May 13, 2011 인제대학교 Inje University

We started the day off with our culture and language classes.  Man, I feel like I don't know worth squat about Korea.  In class, I swear everyone else knows what's going on and I'm a deer in the headlights.  I'm sitting in class going, "Wait, who's that?  What happened?  Huh?"  I hope that my understanding will be soldified by the end of this study abroad.  I'm reading Dr. Peterson's book on the history of Korea which has helped out a bit along the way.  :-)

After class, we went to 인제대학교 Inje University where we will get to attend a few classes and use some of their resources for the study abroad (library, etc.).  I really looked forward to this because of the students that we will meet.  I loved the Korean students at the ELC and so I thought this would be just as fun.  We got to see various parts of the campus.  We got library cards and visited the president of the university.  That was pretty neat.  Regarding presidents of universities, it's a democracy where as in America it's not democratic in its selection.  I thought that was pretty interesting when they told us that.  After, Dr. Peterson had to give a lecture at Dr. Park's class, the man who we met on the bus coming down here.  We got to meet his students for a little bit.  Dr. Peterson gave him lecture which was in  Korean.  It was a bit hard to pay attention because my head hurt so I laid down and slept during the lecture. 

After the lecture, Dr. Park treated us to lunch at their cafeteria.  They tried to make us sit with someone not from our study abroad group (so every person could meet someone new).  Well, that plan didn't work out.  We were all willing to try it but I think Dr. Park's students were too shy that only 2 students actually followed what they asked us to do.  Across from me was a student named 박현준 Park Hyun Joon.  He's from 제주도 Jeju Island (jeju-doh) which is Korea's Hawaii they say.  He's the first person I've met from 제주도 Jeju Island. It was good Korean practice.  During the lecture, we were all laughing inside because he had the same jacket as Kenwood that day!  And then he comes and sits next to us!  We couldn't help but laugh inside.  :-)  현준 Hyun Joon is really nice and wants to do stuff with us.  We're planning on hanging out tomorrow and studying as well.

Dr. Park's class

Kenwood, Victoria, and 박현준 Hyun Joon.  They couldn't stop laughing when we were taking this photo because they're wearing the same jacket. 

I'm adjusting to 김해 Gimhae even though I miss 서울 Seoul.  I thought the dialect would be really strong down here but it hasn't been bad.  In fact, most people nowadays are trying to hide their dialect (which they're really good at).  I'm excited for tomorrow!  I wonder what we'll do with 현준 Hyun Joon!

May 12, 2011 그냥 수업 "Just class"

The title speaks for itself.  We just had class today.  We start each day with a devotional and then begin our classes.  We talked about history and culture mostly.  After two hours, we then split up into language groups and practiced Korean.  There's 3 out of 9 who speak Korean fluently so they've been our teachers and mentors.  Kenwood Huh is Korean who lives in New Zealand and served a mission in 부산 Busan.  Junil "Juni" is also Korean but was born and raised in the US.  He served a mission in 부산 Busan too.  Stephen served a  mission in 부산 Busan too. 

For language groups, we were split into 3's.  I was with Michelle and Juni.  Dr. Peterson sent us out to talk to people and ask about what they're doing.  We went into this Shaman's house and asked about his work.  However, I didn't get to hear all of what he said because I was so tired that I fell asleep sitting up.  I guess it was ok but Juni didn't really know what he was talking about.  He was using terms relating to Shamanism that would be helpful if you were a believer in Shamanism and would be confusing if you weren't.  So it was weird practice.  However, I believe my listening has improved.  Before, Korean sounded like garble except for words that I knew.  Now, all sounds clear!  I just don't know what they're saying but at least I can picture how the words are spelled in my head and understand their grammar structure of sentences and expressions.  Cool :-)

For lunch, we went to 본죽 Bon-Jook which is a traditional Korean porridge restaurant.  Doesn't sound tasty?  WRONG!!  It was sooo good!  I had 해물죽 seafood porridge (hae-mul-jook).  Who would have thought porridge would ever taste good?  Yeah, me neither!

본죽 Bon-Jook - Korean Traditional Porridge

This sign is no joke.  The food took FOREVER!  But that's good because that means it's from scratch :-)

해물죽 Seafood porridge

All gone!

After lunch, we did more language practice and then had some free time.  As we were walking down the streets and saw these pet shops with puppies in them.  Oh. my. goodness.  So cute!!!!  I was so close to buying one but then the idea of where to put the puppy during the study abroad then came to mind haha lol. 

How can you turn away from something like that??

We went out to eat for dinner and on our way home we heard all of this loud singing.  There were these guys dressed funny making lots of noise and singing on the streets. 

What's that noise?

What on earth?????????



The south is very different.  It's not as busy as 서울 Seoul but it's beautiful here.  I'm starting to adjust to 김해 Gimhae as we speak of right now.  I miss 서울 Seoul but I think I'll have a special place for 김해 Gimhae in my heart soon.  :-)

May 11, 2011 양동, Branch President's Home

Today was really rainy.  One day it's sunny, the next day it's pouring.  At least the weather channel has been accurate at predicting the weather and it's been consistent throughout the day unlike Utah haha. 

Our first stop was to 양동 Yang-dong which are these BEAUTIFUL villages!  I wish I could have taken a lot of pictures but because it was raining hard, it was difficult to.  Plus, we were in the van due to the heavy rain.  However, Dr. Peterson said that we would come back again so hopefully the weather will be better for pictures!  :-)  At 양동 Yang-dong, there are villages that are centuries old that people still live in.  It was such a cool site to behold.  I'm glad that they preserved this part of Korea.  We met a man who I believe they call a 총손 Chong-Sohn who is a leader of Confucian ceremonies.  Part of that responsibility is teaching those who wish to learn the Confucian classics (aka SUPER HARD and GENIUS).  Hearing stories from him described how life can be at times very burdensome but important to carry out.  He talked about how his father received so much stress from it that it killed him.  His stories were incredible; he's such a humble man.  They served us 매실 Mae-shil which is this sweet plum juice that tastes a lot like Kool-Aid that can be served hot or cold.  It's definitely better cold but on a rainy, cold day it was perfect.  He had to leave but his wife made us some lunch which was AMAZING!  We had 천국장 Cheon-gook-jahng which is this partially fermented bean soup.  Most people say it's sour but I didn't think it was sour at all; only super goodness in my stomach :-)  We also ate 되장국 dweh-jahng-gook which was pretty good even though it's not my favorite. 

양동 Yang-dong on a rainy day

양동 Yang-dong!  Photo Credit given to Rachael Caldwell.  Is that gorgeous or what??

Outside the 총손's house.  It was pretty cold because of the rain.

총손 Chong-sohn

Drinking 매실 mae-shil :-)

천국장  :-)

After a wonderful lunch, we visited this elderly couple in another house in the village.  Dr. Peterson knew them because this elderly couple allowed the 1999 study abroad group to stay in their home for the study abroad experience.  What was really cool when we visited them is that the man was a 양반 yang-ban which means his anscestors were Korean aristocrats.  When we visited the couple, the man was in the middle of writing a letter to his grand nephew's fiance's parents.  양반 Yang-bans would write letters of proposals and the family would send a letter of correspondence.  This man was sending a thank you letter in response to their acceptance.  That was so neat and cute!  The elderly couple was so sweet.  They gave us these citrus fiber drinks which were so delicious! 

Elderly couple that was so sweet to us

After our fieldtrips, we headed home except for me, Rachael, and Michelle.  On Wednesdays, a few of us rotate to go to members' homes to eat and practice Korean.  However, it was super stressful at first.  We were already late coming back from the field trips that the family decided to reschedule the appointment.  Dr. Peterson wanted us 3 girls to practice finding addresses in Korea by taxing a taxi.  2 words:  epic fail.  The taxi was supposed to drop us off at the church which is next to a fire station but he took us to the wrong fire station and we were on the other side of town and had no idea where we were except that there was a lot of shopping going on.  I kept trying to call Dr. Peterson but he didn't answer his phone.  We took a taxi back to where we were because Dr. Peterson wasn't answering his phone so we went back to ask for better directions.  He felt bad that we got lost so he took us to the church.  We were supposed to have dinner with the branch president's family.  The branch president sent his son to come find us but the son never showed up.  We waited forever until a sister from the branch showed up.  She took us to the home and finally after hours of being lost, we were able to eat with the branch president's family and practice Korean.  The taxi fiasco was so annoying but getting to practice Korean in the end with delicious Korean food was worth it.  :-)

May 10, 2011 해인사, 불교, Flying Horse tomb

Forgive me for not updating!  With running around and everything, it's hard to find time to sit down.

Our first stop was 해인사 Haeinsa which is in the same province as 김해 Gimhae which is 경상남도 South Gyeongsang province.  It's the head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism.  It holds the Tripitaka Koreana (all of the Buddhist scriptures carved on wood blocks).  We learned a lot about Buddhism here which was interesting since I don't know much about Buddhism.  The Buddhist temples that we have seen along with the scenery is gorgeous!  So breathtaking!  We learned about the Buddha and his life which was really fascinating to me.  Below are pictures of his life that I narrated.  For lunch, we had vegetarian 비빔밥 Bibimbap (mixed rice with vegetables and meat but because it was a Buddhist lunch, it was just vegetables) because it is practiced in Buddhism to not eat meat.  The ladies that was serving us lunch were so funny.  They were quiet serving everyone in line until they got to me.  Then all of sudden, as I was getting food from each lady, they kept saying "와우! 예뻐!"/Wow, you are so pretty! (wow- yeppo!).  No joke; it was EVERY SINGLE lady haha lol.  I wish I could have taken a picture of them but they left before I could. 

해인사 Haeinsa Temple

We went through this maze that has great significance in Buddhism.  Pretty much where we started witht the maze, we ended up in the same place.

Inside this box is a pearl.  How I understood this part is that it is believed that when Buddha/Gautama Buddha/Siddhartha Gautama died, jewels flowed out from him. 

Pearl

Buddha/Siddhartha Gautama/Gautama Buddha

Eating vegetarian 비빔밥 Bibimbap

비빔밥 with bean sprout soup and 떡 ddeok (duhk) Korean rice cake.  Holy goodness galore!  That 떡 was huge!  I had two bites because I was full and it was just too big to eat.

Not a single grain of rice left behind.  The empty bowl is significant because in Buddhism, you MUST EAT EVERYTHING.  There can't be a single grain of rice or seed in your bowl or on your plate and utensils.  Usually if there's a couple grains a rice, people consider themselves to be finished with the meal but in Buddhism, if that happens, you take water to loosen the leftover food and drink it so there's nothing left behind.  What happens if you don't finish everything, in Buddhism, they wash the dishes and the used water they throw outside and they believe that spirits who have not moved onto Nirvana are troubled spirits and they will try to eat what you have thrown out.  They are hungry but can't eat.  So, to prevent troubled spirits from entering and eating, you must eat everything you have been given.

Below is the story of Buddha/Siddhartha Gautama; it's really interesting!  Some of Buddha's teachings are the Four Noble Truths which says that suffering is a part of life.  It is caused by attachment; however, attachment can be overcome.  The way to overcome attachment is to follow the Noble Eightfold path: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

Buddha's mother, Queen Maya, had a dream that a white elephant with 6 white tusks entered her right side.  After this dream, she found herself to be pregnant.

Siddhartha Gautama was born.  He was born through different means.  Queen Maya hung onto a tree branch and Siddhartha Gautama was born through her arm.  He then declared himself to be something great.

Siddhartha Gautama grew up to be a wealthy prince.  As he was in town one day, he saw 3 things that made him very sad: aging, sickness, and death.

Because he was overcome with sadness, he decides to find out how to rid those 3 things.  He escapes by horse in the night by jumping over the wall.

He practices fasting but it didn't work out for him very well.

Here is when Buddha tries to overcome seduction of women.

I liked this one the best.  They say that if Christ is about love, Buddha is about mercy.  The man in the green was a murderer; on this neck are fingers of those he has killed.  He begs to Buddha for mercy and Buddha grants him mercy. 



After looking at the panels of Buddha's life, we went and saw the Tripitaka Koreana.  It's amazing how far printing has come along.  What was a painfully tedious process has been simplified. 

Tripitaka Koreana

After 해인사 Haeinsa, we grabbed some lunch and then headed to the Flying Horse tomb in 경주 Kyeongju.  Inside the tomb was a dolmen and many artifacts from the 신라 Silla dynasty.  At the tomb, we ran into the Minnesota Concordia choir.  They sang "Arirang" (Korea's national anthem) which was so neat inside the tomb. 

Minnesota Concorida choir

While we were talking to the choir, after they left we felt weird.  It was weird talking to Americans again even though we're all American on the study abroad.  We felt like we couldn't communicate like we used to.  We got some dinner at a convenience store.  Some of the convenience stores are large enough that they have a couple restaurants inside.  I got 우동  (oo-dong) which is a Japanese noodle dish.  Honestly, I don't like it.  I forced myself to finish it but I didn't enjoy it particularly.

우동 Japanese noodle dish

I feel so dumb on the study abroad when it comes to history.  It seems like everyone knows the answers and I'm a deer in the headlights.  The south is beautiful.  So much history is preserved here.  It's really neat.  So far, all of the girls, we get along so well.  It's easy to talk to each other about anything.  All of us have had inside jokes and play off each other's humor.  It's awesome.  At first, I didn't know anyone except Victoria but I met her a few short times before the study abroad.  At first, I wished we had a larger group but now I think it's perfect because we have gotten close.  Although I don't know everything about Korea, I'm learning so many things each day we have been out here.  It's great.  Korea, you're incredible! :-)

Girlies in BYU apparel