The end of a chapter

Well, the bags are packed and the flight's are prepared, must be that time of the trip.  Sitting back in an almost empty room, I can hardly believe that so much time has passed since I got here.  Loading myself up on the airplane, I was so scared and nervous to come here..  When I arrived from the airport I was blow away by my room.. And the following days were probably filled with my favorite memories of Korea as I explored the towns around the university.  A lot has happened since then and strangely enough all of the fears that I had of being alone in a foreign country gave away to finding new friends and making new meaningful relationships.  This trip has taught me more than I could have ever hoped for and tomorrow it's all over.  But the truth of the matter is, my real trip is just beginning and I can't wait to see where it goes.  Farewell Korea, it's been swell.

Oh the people you will meet.

Yesterday I took a personal day after class and went to see Harry Potter 7 in theaters.  Normally back home I would have been too embarrassed to be seen going alone to a theater.  Man do times change.  It felt great to take some personal time for something that I enjoy.  Afterward I ran into some friends and we headed out to do some dancing and I met people with two absolute opposite lines of thinking.  The first was a British young man who was very Anti-American.  That's not exactly a rarity around here and I always like to do my best to represent well for my country.  He started in on his all American's are simpleton surface individuals who can't think for themselves and kept rattling on, finally finishing with, "and I celebrate every 9/11".  I was pretty sorry to hear him say those things and I shared that it is easy to get caught up in generalizations.  I catch myself doing it in Korea too.  I shared my theory that there are good people every where, in every culture and that when I find myself really upset with Korea, I just picture my friends and their goodness.  There wasn't a lot of changing his mind, I already knew that.  But it's worthwhile if maybe seeds can be planted for a change in thought later.  Anyways, my friends and I kept doing our own thing and eventually I ran into an Army guy from Puerto Rico.   We started talking and he shared how glad he was to have this opportunity to serve such a good country.  His mom and dad still live in PR and are both deaf and have been unable to find good employment.  So he works and sends his money home to keep them going.  He was proud of his English and proud of his new country and excited about the places he's been able to go since joining.

People are the most wonderful thing in the world sometimes.  They can be hateful and cruel or they can be kind and good through and through.  In honesty, I was happy to meet both people last night.  They both made me grateful to have what I do.  I really believe I might be the luckiest person sometimes.

Mudfest: A muddy good time.

Adventures at Pohang!

 

Last Friday we took a class trip to the other side of the Korean Peninsula to small town called Pohang.  Pohang is really only known for one thing.. That's the giant hand coming out of the water.  I suppose this was the point of our trip, but honestly I think our group managed to find more fun on our own.  Carriage rides were pretended to be had, splashing in the water was done, traditional food was consumed at a Korean BBQ, and statues were danced with.  And as the days whittle down, I found myself grateful for these last memories we can have together.

3 weeks?

It's so hard to believe that there are just 3 weeks left until I come home.  It seems like forever ago that I stood at the airport with my suitcases and a heavy head of concern.  Looking back, I couldn't imagine my life without Korea in it.  The people that I've met, the places that I've gone, the person that I've become.  I'm so grateful that I had this opportunity to grow up and to see the world.   Where ever the time went while I was here, it was certainly well spent.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes 4 hours of class a day can get pretty frustrating.  Apparently as the photo captures, I was still fighting my way through.

Moments of disgust.

I try not to be repulsed by the treatment of animals in Korea.  But it's difficult sometimes.  I'm not a tree hugger, but I do think that animals should be treated with some level of decency.  Korea does not share this belief, which makes me sad and has helped me to adopt a mostly vegeterian diet while here or eating foreign imported meat where available. 

The more I read, the more appalled I become.   I understand that eating dog is part of their culture, but the fact that they beat the dog while it's still alive is absolutely unacceptable to me.  I would rather eat straight up rice than think that an animal suffered pure agony before it died to go on my plate.  Many Koreans vehemenantly deny that this beating takes place anymore and maintain that Korea now holds itself to higher food standards, citing that Korea has even gone so far as to enter into an agreement guaranteeing the world of the humane treatment of animals.  I've looked this up and while this is true.. I'd like to point out that a few months ago when hoof and mouth disease was sweeping through Korea, the government responded by burying over 1.4 million pigs alive.  I'm pretty sure that says more about this food matter than some silly slip of paper they signed to keep outside nations off of their backs. 

This said.. I would like to share a photo that the other American took while traveling this weekend to livestock market.




 I have never been more disappointed or disgusted by Korea.  These animals sit in the heat all day, are over packed in their crates and are killed, skinned, and gutted upon purchse.  .Korea is not a struggling country any longer.  Infact they have experienced a HUGE economic boom and are presently on their way to acquiring a great national wealth.  However.. There are some things that need to change. 
Furthermore.. I have asked many, many people about the habit of eating cats and been assured many times that they do not do such a thing because cats have souls. 

Yeah.  That promise seems as empty as that humane animal treatment pledge they signed a while back..

The first two are about the problem of eating cats and dogs here as well as a look at the problem of open air markets for livestock.  The last covers the slaughter and live burial of the pigs back in January.

http://www.blogger.com/goog_785501722
http://www.blogger.com/goog_785501722
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2042942,00.html

Side Note: My spell check does not work on Blogger.  Does anyone know how to remedy this?