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I love Korea! Love, love, love, love, love it!
I think that one of the main reasons that I had such a wonderful trip, and that Korea left such an impression on me, was the people.
I got to see my friend, Kihoon, whom I've missed very much since he went back to Korea from Japan, as well as Chihye, another missionary who lived in the town north of me. Through both of them I met some wonderful, kind, amazing people!




This is post-Pizza Hut dinner. I had a sweet potato, pineapple pizza. Yummy!
Going clockwise from bottom left is Kihoon, Chihye, the two Mrs. Nishis (they're sisters that I studied Korean with), Miss Choi, Miss Min, Nobuyo (a member of my church who I also studied Korean with), and Miss Park. I hope I am spelling everyone's name right!
Kihoon lived for one year as a missionary at my church Kisei Chapel. He is actually the person who helped me to find my faith in God again. He invited me to come to his Korean class at Kisei Chapel, and to play taiko drums and make Japanese pottery. Then I decided to try going to a church service. Wonders never cease, because then I started going every week!
Chihye lived for 2 years as a missionary in Odai, the town north of mine. I didn't know her very well in Japan, but I got to know her better while I was in Korea. She's so sweet, and I felt very inspired by her faith.
The Nishi sisters both studied Japanese at my church. They are very funny ladies.
I met Nobuyo at church, and we also studied Korean together. She is a junior high school English teacher.
Miss Choi, Miss Min, and Miss Park all lived at Kisei Chapel in the past as missionaries. They all speak Japanese really well.




It was funny hanging out with this group, because although I was in Korea, I got a lot of Japanese practice! The ladies from Japan said it was really funny to watch Koreans and an American speaking Japanese together, instead of one of our native languages!


This is Grace, Esther, and I in the subway station near Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul. Chihye introduced me to them and we all went sightseeing together. Grace is a member of Chihye's church. She was sooo sweet. She's 20 years old, and has never been overseas, but she speaks English so well! She was so kind to me, and went out of her way to help me have a great time in Seoul! Esther was a former classmate of Chihye's. She is a school teacher now. She also went out of her way for me, and I am really grateful to have met her!


This is Chihye and I posing beneath what is supposed to represent a typical Korean face. Both of Chihye's parents seemed to think that I looked Korean. No, I don't know what they were talking about. Maybe it's my cheeks. Chihye's mother even asked if I had any Korean relatives or ancestors! Hilarious!


This is Samonim, the pastor's wife at Kihoon's church; me; and Kiyoung, Kihoon's 16 year old cousin. We all ate dinner together at the church and then played ping-pong on my first night back in Busan. Samonim is really, really hilarious. She was one of my very favorite people that I met in Korea. She really likes speaking English, even though she's not very good at it! Kihoon explained to me that she had prayed for God to send her someone to speak English with, and then one day an American woman named Sarah showed up at her church. She became friends with Sarah, but Sarah is living outside of Busan now, so she doesn't get to see her very often. Then she prayed again for God to send her someone to speak English with, and I showed up at her church. She was soooo happy to spend time with me! I love Samonim!


Samonim, Kihoon, and Kiyoung. Kiyoung was so sweet. He studies English in school, and has studied Japanese for fun. So, I was able to speak both English and Japanese with him. I hope that he'll keep studying both, because it's such a wonderful thing to be able to communicate with people from other countries!


Samonim, Kihoon, and I. I miss them.

いろいろ


Today I came home from school, stripped off my sweaty track pants and polo shirt, sat on my couch in my underwear, and watched TV while I ate rice and daikon (a big radish) kimchi. Does that sound strange? The daikon kimchi was so delicious, and it felt so good to be out of my sweaty clothes. I felt perfectly content as I sat there enjoying every crunchy bite. I can't wait to eat the rest of that daikon kimchi, and then buy more. I learned this week that kimchi doesn't work very well as something that you take to school for lunch. It's quite smelly. Even tupperware and a lunch bag couldn't really stifle that fragrant kimchi odor! I felt like there was a little cloud of cabbagey stinkiness around my desk!

Last weekend I called Jonathan and we met up to go for a swim. We drove to a near deserted beach in Kii Nagashima (where Jonathan lives) and floated around in the sea for awhile. It's been nothing but rain around here lately, and that day was no exception. So we swam beneath the clouds. There's a Japanese word for "sea of clouds". I'm quite fond of it. The word is "雲海".

I love that you can float on your back in the sea and not even have to move your arms or legs to keep afloat. There are some really beautiful beaches in this area. I wish I had gone swimming more during the summer! On the way home Jonathan and I saw about 8 monkeys by the road. We stopped to try and take pictures of them, but I was on the wrong side of the car for it, and the monkeys around here don't seem to like having their pictures taken!



I am reading "The Wind-up Bird Chronicle" by Haruki Murakami.
I am entirely obsessed. But perhaps obsessed is not the right word.
I am wrapped up in it.
I am filled up by it.
I felt the same way when I was reading "Norwegian Wood" by Murakami. I feel as if my own world is altered as I read about the world that the characters in his books inhabit. Wouldn't you like to read it and tell me if you feel any strange effects?

I feel the need to write a "Japanese countryside appreciation" post.
Lately, I've been very focused on how much I like cities, but the bicycle ride I went on this evening reminded me of how wonderful it is where I live.
Once I turned off the noisy, main route, all I could hear was wind, cicadas, and frogs. In every direction I was surrounded by green mountains and rice fields.
I stopped by a small pond where I had seen some massive koi the last time I took this same route. They were still there, and seemed excited at the prospect of getting some food from me, but sadly I had nothing to give but a smile, and they probably didn't notice that!



Soon after that something caught my eye off to my left side. It was a monkey dropping from a tree branch! Then I realized that there were actually about 5 or 6 monkeys, including a baby hanging onto its mother. Oh, I love monkeys! They're so cute. The monkeys here are Macaques with funny, little, red faces. They all quickly ran away when I stopped my bicycle.
I rode far enough today to find the "Ouchiyama Fureai Bokujou", which is a farm where one can see cows (and possibly other animals), and make butter by hand. It was already closed, but now that I know where it is, I'll have to go back on another weekend.
On my way back towards my house, I saw one of my favorite first graders from Ouchiyama elementary school. His face lit up when he saw me and he yelled "Meigaaaan sensei!" So, I yelled "Hello" and waved. Then he responded with the cutest little "Harrrrrooo". He even rolled his R. It was precious. I had a big smile on my face after that!
My little village here in the Japanese countryside is amazing. I feel very blessed to live in such a beautiful, peaceful place (with a little used car disposal problem)!