Lunar New Year Trip to Japan~

It's such a joy to write from my couch, having a relaxing afternoon. I rarely have lazy afternoons- I prefer to be out and about with friends on weekends- but I appreciate times like this, too! I'll give a quick general update and then write about my trip to Japan. 

 

I have 10 work days left at my current school. I'm very grateful that, since it's the end of the semester and they're forming the new schedule, I have a significant amount of breaks at work. I used to teach all the time, 9:30 to 7:30 pm, except for a lunch break and one 50 minute planning break, but now I have 1-3 additional 40 minute breaks every day. It makes such a difference- I feel like I am a more joyful, loving, patient teacher! However, this is only temporary, so I still feel confident in my decision to leave the school, even though I will miss my students. Since my school provides my housing, I will move next weekend, on the 20th. My last day of work is the 24th. 

 

At church I continue to really enjoy being in the choir. They are such a wonderful community. We went out to karaoke last weekend! I also volunteered at a children's center last weekend, and it was fun to interact with the kids in Korean and to be around some kids who aren't as privileged as the ones I teach. They really got in my heart, and I hope to go back to the center next month. We send a group of young adults to play with them once a month. I'm also going to be in the Easter play! I really enjoy acting in Korean, and am so excited to have the opportunity to do so again sooner than I expected.

The Young Adult Choir I'm singing in at church

Thanks to the Lunar New Year, I have 3 precious days of vacation this week. I went to Kobe, Japan, and spent 2 days with Mark and Stephanie Bartsch. It was very interesting to be back in the country where I started my Asian life. It feels like going back to my college town or something. I'm familiar with the culture and language, but it's not second nature like Korean anymore. It was very interesting to see all the stores and brands, the fashion, home styles, and more, because I just haven't seen those things for 2 years (other than a little bit I saw last year, on my quick trip to Fukuoka). 

Korea and Japan are similar, but there are stark differences as well. Men wear tighter pants in Korea. Stylish Japanese men have bigger hair. Women wear flowy clothes in Japan, tighter clothes in Korea. You see sights like baseball teams walking by in Japan, but it seems like most Koreans don't get to do non-academic extracurricular activities to the extend young people in other nations do, because of after-school academies. Koreans are louder and more lively on public transportation, but in Japan people give you a "look" if you talk on the phone while riding the train. 

 

Japan is a very peaceful place. Korea is absolutely my home, the place I want to live, but I like going to visit Japan. I would welcome the chance to spend a few weeks in Japan, if I ever somehow get the vacation time. I still have a heart for Japanese people, especially knowing how few Christians are there. I would love to travel in Japan with someone else, not by myself. We'll see what opportunities might present themselves in the future! :-)

My favorite Japanese food, okonomiyaki (savory pancake). The restaurant owner wanted a picture with me!

I enjoyed eating lots of delicious Japanese food, going to church, going to the public bath, walking around, riding the train, shopping at the grocery store, and even going to a Super Bowl party while in Japan. But to also be honest, traveling can be challenging for me (believe it or not, for all the experience I have). Traveling alone gives you lots of independence, but these days I crave community. Getting lost or having immigration problems by yourself seems so much more intense and all-consuming that when you're with a friend.

 

For those of you who don't know, when you enter a foreign country, you need the address of where you're going to stay. Somehow I wasn't aware of the importance of this, and arrived with the Bartschs' phone number, but not their address. The immigration officer wouldn't let me pass, even with my pleading broken Japanese. Thank goodness I could get a little bit of wi-fi on my phone, and I found Mark's address on facebook!

 

Another little lesson learned was to be careful with early flights. Granted, plane tickets were so expensive during the Lunar New Year that I probably wouldn't have let myself by a more expensive ticket, but arriving 2 hours early for a 7:50 am class can be challenging by public transportation, depending on where you live. Since I can catch a 5 am bus near my house here in Korea, I thought the same would apply in Japan, but I should have checked. So I spent my first night at the airport, last night, in order to catch my morning flight. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be- I slept better in the airport than I do on planes- but I felt as though I looked like a train wreck in the morning. It was nice to fly out early, though, because I arrived in Seoul at 10 and got home around noon. It's nice to still have some of the day! I have today and tomorrow, and I have plans to meet friends and work on packing!

 

Here are some pictures from the Lunar New Year party we had at the kindergarten.  Happy Lunar New Year to you~! 

Playing a traditional Korean game, "yut"

All the children wore traditional Korean clothing, "hanbok"