The final days, minutes

I am sitting here in my room with loaded luggage hoping that I am not overweight and I am not forgetting anything. My trip in Korea is rapidly finishing, although I have a long trip ahead traveling from Incheon to Milwaukee.

Since the weather got nice on Wednesday, I have been filling my days with traveling around Seoul and meeting people. Friday and Saturday were especially enjoyable because they were relaxing and I got to see some particularly beautiful places, including Jogyesa Temple and Bukhan Mountain.

I have mixed feelings about leaving as expected. I am looking forward to returning home to my prairie dog, Calypso, my own bed and some more home cooked meals. Plus, Wisconsin is so lovely this time of year. But, I am sad to leave my friends, the excitement of Seoul and to simply know that this huge trip is done. I have had a strange feeling the whole time I have been here--torn between feeling like a resident and a visitor. Being in so many of the same areas and seeing many of my Korean friends, I felt almost like I live here, but then I had no routine. That is one of the reasons that on my final day in Korea I wanted to do something that I had never done before. So Suki and I went to Bukhan Mountain in the northern part of Seoul. I didn't expect much, but it was gorgeous. When you get on the outskirts of Seoul, you realize that the city is surrounded by large, rocky mountains. It took Suki and me about two hours to get to the mountain by subway and bus. The paths were surprisingly steep and difficult. Along the path, there was a gorgeous mountain stream (very tiny, but pure). At the base of the side of the mountain we arrived at was a very large Buddhist temple. It was hard to capture the image of this colorful temple with monks chanting and followers praying in front of massive mountain.




The last big thing I did Saturday was to go to Suki's family's home near my motel for dinner.I helped her mother make Korean dumplings called mandu. It was a delicious dinner of mandu soup and many homemade kimchi side dishes. Everything is home made by Suki's mother, even the soy sauce. Suki's brother, sister, niece and nephew were also there. Although they did not speak any English, it was a great experience getting to eat a homemade meal of traditional food.

Now I should finish getting ready for my 19 hours on planes and layovers and about a total of 27 hours of traveling. I will take with me from this place many more memories to share and many more photos. However, the memories to me feel like ordinary life.

Yesterday in photos

It's been a very busy few days with little time to write or upload pictures. The weather has finally gotten warmer and sunnier. On Wednesday, Suki and I hung out indoor shopping areas because the weather again was cold and rainy. We had a couple of great meals of doughy dumplings for lunch and seafood barbecue for dinner. The seafood barbecue was more of cooking clams on a half shell with seasoning and toppings.

When the weather finally turned really nice on Thursday, we went into Seoul to some very nice areas, including Insadong, the river and Hongdae. Insadong is a touristy area, but still is pretty and has a great traditional park next to it. The river is a newly created pathway. And Hongdae is a fashionable area near a university.

I have been having a great time and am so happy that the weather has improved. I can't believe that I have only one-and-a-half days left. I am waiting in my room right now to figure out some final details for a dinner tonight. I will soon head out to a traditional Korean Buddhist temple in Seoul called Jogyesa. Then I am meeting a former Canadian co-worker and a bunch of my Korean friends for a galbi dinner tonight.

There is so much else I'd like to share with you about my experiences I have been having this week, but I want to be enjoying my short time remaining in Korea. I will write more later. For now, here are some photos:

Making doughnuts in Insadong:


Park in Insadong:
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Suki and her new best friend in Hongdae:

Culture learning curve

I know that no matter how hard I would try I would never completely fit in in Korea. I think there are many values that I share with the Korean people, but the way their society works is so different from what I am used in the U.S.A. It's hard for me to explain in a short blog entry. A good place to witness those differences is on the subway. I went into Seoul for the first time on this trip today. I took the subway to meet a friend and then to go to a movie. To get a good sampling of Korean society, riding the subway is an excellent way to do that. It can also be a very frustrating experience as people push to get to the train or are completely oblivious to you, your umbrella or bags. The train is often full of young lovebirds who are constantly preening each other. Tonight on my short ride, I saw them fixing each other's clothes, playing with each other's hair and staring at each other's reflection. Sometimes, like tonight, it takes a lot of patience to ride the subway.

However, when you get to know Koreans they are very wonderful friends. Some of the best that I have ever had. They make me feel so special because they are always happy to see me, are caring, generous and kind.

I was able to meet with several former students today, including some from my "housewives" class. We went out for a really nice lunch and had a good conversation about USA, Korea, our lives and so forth. When the group of six started to speak Korea, I just leaned back and listened. It's fun to listen to Koreans talk because they will throw in a random English word. Some of the random English words today in a stream of Korean were credit card, music video and scientific.

Unfortunately, it is really hard to capture Koreans for what they are, but I did take some pictures of office workers playing basketball terribly today in their shiny gray suits (Korean men appear to love very shiny gray suits).

I am also trying to get back in the habit of using my few Korean words to communicate thanks and hello. The harder thing to remember is to hand things to people in the polite, proper Korean way, which is with one hand on the other arm's upper portion. The same goes for handshaking and pouring beverages.

I have not been able to take as many pictures as I would like to so far because of the horrible weather. It rained rather heavily for most of yesterday.Today, it was sunny in the late morning for about an hour and was rainy, cold and really windy the rest of the day. As I was looking for an office tower in the financial district where my friend works, my umbrella flipped inside out four times! Not exactly photo-taking weather.

Starting Thursday, the weather is supposed to get warmer and sunnier. I can't wait because I am anxious to take more photos and not to have my options limited so much by the weather.

(Silly thing. I am keeping track of how many white people I see. So far I have seen three of us in two days.)

Simple moments = happy times

It is amazing how the simple things in life can mean so much to a person and bring them the purest of joys. This past week has been really stressful and busy, but during the times of great stress I have also discovered great moments of joy. There are the on-going joys like the support and love of my family and friends. Then there are the little joys that occur unexpectantly and last only briefly, but bring you the purest of joys that help to carry you through the day.

I have had several such joys over the past week and a couple of them had one thing in common: they were because of South Koreans.

I had my second tutoring session on Wednesday with my South Korean pupil. I am going to help her with her English writing and all around English skills. I am volunteering with the Literacy Council of Waukesha County and they matched me with Sujeong. She is new to the USA, but is married to an American man that she met in Seoul. Spending time with her brings so much happiness to my life. Her caring nature, eagerness and generosity in turn make me feel wonderful. On Wednesday, she made me chamchi kimbap and it was so delicious. Her friend, Yoon, also came for lunch. It was such an enjoyable lunch for me to be able to talk about Seoul with these two very kind people. Just thinking about it now makes me feel so happy.

The other little joy that occurred this week because of a South Korean friend just happened a few minutes ago. A former student of mine, Gyoung Dong just wrote me an e-mail telling me of his recent recognition for his poetry. He also sent me photos of his family. It is a great honor to be told of his literary success. He also shared some very kind words with me.

These simple human elements of our lives are really the best. They have extra meaning for me when I feel overwhelmed by stress. I do find the most joy in my life from human relationships and my relationship with nature.

The past two years has taught me something so important. And that is how wonderful Korean people are. I think that they have to be the most caring and generous of any nationality I have ever met. Their culture and approach to life is very different from Americans' in many ways, but there are many similarities too. The aspect that I like the most is how they welcome people into their lives so openly and will give of themselves so readily.

I feel so blessed tonight because of all my friends, who are from so many backgrounds and live in so many places, and for the unconditional love and support from them and my wonderful family.

Thank you all who have been there for me recently during my week of stress.


Quote:
"Patience and perserverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."
--John Quincy Adams