Monthly Archives: February 2010

“I love Norwegians!”

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That phrase was first uttered (okay more like shouted) by me in the year of 2006 to two unsuspecting Norwegians by the names of Kim and Siri Marte. I met them when I studied in South Africa, along with  many other fantastic Norwegians, to add to the list of the wonderful ones I already knew (Annette Morwena Hope, you are at the top of that list!). This past week I had the chance to meet even more amazingly lovable people from the great land of Norway. Funny, I went to the Philippines and spent my time with a whole lot of… Norwegians.

Natalie and I enjoying the delicious taste of Pizza Hut (way better than in Korea!) with our new Norwegians friends (Siri, Elin, and Karoline).

The first stop on my short trip was Cavite (an hour-with no traffic!-south of Manila) where Natalie (my travel companion/friend) and I stayed at the Ministries Without Borders Philippines, Inc. (MWBPI) mission house. Our first night there two woman gave birth in the Maternity Clinic… where they offer mother and birthing classes and all check-ups as well as the delivery free of charge. I had no idea that my first night in the Philippines would entail me watching two babies gasp their first breaths of air; watching them turn from a dark shade of purple to a healthy dark almond color was simply poetic.

Attached to the Maternity Clinic is a Children’s Home (orphanage?), a home for abandoned babies that are put up for adoption as well as children who are malnourished or have other medical problems. The children are treated and as soon as they are healthy they are reunited with their families. Currently a beautiful 3 year old boy with Down Syndrome is being taught how to walk (among other things) so that he can go home. They also have two or three malnourished children trying to get healthy to go home and more kiddies who are up for adoption. Each and every one of them is so precious, it was so hard to say goodbye to them.

Natalie and some of the toddlers in Cavite, playing outside in the play pen!

Second stop: Mindoro Island

On Mindoro Island I witnessed even more love, care, and generosity. El Nino (Southern Oscillation, is a climate pattern that occurs across the tropical Pacific Ocean on average every five years) may be causing the United States to have record breaking crops this year, but it is doing the opposite affect on the Philippines. El Nino is causing strong winds that dry out the land, leaving the Mangyans (name for the eight indigenous groups found on Mindoro island) with little to no food. It has been about a month and a half and many villages are forced to eat the only food they have left; poisonous roots, they spend all day washing out the poison in order to eat it. MWBPI has been working on helping the people grow crops in order to sell and support themselves, but the affects of El Nino has set them back. While I was there we packed and distributed food (enought to last two weeks) for 300 families. We also saw fields of dead crops caused by poor farming and the drought, but the Mangyans are willing to learn and are extremely appreciative. They were respectful and are being led by some wonderful and kind-hearted pastors.

Distributing food to Mangyans

I gained so much knowledge on this trip it is overwhelming. Noralv and Tone Askeland (the Norwegians who run MWBPI) were fantastic hosts and opened their hearts and every door possible to help me understand the programs they are running and the way things work in the Philippines. For example, the government is extremely corrupt. If people are starving the officials will request food and instead of handing it out they store it until it is time for re-elections, then pass it out under their name to the places where they know votes will count (which is not among the Manygans).  If the police suspect you are working with the NPA (New Peoples Army) they shoot you, no warning, a bullet and you are dead.

I could go on but I will draw this post to a close. All in all I cannot wait until time and circumstances brings me back to the Philippines and until then they are in my thoughts and prayers. Also, the country is beautiful!

Me at the top of "Prayer Mountain" on Mindoro Island

old friends in new places

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Kristin and I happily re-united with 'YJ from Korea!'

 

Who would have thought that one ‘scared-to-death-to-fly’ Canadian, and one ‘tooooo-enthusiastic-for-her-own-good’ American, would meet one ‘long-haired-cool-dude’ Korean in Durban, South Africa in the year 2006 and not only fall in love with the country… but fall into bromances and friendships that can only be developed when you need a family away from your family in a foreign country. And who would have IMAGINED that the same three very different people would be re-united once again living in a different country, no longer foreign to all three, but only two.   

Last night my friend Kristin (the Canadian who I first met in SA and is now teaching English in Korea) and I met up with our good friend YJ ’from Korea!’ (as he always introduced himself to people who thought he was from every other Asian country BUT when he lived in South Africa) and we had the MOST AMAZING TIME.  Kristin and I hang out pretty frequently but had sadly lost touch with YJ during our four years of absence since studying abroad. After getting YJ’s e-mail from another friend (thank-you Jordan Welty!) who studied with us in Africa I found out that YJ not only lives in Seoul, but is only about 30 minutes away on the subway… For a huge city, such as Seoul is, this is such a wonderful blessing. Kristin and I were so excited as we met up with YJ and were so surprised to see the long hair look was gone and a sharp business man stood before us… who ends up getting real jobs anyway?  

Bonding over our meat cooking on the grill, beer (cola for me!), and red sauce, it was like being transferred back into time and place as we thought we would see our old Tower residence (dorms where we lived in Durban) once we left the restaurant. YJ was pleased to hear how much well we have adapted to his country and we are excited for many more rendezvous in the future. It is amazing how small this world really is. Get back in touch with someone today and you will be so glad you did… haha, okay that last part sounded like a line trying to get you to buy a hallmark card and I don’t even care! I am that happy.

the power of words

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I have always known that the words we speak are powerful, but it was not until recently that I really realized the power, the true power of words. Or maybe I just remembered once again.

I have fallen in love with a church over here in Seoul. It is a Korean church and I am one of two foreigners who attends service there. They translate all of the songs to English for the two of us and I have someone who sits by me to translate the sermon, which is actually very frustrating. So… what makes me keep coming back? Love. The people that are a part of this church support each other and are incredibly kind.  Last week I showed up for the first time without Natalie (the other foreigner, Canadian, who has been attending the church for over a year) and the greeters didn’t know what to do with me.

“Uh… EJ is not here yet… so you sit up front?” (EJ is a close friend in the church and fluent in English) the greeter asked as I went to sit in my normal seat in the back.

“Actually, I need to sit back here because I need the sermon translated.” I smile and use my hands a lot.

“Uh.. I am sorry, my English… I would like to speak with you but my English not good,” Greeter smiles and looks confused, it is his mission to try and get everyone as close to the front as possible, as they tend to gravitate towards the back.

“I sit back here (insert hand motions), so that when the sermon is translated (insert hand motions), I can understand and it won’t be too loud for everyone else (insert hand motions), ” I smile, he smiles and nods. “What is your name?”

“Uh… my name is Oh In Chul.” More smiles.

“Nice to meet you In Chul. I am Melody,” I smile back.

“I heard you are delightful.” In Chul says as he gives me a final smile, bows and begins to walk away as I stand there with my hand on my heart saying, “Oh… thank you so much!”

Even with a language barrier In Chul managed to make my day brighter to the infinite degree. Never underestimate the power of words. You never know whose day you are making by even the simplest phrase.

Korean Lesson #2: When Koreans introduce themselves they say their last name first, ‘Oh’ is In Chul last name. Spelling may vary when translated from Hanguel (or Hangul).

Korean Lesson #3: Hangul is the Korean alphabet.

Korean Pop! Also known as K-Pop! Also known as the greatest thing since… ELVIS. Okay, maybe they are completely different.

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The past six months have taught me many things:

The skill of using chopsticks. Kimchi, no matter what form it comes in, is not good. Never take the subway between 6 and 7 pm. Koreans really do like all food spicy. Sarcasm doesn’t exist in Korean society. Talking loudly will get you “shh’ed” on the subway. Talking period will get you “shh’ed” on the subway. People will never stop staring at you. People will never stop invading your bubble, then again in Seoul, there really isn’t room to have a bubble. Korean dramas are the greatest thing ever invented… and finally, I have fallen in love with Korean Pop (known affectionately here as: K-Pop).

Yes, yes I said it. Korean pop is, “totally awesome”. And once I began to educate myself on the ways of the pop world here and threw out names of popular bands during English class, my students looked upon me with awe, I became… ‘cool’! That being said they are still asking me if I know this band or that and I must say, Korea has more pop bands than they have bags of rice.

Yes, this is one group.

At times I feel like I finally have  a grasp, “Yes, I know Super Junior (13 member boy group pictured above), 2ne1, Rain, Wondergirls, Brown-Eyed Girls, 4minute, BigBang, 2PM, Girls Generation and Cara!”

“Teacher, you know Beast? You know Shinee? You know 2 AM? You know Rainbow?”

“Wait, there is a 2PM AND a 2AM? What?!”

All I can say is, they know how to dance… and watching them live is the most entertaining thing I have ever seen. Once a new group did an impromptu concert outside my apartment building (waking me up from a nap I might add) and it was one of the most fantastic things I have seen here.

I will now leave you with a little taste of the amazingness that is K-Pop.

Just a few example as there really are so, so  many.

This song is two of the biggest pop groups coming together and advertising a cell phone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIRW_elc-rY

This song has been the hottest song since I have been here and I saw 2ne1 perform it live:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MgAxMO1KD0&feature=fvst

One of the boys from Bigbang making a solo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIt6KCwlFPw

Signing off, 멜 로 디 (Mel-lo-di)

Commencement

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After much thought and heavy persuasion from a few family members I have finally come to the conclusion that my very own blog was definitely needed. I just have so many exciting things to say, right?! It is simply selfish to keep my intricate stories and wildly entertaining thoughts and notions all to myself (and my mass e-mail list).

The name of this blog is dedicated to the one thing I detest most in my current country of residence. I am hoping that by bringing attention to this… uh… interesting habit, people can share in my discomfort. Because when we find people to share and sympathize with us, nothing is ever that bad. Am I right?  Yes.

My trials and conquests, ups and downs, emotions, feelings, and life will now be on display for the whole internet world to discover and read. I am not sure how I feel about this, but then again I love attention (growing up in a big family and constantly seeking it out may have something to do with that!) so it can’t be that bad.

I shall begin with a story, a true story, as all my stories may very well be:

I was walking out of my 25 story apartment building after living in Seoul, South Korea for several months, on my way to Ghost Castle (my local pc bang) when I heard (and then saw) a man hacking up a wad of spit, turn it around in his mouth and then slightly bend over in preparation of letting it fly. As he turned to release the built up phlegm he saw the man he must have been waiting for coming out of the same doors I just exited from. He paused mid spit, straightened and then bowed to his friend, before returning to spit on the street. If this had been my first day in Korea I would have continued staring until the business men  in their fancy suits were well off in the distance. As it was I laughed and thought ‘that’s Korea!” And went off on my merry way.  A friend I later shared the story with stated:  “ah, the epitome of the Korean culture. Stopping mid-spit to bow to your business associate.”

Let the stories begin!

Korean Lesson #1: pc bang= internet cafe (“bang” in Korean means “room”)