BLESSINGS AND SURPRISES

THE BEST BLESSING

 A Healthy Baby Girl!

Elise Tanner was born on April 8, 2016! Whitney had a good pregnancy, and the baby was born one day before her due date.

We think she is an angel!

Mother and baby (and Father) are all well and happy, for which we are so grateful.

Does anyone think that Elise looks like this picture of baby Claire?

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SURPRISES

Spring!

One Saturday morning on my early hike, I found this:

  

Azaleas! 

Their color provided a welcomed contrast in the midst of an otherwise wintry looking forest. I was so pleased! I went off the trail to take a picture, and looking around me, saw this:

This "rock building" - was it a grave marker? A representation of ancestor worship? A pile of wishes? Was it just some kids playing with rocks and mud? Was it old, or really old? I tramped around a little and found three more in the vicinity. 

Further searching led me to a sign of a red backwards swastika, which is a symbol for a Buddhist temple. I haven't found the answer to the rock formations.

CAMELLIAS

We noticed camellia buds on trees ever since we came to Korea in October. One day, Surprise! It is the perfect white camellia.

LOOKING BACK AND REMEMBERING

If one is not fortunate enough to have visited the Korean War Memorial in Washington D.C., or unfortunate enough to have been involved in the Korean War, chances are that "Korean War" elicits only as much emotion as a new chapter in a history book.  Because of the emphasis placed on "Western Civilization" and our democratic roots sprouting from Greek and Roman civilizations, branching out to Western Europe, and coming across the Atlantic Ocean, we Americans are not too familiar with Asian history - except where the United States appears smack in the middle of the history and leaves a large footprint. 

The U.S. still has 46 military bases here in South Korea, and approximately 30,000 soldiers (blame wikipedia if incorrect). Their presence has been largely responsible for the peaceful conditions that exist since the Korean War ended in 1953. Anyone who was old enough to participate in that war is around 86 - 88 years old, but there are people on the street whose parents told them stories about it. We were on a subway one day and a man came over, speaking English rather well, and said,"We really love and appreciate the Americans who saved us. They were one of sixteen countries who helped to fight for us against the Chinese." He then named the other sixteen countries.  The "oldtimers" won't be around for long, and Koreans may not remember, except for:

THE U.N. MEMORIAL CEMETERY

This sculpture stands at the entrance of the U.N. Memorial Cemetery. Each soldier around the "hub" of the wheel represents a country who sent soldiers or medical personnel to Korea to keep the Communist Chinese, and later Russians from taking over the entire Korean peninsula.

Each country's flag is also on display. South Korea lost 230,000 men and the United States lost 54,000 men in the fighting. Without the United States leading the way and exhibiting strength and confidence, the other countries may have been reticent to join in. With Chinese strength in numbers, the entire peninsula probably would have fallen to the Communists. Even though many Koreans long for a "unified Korea", and hope that some day North and South will be reconciled, we are thankful for a free South Korea, and all of its ramifications: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, education, free uncensored internet, freedom of the press, democratic voting, and on and on. There would not only be no Christianity, but there would be no religion at all. We wouldn't be here! I'm so thankful that we are here, that we can have freedom of religion, and that the people of South Korea can learn about Jesus Christ. (South Korea is the most Christian of all Asian countries.)

 It was a pretty wintry day, so the grass was yellow and the bushes were brown, but it was very beautiful. The small bushes are trimmed like grave markers.

The Wall of Remembrance had the name of every non-Korean who died in the Korean War.

Looking out from the Wall of Remembrance to the row of flags

Reflecting pool and fountain

 The Memorial Hall

The Korean conflict was the only time in history when the U.N. called together an army by asking countries to come to the aid of another country, South Korea, thereby preventing Communist Chinese takeover. Because of Busan's location as a major port city, conveniently between China and Japan, Busan was the scene of important battles, and therefore was chosen as the site for this unique cemetery. (At the time of the Korean war, Busan was spelled/pronounced Pusan.)

Unknown Soldier's Pathway - for those unidentified who are buried here

United States of America Memorial

 We left with a reverence and appreciation for soldiers and their families; and came away with gratefulness for the freedoms we love in the United States of America.   

There is no other country like it!

A DAY IN THE LIFE

TONGDOSA

Meet Dr. Kim, an electrical engineer who, after retiring, decided to get a degree in Natural Medicine and Herbology. He spent the day with us, guiding us through Tongdosa, a little city where he practices medicine, and also volunteers part time at the Tongdosa Temple as a guide. Since Alma, our Buddhist friend from English class, is his friend we were lucky enough to have a personalized custom tour.

Tongdosa is the largest of all the temples in Korea, with 65 buildings making up the complex on the mountainside. During the 15th Century, it had hundreds of buildings, and housed thousands of monks.

The pathway leading to the temple is called "Pathway in the Forest of Dancing Trees".

 Dr. Kim explains some of the architectural features of this building.

 The roof tiles, the intricate detail of the woodwork, and the bright colors of paint are exquisite.

Stopping for refreshment is always part of the day. We keep listening and learning along the way.

All along the road, we see little stacks of rocks. People put them there to "make a wish".

Wishing and "Good Luck" are important concepts in the culture, maybe because of poverty, war, and hunger so prevalent in Korean history.

 Stone markers peek out behind trees as we walk toward the temple complex.

 Tongdosa does not have any statues of the Buddha outside,because it has stupas (pagodas) that house the real relics of the Buddha. Some of these are a robe, a bone, and a bowl belonging to the Buddha.

 The stupas take all different shapes. Some also contain relics of other monks.

Tongdosa was founded by the monk, Jajang, in 646 AD, after he returned from China with some relics of the Buddha.

 The bridge called "Three Stars and a Moon"

 

 The main gate to enter the temple complex.

I love the detail on the roof. Notice the dragons with the red ball in their mouths.

YOGA, SLEEPING BEAUTY, FUN THINGS, FUNNY THINGS, AND GOOD LUCK

YOGA

The Mission President is supportive of his wife exercising, so when she and I were invited to attend a Yoga class, which takes place at 10:00 am on a work day, he instantly approved. I brought my one set of exercise clothes to work, changed, and we were off! When we arrived at the community center, we were about 3 minutes late (normal time for me). If blond hair, white skin, freckles, and totally different clothes (and language) weren't enough to draw attention, coming in late made us mega-noticeable! Almost all the class members were cute Korean ladies between 70 - 85 with black, short, permed hair, so we had full confidence that we could "keep up" and "do" the class. Ha!

As you can imagine, we were the worst in the class - these women are flexible! They can do anything! Being the worst brought us additional attention, as the teacher would walk by and correct what we were doing. The funny thing was - at the end of the class, all the women in the class wanted to take our pictures with them! We were celebrities (or freaks)

- one of the two. The teacher (in the middle with the grey shirt) came right up to me and asked if I liked the class, asked where we were from, etc. Then...when we went to pay for the class, the teacher told us that the two of us didn't need to pay! We can come any time we want! We tried, insisted, shoved money into her hand, but no. We are invited to attend free of charge.

L to R: Sumi, Sister Barrow, teacher, Brenda, two class members

SLEEPING BEAUTY

Remember when Sleeping Beauty pricks her finger, and falls asleep, and the whole Kingdom falls asleep for 100 years? One day in the mission office, I felt that I was reliving the story as an outsider looking in...

Notice the girl on the left sitting on the floor with her head on the chair. After a while, it becomes too uncomfortable, so she resorts to:

It had been a rough week

FUN THINGS AND FUNNY THINGS

NIGHTTIME BEACH EXCURSION

Fishing boats tied up for the night

What is this bicycle doing hanging on a wall?

Nighttime Beach

While we were checking out the night scene at the beach, we ran into an open market, where there were a hundred little stalls with people selling their specialties - food!

 Lower left hand corner - raw live octopus - some people like to eat it "live" - pull out of the ocean, chop it up, and eat it! Big red dish is tiny little octopi, in the blue dish are mussels, and the upper right hand corner is some kind of sea slug or sea cucumber.

 Fish, freshly caught, freshly cleaned, hanging to be sold, hanging to be dried; little lady in the back in a red coat (proof that it's cold) will wait all night for customers. 


WHILE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT FOOD...
There is a new recipe I have to share! When my kids were little, we would always go visit Bryan's Aunt Mabel, who lived with Uncle DeVere on an avocado orchard. They loved avocados, and made everything with them. One of her special recipes was "Chicken Avocado Jello", which we all laughed about for years.

Now we have a favorite food that beats it - "Acorn Jello"! It's true - jelly like stuff that is made from acorns. Don't worry - it only takes 3 to 7 days to make it, and the finished product is:

The various garnishes and dressings make it look yummy!

HAENYEO

There is a tradition that goes back over 1,000 years in Korea. Elderly women (between 60 - 97) , mostly widows still in need of income, will go out into the ocean in a wetsuit and a mask and dive for sea animals and seaweed that they can sell to make a living. They do not have scuba gear, but they have trained to be able to hold their breath for 3 - 5 minutes underwater. They are called "Sea Mermaids" or "Haenyeo", women of the sea.

Korea's elderly are mostly women, and their numbers are growing. Selling their daily catch provides them with some income. We saw several women walking around the tidepools on our latest beach hike. At first we thought they were "tidepooling", but then realized that they had baskets and bowls and were hunting and catching sea animals.

SPEAKING OF WOMEN...

In one of our English classes, we asked the class members if they had ever heard of a "Family Tree", or a "Pedigree Chart". They said they had, so we asked them to go home and talk to relatives and come back the following week with a story or stories about one of their ancestors. 

We thought it would be really interesting, hearing stories of the ancestors growing up in "Old Korea". Surprise! The following week, not one of the "students" had one single story. They reported to us that women historically were so oppressed, that once they were married, they didn't have a name! They stayed home and took care of the children, food, clothing, and the farm, and no one ever spoke to them, so they "lost" their names!! Tragic? Since their grandmothers don't even have names, they don't know much about them, and no one ever spoke about them or told stories of them, because they were of no consequence.

Koreans are given a Chinese name when they are born. They all know it and remember it, but later on they are given a Korean name. I mentioned once before that people change their names all the time, and it is not uncommon to go through four or five names in your lifetime. Now many Koreans also have an "English name", so that if they are learning English and speaking to Americans, the English speaking Americans can remember what to call them. 

Last fact about names: Women who marry do not take their husband's surname. They keep their own family name. So...Mr. Kim is married to Mrs. Moon, and so on...

Imagine how difficult it is to find a long lost friend or relative, even with facebook. One fourth of the population has the surname Kim or Lee! Last name always comes first, so if your last name is Lee, your name might be Lee Yeji!

FUNNY THINGS

A funny thing is having a bunch of Koreans for dinner, serving tacos, and giving them chopsticks. Some of the guys ate five tacos!

Vicki always likes everything we serve, and I feel sad that I don't have reciprocal feelings about her raw oyster kimchi! Forgive me Vicki.

GOOD LUCK

At the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, there are many things you can do to assure that you will have "good luck" for a year!

Rubbing the nose of the golden pigs assures prosperity in the coming year.

We rubbed the noses for quite a while.

The dragon has all the power in the red ball he holds. You can buy a little figurine, write on the bottom what you want for a wish, and then place it around the dragon, and you will get your wish! Our tour guide picked one up and said, "Someone wrote they wish that they will do well on their next test." Probably every one said something like that...

Most Buddhist temples are built in the mountains, which makes Yonggangsa very unique to be built right on the ocean. One of the Buddhas blesses the fishermen going out from here. Many fishermen have a dangerous job and many do not return.

2016 is the Year of the Monkey, but these statues show all the animals representing the zodiac creatures. My favorite is Year of the Rat!

Good Luck!