HAPPY CANADA DAY (a few days ago)!! No fireworks for us this year, but I imagine most of you had fun felicitous firework frenzies planned.

Hockey BBQ
Will and I were invited out to his hockey teams’ annual BBQ, which was held on one of the many little islands in Chuncheon. We sat on a blanket in the grass and first watched as people zoomed by on rented mini cars, and then Will joined his hockey teammates for a fun game of soccer. The game was followed by a delicous meal of Korean dishes and barbqued meats. We are learning how drinking is a fundamental part of mainstream society here. His teammates found it difficult to understand that he wasn’t drinking, while everyone else was. They wanted to know why he wasn’t, but due to time and language restrictions, he simply said that he doesn’t like the taste. They were concerned that we were judging them for drinking. We have observed that even pouring someone a drink is the an important social greeting. Maybe when Will’s language skills improve, the philosophical discussion can continue.

Another interesting difference in way of thinking is how his teammates perceived me. The first game I attended, Will’s teammates asked him if I was his girlfriend, assuming that was the case. When Will explained that no, I was his wife, they were shocked, and said, “But you’re a clergy!” thinking he could not marry as a clergyman (which he is not). We don’t know why they thought it was it okay for him to have a girlfriend??

Soccer Game between North and South Korea
Will went to Seoul for the big North/South Korea soccer game, which he had been looking forward to for quite some time. At the game, there were big flags for South Korea, but what was particularly interesting was the united Korea flag, a flag with a map of the whole country, North and South in the same colour. How powerful. Many other foreigners, mostly other English teachers, were also drawn to the game. However, because both teams had already qualified for the next round of World Cup qualifying the two teams played to another uninspired 0-0 draw. Oddly enough, they do have two more games in the coming months as they continue to seek a spot in the 2010 World Cup.

From L to R: Opening ceremonies; South Korea flag; Korea United Flag

Last week of V-School Classes
We thought it would be nice to get our students out of the apartment for the last week, so we had them climb Anmasan, our nearby mountain. It was funny; When I announced to our students that we wouldn’t have class that day, they all cheered. When I said we would instead be climbing a mountain, they were…less enthusiastic. Hehe. This week was also a time of prize giving, to those students who completed all their homework, movie watching and presentation preparation. This Saturday will be the V-School closing worship service, where we will present what we taught our kids, and our kids will do some presentations of what they learned. These presentations will include (this is a combination of Day School and After School students): Singing, playing “Amazing Grace” on guitar, doing the Abbot and Costello skit “Who’s on First?”, reading from novels they have been reading, skits that I wrote using basic English sentences, and showing off the web pages they made.

From L to R: Will teaching how to make websites; Ana teaching guitar; My after school students playing with their food; Our day school students on their way up the mountain; The group at the top;The view from the top that day

Meeting with Missionaries
Will has begun an informal class with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) students. They want to improve their English language skills, so they are having an English language Bible study. These young people have a desire to spread the good news around the world and they recognize the value of the English language to do help them do this. For Will, this is a social connection with other young adults and an opportunity to broaden the minds of these students.

Baptism Sunday
Every year, the church goes an hour north, to Hwacheon, to a beautiful river where the baptisms are done. As we made our way down the slippery wet path to the river side, I had many helpful hands offered to me. The two baptismal candidates gave speeches, and were each dunked into the clear blue river. Afterwards, they were given a crown of flowers, a hands on prayer was prayed, followed by photographs. We then went to a nearby home for our potluck lunch, which included a big dakh (rice cake) cake, because while baptism is a death to one’s old self, it is also a birthday. It was wonderful to be amidst nature for a Sunday service, and for a service of celebration such as this.

From L to R: The group by the river; One of the candidates about to be dunked; The Canadians posing with the baptized; The whole group that day; The potluck afterwards

Funny Thoughts
-When people hear we still have our rabbit, at least 3 different people have asked, incredulously, “it’s still alive??” I thought this an odd question, or rather an odd assumption that she would be dead by now. Since a lot of people live in apartments, and likely keep their small pets in cages all the time, the survival rate of pets is not very high. I, however, do not agree with keeping any animal bigger than a hampster in a cage all the time, and give her free reign in the sun room. That is perhaps the key to her survival.
-I think the children here (not unlike children back home) have difficulty differentiating want from need. I know my younger students know the two words in English, as they could translate them into Korean, but when I asked them to tell me one thing they need (thinking food, clothes, water…), 5 out of 6 said they needed the latest Nintendo, and the other said an MP3 player. Hmmm.