Not quite home

Last night, I arrived in Taipei, Taiwan and was greeted at the airport by my smiling cousin and two aunts. They took me to the same apartment that I have become so familiar with over the years, my oldest aunt's place where I used to stay for three weeks at a time in the summers between my elementary, middle and even high school years. Being here feels like coming back to my second home, yet I still can't shake the feeling of not quite belonging. I don't know if it's the eight years of being away that has left a gap that I can't fill, the language barrier between me and my relatives and everyone else I encounter here, or the awkwardness of trying to find common ground with the Taiwanese culture which is a part of who I am but which I feel so distant from, but being here is so familiar yet so draining for me. I still can't quite put my finger on why I feel this way, however, I think it may be because I feel that I am a part of Taiwan, whether I like it or not, whereas in England, Europe, Korea and everywhere else I was simply a tourist, an onlooker.

Though bits of Taiwan belong to me--memories I've had here from my past, values that I grew up with, my relatives here who hear about all the important milestones in my life yet who I go for years at a time having no direct contact with--trying to find my place here has made it tricky and difficult.

Jim jil bang

Tonight, Monica and I went to a jim jil bang, or sauna. It's open 24 hours and only costs $7!

Technically, if you are traveling in Korea and have nowhere to stay, you could just sleep in one of these. They're cheaper than hotels and even have showers, bathrooms, jacuzzis, restaurants, couches, televisions, and lockers.

Before going into the rooms, Monica and I ate dinner: kim bap! We bought it from a 24-hour restaurant nearby. It was really good.

And we drank banana milk. Mon said it's "tradition" to drink this in jim jil bangs.

Then we journaled!

I couldn't bring my camera into the actual sauna rooms because I didn't want it to overheat and break... but there were two rooms that were 73 degrees Celsius (that is 163 degrees Farenheit)! One of them was a salt room (salt is supposedly good for your skin) where there are salt stones all over the ceiling, floor, and wall... and another room where there are small jade stones all over the ground. I nearly died in those rooms. There was also a room that was a freezer so you could cool off.

So fun! :)

Love in Korea

Before week 10, during our last meeting, I asked my small group to complete a "Christmas mission" over break. The mission was to love on a stranger or someone who you've lost contact with over the years by performing a kind act for that person(s). The point of this is to break us out of our comfort zones and challenge us to love in radical ways. But ever since I've been in Korea, I'm ashamed to admit that I struggled a lot with this the first few days. The whole idea of trying to connect with people who don't even speak the same language as me, who I've heard so many "horror stories" about, who were raised in a completely different culture and mindset as me, was intimidating, to say the least. But I feel like God began to soften my heart for the people of Korea through two random encounters on one day this past week.

The morning of this day, I did devos at Angel in-us Coffee with Jamie and I prayed for God to open up wide doors for me to serve others somehow in Korea.
It's funny how God responds to prayers sometimes...

That day, I went on the bus by myself to Gangnam to meet up with Monica.

(Jamie dropping me off at the bus stop!)

However, I ended up on the wrong bus but I had no idea until the bus driver turned around, called me up to the front of the bus, and wrote down the directions for me to transfer to the correct bus. He kept trying to explain to me in Korean but I couldn't understand a word he was saying... I just kept nodding and smiling, too confused to react.

So I ended up getting off at some random bus stop in the middle of the freeway and walking across the street to transfer. But I was still very confused and lost, so I called Monica and she told me to hand the phone to someone at the bus stop. I went to the first lady I saw... and she ended up going on the bus with me to Gangnam, saving me the only empty seat on the bus while she stood next to me for the entire ride, getting off with me at the correct stop, and walking with me for about 15 minutes just to find Monica at one of the subway entrances.

Because of the language barrier, it was difficult for us to communicate with each other and the only things I learned about her is that she is a journalist and she is 30 years old.

But I was seriously so touched by her openness with me and willingness to help me out, a complete stranger lost in Seoul. I really wished I could do something for her in return, but all she left with me was this business card.

After that day, I don't think I can ever view Koreans through the same eyes as before. Despite all the stories I've heard about how unhelpful, pushy, and cold Koreans are, I feel like God was speaking to me through my encounters with the bus driver and the reporter. How can I come to Korea trying to love on the people here if deep down, I am stereotyping and judging them in my heart? I came here expecting to serve in some way, but instead, I was loved on in the most unexpected way.

Let it snow!

Tonight, I walked outside and tiny white dots were falling from the sky...

It's snowing in Korea!
I love it :)

Oh the weather outside is frightening...

According to Yahoo! Weather, it is 25 degrees F in Seoul today. That's the lowest it's ever been since I got here. Technically, it's not THAT cold but I was freezing!

I'm ready to go to Taiwan...

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.