McHappy in Korea

My Korean Life

BUNDANG, KOREA. I have been in Korea for three days now. I always try to compare my experiences here to my time in England and Europe, but the two are completely different. For one, being in the UK and Europe felt like more of an adventure, a challenge and a time of growth for me. Korea, on the other hand, is a getaway, a time to relax, spend time with my friends, and soak in my surroundings. Last summer, I learned how to live on my own and take care of myself. This winter, I am always around Monica and Jamie and they take such good care of me-- taking me everywhere so that I don't even have to look at a map, planning activities to do everyday, taking me to the best places to eat and paying for my meals, translating everything for me so that I don't even have to say a word to anyone. The two experiences are utterly different and I love them both.


Basically, to sum up my days so far, here is what I've done:

1. Eat twice as much as my normal intake. Mon and Jamie both eat smaller portions ever since they got to Korea, but it's just the opposite for me. (So basically during every meal, I'm always the last one eating everyone's leftovers...) The food here is delicious and I had so many dishes that I've never had back in America-- Korean cuisine has so much variety that I never knew about.

Labokki (ramen and ricecakes in spicy red sauce)

Ddalk jjim (chicken and noodles in soy sauce).. this was really, really good.

Iceberry bingsu (shaved ice), I love this dessert place. I want to eat here everyday.

The best katsu I ever had in my life.

Dduk mandu gook (rice cakes and dumpling soup) and kal gook su (like "Korean udon")

...and many more!

2. Walk around. I think the two top things I've observed about Korea so far are the extremely well-dressed people (I'm talking about girls in mini skirts and high heels in 30-40 degree weather!) and the many lights... everywhere. Like this:

COEX, the largest mall in Seoul. (It really is huge inside...)

A mall in Dongdaemon, where Jamie took me night shopping.

Bundang, the city Jamie lives which is about 20-30 minutes south of Seoul. A way to describe this I guess is... Bundang is like Irvine (safe, wealthy area) and Seoul is like LA (really busy and crowded). I've never seen Seoul at night but I heard it's two times as bright as this.

3. Try to get in touch with my (nonexistant) Korean roots by...

Chilling at Korean cafes. I love cafes... and Korea has many cute ones. Every morning before we eat lunch and Jamie goes off to work, we go to this cafe called Angel in-us Coffee to journal and do devos. I'm not a morning person usually, but I look forward to this so much every morning!

Visiting Korean palaces. This one is called Gyeongbokgung Palace.

Waiting over three hours to see some Korean movie stars that I don't even know. I shook one of their hands though! And Monica is crazy about one of the guys, Jo In Sung. She got really emotional when he came near us...

Going shopping at Myeungdong, a shopping plaza geared towards young people.

Trying to learn the Korean alphabet. I didn't know this at first, but I guess it's supposedly kind of easy to read Korean... however, since I have a memory span of approximately two minutes, it has been a huge challenge for me. I'm going to study some more before I sleep.

No comment...

I'm so tired now, I need to get some sleep.
Ahn nyung ee gah sae yo! :)

Ahn nyung, Korea!

I'm here...

:)

Korea... I'm coming!

It is past 2 A.M. and I am still trying to grasp the fact that I will be across the world in two days.

Korea, please be nice to me!
감사합니다...

I want to love deeply, radically...

Starting from October until the end of this year, I decided to fast buying drinks from Cha for Tea and give the money I would otherwise spend there to Just4One, an organization which fights against human trafficking. In case you didn't know, Cha has become a sort of addiction for me, causing me to spend ridiculous amounts ($4-5) on a single drink multiple times a week. As much as I love Cha (particularly during midterms and finals weeks; having one of their drinks while I study or write a paper somehow makes the drudgery of dry textbooks, lecture notes that make no sense, and writer's block less overwhelming), it was becoming increasingly difficult for me to shake the fact that the $4 or $5 I spend on a single drink could potentially feed a child across the world for an entire day. The same money I use to purchase a mere indulgence is actually a necessity just to get someone through the day.

But... this doesn't feel like enough. In fact, nothing ever feels like enough. The harsh realities of social injustice, poverty, starvation, human trafficking and exploitation are so raw and so rampant that the efforts to try and combat these injustices seem minuscule in the face of so much pain and evil.

And so I felt disappointed and hopeless. In fact, I even felt ashamed in myself that there are people out there with literally nothing, and all I am doing for them at this point is giving up a couple milk teas a week, things that simply add even more comfort to my already comfortable life.

But I realized that, in my shame, I am sinning against God. If my service is driven by shame and guilt, what good is it and how can I possibly glorify Him?

At the other extreme, I feel like as Christians, many times we give and serve with a self-righteous, proud attitude. We feel good that we have set aside a small part of our income to donate to "kids in Africa," or that we go to soup kitchens twice a year to feed the homeless, as if these occassional acts of kindness somehow validate us as "good Christians" and secure us a spot in heaven.

I wonder if, by combining service with such emotions as self-righteousness and shame, we are completely missing the second commandment; that is, to love your neighbor as yourself. If service is not completely and purely driven by love, then it is meaningless.

God, search my heart; break me from the tendency to live by rules and formulas. Show me how to love You and others first, then let the actions that follow be a natural response to this crazy, boundless love You have freely given me.

Skid Row, LA

I just got back from Skid Row. Whenever I try to talk about my experiences there, I'm at a loss for words. I don't even want to try to explain sometimes because I feel like words won't do it justice-- it's really one of those places you have to go out and see firsthand to fully understand.

Tonight we actually went out in groups and walked around the blocks passing out scarves, socks, and packed lunches and talking to people. In the past, I was a little intimidated to talk to people at Skid Row because I'm always afraid to give off a self-righteous vibe or offend them in some way. But on the way there, Kat told me, "Don't treat them like a project. Just talk to them the same way you would talk to someone in your small group" and I think after that, it just clicked somehow. I found myself just laughing and freely talking to people I met on the street, and the experience was so refreshing and different. Because of the people I met and shared life with tonight (even if it was only for a few minutes), I feel like Skid Row is part of me now, like it occupies a piece of my heart.

OHANA LOVE

Ohana means family...

...and family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.

We just had our last small group of the quarter tonight. I always feel such a crazy rush of joy and excitement during and after our meetings-- I cannot express in words how amazing my girls are!!!

I feel like God brought them into my life to show me His abounding generosity and grace in a tangible way. I don't deserve such cute, sweet, loving girls... yet somehow they have come into my life... all 20+ of them!!!

He is too good to me... :)

Desert Song

While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud.

Exodus 16:10

Freedom!

As I sit in my room on a late Friday night trying to prepare for next week's Bible study on freedom in Christ, I am a bit confused about where to begin. In church, we always hear about how freedom is found through Christ alone, but what does that really mean and how are we supposed to live this out?

To be honest, whenever I used to hear the words "freedom in Christ," I just imagined that as a sort of spiritual high or a euphoric state, like butterflies on a first date, except I guess the butterflies are supposed to last much longer since God is involved. However, as I began to dig deeper in the Scriptures, I'm beginning to see that freedom in Christ is actually more of a steady, unyielding discipline to serve which flows naturally from the grace He's poured into us.

In other words, God gives us freedom from the bondage of sin so that we can have freedom to serve Him joyfully.

13 For you have been called to live in freedom—not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love. 14 For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if instead of showing love among yourselves you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another. 16 So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves.

Galatians 5:13-16

Tree

I want to be unmovable, unshakable
So let my roots go down deep
Unmovable, unshakable in You

I want to be like a tree
Planted by the streams
Of living water