Farewell OUMC Group

The farewell diner was a bittersweet afair just like last year. I took almost 100 pictures but no longer have easy access to post pictures. Some of the kids were crying and smiling at the same time. Speeches were made, songs were song by Korean soloists, the Jay- PK- Mark trio, and of course Pastor Kim sang a song solo. The food was again out-of-this-world at Mathias buffet and sushi restaraunt in Daejeon.

The party ended about 9:30 but I'm told by an informant from the Chong family who stayed at the Spatel the last night (Monday 7/15) that some of the teens stayed up pretty late. I don't know for sure, but would guess some adults were up late as well packing and talking. One authority on jet lag says delaying sleep when traveling east and sleeping at the appropriate time at the destination lessens the effects of jet lag. I am curious to know if that is true. I was pretty sleep deprived going home last year and it took weeks to fully recover. Carol and I will have our own "Ground Hog's Day" July 31st when we finally head back to the states.

Carol and I did not see the bus off from Spatel in Daejeon Tuesday morning. The group planned to drive off at 6:00 AM with a 5:00 AM wake up call. It's a 3 hour drive to Inchon through bumper-to-bumper traffic around Seoul at that time of morning. The KAL flight from Inchon to Chicago departs at 12:00. No news is good news with airline departures. I'm hopeful they got off on time. At this writing that puts them about 10 hours in with 4 hours left to go -give or take.

Once folks catch up on sleep the stories from this trip will begin pouring out as they did last year. There are many new tales to be told, but I will not steal anyone's thunder.

I may be able to publish more photos, but not before the group arrives back home.

The Holy Spirit has been an obvious presence and guide throughout this trip. The Lord has worked miricles large and smalll through the Korean people.

Thank you Pastor Kim and Teacher Chong for the seeds of love and human kindness you planted and nurtured in Onalaska and all over South Korea. The harvest is now coming in and its a bumper crop!

In Christ,

Pete

A Supper in Seoul

National Museum

National Museum

Beopjusa Temple

Beopjusa Buddhist Temple

Insadong

Insadong  Traditional Korean Crafts Market (including a street performance of traditional music.

Missionary Cemetary

Mapo Methodist Church

Mapo Methodist Church

Day 2 on Jeju

It's hard to get computer time with all the kids along on the trip this time. But, it is still possible to "pull rank" and ask a kid to give up computer time for a grown up.

We had a marvelous day on Jeju today. The weather was suny and hot and humid! We visited a tea farm. went on a submarine to look at fish and coral at least 50 feet down (maybe more)! Four of us Jan, Brianna, Holly, and I taught English to 6th graders. Next we visited Maro Island and are ending the day with a cook out including fresh caught fish and Jeju pork.

Pete

Mao

Teaching 5th grade

Teaching 5th grade at the 2nd school we visited in Daejeon was a gas for me. It's late and I can't remember the school or the teachers even though I had an email penpal arrangement through a webservice called epals.com with the teacher whose class I taught (a friend of Mi Song who came to Onalaska and teaches in the same school).

Anyway it was a fantastic experience for me having control of the class and actually teaching. It all was easier thanks to having a previous relationship with the students and teacher. They were eager to meet me and I them. The two 40 minute sessions flew by.

It was an even more fantastic time since I was suffering GI irritation, nausea etc. from a beef dish at a wayside restaurant the first night as we traveled to Daejeon from Inchon. Three others had the same dish and also got sick. One other had the dish, but didn't get sick --go figure. Carol missed the whole day. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to post.

I'm looking forward to continuing this epals.com relationship with my next class in the fall. The connections from the Youth Exchange have extended out to Carol's and my teaching. The Holy Spirit seems to be working at developing what the Koreans call "affinities" or interdependency's between individuals and groups that are not coincidence.

Pete

Photo Binge Coming

We have internet access at the Pansion (French) Hotel, the same place we stayed last year. The next several posts will be mainly photos.

All are healthy, but tired after our temple stay. More on that in a later post and perhaps from others.

Pete

Photos speak louder than words

Hungdo Elementary School, July 2

Daejeon to Seoul

Above is a photo from my camera of the group after they cleared customs at Inchon International Airport. For Sat. 7/5 & Sun. 7/6 we have an internet connection from our hotel in Seoul. Several group members will be adding their posts and photos in the coming days. Keep checking as the trip progresses.

The group cleared customs about 19:30 KST (7:30 PM) and we were on our way to Daejeon. We greeted them just like we were greeted last year --with a banner and many hugs and of course many, many photos. The group looked tired but very happy to be on the ground in Korea.

The coach bus ride to Daejeon was comfortable but slow due to rain and heavy traffic around Seoul. Daejeon is southeast of the capital for anyone tracking us via maps or computer (Google Earth is a good place to start). We ate at a typical "oasis" on the interstate-grade toll highway. One dish did not agree with 4 of us, but I'm getting ahead of the sequence of events.

We disgorged ourselves and all our luggage from the bus at Spatel too late for a spa. The group was really tired even after dozing on the 3 hour trip. Several people enjoyed the natural hotspring spa first thing in the morning before heading out for the day's activities.

Our first stop was an elementary school. Someone with a better head for details will have to help out with its name. I do recall that it is a "rural" school on the outskirts of Daejeon with only 60 students, small school -by both U.S. and Korean standards. I must say though that the small school had the same high quality equipment, furniture, and professional staff as the larger schools.

When we first arrived we are greeted at the door by one or more teachers where we exchanged our street shoes for indoor slippers. Everyone including staff and students wear slippers while in the school buildings. Next we were escorted upstairs to the library where drinks and plates of fruit and cookies awaited us. The principal arrived and greeted us and made a formal speech introducing us to his staff and welcoming us to his school. I have yet to meet a woman principal. After introductions we presented him with a gift. After 20-30 minutes of speeches and translation from either Korean to English or English to Korean we were dispersed to various classes and grades for English conversations and games with students. Other will have their own tales of their experiences.

Jan Mattson, Carol, and I were assigned to a 1st grade class. For those who don't know, 7-8 year olds are at the right age for absorbing languages. I had a blast witnessing how quickly students could pronounce and use the English words for various things. After a whole group session where we told the kids where we came from and asked them to share things about themselves we played various games. The students and guests were so engrossed in the activities we were (I was at least) a little disappointed that we had to end for --perhaps you can guess. School lunch.

We ate the same fare as the students and teachers. It was spicy, too spicy for some of our midwestern palates. Following lunch we returned to the library where all the tables and chairs were pushed to the sides. Students sat on the floor in classes while adults sat in chairs around the perimeter very similar set up to U.S. schools. Unlike American schools I'm familiar with, students were permitted to be louder and more rambunctious. They settled down quickly and remained attentive during the program that followed.

And what a program! We were treated to the best exhibit of a trational drums concert by a 6th grade group that I have ever witnessed. After which we played a couple of whole group games for the entire class of about 60 kids. Carol was even pressed into service leading Hockey Pockey! We broke into smaller groups of 1st-3rd and 4th-6th grades and played a variety of other games from Simon Says to Duck, Duck, Goose. At the conclusion of this very noisey and wonderfully fun time we were escorted to the principal's office for a typical farewell ceremony.

Visiting this school followed a similiar pattern as school visits last year and during Carol's (and my) tour with Viterbo college students. In most of the other visits we began and ended in the principal's office. But our large group was hard to accommodate. The layout of principal's office in Korean schools seems to follow the same design with notable exceptions. I've visited so many schools these last few weeks that they are all blurring together. Others may have a clearer version of when or whether we met with the principal in his office.

A principal's office is much larger and formal than in U.S. schools. The principal has a desk at the head of 2 parallel rows of plush chairs -usually leather with coffee tables between them.

Our next stop was one of several national cemetaries dedicated to the fallen during the Korean War. We visited this shrine last year. However, this year we were guided into the obalisk where statues guard rows marble walls enscribed with the names of soldiers. We also toured an accommpanying museum dedicated to military personnel who sacrificed themselves to save others from many time periods right up to the present.

A hike to a buddhist temple nestled in a steep mountain valley was our last stop before diner. The hike was over 1 k, I estimate. It is a unique temple because it is run by women monks -not buddhist nuns who are of lower rank than monks. The walk through a small toursit shopping district and up the valley on narrow blacktop road along a clear mountain stream was quite peaceful and beautiful.

We feasted at a welcome dinner at a restaraunt near the temple where many of us were reunited with children we have welcomed to our homes and met their families. It was a fun time!

Our last activity -of a sort- was to go with our host families to their homes for the night. Carol and I had a delightful time sitting and sharing family photos with Youn, Tek-Sang's family who stayed at our house last year. We will get to spend all of our home visits with them.

Introduction

This is the initial posting in what we hope will be a steady, but perhaps intermittant stream of postings from various group members. Group members will be added as they choose to make a first posting.