Tokyo--Days 3 and 4, plus my thoughts on the city

I woke up after a long sleep on Saturday morning with plans to explore in detail the more historical places in Tokyo. So I set off for yet another shrine and came across a big souvenier shop in Asakusa, where I found a Godzilla keychain for Sasha. I saw yet another shrine and the related gardens, but I was really more impressed with the big incense pot that seemed straight out of Leviticus. I hiked it over to the museum district next and went to the Tokyo National Museum. I had high expectations that it would be akin to the fabulous British Museum, but this one turned out to be quite limited in its displays for whatever reason. It was large, but nothing on the scale of a European museum, and I covered the whole thing in a little over an hour. The samurai armor and katana swords were interesting, as well as the Japanese paintings. I particularly like the paintings that depict ocean waves. I also saw an interesting exhibit on the expansion of Buddhism across Asia as seen through sculptures of Buddha, and they had good maps explaining how the philosophy/religion spread from India to Pakistan, China, Korea, and Japan, and how each of those cultures depicted Buddha differently. I liken it to seeing pictures of a white Jesus in American pictorial Bibles or a black Jesus in others, when it's quite obvious that he was Semitic and nothing like those pictures. As I left I came across the Japanese Museum of Western Art, so I went in. It was free, and after perusing the small inventory, I could ascertain why. They had some good pieces, like Monet's Water Lilies, but it was (understandably) really just tiny in comparison to other places I've been. They also had lots of Rodin sculptures outside, and my favorite, The Burghers of Calais, so I quite liked that.

After my fill of the museum district (having ignored a number of other non-promising edifices), I headed for another busy ward/area/district of Tokyo that houses the Toyota Auto Salon, Ikebukuro. The showroom was impressive because you could see all of the most recent models, but none of the cars were really familiar to me because they were the Japanese versions, not what they sell back in the States. I walked around Akihabara some and ate dinner near my hostel, and after strongly considering a trip to Roppongi that night, decided to just rest. Looking back, I wish I'd have gone down there, but I was just discouraged because of my inability to communicate well.

Sunday I finished up going to some places I had previously not had time for, and I took in the sights and sounds for a final few moments before ineptly locating a train to take me back to Narita. I got to the airport with two hours to spare, so I went around the gift shops and ended up writing a list of everything that had happened in my life in 2008 on a month-by-month basis. Before making the list, I'd thought of the year with a slighty negative overtone, but after reviewing all the events and considering them as a whole, I had to admit it was a pretty good year with just a few problems, and I had a tendency to highlight those negatives instead of the far more numerous and significant positives. Anyway, it's an exercise I recommend, because you will probably surprise yourself with all that's happened in your life in a year. I feel this past year could have comprised a decade of events, and I guess I wouldn't want it any other way.

So, my summary thoughts on Tokyo: basically, I compare it to an Asian version of Paris. It's busy, fashionable, upscale, somewhat touristy, expensive, and the center of all things Japanese. It had its own Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysee, royal palace (like Le Louvre), and a dozen other things that cause it to strongly correspond to Paris. It was good to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. I found the Japanese less friendly than Koreans, and far less likely to help a lost foreigner. But that's not to say it was a negative experience, because overall it wasn't. It's just not my ideal place. But to see a city that has such a high population that yet can function so well was certainly impressive. I was in awe the whole time and thought the city to be a monument to human achievement.

Anyway, the best part of the trip for me was the return flight, for two reasons. First, I felt much more comfortable back on my home soil in Korea, and second, I met a great girl on the flight back. We are going out to downtown tonight to celebrate New Year's. There's a park with a big bell that is rung every year at midnight, so I think it'll be fun to check it out.

Tokyo--Days 1 and 2

So Tokyo is pretty big. I've spent several hours just walking up and down a hundred different streets with my brain totally overloaded from all that I've seen and experienced. It's been busy since I arrived, so I figured I ought to write down my thoughts before they vanished into the haze of this trip.

I arrived Thursday afternoon and started off the trip with two problems: 1. I left the wonderfully useful Japanese dictionary/phrasebook on the train on the way to the airport, and thus had no way to communicate, at all, and 2. Visa thought it would be funny to disregard the note on my account that said I would be traveling around Asia for at least a year, so they froze my account the second I tried to use my card at Narita Airport to exchange money. So I had to use my emergency cash to get enough yen to call Visa's 800 number so I could remove the hold on my account. I accomplished this task after a 600 yen phone call, and was then able to get the cash I needed. After those two early setbacks, everything else was great. I got a nice subway and city map, arrived at my hostel in the late afternoon, and then spent five or six hours wandering around. It was the first time I'd just wandered through a metropolis with no plan and no real direction. I really just wanted to take in the sights and watch the people and see what would happen, so I ended up doing just that. I witnessed Japanese pop culture, observed eating habits, explored entertainment districts, rode endless subway lines, and basically just absorbed everything I could. It was mentally exhausting and overwhelming, and I felt some strong culture shock for the first time. It was like I wasn't really there, instead I was just observing this alien city. No one talked to me, and I spoke to no one. It's a quiet city, too, for the most part. It seems like in Korea people are always out until after midnight, and the streets of Daegu are rarely empty, but in Tokyo, with the exception of a few special areas, the whole city is indoors and quiet after 10pm.
Friday I embarked on my plans to see some major tourist sites. I first walked to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, where I must have been one of only 100 visitors that day. I learned lots about the history of the exchange and it's switch from a "call out" system like on Wall Street and instead to a fully computerized one about 10 years ago. As a result, inside the Stock Exchange you can only see a large glass cylinder where a handful of workers monitor the Exchange to make sure there aren't any crashes or problems.
From there I went to the Imperial Palace where the crown prince lives. It's only open on two days during the year, so the visitors can only see the outside moats and walls of the fortress. I left there after just a few minutes and ambled off towards the subway station, but on the way I caught a glimpse of Tokyo Tower, a knock-off of the Eiffel Tower that stands a few meters taller than its Parisian counterpart, so I headed towards it. Along the way I bought some food at a street stand, saw a random shrine, and climbed a thousand stairs. From the Tower you can see all of Tokyo and even Mount Fuji which is 50 or so miles away.

My next goal was a famous Meiji Shrine. The Meiji Emperor took over in the latter half of the 1860s and was critical in Japanese history because he opened up the country to Westernization (see Tom Cruise's The Last Samurai for a slightly ahistorical representation of the period). Tons of foreigners were around this site as it was also close to a popular shopping district called the 'Champs-Elysee' of Tokyo. The shrine itself wasn't all that interesting, and I wanted to kick myself for going while knowing that there wouldn't be much to see. It's just like seeing the Eiffel Tower or Times Square: you don't actually need to do anything there, but you just should go because you are in the city and it's a well-known place. Whatever. I went shopping from here and found a massive English bookstore with lots of good books, but the prices were three times higher than American stores, so I didn't buy anything. I then went to the hostel and crashed...

Christmas came early...thanks to Joy and Reed!

As of 12/22 at 13:18 eastern time, I became an uncle! Joy and Reed had Audrey Kate Parman in the early afternoon in Jacksonville, and that event constitutes the only regret I had in coming to Korea. I really wanted to be there to celebrate the birth and all, but at least I was able to see Reed and Audrey on Skype at a the hospital. Audrey was as healthy as could be, and I saw about a hundred pictures with her being held by every member of the family. Maybe I can photoshop my head onto one of the bodies so when Audrey asks me in twenty years where I was when she was born, I can show her some evidence. =)

As for life here in Korea, it's been fun recently. I finished up Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 and I thought it was one of the most fun, witty, and engaging novels I've ever read. It's good stuff...read it if you get a chance. I also saw a couple of movies recently: Australia and Tropic Thunder. Neither of them were that impressive, both receiving about a 5 out of 10 from me. Went to the board game cafe again a few nights ago and played Battleship (I beat David), Risk (I lost to David in a gutsy move and a single die roll), and Star Wars Epic Duels (Sasha, David, and I each won a round). =)

Sunday I went to a Korean wedding. It was astounding. The wedding hall (hotel) hosted five weddings, all within a few hours of each other. The ceremony itself lasted all of fifteen or twenty minutes, most of which was a guy talking to the couple. Some of the strange things were the bubbles that surrounded the couple as they marched up the aisle together at the outset, the staged smoke that shrouded their feet, the jumbo screen that filled one wall of the hall, the 50 or more guests who talked throughout the entire ceremony with total disregard for the processions, the wedding cake that was carted out to be cut by the newlyweds and then carted back, and the groom being made to do push-ups in his tuxedo. We went out to T.G.I.Friday's for the wedding reception and I partook of some lovely ribs. =)

Not too much else is going on with me at the moment, except I'm getting excited about seeing Japan and all. Some big news did come up today at work, though. Apparently the troubled economy is resulting in a 30% reduction in our workforce. Most of those cuts will happen in Seoul, but our center will be losing a teacher and several Korean staff members, and they will make all the decisions by Friday. That could mean some big changes for me and the staff in the next few days...which of course I'll miss because I'll be in Japan. =(

Tied Up

My new coworker David often wears a tie to work. I don't. Matthew, Adam, Doug, Patrick, and Chris--the entirety of the male staff--also do not wear ties to work. So I mentioned to David that wearing one wasn't necessary, but he persisted. So, we recently made a joke out of it. On Thursday, I also wore a tie to work with the intention of logging all the inconveniences related to wearing ties throughout the day so I could relate them to David. This was of course a joke. At the end of the day I had compiled a nice list: 1. It prevents proper and convenient usage of the water closet, 2. it hinders workplace cohesion by creating a foolish competitiveness among employees, 3. coupled with my blondness, it makes me irresistible to students, 4. it looks businesslike and professional...uh...wait, no....uh...., 5. you can't do yoga well in a tie (David attempted yoga in his tie on Thursday), and 6. ties make foreigners look like Mormon missionaries. As you can see, there's a lot of solid reasons for not wearing one. Somehow this tie debate turned into a "who-has-the-best-tie" contest later in the day, and despite my early lead at the polls with a 3-2 lead, I ended up losing 11-3 (I think it was conspiratorial). So we devised a new contest for Friday, "worst tie/shirt combination competition." Friday morning I bought a fabulous Korean tie: brown, green, and pearl with a bizarrely arabesque pattern. See Facebook for an image. I won the votes handily on Friday, 30-1. David's tie combo, intended to clash, actually appeared fashionable to a number of the Koreans. I was accused of cheating because of my tie purchase, but it was nevertheless a win, and our contest is now at a standstill--we are tied until further contests emerge. In other weekday news, I finished the French novel The Charterhouse of Parma, recommended as a classic from the 19th century. It was tolerably entertaining until the last few pages, which the author seemed to have carelessly heaped together to end his overly long story, and which resulted in them being absolute garbage. Oh well.

Friday we celebrated a staff member's birthday, Gemma. We also played some darts, and I was able to reclaim my status as "okay" after my disappointing prior showing. Saturday I had tentative plans to go to Seoul and see Yun Hye and Dana, but Dana was in the hospital recovering from an intestinal infection and was obviously indisposed for the weekend. So instead, I slept in on Saturday and went to get a Thai massage downtown. I had my coworkers call ahead to make sure the place was reputable, and feeling relatively secure in their assurances, I went to the 11th floor of the Hotel Amigo where the massage parlor was located. Much to my surprise, although it should have been quite evident at the time, the room I was taken to for my massage was simply a hotel room, complete with a small bathroom, a television, and a small wardrobe. On the bed was a change of loose fitting clothes, like pajamas, and I was feeling quite uncomfortable and tense by the time the masseuse came in. She was actually Thai, another unecessary surprise (I was told the staff was Korean), and she spoke only a few words of English. Despite the initial discomfort and awkwardness that has typified my international massage experiences (Brazil was even worse) everything was fine and the massage was quite good. She used her elbows and forearms often, rather than just kneading muscles with her hands, and the results were quite good. I felt more limber and relaxed than I had in many months after the session. From there I went to Kyungbook University to see a concert. The concert was okay--not great and not bad--and it finished around 7p. After returning downtown I caught up with David, his girlfriend, and about five of their old coworkers. David had been in Daegu a year teaching at another school before starting at Wall Street, so he was catching up with them when I joined. We also played some darts and chatted for several hours.

Sunday I woke up a bit late and did some reading. I finished all of Deadeye Dick, a Vonnegut novel set in Ohio. I really enjoyed it, as I do with pretty much everything he writes. I was inspired upon finishing to work on some of the short stories I've had swirling around in my mind, and so I got to work on some of them. I had lots of time Sunday, since church was largely cancelled for a packed-out performance of Handel's Messiah, which I had no interest in seeing. Later that night David and I went to Doug's place for a guy's night: movies and Halo and trash-talking and eating and laughing and punching each other and laughing some more. It's a fun life in Korea. =)

Talked to Joy and Reed on Skype for awhile Monday morning. It was good to catch up with them and swap stories, and it almost made me miss home. Perhaps without the convenience of Skype, I would miss it....

Reading The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James this week. It looks to be a challenge. I'm not excited about it thus far. I'd rather be writing. Funny side note: as I'm writing this, on the 16th floor of a downtown skyscraper, I'm watching two Koreans playing badminton on the spacious roof of a six or seven story building. It's got to be in the low 30s, lower with the wind chill, but that fact certainly does not deter them from getting in meaningful midday exercise. And amazingly, the shuttlecock hasn't flown off the building...yet. Going to Tokyo next week--trying to decide what to see while I'm there...okay, that's it for today.

Book List

Today a friend of mine requested that I send him a list of about a dozen literary classics to read over the next year, and his admirable request prompted me to think through what I think are essential "reads." So, based on the last few years of my reading experience done for pleasure, higher education, and my own personal benefit, I've compiled a list of twelve works--one book per month--that would make for a suitable goal for the upcoming year. Feel free to suggest any classics to me that you think would be useful as well.

I'm choosing the following titles for a couple of reasons. First, they exhibit excellent literary quality and a person can improve simply by allowing their mind to engage in the ideas presented. Second, these works are part of the fabric of our society, demonstrating tremendous cultural relevance, influence, and references. Finally, they function as both mirror and flashlight, for the reader can see themselves in the pages and can utilize these texts to examine themselves, those around them, and society. This list is drawn from Greek, British, African, American, Chinese, French, and Roman sources, and, obviously, is merely my opinion of worthwhile reading.

Some are fairly short, none should be over 400 pages.

These are not in any special order. Let me know if you need any clarification.

1. Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth (any or all would be greatly beneficial--these are Shakespeare's top works)
2. The Good Earth, Pearl Buck
3. Candide, Voltaire
4. Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
5. The Odyssey (I like the Fitzgerald translation, but many others prefer Fagles)
6. 1984, George Orwell
7. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
8. Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe
9. Meditations, Marcus Aurelius
10. Frankenstein (1818 text), Mary Shelley
11. Oedipus Rex, Sophocles
12. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Snowy Season!

I woke up this week on Friday morning and quickly remembered that snow was in the forecast. I rushed to my window and found that there was snow falling everywhere! It was a beautiful and memorable scene, made more poignant because of its rarity compared to Florida. That was around 8am, but strangely, by the time I was walking out the door to work, the snow was mostly gone. It was really short-lived, but I'm glad I saw it while it was here, and perhaps it will come back in a few weeks. The temperature has really dropped lately, so I'm wearing my jacket, hat, gloves, and scarf most every day. I think it's fun, though sometimes the walk to work is a bit uncomfortable.
In other news, I got an awesome Christmas package from my mom. Unfortunately I could only open the pair of gloves and two books that I'd ordered from Amazon--the rest of the gift-wrapped present must remain unopened for a little longer. They make for nice decoration in the house, though, so I don't mind too much.
This past week at work was a little tough as we were down a few teachers. We have a new teacher, David, from England (not really from Wales--he just lived there for a while) and he seems like he'll fit in well. Sasha is nearing the end of her stay here, so we've been hanging out as much as possible. We went to a board game cafe to play Risk twice in the last week, and good luck and some strategizing let me conquer. It's such a fun game! I really enjoy it. We played with five people in one game, which is all the better, because everyone is so unpredictable and anything can happen. I was paid back handily though in darts. Usually I win by a fairly large margin, but last night I was destroyed three games in a row by the typically mediocre Doug. He somehow played the best darts of his life and consecutively dominated all of us, shamed as I am to admit it. =)
This only other big news I have is that I am going to Tokyo for four days later this month. There was a really good deal for a round-trip ticket from Busan to Tokyo that was half-price. It's actually cheaper than taking the ferry across and comes with meal service, so I was really blessed to get such a deal. I'll leave Christmas morning and get to Tokyo in the early afternoon, and stay until Sunday night. I think it will be fun to explore one of the world's largest cities and experience a completely different culture. I'll make sure to take lots of pictures.

A November to Remember

So, looking back on November, I'd have to say it was perhaps the best month yet. I feel more and more comfortable here all the time. I know the bus system, the subway system, where to buy the best groceries, where to shop for other things, how to heat my home, where to hang out, and where to get the best meals. In short, I now feel fully at home. I even got a toaster this past week, which has significantly broadened my breakfast possibilities.

I'm going to try to be more concise and to the point in this blog, to keep my scant readers from getting lost in the tedium of my thoughts. So this past week there were a few notable happenings. First, my coworker Sasha finished her last work day, and while she is still here for another week or two, she'll soon be going to Moscow for another teaching job. She brought a lot of energy and camraderie to the office and is a really fun person, and I'm sad to see her go. Her replacement showed up Friday and started today. David's Welsh--and acutally the first guy I've ever met from Wales. He's polite, formal, about two years younger than me, has some teaching experience, and overall seems like a good guy. My other coworker from the UK, Adam, went home for two weeks, and with Sasha being gone, there's only five teachers instead of the usual seven working right now (David is training for the week) so we are teaching more classes than normal. I don't mind it--it makes the days go by quickly--but it means I'm getting less reading time than before at work....haha.

The weekend was full of fun, and probably was one of the most packed I've had recently. Friday night was a house-warming celebration for Doug's girlfriend Cheri, and we chatted and played games til 2am. Saturday I slept in and met Christina at Outback for a "thank you" lunch. I'd helped her several times to prepare for English interviews for jobs in Seoul and the lunch was a more-than-adequate compensation. I had a rack of ribs (at her insistence) and I ate the entire plate. These were no ordinary ribs, either--they had been seasoned and grilled to an unusual degree of perfection and I loved them. After lunch Christina and I parted ways and I met up with my new-found Korean friends at the English study group. We chatted in a Korean tea shop for a few hours about "green" energy, blind dates, and fast food, then Vivian and I went to Doug's apartment for the long-anticipated Thanksgiving meal. We had mashed potatoes, stuffing, Swedish meatballs, broccoli and cheese, and some roasted chicken (turkey being mostly unavailable here). We stayed and chatted for a while, then took off around 11:00p so Vivian could catch her train to Gumi, a town about 35 minutes away by train. Silly as it sounds, the 35 minute train commute takes the same time as a subway commute across Daegu, so it's really not all that far away.

Sunday I got up early to play soccer with Phillip and Jason. We played til 1p on artificial turf, so that adds up to about four hours of solid playing time. There were three or four teams (I couldn't quite tell because players were switching jerseys so frequently) and so I had some break times in between. The highlight of the day was scoring my debut goal in the Korean soccer league--I intercepted a pass intended for the keeper and placed the shot perfectly between the keeper and the near post. However, I missed two one-on-one chances with the keeper later on, which my team jokingly harped on me for. The weather was ridiculously cold and windy because we were playing on a field in the mountains, so I had to borrow a jacket to avoid freezing. After the games, I went home and got dressed for church and went off to the English Bible study group. We talked about Moses and his objections to serving, and the Koreans put a spin on it that I hadn't considered before so it was fresh for me. After the study I took the subway to Daegu's train station and got a ticket to Gumi to meet Vivian for dinner. We ate at a Japanese place and then spent a few hours chatting in Starbucks. (As an aside, we saw a girl get "hit" by a car on the street outside while we were chatting, and an ambulance came and collected her. I think she was faking or was just frightened, and wasn't really injured.) Vivian and I have a lot in common, and I think she carries more potential than most of the girls I've met. She's mature, independent, intelligent, open-minded, goal-oriented, and she has a heart for other people. I like her.

I'm going to start listening to Christmas music over the next few days, and I've heard numerous reports of snow falling across the country, which I'm eagerly awaiting for Daegu. December is here!

Some Days Surprise Me

Today started out like any other normal day. My plan was to meet up with two friends for coffee in the morning, read for a while, and then meet with my eye doctor for dinner around 6p. So I met my Korean friend Stephanie and her friend from her university, an arrangement that was created to give the friend, Su Jung, some practice speaking English with a native before her impending trip to America next spring. I agreed to go because I've gotten to the point where I really enjoy meeting new people at coffee shops, provided I'm not tired and they are reasonably good at speaking English. So we met at this awesome coffee shop that was designed to resemble an indoor garden--it was pretty impressive. The three of us shared a muffin, a slice of walnut pie, and various hot drinks as we chatted. Su Jung was extremely shy at first, as is typical, but it wasn't long before we had a good conversation going and her English improved tremendously the more she spoke. Two hours passed in what seemed like less than half that, which was when I suggested we go to a board game cafe to talk over a game. I'd never been to a board game cafe, but I'd heard there was one in the area, and sure enough they knew roughly where it was, so we entered what otherwise would have been a normal coffee shop. The differences were the unexpected amounts of middle school children and board games scattered throughout the place instead of studious adults sipping lattes. We settled into a nice spot and sampled the "menu" of what had to have been fifty games that you can choose from before deciding on Rummikub, a Korean standby. By the way, a board game cafe costs around $2 per hour per person, which seemed pretty reasonable. After two consecutive defeats, I suggested we go for lunch, and Stephanie led us to a fancy restaurant that I'd never noticed before in the downtown area. I felt like I wasn't in Korea while I was in that place, because the decor was made to look European and the servers were completely different from those at a typical place. We each had a different kind of spaghetti (there are about twelve kinds available at this particular place) and enjoyed the complementary desserts, by which time it was 4p. Stephanie had to leave for work at this time, which left me with the decision to continue the outing with Su Jung or to go solo, but as Su Jung had proved to be a remarkably cute and endearing companion, we decided to see a movie together after dinner. As we walked to the theater to get the tickets (you have to buy them a bit in advance here because you reserve seats at the same time--ingenious, I think!) we passed an outdoor concert hosted by a local church. So we made our purchase and returned to watch the "contemporary Christian dance" by the youth group, a voiceless dramatic presentation of the early parts of Genesis, a video about missions, and some Korean drummers drumming.
Now came the tricky part of the evening. I was scheduled to have dinner with my eye doctor at a nice restaurant populated mostly by foreigners called The Holy Grill. It's more expensive than most places, and my doctor was treating (in recompense for writing a recommendation for his practice to go on his website), but now I had Su Jung with me and I wasn't sure if it was okay. Nevertheless, she and I went and got a table to await Dr. Kim. Evidently he was running late and felt sorry about it, and he seemed a bit fidgety, which was totally out of character. I told him it was no problem when he apologized for his tardiness, and used the opportunity to introduce Su Jung and ask about his wife. Bad move. He quite openly told us that he'd just finished having a fight with his wife, which partly accounted for his late arrival, and in his unease he knocked over his full glass of water all over the table and onto my suddenly soaking jacket. Needless to say it was not the bright opening one wishes to have at such a meeting. However, once we all laughed out the awkwardness of the situation things went smoothly. Dr. Kim told us about his multiple trips to the US and about his interest in Taoist meditation, and we ate Philly cheese steaks while Su Jung had a shrimp salad. (Not sure why I'm insisting on adding such mundane details...sorry). Near the end of the dinner another sticky situation arose. We had bought our movie tickets for the 7:30p showing, and it was 7:15 as Dr. Kim was explaining the need for inner peace and communication that comes from meditation, so I didn't exactly want to interrupt the man who was buying our pricey dinner to tell him we were leaving him to see a movie. So I silently prayed that it would all work out, and a minute later, he asked what our plans were for the evening. This gave us a neat exit for the theater, and we arrived just as the previews were ending. We saw Blindness, a strangely filmed movie that portrays an apocalyptic scenario resulting from an infectious blindness. The irritating parts of the movie for me were that it was never explained what caused the initial outbreak, nor what the cure was, nor why one of the characters was immune to the disease throughout the film. Other than that, it was thought-provoking and interestingly filmed in such a way that the audience occasionally experiences the blindness of the characters, but I wouldn't see it again or recommend it to others. Following the movie we went to Stephanie's coffee shop, conveniently located nearby, and shared a black tea latte. I thought it would be disgusting, but it was delicious and free.

The week itself, not counting today, was pretty average. I played lots of word games on Facebook, read a bit, and worked more than usual. I'm still getting over my cold, so I hope it will leave soon. I also figured out my home heating system with the help of my Korean coworker, so now I can heat my house to avoid freezing while I sleep. Oh, and as it's Thanksgiving back home, we are celebrating next Saturday by eating some turkey (I hope--I haven't had any since I've been here...) and other Pilgrimish delicacies. I'm looking forward to it, and I hope all of you who read to the end have a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner back home!

Long Weekend, Good Times

I've had a goatee now for more than two years, and I have to admit that I was doubting it's future this past week. I had planned on growing a winter beard to celebrate the changing seasons, but my (now ex)girlfriend mentioned that the goatee was a better choice, so after a week and a half of beard growth, I shaved it off and now I'm back at square one. I don't mind having it, with two notable exceptions. First, when you have a cold and must constantly blow your nose, you run the danger of having less-than-desirable detritus stick in it, such as is the case now with my minor sickness. Second, it requires constant maintenance to ensure that it is neither unruly nor indefinite. A goatee demands a precise disparity between it and the surrounding skin to have the proper boundaries, which accounts for its singular appeal. So that is sometimes a bother, but I think it's worth it.

As for real news, I had an exciting weekend, although it was quite abnormal. Usually on three-day weekends I travel someplace or do something special, but this past weekend I had arranged to go to a high school on Friday, thus reducing my chances of escaping on a getaway adventure (plus, I'd gone to Busan the previous weekend, so I was okay not traveling). The high school was a little tough at first because the students were far more shy than normal shy Koreans, to the point that to ask a question to a student was to induce immediate blushing. After about an hour of awkward conversation, I suggested we try a game. Some students found Jenga (which is played a bit differently here--there's no requirement about how blocks should be stacked once removed from the tower) and then I attempted to teach them Mafia, which they somehow had rudimentary knowledge of. In short, I was there about four hours and it took the totality of that time to tear down the towers of hesitancy and reluctance towards speaking to a foreigner. But it was a good experience to see how Koreans students learn and what their high school experience is like. After that I was growing ill (I had an awfully sore throat) so I went home, read a while, watched some Simpsons, and went to bed. 

Saturday I got up and took a taxi to a nearby university to play soccer. The weather was surprisingly warm--I should consider it the last vestiges of fall--and I was able to play in just a short-sleeved jersey. There were about 35-40 people out to play, and we took turns on the big, nasty dirt field. In between games we snacked on friend chicken, kimbab, and makkoli. I played as a midfielder in each of the three games I participated in, and two of those three games I was happy with my performance. I miss the lush, verdant grass fields of the westside of Jacksonville, though...

A strange thing happened on the bus home from soccer. It was one of those moments that happens once or twice a month (or less, I suppose), a moment of utter coincidence that leads into something potentially wonderful or absurdly bad. I was listening to my iPod shortly after boarding the bus when I was approached by a student at WSI. He said hello and asked what I was doing. As I was tired and ready to go home and rest, I answered truthfully. He then shared that he was on his way to an English study group and invited me to come along. I wasn't keen on the idea, but I felt obliged to say hello to his friends, especially considering he had been down on his luck lately with jobs and I really had no overwhelming reason not to go. So I went with him to a traditional Korean tea and coffee shop and met about a dozen or so Koreans roughly my age. Two of them spoke extremely well: David, a banker, and Vivian, a translator for Samsung studying to be a teacher. I chatted with them for nearly an hour, at which point they decided to go have dinner. So, toting my soccer cleats, shin guards, and dirty socks in a small bag, I joined the group as we made our way towards a traditional Korean restaurant for a seafood and soup dinner. I found David and Vivian's company to be quite charming (particularly Vivian's) and I didn't want to miss what seemed to be an obvious opportunity, so I stayed with the group hanging out until nearly 11p. It was awesome. I'm going to meet up again with the group next week, and Vivian might swing by work to get some ideas about teaching grammar (she teaches high school English once a week) and for some assistance on her writing for the teacher examination.

Sunday I chatted with my family and lounged around until church. The English Bible study was okay, and afterwards I went out to eat with a friend and her mom at a nice pasta place. I had my first teriyaki chicken since I've been here, but it had too many peppers and was a tad spicy. Sunday night when I got home I received an email from an old friend, and that served to be a nice end to a lovely weekend.

Tonight we are doing a scavenger hunt at work. I think it'll be fun, and it's the most work I've put into anything yet at work, so I'm interested in seeing how it turns out. Tomorrow is the first meeting of the book club I'm in charge of. We are reading The Good Earth, and I'm not quite sure how it will go yet. Until next time...

Back in Busan

Sorry for the delayed post. I didn't much feel like writing, but I knew that if I missed one week I'd start to fade out with these blogs, so I'm determined to write one for the past week despite being a few days late. So, last week was my recovery from the laser surgery. It was fine, and except for occasional dryness of the eyes, I've got no issues at all.

Saturday after work I went to Busan with my friend. We went to the beach for a while then saw Quantum of Solace. I could tell she couldn't follow it well because a lot of the movie depended on seeing Casino Royale, but she said it was okay. I found it to be interesting, but it had a higher degree of unrealistic behavior than I can forgive. Nevertheless it was entertaining. After the movie we went to a jjimjilbang to sleep. A jjimjilbang is a Korean bathhouse with separate areas for men and women. In the jjimjilbang there are several saunas, hot tubs, and shower rooms partitioned for each gender, and each of the floors are heated so you walk barefoot. I tried one of the saunas and found it to be pleasing. There's something quite enjoyable about walking around on heated floors and sitting on them and stretching out on them. Perhaps the most amusing part of staying in a jjimjilbang is the price: we each paid about $4.50 to stay for the night. The most unenjoyable part of the jjimjilbang experience is the men's area. When you pay to stay there, you are issued a pair of clothes that marks you as a guest of the facility. However, upon arriving at the men's area, I discovered that I was the only person actually wearing the clothes. The other fifteen or so men wore nothing. They watched TV together, enjoyed the various men's hot tubs, and just sat around chatting--all naked. In such a situation there is little to be done but endure, and when it came time to shower and use the facilities, I was forced to 'do as the Romans.' As initially awkward as it was, I quickly realized that no one else cared, or even noticed. They minded their own business, as this behavior was nothing out of the ordinary and has been standard since childhood. So when I had to take a shower in a large, open room surrounded by a dozen people, the discomfort drained away with the soap suds. Certainly an unusual experience...

We also saw a modern art exhibition while in Busan. It had many mind-boggling pieces, only 25% of which I could make any sense of. Around midday we ate a massive lunch meant that was categorized as "family size" but which we had little difficulty managing between the two of us. We also looked around at a few other places, and returned to Daegu at 7p. From the train station I walked to a bus stop and rode out to Kyungbook National University to meet my friend who was preparing for an English interview later on in the week, so by the time I got home at 11p, I was exhausted.

Monday I decided I needed to spend less time with her. The reasons are multifarious, so it suffices to report that we are still on excellent terms and still hang out, but not much. It was just best that we stay friends, and it was no problem. The last thing to report is that my coworkers found a website that has all The Simpson's episodes available for viewing, so I have enjoyed watching some of those in my free time. Good stuff. =)

A Bright Start to November

Things are looking better than ever these days, thanks to the thoughtful precision and care of Dr. Kim, who performed laser surgery on my eyes on November 1. I'd been wanting to have the procedure for the last six or seven weeks because I was having trouble wearing contact lenses in the dry weather (particularly so in Daegu). Saturday morning at 9 I went in for the procedure, and after doing some final tests to measure the angle of my right eye's astigmatism, I was led to the operating room. As I reclined on the bed, breathing deeply and thinking about the sight to come, I heard an unusual amount of dialogue between the doctor and the nurse. The whispering continued long enough for me to doze off momentarily, and when I awoke the doctor was over me explaining that some small error had occured with the machine and that a repairman from another city was coming bearing a special tool with him. So, I had to get up, go for lunch, and come back a few hours later, but I didn't mind. The surgery itself has a few unnerving parts (not counting the self-fashioned fear of permanently losing your sight). First, there is the notion that you have to be awake the entire time looking at a blinking red light, and that the success of the surgery partly depends on your ability to stay focused on that light. The second, and by far the scarier for me, is that you have to endure a temporary loss of vision in the eye that is being operated on. The unoperated eye is carefully covered by layers of protective surgical armor, rendering sight from it useless. So, as you peer at the red blinking light from the other eye, suddenly the doctor initiates a phase of the procedure that magically erases all sight--for five to six seconds you are completely blind. During this time there is a panic sensation accompanied by the background whirring noise of a machine completing some integral part of the surgical process. A tertiary inconvenience, the deluge of eye drops drained into your eyes, can seem overwhelming, but that is a small inconvenience compared to the instructions afterwards: you cannot open your eyes for the next hour, and at the same time you must not shut them tightly. After I was guided to the recovery room, I rested as peacefully as possible despite the feeling that there were several grains of sand rolling around in my eyes and concrete sealing the corners of my eyes. Thankfully I had a good friend with me to help me relax and not squeeze my eyes shut. Once I received an okay from the doctor to go home, and instructions for the next few days to drink copious amounts of potable water and instill drops into my eyes with hourly regularity while not leaving my apartment for two days, I was discharged. My friend guided me home, prepared a meal, and gently coaxed me into obeying all of the doctor's directives, all while I felt like scratching out my eyes and crying at the same time. But it wasn't long before the pain subsided and I began to feel better. By the time I went to bed, I began to feel I could see mostly clearly, and by Sunday morning, my vision was completely restored. Now when I look around it is as though I'm wearing my glasses or contacts but there is nothing there--it is a wonderful feeling, completely worth one Saturday of my life. I know my description may seem a bit like a deterrent to the surgery, but I wanted to relate an honest telling of my experiences with it. After the day passed, I can see that it was definitely the right decision.

Other news from the week? Well, Halloween was Friday. There was a party at work, but I didn't dress up because I still had to teach my classes and I had to go to sleep early for my surgery the next morning. Koreans don't recognize the holiday, so it didn't matter much to anyone else. I made lots of progress on my reading of Harold Bloom's How to Read and Why, of which the poetry section particularly spoke to me, and I bought Jhumpa Lahiri's Pulizter-Prize winning collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies, although I've only read the first story. Bloom's choices of poets and poems are surprisingly potent, though I found his suggestions a bit short and wish there was more to them. Anyhow, it gave me an impetus to put more energy into the labor that is reading great poetry. I don't consider myself capable of writing good poetry, but I certainly enjoy it. Instead, I'm seriously considering penning a few short stories and creating a collection similar to what Lahiri has done, so we'll see how that idea goes.

The surgery was cheaper than expected, which will allow me to spend a little more on a nice winter jacket. Winter jackets are far more expensive than I expected, so barring a little haggling at an outlet-type place, I'm just going to have to shell out the necessary funds to stay warm over the next few months. I'm sure it'll be worth it, but I just hate paying a lot of money for clothes.

I made a good friend recently. I'm more impressed by her each day. She has a gift for intuition and a unique perception that I find endearing and fascinating. She's also quite intelligent, fun, skilled at joining and starting meaningful conversation, and, perhaps most importantly, she understands me like few do. I'll leave it at that for now. =)

Positivity Prospers

So this past week was pretty long. I worked my regular work week and a half-day on Saturday, and today at church there was a newcomer's party that lasted til 9:30. That's not to say the week was dull, however. I finished Cormac McCarthy's The Road, an immensely bleak book that served to brighten my life exactly because of its bleakness. In the book, the world has been mostly destroyed--lands, cities, even the atmosphere--and the few survivors eke out an existence pillaging other survivors until they themselves run out of provisions and die. It was harrowing but it made me thankful for the everyday things we have, so this week I was happier than ever. I recommend the book--it is a quick read and written in a thoughtful but often commonplace prose that is easy to navigate and appreciate.

Other than that feat, I read some other short stories and played a good bit of Scramble on Facebook. I'm getting better, much to my delight. I also bought some Pringles and some cereal that turned out to be peanut butter flavored and I couldn't be happier with both of those choices. I'm actually eating better than I ever have before, because food is the only thing I spend money on (well, there was that pesky $7 electric bill)...

On Wednesday I went to visit a friend for dinner and had my first taste of cream spaghetti. This spaghetti included shrimp, bacon, and other juicy morsels of unidentifiable food and it was absolutely fabulous. And it was cheap: $6 and that included dessert. I was pleased with the meal. The only sad part of the story was that someone told me the wrong bus number, so I ended up at a random bus driver "resting place," and the bus driver and I just exchanged confused looks as to why I was still seated when he pulled over. I departed the bus and found a taxi that took me to my proper destination, and so it made for a funny misadventure. At least now I know the bus system better...

Saturday I studied Korean a good deal, and I'm getting much better and reading and pronouncing some of the trickier sounds. I also learned my numbers this week in both counting systems (there's a Chinese and a Korean one that are used on different occasions) so I can now understand conversations marginally better. I also watched two Korean movies, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Lady Vengeance, which you may have realized are connected. They're actually the first two movies in the "Vengeance Trilogy" and I found them to be quite impressive. There's a host of other adjectives I could use for them as well, but let's just stick with that one to be simple. I'm quite impressed with the director's style: the films are nothing like what is available back in the States.

Lastly I should mention about Sunday. I went to the afternoon English Bible study and the evening service, knowing that there would be a "new member's party" afterwards. The Bible study was quite enjoyable and interesting--the group is made up of several quite different Koreans, an Armenian doctoral student, and myself, so sometimes the views expressed range considerably. The service was also good, although my translation headset cut out halfway through the preaching and I just nodded stupidly for the last half hoping that the problem would be corrected. Then around 6:30 we met downstairs as a 'young adult' group for an awesome dinner. We had lots of pork and veggies and rice and kimchi, capped with a feast of fruit for dessert. I probably ate a whole pineapple's worth of pineapple slices and I tried a persimmon and a cherry tomato for what I think was the first time. The persimmon was a bit sour and messy, though not terrible. The cherry tomato was more tomatoey that cherryish, so it didn't quite make the list of top fruits (or is it a veggie?) of the day. After dinner we were treated to a lovely bit of singing and a dramatization of the book of Ruth and then all the new people introduced themselves and received a coffee mug and a pair of socks. All in all, it wasn't a bad way to spend an evening, although it was much longer than I expected.

The final thing I should mention was the epiphany I had this afternoon. A few weeks ago I met someone with who I immediately discovered an unusual, perhaps even metaphysical, connection. We have become better and better friends over the last two weeks, and I'm so glad for that. However, I was curious as to what made this instant and comfortable friendship so easy and effortless, in hopes that it could be duplicated or understood better with others. In trying to analyze why our connection exists, I considered our various interests, beliefs, experiences, etc., but nothing seemed quite out of the ordinary compared to the hundreds of other people I've met in the now three months I've been here. But today I stumbled upon it by accident. Each of my closest friends, the ones I've made instant, easy, and long-lasting connections with over the years, were all people of mixed identities. JJ and Kris came to mind first: JJ, an American raised in Africa, has imbibed both cultures and masters them equally well. Kris, who was transplanted in America in his later teen years, clings to his Korean culture while melding with American culture, and now he is ministering as a youth pastor to other 1.5 or second-generation Koreans. Even the girls I seriously dated in the States had mixed nationalities, as does the friend I recently made here. So through some means unknown to me, I am attracted to, or rather share some improbable connections with, those people who don't quite fit in to any one place or who instead have a dual identity that allows them to thrive in a number of places. Perhaps that is one reason I feel so completely comfortable and happy here, and why I didn't feel all that comfortable or content in Florida. In any case, I feel like I've learned something vital about myself today and thought it would be interesting to share it with whoever had the stamina to make it this far in an otherwise bland post. I guess the next question must be: what is my dual identity? I think I know the answer, but that's not exactly something you should publish on a blog....lol. =)

I'm having Lasik surgery Saturday morning. Please pray that it goes well. Have a happy Halloween.

Business in Busan

I'm back today from a weekend business trip in Busan. I say "business trip" because that's the reason me and five coworkers had to go there, but in reality it was just a couple hours of "training" and discussion, then a fireworks show and a party. The training was fine, but nothing was really groundbreaking or new for us--it was mostly just company policy rehashed in a group setting so there's not any confusion about how to run classes. I was more excited about the Papa John's pizza that was promised for dinner. So after the training we went to one of the beaches in Busan (it's a city on the coast, similar to Miami or Tampa) and to this nice 17th floor apartment owned by one of the managers there. There was probably thirty people in the place crowded around the windows, but I managed to find some space to watch the nearly hour-long fireworks bonanza. I also scarfed down five pizzas of Papa John's while people were distracted with the show--but it was dark and I grabbed a slice of potato pizza for my fifth, which I thought was pineapple. Needless to say, that was enough for me.

The fireworks were pretty incredible. There were probably close to a hundred thousand people on every part of the beach watching this massive show--it put Jacksonville's 4th of July to shame. They had four boats shooting off non-stop missiles and a bridge in the bay added lasers to the mix. Somewhere, massive speakers added music, and the fireworks and lasers were choreographed to match the soundtracks. It was probably the best fireworks show I've ever seen. Afterwards I chatted with lots of Wall Street staff from Seoul and Busan and got to meet the guy that interviewed me, and now I know a lot more about the company. At this point I'm trying to decide whether or not this is a company that I'd want to join permanently. I'd like to think so, but I'm just not sure if moving up to a management position (which is what I'd have to do in that length of time) is for me. But on the other hand, I really love living here and think my job is great, so I guess I'll just wait and see what happens over the next few months.

Anyhow, on Sunday we slept in at the hotel, then ate near the train station and came back to Daegu. We were hoping to eat at this navy diner, but we didn't have military IDs and we denied entrance...so sad. Instead we ate cheeseburgers (and adobo chicken) at a "Hawaiian" restaurant run by Filipinos. It was good food, but expensive. Oh--somewhat funny story. So we are on the subway heading back to the train station, and I see this beautiful Korean girl, stylishly dressed and looking bored. There was an empty seat next to her, but my coworker took it and so I lost my opportunity, or so I thought. A few minutes later we had to change subway lines, and sure enough, the girl also gets up to change lines and ends up going the same way we are headed. By no accident, I end up next to her on the subway, and begin a conversation in typical American fashion with, "Do you speak English?" This gives the girl an easy escape--if she doesn't want to talk or can't, she can just say "no." Instead, this girl makes the mistake of telling me she doesn't speak that much, and that furthermore, she is from Daegu. I was quite surprised by this, since I am also from Daegu, and then I realized she was heading to the train station just like we were. Anyhow, I found out she is an intern at a company in Daegu. I gave her my number, but she was a bit shy. We'll see what happens with that...

There were a few other notable events in the previous week I should mention. Our Scottish friend Gillian, who teaches at another school here, is leaving soon, so we celebrated her going away, and will do so again this week. I also scheduled my laser surgery for November 1. I'm looking forward to having it done and no longer worrying about "cataractitis" from contact lenses and having to go every year for new lenses or a vision check up. As far as my free time, I finished reading Crime and Punishment--a major accomplishment. The book was incredibly long and at times dull because he wrote the novel serially for a magazine, ergo he wrote it extra long and added unnecessary scenes and characters simply to earn more money. In any case, the novel was mostly interesting and thought-provoking, although modern philosophy has extended beyond what was in vogue in Dostoevsky's time. The book did make me reconsider one of my UNF professor's wishes, that I study modernist literature for my PhD. I think I'd have to learn French and maybe German to pursue that course, but I am quite interested in the literature of the period, both European and American. I started Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer Prize-winning The Road this weekend, but I think I'll finish that by mid-week. I should be studying Korean more, but I haven't had much motivation lately. All the universities are having midterms this week, so my usual study partner has been busy preparing for those.

Truth be told, I'm a little bit bored these days. At first it was nice having lots of free time, rather than the much more busy life (but not really, I guess) teaching in Jacksonville, but now I find myself wishing I was doing more. I guess studying Korean could fill in those blank hours in the afternoon, but it's not sufficiently interesting right now. I did think about volunteering at the newly-opened Gap, since they are hiring, but my Korean isn't good enough even to work for free...lol. I was also hoping they could pay me in clothes...but, again, I can't even ask for a volunteer job with my limited language ability.

Well, I'm hoping this week has some unexpected fun event. I could use a good surprise. Maybe the subway girl will give me a call.

In Honor of William Duncan

This week was nearly closed and done when I heard that my maternal grandfather, William Duncan, passed away early Sunday morning. In light of his passing home to heaven, I'd like to say a few words here about Grandpa Duncan and the role he played in my life. First, playing chess with Grandpa Duncan is one of my earliest childhood memories. I distinctly recall sitting in a warm garage as a little boy trying to grasp the rules of the game. Subsequently, I played chess whenever I visited my grandfather in his home in Knoxville, and every time I see a chess board it is a reminder to me of him. I also recall chatting with him many times about current events. He always stayed up-to-date on the latest news from around the world, and any time I called he was quick to ask me my opinion of this situation or that foreign action. He had a keen interest in politics, and he was gifted at sharing his opinion with a thoughtfulness that provoked discussion, not defensiveness. Grandpa Duncan was also always laughing. There wasn't a time I visited when he didn't flash a grin as big as the Grand Canyon at me and any other guests that were there, and he was always cracking jokes. But most importantly, Grandpa Duncan was a committed, faithful Christian who sought to please God with his life. Grandpa Duncan took care to talk about the Bible, his faith, and my own spiritual decisions when we talked, aside from letting me know I was in his prayers each day. There were many days when I was upset or discouraged or angry about something, and I'd think, "At least Grandpa and Grandma Duncan are praying for me today." His love was always a comfort to me, and his life was an example to follow.

Coincidentally, I'd thought about my grandfather three times in the last three days. Twice I met Koreans that were talking about the Korean War and relatives who had fought there, and I put in the Grandpa Duncan had also been engaged in that conflict (by the way, his memory of it was sharp--he could tell me every place he'd been to with all the correct Korean pronunciation). Then this morning at church I met a girl from, of all places in the world, Grandpa Duncan's home in Knoxville, who was doing a study abroad at the University of Tennessee. I told her that I had relatives there and was thinking about my grandparents then.

My last visit with my Grandpa was this past spring break. It was kind of a last minute thing, but I'm so glad I did it. I was visiting Kris in Atlanta, and we drove to Ruby Falls in Chattanooga. On a whim, I suggested to Kris that we drive to Knoxville and visit my grandparents. I knew then that I was going to Korea for at least a year and I wouldn't be able to see them for a while, so Kris graciously agreed to take the out-of-the-way drive to meet them. We sat in my grandparents' den while chatting and eating apple pie. I got some pictures with them, which seem like the only pictures I have with them since I was a kid. Anyhow, I'm thankful I took the trip and spent the time with them that I did.

In other news, I got a black eye playing soccer on Friday. A guy swung his arm backwards a little wildly and clocked me in the right eye, knocking my contact lens out and giving me the appearance of purple eye-liner. It's more humiliating than painful at this point, but thought I'd mention it. Also, had a date on Saturday that went pretty well (despite the black eye), so I expect things to continue to move in the right direction. I'll need some more time before I can decide, though. Teaching this past week was fine, but this upcoming week appears to be more challenging. There was a voluntary shift offered Saturday morning for $75 for three hours, so I am taking that and then going with my coworkers to Busan on Saturday and Sunday for training.

There's more, but I don't feel like writing anymore now.

Good Start to October

Traditionally I've held that September is my favorite month, owing to a number of factors like Labor Day, lovely weather, and my birthday. However, in Korea I'm inclined to favor October instead. October here is far more pleasant and temperate than September (this year, anyhow) and every day so far has been gorgeous out. I spent the week teaching some enjoyable classes and finishing up Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, as well as watching our school's talent show.

This past weekend was especially memorable. Because Friday was a Korean holiday and Saturday was the anniversary of Wall Street's opening in Korea, I had a three-day weekend. Friday a group of eleven Koreans and myself went to Gyeongju, the old capital of Korea. We took an hour bus ride to the city, rented bikes all day for the unbelievable price of $2 per person, and set off around 10:30a to ride around the city. Eight of us had individual bikes and four people shared two tandem bikes, since two of the girls couldn't ride bicycles themselves. We formed an uneven line and rode to a few cool historic places. The first was a massive graveyard with a dozen artificial hills that looked like large-scale versions of a children's sandcastles at the beach. We went inside one and saw how these hills, which were really graves, were made. A king would be laid to rest in a coffin which was covered by a mound of stones. Then dirt was piled over top of the stones, and finally grass was planted around it. In this way, the king was preserved inside with little chance of his remains or treasures being disturbed.

From there we headed off to see an ancient observatory. It was set in the middle of a plain and was constructed in such a way that people could not easily enter it. Apparently this is one of the oldest observatories still in existence, so it was interesting to see how it was made. It was built with 361 stones, each for the number of days in a lunar year. After a bibimbap lunch with fish, eggs, and veggies, we biked a few miles to another side of town, but some people were too tired to bike further, so we took taxis to the big temple in town. It is nearly 1,300-years-old and looks today very much like it did in centuries past. There were large Buddhist statues inside and I also saw a service underway in one building. The whole complex was beautifully constructed with ponds, pagodas, and landscaped courtyards, although because it was a holiday it was not the peaceful place it usually is. We saw a few more things before heading back, but a serious of events hampered our return. First, some of the girls couldn't bike further with any speed, and second, I got a flat tire while biking a little too fast while jumping a curb. Thankfully we met two of our students on the road who had motorcycles, and they took the tired girls back while two people carted their bikes back behind their own. I rode the tandem bike back. All in all, it was an excellent outing.

Saturday I got up and talked with my mom and aunt on Skype for a while, then went to lunch with Yoo Sun and a friend of hers. We had delicious bulgogi (beef) soup, then I went to a Starbuck's downtown and read more of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. It was a serious bore of a chore at first, but it got markedly better by the end of Part 1, and I'm anxious to see what happens. It's also 550 pages of translated Russian prose, so it's a bit slow-going. At 3:30 I met up my friends Roy and JY. We took a taxi to the baseball stadium in order to fill our long-lost goal of watching a Samsung Lions (the team in Daegu) baseball game, and since Saturday was the last regular season game, it was a good opportunity to do so. We got some good seats in right field and some fried chicken, waited for Yoo Sun to join, and had a good old time. Samsung had back-to-back home runs in the first inning and ended up keeping the lead the whole game against the best team in Korean baseball, SK. I was hoping to snag a foul ball, but the two that came near us didn't come near enough. After the game, Yoo Sun and I got some kimbab downtown and watched one of the worst films currently available in theaters, Babylon A.D. Maybe it was because we arrived five minutes late (the viewing time was printed wrong on an ad!) or perhaps because there was no explanation of what exactly was happening or how these things worked like they did, but it was confusing, detached from the audience, and utterly unimpressive. I even saw a woman sleeping a few seats away, which is never a good sign for a film.

Sunday I had a few guests over for spaghetti. Koon, Ethan, and Kelly joined me for lunch as I attempted to host my first-ever lunch guests. They graciously helped with some of the preparations and didn't complain about any bad taste or anything like that. I also made some mandu (dumplings) and we had a good little meal. I taught them how to play hearts (the card game) and they taught me a few Korean games. That evening I went to Dongbu Church, thinking the service was at 6p, but it was actually at 5p and was mostly over when I arrived. I walked back home, ate some noodles, played some World Conquest on Facebook, and called it a night.

This week there is a new teacher coming to our school. His name is Matthew and he is from Michigan. He's about 15 years older than me and works the morning shift, so I don't know how much time I'll get to hang out with him, but I'm hoping he adjusts well. I know how confusing it can be at first. I'm also curious as to how his arrival will impact our teaching schedules--but I won't find out for two more weeks, since he will be in training until then. Also, Friday is my monthly personal day, so I've got another three-day weekend coming and I'm trying to determine what I should do with it. I could see Japan, but I'm not sure about it yet. I just don't want to go by myself, really, so I might just enjoy some of the local sights and sounds, but we'll see. Anyway, pictures are up on Facebook from the weekend if you want to check them out. Til next week....

Two months down...

I crossed the two month mark last week, officially making this trip my longest outside the US. My previous Korea visit was a mere seven weeks, and I think I was only in Brazil six weeks. Anyhow, one of my coworkers had been warning me that I would feel some tremendous culture shock around this point, but I'm happy to report that none has occurred. If anything, the last few days were bland and busy. I had to work an extremely full day Friday followed by a half-day Saturday, so I was beat by the time my weekend officially rolled around. I also didn't have any class cancellations for the first time, so I worked the most hours yet.

After work on Saturday I joined a few friends to go to a food festival. Unfortunately we got a late start and didn't find the place quickly (traffic is killer here sometimes), so we got there near the end of the festival. We sampled some sweet-tasting spaghettie sauce, got some Korean pancakes for free (because of the presence of a 'foreigner'), and some Mountain Dew. I scored two cans because they had an alarming surplus at the end of the festival. Wish I could've carried more--it was some of the best MD I've ever had. We left the festival in search of a good duck restaurant, and sure enough found one. I can't remember if I ate duck before then (maybe in Vietnam?) but it was awesome. It tasted like well-seasoned beef; it was a little drier than beef but had a more flavorful taste. Also had a hard-boiled duck egg, green in color, which tasted almost the same as a regular hard-boiled egg. I went to Jason's house, watched some English Premier League, and called in a night.

Sunday I went to church with Jason. We attended the youth service, which was pretty similar to an American youth service but with a shorter sermon (at least it seemed short--I couldn't understand it so I read). After church we ate some cow bone soup with rice and some samgyupsal meat, then I went home to do laundry. Doug called me later that night so I went over to play 360 at his house. I guess there's some new Halo 3 campaign missions coming to 360, so if that happens, I'll be pretty excited. I also found out there's some new achievements, so I'd like to work on those. All in all, it was a normal weekend.

This week is going to be totally different. Friday is a holiday, and several coworkers are going to Japan for the three-day weekend. I had originally planned on joining, but I'd already made plans to go to a baseball game with some friends. I guess Japan can wait. =) Friday I plan to go to Gyeongju and ride bikes around the old city with some friends. There are lots of temples and historical palaces scattered there, so it should be interesting. Saturday I'll go to the baseball game, and Sunday I'll be back at Dongbu Church. I'm looking forward to enjoying the time with my pals outside of work, which bring me to my last mentionable point of interest--girls.

I planned on sharing something juicy about this here, but changed my mind. So, it should suffice for me to report that things are moving slowly forward here...just friends for now. We'll see what a weekend will do. I'm still reading Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, and am having trouble absorbing everything in there. Also, I haven't studied much Korean lately. I hope to get on that soon....

Birthday

It was my birthday last week (Saturday), and all week I was treated like a king by everyone around me. Actually, most of it is just typical Korean hospitality, but some of it went above and beyond. So I thought I'd record some of what's happened lately.

I finally had some time this week after work to go shopping for some things for my house. I asked some students to go with me to help me pick out some stuff, so Wednesday night at around 10:30 the five of us piled in a car and drove to Home Plus, a 24-hour department-type place that's got everything you need. With the students' knowledge of the Korean labels and their plain good taste, I was able to get pots, pans, utensils, bowls, towels, spaghetti ingredients, and a hundred other smaller items to get my house in order. We finished around midnight, and instead of merely dropping me off at home, the students came in, helped unpack all the items, then carefully organized them in my no-longer-spartan kitchen. It was awesome. We played Egyptian rat slap (a fast-paced card game) and then we parted ways.

On Thursday, which was my last day of work for the week (I took Friday as my monthly personal day), I got pictures with many of my coworkers and received gifts from a number of students. They gave me a cake, a long-sleeve T-shirt, body wash, and some other items. My teacher buds generously gave me some Asian board games (Chinese chess and a Korean strategy game), a cross necklace from Jeju Island (special courtesy of Adam), and other small gifts. After work we all went out to celebrate. I played some of the best darts I've ever played (thanks, Uncle Tim!) and had a good time hanging out with everyone. Koon taught me to play Chinese chess, which I was horrible at, and then I went home.

Friday I had another English/Korean lesson with my friend Yoo Sun. Instead of just bringing study materials this time, though, she brought an awesome cheesecake, complete with candles, party favors, and utensils! So I ate most of the cake myself as we studied some dialogue in Korean and English. My Korean is improving, in that I can now distinguish words in speech, but this is only the first of thousands of steps. I'm working on numbers this week, and next week I'll try to get my colors down. In the meantime, I'm picking up new food vocab and some short phrases. After our meal, I went to rent a car with Jason, and we got a great deal with the help of another student. I missed out on playing soccer, but it was no big deal. Later that night, I was killing time browsing around the bookstore at my building when a student approached me to say hello. We made small talk, and then we got on the topic of soccer. He mentioned that his friends sometimes play futsol (soccer on a smaller field--6 vs. 6), and since it was the right time, we went by bus to this soccer field across town and played from 10-11pm. I hadn't played on small goals in awhile, but I loved it. I scored four goals, thanks to my new Copa Mundials, and my friend's mom met us and loaned us the car so I could be dropped off at home.

Saturday I took off to the mountains with Jason. We borrowed a navigation system and headed out to the countryside to visit Juwangsan, stopping by rice fields and apple orchards. I drove for the first time in Korea, and had a blast doing it. After nearing the mountain, though, we had a torrential downpour, so Jason and I went to a hotel (someone's house with spare rooms) we found and watched TV while waiting for the rain to stop (which it didn't). That night, Jason snored like a monster, so I had to take my bedding out into the main room of the hotel (which was really just the living room) and tried to snooze. But my mind was elsewhere, and I didn't sleep that well.

Sunday was the big day. We got up early and hit the mountain. It was gorgeous with the slight fog. We went by a lake, forded some streams in a valley, and hiked to the top of the mountain within a few hours. It was really fun getting some exercise and enjoying the countryside. I'd describe it more in detail, but I'm not feeling too descriptive right now. Sorry. Anyhow, we drove back just in time for me to meet up with Yoo Sun. We had dinner (bulgogi soup for me) and then went to see Mamma Mia! I didn't really want to see it, but it wasn't all that bad. Okay, it wasn't that great, but it could've been worse, so I can't complain. =) We went out for Baskins Robbins ice cream afterwards and walked around some, and before long we came across some celebrity downtown who owned a midnight black BMW. All the windows were tinted (including the windshield), and the license plate was taped over. I can't remember who the celeb was, but it must've been someone cool because lots of people were cooing over the guy. At this point I was pretty tired, so I went home and prepared for the week. All in all, it was a pretty great birthday.

I'm sure there's lots of things I left out, but they'll have to wait for a day when I'm feeling a but more bloggy. I didn't sleep well the last few nights, so I'm just moping a bit around the office while yawning. More news later, when there's actually news to write up.

Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving)!

The past week was nearly a blur, but a few highlights sparkle still. The work week was unusually slow, so that I ended up some days only having two or three classes. I spent the free time reading from my friend's Murakami short story book, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman. I'm now nearly finished with the twenty-four stories in the collection, just in time for the package that arrived from home loaded with some books for my birthday. Payday finally arrived, so I was able to use Korean funds for the first time instead of relying on VyStar, not that that was much of a problem. Actually, it'd be better for the time being to use dollars to pay for things, since the Korean won is at its lowest point versus the dollar in quite some time.

Anyhow, I went back to the eye doctor for a check, and we ended up chatting about his new webpage, soon to be published for all the Korean world to see. Or so I thought... In actuality, he does laser surgery for Koreans and foreigners, a point that he wants to make abundantly clear on his new site. As he has performed the operation more than 2,000 times, I thought he wouldn't much more advertising assistance, but he informed me that the recommendation of a few Westerners would go a long way towards helping his office gain further credibility among the nearby US military, foreign teachers, and Koreans. So I offered to write a letter for him to help him out, and then he offered me a scandalously large discount on laser surgery for the help. I told him I'd do it for free, but he insisted this was a two-way street. So, I might get laser surgery done in October or November for half price, or rather half price plus the few minutes it'll take to draft a recommendation letter. It was clearly a blessing from above to have such a discount offered to me, and I'm pretty excited about the opportunity.

The other highlight was the "first date" I had with a girl I met downtown a couple of weeks ago. I met her at the park while I was eating lunch and she was studying English, and we struck up a conversation. After talking for a while, I asked if she'd be interested in a language exchange, where she teaches me Korean for an hour, followed by an hour of my teaching English. This seemed like an ideal way to get to know someone and their language, and she felt the same way. So we met up at a coffee place Friday and had our first session. We talked and studied for about three hours and arranged weekly meetings on Friday afternoons. We'll see how things develop there.

The final news was the Chuseok holiday. Saturday-Monday was this year's celebration, in accordance with September's full moon. Many Koreans celebrate by going to the tombs of their ancestors and clearing the grass and weeds, which then leads to a ceremony in honor of deceased parents and grandparents. They also spend time together with distant relatives, who all converge at the house of the first-born son (patriarch) of the family. Owing to the fact that I don't have any dead ancestors in Korea (thankfully he survived the war, I might add), nor family to visit, I joined the other orphaned foreigners for a celebration on Sunday afternoon after church. Three of my coworkers live in the same apartment building that has a spectacular roof made for Chuseok barbecue parties, and we enjoyed a lovely bit of potato salad, grilled cheesburgers, and more. By far the best food was the pumpkin pie. I ate about half a dozen slices. I met some other foreigners that I'd seen around town, and we played some Xbox 360, so I can't complain. I forgot to mention Saturday. On that day I went to Alayna's house for a family meal, and we made ricecakes with sesame seed filling, then had a delicious bulgogi dinner. On Monday I met up with my soccer buddy Phillip for some lunch near his university, and he gave me a tour of the place and the "soccer room" that sits on the fifth floor of the club building. His soccer team has a pretty cool dorm-type setup where all the players can hang out in-between classes and studying. We went shoe-shopping, but didn't end up buying anything. That night I went over to Doug's to play some more Halo 3, that being my first time on Xbox Live in about two months. It was nice to be back, although it was just a few hours. I've left my 360 at Doug's so he can enjoy it for a while. It doesn't do me any good at my place anyway, since I've decided not to buy a TV. So I guess I play it about once a month now, which is far more healthier, I think. =)

This week holds promise--I only work three days (Tuesday-Thursday) because Friday is my personal day for the month! I will hopefully play soccer, have my language study, and hang out before going on a two-day trip to the mountains. Pictures and stories to follow next week, I hope.

September Begins...

The past week has been excellent, although it did start off a little poorly. I began to develop another corneal ulcer in my right eye (I had one back in March or so), from the lens getting too dry or something. Anyhow, my eye was killing me, so I went to a store on morning where it appeared glasses were on sale, and I was directed to the top floor of the building and was given a quick eye exam. I explained that I wanted some new contacts and some glasses, because at the time I thought I just needed a different contact prescription and wanted to give my eyes a break. Quite impressively, the contacts, frames, glasses lenses, and eye exam only cost $80, whereas in the States it would've been about $180 (or more). I was pleased with the service. However, my eyes were still hurting the next day, so I was compelled to see the eye doctor near my work. He gave me another brief exam, diagnosed my right eye with the early stages of an ulcer, and prescribed some eye drops. After the visit, I was charged $4. Yes, $4. And when I went to the pharmacy to get the drops and some extra eye salve, the total was again $4. In March, the ulcer had run me nearly $200 for the eye exam and prescription drops, and that was after haggling at the Publix pharmacy to get a no-name brand instead of the usual $150 drops. So I was very pleased and thankful for this excellent care and low cost, and reconsidered my position on national health care.

Other than that small issue, I visited my friend Jason's university one day when I didn't have my usual 1pm class. I looked into taking some beginning Korean course, and so I will probably enroll in November for a 10-week program. The university was quite impressive--it had an Ivy League feel to it that was pretty distinct from UNF.

I also read "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck, and found it to be engaging and quite excellent. I was drawn into the story in a way that doesn't usually happen for me, and though the plot was simple, it held a some powerful lessons. The prose was also quite fascinating, for even though it was on an almost elementary level, it was most profound.

On Saturday, I had a barbecue with some friends. We ate steaks and grilled pork, along with tons of fruit and veggies. The apartment was a two-story penthouse on the 21st and 22nd floor of the building that sported a vegetable garden where were grown pumpkins, tomatoes, peppers, and some smaller items. But over this garden stretched a sizeable vineyard that drooped stalactite pillars of grapes that could be eaten right off the vine. It was like I was in a waterfront mansion in Tuscany with a view of Daegu's not-so-distant mountains. We stayed eating and talking for a few hours, then played Wii and some board games for a while. It was probably the best Saturday night I've had in Korea. But the same night was my coworker's birthday party, and I was obliged to make an appearance, so I went to meet them for an hour. The birthday boy was severely drunk and didn't realize that I had greeted him and wished him well, and so it was easy to leave without staying long.

Sunday I went to church with Jason and heard a message about positive thinking from Numbers 14, based on the tale of the two "good spies." After this I went to meet Jason's parents, then went off to meet some friends downtown. It was a relaxing day with friends, and it made me wonder what I'd been doing with myself over the past year. There was so much available to do in Jacksonville, but I strangely insisted on staying home and secluding myself, whereas in Korea I'm out with people every day and don't begrudge the time spent this way at all. It's been a nice change to be an extremely social person here, and it helps that there are tons of places within walking distance to go. This week I've got more socializing planned, and then this weekend is the Korean Thanksgiving called Chuseok, so we'll be having some get-togethers at that time.

I also managed to get internet at my house, so I am more available for Skype than I previously was. Feel free to look me up (jprkorea) and call me sometime!

Weekend in Gyeongju

Last week was kind of a breeze for me. I only worked Tuesday-Friday because of my monthly vacation day, and on Saturday we went to Gyeongju for a staff retreat. The week itself was mostly uneventful, and as I think back on it I can only recall having done a good deal of reading, buying a 1000-piece jugsaw puzzle, and eating a big pizza lunch at Pizza Hut. I decided I wouldn't buy a TV because I didn't want to waste my time watching it (and there's really only two or three English channels anyhow), so I got (more) serious about reading. I usually read several books a month, but I think here I can double that and really read all the things I've always wanted (and I have a rather long list in the "want to read" category). The huge bookstore where I work just makes this proposition that much easier. This project may eventually lead to me writing my own stuff, but that's a distant prospect right now. As for the puzzle, I had visited a Bible study a week ago, and one of the main topics was the Tower of Babel. I strongly disagreed with the teacher leading the study, because he couldn't well-articulate the reason God stopped this project. The text itself is rather vague, and I believe it has led people to interpret this episode in a strongly negative way. In any case, I was thinking a good deal about this story and what happened in the days subsequent to the Bible study. During one of these periods I happened to wander down to the bookstore, and near the Starbuck's is a section devoted to jigsaw puzzles. At first I had a simple passing interest to see what artworks had been shattered into hundreds of pieces for eager enthusiasts to recreate, but when my eyes came across a Renaissance work of "The Tower of Babel" by Pieter Brueghel, I was compelled to make the purchase. Since then, I have spent a few hours a day working on this puzzle. I've never attempted such a large undertaking on my own, but I'm finding it to be an enjoyable challenge. I determined that puzzle-building is the adult version of building Legos, a childhood passion of mine. I have been taking pictures of my progress, and hopefully by week's end will be able to post them all. The pizza meal was also a good memory. My Korean friend Jason was given a 50% coupon from a deacon at his church, so we made plans to order as much pizza as we could to get our money's worth. We had the standard pepperoni, a sampler plate with ribs, chicken wings, and quesadillas, and finally a massive seafood pizza with a stuffed-cheese crust. It was my first time having seafood pizza, which was nothing more than Hawaiian-style with shrimp (but it did have an uncomfortable seafood smell). It was all good, and I left quite stuffed.
The weekend trip was also good. Our staff (four foreign teachers and fifteen-or-so Koreans) went to Gyeongju to have a "workshop." In reality, it was an all-expense paid getaway. We barbecued (Korean style, of course), played games, and socialized til 2 am in this awesome two-story house that reminded me of a place in "The Real World." I took my Xbox at the request of another teacher, and we played it a little. It was entertaining to watch the staff try to play Halo 3 against one another, having never had any experience with the controls or any kind of shooter. I also happened to have the movie "Atonement" on my 360, although I had downloaded it in July and it should have long expired. So we also watched that movie on the big screen of the house. As for the games, we played all kinds of crazy things. My team did well at the get-go, but lost steam after losing a tense arm-wrestling contest. And at 2 am, it's hard to regain steam. But we had a blast and came back Sunday afternoon. I took a nap, then went downtown for my favorite meal of pork cutlet and omurice, bought a Haruki Murakami collection of short stories, and went home for a rest.

Spa Valley and other happenings

This past weekend was pretty grand. I had to work Saturday, which was kind of sad, but after work I went out with some friends to watch the Korea vs. Cuba gold medal baseball game. Korea led the whole game, but in the bottom of 9th inning Cuba loaded the bases with only one out. At this point, Korea's catcher flipped out over some bad calls and was ejected, and the pitcher who'd been in the whole game was replaced as well. It was looking bad for Korea, and Cuba's players began an early celebration. But the next batter hit into a double-play, and Korea took home the gold. It was a pretty exciting evening.

I went home early Saturday night because I Sunday I had to get up at 6:30 to play soccer. A friend picked me up and we drove to a university where two other soccer teams were. We had a mini-tournament. I played two of the 25-minute games as a striker, and had a few chances to score. The most disappointing part of the game was that I took a penalty kick and had it blocked by the keeper. Well, at least I have some room for improvement. Anyhow, it was fun to get out and play some real soccer, but I have to adjust to the Korean style. They don't pass that much--instead their midfielders play more long-balls to the forwards in hopes of a kind of fast-break.

After soccer I went home and got ready for church. I went to one of the largest churches in Daegu, Dong-bu. They have a 1p contemporary service for young adults that is translated into English through a headphone set in some pews, so I listened along. Afterwards there was an English Bible study, and I also introduced myself to the young adults group (between 100-200 people). I like the church and will return there.

Sunday night I did my laundry. I'm much better at it now, so it was actually easy, non-frustrating, and generally successful. Monday was my monthly personal day, and so I had planned a few weeks back to go with a group of friends to the local water park, Spa Valley. Nine of us drove there and spent about eight or nine hours there. They had a diving pool, a number of large slides (a couple I'd never seen before), a number of jacuzzis, a wave pool, a heated pool, and a 'river' that ran around much of the park. It was a fun day. We finished up with a dinner of sam-gup-sil, pork grilled on our table.

I ordered a table, chairs, and a couch last week, and by today all three had arrived. The table allows me to now eat my cereal with ease and comfort, and the couch lets me relax and read. This week I'm hoping to get internet access at my house so I won't have to come to the school every time I need to email people or check my work schedule. Or maybe I won't get it, and I'll just arrange to be at the school more...we'll see.

This weekend is our long-anticipated work retreat to the nearby city of Gyeong-ju. We are having a 'workshop' for 'team-building' between the Korean staff (about 14 people in their mid-to-late 20s) and the teachers (seven of us, but only four or five are going). We are supposed to be learning how to get along better through understanding about our cultural differences, so we will be playing some games and doing some other activities towards this end. I'm just excited at the opportunity to go to another city and hang out with everyone. I guess next week I'll be sharing whether or not the trip met my expectations.

Weekend in Seoul

I tried to think of a much wittier title for this blog, but all my ideas looked rather lame in print. So I opted for the standard description for this trip. I went to Seoul on Korean Independence Day (8/15), when they were freed from Japanese rule after WW2. I met up with Kris' girlfriend, Yun-Hye, and two of her friends, who happened to be twins. We walked around downtown, where I saw my first demonstration. There was a large group of people holding the Korean flag and chanting, and I couldn't tell exactly what was going on at first. Two men began fighting over the flag, and as I was filming (against Yun-Hye's wishes) they began yelling violently. I found out later it was a dispute over Korea's much-disputed president, Lee Myung-bak.
From there we went to Insadong, an ancient Korean street where they sell traditional clothes, food, and miscellany. We bought some snack there--peanuts wrapped in strung-out honey. It's one of those "you have to be there" kinda things. Oh, and some Koreans randomly asked me on the street to pose like a Mortal Kombat character for some kind of photographic scavenger hunt. I eagerly obliged.
The weekend was a little rainy, so we stayed inside cafes mostly. We did take the subway to Yong-San to visit the electronics market, and I got a power cable for my 360 that was 220 volts. We also walked around the downtown areas where the riverwalk is, and saw many Koreans watching the Olympics on a big screen. Later that night we went to the fish-cafe, where you can pay $2 for 25 minutes in a fish tank. You dip your lower legs into the tank, and small minnow-type fish come and nibble on your dead skin. It has a very ticklish feel at first, but after you grow accustomed to the sensation, it feels quite therapeutic.
I stayed in an amazing bed-and-breakfast in Seoul's wealthiest neighborhood. I'm still not sure how this happened, as Yun-Hye made the arrangements, but it was incredible. I had my own bedroom and bathroom, free internet and towels and travel maps, and the best part was that the wife of the owner made my breakfast promptly at whatever time I asked. I stayed there quite happily for two nights.
Saturday brought myself, Yun-Hye, and a different friend to Nam-dae-mun Market, then Myeong Dong. We met up with a friend of mine (well, Kris' really) from Atlanta who starting her first year of teaching next month in a public school in Seoul. Her name is Danah, and we made some arrangements to go to her church the following afternoon. We walked around for a while and found a Krispy Kreme shop where you could get a free donut. It was quite delicious. That night I went to Itaewon with a friend of mine, Eun-Jin, from Jacksonville (who I of course also had met through Kris) and we ate some sushi and went to Starbucks.
Sunday morning Danah and I went to the Korean War Museum, where I finally had some of my lingering questions answered by the quite-detailed exhibits. We grabbed some lunch at Burger King, making sure we ate before the 1:30p church service. While there, Danah recognized a guy that had been a guest speaker at her church, and as he was alone, she invited him to join us. His name was Malath, and he was an Iraqi Christian from Baghdad. He traced his Christian roots back to the first Assyrian Christians, and I don't know enough about this to comment further. Anyhow, he was in Korea completing his last year of seminary, and he led a small Arabic-speaking church. I cautiously brought up politics with him, and he was quite willing to discuss his views on the Iraq war with me. We had a really good chat about that and the church in Iraq.
After lunch we went to Jubilee Church. It reminded me of Discovery Church in Orlando, where I had visited a few times last September during a special push they were doing (Apathy to Entropy, or something like that). Anyhow, the church was great. The music was unfamiliar to me but good, and the guest speaker was excellent. It is an English-speaking church, and most of the congregation seemed to be Koreans who knew English or wanted to increase their skills. If I lived in Seoul, I'd definitely become a member of that church. This week I'm visiting a large church near my house that has an English ministry, so I'm hoping it is comparable to Jubilee.

So, the trip was great. No complaints. Good people, good friends, good food, good church, good everything. God is good!

Well, off to do some actual work. Oh, I finally was able to purchase a couch and a table and two chairs, so my apartment will soon leave the Stone Age. Next month I hope to purchase a TV, and if I can also get internet access, I'll be ready to rejoin the 21st century.