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Gardening Update

2010-09-11T10:24:00.000-07:00

The deer got it!

Gardening

2010-09-04T15:33:00.000-07:00

The watermelon plant in the garden has been growing like crazy. We have already picked two watermelons that were over 35 pounds! The vine recently started climbing the fence and now there is a watermelon growing there too. We're going to leave it in there just to see what happens.

Spring Semester: Free Day

2010-06-01T22:27:00.000-07:00

It's been my goal over the last few months to find a day when I could simply rest. It's been a very busy semester, and I've fallen behind on many things. I haven't picked up either of the books I am reading in over a month, and this blog has been gathering dust for almost two months. Saturdays inevitably fill up with activities, and Sunday is always a big day at church. However, today is a holiday (election day) and I managed to keep my schedule clear.

Speaking of election day, politicians have been busy campaigning for local political posts. I'm told that the official campaign period is only 2 weeks long, and campaigning has been intense in that short time. There are large banners all over. One banner on the side of the tower at the bottom of hill is so large that I can read from way up at the university. In Nampo-dong last weekend, I came across one candidate who had parked a campaign truck at the side of the road. The truck was covered with slogans, and blaring his theme song, while his supporters danced to the music and waved signs.

Well, back to my free day. I spent part of the afternoon hiking the mountain that dominates the middle of our island. It is not very big, (less than 400m high) but I realized that it still holds many secrets. Curiosity took me down a different trail today and I found a cave, an abandoned squatters house, and some well-maintained graves along a path I had never traveled. My friends also tell me that there is a helicopter landing pad on the mountain, but I've never seen it myself. I've been up the mountain probably more than 20 times, but each time I followed roughly the same path to the vantage point at the top, and never realized how much more was up there.

Next week is exam week and it will be another busy one, full of grading exams and attending farewell parties. I'm simply grateful for some time to rest today.

Spring Semester: New Discoveries

2010-04-05T05:25:00.000-07:00

While spending an evening recently with Jonathan, one of my South African friends from church, we came across this strange structure between Nampo-dong and Chinatown:

You've probably seen spiral ramps for cars, perhaps attached to a parking garage. But, have you ever seen one built for...scooters?

Spring Semester: Life as Usual

2010-03-19T23:36:00.000-07:00

Greetings readers,

It has been a few months since I last posted, but I recently checked Google Analytics and discovered that I still have some faithful readers, so here is a quick summary of the past few months.

I spent a good part of January and February traveling in Cambodia and Vietnam. You can see some pictures here and here. My favorite experiences were meeting some missionaries and meeting the family of a student at the university here.

We are now three weeks into the spring semester, and I have been teaching four different classes. I like them all so far and here's a little description of what happens in each one:
1. Advanced English Conversation - My students in this class are all really good. We spend a lot of time talking in groups and then sharing the results of the discussions with the class.
2. Basic English Conversation - This class is open to any student in the university. I have three sections with a total of 96 students. Their levels vary widely, but they all signed up for the class on their own accord and are eager to practice speaking. We use model conversations and pictures as a launching point for conversation practice.
3. English Listening Practice - We use a listening textbook in this class, and it can get a little tedious. The part I like most about this class is when I bring in my own listening materials every few weeks. We just finished listening to a 6 minute lecture on whether Christians should seek to change cultures when they do missions. The level was really difficult, but we worked through it together. I just hope I didn't scare anyone too much.
4. English Composition - The goal of this yearlong course is for students to be able to put together a well-written paragraph in English. I love the lectures in this course because many of the students really get into it and ask a lot of questions. However, when it comes time to grade paragraphs, my enthusiasm for the course wanes quickly.

Also, I went out with my friend Noy this past Thursday evening. He just returned to Korea after spending a year working with a Korean missionary in his home country of Thailand. We enjoyed some galbi for dinner, and then he treated me to a delicious street snack called Bungeobbang (붕어빵). It is dough fried into the shape of a fish with bean paste or cream in the center. I've seen people selling them before, but I never got around to trying them. They were very delicious--probably my second favorite street food after hoddeok (호떡).

Winter Break: Korean Dramas

2009-12-29T08:26:00.000-08:00

I meant to resume studying in my Korean textbook during the winter break, but instead, I am watching Korean movies and Dramas. It's a lot more interesting than studying out of books. I am currently watching episodes of the popular Korean drama 'Boys over Flowers' (꽃보다 남자). In one of the episodes, the main character goes fishing in the South Sea, and I noticed that the area looked quite familiar. It was filmed in the Busan harbor. I was seeing some of the same views in the episode that I see every day out my window. Crazy.

Fall Semester: November Snow

2009-11-17T05:16:00.000-08:00

From what I've been told, this was the first snow here in about 5 years.

Fall Semester: Elections

2009-11-04T14:59:00.000-08:00

There are student government elections next week here at the University. I went to Morning Prayer this morning at 6am, and afterwards, the candidates were outside trying to drum up support for their respective tickets. Their campaigning includes handing out treats to the students. I received a bread roll, a rice ball, a hard boiled egg, and a can of coffee after morning prayer. Free Breakfast!

They were also campaigning before and after chapel.

Here are all the teams trying to get elected. The Blue posters are for the 3 teams trying to be the Student Body leaders for the University. The other posters are for teams who want to be leaders of different departments and offices. Everyone votes for the President and Vice President, and then the elected leaders create their own leadership team.

Fall Semester: Class Time

2009-10-30T21:26:00.000-07:00

In one of my English classes this week, we were talking about folktales, so I took the chance to do something different. I showed the 1935 Disney version of "The Tortoise and the Hare" as a discussion starter about how some stories have meanings that are not explicitly stated. But, after I hooked up my computer to the port in the wall, I realized that I didn't have the remote to turn on the projector which is mounted on the ceiling. Troubleshooting on the fly, I just walked over the the projector, reached up, and pushed the power button. This elicited quite a reaction from the students. They cheered because I was so tall. My students are easily impressed.

Here is one of the groups from the class.

Christianity in Korea

2009-10-26T02:55:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting radio program from the BBC about Christian missionaries from Korea. (please excuse the bad theology in the program) Protestant missionaries first came to Korea bout 125 years ago, and following the Korean war, there was an explosion of Christianity that lasted through the 1980's. Koreans have not forgotten this history, and many want to 'return the favor' that the western missionaries paid them not so long ago. So Korea now has over 16,000 foreign missionaries--second in number only to the United States.

For my technologically inclined readers...

2009-10-05T19:12:00.000-07:00

I knew the internet in Korea was fast, but today I experienced a whole new definition of fast when it comes to broadband internet. The wireless internet wasn't working, so I plugged my computer directly into the network. I started downloading a video podcast that I often watch and after looking away for what I thought was only a few seconds, it had already finished downloading. I was a little surprised, so I logged onto a broadband speed test website and got these amazing results:

That means I could download an entire movie in less than 2 minutes. Amazing!

Fall Semester: International Students

2009-09-21T08:20:00.000-07:00

One of the most exciting things about the University is its international students program. It was Biscuit's birthday today, so her sponsor threw a big party for her and arranged to have pizza and chicken delivered. Students from China, The Philippines, Malaysia, Mongolia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Berundi, and several other African countries (I can never keep them all straight) attended the festivities. They are all really great people, and I am glad that I get to spent time with them. They are studying M.Div, Masters of Education, or Undergraduate degrees.

Shinsegae Department store

2009-09-21T08:18:00.000-07:00

I was out by Centum City the other day after going to the radio station, and I decided to stop by the new Shinsegae department store. Shinsegae means "New World." Koreans claim it is the largest department store in the world. I arrived expecting something like a giant Macys or Sears, but it turns out that it is really a mall, not a department store. As for the claim of being the largest in the world, it really depends on your definition of department store or mall. It appears to me that the West Edmonton Mall is larger, but Shinsegae claims to have the most retail space which might be true.

Anyway, there was a Burger King there, so I enjoyed a Whopper for dinner, and then wandered over to the Kyobo bookstore where I found the Korean listening CD that I had been looking all summer. It was a good trip.

An ounce of prevention is worth.....

2009-09-21T08:15:00.000-07:00

Korea has an interesting approach to fighting the H1N1 flu virus. They have dispensers mounted everywhere at the university. Also, when we went to visit the new COSTCO that opened in Busan, there was hand sanitizer at the door, and when we went to a LOTTE Giants baseball game last week when Sarah was down from Seoul, they were giving out squirts of sanitizer as people entered the stadium. It seems like a good plan to me.

There also seems to be a little bit of pseudo-science being spread as well. A lady at church last week told us that Kimchi (the traditional Korean dish) cures the flu...

New Digs

2009-09-15T05:48:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting settled into my new apartment. It's the same size as my last one, (about 220 sq ft) but I now live in a building full of adults rather than students. I had my assistant come over last Wednesday to help me move, and he arrived with a whole crew of his friends, so the moving went really quickly. I treated them all to some Chinese food afterward. They were really helpful.

On the Radio

2009-08-27T22:08:00.001-07:00

This morning I scootered over to the other side of the city to record an English program at the Far East Broadcasting Company's radio station in Busan. It's a Christian broadcasting company that has radio stations in many countries throughout Asia.

Before I sat down with Mi-Ji to record the English lesson, I had a chance to talk to the General Manager about their vision for broadcasting to people in hard to reach places like North Korea. Its really encouraging to meet people like that who are on the front lines of the gospel. I'm glad to be able to help them in any way that I can.

Mi-Ji's English program will be airing every Friday at 11pm on 93.3 FM in Busan. You can also listen live on the web. (only with Internet Explorer....grrrr)

EDIT: If you want to listen, I just found out that my 5 minutes occur somewhere in the middle of the 11pm to midnight hour on Friday night and not right at 11pm.

Summer Break: Globalization

2009-08-23T22:13:00.001-07:00

Korean meal at my favorite restaurant in Busan, Korea:
The same meal in Banff, Alberta, Canada:

Summer Break: Home

2009-07-28T20:11:00.000-07:00

I am now in America for 3 weeks to visit family and friends before the new year starts!

Relationships and the Bank

2009-07-11T22:27:00.000-07:00

I went to the bank on Friday to wire some money back to the States. It's the bank right here in my neighborhood, where Kosin does much of its financial business. So, I walked down the hill, walked into the bank, grabbed a number, and waited for my turn to speak to the teller. When my number was called, I went to the teller and said: "미국에 돈을 송금하고 싶다". She replied (in English), "You want to wire money to America?" I was hoping to get a little Korean practice, but she apparently was not impressed at my attempt. She took me to one of the bankers, and he helped me wire the money home. Since I was from Kosin University, he gave me a better exchange rate than the published rate. I didn't even find out that he did it until I asked what the exact rate happened to be after we had already completed the transaction. He said that the remittance rate was 1294 Won to the Dollar, but since I was from Kosin, and since Kosin has built a relationship with the bank, he could give me a remittance rate of 1290 Won to the Dollar.

That's just the way they do business here. I've run into that mentality before when it comes to my 'contract' with the University. It's not so much about the contract as it is about the relationship you have built between yourself and the administration. At first I was really opposed to the idea, but the longer I stay here the more I am starting to like it.

Spring Semester: Last day of class

2009-06-05T02:43:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of class for the semester, so I took a picture with my conversation class. Can you identify the 3 international students?

Hymn Singing

2009-04-26T05:51:00.000-07:00

For our English Language Fellowship this Sunday, we had a Hymn-sing at President Kim's house. They have a grand piano, and his wive is an accomplished pianist. The evening included several beautiful piano solos. Before we began, we had a time of sharing of how we worship in the churches in our home countries. Then we spent about two hours singing. It has been a while since I heard many of these songs. I especially liked it when we sang How Deep the Father's Love without accompaniment.

SONG LIST
Amazing Love
Amazing Grace
When Peace Like a River
What a Friend we have in Jesus
Great is thy Faithfulness
Blessed Assurance
Be Thou my Vision
Come thou Fount of Every Blessing
Christ the Lord is Risen Today
With All I Am
How Great Thou Art
What a Wonderful Change
Savior More Than Life to Me
How Deep the Father's Love

Recent Happenings

2009-04-19T02:48:00.001-07:00

In America we have Ice Cream Socials. Last week, we had the inaugural English Department Cup Ramyeon Social. Julie brought up the idea of a social, and one of the students had the idea to 'koreanize' it by serving Romyeon instead of ice cream.

On Saturday, I visited the home of a student for dinner, and left with a whole tub of Kimchi.
Today, I attempted to make Kimchi Bokum Bap with some of the kimchi. It went quite well.

Spring Semester: MT

2009-04-12T23:24:00.001-07:00

Membership training for the English department was a few weeks ago already, but I finally have some pictures to share.

Getting ready to depart for the retreat center.

Candle Talk - the outer circle rotated every 3 minutes so that you could meet and talk to many different people.

Korean Dodgeball - the man has to protect his female partner

Silly games

One of the afternoon activities was nap time :)

Spring Semester: Interviews

2009-03-17T22:57:00.000-07:00

In one of my conversation classes today, we did a conversation activity where the students interviewed each other. We had about 5 minutes left at the end of class, so I let them interview me. They asked some questions that were really hard (or inappropriate) to answer. For example:

Q: If you are an engineer, why are you teaching English?
A: I like to travel and visit new places, so a job that lets me do that sounded great.

Q: Who is the best student in this class?
A: You are all excellent students.

Q: Which girl in this class is the most beautiful?
A: It's a 12-way tie ;)

Q: Will you stay in Korea forever?
A: Yes--even if I don't stay in person, my heart will always be here :)

That last one got a few groans...

Economy

2009-03-02T19:48:00.000-08:00

Exchange rate the day I signed my contract.
1007 KRW = 1 USD

Exchange rate today.
1592 KRW = 1 USD

Bad news for me.

Winter Break: India

2009-02-28T03:56:00.000-08:00

I just got back from spending a month in India. It was great--except for the time I got sick on the train...but that was only a day.

If you want to know more, ask me about it.

Winter Break: HELLO...Boat?

2009-01-27T07:41:00.000-08:00

HELLO...Boat?

This phrase was usually signaled the beginning of one of the constant offers for boat rides the last few days as I walked along the Ganga (Ganges) River in Varanasi. Everyone wants to charge tourists outrageous prices (but still only about $1) for a rowboat ride along the Ghats on the banks of the Ganga River. Yup, this is India.

Winter Break: The Amazing Race

2009-01-06T04:50:00.000-08:00

04:00 - wake up
04:15 - get on Justin's scooter and go to Busan Station
04:32 - arrive at Busan Station
04:35 - locate place to park scooter
04:40 - buy a KTX ticket to Seoul
04:41 - wait for the boarding call
04:48 - walk past a billboard with my face on it and not even notice it
04:50 - get on the train
05:00 - depart for Seoul
08:03 - arrive in Seoul
08:10 - transfer to subway line 4
08:11 - miss the subway train by 2 seconds
08:15 - get on subway line 4
08:25 - transfer to another line
08:40 - get off the subway
08:42 - follow map to my destination
08:53 - arrive at destination and take a seat in the waiting room
09:00 - begin the task
09:15 - finish the task
09:16 - run outside and catch a taxi back to Seoul Station
09:31 - check watch nervously while stuck in traffic jam
09:40 - arrive at Seoul Station
09:42 - buy a KTX ticket back to Busan
09:45 - board train
09:50 - depart for Busan
12:47 - arrive in Busan
12:49 - walk past the same billboard with my face on it and miss it again
12:52 - get back on Justin's scooter and head to campus
13:05 - get stuck in traffic again
13:21 - arrive on campus
13:30 - teach class

Winter Break: Bringing in the New Year

2009-01-01T04:30:00.001-08:00

Here are some photos from Jinju, where I went to celebrate the beginning of 2009--and my Korean birthday.

Gate to an old Korean Fortress
Monument to a valiant warrior who defended Korea from a Japanese invasionA bit of Konglish

Food

2008-12-27T02:18:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of what I have been eating recently.

Breakfast on Christmas morning: rice and soup
Christmas Eve Dinner: catered seafood buffet
Restaurant in Nampo-Dong: Cheese Pork Cutlet with sauce on it
Concert Reception: Dessert platter of assorted fruit

Thanksgiving

2008-12-10T21:59:00.001-08:00

I know--Thanksgiving was several weeks ago, but I've been busy lately with final exams, so I haven't had a chance to post.

On Thanksgiving day, I was looking forward to my $2 meal at the Kosin restaurant, when I ran across some international students who were getting ready to eat dinner together. I quickly realized that it was much more than that, though. It was a thank you dinner for all the churches that help host the international students at Kosin. I ended up eating dinner with about 100 students from Korea, China, Mongolia, Cambodia, Thailand, Phillipines, Kenya, Uganda, Fiji, and probably some others that I am forgetting. I was the only white westerner in the room. My private little Thanksgiving dinner turned into a real feast, and nobody else even realized that it was Thanksgiving back home for me.

Here is my table. (I'm taking the picture, so you won't find me)

Is it delicious?

2008-11-09T16:11:00.000-08:00

After more than two months and several disappointing trips to the bakery, I finally bought some baking supplies and made my own bread in Justin's "oven". It was very tasty. I had a little trouble finding salt--not because they don't have it here, but because it wasn't in the type of packaging I expected, and I can't read Korean, and there are several types of mysterious white powder in the grocery store. I probably looked very confused trying to figure out whether I was buying salt or sugar...oh well.

Also, I discovered a little too late that the flour package that my phone's dictionary translated as "wheat flour" is actually white flour. They call it wheat flour to distinguish it from rice flour. (which is also white)

Travels (Around Korea)

2008-11-01T05:15:00.000-07:00

I've been busy the last few weeks. Last weekend, I went with some visiting students from Tiawan to see a steel factory in Pohang and then to Bulgogsa temple. It was located at an ancient capital of Korea during one of the dynasties...or something like that.

This past Thursday, I hiked up the mountain behind the University with my Healthcare Administration students. It was a lot of fun to get to know them better. Here's a group photo...Yeah!

Today, I went to Goje Island with all the international students and we saw a giant Samsung shipbuilding yard, and also toured a POW camp from the Korean war. It was a lot of fun. We took the obligatory group photo on this trip too.

...and to appease my engineering readers, here's an up close view of a few 600T cranes in the shipyard.

God's gift to Kosin

2008-10-28T03:09:00.000-07:00

I know I've blogged about the view here already, but I just can't help bragging. One student called the ocean view "God's gift to Kosin."

We've had a few beautiful days in a row here on our little Pacific Island--no clouds or fog or haze. I love looking at the crisp line where the ocean meets the sky. Sometimes I go stand on the roof of my building and just soak it all in. Today was the clearest day yet. I could see some outlying Japanese islands between here and the Japanese 'mainland'. It all began today with a beautiful sunrise this morning. Sometimes it pays to teach an 8am class :)

Here is a shot of the moon rising over the ocean. On a perfectly clear night, you can see the lights from ships that are halfway between here and Japan, and the horizon is covered with the little twinkling lights from all the ships.

I also like to keep track of activity in the harbor. Its seen visits from cruise ships (below) as well as the USS George Washington, an American aircraft carrier. I also occasionally see the high speed ferry that makes the journey from here to Fukuoka Japan.

Work?

2008-10-20T20:34:00.000-07:00

I love my job.

Busan Fireworks Festival 2008

2008-10-18T23:35:00.001-07:00

Last night, I attended the greatest fireworks show ever. Starting already in the early afternoon, hundreds of thousands of people began to gather at Gwanali beach for the annual fireworks festival. You have a great view of a suspension bridge there that is all lit up with lights and lasers. Then, they shoot off fireworks beginning at 8pm.

To tell the full story though, I have to back up a little. We went to Nampo-dong for dinner, and after dinner we got on the Orange subway line. When we got to the transfer station for the Green line, we were confronted with large lines, and we were still miles away from our destination. When the subway came, we packed it completely full, and a policeman helped squeeze Emily on before the door closed. If there was a maximum capacity, we probably at least doubled it. We had to go 10 stations to get to our destination, and at each station, a few more people would squeeze onto our car. If you put any more people on the subway, we would have all spilled out the next time the doors opened.It was so busy that they closed the Gwanali subway stop, so we had to get off one stop before. when we got to street level we were greeted by policemen standing in long lines and waving flashing wands to direct traffic. We got to Gwanali about 7pm and by that time, every square centimeter of the beach was already packed. You couldn't even see the sand. The road behind the beach was also nearly completely full. We inched our way through the crowd in an attempt to get to Starbucks to meet up with Jen, and at one point we were so squished together that if I had jumped, I might have been able to move with the crowd without my feet even having to touch the ground.
After finding Jen, we found a perch on the roof of a public restroom, where we had a great view of the fireworks as well as the estimated 2 million other people there (that's not a typo--2,000,000 people). By the time the fireworks started, the road was completely full and the roads perpendicular to the beach were full of people as well. There were even people on the roofs of all the buildings and filling up all the windows of the buildings along the beach.

To make things even more amazing, I met Brown, one of my English students as we were walking to our viewing location. There were about 2 million people, in the crowd and I happened to see one of the few hundred people I know in the entire country. Even trying to calculate the odds of that made my brain hurt.

The fireworks were amazing. They probably went through the amount of fireworks you see at the average July 4 celebration in about 30 seconds, and then we still had 45 more minutes of fireworks. The entire thing was synchronized to music, and there were giant lasers on the bridge to complement the show.

Part of the show...

After the show we had to walk for about 30 minutes until we found a subway station that was not overcrowded, and by that time, Justin came up with the crazy idea to walk all the way back to Nampo-dong. So, we turned what would have been a 45 minute subway journey on two subway lines into a 2.5 hour stroll through the city. It was a great way to end a crazy and exciting day.

A Different Way of Seeing

2008-10-03T03:44:00.000-07:00

In my conversation class, I set aside time each class for the students to practice speaking to each other. Usually the discussion sticks to the topic of the lesson, but sometimes I just want to hear their opinion on things. One day I asked them how old you should be before you get married. As I walked around the room listening to the conversations, I heard most people say the best age was about 28-30. They all agreed it was best to complete army service, graduate from college, and get a good job before you got married.
Another day, I asked them about the controversial US beef deal that the Korean government is trying to push through with the United States. As I walked around to listen in on conversations, they would stop saying what they really thought (It seems that some people here think all cows in the US have Mad Cow Disease) and say something to the effect of "I like hamburgers". Maybe they were afraid of offending me with their real opinions.

Conversation Class

A sign protesting US beef imports

Room 2424

2008-09-17T00:37:00.000-07:00

The classrooms at Kosin are really quite good. Most of them have air conditioning. Most of them have whiteboards for the professors to write on in front of class. There is one notable exception: Room 2424. The fact that it does not have air conditioning is not bad except that this classroom is in the top floor of the building. So, any excess heat in the building manages to find its way to Room 2424 and it never leaves.

Twice a week, I have to teach Global English in this room. Nothing can ruin a day quite like a class in Room 2424. I arrive excited for class. Fifty minutes later, I leave sweaty and covered in chalk from the chalkboard. I usually break all the large pieces of chalk and end up writing on the board with a tiny little piece of chalk that is so small I constantly think I am about to scratch my fingernails on the board. Uggh.

The entrance to the infamous Room 2424.

Location, Location, Location

2008-09-10T23:24:00.000-07:00

Here is the view from my office and apartment...
...And here is the view from my room when I was in University. Kosin definitely wins the location contest.

The First 24 Hours

2008-09-01T21:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I am finally in Busan. A lot has happened in the first day, including...

-teaching a class less than 19 hours after I got off the plane

-finding out that my office is about the same size as my apartment

-walking into my first class and having everyone cheer because they have an American professor

-eating kimchee. YUM

-getting lost while returning to my apartment on the bus

13th Street Coffee House, Omaha Nebraska

2008-08-26T05:04:00.000-07:00

I spent this past weekend with Jesse and Mary at their new digs. They've come a long ways with the house since I was there last. Thanks for letting me stay guys, it was great. Their apple trees were full of fruit, so we set out to make a batch of apple juice.

Being engineers, we figured there had to be a quicker way than to crush all the apples by hand and run them through the hand press.

Enter the "Frigidaire Apple Shredder 3000".

We turned a bushel of apples into a gallon of juice in about 10 minutes. If it looks like a washing machine that's because it is...or at least it was in its last life. You put the machine on spin cycle, drop the apples down the pipe, and the nails at the bottom of the tub shred the apple and the juice spins right out and is pumped into a bucket. Pretty nifty, eh?