26 March 2008
My purpose in coming to serve as an Individual Volunteer in Taejeon and Pai Chai University was to teach a class in Missiology, an English class to the Appenzeller & Howard College Honor's English students and lead an adult English Bible Study during Sunday School hour. Since arriving, I've also been asked to speak to a Saturday group of students whose purpose in meeting is to develop leadership skills. Additionally, we're contemplating the establishment of another "less structured" English class due to interest and requests.
The university students are bright, energetic yet shy, extremely polite, technologically savvy, very interested in learning, beautiful, and have an absolutely delightful sense of humor. They dress in the latest fashions and all the young women sport designer-label handbags. Every single one has the newest cellphone complete with Korean/English dictionaries, calculators, cameras and internet access ... and probably much more, I just don't know the tech-talk.
Yet, with all this, they seem somehow lost in time in terms of life experiences, perhaps protected along the way, unexposed to the fast-paced culture the same-aged students in North America learned while still in middle or high school. Selfishly, I believe this is a good thing. They appear clean, unvarnished, wholesome, innocent, and trusting - still moldable.
It's not an easy task to prepare to teach them. To have such awesome young men and women in front of you each day and for such a short time is a tremendous responsibility. It's serious business and they deserve the best.
They trust me and I can't let them down.
JB
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Homemade Korean Dinner
19 March 2008
Last Saturday night, new friends invited me to their home for dinner. Rev. Lee and his wife Park, Hye Jung and Yo Seh, their thirteen year old son, live in the same building as I do and it was a special honor to have been invited into their home. Rev. Lee and I are colleagues in the Theology Department at Pai Chai University.
Hye Jung had prepared a delicious meal of salad w/kiwi dressing, duck, beef, mushrooms, rice and kim (seaweed). For dessert, she provided cheese cake, herb tea or coffee and a perfectly arranged bowl of fresh strawberries (it's strawberry season here) that were so large and perfectly shaped they almost looked fake. They were sweet and absolutely delicious! Naturally, we ate Korean style from the lovely wooden table in the living room.
Hye Jung graduated with a degree in music, her major being voice. She has a piano that she also plays and is an artist with oils as well. They took a year of sabbatical in Clairmont, CA and Yo Seh attended school while there. They've also lived in Germany. She speaks very good, but limited English, yet understands a great deal. Yo Seh speaks English very well, but his parents say he doesn't like to speak it back home in Korea as none of his friends do. Lee of course, speaks all three languages very well. We had much to share.
It was a delightful evening eating, listening to the background music of Placido Domingo and enjoying getting to know each other.
Included with this blog are a couple of pictures of the evening before Yo Seh, being a typical teenager, retreated to his computer.
Best,
JB
Last Saturday night, new friends invited me to their home for dinner. Rev. Lee and his wife Park, Hye Jung and Yo Seh, their thirteen year old son, live in the same building as I do and it was a special honor to have been invited into their home. Rev. Lee and I are colleagues in the Theology Department at Pai Chai University.
Hye Jung had prepared a delicious meal of salad w/kiwi dressing, duck, beef, mushrooms, rice and kim (seaweed). For dessert, she provided cheese cake, herb tea or coffee and a perfectly arranged bowl of fresh strawberries (it's strawberry season here) that were so large and perfectly shaped they almost looked fake. They were sweet and absolutely delicious! Naturally, we ate Korean style from the lovely wooden table in the living room.
Hye Jung graduated with a degree in music, her major being voice. She has a piano that she also plays and is an artist with oils as well. They took a year of sabbatical in Clairmont, CA and Yo Seh attended school while there. They've also lived in Germany. She speaks very good, but limited English, yet understands a great deal. Yo Seh speaks English very well, but his parents say he doesn't like to speak it back home in Korea as none of his friends do. Lee of course, speaks all three languages very well. We had much to share.
It was a delightful evening eating, listening to the background music of Placido Domingo and enjoying getting to know each other.
Included with this blog are a couple of pictures of the evening before Yo Seh, being a typical teenager, retreated to his computer.
Best,
JB
Trash Prancing
19 March 2008
Early Tuesday morning I was primed and ready to make my first trash deposit per my "remedial recycling 7x's" lesson from An Na. I planned on taking it down then returning for breakfast and final preparations before leaving for work.
With trash cradled in my arm and poised on left hip, I pranced into the elevator, proud of my accomplishment thus far and everything packaged just so. On the fourth floor, the elevator stopped and a nice looking Korean woman/neighbor got on. She bowed politely, as did I - or at least as best as one can bow with a hip load of neatly packed trash. Then she smiled and pointed toward the ceiling, saying something to me. I smiled and said, "Han gook mal, chal mot hamn ni dah" or "I'm sorry, I don't speak Korean".
Departing on the first floor and opening the outside door, she stopped, waved her arm across the parking lot indicating there were NO trash receptacles! She then said "something" and waved her arm in an arc toward the right, finally pointing her finger down...I got it..."NEXT Tuesday"!
Somewhat dejected and no longer prancing, I returned to the elevator and made my way back up (toward the ceiling) - laughing all the way. When I told An Na, we had an better laugh as even she didn't know trash was picked up every OTHER Tuesday.
At last, I can hold my head high again.
Best,
JB
Early Tuesday morning I was primed and ready to make my first trash deposit per my "remedial recycling 7x's" lesson from An Na. I planned on taking it down then returning for breakfast and final preparations before leaving for work.
With trash cradled in my arm and poised on left hip, I pranced into the elevator, proud of my accomplishment thus far and everything packaged just so. On the fourth floor, the elevator stopped and a nice looking Korean woman/neighbor got on. She bowed politely, as did I - or at least as best as one can bow with a hip load of neatly packed trash. Then she smiled and pointed toward the ceiling, saying something to me. I smiled and said, "Han gook mal, chal mot hamn ni dah" or "I'm sorry, I don't speak Korean".
Departing on the first floor and opening the outside door, she stopped, waved her arm across the parking lot indicating there were NO trash receptacles! She then said "something" and waved her arm in an arc toward the right, finally pointing her finger down...I got it..."NEXT Tuesday"!
Somewhat dejected and no longer prancing, I returned to the elevator and made my way back up (toward the ceiling) - laughing all the way. When I told An Na, we had an better laugh as even she didn't know trash was picked up every OTHER Tuesday.
At last, I can hold my head high again.
Best,
JB
Friday, March 14, 2008
Slurping and Hiding
15 March 2008
Kim, Min Sun, a member of my Sunday Bible Study class, invited me to lunch yesterday. Joining us was San He, her Ewha Womans University sister. Ewha is a prestigious university, founded by Methodist missionary, Mary F. Scranton in 1886. They graduated a class apart, but didn't meet each other until a few years ago.
The restaurant was on the second floor of a high rise building located in "new" downtown Taejon. Stepping out of the elevator, we were warmly greeted and escorted into a small, private dining room that Min Sun had reserved. Soon, lunch started to arrive, and arrive and arrive.
We started with salads, a large variety of them...all in small dishes, perfectly presented, and we reached across the table, scooping up an amount for our individual eating bowls. Still learning the art of eating with chop sticks, Min Sun and San He gave me a little latitude and even placed food in my eating bowl for me. Following the salads came more bowls, plates of food, a hot pot of steamed rice for each of us, and finally a large platter of 5, still sizzling fish- whole. There must have been at least 31 little bowls and plates on the table, each one filled with a different kind of vegetable, selection of noodles, or meat - it was filled and no room for another. Glad I'm not the dishwasher!
It seemed then, we ate in a freenzy, reaching, slurping (yes Jill, Mom slurped), leaning over the eating bowl as noodles slid into our mouths and finally, leaning back exclaiming, "I'm full!" Then we talked. It was a good time talking women's issues of today and they even asked me about Eliot Spitzer!
Just before getting on the elevator, there was a loud siren outside - like that of air-raids or tornado warnings. A bit alarmed, they quickly assured me all was well - it was a nation-wide drill called Min Pang We Wullan. It's held on the 15th of each month unless the 15th falls on a Saturday or Sunday - then it's held on Friday. It was Friday and the emergency drill lasts for 15 minutes. Everything must stop, people are to hide in buildings. It's in preparation for a possible attack from North Korea.
Looking down on the 4-lane street with every single car frozen in place, the only person in sight being military standing guard under the traffic light, was like watching a scene from The Twilight Zone. (Did I just give away my age?) Even Min Sun and San He seemed a bit subdued. Then, the siren sounded again, and slowly the city came back to life. People reappeared from hiding and the world seemed to be okay. North Korea did not attack.
All is well here!
JB
Kim, Min Sun, a member of my Sunday Bible Study class, invited me to lunch yesterday. Joining us was San He, her Ewha Womans University sister. Ewha is a prestigious university, founded by Methodist missionary, Mary F. Scranton in 1886. They graduated a class apart, but didn't meet each other until a few years ago.
The restaurant was on the second floor of a high rise building located in "new" downtown Taejon. Stepping out of the elevator, we were warmly greeted and escorted into a small, private dining room that Min Sun had reserved. Soon, lunch started to arrive, and arrive and arrive.
We started with salads, a large variety of them...all in small dishes, perfectly presented, and we reached across the table, scooping up an amount for our individual eating bowls. Still learning the art of eating with chop sticks, Min Sun and San He gave me a little latitude and even placed food in my eating bowl for me. Following the salads came more bowls, plates of food, a hot pot of steamed rice for each of us, and finally a large platter of 5, still sizzling fish- whole. There must have been at least 31 little bowls and plates on the table, each one filled with a different kind of vegetable, selection of noodles, or meat - it was filled and no room for another. Glad I'm not the dishwasher!
It seemed then, we ate in a freenzy, reaching, slurping (yes Jill, Mom slurped), leaning over the eating bowl as noodles slid into our mouths and finally, leaning back exclaiming, "I'm full!" Then we talked. It was a good time talking women's issues of today and they even asked me about Eliot Spitzer!
Just before getting on the elevator, there was a loud siren outside - like that of air-raids or tornado warnings. A bit alarmed, they quickly assured me all was well - it was a nation-wide drill called Min Pang We Wullan. It's held on the 15th of each month unless the 15th falls on a Saturday or Sunday - then it's held on Friday. It was Friday and the emergency drill lasts for 15 minutes. Everything must stop, people are to hide in buildings. It's in preparation for a possible attack from North Korea.
Looking down on the 4-lane street with every single car frozen in place, the only person in sight being military standing guard under the traffic light, was like watching a scene from The Twilight Zone. (Did I just give away my age?) Even Min Sun and San He seemed a bit subdued. Then, the siren sounded again, and slowly the city came back to life. People reappeared from hiding and the world seemed to be okay. North Korea did not attack.
All is well here!
JB
Remedial Recycling x's 7
15 March 2008
The South Koreans are light years ahead of the US, well, at least Hilton Head, in terms of recycling. It's been explained to me at least twice and I'm still not certain I've got it right. Providing a bit of remedial education, An Na placed a row of "sorting boxes" along the wall in my laundry room. The next thing will be to label them if I still get it wrong.
She gave me a box for soft plastic - zip lock bags, saran wrap, grocery bags and the like. Then the box for hard plastic - water bottles, Sprite bottles, orange juice bottles. Next is the one for flattened cardboard - milk cartons, cereal boxes, toothpaste boxes (we haven't gotten to the empty tooth paste tube yet). Next is the one for soft paper - paper towels, kleenex. Then, ladies and gentlemen, we have the box for cans...any can can go in here (isn't there a song in there somewhere?) .
But we've two more to go...a box for newspaper and magazines and finally, in spot number 7...the box for all food stuff - BUT, before putting it in the box, it must be housed in a very special lime-green plastic bag that's purchased at the market. Got all that?
Taking it all down on Tuesdays and making sure it's deposited in the proper street containers is my next lesson! I do know this, the food must be shaken out of the lime-green bags - into the food container, fairly gross. --- wait a minute...I think the lime-green bag is for soft paper, not food ... An Na !!
The South Koreans are light years ahead of the US, well, at least Hilton Head, in terms of recycling. It's been explained to me at least twice and I'm still not certain I've got it right. Providing a bit of remedial education, An Na placed a row of "sorting boxes" along the wall in my laundry room. The next thing will be to label them if I still get it wrong.
She gave me a box for soft plastic - zip lock bags, saran wrap, grocery bags and the like. Then the box for hard plastic - water bottles, Sprite bottles, orange juice bottles. Next is the one for flattened cardboard - milk cartons, cereal boxes, toothpaste boxes (we haven't gotten to the empty tooth paste tube yet). Next is the one for soft paper - paper towels, kleenex. Then, ladies and gentlemen, we have the box for cans...any can can go in here (isn't there a song in there somewhere?) .
But we've two more to go...a box for newspaper and magazines and finally, in spot number 7...the box for all food stuff - BUT, before putting it in the box, it must be housed in a very special lime-green plastic bag that's purchased at the market. Got all that?
Taking it all down on Tuesdays and making sure it's deposited in the proper street containers is my next lesson! I do know this, the food must be shaken out of the lime-green bags - into the food container, fairly gross. --- wait a minute...I think the lime-green bag is for soft paper, not food ... An Na !!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Squid Jerky, A Deck of Seaweed Squares and Noodles
11 March 2008
If you're an UMVIMer and or IV, you know a visit to the local grocery store is an experience, immersing yourself into your new culture.
Things look somewhat familiar, the packaging is just about the same as home, the colors appear to be the same, items are appropriately grouped but when the names are in characters completely unfamiliar, you can't be sure if you're selecting shampoo or rinse! So it was with some relief when An Na, my assistant, and Song Min, her friend, offered to accompany me to the local market yesterday for a cultural outing!
We had fun together and they laughed as I ooh'd, aah'd and yes, (I'll admit it) even winced at some of the merchandise. There must have been 25 different varities of Korean noodles - thin, thick, wide, short, round, flat, green, white, brown...you get the picture. Then came the same assortment of sauces and spices - soy, sesame seeds (in large bottles and narrow plastic tubes), and hot spices in bottles, bags and cardboard containers.
Then, came the nibble-type foods - squid jerkey, including at least 3 varities - from the whole thing to just the legs or all chopped up - all dried and ready to eat at the first twang of hunger. If you don't feel like squid, there's crunchy dried anchovy. For a real treat, you can select seaweed - naturally in a wide variety of offerings. I've eaten the kind that is paper-thin flat and cut into a square. It's packaged like a deck of cards. But there's also very long, fat seaweed in a package that, when boiled, will feed a whole family - think spaghetti with leaf shoots along the stem. ...and of course many varieties in between.
For the most part, I stuck with familiar stuff - Sprite, margarine, a carrot, a tiny head of broccoli and the like. One new nibble food was sesame covered nuts - adventurous aren't I? The squid jerkey can wait. All 7 items came to $8,560 Won - a shocker at first glance, but it's the equivalent of about $8.75USD.
This morning was trash day - a lesson in recycling...but that's another story!
JB
If you're an UMVIMer and or IV, you know a visit to the local grocery store is an experience, immersing yourself into your new culture.
Things look somewhat familiar, the packaging is just about the same as home, the colors appear to be the same, items are appropriately grouped but when the names are in characters completely unfamiliar, you can't be sure if you're selecting shampoo or rinse! So it was with some relief when An Na, my assistant, and Song Min, her friend, offered to accompany me to the local market yesterday for a cultural outing!
We had fun together and they laughed as I ooh'd, aah'd and yes, (I'll admit it) even winced at some of the merchandise. There must have been 25 different varities of Korean noodles - thin, thick, wide, short, round, flat, green, white, brown...you get the picture. Then came the same assortment of sauces and spices - soy, sesame seeds (in large bottles and narrow plastic tubes), and hot spices in bottles, bags and cardboard containers.
Then, came the nibble-type foods - squid jerkey, including at least 3 varities - from the whole thing to just the legs or all chopped up - all dried and ready to eat at the first twang of hunger. If you don't feel like squid, there's crunchy dried anchovy. For a real treat, you can select seaweed - naturally in a wide variety of offerings. I've eaten the kind that is paper-thin flat and cut into a square. It's packaged like a deck of cards. But there's also very long, fat seaweed in a package that, when boiled, will feed a whole family - think spaghetti with leaf shoots along the stem. ...and of course many varieties in between.
For the most part, I stuck with familiar stuff - Sprite, margarine, a carrot, a tiny head of broccoli and the like. One new nibble food was sesame covered nuts - adventurous aren't I? The squid jerkey can wait. All 7 items came to $8,560 Won - a shocker at first glance, but it's the equivalent of about $8.75USD.
This morning was trash day - a lesson in recycling...but that's another story!
JB
Friday, March 7, 2008
In Taejon - hit the decks running!
Sat. March 8, 2008
Following the 15.5 hour non-stop flight from Atlanta, Rev. Kim met me at Incheon Airport, Seoul, and we hopped a bus for the 3 hour ride to Taejon and Pai Chai University. They had prepared the apartment for my arrival and a night's bed rest never felt so good!
The next morning, Rev. Kim came to walk with me to the office. It's only a 5 minute walk, but up hill, and I do mean UP HILL! In fact, it's so steep we have to lean forward while climbing. My lower body and heart should be in great shape by the end of May! Yeah, going down we lean backwards!
We met with Rev. Dr. Zang, President of the Department of Welfare and Theology in the College of Humanities. He outlined my teaching duties and other responsibilities. One of those will be to join them on Tuesday afternoon and give a talk at the "prison for foreigners." Most inmates are from China, the Philippines and the USA and speak English. As it coincides with class time, they've arranged for transportation for my students to join us. This should be interesting!
Following lunch in the faculty cafeteria, An Na Choi, my assistant, took me to the bank to exchange USD to KRW then I tested out the ATM with my credit card. It's a bit scary to punch in $10,000 praying all the while that you've actually punched in the equivalent of $10.00USD. It worked!
We went grocery shopping in the traditional market place, An Na introduced me to the cleaners and showed me the best place to buy bread. It reminded me alot of the market in Cambodia --busy, tight spaces, raw fish on open display, a wide variety of smells and colorful visuals! We ran into a Mrs. Kim who said she'd be in my Sunday School class. There are lots of Mrs. Kims here, just hope to get them all straight. I was the object of surprise when three school-aged children passed by. They stopped, looked me over and when I smiled, waved and said hello in Koren, they laughed, waved and said, "Bye!" I don't know why they were laughing because I know I said hello right! = ;)
So far on TV, the only thing I can get that I understand is Lorin Maazel and the NY Symphony Orchestra. Not a bad thing at all as it's one of my favorites, but a bit of US news would be great. Will settle for the same on the internet. No problem.
For those of you reading this who've had our training for Individual Volunteers, I've hit the deck running so fast I think I'm still in the euphoric stage. Will let you know after classes next week!
JB
Following the 15.5 hour non-stop flight from Atlanta, Rev. Kim met me at Incheon Airport, Seoul, and we hopped a bus for the 3 hour ride to Taejon and Pai Chai University. They had prepared the apartment for my arrival and a night's bed rest never felt so good!
The next morning, Rev. Kim came to walk with me to the office. It's only a 5 minute walk, but up hill, and I do mean UP HILL! In fact, it's so steep we have to lean forward while climbing. My lower body and heart should be in great shape by the end of May! Yeah, going down we lean backwards!
We met with Rev. Dr. Zang, President of the Department of Welfare and Theology in the College of Humanities. He outlined my teaching duties and other responsibilities. One of those will be to join them on Tuesday afternoon and give a talk at the "prison for foreigners." Most inmates are from China, the Philippines and the USA and speak English. As it coincides with class time, they've arranged for transportation for my students to join us. This should be interesting!
Following lunch in the faculty cafeteria, An Na Choi, my assistant, took me to the bank to exchange USD to KRW then I tested out the ATM with my credit card. It's a bit scary to punch in $10,000 praying all the while that you've actually punched in the equivalent of $10.00USD. It worked!
We went grocery shopping in the traditional market place, An Na introduced me to the cleaners and showed me the best place to buy bread. It reminded me alot of the market in Cambodia --busy, tight spaces, raw fish on open display, a wide variety of smells and colorful visuals! We ran into a Mrs. Kim who said she'd be in my Sunday School class. There are lots of Mrs. Kims here, just hope to get them all straight. I was the object of surprise when three school-aged children passed by. They stopped, looked me over and when I smiled, waved and said hello in Koren, they laughed, waved and said, "Bye!" I don't know why they were laughing because I know I said hello right! = ;)
So far on TV, the only thing I can get that I understand is Lorin Maazel and the NY Symphony Orchestra. Not a bad thing at all as it's one of my favorites, but a bit of US news would be great. Will settle for the same on the internet. No problem.
For those of you reading this who've had our training for Individual Volunteers, I've hit the deck running so fast I think I'm still in the euphoric stage. Will let you know after classes next week!
JB
Monday, March 3, 2008
One day before departure!
It's hard to believe, but I see three bags packed to the gills and still "stuff" to go in them. I'm down to final things of importance - a picture of Jill and Jodi, devotions kept over the years that could be used in teaching, the flash drive, the magazine pictures from the choir and WOTOs, and the familiar travel pocketbook with important documents.
The flight departs Atlanta and after a 15.05 hour direct flight, arrives in Seoul the next day at 5:10pm. Rev. Kim will meet me at Incheon Airport for the 2 hour drive south to Taejon.
Anna Choi, who will be my assistant, has emailed her excitement and after we eat breakfast she's bringing the next morning, she plans to show me the campus, grocery store, how to sort the trash (they have it so refined you even sort soft and hard plastics!), the laundry, and how to operate the washing machine since all the buttons are in Korean. Basic things first!
There have been times today when clouds of anxiousness have crept in - Am I really going to be able to teach the university students how to speak English? Can I teach even basic missiology? Will I be able to do all they want me to do? Then, this afternoon when going through my Bible, the notes from my talk at Pittman Park UMC when leaving for NYC and GBGM fell out. The last lines read: "I do get scared wondering if I'm really going to be able to do what it is He's so perfectly orchestrated up to this point. Oh, I know the answer, but there is apart of me that still wonders - that worries. But I'm confident in one thing - I know this is right - I know I'm supposed to go - and I earnestly seek your prayers as a new door opens." The same is true today!
Stay tuned for news from Taejon.
Jeanie
The flight departs Atlanta and after a 15.05 hour direct flight, arrives in Seoul the next day at 5:10pm. Rev. Kim will meet me at Incheon Airport for the 2 hour drive south to Taejon.
Anna Choi, who will be my assistant, has emailed her excitement and after we eat breakfast she's bringing the next morning, she plans to show me the campus, grocery store, how to sort the trash (they have it so refined you even sort soft and hard plastics!), the laundry, and how to operate the washing machine since all the buttons are in Korean. Basic things first!
There have been times today when clouds of anxiousness have crept in - Am I really going to be able to teach the university students how to speak English? Can I teach even basic missiology? Will I be able to do all they want me to do? Then, this afternoon when going through my Bible, the notes from my talk at Pittman Park UMC when leaving for NYC and GBGM fell out. The last lines read: "I do get scared wondering if I'm really going to be able to do what it is He's so perfectly orchestrated up to this point. Oh, I know the answer, but there is apart of me that still wonders - that worries. But I'm confident in one thing - I know this is right - I know I'm supposed to go - and I earnestly seek your prayers as a new door opens." The same is true today!
Stay tuned for news from Taejon.
Jeanie
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