Korean Adventures and Pork Dumplings

Last Wednesday, I left Union and headed toward Nashville.  That night, I went to bed eager to wake up a short two hours later and board a plane for Dallas, Texas.  In Dallas, I would meet up with several other college students who were participating in the CIEE South Korea Scholarship Program.  Now, this was first trip outside of the United States, and I had no idea what to expect.  Now that I've been here for a few days, I have few insights to offer accompanied by some stories of the goings-on of the program.  Let's jump in.

First day consisted of getting to know people.  Asking and being asked the same five awkward questions is terrible except that you meet really cool people.  This group is so diverse both ethnically, academically, and any other -cally you can imagine.  "Where are you from? Oh my gosh, do you know so-and-so. No? Ok. What's your major? Oh do you speak foreign languages?  You do?  Awesome me too." Everyone here is incredible.  Really.

Next, Korean language lessons, which in reality means that we covered the alphabet and learned to say "Hello"and "Thank you."  Needless to say, it's been difficult attempting to make it around the city.  Lots of body language is used.  I have also learned that saying things in an Asian accent is surprisingly effective.  Politically correct?  Probably not, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Along with seeing the city, we have had tons of lectures on relations between Korea (both North and South) and everyone else you can imagine.  It's really interesting to see the perspective of another nation.  Their idea of the Korean War was completely different from my visions of what happened, so it was really cool to hear their side of the story.

That brings me to today.  We went to visit the Demilitarized Zone.  I linked it the Wiki just in case you want to learn more.  Basically, it serves as a buffer between North and South Korea.  There are so many strict rules and procedures for being here.  You have to follow a dress code and there are certain areas in which you aren't allowed to take photographs.  It's crazy.  Through this visit, I technically stepped foot in North Korea.  Again, crazy.



Later that night, Taekwondo lessons.  That's right I can both speak Korean and do some sick martial arts.  Neither of those is true.

The next day, we traveled to a city south of Seoul for a little excursion.  We saw a traditional Korean village, which was interesting, but what was better was the large handful of Korean school girls who were literally crying over all of the American boys.  I felt like a celebrity as they begged all of us to take pictures with them.  Talking to them was really cool.  Naturally, their English was far better than any of my Korean.  Sad.

Now, on to the pork dumplings.  Monday night, I went out to dinner with a friend's mom who lives in the city.  She took me to this little restaurant, which she had never been to either.  We ordered in our broken Korean and were looking forward to the large amount of pork dumplings we were about to consume - one of the coolest things to me about Korean food is that they share everything, so it's easy to order in groups.  I ate, and it was wonderful.  I then went home, said goodbye to my friends mom, and all but stumbled to my room. I fell asleep for a few hours, and then I woke up as I was running to the bathroom.  I proceeded to puke my guts up for about the next fifteen minutes.  Needless to say, I will never again eat a pork dumpling.  Korean food is great...the first time.  It is currently Wednesday, and I'm still not at 100%.  Gross.

Though the trip isn't yet over, I have had an incredible time.  The people I'm spending this week with are all insanely intelligent, and they are definitely all going places.  I'm really honored to be among them.  I'm so thankful for this opportunity to have experienced a culture that is so different from my own.  It's exactly what I needed for this spring break.  Two more short days here, and then it's back to the United States.

Mexico and Other Intercultural Endeavors

¡Hola!  

This post began in Matamoros, Mexico.  It's a small-ish town right on the other side of Brownsville, Texas, and it's where a good friend of mine will be living for the next two years.

A few weeks ago, he asked me to travel with him to his new home, and I gladly obliged.  I left Union and traveled to Birmingham where I met up with a few friends for dinner before heading out for Mexico.  We left Birmingham and drove to Mississippi where we stopped for the night.


The next day we traveled for over 12 hours, making stops in New Orleans and several smaller towns in Texas.  


On the next day, we finally made it to Brownsville where we took care of some business and crossed the border.  Technically, this was my second time in Mexico, so I knew a little bit of what to expect.  This time around, however, I was a little bit more comfortable with the language.  Go back and read that again, I said a little.  


We arrived at his fantastic house and met several people.  Naturally, everyone around me spoke fluent Spanish.  Though at times this was frustrating, I did my best to listen and pick up as much as possible.  There were only minor mishaps due to language such as the waiter boxing up the tiny morsels of steak that I hadn't eaten rather than just taking my plate.  No big.  


All in all, I was honored to accompany my friend on this journey and had a great time doing it and experiencing a fairly new culture all at the same time.


Since I've been back at Union, I've been searching for opportunities to both learn languages and interact with people from other cultures.  I know they are here.  I just have to find them.


Last week, I helped with an ESL program at Andrew Jackson Middle School.  Essentially, it's helping kids with homework, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.  The kids think it's super cool that I know even what little bit of Spanish I can speak, and I think it's LEGIT that they can speak both Spanish and English.


I also found a multinational ministry at church that seeks to teach English, as well as share the gospel, with internationals in the Jackson community.  There were Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, and Spanish speakers there, all seeking to master English.  It was really cool to help them learn about simple things like weather and clothing items, and it made me recognize how important it is that you really practice when learning a language.  The cultural interactions were so interesting to watch.  Such a mix.  


Furthermore, through this program, I was able to meet a man from Seoul, South Korea, which is where I will be headed ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!  Talking to him and learning even just a little bit about my destination made me stoked about my trip.  I can't wait to immersed in a culture and language about which I know literally nothing.  

The next post will probably be written outside the United States.  Can't wait for that.