Festival Day 1

Today was the first day of the festival here at Daegu University, but first things first let's talk about class. We are reviewing the body, and how to tell a doctor that you're catching a cold. This is a challenging chapter because I didn't retain the knowledge from the first time through very well. This time around however, I'm doing better.

I'm trying to settle into a consistent eating/workout pattern. I want to eat breakfast and dinner (I kind of explained why it's hard to get all 3 meal times consistently here) and workout after class. So far I've been successful and I think I can continue doing this. I'm feeling much better already.

I hit the gym today after class with YJS. I've added some running to my usual lifting routine, and today was an off day for lifting so I just ran. I felt pretty good during and after. I also hope that continues as I ramp up the intensity.

It's really difficult being an ex athlete and getting back into training. I'm sure that may sound silly for someone who has never seriously committed to the gym. You have to understand though that my entire training was tailored for one specific thing. I was never meant to be an all around athlete. I think I was pretty decent at being one despite all my hockey-specific training though.

I'm pretty strong despite never having consistently lifted for more than 3 months or so. I have been very sporadic in my training during my life, and I'm hoping to finally change that now. Pray for me, cause it's one of the hardest things I've had to do. Physically obviously I can take it, but I keep letting things get in my way, and after the initial drive fades I struggle in my head before each workout. Some people say to not even think and just go, that would probably be good advice for me to heed considering once I'm there I always work hard, but getting a big body moving is a tough task.

Anyways after the workout was a nice little nap. I actually grabbed dinner before heading to the K-PACE center for our festival setup. I wasn't sure if there would be food available for us, and if there was how much we would get. I should have waited. They bought a ton of my favorite fried chicken, but I was already full haha, of course.

We spent about 5 hours in front of the K-PACE center just having a good time. Some of the teachers were cooking, some of the students were serving. They drew up a menu and had people sit down and buy food. It was a cheap, and a great way to support the program. They also had a portable karaoke machine setup for anyone who got the urge. Don't worry, I didn't.

Otherwise that was it for today, I'm pretty tired now so I'll be heading to bed. Thanks for reading though and I'll see you tomorrow!

Korean Word/Phrase of the Day: 감기가 걸렸어요? (Gam Gi Ga Geollyeosseoyo?) Haha good luck with that one. Even knowing how to pronounce it, it's still a tongue twister. This basically means "Are you coming down with a cold?"

TLDR: I am broken. I am blessed.

Back to the Real World

Today went pretty much as planned. I got up early and took a shower, and headed to class. I really wanted to hit the gym today. It's been a month as I said before and I'm feeling it. I actually got really tired during class, but made it through. I was super tempted to take a nap when I got back to the dorm but I knew I had to get to it, and that working out would give me energy.

I hadn't eaten all day so I grabbed a quick lunch of dak kalbi at 8 Ho Gwan and headed straight to the gym. I switched up my training this time and instead of just lifting, I did some running as well. I'm starting to get to the point where I long for the days I could run forever. It's going to be interesting to see how this progresses again as every time I start going to the gym I tend to stop going for some dumb reason. You know what they say though, its not about how many times you fail, all you have to do is succeed once.

After my workout I felt great, I got a shower and was full of energy. Then I crashed for a bit. YJS actually woke me up by knocking on my door and telling me that Heavy G and An Hyo Sang had already headed to 8 Ho Gwan for dinner.

I got ready and headed over to the cafeteria to meet them. When I got there Heavy G informed me that An had already headed to badminton class and he had waited for me. I ate quickly and headed to badminton class with Heavy G.

It was 95 degrees today, so needless to say everyone was pretty exhausted. Apparently it gets even hotter than this in the heart of summer. They call Daegu "Da'frica" because it's as hot as Africa in the summer. I guess this happens because of the mountains surrounding it keeping the air in.

After badminton we had a special meeting in the K-PACE center to prepare for the upcoming festival at Daegu University. I've only heard about this festival, but I guess it's pretty intense. It's going to run all day for 3 days.

I also have an exclusive interview this week with OBS (a smaller broadcasting station). Apparently this story will be exclusively on me instead of the program. I just hope I get a chance to really get the points across that I couldn't last time. Promoting the program here and of course putting my faith in the spotlight is my desire. We will see how it goes, they will be filming me Wed/Thurs.

Otherwise not much else is going on. I'll keep you guys updated as it happens! Thanks again for reading!

Korean Word/Phrase of the Day: 기온 (Gi Ohn) This is "Degree" (temperature).

TLDR: I am broken. I am blessed.

Busan!

I AM POSTING ALL THE PICTURES AND VIDEOS AT THE BOTTOM.

This is going to be a long post. A lot happened this weekend and I saw a lot of places. Luckily I remembered to take pictures because I know I haven't been doing much of that lately. I wanted you guys to feel like you were on the trip with me! Welp...here goes!

I left from 경산 (Gyeong San) station because it's closer than 동대구 (Dong Daegu) station which I normally leave from. This also allowed me to take the 무궁화 (Mugunghwa or Moo Goong Hwa) train which is much cheaper than the KTX or SRT. The mugunghwa is one of the original high speed trains made by Korea and still goes pretty fast, but it's nowhere near the speed of the KTX so it's much cheaper. I'm fine with this as Busan isn't very far away. It ended up taking about an hour and fifteen minutes to get there.

From the Busan station it was just a few minutes by bus to the next stop which was a famous market in the area. I was starving at this point and really wanted to try some local street food. However, there was a street performance of some traditional Korean music by the culture center in Busan. Don't worry, I got a video for you guys.

After the performance I finally got into the market for some food. Omg this food was incredible. I really wish I could have eaten more haha. It wasn't inexpensive though so if you go there don't plan all your meals around the market.

Right across the street from the Korean market, there is an international market. While the Korean market is mostly food with some clothing shops and jewelry shops sprinkled in, the international market is almost exclusively clothing. Unfortunately there still is nothing that fits me here. They have XXXL sizes, but they equate to XL in the states haha. They fit me like undershirts. That's fine though, it gives me something to shoot for.

Following the the market it was time to head to the hotel and check in. Walking back to the bus stop, there was the famous fish market right there. Decided to take a walk around and see what all the fuss was about. There were SO MANY kinds of fish, and it was pretty amazing. I'm not even a big fan of fish, but I was impressed. Also I noticed the people there were very aggressive when it came to trying to get you to buy there wares. This is pretty atypical for Korea so it was an interesting social facet.

I finally got to check in at the hotel and it was very nice. It was about a 5 minute walk from famous 해운대 (haeundae) beach. It was night, and it was also time to sit on the beach and drink some beer and eat some fried chicken. That was the life, chimek on haeundae beach. I won't have many more memories better than that one in life. The sound of the waves crashing 5 feet away, the beautiful stars, sand under my feet, the lights from buoys out in the ocean, and of course some chicken and beer to top it all off. Don't worry I have pictures and videos, like I said I documented this trip pretty well for you guys.

After the beach it was time to go take a shower and enjoy the beautiful room. Most importantly it was time to sleep, I was exhausted after a long 3 days of filming and the traveling. The next day was also a very eventful one with some really good food.

Breakfast was some of the leftover food from the market the day before and it was delicious. The first destination was back on the island right next to haeundae beach. There are some beautiful views, and the APEC house which housed some of the most important and famous global summits in recent history. This was really cool to see.

After the island it was time for an early lunch before people started packing places. Guess what?! THATS RIGHT SUSHI TIME! Omg this sushi was incredible. So fresh. So good. Actually most of it was sashimi. But the combination of that along with the sauce, and the view of haeundae was great. This place was literally right on the shore, and overlooked the beach. What a cool location. There were some other pretty famous places around there like "hill spa" which is a spa you can stay in overnight. It also has an incredible view.

After eating it was time to hit up the local Buddhist temple. Man this was a fascinating place, and really got me thinking. There's a huge push right now for one world church, and the unifying of all religions. People are making claims that they are all the same, and all religions serve the same god. This is so ridiculously untrue, but there's a lot of misinformation out there that people twist to suit their agendas. I started thinking a lot about Islam vs Christianity specifically because of recent world events.

The Quran and the Bible are extremely similar as far as the Old Testament. Islam seems to be mostly fueled by revenge, and true believers of Islam are the ones who are creating the violence. The ones "peacefully" following Islam aren't devout enough in their faith to live it. The same goes for Christians, they are all over the place in the church claiming to know Christ but their actions speak otherwise. They do not practice what they preach.

The difference between Islam and Christianity lies in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus abolished the Old Testament covenant and replaced it with a New Covenant through the shedding of his blood for us. There is indeed a lot of bloodshed in the Old Testament, and a lot of zealous behavior for the Glory of God. I started to think about how if Jesus had never come, Christianity could be much different. Anyone who thought they had been spoken to by God could be trying to commit genocide for His glory. A very interesting hypothetical situation to ponder over in my opinion.

However, this isn't the case and Jesus did come. He died on the cross forever changing the world, and forgiving us of our sins. In Islam Jesus is indeed there and is a prophet, however He is not the divine Son of God. Don't let this simple fact be downplayed for it is everything. If Jesus is not the Son of God, and did not die on the cross for our sins, and was not resurrected and taken up in to heaven, then our faith is false, as Paul explains in Corinthians.

"15 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. ² By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

³ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance^[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas,^[b] and then to the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸ and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
⁹ For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. ¹¹ Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead

¹² But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. ¹⁵ More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. ¹⁹ If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied." (Corinthians 15 1-19)

Super intense stuff, but amazing. These days it's stigmatized to talk about other people's "god" as the "wrong" god. People are very sensitive about their religions. I couldn't help myself from thinking, however, while I was at this Buddhist temple about all the poor souls that didn't know Christ. Here they were burning incense to some concrete and golden statues. Not only that, but there were different statues for different parts of life. One to pray to for "having a son", and for "academic achievement". Regardless of being brought up as a Buddhist you have to think that one day you would begin to question what this statue is doing for you.

Most people would counter with, "well you've never seen your God so how do you know he exists? wouldn't you think one day that you'd realize an invisible all powerful man in the sky isn't real?...science, logic etc". Certainly I haven't seen Him, and if I did I wouldn't be alive anymore. Reading the Old Testament assures us of that. More importantly though I know he is real because I have felt Him in my life. I have seen His works in me. I have felt His love. Something I wish everyone could feel, because it is the greatest feeling I have ever felt and ever will feel. Complete and utter serenity. Complete love. I admit I long for that feeling again, as in my life it hasn't come often. I'm completely ok with that though because I know He is there watching over me, and that He loves me. I know by my relationship with Him, His response to my prayers, and everything that I see around me. 

There are some studies that talk about how there is an inverse relationship between intelligence level and how religious people are. I think this is fascinating, and it makes perfect sense. Intellectual people tend to believe that they have done everything on their own. Especially the ones that live in America, the culture promotes this. 'Put in the work and with our freedom you can be anything you want to be'! Great slogan for capitalism, but not how things work. God should be credited with the good fortunes we all have.

"But if we attribute the good to God, it's only fair that we attribute the bad too!". This is actually something I struggled with for a long time. A fun twist on 'why do bad things happen to good people?'. I didn't have the answer until our church started reading through Job this past month. Wow, this book has been so good for me to read. I wrote a little about this earlier on in one of my blogs but it bears repeating. Job is the perfect dude, he's got a ton of money, he loves God, he's got a great family, and he's popular. All these bad things happen to him though, but he refuses to curse God. Even though the only 3 friends he has left on earth tell him he's at fault and must have done something to deserve it. He knows he didn't, yet remains faithful that God has a reason.

This lesson is so unbelievably powerful, and needed. So many people lose their faith because their grandmother got cancer, or their best friend was taken in a car accident. Tragedies like these that happen to those we love, and good people are a test of our faith. They also help to remind us that death is not final. There is life after death, and while we may mourn here for their bodies we should be more focused on whether or not their soul was saved. Thinking about this really gives a different perspective. It gives a real urgency to our evangelism. We may go at any time, have we done what God asked us to do?

Haha I don't know how this post got so preachy, I guess I just had to elaborate on what I was feeling at that Buddhist temple, and my thoughts. I certainly don't have all the answers, I just hope that my thoughts can help others in their faith who may be struggling with similar things.

ANYWAYS, after the Buddhist temple it was time to head back towards Busan station and catch a train back to Daegu University! This time instead of the mugunghwa it was the SRT to 동대구 (Dongdaegu) which is the in between train. Faster than mugunghwa but slower than KTX, only by a little though. Therefore the price point is in between for a train that's pretty close to the KTX. After getting in to dongdaegu I took the bus back to the university and crashed! That's it guys, look for the next post soon about my boring first day back haha. Thanks for reading!

Korean Word/Phrase of the Day: 부산에서 가고 싶어요 (Busan Eh Suh Ga Go Sheep Eo Yo) This means I want to go to Busan.

TLDR: I am broken. I am blessed.

Famous "Diamond Bridge"

Summit meeting room preservation

FREEEEDOMMMMMMMMMM

Haeundae from afar

Busan Station

An old book store in Busan.

Market street food!

More market street food!

A jewelry shop in the international market.

HAEUNDAE!

TGIF

Seriously. I was ready for this week to end. Korean class is easier than it has been, but it's still pretty intense. KBS just finished filming after 3 days here, plus I'm leaving for Busan tomorrow afternoon so it's just a good time overall.

Today went well. Class was pretty good, and I ate well. Not enough as always, but well. It's so difficult to get meal timings down here. I'm usually not hungry in the mornings, but all the restaurants close around 7pm. That leaves a lot of time of course, but I'm pretty busy all day. I get a lunch window from 1-4pm which is good, but we have dinner around 5pm everyday so even if I eat right away at 1pm, it's rare that I'm hungry enough to eat a big dinner at 5pm. Then by the time we go to bed around midnight, I'm starving. I know, I know it's not all that serious a problem to have, but it's troublesome to say the least.

I stopped lifting about a month ago as well. That's something I really have to fix. I took a break because of the week I had off from class and went to Seoul, then the next week was finals week so I took that week off too. The week after that was a week off from class, but I still had to work at K-PACE so I wanted to rest up for this past week which was the first week of new classes. Then of course this week was the first week of classes so I was busy with that and the filming. It's so easy to just get caught up in life and not find time to stay healthy. I need to fix this. Monday I'll get back to the gym, hold me to it.

I also need to get a haircut and a shave, but I haven't found a place here that will do both. Then again I've only had one haircut and I don't think the lady understood that I just wanted her to take the same clippers she used on my head and just saw off all the facial hair. It's ok, I'll figure it out, it's just always annoying shaving a thick beard with side-burn trimmers haha. The life of having a beard is not all it's cracked up to be.

I don't think I really talked in depth enough about what was going on with the Christian high school here. I gave an overview of the visit, but the visa issue was the biggest and most pressing thing. For some reason it didn't register in my head that I'm on a student visa here and if I stopped taking Korean classes I would lose my visa. I'm really smart guys I promise.

Anyways, my plan was to stop taking Korean classes after this session in lieu of finding a full time teaching job. I told the principal of the DICS (Disciple International Christian School) this and he was delighted. He said he would take that into consideration, and as I said by the end of the visit he wanted to hire me full time in September but they can't support a visa.

I wasn't sure how this would effect me so I told him I wanted to look into what I could do about the visa. I went to Yoon Jong Chan who had helped me originally with picking me up from the airport and giving me a campus tour etc. He is the main point of contact for English speaking students in the OIA (Office of International Affairs) and he's awesome. He really goes above and beyond for his students.

I told him about my plan, and he immediately set me straight about taking Korean classes. (Mind you I didn't want to necessarily stop them, I just thought teaching full time would be a more stable and lasting option if I wanted to stay here after the end of the year. I figured I would learn to be fluent in Korean over time due to being immersed in the culture, and having a basic understanding of the language through 2 sessions of classes.)

This created a problem. So far I'd really like to have the option to stay here, and I need some form of income to support myself. I can't stay on a student visa forever, and it limits my working options as well. A working visa would be much more beneficial in my position I think. I also found out that they spent a long time working on my visa issue before I came here, and it wasn't due to a short turn around that I couldn't get the working visa. I had to go on a student visa due to a government stipulation that you have to be paid a certain amount to get that particular type of visa. The school itself has a policy that they won't pay over a certain amount, and that amount is less than the government sets as the minimum, therefore, no working visa for me.

This made a lot more sense, and I appreciate all the hard work they put into figuring all this out. Mr. Yoon let me know that they started offering afternoon Korean classes this session because of the influx of students. He wasn't sure if there would be an afternoon session next quarter, and I understood. There's also the possibility that they wouldn't offer my particular level needs either.

The best idea that we could work out is that I would work part time at DICS (Yes I know what that spells guys...) from 8am-12pm and then come back to school to start my Korean classes at 1pm. This is going to be a GRUELING schedule, because classes will likely be 1-5pm, and then it's right back to the dorms to help the K-PACE students. Hey, I'm here for a challenge and I'm not going to back down, God will provide.

I prayed hard about this, because I didn't want to worry about it. I got my answer 2 days later, praise the Lord. Dr. Rhee messaged me and told me that I would be able to work this exact schedule. Mornings at DICS, afternoons studying Korean, and nights with the K-PACE students. I'm going to be so exhausted and busy, but I'm really excited and I'm going to work as hard as I can.

I am so thankful for the help and hard work that everyone is putting in for me. It's really eye opening to see a world where people care about each other. Certainly this exists in the U.S. but being in a sort of helpless position myself right now, the people around me are constantly being selfless in helping me. I would be lost without them. I thank God for bringing them into my life.

That's it for today guys! As I said before I'm going to Busan this weekend so I won't post tomorrow, but Sunday night when I get back I'll update you guys on what happened! Thanks for reading!

Korean Word/Phrase of the Day: 누구의 휴대폰 이에요? (Nu Gu Eh Hyoo Dae Pone E Eh Yo?) This means "Who's phone is this?".

TL:DR I am broken. I am blessed.

Ok Actual Interview Day

I'm glad I didn't wait to post until after my interview the other night. They ended up leaving without even telling me. Life has been pretty crazy around here lately. As I'm writing this on Friday, the camera crew has been here for 3 days straight shooting from 6:30am to almost midnight. I guess that's a little insight into how much film goes into creating these shows that we all watch. We are supposed to have a 15 minute segment, and it takes 3 days to do it.

Anyways on to the day. Another early morning due to filming. I've never exactly been a morning person, so trying to act awake and interested was a bit tough. I got my morning victuals done, and we headed off to breakfast together. I wasn't hungry this particular morning so I didn't eat. That's actually pretty typical for me, I like intermittent fasting especially in the morning. However, this always brings about a billion questions from everyone. "Are you nervous?" "Why aren't you eating?" "Are you sick?" etc. I guess no one can fathom a giant 6'6 viking not being hungry, but I'm here to tell you I don't necessarily eat a ton.

So like I said before, our Korean class although level 1B is being taught exclusively in Korean. I am really in awe of the fact that I'm able to understand most of what's going on too. I guess that just goes to show that if you keep working at something, you can eventually get to the point you want to be at provided it's not something with limiting factors. For example athletics related and you become too old etc.

After class I came back to the dorm and then had to head out for some work. I came back from work directly to the badminton class. This meant that I skipped both breakfast and dinner, and this left me famished. I had to gather the crew at night to head out to the convenience store to get some kimbap and sausage. I went with YJS and An Hyo Sang and apparently they were hungry too.

Following badminton we headed back to the dorm and it was time to get involved with filming. We had a bunch of scenarios that the director wanted to film. These were mostly in student's rooms helping them with various activities. Honestly, these types of things kinda bother me because what is represented on TV isn't usually what happens in real life. They have to glamorize and sensationalize the story to get people interested in their show. I understand it's a business and I respect the hard work they put in (man this director worked his butt off for 3 days to get this show ready) but it's just not for me.

YJS also broke the news to me that another station 'OBS' wants to do a story exclusively on me next week. I agreed to do it, but sometimes I think better of these decisions. I certainly don't need any notoriety for myself, but I know that these are getting the K-PACE program exposure and that is more than worth it. Especially with the culture here being the way it is concerning people with special needs. In fact that was the last question in the interview I had last night.

After filming the various activities, the director sat down with me for a 1 on 1 interview. The interview didn't go as well as I would have liked it to. Not that he wasn't professional or anything, but the questions didn't coincide with the points I wanted to get across. Mostly I wanted to give attention to the program itself, and downplay myself in the process. Most importantly however I wanted to really praise God and give him credit for all that was happening. I really didn't get much of a chance to do that and I wasn't happy about it.

The last question, or statement as I mentioned before was just a closing statement from me. I basically just thanked them for coming out and giving exposure to this great program and great people. Maybe next week will give me a better opportunity to praise God, or maybe I'm learning that I will just have to make my own opportunities during these interviews. Either way I am grateful that people are taking notice.

After the interview was the convenience store run, and a quick hang out session in An Hyo Sang and Heavy G's room. I was pretty exhausted so I went to bed earlier than everyone else, even skipping the blog post for the day. Well here it is, and I'm going right on to finish the next one as well. I am going to Busan this weekend for a break, so I will most likely group those two days into one post when I get back. I look forward to updating everyone on my adventures! Thanks for reading!

Korean Word/Phrase of the Day: 칼 (Kahl) Knife. My name here means knife.

TL:DR I am broken. I am blessed.

Interview Day! (Sorry Not Quite Yet)

I am exhausted. Today was long. The KBS crew got here at 6:30am to start filming. Luckily they are doing their segment on the entire K-PACE program and not just me, which is a big relief. At first YJS, and Heavy G made it sound like I was going to be the focus of the entire program. I'm truly glad that's not the case. The more I see the life of a camera following you around, the more I can't imagine how depressing that would be.

Before I forget, I really wish you guys could have been there last night. One of the funniest scenes I've seen in a long time unfolded in An Hyo Sang and Heavy G's room. In preparation for today's filming, both YJS, and Heavy G wanted to dye their hair. Here's how it went down: An Hyo Sang and YJS leave the room to go to the bathroom. Both of them come back without shirts on, and YJS has a clear plastic sheet over his head. I was so confused at what was going on until the hair dye came out.

Maybe the best part about all of this was that Heavy G put on some Korean love ballads as background music. We have YJS seated with his back facing An Hyo Sang. An is combing black hair dye into YJS's hair and we are jamming to love ballads. I was laughing so hard the entire time. Then it came time for Heavy G to get his hair dyed. So off came his shirt too. A bunch of dudes in their dorm room with their shirts off, listening to love ballads and dying their hair. What a great end to the night haha.

Anyways, today was busy. The camera followed us to breakfast, and then we all headed to the K-PACE center together. I kept going to the global lounge for class. We are in review for awhile now so I can kind of relax and reinforce what I know. It really feels good that I'm able to understand what the teacher says. I'm honestly blown away by the fact that our classes somehow morphed into almost exclusively Korean speaking and I didn't even really notice it.

After class I came back to the dorm and YJS joined me to go to lunch at 8 Ho Gwan. I finally got to try 냉우동 (Naeng Oo Dong) which is a cold noodle dish made with thicker noodles than usual. It was good, but probably not something I would choose over regular naeng myeon. Following our meal we headed back to the dorm to rest for the inevitable onslaught of crazy evening shenanigans.

K-PACE asked me to go to cooking class today which is different than my normal schedule. They asked this because of the filming going on. First I had to go to English conversational class though. We made tie-dye shirts together and it was actually really cool. I had only ever made tie-dye by dipping the shirt in a bucket, but the teacher had put the dye into bottles that you could squirt onto the shirt. This actually made things a lot easier.

I really wanted to get a shot of the producer filming the students but he leaned in at the last second.

When class ended, YJS and I walked over to the cooking class together. Today we made 차돌박이 된장찌개 (Chadolbagi Dwen Jang Jji Gae) or beef brisket stew. It was really good, and I wish I could have had more. Instead I'm still hungry as I wait for my interview to start. These guys have been working really hard, they came at 6:30am this morning and they probably won't be leaving until midnight tonight. They are also planning on doing the same thing tomorrow.

I finally got him filming the cooking class.

I think I'm going to cut it here, since I'm really tired and I want to go to bed after the interview. I will let you guys know how it went tomorrow though! I believe the show is scheduled to air in about 3 weeks. See you guys tomorrow!

Korean Word/Phrase of the Day: 치맥 먹고 싶어요 (Chi Mek Meog Go She Peo Yo) This means "I want to eat 'chimek'" Chimek is chicken and beer, and is amazing here in Korea.

TL:DR I am broken. I am blessed.

Vietnamese Invasion!

Hello friends and welcome back! Just as the Mongolians invaded our first session of classes, so the Vietnamese have done the same in this session. I think there were around 100 Vietnamese students that came in this week to start their Korean training here. Most of our class is now Vietnamese, and it's very interesting. Hearing all the different Asian languages spoken in class, and seeing how they interact with each other is fascinating. I'm so glad to get this different outlook on life. I'm pretty sure I could never speak these languages properly even if I spent the rest of my life trying.

Today was a pretty eventful day. I left class 2 hours early because of the interview with the Christian high school. I brought a change of clothes, and changed into them. Button down, slacks, and some dress shoes. I found out those weren't exactly needed, but that was ok. Heavy G drove me and we met Dr. Rhee along the way. We followed his car to the high school and went inside to meet the principal.

My meeting with the principal was actually pretty short lived. The principal got one of the employees to give me and Heavy G a tour while Dr. Rhee talked with him. We toured the very small, but very nice campus. As you walk in from the parking lot there is a space between the buildings and you walk into a courtyard area made of brick. The size is roughly a basketball court. There are soccer nets on either end of it, and a basketball hoop on one of the sides. In front of you is the chapel. To your right is the school building, and in front of you and to the left are the dorms. Behind you is the cafeteria.

After touring all these buildings we went to the cafeteria. It was actually lunch time so we sat down with our tour guide and had some 고추장 불고기 (Go Chu Jang Bulgogi) or spicy fire meat. It was so good, I was truly impressed by this place. The best part about it is that it truly is a Christian school. Not like they have in America where it's really just Christian or Catholic in name only. These people practice what they preach. The school only has 72 students, and has an age range of 6-19. If I were to work there I would be working with primarily middle school, and high school age students.

In the middle of lunch, Dr. Rhee's son Alex came and sat down with us. He has been working at the school for a few months now, and is preparing to go back to the U.S. for law school. He speaks English very well as he moved there at age 10 and has lived there for awhile. We ended up talking the entire lunch time and got to know each other well for such a short amount of time spent. I really enjoyed talking to him, and I think he is someone I will end up being friends with for a long time to come. We shared our visions of our future inside God's will, and talked about our views on faith.

After eating we went to the courtyard to watch some of the children play basketball, and a lot of the middle school/high school aged girls came and stood around. They wanted to know about me, but they were nervous to speak English. I find that's actually quite common here. Koreans tend to be nervous or shy about speaking English to a native speaker. I do my best to make them feel at home, and I've also been told I'm quite approachable despite being a giant with a giant beard.

Eventually it was time to go, and the principal came up to me basically stating that they would love to have me work with them. The unfortunate truth is there might be some visa issues that go along with this. So I don't have a set in stone job as of yet. I will keep you all updated on what happens with this, but I love this school a lot and I hope it is within God's will to have me teach there.

After leaving there we headed back to the dorms. I took a short break and then walked back to the global lounge where I talked to Yoon Jong Chan about possible visa options. After getting the information I needed, I walked back to the dorm and rested until dinner. I had neng myeon as a good boy should, and then headed to badminton class with Heavy G and YJS. An Hyo Sang went back to the dorm by himself to take a break.

That's basically it for today, but tomorrow promises to be another crazy one as the KBS crew is getting here at 6:30am to film for the "Love Family" show. I have no idea what is going to happen, but please pray that everything goes well. I'll update you guys tomorrow on what happens! Good night!

Korean Word/Phrase of the Day: 외동 아들/딸 (Wae Dong A Deul/Ddal) This means only child male/female. We reviewed family today and this stuck out because, well, I am an only child! Enjoy!

TL:DR I am broken, I am blessed.

Back to the Grind

Today was back to Korean class. I finally found out what class I would be taking. I got to the global lounge about 30 min early just like usual because Heavy G dropped me off, after having some chicken curry bap for breakfast. They posted the names of all the students and what class they were in. Turns out I made the 1B/2A class which was a step up from where I was last session. Score! At least I didn't completely bomb the test like I thought I did. Or maybe I did and they were being nice.

Either way I'm happy, I think it will be a good chance for me to review a lot of the stuff from the first session, and learn some new stuff as well. Really the key is to just keep getting better every day and eventually I will get there. Today we did a review on family members and age. That was also combined with polite family verb form. The first time we went through this was super quick, and so it was really nice to get time to go through things more in depth.

After class I came back to the dorm and took a rest. I played some games for awhile. I also listened to some music. I have gone back to some of my roots lately, listening to a lot of Dream Theater. This has been my favorite band for probably about 12 years now. I am constantly blown away by their musicianship and writing. However, their last few albums have been sub par for what I've come to expect as a fan, so I fell out of the habit of listening to them. I go through phases of revisiting their older music though, and this is one of those times.

I find that as humans we are very much creatures of habit. I have been falling into some old bad habits lately, but the difference this time is that I'm cognizant of what I'm doing. I also have God on my side to help me correct these. Learning to put my trust in him has proven to be a much longer and more difficult process than I originally anticipated, and being a flawed and broken human it might take me a lifetime.

Totally random side note, I decided to finally give Devin Townsend Project a chance after years of thinking that they were some corporate metal band. After some words from my friends stating the opposite I have finally listened to some of their stuff. Boy am I glad I did, this song is rocking my pants off right now. I hope you enjoy it, as I'm going to start exploring their catalogue now.

Anyways, today was a bit of just easing back into the grind. Tomorrow however, I meet with the principal of the Christian high school that might give me a chance to get a part time job teaching English. This certainly sounds like a step in the right direction, and something sent along by God, but I want to pray and leave it up to Him first. I know He will lead me where I should go.

Then sometime this week is supposed to be the filming for "Love Family". I'll talk more about that when things get set in stone. All I hear is from the other RA's so who knows what is actually happening haha. Thanks for tuning in and I'll see you all tomorrow!

Look how smart I am in Korean!

Korean Word/Phrase of the Day: 돌아가시다 (Do Ra Ga She Da) This is the polite form to use when an older family member has passed away. Translated it means to "go back".

TL:DR I am Broken, I am Blessed.

Last Day of Break

So if you think Saturday was boring, today I literally didn't leave the dorm. I'm honestly ok with this. Sometimes you just need to hang out in and around your bed. Heavy G and I skipped church today as it was a long busy week and we were tired. He had a family party to go to, and I just didn't feel like the 1.5 hour one way bus ride.

However, this gave me a good chance for some reflection. Kinda funny how it seems that Sundays are bringing about most of my reflections recently, but I guess not all that surprising seeing as how most of my Sundays are spent thinking about God. Not to say that I don't think about him pretty much all day every day, but Sundays are usually spent in His house and you might say it becomes sort of habitual.

As most of you probably know since you read my blog, I have been very fortunate as of late. Good things are happening to me at an alarming rate, and I can't thank God enough for all the goodness He has bestowed upon me lately. My message today is about the weekly, and even daily struggle that we all have with our faith.

I wasn't always this honest. In fact for most of my life I was mysterious. Partly because I believed that made me more interesting, and partly because I'm somewhat of a private person. Along about a year or so ago that completely changed. During the time I spent at ODM (my Korean church back home in Elmhurst) I just started to let things explode out of me.

I mostly blame my buddy Matt Tolbert for this. We started getting into deep conversations about everything. Work, faith, and most importantly girls. Lol, this helped me see that most of us go through the same things, and if I was able to be transparent with my life, that could help and encourage others in their faith. My new personality was born.

I am not ashamed of who I am. Not anymore. This is because of God. If I still lived my life by the world's standards, and worried about what others thought of me, well of course I would be failing by letting everyone else see my embarrassments and failures. God has turned this on its head because none of it matters. Christ died for our sins knowing that we are all broken human beings, and I am proud to say that He is my Savior and I no longer have to try and hide anything.

So on to my message. Here's a quick recap. I came here to Korea with nothing. I had a big bag of clothes and my laptop so not exactly nothing. However, I had just given my last savings to the government in taxes. (I hadn't been the smartest with my salary from coaching. Not that I had frittered it away, but more spent on things I had wanted over the years but had never bought. I knew I was most likely coming to Korea and should have been saving everything I could, but can't go back now.)

I had a promise from the university here that they would pay my room/board, and tuition for my Korean classes in exchange for me living as an RA intern with the K-PACE program here. (Originally I was supposed to be given a monthly stipend, but once that didn't work out due to visa issues I had a hard decision. I ended up trusting God and coming here anyway).

Since then I have had multiple guardian angels watching over me. Everyone has been so incredibly nice and helpful I would feel wrong trying to list names to thank people. However Dr. Rhee has definitely gone above and beyond to help me find work. If I get the chance to work with the Christian high school I should be set as far as a start here with working. Then when next March rolls around God can show me which path He wants me to take from there.

Beyond this I have had multiple interviews on the work that I'm doing here. (I honestly am so humbled every time this happens, I really don't deserve these). I'm just following God's will, he deserves all the glory. I've done my best to make that as apparent as possible in all my interviews but that message doesn't always get through. It's really up to the writers at that point.

I am set to be on the TV show "Love Family" with filming to be done sometime next week. This is a KBS show and a very big deal here. Like I said, I don't deserve this, it's crazy...but it will be a chance for me to give more praise to God, and for that I am happy to be a part of it. I was also gifted with a wonderful female companion named Joanne as an answer to prayers. I am seriously in awe of this woman. I admire her greatly and feel very blessed to have a relationship with her.

God is doing so many great things in my life, AND YET STILL I STRUGGLE. I know there are differing opinions on whether it's easier to grow your relationship with God when you're going through the ups in your life, or the downs. My personal opinion is during the down times. I think this stems from the fact that I was always very capable, and it was easy to attribute any good fortune to my own hard work, when in fact it was God's will and God's timing that was right.

So let's get down to the nitty gritty. Let's get specific. On any given day I still have the tendency to kind of just float away from God. To somehow just forget about Him. How is that even possible? Especially when He's been so instrumental in all I have here, forming and shaping my life. Truly saving me from what I might have done to myself had he not intervened.

I knew that my faith was always going to be a battle. Even that first night in the car on the way to North Dakota after I had felt Christ's love for the very first time, I knew it would be a struggle. I felt myself floating away from Him and I didn't want that. I wanted that feeling forever, but this experienced helped me realize that I was always going to have an up and down relationship with God. There would be times where I would feel that He was absent in my life, along with times where I would feel that He was right next to me without me even having to try.

I certainly feel that He is here with me now, yet my flesh still wants to pull away and forget. To return to the way I used to live. This is literally a daily struggle. I still catch myself thinking about how I can circumvent some of His teachings for a short time. Whether it's the desire to have sex, or drink, or overeat. Maybe it's something as simple as not going to church on a certain Sunday because I'm lazy, or not mentioning God in an interview, or even desiring and asking him for fame and fortune in prayer.

Whatever it may be, I'm still struggling everyday. I am broken. So unbelievably broken that the only way I am even together at all is all due to Christ's love. I owe everything to Him, and I am in complete submission to Him with my entire life and being.

What a funny thing to say. Only 3 years ago I would have said I have it all together, that I'm living a great life. I would have been scared to open up about anything. I would have thought it was weak to be so open and honest, and that I would never be that way. I just pray that this can encourage those of you who are struggling in your faith. Those of you who have it together today, but tomorrow it all falls apart. Those of you who don't have faith, but may be wondering. And those of you who have rejected God altogether, I can only pray that God opens your heart to Him. I will be praying for all of you. If any of you ever need to talk, I am right here.

Have a good day, and I will post again tomorrow!

Korean Word/Phrase of the Day: 어쩌면 (Eo Jjeo Myeon) "Maybe"! In case you ever need to be non-definitive with your answers.

TL:DR I am Broken.

It's Hot!

Saturday brought nothing really all that new. Except the weather, man it's getting up there. I mean it is the end of May so I should be expecting some warm weather, but we're already in the 90's and humid. I think next week should pick up as far as activities so you guys will be more entertained, as it stands I'm just getting some R+R this week in preparation for going back to the grind.

Lol this happened last night. I was hungry so I went down to the local convenient store to refill my bus card, and grab some kimbap as a snack with YJS. Well we were walking down the road and it had some weird texture to it and i rolled my ankle and scraped my leg. Pretty embarrassing haha, obviously when a big guy goes down its not unnoticed. I'm fine, but my ego is not :(.

Anyways that'+s about all that happened honestly, I rested most of the day and visited Heavy G's room a few times. I also watched some twitch streams and took a few naps. I'll be ready to go again Monday, but will probably be complaining again by Wednesday lol.

Speaking of Wednesday Dr. Rhee told me that he wants to go visit a local Christian high school where I have a chance of starting a job as a part time English teacher. Pray for me, and I'm sure whatever God's will is will happen, but this sounds like a pretty good opportunity for me. Thanks guys and I'll see you to update you on Sunday!

Korean Word/Phrase of the Day: 비 (Pee) This is rain! Not to be confused with 피 (Pee) which is blood! Thought I'd give a funny one today. Have fun!

TL:DR I am Blessed.

Birthday Post!

Hey guys! It's my birthday! Yay! I lived to be 31! (32 if you're counting Korean years.) Today started really early as I was to meet Dr. Rhee to go to the American military base. Heavy G wanted to leave before 7, so we both woke up around 6:30. Last night was a late night of celebrating so the turn around was a bit rough. Surprisingly I woke up with a good amount of energy, and we headed off to pick up Dr. Rhee.

The first stop was actually the downtown campus of Daegu University. I knew that they had moved the campus out here about 10 years ago, but I didn't know that they had kept the old campus. The car ride was about 30 minutes, and we parked and went into the school. We met with the principal and vice principal of the 보명 학교 (Bo Myeong Hak Kyo) special needs school there, and also the principal of the deaf school.

Apparently the only major they offer at the downtown campus is nursing, however they have several high school age programs running for special needs students. I thought this was super cool. We got to meet some of the students, and some of the faculty. They are all clearly people with very big hearts, and it's great to see such a program not only being offered but flourishing here.

After a cup of coffee together (and a short introduction of myself in Korean...yes Dr. Rhee asked me to introduce myself in Korean haha) we all headed off to the military base. I have never been on a military base so this was pretty cool. My grandfather on my mother's side was a major in the air force so she grew up on air force bases. She gave me a pretty general idea of what to expect, and I'd have to say it was pretty true to story.

Basically the purpose of the visit was to have an exchange program of the Daegu University students with the high school students on the army base. This was so cool. I'm learning more and more about the exchange programs Daegu University does, and it's much more in depth than I ever thought it was. Apparently they have Skype sessions weekly with students from National Louis University in Chicago here on campus, and the city campus kids have the physical exchange with the army base students. Pretty awesome stuff!

We all went in and met the principal of the army base high school while the students paired up and went outside to work on tie-dye t-shirts. I also met one of the head teachers there named Kim Goldsmith who is from Chicago herself. She was extremely nice and seems like an excellent fit for what she's doing. The more we travel the more we learn that the world is a small place. I'm really glad to have made their acquaintances.

After a brief hour long visit, we headed back to the city campus to drop off the principal, then Heavy G started for home. We dropped Dr. Rhee off near campus at a restaurant and went back to the dorm. I really needed a nap at this point despite a cup of coffee, I guess I'm getting older and 4 hours doesn't work anymore haha. I got a good nap, and at 3:30pm it was time to wake up and pick up the cake Joanne sent me.

I was scheduled to pick it up anytime after 11, but I guess the bakery thought it was supposed to be AT 11. That created a fun little situation, but YJS took care of all that for me. The cake was beautiful and I plan on digging into it tonight. After dropping it off back at the dorm, we headed over to the K-PACE center for my birthday party.

We got there about 4pm and it was time to party! We went upstairs and they had a cake and a dry erase board full of fun notes. They also ended up bring in some of my favorite fried chicken. The food was so good, and I was so happy to be in the presence of some truly great people.

An Hyo Sang drew the "Sexy Chicken Baby" based on the picture that I sent him last week haha. I'll post it again below in case you haven't seen it. We had a great time together, and after we finished the boys headed back to the dorm for a chill Friday night.

There really wasn't much going on here tonight. Friday's tend to be relax night so I just caught up on my blog and watched some twitch. Tomorrow promises to be a good one though, so I'll keep you updated on what happens! Thanks for tuning in!

SEXY CHICKEN BABY!

Korean Word/Phrase of the Day: 케이크 (Ke E Keu) Cake! As in, I get 2 because it's my birthday and I'm special!

TL:DR I am Blessed.

Thursday of Break Week

So yesterday was a bit more interesting than most of the week due to cooking class. Most of the rest of the day was the same. I woke up pretty early, I can't sleep late anymore. I guess this is a good thing as my sleep schedule was pretty messed up before I came here.

There weren't really any appointments until 5:30pm which is when cooking class started. This gave me a chance to relax more and just prepare for starting up studying again next week. In cooking class we made 사과 카레 밥 (Sa Gwa Ka Re Bap) or apple curry rice. Here's some documentation of the process.

The final product looked pretty good! I am a fan of curry rice now and I think the students did pretty well! This is a fun class, and I'm glad they are teaching useful things to the students here. That just about does it for yesterday but stay tuned for my birthday post!

Korean Word/Phrase of the Day: 언제든지 (Eon Je Deun Ji) Anytime!

TL:DR I am Blessed.

Get To Know The Boys In The Band: Heavy G Edition

Using Google translate for these questions left us with some pretty funny answers. I'm going to leave the original transcript but edit in () parenthesis where I can to have this make more sense. Enjoy!

GET TO KNOW HEAVY G

1. Describe a typical day growing up in Korea.

I have been living in a normal family since I was a child and have been experiencing various things (part-time, cultural activities).

2. What is important in young life in Korea? Sports? Music?

What was the most important thing in my youth in Korea was cars and games. The car made me feel like everything in life, and I thought that one day I was going to buy a car by all means. But I liked the game, especially playing the game called Tekken.

3. What is your dream in life? Job? Location? Family?

The most important dream in my life is to create a loving family. I also dreamed of being a childhood dream, (I also dreamed of having children) and of course I think that it is necessary to have some ability to make a family that is friendly. Looking at my parents, I still do not forsake the dream of being a friendly family.

4. Is there anything you have done that has earned you special recognition?

Something special for me is a bad memory at the same time. I had been to the beach in Ulsan to see the sunrise with my family. There, my parents (I, not parents) secretly stumbled on the breakwaters and had fallen under the breakwaters, and slipped down on the hay that had stuck there. I then shouted and fainted, saying, "Give me all sorts of thoughts and live," and when I was in the mood I was already rescued from the breakwater. In the end, the special thing is that it is not unimportant to me that I felt hurt, and that I felt that I could always rely on my family.

5. What do you think about America?

The United States is very positive. When I first went to America, I was moved by freedom, and I did not stop till I came back to Korea to see friendly people, large areas. If I have a chance to go to America again next time, I feel like I want to go.
 

6. Are you scared of your neighbors to the North?

North Korea is a little ambiguous. When I am in military service, do you feel neutral like the Korean side or the North Korean side in the end Is stronger? In the end, I do not know how long this truce is going, but I think it will be a good result someday.

Wednesday of Break Week

Today started just like yesterday. In fact it was almost the same exact day. I woke up and watched some twitch to relax. Around 12pm I headed out for lunch with the girl that I ate with yesterday. Her English is actually pretty good. She is learning American colloquialisms and it's pretty funny when she busts them out. Sometimes it stuns me for a second and I can't respond right away. I never thought I'd have that problem, but until you're in that situation you don't know how you'll react.

We got some 차돌박이 (Cha Dol Bag E) for lunch which is super thinly sliced beef brisket, and it is delicious! We actually went to the same place that I went with An Hyo Sang a few weeks ago, mainly because I knew about it. She had of course been there before, but it was good nonetheless.

Ahhh wonderful food. It really brings back memories, haha. After lunch we went to a coffee shop, which is pretty customary in Korea. I was talked into a black tea latte, and despite how that sounds I really enjoyed it. I would say it was a bit sweet, and milky if I was asked to describe it. Quite tasty.

After lunch and coffee, we headed back to the dorms. We spent about 4 hours talking about Korean and American cultures, it's pretty amazing how fast time flies when you get into deep conversation. I'm very grateful for this opportunity to learn more about the culture here in Korea, and to be able to help someone feel more comfortable speaking English.

The rest of the night was spent having some chicken curry bap at 8 호관 and going to badminton class. I basically supervise and do my best not to get hit with the shuttlecock or any of the soccer balls flying around from the soccer team that practices at the field.

I realize this week is a bit lacking on the activities, so I have finally finished the interview questions for the other RA's here. This week we're gonna start off with a bang. I will be interviewing Heavy G and probably posting that as a special post tomorrow. That's all for today! Stay tuned for tomorrow and finding out all about Heavy G! Thanks for reading.

EDIT: I totally forgot, Nathan sent me some literature on the topic we discussed yesterday. The Korean education system is fascinating, and if you have just a few minutes these (very short) articles can help you understand a bit better.
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20130403000936
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20130418000645
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20150311000993

Korean Word/Phrase of the Day: 보수 (Bo Soo) this means conservative. As in dressing conservatively, or being conservative in a relationship.

TL:DR I am Blessed.

Tuesday of Break Week

Today was much like yesterday. I woke up and skipped breakfast, got a short nap in and then got up for real. I watched my buddy Alex stream for a little while before it was time for lunch. I went over to Heavy G's room around 11am to see what he was up to. After a brief visit I decided it was time for a quick shower before lunch.

I went to lunch with the other girl who is going to Maple Brook school in September. I'm sure that both of these girls are nervous about speaking English to native speakers, and I'm blessed to be able to help them feel more comfortable. We actually ended up spending close to 4 hours together just talking and walking around. We grabbed some coffee after a walk touring the campus at a place called Jogun's cafe near both of our dorms. I got a cookies and cream frappuccino, life is good.

After saying goodbye, I headed back to the dorm for a quick rest before dinner. I wanted to visit with the boys a little bit before we headed out for our nightly duties. I wasn't all that hungry for dinner so I decided to get 비빔냉면 (Bi Bim Neng Myeon) which is cold noodles with vegetables in it. A merge of Bibimbap and Neng Myeon, good stuffs.

After dinner I went back to the dorm with An Hyo Sang. Heavy G and YJS went to badminton class today, so I went to An's room and hung out with him for awhile. I'm trying to still learn some vocab even though I'm not in class this week. I've set a goal of 3 words per day as a minimum. That's pretty easy and something you could do without even really trying honestly.

I basically ended up going back and forth between An's room and my own for a majority of the night. I did a load of laundry so I guess that was exciting. I had a chance to Skype with my parents for awhile, and that's always encouraging. Our internet connection was bad for awhile though so things were a bit rough and I was distracted. All in all, things were good though.

That's about it really, I'm feeling this is kind of a calm before the storm type deal. A chance to rest and restore my battery before things get out of control again. In a good way of course. One thing I do need to do is get back in the gym, it's been a few weeks and I'm being lazy about it. You can't get strong just thinking about working out. Anyways, it's bed time for tonight. See you guys tomorrow!

Bonus pic of "grilled pizza" that I saw at Jogun's today and had to share with you guys. Classic Korea hahaha

Korean Word/Phrase of the Day: 농담 (Nong Dam) Joke! I've been making jokes with people but unfortunately have to explain them as "미국 농담" or an American joke haha.

TL:DR I am Blessed.