Backpacking, Part 2

The last few days we have been exploring some more rural areas of South Korea, specifically the towns of Suncheon, Naganeupsong, Gwangju, Damyang, Gyeongju, and Bulguksa.  It's been fairly calm and also fairly rainy, so we've spent a little more time indoors than planned in the afternoons and evenings.  Thankfully, most mornings and some afternoons, we've been able to travel around via train, bus, taxi, and foot and soak in the sights.

Suncheon:  We had the best meal served to us by an 8 year old kid, whose eyes showed exactly how terrified of having to speak English to us every time he walked to our table.  We also got to walk along the river, visit the botanical gardens, and hike up some small mountains where little pagodas and temples are.

Naganeupsong Folk Village:  Like a Korean version of Jamestown, except with 95% less tourists and that people actually live and work and farm here.  One of the quietest and most scenic places with huts that are super super old, with roofs held down partially by the gourds and pumpkins growing on top. They also let you try on Korean clothing, but Liban would only wear this fancy schmancy hat.  Mostly, we were thrilled to succeed in navigating public transportation (45 minutes out of town) to get here with 0 English assistance.

Bamboo Gardens: So, so cool to hike and find some bamboo swings in within this small forest.  Afterwards, we just walked around some nearby land and had bamboo ice cream.  Please note that my paint shorts have now visited 11 countries. (I know you're proud, Mom)

Bulguksa:  A series of temples made in 500 A.D., which unfortunately got burnt down in the 1500s by Japanese invaders (which apparently happened with most historical things). But after studying it, they rebuilt it as close to the original as possible.  Photos were not allowed within the temples, only in the courtyards, but it was still a pretty serene place.

Gyeongju:  This town may be my favorite place so far and is where we are sleeping on the floor tonight!  It's peaceful and picturesque, filled with old beauty.  We are staying in a traditional hanok, which is over 100 years old and was built for very very short people.  The town has mounds everywhere that are tombs for royalty of the past, and nothing really exciting happens here, which is probably why I love it so much.  Oh, and because the people are super friendly and chat with us.  The top photo is the door looking into our room, and the bottom is looking out of our room. (I've only hit my head on the door frame twice so far.) It's just so pretty!!

In between rural areas, we went to Daegu yesterday to see Sooin & her family.  I began teaching Sooin English when she lived in Columbia, and I've continued doing so online after she moved back to Korea.  She's my reason for waking up at 6-7 a.m. on Sundays for the last 4 years, and it was so good to get to see her in person again!  Her family treated us to a wonderful hotel room and dinner, which was a refreshing break from climbing around our drying laundry in a small hostel room!

The best part, however is yet to come!  Tomorrow, we are traveling to Miryang where I'll get to see one of my best friends, Soa, for the first time in almost 5 years!!!  We have a lot of catching up to do, so it's a good thing Liban packed his earbuds.

Backpacking, Part 1

Our adventures began Tuesday night, flying from Hyderabad to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  We had a 18 hour layover there so explored the city in as touristy of a fashion as you can get:  a hop on, hop off, double decker tour bus.  Malaysia is one of those places that sounds cool, but I knew literally nothing about.  We found little India, where our breakfast was a whopping $1.25, and then hit the national museum where I learned that apparently Malaysia was a British colony back in the day.  (I don’t think the word “Malaysia” was ever mentioned within my school history books, or at any point other than my semester of geography.)   

The architecture in Kuala Lumpur is incredible and varied and I loved it.  It’s a blend of British colonial meets Arab world meets modernism meets beachy bungalows.  So, after drooling over the buildings, we had lunch at a place we picked because it smelled good. I literally pointed to random Malay words on the menu to order, and thankfully the food was delicious!  

Malaysia is a Muslim country, and one of the highlights of Kuala Lumpur was visiting the national mosque.  To enter, everyone is required to wear loose, flowing clothing, so visitors are given hideous-yet-comfortable lilac robes and hijabs.  One of the women there was able to talk with us about the mosque, and it was interesting to hear her perspective.

Thursday:  we reached Seoul, which is the capital of South Korea. That night, we had a piicnic at the park/river with Yuna, who I’d lived with at Mizzou. And then we crashed pretty hard, because sleeping 2 consecutive nights on airplanes is not overly restful.

Friday was our DMZ tour.  First, we got to speak with a North Korean lady who had escaped a few years earlier with her daughter.  Hearing her story and being able to ask questions was an amazing opportunity.  Then, we went to a place on a small mountain where they had binoculars set up so that we could look into a North Korean town.  The weather was a little hazy, so it wasn’t the best, but we could pick out the monuments and even see workers in the rice fields.  Overall, it was difficult to fathom that the two countries are SO close, literally just separated by a few hundred meters of river at parts.

Through the haze: that white tower is a monument to Kim Il Sung, and on the right you can see some houses.

Then, we went to the DMZ (demilitarized zone), which is the boundary line between North and South Korea, as well as a couple kilometers of buffer zone on each side.  South Korea’s side of the DMZ requires visitors to go through 2 checkpoints where soldiers verify your passport (after doing a background check upon booking the tour.) Then we were required to go through a briefing and transferred from our tour bus to a military bus, complete with military escort. Yet, as strict as the whole thing is, there is actually a village of farmers who live and maintain the rice fields within the DMZ--and a South Korean soldier visits their homes nightly to make sure all family members are counted for.

There are several buildings along the South’s side intended for offices and meetings related to the reunification of the two Koreas, but they have essentially remained empty.  We followed orders and walked through one of these buildings in 2 single file lines.  But as soon as we set foot outside, there was an eerie, intense silence that is unlike anything I’ve experienced.  A set of blue buildings were right in front of us, with a concrete line drawn between them to indicate the border.  Just past those blue buildings was a foreboding, massive building with a North Korean soldier standing guard. We also got to enter one of the blue buildings and, while inside, stand “in” the North.  I wish I could have some way to capture the intense, eerie, silence, but pictures will have to suffice.

That night, Liban and I were still feeling adventurous.  So after the tour, we got street food, which involved pointing to things on other people’s plates. Turns out, we ordered spicy pig intestines (not horrible, but not delicious).  We also ordered the still-alive-in-the-tank-before-us octopus that she chopped up and added sesame seeds to.  Because of the chemical reactions, it continued to wiggle around on your plate, but didn’t do as much in our mouths.  The taste was fine, but I chewed so much my gums were bleeding before I spit the last bit out!

Saturday we went to a Korean comedic play with Yuna and then had dinner with one of Liban’s friends from MSU.  We then all dressed up in Korean traditional clothing “hanbok” and toured Seoul’s main palace.  Seeing the palace/lights reflect on the water as well as the silhouette of the palace against the backdrop of the city is amazing, but the best part was getting to be with our friends!

 

Our Time with Angel

I've been delaying writing this blog because I needed to process my emotions.  See, on Tuesday, Liban and I flew to Hyderabad for the afternoon/evening.  We met some friends from MSU shortly after we arrived, and Liban had a meeting with a potential MSU student right before we left.  In between, we went to visit Angel at the orphanage.

I was so, so, so crazily nervous and excited to meet her.  The day before, we had gone to the mall and picked up a playdough set and a Barbie coloring book.  I knew she wouldn’t remember me, and I wanted her to at least not be bored while this weird American lady stared at her with adoring eyes.  On the drive to the orphanage, my heart was racing with a mixture of anticipation as well as fear that we wouldn’t actually get to see her.

We waited to meet her in the office building for almost an hour before she and her nurse walked in.  I could tell she was just happily going along with her caregiver and that she really didn’t know why she was there.  Instantly, I knew that I am now a stranger to her, and that her memories of me are all but gone.  That. . . . I expected that, but I don’t know that a mama can ever be truly prepared for that.

But at least I was prepared with gifts.  We sat on the floor together and opened up the playdough set, where I showed her how to press the dough into the doll’s hair to make it grow and pressed on the dress.  Because this was the Indian version and not Playdoh, it didn’t really work as well; furthermore, it was just the two of us on the floor playing, and not with her sisters and friends, so she was quickly ready to be done.  “Go?” she’d ask, as she wanted to make sure the gifts were hers and were actually going home with her. Eventually, we put the playdough up and started coloring.  OT-Me admired that her beautiful grasp on the pencil and ability to stay inside the lines are 100% age appropriate and not delayed. She pointed to the picture of the dog and cat and identified them in both English and Telugu.  At the end, I wrote her name at the top of the page and she clumsily wrote “Aa” and then a whole bunch of other random letters.   

By this point, she was absolutely ready to go, so we packed up her gifts, took some “family” photos with Liban, and then I asked her “before go, pray?” I told Liban he’d have to pray over her (because I lose it in tears every single time I pray out loud for this sweet little girl), but then instead she started reciting some Telugu prayer she’s learned from her wonderful nurse Padma.  Liban only caught the end of it on video, but her sweet little chatter to God--precious.

Then I kissed her goodbye after giving lots of hugs, and she repeated back “I love you!” I know it was only repetition, but I’m extremely grateful she’s had other volunteers and staff loving on her and telling her this phrase since I’ve left.

Now, Angel is the only one of “my girls” that I was able to see on this visit.  Knowing they were all within the same neighborhood but not being able to see them and remind them how much I miss and love them hurts. Hopefully, the nurse passed on my hello and love to them.  

When Angel walked away from me on Tuesday, she stayed close to her nurse. She looked to her when she was excited and happy: she has attached to her caregiver.  That caregiver is no longer me, and that’s a little painful, but I thank God that she is able to bond with others, and I pray that the transition to her forever family someday is sweet and smooth and soon.

*If you’d like to see photos and videos of my sweet not-so-little girl, please click here and enter the password (her online name with a capital letter at the beginning):

Hyd Visit Pics & Videos

Here are some pictures and a short video of my beautiful girl!

 

Weekend Fun

After going to bed at 11:30 last night, I slept until 7 a.m. today. I am aware that this isn't exciting or meaningful to anyone except myself; nevertheless, I am thrilled because it means I just might finally be over jet lag, which has been unusually horrible to me.

The week since we left Springfield has been fairly eventful:

Thursday we landed in Chennai, came to stay with some wonderful friends, and relished all the South Indian food we've missed so much.  We also learned that it's not the wisest decision to go out in public as a married couple when both individuals are jet lagged, sleep deprived, and totally unfamiliar with their geographical and language surroundings!

Friday was better, as we got to rest and just hang out.  Chennai is on the coast (which may have made an impact in me wanting to live here) so we went to the beach to people-watch and soak in the sunshine.  The waves are wonderfully huge, and I really hope I get a boogie board for Christmas, even though Liban says I absolutely will not.  Maybe if I keep mentioning it, he'll give in. . . . Someone also mentioned a guy that gives surfing lessons here, so even though my gross coordination is minimal, maybe I'll get to check "attempt to learn to surf" off my bucket list.

Saturday, we woke up bright and early to drive out of the city a ways to a gorgeous mountain in Andhra Pradesh (the state I had lived in previously).  We were with our friends' church group, so there were 20-30 of us who hiked up the mountain to a waterfall, where we got to swim and cool off.  It was a good way to get to meet more people as well as hang out with the friends I haven't seen in 2+ years.  I loved being in Andhra again, and Liban and I were both excited to learn that such cool nature spots exist not far from the crowded hectic city.

One of our neighbors at the new apartment.
Outside, thankfully.

Yesterday after church, we went to see our apartment that we'll be renting come November. It's a really spacious place, and I know I'll feel at home there immediately.  The neighborhood is really peaceful, and I don't think we heard a single car honk while we walked around the streets.  Actually, we didn't really even see many cars there, leading Liban to tell me I probably could have a bicycle after all. (He's been convinced for months that I will die in Indian traffic if operating any mode of transportation other than pedestrianism). Our apartment complex also has a swimming pool and even a playground--all of which make me even more ready to start the adoption process and bring our little girl home. 

To end our weekend, we joined our friends in going to a big, blingy Indian wedding.  It was a Muslim wedding, so during the ceremony, women sat on one side and men on the other.  I didn't mind because the Indian women have prettier, blingy-er clothes, and I was easily fascinated by all the rhinestone patterns and colors.  And, because  India, a curtain divided the reception room so that vegetarians sat on one side and non-veggies on the other.  Oh, and they had bulky bouncers at the doors to the reception, which was a first for me at a wedding.

Can you see the anticipation?

Tomorrow we leave for Hyderabad and then begin our vacation!

New City, New Language

When Liban and I first (not-hypothetically) discussed moving to Chennai, there were many unknowns and maybe a little doubt about the timing.  But every door that we've prayed to close if not in His will has not closed, and instead, new doors kept swinging wide open.  We made plans to move without concrete plans for jobs and money but with confidence that He will meet our needs.

Genesis 12:1 says, "The LORD said to Abram, 'Go from your country, your people, and your father's household to the land I will show you.' "  And, since beginning to prepare for this move, I take comfort in the word "will" that is in this verse. It means we don't have to have all the answers right now.


We landed in Chennai only yesterday, but God has already provided big blessings in the areas of housing, friends, and church.  He is also starting to shed more light on the "what do we do?" questions that we (and everyone else) have.  He is providing, and that brings a huge peace.

Sitting here typing I don't know how to transition from "We have peace because God is in control" to the next part without being entirely contradictory.  I have peace in knowing we will live here, knowing God has a plan for us to do something here, knowing that maybe next year (or in 4 years because, India) we will be adopting a sweet little girl.  But I also cannot deny the feelings of "Oh crap, I am out of my comfort zone. . . . and I've decided to move here."
Delhi is comfortable to me--I can speak Hindi there, I know the majority of the city by heart, and I can get anywhere via metro. Ongole is not comfortable in Western expectations, but I'm familiar with it, and so it's comfortable to me.  However, Chennai is a huge city with skinny winding roads that my brain cannot map out easily, and it uses a different language with what seems like a minimum of 7 syllables in each word.  For some reason, those two things along with having a sense of permanency in this move overwhelmed me a little yesterday.  Like, as soon as we got in our cab at the airport.

So, although it will take a lot of both effort and trust to get there, please pray for Liban and I to both become comfortable with the new language and city.  Pray also for us to be unified in our communication with each other because while this isn't a new adventure for either one of us, it is the first time we are embarking on it together.

 4 days until we leave for our Korea-Japan vacation, after seeing a very special 6 year old in Hyderabad!