추석 잘 보내세요 ("Chuseok Jalbonaeseyo" or "Happy Chuseok")

Today is Chuseok, the Korean version of Thanksgiving. It's the second most important holiday of the year in Korea, the first being Lunar New Year. If your computer can read Korean, you're in luck and can see the title of this post. Otherwise, you probably just see a bunch of squares.

Since it's a big holiday, almost everything was closed today . . . and yesterday and will be tomorrow. However, I read on the Korean National Tourism Organization website that a few tourist destinations would be open today. Feeling much better and wanting to resurrect some of my vacation, I hopped on the subway and rode the 6 or so stops south to the city of Suwon, where I got on a bus headed for the Korean Folk Village which is a huge outdoor museum of traditional Korean life. It was an interesting way to spend the day. Though there was more to see, I left after three hours since battling the crowds was draining my energy quickly. Unfortunately, my camera battery died after the first hour, but I did manage to get a few snapshots.

In case you can't read the sign, it says "Beware of Donkey." He looks like a menacing beast, doesn't he?I have no idea what the sign says.These are kimchi pots with peppers drying in the sun. It was really warm today--around 80°F--so I imagine they dried pretty well.Here is an awesome totem-pole-esque statue. They also had some excellent wooden carvings, but my camera battery died before I got to them. I took a picture of the wooden carvings with my film camera, but it will be a while before I have the film developed.A rice field with a scarecrow wearing a "hanbok" or traditional Korean dress:I have two more days left in my vacation, and I'm not going to let them go to waste. Tomorrow is still part of the Chuseok holiday, so lots of things will be closed again. However, the palaces are open, so I may visit them. There is also a nice lake near Seoul that I've been wanting to investigate. Vacation, here I come! 추석 잘 보내세요! ('Chuseok jalbonaeseyo!")

More snapshots of my very small apartment

The "living room" (Youth group members, notice the photo on top of the television.)

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The closet, "desk" and "kitchen", as seen from the far wall of the apartment.

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The bathroom. There was no good angle to take a picture of my little bathroom. The mirror makes the bathroom look twice as big as it is. Don't be fooled. It's tiny. See the reflection of the showerhead on the wall? Right under that is where they wanted to put a washing machine. Ha!

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My "dresser" behind my bed, with annotations. It's actually not a dresser but the cabinet for the air conditioner. Don't see your photo? Then send one to me!

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And that, my friends, concludes the photo tour of my tiny apartment. It measures 5 meters (from the door to the window) by 3.5 meters (wall to wall). That's 188.4 square feet. That includes the bathroom and closets. I'm not complaining. I like it.

Where I've been the past five days

Home, sweet home (away from home, that is). This is my little apartment. It's small, but I like it! Since I was cooped up here for four entire days with a nasty stomach bug, I thought I'd post a picture. I'm glad to report that as of yesterday, I'm feeling better. I still have a headache, and I feel completely drained of energy, but I'm definitely noticing an improvement now that my intestines have given up their protest of whatever bug I caught. Speaking of which, my bathroom was immediately to my right when I took this picture. That's my "kitchen" to the left. I was standing with my back against the door.

A Seriously Unhappy Non-Camper

I'm supposed to leave first thing in the morning for my big hiking trip across a national park in the southern part of the country. I've been looking forward to this for weeks. My friends here are all tired of hearing me talk about it, but guess what . . . I'm sick! I woke up at 2 AM on Saturday with yucky flu-like symptoms that have only managed to get worse this weekend. I am not at all happy. I haven't been able to eat, and even taking the trash out required too much energy, so I know there is no way I'll be up for anything strenuous in two days. I can't even begin to say how disappointed I am. More later. I'm going to go back to bed to sulk for a while longer.

A Lot of Peppers

These are hot peppers laying out in the sun to dry in the yard in front of the monks' quarters at a Buddhist temple in Seoul.
I am officially on vacation until October 9th! Next week is Chuseok, the Korean version of Thanksgiving and one of the most important holidays. I'm going on a backpacking trip with some other expats across a mountain ridge in the southern part of the country. I'm really excited, especially since I've never been that far south in Korea. On Tuesday, we're going rafting, something I've never done before, and Wednesday through Friday, we're hiking along the mountain ridge and staying overnight at national park shelters. I expect to have lots to say and lots of photos to share when I return next weekend.

Field Trips!

Yesterday and today were field trip days for the kindergarten and first grade classes. We went to a very nice woodland park at the base of the mountain nearby. The weather was beautiful for playing games, singing songs, and generally just enjoying ourselves outdoors.

Long Overdue Update, Mea Culpa

I've been fighting off a cold for the past few weeks. It triggered my asthma just enough to be annoying. I haven't been able to keep up my regular hiking/jogging routine, so I'm a little nervous about my big hiking trip across one of Korea's national parks in a couple weeks. Until this cold set in, I would head out for a hike/walk/jog for a couple hours everyday. I'm still getting out and walking around, just nothing strenuous. I'm planning to take it easy this weekend and am hoping to be back on the trails on Monday. We'll see if my lungs agree.

My classes are going well for the most part. I have my princesses on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have two kindergarten class, one preschool class, and one advanced elementary class (2nd graders). I teach a mothers' class for two hours every Thursday morning, and I tutor a very proficient elementary school student (5th grader) on Wednesday evenings. Next week, I'll start teaching another preschool class on Friday evenings. I'm staying pretty busy, but I like it that way.

This past Tuesday, my lesson in kindergarten was "big, bigger, the biggest." One of my very sharp little girls, who is also a little sassy and bossy, made the astute observation that she is bigger than Christina. The she went on to say that "Ellen-teacher is the biggest."

"Yes, you're right," I said, but I wasn't going to pursue it since I don't like the idea of comparing people's bodies.

Even without encouragement, that led a little boy in the class to come up with "Ellen-teacher is fat." And then the first little girl added "Ellen-teacher is a fat pig." That resulted in explosions of laughter from the rest of the class, and then everyone was chanting "Ellen-teacher is a fat pig."

I tried to reestablish order, but it was futile, so I called the school director to handle the situation. He chewed them out in English while the school's receptionist translated and added her own chewing out in Korean. By the end of the day, I had received phone calls from three mortified and apologetic mothers. Today each student said "I'm sorry" to me on the way into the classroom, and the little boy who came up with "Ellen-teacher is fat" handed me a note: "Allan i'm soli. Allan teacher. Pig is talking and laughing is i'm soli."

That whole class was exceptionally good today. I think we're friends again. I made a point to tell their mothers at the end of class how good they were. The mothers all laughed. I wonder what exactly they threatened/bribed the kids with this afternoon. Whatever it was, it worked. I was never upset about the incident. I knew I couldn't just let it go, but I actually thought it was kind of funny. I was even a little impressed. At least they had good subject-verb agreement, put the adjective in the right place, and pronounced everything correctly.

Here are three of my students showing off their artwork. These kids are from the "fat pig" class. Two of them are the instigators. They've been angels ever since that incident, by the way.My princesses have been standing on their chairs lately. I've tried all sorts of things to get them to stop, including taking away the chairs entirely. Most of them have stopped now, but on Wednesday, I had to mention something to the mother of one of the repeat offenders. The mother pulled the little princess aside before class and had a very calm conversation with her about acceptable classroom behavior. Said princess was so mad at me for ratting her out to her mom that she refused to come into the classroom and spent the afternoon pouting in the hallway on her own accord. Okay, kiddo, suit yourself. I thought that was pretty funny, but I hope she's over it before class tomorrow.

People don’t drink the tap water here. Most people either buy bottled water or fill up bottles at artesian wells along the mountains. For the past several weeks, I've been filling up a couple bottles when I'm out hiking. The city governments maintain the wells and test the water quality regularly, so it's safe.
Last week, I was filling up my bottles when this old man with a cane walked over to me. He stood about 2 meters away and just started yelling and shaking his finger at me. He kept pointing at my feet. I think he was upset because my foot was just a hair over the grate and drain, not that that would make any real difference anyway, since the water that drains off does not reenter the clean water source. "I don't understand," I told him in Korean. He kept yelling, shaking his finger, and pointing at my feet. "I don't speak Korean," I said in Korean. More yelling. So I stood up and told him "thank you" and "good-bye" in Korean and walked away. As I left, I realized I missed a great opportunity to use my three different phrases that mean "Be quiet!"

I went back to the well this week, and the same man was sitting there on a bench. I bowed, said "hello" in Korean, and proceeded to fill up my water bottles. He just sat there and glared. I need to go back tomorrow. I wonder if he'll be there.

Presenting . . . the Princesses!

I’ve decided to name one of the princesses Nancy. The other little girl I was supposed to name decided that she wanted to be called "Aurora" since that's Sleeping Beauty's real name. It lasted about three days. Now she prefers her Korean name, which is just fine with me. It is my honor to introduce the world to . . . the Princesses!

Sunday School

Here are my Sunday School kids. A couple of them got out the door before I took the picture this morning. You can click on the picture to make it larger.

Way to Go, September!

Sunrise, as seen from my 11th floor apartment, 6:13 AM.

Click on the photo to make it larger. Wow, September!

A Visit from a Cousin and Observations on Public Transportation

Well, September, you've really outdone yourself. Just keep up this beautiful weather for the next 29 days, and I'll be one very happy English teacher. Wait a second, I am one very happy English teacher! Well, just continue it anyway.

Tonight I had dinner with my cousin (I guess that's what's he is) Ian Gillies who has been here in Korea for the past two weeks training with the Army Reserves. I met him near the big army post in Seoul, and we went out for "bulgogi," a type of Korean barbecue. Excellent food, and it was fun to visit with him. I think the only other time I met him was at my grandfather's funeral about a year ago. We have plenty of family members in common to talk about, though. I wonder if any ears were ringing.

Someone told me that bus drivers in Korea are paid according to the number of circuits they make during their shift. I'm not sure if that's true or not, but it does explain why they drive as fast as they can until the last possible second before stopping for the shortest possible amount of time before taking off at rocket speed once again. Sometimes the buses don't stop at all the stops. If someone isn't flagging the bus down at the bus stop and if someone inside the bus didn't push the button to signal the driver, the bus just keeps going, so you have to pay attention or you'll miss your bus or your stop. If you're one of the last people on the bus at a stop, you can bet that the bus will be at least to the next block before you've had a chance to find something to hold onto, let alone actually find a seat.

I was riding the bus earlier this week and thinking about this. There were so seats available, so I stood toward the front, holding onto a pole for dear life, while the driver went as fast as he could for a block and a half, then slammed on the breaks at the bus stop, and then repeated the pattern. At one point, I looked at the dashboard and realized that through all this speeding and stopping, speeding and stopping, the speedometer held at a constant 30 km/hr.

The next day I was standing at a crosswalk. When the light turned green, I hesitated for a second. Just then a bus barreled through the red light. Had I been in the crosswalk, I'm quite certain that all my theological questions would have been answered that day. I can hear Dad's voice saying "Look both ways before crossing the street" echoing in my head. I'm not going to need another reminder about that one.

The rest of the week went pretty well. I had a new girl join the princess class, and I started a new kindergarten class with three little boys. My advanced elementary class is a lot of fun. There are two 8-year-old students who are quite proficient, so there's a lot I can do with them. It's a big change from colors, numbers, and ABCs in kindergarten! I also sat in on a mothers' class which I'll start teaching next week. I’m still thinking about names for the two little girls.

I received a postcard from Uncle Dick Gillies from the Panama Canal. We now have Halifax (Canada) and the Panama Canal marked on our postcard map at school. The kids love it. We’re going to start a pen pal project soon, too.

No big outings this weekend. I really need to spend some time on my lesson plans, so I'm just going to stick around home tomorrow and get together with a friend for lunch. Then I'll have the usual church responsibilities on Sunday and probably come home and finish my lesson plans after that. Not every weekend can be an adventure, right?

The Name Game

Today I was asked by two mothers to give English names to their little girls. English names (or names that would be recognized in the English-speaking world, though not necessarily of English origin) are really popular here for kids in school, and they tend to keep their English names as adults when they interact with Westerners. Business people tend to use their English names since they're easier for Westerners to remember and pronounce. (For example, I had a little boy in one class whose name was "Suk-kyu," which is potentially problematic for English speakers.) So I have to come up with names for two very cute little girls.

Uncle Dick Gillies sent me another care package. Wow! Mail! The care package included jello, Kool Aid, gummy bears (I'm saving them for an emergency), black licorice (impossible to get here, one of my favorites, almost gone already!), and crayons and a pencil sharpener. I shared the black licorice with a friend while we were out exploring Seoul on Saturday. We both agree that Korea would be better if black licorice were available here.

A Little Bit of Everything

I can hardly believe an entire week has gone by since my last update. The days go by so fast. It's now the end of another term, and I'm really sad to say goodbye to some of my students. My 11-year-old student who is going back to Germany stopped by the school to say goodbye to everyone. I wasn't there at the time, so they had her call me, which was sweet. Here's a picture of us on her last day of class.This is my class of only two little boys. One is moving, and the other was going to be moved to the princess class. His mother has decided against it, so he is going to take this next term off, and hopefully we'll have a class for him the following term. I'm going to miss both of them. Here they are:One of my princesses is going to take a term off, too, but she got out the door on Friday before I could get a picture. Her mom said she'll come back the following term, though. Tomorrow is the first day of the new term. I'll still teach my other three kindergarten classes. I'll also start teaching a higher level elementary class and possibly a mother's class as well. I'm looking forward to all of them. I've only taught an adult class once when the regular teacher was sick. It's much harder than kindergarten. I'm a little nervous about it.

I had a nice weekend. I have a friend who likes to explore Seoul with me on Saturdays. This week we went to a replica village that gives you a glimpse of traditional Korean life. It's sort of the colonial Williamsburg of Seoul, except that the history here goes back much farther. Then we went to a really trendy part of the city and walked around. It started to sprinkle, so we took shelter in a Haagen-Dazs shop. Flavor of the day: Belgian chocolate. How can you go wrong? When the rain let up, we ventured back outside, only to be hit by the hardest rainfall I've ever experienced. We were soaked clear through just from sprinting from one building to the next. Drenched and shivering on the air-conditioned subway, we headed home again.

It was a good day at the church. I had 28 children attend Sunday school, which is a huge increase over last week. I have two high school students and one adult who are going to help me with the class next week. Several of the kids speak English at an advanced or near-native level. Others aren't quite so proficient, so it will be really helpful to have some adult interpreters!

Life As Usual

School is going well. I'm finished tutoring both of my individual students now, so I'm just teaching kindergarten these days. I miss my individual students. They are great kids and were a lot of fun to work with. The boy is going back to high school this week. I had a two-hour lesson with him every weekday during his entire summer vacation, and I assigned a lot of homework. My other student has a week of vacation before returning to her home in Germany. I wonder where life will take them. I hope I get to find out someday.

My kindergarten students are exceptionally cute. I have one class of 6 girls that I call my "princess class" because they are all just too adorable and frequently come to school wearing pink sundresses and pink bows in their hair. Little girls here really, really, really like pink. I have never seen so much pink in all my life as I have here! My fairy princesses haven't figured out that I don't understand Korean. One fairy princess especially loves to tell me stories. I look at her and ask "Really?"

"Yes!" she answers.

"Are you sure?" I ask.

"Yes!" again. At least she's consistent.

Another kindergarten class has only two students, both boys. One of the boys is very bright and is catching on quickly. The other day, he came to school early and was looking at the globe in the classroom. "Teacher, where Korea?" he asked. I showed him. "Where America?" he asked, followed by "Canada?" "Poland?" "Nigeria?" "Ghana?" "Switzerland?" "Netherlands?" I was floored. This kid is 5 years old and came up with all those countries' names himself. He then went on to name all the continents, minus Antarctica, in English. Unfortunately (for me), his family is moving, so I'll be losing him at the end of the week. The other little boy will move into the princess class. He's a real handful. He tried to use the globe as a soccer ball. Watch out, princesses!

My other two kindergarten classes are just fine. One has three boys and one girl, and the other has three girls and two boys. It's so much fun to have small classes!

The weather has cooled down considerably. When I'm done with school, I go hiking in the mountains, though I haven't done anything as adventurous as my Tuesday trek. On Saturday, a friend and I spent the whole day in Seoul. We went to the fashion and textile district, ate lunch, walked to the top of Namsan mountain, saw a bird's eye view of the city, and then sat in a coffee shop and chatted. It was a great day. On Sunday, I went to church in the afternoon and then went for a walk through a very trendy part of Seoul since it was such a nice evening. Everything is fine at the church. The children's Sunday school class is a lot of fun. The middle/high school class is an icy wall of silence. The Korean pastor told me he has heard that I'm a "dynamic teacher." He apparently didn't hear that from the middle/high school class. The congregation is still impressed that I can read the announcements printed in the bulletin in my native language. That's what I call talent.

Mmmmm . . . Peaches

Yesterday a student brought a big grocery bag full of peaches to school to share with all the teachers. They came from his grandfather's orchard. They are very sweet a juicy but a little crisper than peaches in the U.S. Today we were eating them in the staff room, and my two Korean friends looked at me aghast when I bit into one.

"Ellen! No! You're supposed to PEEL it!"

"Peel the peach?" I asked. I know that Koreans peel apples and pears because of pesticides, and they peel grapes (concord grapes) because they don't like the peels. They don't peel nectarines or plums, and peaches seems similar to those, so I was confused.

One of the teachers explained to me that people have allergic reactions to the fuzz, and it's not good to eat it. I’ve never heard this before. I've been eating peaches, peel and skin and all, my entire solid-food-eating life, and while my allergies can be a bear, I've never noticed any connection to peach fuzz. I always heard that the peel is the best part of the fruit to eat because that's where most of the vitamins are stored. I can understand peeling it to remove organisms (big problem in tropical countries, not a problem in Korea) or pesticides and chemicals, but because the fuzz isn't good for you . . . what's up with this?

So tonight, when I got home, I ate a Korean peach, peel and fuzz and all, in the privacy of my apartment. I hope I survive the night.

I refuse to peel grapes.

Liberation Day

Today is the national holiday Gwangbok-jeol which celebrates the liberation of Korea from Japanese colonial rule in 1945 and the establishment of the Republic of Korea exactly three years later. The Japanese occupation of Korea was quite horrible, and many Koreans still have a strong animosity toward the Japanese.

Since it was a holiday, I decided to follow the mountain trails that Edward (see the post on 8/13) pointed out to me. He said the route should be 4-5 hours. Exactly 8 and a half hours after leaving my apartment this morning, I returned hot and sweaty and dirty and sore but thoroughly satisfied with my day in the mountains.

I left home at 11 AM. According to Edward, the route I was on went along a ridgeline to three separate peaks. Seulgi-bong, which I visit frequently, is the first peak. I made it to the top by 12 PM. The trail is in good shape, and though it's a steep climb, it's really not that difficult. From Seulgi-bong, I found the trail leading in the direction of Suam-bong (the second peak) after a little bit of searching. It wasn't particularly well-marked. This trail was a lot more rugged and very steep with some places that required using a ladder (bolted into the rock) or a rope (also well-maintained by the park system) to make my away along it. I scraped up my knee on a rock and was sweating so much that a bandage wouldn't stick. I rubbed some alcohol-based hand sanitizer on the cut (OUCH!!!!) and kept walking.

At about 1:30 PM, I passed two men and a woman who were having a picnic just off the trail. I nodded to them and said "anyounghasayo" ("hello") and kept walking. They called after me, and one of the men stood up and motioned for me to come over to them.

"Where you from?" he asked.

"America." (No one understands "United States" here.)

"AH! America! I love America!" Then he lifted his paper cup in the air. "Toast to America!"

"Toast to America!" the other man and woman echoed and raised their paper cups in a toast.

"What your name?" he asked.

"Ellen."

"AH! Ellen! Toast to Ellen!"

"Toast to Ellen!" the others echoed.

"Ellen, you like kimchi?"

"Yes." Kimchi is Korea's national dish. It's a very spicy pickled vegetable, usually cabbage. I usually like it. Even if you don't like it, though, the answer to "Do you like kimchi?" is always "Yes."

"AH! Kimchi! Toast to kimchi!"

"Toast to kimchi!"

They insisted that I sit down and join them. It had been a steep climb, and I was tired, so I did. They offered me some of their lunch (bulgogi, which is Korean barbeque--really good stuff--kimchi and rice), and I shared my nectarines and apples with them. They laughed at how sweaty I was, since my clothes were completely soaked by this point. I also had dried blood from my knee and dirt all over me, too. I must have been a sight! After about 20 minutes, I explained that I had to be on my way to make it to the top of Suam-bong, and off I went while my three picnicking friends hollered "Toast to Suam-bong!" behind me. Remember these three, "the picnickers." They will make another appearance in this story.

It's about time for a photo. Here's what I saw on my way to Suam-bong:
Above: I felt sorry for the donkey since it was a really hot day, and he didn't have any water. A little farther down the trail were some vendors selling cold drinks, popsicles, and snacks. I'm guessing he was used to haul the stuff up there. I gave him some of my apple.

Below: The ridgeline trail from Seulgi-bong to Suam-bong went along the fence of some kind of military observation post, hence the barbed wire. The peak in the distance is Suam-bong.
Here's Suam-bong from a helicopter pad a little closer:
This is my route as seen from the top of Suam-bong. Note that my apartment is on the other side of Seulgi-bong. You can see the helicopter landing pad from the photo above:

I had to climb all the way down Suam-bong into the valley and then climb back up to the third peak, Taeeul-bong. Here's the route:

By the time I made it down to the valley, the last thing I wanted to do was climb back up a mountain. At this point, it was 4 PM, and I was starting to get sore and ready to go home. However, since "home" is on the other side of those mountains, "up and over" was the only choice, other than a rather expensive cab ride. (Mom, you'll be glad to know that I carried enough cash for a cab "just in case.") There was a nice park in the valley with several restaurants and lots and lots of people. Among those lots and lots of people, guess who I ran into. The picnickers from a whole two hours ago! They must have stayed and picnicked for quite a while, since their route to the valley was much shorter than mine since it bypassed Suam-bong.

"Ellen!" I heard someone shout my name.

"AH! Picnickers! Toast to picnickers!" I shouted in return. They laughed and toasted imaginary paper cups in my direction. We talked for a few minutes. Then they headed down the valley to a different city, and I began my ascent to the ridge that led to Taeeul-bong.

The trail up to the ridge was steep but not too difficult, except for the fact that I was tired and sore. The ridgeline trail was another matter. It was very strenuous and rocky with several places that required climbing ladders (once again, bolted into the rocks) or using ropes. The view, however, was beautiful, and it was starting to cool down.

Time for some more pictures:
Above: I passed several of these pine trees on the ridgeline trail. It's amazing how they grow out of the rocks. Their bark is really smooth from people using them for support while climbing the trail.

Below: A tired, sweaty, sore, but nonetheless happy, hiker.
I made it to the top of Taeeul-bong by 6 PM. Here's the view of my city from the peak. Home is within sight!
I walked through my apartment door at 7:30 PM. I had a great day, but I know I'm going to be hurting tomorrow!

Hiking, Bratwurst, and Other Such Delights

This week has been fine. There is really nothing to report. Classes have kept me busy this week. It's very hot and sunny here lately. I try to go walking in the mornings and/or evenings, but it's hard to be motivated when it's this hot. I guess I shouldn't complain. At least it isn't rainy season.

Today was a little cooler, so I picked a new mountain trail to explore. Much to my surprise, I ended up at the same peak I've climbed before. It was a very sunny afternoon, but there was still a haze in the distance. At the peak, I met a British hiker named Edward who is very familiar with the trails around the town I live in. He pointed out some good routes that I didn't even know about, so I was really glad to have met him.

Tuesday is a holiday here (Liberation Day). There is a huge anti-American protest planned in Seoul. They're expecting 6,000-8,000 people at the start of it and as many as 30,000 people at the end of it. The US embassy sent an email out to all Americans who are registered with them, telling us we should avoid that whole downtown area of the city. I guess I'll stay here in the suburbs. No sense inciting people who are already angry! If the weather is bearable, I might try out one of the trails Edwards recommended.

While grocery shopping this week, I found "Wisconsin Bratwurst," so I thought I'd give them a try. Not too bad! They're MUCH better than the Korean sausages I’ve tried. Now I just need to find sauerkraut.

I'm putting the finishing touches on my Sunday school lesson for tomorrow, and then I'm calling it a night. It's so much easier to teach Sunday school when you have a curriculum! I've been writing my own lessons these past few weeks. It's especially challenging since I have a wide range of ages and English proficiency. The kids get a Bible memory verse printed in English and Korean every week, and they try to memorize it by the following week. (That reminds me--I haven't prepared that for tomorrow yet either!) I made a deal with them that if they try to learn it in English, I will try to learn it in Korean. I don't let the kids write the English verse phonetically in Korean, so they don't let me write the Korean verse phonetically in English. They think it's great. I wonder what I was thinking.

믿음은 바라는 것들의 실상이요 보지 못하는 것들의 증거니

In case you're curious, that's Hebrews 11:1.

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

Typing in Korean is good practice for me, I think.

We also learn a story each week. I draw or print pictures that tell the story and then have the kids narrate what's happening in the pictures. Then I have one of the more fluent kids read the story (or part of it) from the Bible. I try to include an active game or two that relates to the story. And of course, we have songs, lots and lots of songs. Why on earth I always end up leading music with small children is beyond me. Music is NOT one of my gifts. I can't sing, can't read notes, can't play an instrument. I don't even own a radio (CD player, MP3 player, etc.)! So how exactly do I end up leading music?

A Care Package!

This morning I glanced at my mailbox on my way out the door, and much to my surprise, since it's ALWAYS empty, there was a package sticking out!

Thank you, Uncle Dick (Gillies)!

He sent Kool-Aid, Jello, LifeSavers, and gummy worms. I took them to school and shared them with my coworkers and a couple of the high school students. The LifeSavers were a huge hit all the way around. Two people tried the gummy worms, but the others were a little grossed out by the idea of eating candy worms. I don't understand that since REAL SILK WORMS are a popular snack food in Korea. (I've eaten two of them and don't ever plan to do it again.) I promised to take Kool-Aid in tomorrow, and I'll fix some of the Jello before too long. It was a lot of fun to share a little bit of home with my friends here.

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Thank you for expressing concern about my Aunt Jane. From what I hear, she's in the hospital in Dubuque now and has a long road ahead of her. Please continue to keep her in your prayers.

Laundry Quandary

Since I don't have a washing machine, and since I really don't want one in my very small bathroom, my directors decided to give me a small stipend each month so I can use the laundry service in my building for one load a week. Last week, I had no problems. I took my laundry downstairs before school and picked it up on my way home. They don’t have dryers, so I had to hang everything up in my apartment to dry, but that wasn't really a problem.

So yesterday I headed back downstairs with this week's load of dirty laundry. The women who helped me last week weren't there, but a man was there, so I figured he could help me. He looked confused, though. I pointed to my bag of dirty laundry and pointed to the washing machine. "Yogiyo," ("here") I said. He nodded and wrote down my apartment number.

When I returned that evening to retrieve my clothing, the man was gone, and the women from the previous week were back. They looked at me in utter confusion when I showed up and started glancing around for some sign of my clothes. None. "Clothes" I said, pinching my shirt to indicate what I was talking about. "Odiyeyo?" ("Where?") The women had no idea what I was talking about. Another customer was attempting to interpret for us, to no avail. Finally, I had the laundry women call my director, and I got the story from her.

It turns out that the man, who was only filling in while the women went to lunch, decided that the foreigner's clothes needed special care, and instead of throwing them in the washing machine, he sent them out to be dry cleaned. That might not have been such a problem if they had been my nice work and church clothes. However, this evening, I picked up the cleanest, most perfectly ironed blue jeans, t-shirts, pajamas, and bedsheets in all the world. I ended up having to pay over $30 to get my clothes back, which is more than my monthly laundry allowance. I was also told that they've recently stopped the wet laundry service and only process dry cleaning and do repairs now. So I guess that brings me back to my laundry quandary. Small things are easy enough to do by hand, but it's awfully inconvenient to wash blue jeans in the kitchen sink. No laundromats in Korea. No laundry service other than dry cleaning in my building. I'm really worried that someone's going to think that putting a washing machine in my bathroom is a good idea again!

Emergency Vehicle Appreciation Day

About 1:00 this afternoon I heard a whole lot of sirens from outside. I looked out my 11th storey window to see smoke rising from the building across the street. On the road below were 8 firetrucks, three police cars, and an ambulance. Unbelievably, the parade of emergency vehicles was stopped by people crossing the street in front of them while smoke continued to rise from the building. I've gotten used to pedestrians not thinking anything of walking in front of moving vehicles, but I'm always amazed by the complete disregard for emergency vehicles. No one yields to them. I've seen ambulances stuck at red lights because the cross traffic doesn't stop. Even this whole convoy of siren-sounding, light-flashing urgency was held at a dead stop by kids, shoppers, mothers, bicyclists, drunk guys, and English teachers crossing right in front of them! I had to leave shortly thereafter for class. The emergency vehicles were gone when I returned home, and the building looks about the same, minus the smoke, with no apparent damage from here. I probably won't ever find out what happened, but the city did put on an impressive display of emergency vehicles, even if they couldn't drive down the street.

One BIG City

Thanks to my friend Ted Newcomb for fusing these two photos together to make a panoramic view looking north over Seoul from Namsan (meaning "South Mountain"). Click on the photo for a screen-width image.

Vacation Resurrected!

The most amazing thing happened today. First, there was this brilliant light from the sky. Everything suddenly felt warm. Then I looked up and noticed that the sky was starting to turn the most incredible color--BLUE! Can you believe it? It took me almost no time at all to get outside to enjoy my last day of vacation.

I decided to use my little bit of sunshine to go to the top of Namsan Mountain, really more like a big hill, located in the southern part of Seoul. On top of Namsan is the Seoul Tower. I didn't go to the top of the tower because the clouds returned and visibility wasn't very good. When I do go to the top of the tower, I want to be able to see! Here's a view of the tower (foreboding black sky in the background) from close to its base. I'll post photos of Seoul from the top of Namsan when I figure out how to edit them together as a panoramic view.
This is a door to a shrine on the way up the mountain. I thought it was pretty cool!
After walking back down, I went to the Myeong-dong Cathedral for worship. Many Koreans, Catholic and Protestant alike, do not consider Catholics to be "Christian" so it is very uncommon for a Protestant to visit a Catholic church for Mass. I really enjoyed the experience and plan to go back when I can walk around the inside without disturbing worship. Here are a couple photos of the cathedral:
After worship, I walked around Seoul for the evening. Here are a couple photos I took from the middle of intersections. Don't worry, Mom, I had a green light!

Seoul Tower:
Namdaemun Gate:
Finally, one of the things I love about Korea is that they have these terrific fountains in public places, and kids are encouraged to play in them! There is one in the center of my town that is always full of kids. This one is in front of the Seoul City Hall.

Vacation Aborted

After spending today in a torrential downpour, I decided to abort my vacation plans and head home. I spent today walking from a town called Kangchon to the Gugok Falls. The umbrella served nothing more than psychological purpose. By the time I made it to the park entrance after walking about 3 miles, I was completely soaked. The plastic bags I tied around my feet kept as much water in as out. My backpack was soaked clear through. Nothing was dry.

Despite being the only visitor at the park this afternoon, I decided to walk up the trail toward the waterfall, only to "chicken out" once I got close to the base of the falls. It was mid-afternoon and had been pouring all day. It's a huge waterfall anyway, and the rainfall fueled it all the more. The stream below it was very close to the trail and exceptionally forceful. Since I was the park's only visitor, I didn't want to risk slipping on the slick walkway. The falls created such a strong wind that it was hard to walk and keep my balance, and I couldn't hold the camera still for the close up photo below. I can only imagine how strong it was closer to the falls. I'm definitely planning a trip back in nice weather.

Click on the photos for a larger image:

Above: The North Han River, looking upstream (east) from Gangchon in the direction of Chuncheon.

Below: Gugok Falls, just southwest of Gangchon. That's as far as I was brave enough to walk. I could hardly hold my camera and umbrella and stay standing to take this photo.

Vacation Update

They've changed the weather forecast from 100% chance of rain to 50% chance of rain for today, and guess what. It's pouring! 50% change of rain my foot!

On Vacation

I have the rest of this week off, so I've decided to go out of town. I'm in a city called Chuncheon, which is due east of Seoul. It's a nice city in a lovely mountain valley. If the weather cooperates with me, I'm going hiking. There are a couple waterfalls and mountain temples nearby. Unfortunately, the forecast is for rain, rain, and more rain. The trip here this afternoon was beautiful as the train wound up the river valley through the mountains. I'm staying overnight tonight in a "jjimjilbang" or public bathhouse. Where else can you sleep for $6 a night?! I'm about to run out of time here in the computer room, so I'm signing off for now.

"Blessings to Share"

Since I know several people in the Galena/Dubuque area read my blog, I thought I'd put a plug in here for the musical Blessings to Share, presented by the Main Street Players. One third of the box office earnings will go to Riverview Center on opening night, Thursday, July 27th. There is also a benefit dinner at Fried Green Tomatoes that night. Riverview Center provides free and confidential services to sexual assault survivors, a 24-hour hotline, and community education.

Co-writer/director Carole Sullivan offers this description of the show on her website: "Blessings to Share is a moving story of adoption in the 21st century, a story of non-traditional families and vulnerable children. Experience the rollercoaster of emotions as this tender musical unfolds, renewing our faith that when blessings are shared, love can form new bonds."

Ticket information:
Dinner and theater ticket: $35. Dinner is at 5:30 at Fried Green Tomatoes, show is at 8 PM at Turner Hall. Seats are limited. Call Riverview Center, Inc. for a reservation, 815-777-8155.
Theater ticket only: Adults $12, children $5. Show is at 8 PM. Tickets are available at the door and in advance at Dubuque 365 (First and Main, Dubuque), Dick's Supermarket, Elizabeth State Bank, and Galena River Wine and Cheese.

New Students and You Want to Put a Washing Machine WHERE?

I started working with two new students this week. I'm tutoring a high school boy for two hours every weekday for the next month. He's preparing his university entrance exams, which are a huge deal here in Korea. Think SAT/ACT/AP times a zillion. That's the kind of pressure Korean high school students are under to get good test scores. I'm especially helping him prepare for the writing portion of the exams.

I'm also tutoring an 11-year-old girl for the next three weeks. Her mother is Korean, and her father is German. Although she's only been studying English for 18 months, she's a near-native English speaker. She also speaks German, Korean, and French. The lessons I'm doing with her are essentially what kids her age are doing in American schools. Today we had a geography lesson on Asia, specifically China. The only time she stumbled using English was when she was trying to come up with the word "parade" to describe the Chinese New Year.

So this week I've met two absolutely incredible, intelligent, not to mention polite and personable, kids! I'm hoping their motivation wears off on me enough to get me back to school one of these days! Like the members of the Galena UMC youth group, these kids give me great hope for the world.

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I don't have a washing machine, and Korea doesn't have laundromats. I've been washing socks, undies, and a few other things by hand, and the directors of my school have been taking my dirty laundry home with them once a week. I think they must be getting tired of it because they've started talking about purchasing a washing machine for me. Great idea! It feels WEIRD giving my dirty laundry to boss, but the question looms:

WHERE DO I PUT IT?!

It turns out that the only place it can go, since it has to have both a water source and a drain, is in the bathroom. And the only place that has enough space in the bathroom is under the showerhead. There is no shower stall, just a small tile bathroom with a showerhead coming out of one wall, which results in the entire bathroom being soaked whenever I take a shower.

The receptionist at my school was telling me this plan, that they were going to purchase a washing machine and put it under the shower in my very small bathroom.

"There isn't room," I argued.

"Yes! I think here is okay!" And she drew a map of my bathroom and pointed to the only empty spot of floor, directly under the shower head.

EMH: "I won't have room to take shower." (Translation: "I don't like this idea.")

RECEPTIONIST: "I think washing machine moving is okay!" (Translation: "You can simply move your washing machine when you take a shower. Just get inside the bathroom, close the door, push the washing machine against it, blocking you inside, so you have 2 square feet to stand in to take a shower. It's all okay!")

E: "It'll get soaked every time I take a shower." (Translation: "I really don't like this idea.")

R: "Washing machine wet is okay!" (Translation: "The washing machine can get wet. It's all okay!")

E: "There's no outlet on that wall. I'll have to run a cord across my bathroom." (Translation: "I don't like this idea, and I'm a little worried about the potential water-electricity hazard and don't really want a cord running from one corner of my bathroom to the other.")

R: "I think you not using unplug is okay!" (Translation: "Unplug it when you're not using it. It's all okay!")

E: "I'll have to climb over it to get to the sink." (Translation: "I really, really don't like this idea.")

R: "I think you and washing machine is HAPPY TOGETHER!" (Translation: "No matter how silly it sounds to you, I really want to put a washing machine in your tiny bathroom so you have to climb over it several times a day. You'll learn to love it. HAPPY TOGETHER!")

E: "IN THE SHOWER?" (Translation: "I can't even begin to explain how much I don't like this idea.")

At this point we both started laughing at the utter absurdity of being happy while sharing a shower with a washing machine.

There’s a dry cleaner/tailor in my building. I think we’re going to work something out to see if they can do a load of wash for me each week.

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It's still a little drizzly here, but the bad thunderstorms have stopped for now. I heard that in the past week over 50 people were killed or missing in the floods and landslides in South Korea and over 100 in North Korea. Over 1,000 had to be evacuated from their homes in South Korea. Everyday on the news they show people returning to homes and farmland that have been destroyed. Please continue to keep the people affected by the floods and landslides in your prayers.

Funny "Konglish" and Too Much Rain

"Konglish" is the made-up term for funny sayings when Korean and English get a little confused. I encounter something in Konglish everyday, but today I heard a particularly funny example.

Today was my second Sunday at the Daerim Methodist Church in Seoul. I taught children's Sunday school and middle/high school Bible study and read the announcements from the bulletin for the English worship service. After the service, a church member told me "Your announcements are very good. You are a refreshment!"

So my question is, "What kind of refreshment am I?"

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I don't know if any of this has made the news in other parts of the world, but we're experiencing lots of rain and flooding here in Korea. Tropical Storm/Typhoon Bilis, which caused a lot of destruction in the Philippines and China last week, crossed the Korean peninsula this weekend. My immediate area is not affected, but there have been at least 12 deaths in the country, and 17 people are missing so far. Thousands of people have been evacuated. There have been landslides and broken dams. Houses and farmland have been destroyed. Please keep the people of Korea in your prayers. Thousands of lives have been affected by this already, and the rain is supposed to continue through Thursday of this week. Click on any of the photos below for larger images.

Here are some photos from Yonhap News:
And here's one from the Korea TimesAn article from the Korea Times can be found here.

Finally Some SNAPSHOTS

Hello everyone! After several days of rain, the sun came out this afternoon, so I decided to head on up the mountain with my camera after school. It was hot and extremely humid, so I was literally dripping with sweat before I made it to the top. This photo is about 2/3 of the way up. (Do you recognize the hat, Aunt Mary Ellen? It has served me well in the U.S., Mexico, the Philippines, and now Korea! I forgot to take it to Germany with me last May and was very disappointed at the oversight.)

The view was beautiful. In one direction are green mountains and valleys all the way to the horizon. In the other direction is my city and neighboring suburbs. I could even pick out my apartment building!

Here are a few more shots.

Just a Matter of Black and White?

I haven't written about my classes in some time because nothing particularly noteworthy has happened. I teach four classes of kindergartners: two meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays and two meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Today, one of my very bright little boys announced, "My black hair. Ellen-Teacher white hair." I thought it would be a good opportunity for a new vocabulary word.

"No," I said, "I have blonde hair, not white hair."

He held a black crayon up to his head. "Black hair," he said. Then he pointed a white crayon in the direction of my head, "Ellen-Teacher white hair."

"White? No." I held up a yellow crayon. "Blonde hair."

He shook his head. "Okay," I thought, "my hair isn't yellow. Maybe brown is closer." So I held up a brown crayon.

"You have black hair," I said. "I have blonde hair."

This time I could see the frustration in his face. He thrust the white crayon in the direction of my head. "No!" he shouted at me. "Ellen-Teacher white hair. Ellen-Teacher OLD!"

Thanks, kiddo!

Other than that, there is nothing to report. It's still the rainy season here, which means it rains almost every day. I can usually find some time when it's not raining to get out for a walk, but it has been raining all day today, so I'm feeling a little cooped up. On Monday, Tropical Storm Ewiniar hit the Korean peninsula. For me, it amounted to nothing more than a lot of wind and rain. It had been downgraded just the day before from a Category 2 Typhoon which would have been much worse. Typhoon season continues until September. Gotta love Korean weather: winter, yellow dust, rainy season, typhoon season. I hear fall is nice. Come visit!

Mission Update

The bishop of the Northern Illinois Conference put me in touch with a pastor at a large (1,500 member) Methodist church in Seoul. I will begin working with them next week. They have an English-speaking congregation of about 30 members, most of whom I met today. I will help lead worship, preach on occasion, and lead a weekly middle/high school Bible study, along with some other responsibilities. They've decided to call me "Missionary Herbert," despite my insistence that "Ellen" is just fine. It makes me laugh. Titles are really important here, so I can understand the formality, even if it feels a little unusual to me. I'm really excited to be in mission and ministry again; I've felt a little lost the past several weeks without that church connection. Thank you all for your prayers during this transition time. I feel them carry me through each day.

National Declaration to Address Violence Against Women

I'm just bumping a previous post back up to the top. The FaithTrust Institute has recently written a "National Declaration by Religious and Spiritual Leaders to Address Violence Against Women."

I'm drawing your attention to it again because I noticed that some signatures were lost from it, including a couple from Galena. I encourage you to take a look at it and sign it again if your name disappeared.

Among other things, this declaration is a chance for faith communities and their leaders to support victims of violence and lend faith as a tool for safety and healing. Click here to read my post from June 12, 2006 and why I think this is so important.

Please take a moment to read over and sign the declaration by clicking here, and pass it on to other religious leaders.

EMH (now signer 1099 from 1104 due to lost signatures)

"You're Very Dirty and Smelly"

I started teaching two new kindergarten classes today. One class has three boys and the other has four girls. The kids were good for the most part, though the boys got a little out of hand toward the end. I interpreted it as a signal to wrap things up and return them to their mothers. I'm really glad to be teaching 5 days a week now.

This past weekend I went to church with my coworker Katherine and her boyfriend Mark. Their church started an English language service about 6 months ago. It's a small congregation, all of whom speak English as a second language or grew up in bilingual (Korean-Canadian, Korean-American) homes. Mark and I were the only two solely English speakers. It was a nice service, and the people were friendly and welcoming. I'll probably visit there again, though I'm hesitant to make a commitment at this point since I'm still arranging my new mission work, which might involve church responsibilities on Sundays.

So now for the dirty and smelly part . . . there is a lovely park with a mountain and trails near my apartment. Today was a beautiful day, though a bit warm and humid, so after my classes, I headed to the park to hit the trails. The map at the park entrance indicated that the trail I had chosen was about 3 kilometers long and ended near the top of the mountain. I set off up the trail. It was steep, and I'm out of shape, so it was quite a workout. The view from the top was superb. Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera with me, but I'll take it with me next time. In one direction, I could see my entire city and then some. In the other direction, there was nothing but mountains for as far as I could see. It was getting to be evening, and I didn't want to get stuck up there in the dark, so I headed back down.

It was a hard climb up but an easy run down, so when the trail was safe enough (i.e., not too steep, no rocks or roots or mud to avoid, no cliffs on either side), I ran. I slipped a little on one part of the trail and ended up with mud on my legs, and I was sweating considerably. By the time I made it back to my apartment building, I was a certifiable mess. I got on the elevator with two clean, nicely dressed women. One looked me over and said, "Hello, I'm Carmen. Are you new here?"

"Yes," I answered. "I've been here about two weeks."

"You're very dirty and smelly," she said.

What could I say but "Yes, I just climbed the mountain."

"I'm clean and smell nice," she answered.

Just then the elevator stopped and the eleventh floor, so I had to excuse myself from that exciting conversation. I was kind of curious about what else she might point out: that I'm dripping with sweat, that my hair is a mess, that I have a zit on my chin, that I have a big nose? Thanks, clean, nice-smelling Carmen!

I find conversations like this pretty funny. The comments complete strangers will make never cease to astound me. It seems that Koreans are not as reserved as Westerners are when it comes to commenting on a person's appearance. I've never heard anything said maliciously, just matter-of-factly. "You're very dirty and smelly." Well, yes, I was. I can't deny it or hide it, not on an elevator at least.

Good Idea, Bad Idea: An Ode to Prepositional Phrases

Good idea: going for a walk after teaching.
Bad idea: going for a walk without an umbrella on an overcast day during rainy season.

Good idea: wearing lightweight clothes on a summer day.
Bad idea: wearing lightweight clothes that become transparent when wet while going for a walk without an umbrella on an overcast day during rainy season.

You can fill in the details. Let's just say I learned some important lessons today.

Big Ears, Japanese TV Letdown, and Fincels Sweet Corn Withdrawal

Korean kids seem to think that all Westerners have really big noses, so I must make their day by having a big nose even by Western standards. I usually just laugh about it when one of my darlings so matter-of-factly says "Teachuh, you big nose!" I've never heard them say it maliciously, so it doesn't bother me any.

Today we were looking at pictures of animals and talking about their features. Does an elephant have a little nose or a big nose? Does a spider have many legs or few legs? Does a rabbit have little ears or big ears? Then we compared animal features to human features. An elephant has a big nose. Do you have a big nose? A spider has eight legs. Do you have eight legs? A rabbit has big ears. Do you have big ears?

I could have seen it coming with the questions about the elephant, but I certainly thought the rabbit questions were innocent enough. Not so. One of my little darlings looked up at me with this beautiful, innocent, little face and said, "Teachuh, you have big ears."

"I have big ears?"

She nodded yes.

"No," I said. "I have little ears. A rabbit has big ears." I said to all the kids, "A rabbit has big ears. Do I have big ears?"

"YES!" they all said very seriously. Some even nodded to emphasize the point.

Finally the little one who pointed it out in the first place piped in, "Teachuh, you have big ears. We have little ears." Well, I guess she has a point.
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In Sunday's post (click here) I wrote about my television channels. I've been really happy to watch old musicals on the Japanese station at night. Last night, though, I thought the Japanese station was really going to be the best thing ever. After the musical, I heard the familiar music of the ER theme song. ER! My favorite series! But then came the letdown. Unlike the musicals which they show in English with Japanese subtitles at the bottom, they dubbed over ER. It was all in Japanese. Abby, Carter, Luca, Sam--all of them were speaking in Japanese! Oh, the disappointment, BS2!
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And while we're on the subject of disappointment, I have to ask all of you in eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois to eat some good ol' Fincels sweet corn for me this summer. A lot of street vendors in Korea sell steamed corn, so on my way home from my walk tonight, I bought a couple ears, thinking that would be a good reminder of home. When I bit into it, though, it wasn't that wonderful, crisp Iowa sweet corn. Instead, it was tough, rubbery CATTLE CORN! Oh, the disappointment! Someone please go to Kennedy Mall or Dick's or wherever they may be selling it this year and fix yourself some of that fresh Fincel's sweet corn. And tell 'em I say hi.
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So silly things aside, everything is fine here in Korea. I'm getting to know my students and coworkers better and am learning my way around town. As much as I joke about the disappointment of Japanese television and biting into cattle corn, I realize that I have much to be thankful for, including the food before me and the technology that simplifies my life and keeps me connected. I'm looking forward to starting my "real" mission work before too long but am trying to get myself adjusted and settled a little before doing that, so that I can really commit myself to the work ahead of me.

Japanese Television, A New Neighborhood, and the Kid v. Teacher Scorecard Continues

I can hardly believe that my first week is already over. It still feels like I just stepped off the airplane, at least in part because I still have a touch of jet lag. Highlights of this week included discovering Japanese television, exploring my new neighborhood, and of course, meeting my new students.

I get 14 television channels without cable. Two are the same station on different channels. Three are in Chinese. One of the Chinese channels shows music videos 24/7, sometimes Chinese, sometimes American. (The Bee Gees just came on. It's a huge improvement over Lil Bow Wow.) Two are in Japanese. Seven are in Korean. One is Muslim Television Ahmadiyya, which broadcasts mostly in Arabic, occasionally in English, and the other night, Bengali dubbed in German. The Japanese channels are my favorite. They're aptly named BS1 and BS2, but at night, they play old musicals in English with Japanese subtitles. It's the only English language programming I've found, except for the music videos. Good thing I never get tired of Singin in the Rain.

My neighborhood is really nice. My new city is a bustling place with a population of over 300,000 people. It's conveniently connected to Seoul by subway. My apartment is on the 11th floor of a building that's a 2-minute walk to school, right next door to E-Mart (huge department/grocery store), and less than a 10-minute walk to the subway station. My neighborhood has two main squares, connected by a pedestrian walkway. Each square has a fountain in the middle in which children are encouraged to play. It's well lit at night, and there is frequently live music. The whole main corridor of the neighborhood is busy most of the day and well into the night.

The highlight of my week was meeting my new students. I'm teaching kindergarten, and like the vast majority of kindergartners in the world, my students are exceptionally cute. Most of them were really good this week.

Hello from Korea!

I've made it safe and sound to Korea and am connected to the world again. My internet, telephone, and television were all hooked up today.

I started teaching yesterday. I have a really light schedule so far--two classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and one class on Wednesdays, all kindergarten. Hopefully I'll have a few more classes next week. Once I'm over my jet lag and settled in a little, I'll start my volunteer work with the non profit agency.

It's nice to be back in Korea, but I really miss my family and friends back home. A year is a long time to be away from all of you, so keep those emails coming and let me know what's going on there. I love you all.

Here, but by the Grace of God

I'm just checking my email and catching up on some things before calling it a night. I leave Chicago tomorrow at noon. I have an 11 hour flight to Tokyo, 2 hour layover, and 2 hour flight to Seoul. I'll catch up with you all sometime this weekend or early next week. If any of you still have my old snail mail address in Korea, please discard it. Send me an email, and I'll give you my new address when I arrive.

Blessings!
EMH

Do Not Stand Idly By (Lev. 19:16)

I generally don't pass around petitions, but this one is especially important. Please take a moment to read the "National Declaration by Religious and Spiritual Leaders to Address Violence against Women," sign it, and pass it on to religious/spiritual leaders in your communities. This sign of support can be a real source of hope for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and may be crucial to their road to safety. The Declaration will be sent to crisis centers and shelters across the United States. Victims will then be able to see if faith communities near them support them in seeking safety.

The declaration is available by clicking here.

Why do we need such a declaration? Violence against women affects each and every one of us. It's prevalence is astounding, and every community in the United States is at risk. Almost 18%, or 17.7 million women, in the United States have been victims of rape or attempted rape sometime in their lives (1). According to a study conducted by the National Victim Center, 1.3 women age 18 and over in the U.S are forcibly raped each minute; 78 per hour; 1,871 per day, or 683,000 per year (2). Nearly 5.3 million incidents of intimate partner violence occur each year among U.S. women ages 18 and older (3).

The FaithTrust Institute is an international, multi-faith organization working to end domestic violence and sexual assault. They have excellent resources and trainings for church leaders. Take some time to check out their website.

Religious leaders can be life-saving resources for victims of violence or hindrances to their journey to safety and recovery. Let us pledge to be sources of hope.

Blessings!
EMH (signer #1104)

(1)U.S. Department of Justice. Bureau of Justice Statistics. 1998. Violence Against Women Survey. Washington, D.C.
(2) Kilpatrick D.G., C.N. Edmunds, and A. Seymour. 1992. Rape in America: A Report to the Nation. Arlington, VA: National Victim Center.
(3) Tjaden P, Thoennes N. Extent, nature, and consequences of intimate partner violence: findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey. Washington (DC): Department of Justice (US); 2000a. Publication No. NCJ 181867. [cited 2005 September 15]. Available from: URL: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/pubs-sum/181867.htm.)

Something New

Welcome to my new website! Several friends and family members encouraged me to keep writing about my experiences, so this is the place!

I very regrettably decided to leave my post as a missionary English teacher in Korea. I am back in northern Illinois now, spending time with my family, but will return to a different location in Korea on June 16th. I will teach English part time to kindergarten and first grade students. I will also volunteer part time at a nonprofit organization, which will allow me to continue my purpose in going to Korea in the first place--to be in service in this world. I'm very excited about my new opportunities.

The highlights so far of this unexpected trip home were getting to attend my cousin Brian's wedding in Philadelphia and Galena High School's graduation. It was a blessing to me to share these celebrations with such special people. I hope to include a couple photos once they're developed. (Anyone who already has some, please do email them to me!)

Many blessings!
EM

New Site

I am sorry for the long silence. I have very regretfully decided to leave my mission post but will continue to teach in Korea. Several people have asked me to continue writing about my experiences, so I've set up a new website that is not hosted by the church.