North and South Korea

A lot of people have expressed concern over the recent attacks from North Korea. I'll be honest, I don't know much about it. I don't have cable so I don't watch the news on television and I've only skimmed over a few news articles on CNN.com. But let me start off by showing you this picture.

I don't live anywhere near where the attack happened, but that doesn't mean people are not stirred up and anxious about it. Everywhere I went yesterday (restaurants, banks, stores, taxis) the news was on. I talked to many of my older students yesterday to see what they thought about the incident and it truly broke my heart to hear what they had to say.

I suppose I've been oblivious to the crisis these people are in. I have absolutely come to adore South Korea and its people. They are so kind and generous, seemingly unscathed by their neighbors to the north, primarily because we don't talk about the subject. It puts a pit in my stomach that these remarkable people may be in danger and they have to live in fear of what may happen.

Whenever I go into a class, I always ask "How are you today?" and I usually get the response "I am happy," or "so-so," but yesterday many students told me they were scared and angry because of what had happened. I have heard and read reports of South Korea being attacked but this is the first time I was in the country and got to see the reactions for myself. They cursed the north and their fear tactics, they told me their parents were angered and saddened, they told me they cried when they heard what had happened.

From what I've seen so far, South Koreans are very proud of their country. I think it angers them that their own citizens, even if it's a small number, are being killed and injured at the hands of North Korea. They explained to me that the rich in North Korea are very rich while the poor are very poor. They mourn, in a way, for the North Korean people. They talked to me about wanting the country to be reunited as a single Korea again, but that wouldn't be possible because of the corrupt leadership.

Because think about it. What if war broke out in America, for some reason or another, and every state west of the Mississippi River was one country and every state east was another. If you had family to the east and you lived on the west side, too bad. You can't see them again. No communication, no meetings, nothing. You become a victim of circumstance and you lose loved ones because of it. It's hard to believe that several families in South Korea have relatives north of the border and they might never be able to see them again. Could you imagine it? It makes you so grateful for all your freedoms.

So what's going to happen now? I have no idea. Will South Korea retaliate? Who knows. I'll continue to watch the news and be aware of any changes, but I don't necessarily feel fearful that I'm in any danger. Apparently attacks from North Korea are an annual event, it's something these people get used to. And that's what breaks my heart. The fact citizens living in South Korea know they are under possible attack at all times. One student told me that the Korean war is not finished, it's just stopped. No one won, no one lost. Perhaps the only way to "win" this war is with a reunited peninsula, but I'm not so sure that's ever going to happen. Families might be divided by one miniscule border for the rest of their lives.

If I'm in any real harm, I'm sure I'll be able to leave the country to return home, but I don't foresee that happening. I think perhaps the part that really upsets me is that even if I do return home, free of harm, what's going to happen to the Korean people living here? They don't have a safe haven to flee to. Where will they go? I told several students they and their families could come stay with me and they got the most ecstatic, hopeful looks on their faces (even if it was half way joking). But in all honesty, I would let each and every one of them stay if they needed to.

Day trippin'

Our school had the day off yesterday. I'm not sure if it had to do with the college entrance exams many students took (comparable to the ACTs or SATs) but I'm not one to complain about a day off. Took a trip to the city of Gyungju, the old capital of Korea. It was only about an hour away and was really cheap to get to by bus. I'm told this entire city is a world heritage site, or some of it at least. It was so pretty with the trees changing colors and provided a nice getaway from Busan, if only for a small time.

Those aren't hills, but tombs.

A lot of couples took bike rides during the afternoon.

The weather and the changing trees were beautiful.

Happy pepero day!

Happy pepero day to you and yours! What is pepero? I didn't know before today, either. They're kind of like breadsticks dipped in chocolate. Today was sort of like Valentine's Day for teachers. The students are supposed to bring pepero for all their teachers. Apparently they chose 11/11 because the numbers look like the food. How clever.

There's also an international food festival going on in Busan, although it may be finished now. One of my students went and I asked her what America had to offer. She told me nachos. That makes sense...

Melissa and I went hiking last Saturday. I hadn't gone on any trails yet, which is unacceptable and disappointing. I made my way to her neighborhood for a small yet challenging hike. It was nice to get away from the concrete for a while.

Best wishes to all reading!

Alive and well

Not much to say, so I'll let the photos do the talking.

This was taken the Friday before Halloween so we had a little party. This class usually misbehaves, but I still adore them. Say hello to Ben, Kevin, Alice, Sophie and Stacy.

Like I've mentioned before, the kids really like to say people "died." They also like to play with guns and knives and they bring these fun little trinkets to class. No big deal. I couldn't see this going down very well in an American school.

And finally... Some friends and I went to a "Wii-room" last night. You just go and play Wii! It was a ton of fun to just sit around and play tennis and bowling for a few hours and it was so cheap. We had a great time and lots of laughs.

A day in the life

I decided I would try to give everyone a little peek into what life in South Korea actually consists of. I'm always finding things that are specific to Korea, but I haven't documented them for everyone to read yet. So here they are.

-I've been asked what my blood type is by several Koreans. When I say I have absolutely no idea they look at me as if I grew a second head. They're shocked. I guess a blood type tells a lot about a person, so I usually just make an answer up.

-I really can't explain to you the noises you'll hear in Korea. I think my favorite, and one I find most bizarre, is the war-like propaganda I'll randomly hear coming from fruit stands. I'm not kidding. You walk by a little stand in the back of a van selling something like herbs or fruit and there will be a bizarre voice yelling something from a loud speaker. It really is difficult to explain. One friend told me about a comic he read in which two people were walking by this bizarre event. One friend asked what was going on and the other said, "Either the nazis are invading or nectarines are on sale." And it's so true.

-Socks. There are entire tables dedicated to selling socks at various markets here in Busan and I've heard they are a popular gift to give.

-It's totally normal for hospital patients here to leave the hospital for a little bit and roam the streets, gown on and IV drip attached. I've seen patients in restaurants, stores, taking walks. It's just no big deal.

-Service. People here really will do their best to always make sure you're accommodated and comfortable. From my short time in the country, I see that they really do aim to please. My best example of service comes from a man working at a 7/11 right outside my apartment. I go in the store frequently to buy all sorts of items: water, food, candy, beer. One time I went in and the bar code on an item didn't work right, so he gave me a free energy drink for my "time wasted," which was about 4 seconds. Another time I went in to buy just a bottle of soju, so he gave me a bag of potato chips for free, because he didn't want me to get sick. He's the best.

There are so many other things I have noticed about the culture and people, I could go on for days. I make it a point to jot down these observations so I can write about them, share them, remember them. This is just a small chapter in what could be a book about, "Why Korea is so Awesome."

A rock fest and fireworks

I did a bad job of keeping the blog updated, didn't I? Things have been a little busy the last few weeks, but to be honest I just got lazy and didn't feel like updating. I've snapped out of it and have stories to share!

Let's start with two weekends ago: the Daejeon rock festival. To sum it all up, it was an awesome time. There were about 50 Busanites on the bus and I got to meet a lot of great people from all over the city. The trip there and back was about 4 or so hours, including stops. A friend of ours popped in a Beatles CD when we were almost there and the bus turned into a big karaoke session which was definitely a sight to see (and painful to hear). We finally arrived in Daejeon and had a bit of trouble finding our hotel. There was a good amount of traffic and our bus got lost, so we had to turn around. Easier said than done. The bus literally stopped four lanes of traffic backing up so we could turn around. It was the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. Finally arrived at the festival and listened to some good tunes. To all of our surprise, the festival was shut down at midnight. We obviously thought it was a joke when an emcee got on the mic and told us all we were being shut down, but alas, it was no joke. Feeling a bit discouraged because we didn't get to hear the band we came to see, we thought the trip was going to be a bust. But with some phone calls and persuasion, we followed the band to a bar named Yellow Taxi where they played to a crowd that danced and sang all night long. I really don't think the show would have been quite as good if they played at the festival. But since it was a smaller, more intimate crowd (that followed them to a bar in an unfamiliar city), I think it was a bit more special. After the show, about 20 of us piled into one pretty big room (divided into 3 rooms) to hit the hay. Woke up, found food, went home. Great weekend.

This last weekend was the Busan Fireworks Festival, and I can tell you one thing. It did not disappoint. There were actually 3 shows, one on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but the last was supposed to be the best. I heard a lot of people would show up, but I didn't know exactly how serious it was going to be. We arrived on the beach at about 4 in absolute shock as to how many people were already there. Long story short, we sat around and played cards, talked, wandered around until about 8:30 when the show began. I really have to say, for as frustrating as it was to deal with such an enormous crowd, the fireworks were beautiful. They lasted for about an hour and it was "an around the world theme," which was pretty cool to see. It definitely topped any fireworks I've ever seen (yes, even Rantoul's display).

Officially in Busan one month today. Where does time go?