"Homesick for Busan City" Even Before I Leave My Amazing Placement

REMINISCING 

Nearly two years ago when I first arrived here in South Korea, I remember never having even heard of the city of Busan, where I would be placed in, and where I would ultimately spend all this time living and teaching and exploring. Since then, I have grown to absolutely love this city! It reminds me so much of Davao, Philippines, and Seattle, Washington, where I have spent a considerable amount of my life before ending up here. It was a foreign place but, once I arrived, it felt oddly and wonderfully familiar. 

Out of curiosity, I reread my blog post about the day I found out I would be coming here: July 30, 2013's Placement Ceremony. Just, wow. I feel so blessed that, though I didn't get what I thought I wanted, I ultimately got what I didn't even know I needed. Part of this was being placed where I believe I would have the most impact. Of course, I didn't do everything perfectly - not in my lesson plans, my working relationships, my homestay life, not in my dreams of traveling far and wide and studying the language to achieve proficiency. But it is through experiencing my limitations more acutely here in Korea that I have faced the tremendous and painstaking challenge of...extending grace to myself. 

Note to Current and Future ETAs: 

Please Be Kind and Gracious! 

To Yourselves, Too!

Your time here is limited. You may spend one to three years of your life here (more if you really fall hard for the country like some Fulbright Korea alumni), which is not that long in the greater scheme of things. Before you know it, you will be like me - sitting in the gyomushil at work, clipping two-years' worth of front pages of your city's local tourism-focused newsmag, missing your placement hardcore while simultaneously cringing over the pain of using scissors! 

DYNAMIC BUSAN

"Twice-monthly newspaper of Busan Metropolitan City, Korea" 

I stayed in school for 12 hours today, yet only taught two 50-minute classes, so I was in dire need of a project. I had saved up every issue of Dynamic Busan since I arrived at my school, (with the intention of eventually doing something collage-y or artsy with the fantastically vibrant landscape shots of the city), so today was a day of sorting through the mountainous pile on my desk, cutting up the main photos and date stamps on the front covers, and browsing through the rest of the newspaper for photos of places I had been at or events I had experienced. This is what my late afternoon/ evening consisted of. 

Sookhee took note of my large-scale newspaper cutting but apparently already guessed the reason why I was bent on such a project. She asked me just to confirm over dinner, and I explained that I was doing this because I would miss Busan so much! She nodded her head, and said, "I knew it" 

I arranged the cover photos by date. I am missing only two issues: November 2013 and April 2015! Where have these issues gone?! My collection will not be complete :(

I was really not paying attention to much of the written pieces, but I randomly stumbled upon this short opinion piece. It's written by one Sohail Jannessari, who, like me, also greatly appreciates the city. It made me feel better reading this knowing that I wasn't the only one who "fell in love with a city two continents away from my home." I suspect that the inexplicable sorrow he experienced when getting on his plane to go back "home" will be something that I will be experiencing in less than two months...

My Students Helping Me Create a Special Birthday Greeting for My Mom

SIBLING RIVALRY

Since we were young, my sisters and I have engaged in an often-times unspoken competition on who could show our single mother the most love on especially two occasions: 1) her birthday in April and 2) Mother's Day in May. 

My sisters are far better at showing spontaneous, physical affection, while I tend to express my appreciation and admiration through more reflective writing. Since this year saw all of us scattered across the world, I thought it would be better for the sisters to unite instead of compete against each other. 

I coordinated with my sisters in the U.S. and in the Philippines to create a photo collage that spelled out "Happy" (from Korea) "Birthday" (from the Philippines) and "Mamas" (from the U.S.) to show her that, no matter where we were in the world, we are all still united in our love, loyalty, and affection for her [insert cute and sappy Kakao emojis here]. 

SOUTH KOREA

THE PHILIPPINES

 

THE UNITED STATES

Bam. Who needs a generic, store-bought greeting card when you can just have an internationally-themed photo collage, complete with hand-painted banners, cute babies holding up signs, and Korean high school students in perfectly-matching red uniforms to help delight the heart of your mother on her birthday? That's right, no one. 

But, seriously though, I'm running out of ideas here.

MY QUESTIONS FOR YOU

Do you know your mother's "love language"? How have you expressed or shown your love for her in a way that went straight to her heart? What was the most fun, creative, memorable, and/or meaningful gift or message you have given her? If you have a few ideas you don't mind sharing, please email them to me (so my sisters wont see them) at thefulbrighter[at]gmail.com!

Post-Dinner Evening Stroll in Yeongdo's Coastal Trail with Host Mom

CHUSEOK HOLIDAY BEGINS!

Today is the start of my 5-day Chuseok vacation! The days leading up to this break were filled with questions about what my plans were.

With great excitement, I told other teachers that my plans were: ...*drum-roll please*...

Absolutely Nothing! 

DEALING WITH THE GUILT OF HAVING FREE TIME

I am free! This past year, I have struggled mightily against the guilt of being free to just relax. Being free to pause in my tracks. Being free to not have a schedule. Being free to not have an agenda. Being free for self-care. This past year, I have struggled with this peculiar guilt and am still learning and implementing ways to safeguard my sanity, my health, my time, and my energy. 

THE EVENING STROLL

MY SATURDAY CONSISTED OF ME...

...waking up slow and getting up late, eating brunch while Skyping my sweet Mama in Washington, and then spending the rest of the day reading, napping, watching video clips, napping, pinning parts of my dream home on Pinterest, napping again, waking up for dinner with my Korean host mom, washing dishes, doing laundry, and then taking a walk together afterwards.  

The evening was beautiful - from the moment we stepped outside the apartment complex and saw the near-full moon to the very end, when we sat facing the twinkling lights of the Busan coastline and chatted in the near-dark. I made verbal observations about how much safer Korea is compared to the Philippines (or even compared to the U.S.). 

THE SAFE HAVEN THAT IS KOREA

Walking around at night, I don't feel like I have to constantly look behind my back, or remember my Arnis or Taekwondo, or keep a deathly-grip on my smartphone in case it is snatched. I feel safe here! This safety gives me more freedom to enjoy the walk, breathe in the scenes and the fresh air in one gulp, and just appreciate Connie's brisk walk and personality.

There was a small group out for a night picnic and actually grilling something delicious in the dark. The smoke and the aroma added a touch of warmth to the tingling coolness of the night air. Among many others, we passed by a young family, the father carrying a baby strapped across his torso, while his wife walked arm-in-arm beside him. The sight of this family warmed and gladdened my heart! At one point, Connie collided with what looked to be a disoriented wasp and ended up squashing it with her next step by accident. Very unfortunate fellow.

We returned to the apartment to find that my host dad had arrived, and was hanging our clothes up to dry in the balcony - quite an unusual sight in Korea, I think, especially among the older married folks! 

Day 1: Off to Geoje Island for Holy Joy Center's Two-Day Church Retreat!

Some time ago, you might have read this post about my first-ever trip to Geoje-do, where I tagged along some church members to check out the location and accommodations for an upcoming church retreat. That retreat has now passed! Many Korean families came, with only a handful of foreigners in the mix. That was a bit of a bummer since the theme was something along the lines of "Diversity in the Body of Christ." Those of us who were able to make it made the best of it though, so - I don't know how to put this lightly but - it was your loss if you didn't come out! =P

The following is a photo story of our first day on the island.

DAY 1: HOUSE, WORSHIP, LUNCH, BUS

Russel entertaining the little ones on the bus on our way to an excursion

Beautiful and peaceful countryside

We took the church bus - it was the only way to fit everyone!

THE TREK TO THE HOUSE

...and the berry-picking begins

We passed by some adorable and beautiful houses on our way up to the house

Our worship leader carrying his guitar and a few other things up to the house

 ARRIVING AT THE HOUSE

Here we are (again)!

This is the bed I ended up sleeping on this evening

Shoes galore. Can you guess which pair is mine?

It was very green outside, reminding me of Washington State!

THE WOMEN MAKING THE PLACE HOMEY

One of our lovely jibsanims before joining the whirlwind of other women who prepared our food for lunch

A view of the first floor from the stairwell before I headed up to the second floor

WORSHIP ON THE SECOND FLOOR

Some time spent in worship after arriving and before lunch

Some of the men went berry-picking and came back with this much in just a few minutes!

Jibsanim chillin on the deck, where it was quieter

Picking berries using Pastor/Professor Gabriel's hat

 EATING LUNCH BEFORE HEADING OUT

Korean food is very colorful...

Happy to be hanging out with church friends AND eating a yummy meal!

Everybody was crazy about these berries!

LEAVING FOR OUR FIRST EXCURSION

The property was pretty large. You can see the van the older folks took to the main road while the rest nonchalantly walked on foot

CHILDREN ENJOYING SOME MAGIC TRICKS

Pastor Gabriel's daughter is very outgoing and was making friends left and right!

This is why I have a "Cute Children" tag on my blog!

Russel performing some magic tricks for the kids on the back of the bus

This girl is the granddaughter of the house's caretaker. She was very shy at first, but
quickly made friends with the other little girls. She decided to join us for our trip and had a blast!

We had left fairly early in the day and arrived at our destination by noon-time, so I was feeling pretty tired and ready for a nap in the early afternoon. However, the view, the kids, and the conversations and laughter on the bus renewed my energy enough to carry me through bedtime.

Stay tuned for how the rest our day went traveling to Geoje-do's historic POW camp!

Visiting Geoje Island, a World Renowned Shipbuilding & Ocean Tourism City

HOLY JOY CENTER GOES TO GEOJE-DO

After finishing ship ministry at the port of Busan, Russel and I decided to join church leaders on their trip to Geoje-do (Geoje Island). A church retreat is scheduled to take place there next month in June, so the objective was to visit the church's rest house and assess its suitability for accommodating a large group. 

Our group photo taken by a kind and obliging passerby

TRAVELING TO THE CITY OF GEOJE

While flipping through a tourist magazine, I stumbled upon some interesting facts about this island city:

• Geoje is a world renowned shipbuilding and ocean tourism city, hosting Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co., Ltd and Samsun Heavy Industry Co., Ltd)
• It is South Korea's second largest island
• It consists of 10 inhabited islands and 64 uninhabited islands
• Its abundant natural beauty places it among the best scenic attractions of Northeast Asia
• Its regional products include oysters, citrons, bamboo sprout, mushroom, and anchovy - all exported to the U.S. with no quarantine

Ah, Korea, I am in love with your beauty!

Beautiful view from our perch on the observatory deck

TOURING THE REST HOUSE

Touring the grounds in the full heat of the afternoon sun

 

Professor Gabriel's little girl admiring the view (that or looking at the puppy in the dog house longingly)

The two-story rest house, complete with balconies galore

The women, satisfied with the rest house's condition, sit together to chat before the trip back home

The pastors and deacons chillin in their temporary man cave

The kitchen looks good

Professor playing hide and seek with the kids

Little Samuel and his dad

The second floor, where worship service will be held

The very green view outside. This photo does it no justice

After the brief tour of the house, we all piled back into the vans and headed to a restaurant for dinner. We were all famished and the food and company did not disappoint.

OFF TO THE RESTAURANT FOR DINNER

Our group encountering a fun graffiti wall!

Professor's got some artistic skills!

The men checking out a ginormous heart with love letters attached to it.
Question: What happens to the love letters and notes when it rains??

Sam and his dad, again

Professor Gabriel writing a note in his language

Former ship captain, Pastor, & Professor

Moksanim & Samonim cooking that delicious seafood dish

Two men cooking, they're doing it right

After dinner, we were treated to coffee and patbingsu. Our church spoils us just a little...

The men + Kayla (because she loves her daddy that much and doesn't allow him to be in pictures without her, lol!)

It was dark by the time we got back to Yeong-do, our own very small island. The day was tiring but it did me good to see some more of Korea's natural beauty, to inhale that fresh, salty air, and to be in the company of men and women who are showing me what it's like to serve Christ together in a family and community setting.