classroom this morning with 2 pieces of paper. 1 was a print out from an English website that sold Dr. Ken's toothpaste, and the other was something he had typed in Korean, and then translated into English with a translating system. Although, this is proof that translating programs don't always work, because this is what the paper said,

"even if one? Read it for me. It buys this product and, Substitution petty the possibility to purchase it is. The money will pay entrusts here and now with the Korean money."

At first, I thought he was selling toothpaste as a side job, so I pulled out my wallet and said, "Hana (One) cinnamon flavor." He laughed, and said, "Aniyo, Aniyo (No, no). As it turns out, he was asking me to buy it with my US dollars from an English website for him, and he would pay me back in Korean won. I have no idea how we finally figured each other out, but we did it!

1 Dr. Ken's spearmint toothpaste coming right up!!

Veggies and Puppies for Sale!

It's raining cats and dogs!

Carlos's coworker (Korean) always says his new learned phrase "It's raining cats and dogs", but since it's been really pouring lately, he's been saying "It's raining cats and dogs and cows and little babies." 

The Popsicle Salesman...

Yesterday, I had one of the wierdest experiences of my life. I was sitting at the beach and this Korean man in his 40's came and sat next to me. He spoke excellent english and was telling me about how he was waiting to meet his friend for octopus. I couldn't figure out what his intentions were in talking to me, but decided intentions weren't important and that I should talk to him, regardless! I've been pushing myself to endulge in conversations with Koreans in order to better understand their culture and mindset.

So, he ended up telling me a 30 minute story about how he used to sell popsicles on the beach and how he was sooo happy and fulfilled doing it. He said he loved seeing the smiles on kids faces when he would hand them a popsicle. But then, one day, a gangster came up to him and yelled at him for selling popsicles in the same area as he was. He knew he was a gangster by the tattoos on his arms. How funny is that? Anyhow, he resisted, because he didn't want to give up the job he loved to much, so the gangster got really angry and said he was going to kill him, but he is a believer in peace, so he did not fight back. He did jump about 6 feet into the air to do a kung-foo move though. I'm not sure what that was all about... He said he ended up staring into the gangsters eyes until the gangster could see his own reflection in the man's glasses. He said that the gangster was so disgusted by his actions that he began to weep and burried his face into the popsicle salesmans chest, and promised him he would change his life from that point on. I kept thinking, is this guy for real? Is he telling me a present day parable?? What the heck!

Then, at the end of his story, he said some things to me about my life that stopped me in my tracks!! He knew how I was feeling, and what I have been experiencing in my personal life - good and bad, with details to prove it... and then he said, "You are in Korea for a reason, and things will work out. Just focus on your spirituality." It was really creepy. I'm not sure who he was, or where he came from, but I do believe it wasn't a coincidence that we met.

You'll Come...

I've always been a fan of Hillsong, since I heard "Shout to the Lord" back in High School. Some may say they're too showy, or too health and wealth, but I don't care. Their worship moves me like no other worship, and it reignites my excitement with God again! Is that so bad?!

Last weekend, I visited a church in Busan. I won't say the name, because I don't want to discourage people from trying it out. The message was great, but the worship lacked passion. Is that just the Korean style, to be shy, even when it comes to praising God?! I don't know... but I can tell you one thing... When I hear this song, I shut my classroom door, close my eyes, and sing it at the top of my lungs! :)

Life changing orphanage visit...

Jess, Kristen and I have been talking about visiting this orhpange for about a month now, but every time we tried to go, something stood in the way, and we had to postpone our visit. Although, this Saturday, we finally made the trek and were shocked by the overwhelming emotions we all encountered while we were there. We were completely moved by the experience and feel a burden in our hearts to love these abandoned children during our time in Korea. How could we not?

This is the orphanage...


These are the dorms...


When we arrived, we walked into the office and saw this board. I've seen classified adds for puppies, TV's, and old furniture, but never for children... Each orphan's picture was on this board, their date of birth, age, and how long they had been at the orphanage...


We each signed in and were told to stay on the 2nd floor (the toddlers floor) and the 3rd floor (the 4 and 5 yr olds floor) because the baby's, who live on the 1st floor were sick. We were shocked at how easy it was to get inside and play with the kids.

When we walked up the stairs to the 2nd floor, we all took a deep breath and walked down this cheerfully colored, yet tauntingly depressing hallway, knowing that our lives would be forever affected by what we were about to experience.


Each door was decorated with a picture of the children who lived/slept in that particular room.


When we opened the door to the 1st room, we saw 1 lady who worked there, another older Korean woman who was volunteering, and about 15 toddlers between the ages of 1 and 2 playing around on the floor. When the babies saw us walk in, they stared at us with huge smiles and inquiring eyes! I quickly plopped down and began playing with a little boy who was sitting alone. He immediately climbed onto my lap and faced me with his legs wrapped around my waist. We just sat smiling at each other while I tickled his belly and feet!

The orphanage was incredibly hot and the rooms were not equipped with air conditioners, so we moved the toddlers out into the hallway where there was a single fan to circulate the air.

Jess is holding the little boy who jumped in my lap when we first arrived there. She was reading him a book. :)


Kristen


This little girl was crying when we first arrived, so the woman who worked there handed her to me to hold her. As soon as she was placed in my arms, she clung to me for dear life and buried her head into my chest. I could feel her tear drops on my skin... I began to repeat, "Genchuna, Genuncha," which means "It's okay" and she began to settle down at the sound of my voice. It was a really powerful moment I won't soon forget.


We stayed with the toddlers for about 30 minutes, and then went upstairs to the 3rd floor to play with the 4 and 5 years olds. On our way, we spotted the bathroom, equipped with 4 simple toilets and 1 sink. 40+ orphans between the ages of 4 and 5 share these 4 toilets.


When we got upstairs, we walked into the boys room, where there was 1 little boy, watching a small TV. I was relieved, thinking there were less orphans than I imagined... Although, one by one, they came piling into the room from the shower room down the hallway. Within 20 minutes, Jess, Kristen and I were surrounded by 20+ wet and rowdy 4 and 5 year old boys, who climbed all over us, lifted our shirts, tried to unzip our pants, and ran around laughing and playing with us. There were very awkward moments, and times when we were completely overwhelmed by their excitement and desire for attention from us... Overall though, it was really special to see a room full of orphans filled with so much joy and laughter!

This was the 1st little one who stole my heart! For so many years, I've seen moms and dads flipping their toddlers over their shoulders and upside down, while they laughed uncontrollably... so, for the 1st time in my life, I grabbed this little one and threw him over my shoulder and tickled him! He was giggling and screaming, "wwwaaaa..." and it brought such joy to my heart to hear his laugh. For the next 15 minutes, I had a line of boys waiting for me to throw them around and flip them upside down! Talk about a workout!!


The boys loved Jess's sunglasses!




And this one loved sitting on my lap...


This little one was completely intrigued by the display on my camera, so we would take pictures of ourselves and then laugh together at how funny we looked!


Kristen had all of the boys playing hide and seek with her. In an empty room, the size of my tiny apartment, the only good place to hide was behind the door...



... and at the end of this cabinet. :)


Towards the end of the visiting hours, I walked into the hallway to get some air, and saw a few little naked 4 year old girls at the end of the hallway who had finished their shower time. I walked down the hallway to the girl room, opened the door, and saw about 10 little naked girls, with 1 employee, who was trying to help each of them put on their pajamas. I walked in, plopped down, and within seconds, the little girls came to me, holding their pajamas up for me to help them. After I pulled their shirts over their heads and helped them put each leg into their pants, I would hold my hands up for a high five. The smiles on their faces were priceless!

I think what blew me away the most was the fact that there were only 2 employees per floor, and the 4 and 5 year old floor had at least 40 orphans. How can 2 people take care of all of these children? It's impossible...

When visiting hours were over, we walked down to the street to catch a taxi and we each talked about how the experience affected our lives. We have all agreed that it's a priority in our lives to come and love on these children as often as we possibly can...

Who knows, maybe one day we'll bring one home. :)

Do you want a free massage?

Last night, I was given the pleasure of meeting Stella's adorable mom.  What a doll she is!  Stella and I met her for dinner at a Galbi restaurant near my apartment.  During dinner her mom told me she thought I looked very healthy, especially in my hands!  I asked her, "How can you tell I'm healthy from my hands?"  Stella's mom immediately grabbed my hands and said, "Ooooohhhh.... wwwwaaaaaaa" and started massaging my fingers.  Stella said, "My mom loves to give massages" to which I replied, "Oh, I love massages!"  Right away, her mom asked if I wanted a massage... It didn't take me long to say, "Um, yea!"  So after dinner, we all walked to my apartment for massage time!

Korean energy massage = A-M-A-Z-I-N-G 

Me and Stella's mom!

Stella hates massages because she's really ticklish, but I told her how amazing I felt after her mom's massage, so she decided to give it another try!  There was a lot of laughing going on during this one!

Stella and her momma!

After our massages, it quickly turned into a Yoga session...

...and then a push up contest!  (Me: 27, Stella's mom: 12, Stella: 1/2!!!)

Usually Friday night is girl night with Jess, Kristen, Kate, and I, but we changed our girl night to Saturday night this week at the last minute, which turned out to be a blessing... Because, tonight, I was able to have Korean girl night!!  :)