Winter Wonderland

Late December and early January in Korea have been scenic and freezing.

With temperatures hovering between 2 and -5 degrees, it was only a matter of time before the snow fell, and then failed to melt. This happened dramatically as I was returning on Sunday from a weekend in Seoul with Sunny. You can see the snow starting to fall at the train station in the picture above.

So my village of Shingye-Ri was transformed into a winter wonderland, with snow both fresh and white.

The little river froze over.

And I braved the cold to try to get some action snow pictures.

My kids enjoyed the cold by playing in our school's bright colored ball pool. Aren't they cute?

I love how the traditional houses have snow collecting on their roofs.

The farmlands were also made unfarmable by a thick layer of the magic white stuff.

Not only does the snow look gorgeous, but it is fascinatingly powdery to touch, yielding beneath my fingertips. It was only a matter of time before I started making snowballs, and having no one to throw them at, threw them at trees and walls, like a kid.

You can see the tree outside of my apartment, dusted with falling snow, like icing sugar.

On the weekend in Seoul, I went to Insadong, an artsy shopping street which is the heart of traditional Korean crafts.

They even have a Starbucks, written in Korean traditional script.

Insadong has beautiful traditional houses, screens and delicious Korean food.

I bought a backpack-full of traditional crafts and gifts in Insadong, so perhaps, if you are good, you will receive a gift from this fascinating place.

I had to brave the snow to make it to church on Sunday. The steps of the Nazarene University were slippery under the falling snow.

Korea truly does have four distinct seasons, now that I've been in Korea for nearly a year, I've had the privilege to experience all of them.

So long for now - until we meet again.

Semper Fidelis

A tribute to my friend Liam Jordaan

Who died in a car crash

Driving from East London to Knysna

3 October 1982 – 30 December 2007

It starts with a heart as numb as ice
That turns to shattered glass.
It will end with the romance of eternal rest.
Stretching memories to last.
But while the ice is still on the wound
Let me pen a teary tribute
To the man who taught me : Semper Fi
And lived his creed: Always faithfully.

I once was a fool of peace, of sweet soft words that fall soothing like the rain. But now I release a savage beast, that stalks the ground where he could not remain.

It started like a lifeboat, in a sea of smiles
It rescued me from falsehood in deceptive times
It reeled me in, thought it was right
That he should be God revealed to me that night.

But no longer will I say the kind, tender creed of gentle goodbyes that rock no boats. It is an insult to his memory not to rage and tear and want to stop the spilling over of yesterdays.

It ended on a quiet morn
That took me away, took me far north.
If I had a diviner’s foresight I would have clung and cried and fought
Instead of waving weakly and waiting out the barren year
And relishing the reunion that was ripped when it drew near.
Terminal goodbyes
Terminated.

If I regretted my love
Regretted voicing each misguided part,
Now I am redeemed
Knowing that he could depart
Still wearing that cursed banner of my heart.

The sand and the water run the Ocean’s course
Sharing fleeting moments on an East Cape coast.
But sand runs dry and salt water slips back into the Ocean's path.
So we could not cement our bond,
But followed where we believed the current bore us
To remain or break free was not our choice.

Beautiful creature, struck so short in years! Can’t the sand and sea run together one more time before he disappears?

So instead of wise things, things that count
We whittled away God’s gift in foolish ways.
Loving and fighting and hurting and helping
And failing together to live up to what we were trying to be.
Dancing in, a happier year in a loaned house
We ransomed our hearts
Till the last.

But no longer will I let my anger rest beneath the brim. When I should’ve broken up those broken-down East Cape roads to stop him.

It ended with goodbye to one mistake
That drove him to the end of his earthly chain.
Then from that car, Liam was snatched away
To watch the wretched machine from his new heavenly plane.
Where he feels peace, knowledge, restraint
He leaves me with nothing except empty threats and tired replays.

So while I do not share his view from space
I'm isolated in my own disgrace.
Who knew what feelings we reconciled?
As loved brother and sister of the Chosen Child.
To calm the storm
To balm the great big chapped wretched debris of my heart.

His God, my God, what do you say about what transpired?
Do you delight in setting mortals up with hope and horizons and then to deny it?

He was a man of exquisite, gentle truth
He planted a seed, to flower, but the tree had no time to grow.
He will not be left in darkness, but will give birth to light
Always as faithful as the first who fought the good fight.
Semper Fi.

Korean election day - 19 Dec

So Wednesday was a freebie vacation for me, because it was the Korean presidential election. I spent the morning having coffee with my friend Julene, who has a heart for international ministries and for reconciliation and for Africa - who has, alas, gone back to her hometown in the US for the next couple of months. It was a spiritually enlightening conversation for both of us.

In the afternoon, I went to Italy Hair to have highlights put in my locks. They had done this about six months ago without the trauma usually associated with foreigners at Korean hair salons. But this time the stylist started slapping on peroxide indiscriminately, and I felt my heart sink into my socks.

So after a lot of furious gesturing, they realised that the resulting luminous carrot-orange was not the color I had in mind. They were very kind and apologetic and offered to fix it "service", which means, for free.

So rather than risk more highlight-horrors, I chose a light golden brown. As you can see, the result was rather nice, and of course, they styled my hair into Korean-style sumptuous spiral curls. If only I could get this effect every morning!

In the evening I attended a small party with my Intermediate Adult class. It was at Annie's house, a globe-trotting Korean who showed us all fantastic hospitality. She put out a delicious spread of seafood, sushi, kimbap, sausage, salad and real cheese! The cherry-on-top was that she had found some South African red wine at E-Mart, and this was supposed to help me feel less homesick. It was definitely good medicine for that.

So Annie (in the purple shirt) is going to South America in January, as this is the only continent she hasn't visited yet. She also told me about her intriguing cross-cultural romance, but I will just leave it at that. Annie is a great role-model and her Korean name means "talented at languages." She is certainly living up to it.

Wesley (in black and yellow) is a die-hard English student, who has recently got married. He and his wife are expecting their first child, so I think they are experiencing a lot of excitement and nerves. Wesley has been called a perfectionist, but I think he is just a hard worker who has high standards for himself. I guess you have to aim for the moon, if you want to reach the stars.

Jin-Ho (in black clothes) is usually quite quiet and respectful. He is a bachelor who seems married only to his computer and the ladies in my class take every opportunity to tease him about finding a wife. He also loves cleaning cars and said that if he ever did volunteer work, he would do laundry work in a disaster area. (He also likes pizza very, very much.)

Hyun-Joo (red shirt) is a mom of two young kids and she has a lovely jazzy voice. She wants to study English at university and become an English teacher for Korean kids. I think she will make a great teacher, because she is very caring and able to express herself well in English. She is looking forward to sending her kids to Kindergarden so that she can have some peace and quiet at home!

All in all, I had a lovely evening with my class and appreciated their concern for me. They really helped me to see how hospitable and warm Koreans can be. I know it can be intimidating for Koreans to speak to foreigners, but when they reach out to us it definitely makes coming to Korea worthwhile.

Korean wedding weekend fun

So Saturday was Calvin's wedding. He was in my Bible Study when I first arrived in Korea and he's a lovely guy. A whole bunch of church friends went to his wedding, which was in a little chapel in the middle of nowhere. Now, unfortunately the Koreans sometimes do a "Western style" wedding, which is like a bad impression of what they think an American or English wedding is like. So there is a white dress and a pastor, but it all happens quickly with slightly tacky edges.

For example, the wedding cake is fake except for the top layer, and they shoot streamers out of trumpets. And the bride comes down the church on a cart through the mist, which is pumped through the floor of the church ala phantom of the opera.

But Calvin looked trendy, and Angela looked gorgeous. And although I didn't understand much of the Korean message, it seemed very sincere.

And supporting a friend in making such an important step is of course, mandatory.

After having photos taken with the wedding couple, we went to the lunch buffet. The food was truly delicious, with Korean, Japanese and other Asian cuisines represented.

Then the couple took part in the intimate, traditional Korean part of the ceremony. They exchanged their tux and gown for bright red and blue hanbok. They then perform a series of gestures full of symbolism, that as Westerners, we do not truly understand, although it was beautiful to watch.

For example, the mother-in-law throws jujubes into the bride's skirt at this time, which means that they wish them to have many children. Jujubes signify riches, honor, and male heirs in Korea. There is also a lot of bowing to everyone, and the groom has to bow to the guests, to his in-laws and to his bride in an extravagant head-touching-the-floor style.

So now it is almost mid-winter and really cold. If you don't believe me, check out the ice-sculptures outside our downtown shopping centre, Yawoori. These blocks are solid ice! They have been left there for a couple of weeks, and show no sign of melting.

On Sunday I said goodbye to Betsy, our church musical star and close friend, who is going back to Redding, Northern California. Betsy is one cool chick, relaxed, creative and with no hang-ups. I will miss her a lot, but hope that my small attempts to teach her Xhosa and Afrikaans have left their mark!

So each Tuesday morning we have a "girls group" bible study at Starbucks.

In this necessary injection of sanity, we have been discussing how to live out our faith in a culture so different from our own. Its been really interesting hearing everyone's story. Although we are all English teachers in Korea, we come from very different backgrounds and countries. But what we have in common is that we are all trying to make a difference in Korea, and act as authentic Christians who are messed-up and flawed in a world that needs God.

You must be the change you want to see in the world. -Gandhi

The elephant song...

I used this video song with my grade 1's in class today. They were in near hysterics! They wanted to sing it about six times. Now the tune is completely stuck in my head. If you teach little kids maybe you can use it too.

Trick or Treat in Shingye-Ri

So autumn (or fall, as the Americans say!) is here, with temperatures plummeting and real colored leaves, red and yellow and gold. We don't get anything like the leaves here in South Africa. Truly stunning.

Shingye-ri is a small village on the road from Cheonan to Mokcheon, known primarily for a whole range of food and sausages made from blood (which I've avoided as much as possible!) Most of the kids who live in Shingye-ri come from poorer backgrounds, and most of them are very respectful and super-cute!

Even outside my window (below) the fall coloring of the trees are evident.

Shingye-ri is also really close to Independence Hall, the largest museum in Korea, and it is quieter and more picturesque than the big nearby city.

It has got lots of traditional-style houses called Hanok along with the big apartments that all the Koreans seem to live in. My boss Miekie and I are the only foreigners in the area (so we get lots of FAME and more than a little notoriety!)

I found a lovely short hiking route near my house, which starts at the Life-Long Learning centre, and courses through the nearby hills.

I enjoy taking walks there, its so quiet, with the smell of leaves and pine-cones and no one else in sight. My only other companions were the Korean squirrels and one large, red-ringed snake (?) which slithered across my path. Definitely a good place to escape from the surging mass of humanity that is Korea!

31 October was Halloween, which meant we had to desperately research what American schoolkids do for Halloween, since its a non-event in South Africa.

We decided on some traditional games such as bobbing for apples, and pin the hat on the witch, a Korean "ghost" game and the ever-popular candy treasure hunt.

As you can see, the kids really enjoyed it, although I thought some of the little kids were going to drown when their heads stayed under water until they had secured the apples!

One of my grade 2 kids has the English nickname "Jack". He was thrilled to discover that the pumpkin lights are known as Jack-o-lanterns. He said to me "Teacher - I am from Halloween!"

Happy (Korean-style) Halloween!

Everland... an epic battle of courage and cowardice.

Let's just say I will never use metaphors like "I felt a rollercoaster of emotions" or "Life is a rollercoaster" lightly again...






So this is the last of the unforeseen holidays, a Wednesday sneaking up right out of nowhere, on the coattails of Chuseok.

After much persuasion, including being handed "The Bryson Ultimatum", I decided to join Betsy, Steph, Jackie, Erik and Matt on a trip to Everland, the biggest amusement park in Korea and my kids' favorite vacation spot.

Everland is a short subway trip to Suwon and then a hefty bus ride out of the city and into the mountains. It's a beautiful part of the country, with the leaves starting to change color. However, it was the man-made marvels that were on our agenda for the day.

Everland was decorated in Halloween theme with pumpkins and bats galore. It's a massive labyrinth and has even been rated as the 4th most visited amusement park in the world. So despite being a Disneyland knock-off, its certainly not second rate.

Now for a culture note about Americans. They get out of the womb and straight into a rollercoaster chair. These adrenalin-hungry thrill-seekers have long out-screamed the natural terror one could be expected to feel on death-defying rides. They are quite blase about it. I've seen pulses racing faster in a sleep clinic.

The Koreans aspire to American entertainment standards, but us Africans are a different breed. We don't really like for our feet to leave the ground. We get our natural fixes from things like muggings, high-jackings, murder and violence. So amusement parks haven't caught on in a big way, and I've never felt the need to get high on anything other than life. But that was all about to change.

We approached a low-key rotating ride called "Championship Rodeo." It starts off quite calmly, a gentle introduction. Jenni was happy. Then it picks up speed.

All of a sudden it is trying to throw its passengers from their carriages in a dangerous, psychopathic fashion. My friends throw their arms up and scream excitedly. I tried to join in, but only a slow dying moan escaped from my mouth.

As I curled up in a fetal position, I heard Matt commentating happily beside me "Oh, this ride is messing up my hair" or "The ticket lady isn't dancing very well." as if he expected me to be able to respond when i was trying to stop myself from gagging or passing out, or jumping from the cart.

My introduction to the land of the brave was not at all flattering.

Undaunted, we went on the "Eagle's Fortress", a seriously impressive rollercoaster with all the necessary turns and falls. During this ride, I managed to let out a few proper screams, which definitely helped. At least it lets you know you are still alive. But I still couldn't quite whistle a happy tune or simply remember my favorite things... I still felt pretty wretched.

The next ride was the "Columbus' which is a huge Viking-type swing ride. This one definitely leaves your stomach in the air while the rest of your body is rapidly descending. Erik kindly said "It helps to open your eyes"and I was naive enough to believe him and thus got a crushing view of us screeching towards terra firma at a 45 degree angle with a truckload of Koreans. Surely Columbus had it much easier than this.

So with adrenalin coursing in my veins and a glazed-over expression in my eyes, I went to explore the rest of Everland. I discovered all kinds of innocent, peaceful rides which of course none of my hard-core friends had wanted to go on. I really liked Aesop's village - it's very child-friendly and magical, with lots of nooks and crannies for kids to explore and non-traumatic games and adventures. I was still waiting for my own PTSD to wear off.

We went to a perfectly un-scary "Haunted House" ride where you shoot ghosts with laser guns. Another room in the haunted vein lifts up entirely and turns around 360 degrees, very "Harry Potter", and pretty cool in a mind-bending sort of way.

Everland also had this crazy Abba-style band, which performed Western songs in a mildly embarrassed manner. Although the singer was Russian, this is a good career option for Westerners who don't get into the English teaching business. Everland likes its performers as blond and Caucasian as possible. In a big auditorium they had all kinds of dancing - Spanish and Irish tap and acrobatics.

As night fell over Everland, we got swept up in an incredible light parade. Different floats represented various fairytale, and I could not help but wave at the characters on top of them. For me, it's quite easy to be as mesmerized as a child in a land of costumes and make-believe. Kudos also for the people I was with, who had a healthy store of child-like enthusiasm for Everland. Consequently we could all merrily regress together.

After the light show, we went on a calm, classic merry-go-round ride and then did some souvenir shopping. I bought a bat Alice-band which my students think is very "cutie", and take turns wearing at the hagwon. On the late-night trip back we tried to come up with titles for my creative writing proposal. Topics ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime..but unfortunately never reached the sublime. But it certainly made the trip go a lot quicker. Everland was another novel experience for me, a quick lesson in introspective psychotherapy and in every way unforgettable.