Back to 學校 (shi shao)

     We made it safely to China on Wednesday the 4th of May at 2:15 pm. Luckily for us it was only 1 hour time difference so we didn't have to worry about jet-lag in China. I was busy on plane reading a Chinese culture book called In the Pond by Ha Jin. It was a great read about an instance of abuse of political power in the Chinese communist government. It centered on the life of a factory worker Shao Bin who isn't rising to his true artistic potential of caligraphy, writing and art. When Bin suffers corruption he uses his talents to set things right for him and his family. The cry for creative power rung in my ears and made me ponder on what contributions I will make in the society I live in.
     China is different, that's for sure. Peering out the tiny porthole, I think the very first thing I noticed was the arsenal of bikes that filled the bike racks along the tarmac. That was great! It was in stark contrast to the more modern shuttle cars of the Korean airport. The level of development resembled that of Peru's: lacking. This is more like the Asia I envision when I left the ground in San Francisco. I summed up my thoughts in the rancid Chinese bathroom after the flight: China is to Korea just as Peru is to the U.S.
      Yes, I admit, I once thought that all asians looked alike---and I still think they do, at least I can't quite make out the difference yet. (If anyone says they they can, they're lying).  I generally stuck out like a sore thumb in Korea, but as I stood in the China Customs line, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were some Charles look-alikes. Dallin laughingly affirmed the notion that I looked Chinese because after getting off the flight he waited for us near the terminal entance and he confused me with 5 others before I finally came out. I say that even asians confuse one another because Jin, my Korean friend, has a tally of how many Chinese people confuse him for being from China. As of two days into being in China he's at 10. I'm only at 4.

I admire Chinese family values

       I stared into the eyes of the Chinese customs official behind her desk, a little nervous. I ran though my mind how to say thank you, "Xièxiè...xièxiè...xièxiè." She looked back up with a pleasant smile and said,"Thank you."
"What? "Thank you"? That's not Chinese, what do I say?!" Eh, who cares, I arrived in the mainland!

Zhongua Gate

Get to the point!

        Ok, have I got a new one for you. It always starts as a normal day here in Seoul, South Korea. We've planned to visit what is called a folk village on Monday, so we are going to just go through a smaller one today. A folk village is a replica village of traditional-style Korean homes.
     This Friday morning started out slower than the other days. We've been going and going and I think it may be wearing on us. Soles in Seoul are wearing thin. It was nice to sleep in and watch a movie to start off. But after Sherlock Holmes solved yet another one, we were anxious to get out. Our first destination of the day: Namsam Folk Village. As we rolled up there was certainly no shortage of tour buses on site. We weaved through at least 10 tour buses and dodged two Chinese filled ones that offered to shine their tail lights a little too bright for comfort. On our way in we bought some bean-filled pancake bread that is some funky combination of Mexican food and Ihop.

       We entered the doors and it seemed like any other tourist attraction with fake wooden cut outs to make it seem like two American-faced Koreans were getting married.

    We browsed around for another half an hour and I was ready to go. We started making our way our and hanging in the last corridor was a special sign:

       It mentioned something about having free traditional medical work done. I thought two things: 1)"Hmmm, that's interesting." and 2)"What an odd place to have an advertisement for traditional medicine."
We entered the dirt plaza to see what the dressed up Koreans were scheming up. Just like always, we could only smile and say,"Onya Ha seyo" [translation: hello] whenever someone came up to us speaking intense Korean.
       Jin, conversed for a second and turned to us with the news that they not only did was the sign an advertisement but they actually did the assement there. I thought it to be a great idea and if there were even the slight chance of getting acupunture, I was comitted. They gave us a strenuously rigorous and thorough screeing to make sure we got the most tailored treatment possible (they let us choose between having a "cold" countanance or a "hot" countance).

We had a nice consultation complete with Body mass index and a hot root beverage loaded with fiber. The only cure for my semi-achy neck and stressed knee: acupuncture.
     As I sat laying shirtless on the table I thought maybe it wasn't my brightest moment, but hey, I was in Korea. If it wasn't the doctor's professional-looking fake Korean robe, it was all the 3rd graders on their class field trip on the other side of the bamboo hut that kind of gave me the Hibbie Jibbies. I adopted the general swim suit policy: I wasn't going to reveal anymore than I would at a swimming pool. When you have eleven needles in your back, you start to question yourself.
         I started going over all the rational of why this whole thing was a scam. At any moment I though the female nurses would come in to take the pins out and then offer more, let's say "specialized" attention. Thankfully no such thing happened. Our host informed us that he saw the Korean equivalent to the American health board at the entrance so he knew it was safe. Otherwise we never would have entered.

Yes, that is my leg with two needles in it... Ask me to see the ones in my back.

          I was skeptical from the start, but there was a check to be had on the bucket list and Korean acupuncture is world-renowned---at least that's what they say in Korea.
        Each pin tingled as it settled in the upper epidermis. They said that the pressure in a specific area creates added blood flow and that the increased circulation speed recovery for most ailments. I really did feel my arm go tingly as the pins were place in my upper left back. The blood increase was a given though: who's heart wouldn't start pounding with needles jabbed in them?
           I left the clinic less than pleased with the immediate results, but excited that only a true Chinese massage was next on the list. But a couple days later when Dallin's heel pain returned (that was healed as a result of the acupuncture), I was flying up stairs like a pre-teen Swedish boy! I really had been cured. I'm not suggesting anyone go out and get this done, but wow, it's hard to deny the results.

Being part of the Culture

      So when I came on this trip I was really hoping to see something different. Why China? Why Korea?  Well, I loved my time in Peru and especially the loop it threw me on. Narrow-mindedness is best fought on the road...in Asia. Who would have ever thought that Korea was a land so full of opportunities? Naturally when Jin Lee, my freshman year roomate invited Dallin Briggs and I to stay with him the week before China, I jumped at the chance. What a great opportunity to see another culture, to see the country with more hours spent working in a year than any other country in the world. Perhaps this is why life seemed to be more fast pace than it does in the states. I wasn't crazy about doing the average tourist gig---that's not my modus operandi. But luck was on our side.
      On Thursday the 28 of April it was a day of all days! The morning was bashful and the sun stayed behind some clouds so I countered by being just as shy in sheets. Still in my PJ's I moseyed about the house and started my morning routine. Gmail was looking pretty lonely, especially since Amy wasn't on Gmail chat. I didn't really care to Facebook but reading was even less appealing. In retrospect, a shower was what I was in dire need of. With a *Bing* Amy was up and ready. It was great to see her face again. Oh , I LOVE it! Jin's dad, Jai, graciously let me use his Skype account and I called my parents at 10 am my time and my mom said she was headed off to work. "What? I thought it the evening?" She explained that she was going in for an evening shift and it all made sense. It was great to hear Mom and Dad's voice too.
        We jumped in a taxi to see Jin's dad for a tick and then we were off to see 엔 서울타워,Seoul Tower.

It was a pretty daunting craning of the neck to look into the sun and be blinded by how tall the tower was perched in the mountains.

I was relieved to see that there was an elevator to the lift that scaled the mighty mountain. It wasn't just any elevator, but it was the Amazing Glass Elevator from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! It rode at an angle complete with sideways Korean elevator music. We rode the skyline that was ski lift for snowless enjoyment. When we got to the top, it was amazing. Thank goodness the clouds cleared to permit us a 100 mile view in all directions. The sun smiled at us and spilled it's joy all over my face. Wow, what a sight it was! 

Think Korean Godzilla. Seoul Tower

   

   It was an interesting combination because interestingly enough the tower was the spot of Seoul's Teddy bear museum. To top it all off there was a nicely placed Cold Stone Creamery.
      We continued on our amazing culture adventure. We took a few more buses and we arrived at another palace entrance to see the changing of the guard. We recharged with a little Dunking Donuts and we were off. When we got to the palace museum square, this lady decked out in Korean robes rattle something off to Jin in Korean. He asked if we wanted to participate! The lady escorted us over to this dressing room and we all these traditional robes at our disposal.

She dressed up super quickly and led us over to stand next to this giant drum. To start off the ceremony I heard them say something in Korean and then out of no where I heard "Charles Wood" This pretty hefty guy in red robes came over with the biggest mallet I've ever held. He motioned for me to hit it three times. I took it and it gave a solemn three hits. I didn't give all I had because I didn't want to break the thing.

They continued the changing of the guards with plenty of fanfare while we watched in our sweet Korean getup. Afterwards, they summoned us to take pictures with the guards and stuff. I wonder what everyone thought to see two foreigners guarding their national treasure? After we took off all the robes and hats and stuff, I realized how lucky we were to not just see Korean culture, but actually BE Korean culture!

 

 

 

 

 

 Well Lucky for us Dallin has a pretty slick camera: we are now Korean Movie Stars!

Leaving home

     It was kind of rough leaving home. I remember as a missionary in Peru not being affected by a change until I started packing my bags. Well I had finished all the pre-trip work, the bags were packed and still, it hadn't hit me yet that I was going to Korea and then to China. It was hard to say good bye to my roomates. It was hardest to say my goodbyes to my fiance Amy.It wasn't as hard as saying good bye as three years earlier when I left for Peru. I know when we see each other again, we'll have the best of times.
      I was kind of stressed out with school and trying to get wedding details taken care of before we left the country. I had finished all the school assignments, but there was still some details with moving my stuff that I needed to care of.
     On Friday night we stayed with Jin's uncle and his family in Sandy. We did some last minute shopping and eating at Chipotles, mmm. That night I saw Amy and I's engagement photos for the first time! We got to talk over the phone as we went over each one. We got to bed at midnight and then we woke up at 3am to be at the airport a couple hours early for our 6:45 am flight.
     The Salt lake city airport is a miserable place on three hours of sleep. I made some last minute phone calls to family and friends.We had our two hour lay over in San Francisco and it went quick. It didn't seem like we were even in California. Maybe it was a combination of sleep deprivation and excitement, but I was eyeing down all my Korean travelmates.

Downtown Seoul from An San: Saddle Mountain

        Seriously, it seemed as if the 12 hours from SanFran to Incheon airport in Seoul flew by. They even tried to acclimate us to the culture because when we left they served us  a sandwich and by the end of the trip they were serving full on shrimp soup. I was in between sleep and "The World is Flat", and various movies for that half a day. It was so weird going into the future because while the clock read midnight, the sun stole any sleep from my eyes when the window shutters were pulled back. I just followed the crowd when we landed because I didn't understand anything over the intercom. It was finally at 3 pm on Sunday afternoon on the Korean tarmac that it finally hit that we were in Korea. What a relief! Mmm, mm, mmm was it gorgeous! The smell of cigarettes filled the air as we strolled through the airport. Jin's dad picked us up in his BMW to mark the started of our Eastern Summer.