Pondering

I learned recently that a guy that I went to junior high and high school with, Scott Snider, died of cancer. Scott and I were never great friends, but he was a good person. He was funny, and talented, and cute, and generally liked. When I heard about his death it made me sad, especially for those that were close to him. Out of curiosity, I looked at his Facebook page yesterday and saw how people are still writing to him, how they still want to talk to him because he had touched their lives in some way. I found it a rather bitter sweet thing.

This event got me pondering certain things. I live in a city of 11 million people, and even though I stick out I still feel insignificant sometimes. It can be crazy and chaotic here. There is pushing and shoving (they do that a lot here). It can also feel monotonous, especially at my job like I am a drone along with the other millions of workers. I wonder sometimes if I'm really doing any good - am I really helping these kids or teaching them anything? But after reading things that people had written to Scott, I realize that it doesn't much matter if you do something extraordinary with your life as long as you live it to the fullest and are kind to the people around you. Sometimes kindness is hard (especially in a city of 11 million people and when you work with junior high kids ;), but it is important.

Also, I try to take time to appreciate the little happinesses around me. I can get overwhelmed with all the tall buildings, mass amounts of people, and lessons I have to plan so looking for the little things keeps me grounded. Like seeing little kids hold hands or the 70-year-old man playing a game on his cell phone on the metro. Note: old dogs CAN learn new tricks. Like giving my students high fives and hearing them oh and ah over videos of volcanoes that I show them. Like hearing one of my students tell me to stay a long time because I'm a cool teacher. Like appreciating the green trees and flowers that I see. These things bring a smile to my face. Thanks Scott...

All American Pastime

Baseball! In Korea... That's right folks, baseball is pretty popular here. There are two stadiums in Seoul, and about eight professional teams across Korea. We went to Mok-Dong Stadium to watch the Nexen Heroes and the LG Twins. The stadium wasn't that big, but it was a lot of fun. The game was exciting - it even went into extra innings because the Heroes tied it up in the bottom of the ninth. We were rooting for the Heroes because they were the home team, but they eventually lost. I'm starting to see a pattern, that who I root for ends up losing. It happened with professional volleyball and now baseball. Poor guys.

Up at bat

On first base

Korean fans. They all have these blow-up noise makers and they can get really loud. But that was part of the fun.

Famous Korean girl - her name is UEE. She's in a singing group and is an actress too. I found out her dad is the coach for the Heroes so she's the spokesperson for them.

Students are funny

I had my hand on one of my student's desk because I was writing something for him. He pointed at my watch and said, "Nice-uh." (Note: if a word ends in an "e" Koreans either add an "uh" at the end or pronounce the "e", like orange-ee.)

The boy sitting behind him commented as well: "Teacher, watch style is good. Fashion of watch is delicious."

End result: An explosion of laughter from me and a few other students who realized what he had said.

The Tower

On Saturday I climbed a lot of stairs. I have to climb stairs everyday, because I live on the third floor, or I'm coming out of the Metro station. But Saturday's stairs were a lot longer. I went with some friends to Namsan (or Seoul) Tower. It was humid, we climbed, we sweated, we finally made it. It was pretty, lots of green trees and foliage. Unfortunately it was cloudy and hazy that day so the view wasn't as great as it could have been. But it was still a good time.

Brendan, Jessica, and Erin taking a break on the way up.

The Tower.

Part of the view on a hazy day.

Mommy - I am far, far from home :(

There are these fences covered with locks - I think couples put them up to "lock" themselves together, or some such nonsense. I guess it's kind of sweet.

A conversation with my manager

Manager Yang: They come to put in air con in your house tomorrow.
Me: Okay, what time?
Manager Yang: 1:00 p.m.
Me: So I need to be there at 1:00? Will I be late for work?
Manager Yang: No, Mr. Kim will come to help. You know Mr. Kim?
Me: Uh... (note: 80% of the Korean population has the last names of Kim, Lee, or Park - I wasn't quite sure who he was talking about)
Manager Yang: Mr. Kim, you know, the ugly one.
Me (laughing): Right, okay thanks.

Lanterns, Buddha, and Parades

Last weekend they had the Lantern Festival in honor of Buddha's birthday. (I get Friday off for Buddha's birthday - so thank you Buddha, for being born!) I ventured out to a Buddhist Temple, saw lots of gold Buddhas, people bowing, and lanterns, lanterns, and more lanterns. Then we made our way to see the parades. What an amazing and interesting experience. I now want to learn how to make paper lanterns, and read up on Buddha. They had some information on him at the Temple, but sadly in was in Korean and although I can read the Korean alphabet, I mostly have no comprehension of its meaning. Sigh.

Bongeunsa Temple, adorned with many lanterns.

There was a super awesome lantern exhibit at the temple. This is just one of many, but probably my favorite - all made of paper!

More lanterns at the temple. They were everywhere.

Dragon - see the dudes legs. It was so cool.

Another of many amazing lanterns.

Enjoying the parade with Jessica.

Some things

So, I've been lazy the last little while about posting. I was in charge of singles' conference and after it was over I heaved a big sigh of relief and then vegged. On the bright side, singles' conference was a success! It ran smoothly and everyone told us they had a great time and it was well planned.

I have been meeting with friends and exploring on the weekends. Here's some proof:

On May 5th was Children's Day here in Korea, which meant we didn't have to work! Some friends and I went to Suwon to climb the fortress - a big, old wall that surrounds part of the city. We had to climb about a billion stars but it was worth it. This is the view.

Friends on the Fortress.

Me and Ben - that's how we roll.

On Saturday, I got together with some other friends for bike riding along the Han River. It was a perfect day for it. The weather was nice and clear. We had a lot of fun.

Taking a break along the path.

Haejin managed to escape the office for a few hours and came with us. It was good to hang with him for awhile.