First Tourism Trip--Gyeongju

On September 14th I got to do my first real tourism of South Korea. One of my Korean friends from my home university who is now living in Seoul came down to Pohang for a visit, so we got together to do a bit of sight-seeing. We went to Gyeongju, a very famous area of Korea. Here is what Wikipedia has to say (a better explanation than I could give):

Gyeongju is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang province in South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, covering 511 sq miles with a population of 264,091 people. Numerous low mountains—outliers of the Taebaek range—are scattered around the city.
Gyeongju was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla (57 BC – 935 AD) which ruled about two-thirds of the Korean Peninsula between the 7th and 9th centuries. A vast number of archaeological sites and cultural properties from this period remain in the city. Gyeongju is often referred to as "the museum without walls." 
Among such historical treasures, Seokguram grotto, Bulguksatemple, Gyeongju Historic Areas and Yangdong Folk Village are designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. The many major historical sites have helped Gyeongju become one of the most popular tourist destinations in South Korea.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyeongju)

If you are curious for more information, I found another good site that has more of the history: 
http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=255885

We set out from Pohang on bus, and ended up hiring a taxi for the entire day to drive us everywhere. It was the cheapest and most convenient option, and worked quite well. The trip to Gyeongju took about an hour and a half. It was rainy for a few hours, but that did not make it an unpleasant trip. It only added to the beautiful mountainside scenes that we drove up and down. 

The first place we went to was Bulguksa temple complex. I love the architecture--very intricate. We could not go inside any of the temples because they are special sites for Buddhists, but the outsides were fascinating enough to look at.

After that, we went higher up into the mountains to another famous temple, the name of which I have lost. 

After walking around the temples and up and down some beautiful mountain paths, we went in search of lunch and found it at McDonalds. I had my very first Bulgogi burger, and I admit, it was pretty delicious. 

Also, interesting cultural fact: In Korea, McDonalds delivers!

After lunch our energy was revived, so we went to Tumuli Park which contains the tombs of the ancient rulers of the area. The tombs were giant earthen mounds, and there was one that you could go into (no pictures allowed) and see the underground portion of. It was actually a very lovely park and I enjoyed it. A very different kind of graveyard than I am used to! The green, grassy mounds reminded me of something out of Europe, or maybe the Shire.

All in all, it was a good day and a good opportunity to get more of a taste of Korean history and culture. I really loved being in the mountains and the rural areas, and the tombs were my favorite part of the day. As bad as it sounds, I think it would have been a lot of fun to walk to the top of one and have a picnic.

Our little group

Well that is all for the Gyeongju trip. In the next couple of weeks I will hopefully be writing some detailed blog posts all about my five day trip to Seoul. Get ready for a lot of pictures. 

So far my time in Korea has been an incredible learning opportunity, and I am very grateful for all of the blessings God has poured into my life while I am here. I miss a lot of things about home, particularly the people, but Korea is starting to feel like a home as well. God is good!
As always, thank you for reading.

Little Differences

Going to a new school in a new country with new people is quite an adventure, but sometimes it is the smallest things that strike you as odd as you go about your day to day life. Here is just a simple list of things about Korean culture or Handong/dorm life that I am still adjusting to. They are not negative things, and not things I dislike. Just little, fun things that remind me I am far from home.

1. People here usually walk very slowly, and quite often in groups that are hard to circumvent (even in America people don't walk in groups as often as they do here)

2. It is not considered weird for men to walk arm in arm with one another

3. Men wear make up in Korea and get perms for their hair (not all men, and it is not always extreme, but still...)

4. Breakfast is not the same here--it's just a meal you eat in the morning, so a Korean breakfast may include hearty soups or seafood that we consider to belong in an evening meal

5. Very little drinking of beverages typically happens during a meal, and the cups are tiny. At the cafeteria, there are water fountains near both exits that you go to after the meal to get a drink

The water fountain

Typical size of the cups

6. Asians are pretty economical in most areas, which means that not a lot of A/C is used. The classrooms here can get very warm, and the hallways are even worse

7. My mattress is very thin compared to my bed at home. I heard it was because Handong wants students to spend little time asleep and as much time studying as possible, but who knows if there is any truth to that...

This is all the padding we get, and it isn't a very soft pad

8. And of course, this is Korea, so don't get too attached to your shoes being on your feet. They have to come off before we enter our dorm floor, and they are certainly not allowed in our rooms

9. One thing that I am still getting used to is how important age is, because it is a big part of the culture. One of the first questions you get asked by anyone is how old you are. Although this is not a blanket statement by any means, their treatment of you can change depending on if you are older or younger than them. As a younger person you defer to your elders almost always, and if there is an age gap it might be harder to become friends with a person just because of how their culture works. As a foreigner at a place like Handong this has not had any negative impact on me, but age is still very important here

So that is my short list. I could go on for a lot longer if I wanted to.

Upcoming: On Tuesday, September 17th I leave for a trip to Seoul. School shuts down from the 17th until the 22nd for a nationwide holiday known as Chuseok--otherwise known as the Korean equivalent to Thanksgiving. I will hopefully have some good pictures and stories from that trip, as well as the sight-seeing I got to do this past weekend. Look for more updates soon.

Thanks for reading!

State of Flux

First week of classes here at Handong had my head spinning. Apparently it is the normal routine for there to be a mad flurry of adding and dropping courses for the first two weeks as students iron out their schedules and decide what they can or can't take. Well, my week was no different as I ran into several road blocks to the class schedule I had planned out before leaving the states.

The first day of classes, Monday, was rather anti-climatic for me. I only had one class during the seventh period, so until 5:30pm I was at loose ends. I finally attended my language class, Korean 1, but still felt a little unsure about how my week would shape up. As the days progressed I realized it would not be as simple as I hoped. I walked into one class and discovered that it was taught entirely in Korean, which it had not been advertised as. Well that would do me no good, so I left before it began and had to drop it.

For one reason or another I ended up dropping two classes. Then I still had to replace those classes, but discovered that most of the classes were already full at that point. There is a certain procedure for trying to get into a class that is already full which I had to become a master of immediately if I wanted to get a class schedule nailed down.

After asking what seemed like a million questions, and running around campus feeling confused and overwhelmed, I finally settled into a schedule by the end of a very hectic week. This is the last week one can drop a class, and I certainly hope that I won't have to. 
This is my current schedule:

As you can see, it is a slightly unbalanced schedule, and Tuesdays are really quite dreadful. But this is how it worked out, and I am simply grateful for the state of flux to be at an end. So far I believe my favorite class is going to be Philosophy. The teacher is absolutely incredible, and his English is really clear. I only have one American professor, so I am getting a whole slew of new experiences.

Although the week was incredibly stressful for me, it was also filled with good things in-between. I got to know the people here better, started to feel more comfortable in my dorm and at the cafeteria, and became more familiar with the buildings I will be spending my semester in.

The highlight of the week was going out to dinner with members of the international church along with my fellow new international students. I got to have corn and potato on my pizza for the first time, as well as shrimp! 

It was a really good time and I greatly enjoyed it. I love getting to know all of these people and hearing all of their stories. 

As I went through the past week, I realized what a humbling experience it was to be the outsider and to not know anything. I had to ask questions, otherwise I would be lost. I had to admit to not knowing what I was doing. I am so used to doing everything at school on my own and not needing directions on how to get to my classroom. It is not easy, but I feel like it has been a good lesson in humility and appreciating the help of the people God has placed around me.

So anyway, I survived my first week, and hopefully will continue to do so as my time here progresses--though my goal is to be able to become comfortable enough to really thrive here. Hoping to keep updates coming! If there is anything in specific anyone would like to know, please just ask me. Thanks for reading!

Random cultural fact: In Mongolia if you accidentally step on someone's foot, you always shake their hand afterward

Some Beautiful Things

After orientation we had a few days of freedom (our last days!) before class. On Saturday we moved into our housing for the semester, which involved me lugging heavy bags up and down dozens of and dozens of stairs. After this was accomplished, a large group of us internationals decided to walk down to the beach. With a very kind Korean friend as our guide, a large group of us set off.

I am not sure if I have ever been on such a beautiful walk before. It is around six miles to the beach, and you walk through rice fields surrounded by rolling hills. The sun was high, but not too bright, and the wind was cool but not too cold. 

The walk was breath-taking. But then we reached the ocean, and I was blown away all over again. The sand was clean, the water clear, and the area not crowded or industrialized. I have been to only two other beaches before, but they could not compare.

Whenever I get to spend time in such beauty, I always feel like God is sending me a love letter. I feel like He is telling me, "I love you, and made all of this for you to enjoy. Do you like it?" Yes, I love it. This outing was such a refreshing blessing, simple as it may seem. 

Also, not only was the ocean and the walk there wonderful, but so was the company I went with. I really love getting to know these people, and hearing their stories and seeing their smiles. I already treasure the memories I have made--especially now that school is upon us and there is not a lot of time for fun activities like going to the ocean! But life is good, and I am richly blessed.

Getting Oriented

First day of International Orientation—Tuesday August 27^th

My first breakfast in Korea involved kimchii and french toast. My mixed culture breakfast couldn't compare to the incredible mixing of cultures I experienced during the rest of the week (and continue to experience). That first official day of orientation we were given a chance to rest after the long trip down here. We registered properly for orientation and turned in some paperwork, and then we went to opening service. This was a time for worship and a good devotional from one of the English pastors here. Many of the Handong staff members introduced themselves to us and gave us useful information regarding various campus services and organizations. We had time for fellowship and getting to know each other as international students, finding many things in common as well as exploring our differences.

To give you an idea of the culture mixture, here is a list of countries represented by our group of 43 incoming internationals: Korea, Mongolia, China, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Palestine, India, USA, and Russia. So many languages are spoken amongst the whole group—it's so colourful. I love it.

That evening we all piled onto two buses and went shopping in the city which is about a half hour drive away. I managed to obtain bedding as well as some of the other necessary items I did not have. It was tiring, but a lot of fun to experience a little more of Korean culture. I went to bed tired but feeling accomplished.

Wednesday August 28^th

For orientation we were put into teams consisting of three rooms (4 people per room), which had three Korean helpers as leaders to help us navigate the week. The teams typically sat with each other at meals and played the games together. It was really nice to have a smaller group to focus on getting to know. Our team was called Team C, and obviously was my favorite group.

In the morning we had another devotional session and another series of informational lectures. We discovered that Handong has a curfew of 11 PM. They take roll at that time and request that the main lights in the rooms be turned off. If you need to be out later, you can send in an electronic request for a late pass or an overnight pass. This is very different from my home university where you can be out as late as you feel like. I honestly don't mind the idea of lights going out at 11, as I am sure I will be needing sleep at some point.

Tuesday afternoon we spent playing water games, the various teams being pitted against each other. It was a little bit chaotic but actually a lot of fun despite the messiness of it. It was a good time to get to know people better and take a break from the stream of information that had been poured into our heads earlier that day. After getting cleaned up and eating, we spent the rest of the evening fellowshipping with each other.

Thursday August 29^th

The big event of Thursday was the Handong Honor Code Ceremony. This is a time where all of the new students commit to abide by the rules of Handong and the Godly principles that the school upholds. After the ceremony, I started to feel truly honored to be part of an school like this, if only for a semester. They take a high value and moral system very seriously, and although there are many intimidating aspects that come with that, I am excited to be a part of Handong Global University. I was told that only the top ten percent of Korean students make it here.

We got to go on a tour around the city of Pohang in the form of a big scavenger hunt. It was a lot of fun to see all of the sights and smell all of the smells. We visited various shopping centers, markets, and finally the ocean. We also ate various Korean treats, excluding the American Baskin Robbins bit. We also had to use what Korean we knew to ask locals how to write the names of various objects in Korean. So much fun!

That evening we were partakers of what they called the love feast which was arranged by the international union here. Food from around the world was set up in buffet style, and I have to say, it was one of the best meals I have ever had.

The rest of the night was spent playing games and giving presentations on all of the various cultures represented. A very long, tiring day but exceedingly fun. I made some already treasured memories as well as becoming more comfortable with both Korean culture and Handong culture. I think very few orientations can compare to the one we got. I feel spoiled!

Friday August 30^th

Last day of orientation! It was a sad prospect to have to end this very fun period, but we made the most of it as we went through breakfast, the closing service and then the Handong tour. We were given various locations on campus to find and had to take pictures at each one. In the end each team's photos were voted on in a contest.

We took care of more registration details and then departed to spend time with each other in various ways. Most of us internationals ate dinner provided by the international church where we got to meet many other of the internationals here. It was hard to know that soon the grind of school would be upon us, but at the same time I felt more prepared for it. Thanks to all of those who worked hard for orientation, I was able to have an incredible week and make even more incredible friends that I hope to keep throughout the semester and beyond.

Team C!

The entire crew of international orientation!

Thanks for reading! More to come.

Crossing to Korea

It has been exactly one week since I left the United States. The trip to Korea was probably the longest trip of my life, and not one I'd be enthusiastic about repeating very often simply due to the length. However, everything went smoothly by the grace of God.

Friday afternoon I departed from home with my older brother and together we drove to Dallas. Once in Dallas I spent the night with one of my dear friends. It was wonderful to get to see her again, if only for one evening. We went to bed as early as we could, though I had little success in sleeping. After just two hours of sleep we got up at about 3 AM and made it to the airport.

Everything went very smoothly, and I made my 6:30 AM flight with ease. It took us about two and a half hours to reach San Fransisco, and once there I had about a two hour layover. Several other students from my school ended up being on the same flight so we congregated in the airport. It was neat to meet several other exchange students headed to various schools in Korea, and it made me all the more excited (and nervous) about what was waiting for me once I arrived.

The flight lasted around twelve hours. Anyone who has been on a flight that long knows how miserable it can be and how sore long legs become. I sat next to a very kind Korean couple who handled my random outbursts of crying very gently. As expected, the plane meals were nothing to write home about.

At long last we landed on the green island known as Incheon. Seven students from my school ended up gathering at the airport and together we set out for the next leg of our journey—getting to Pohang. We hopped onto a train at the airport that took us off the island and into Seoul. From there we found our next train and somehow managed to get all of our luggage onto it. It was a four hour train ride. I have rarely been as tired as I was on that trip.

After that train it was time for yet another form of transportation—a bus. We barely managed to cram onto it, though we were thankful that we happened to catch the last bus of the night. We stayed on the bus for about forty minutes and then switched to two taxis. Despite slight difficulty due to language barrier, we made it to Handong Global University somewhere between 11 and 12 PM.

Right away we were put into the care of our Korean helpers who were assigned to help us throughout orientation. We made it into our temporary dorm rooms and all I had energy for was a shower. I slept with just a hoodie and towel on the bare, thin mattress pad but I slept all the way through the night and woke up feeling at least a little refreshed.

The journey was absolutely exhausting but entirely worth it. As I sat on that bus staring at the Korean signs passing by, it honestly felt a little bit like coming home. Due to my experiences in Japan, the sights and sounds were almost familiar, but with a very defined sense of starting something brand new. Having been here a week I already feel ready to give Korea a piece of my heart. I think I will be very happy to live here for a semester.

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for the next blog entry which will hopefully be soon.