Japan, Mountain Top View, and Buddhist Temples!

So, I write too much. Enjoy some Pictures!

Justin was quite sad after his attempt to bake banana bread in the microwave didn't exactly turn out great.




He's got the whole world in His hands!




What great beauty contained in the depth of the iris! :) (taken in Japan)




Justin overlooking a bay full of resting ships.




Justin wishing he could soar on the wind over the beauty below.




Overlooking the harbor and part of Busan.




Prayer room/shrine.




Hiking in the rain on a trail of boulders and flowing water!




Prayer rooms/shrines.




A gorgeous temple.




Yep, it rained and we hiked. :)



Carolyn and I in front of a Buddhist temple.

Stuck

It smells like rain. This morning it was pouring, now it is only raining heavily. I often dislike rain; I don’t like being cooped up inside as if I were an animal. I would rather be out exploring the streets or playing basketball or spending my Saturday outside doing nothing in particular. At this moment I am feeling antsy; if I were at home I would maybe watch a movie, or maybe bake a cake (probably chocolate). I should probably study the Korean letters. Justin told me I should start writing a book. I actually just finished reading two books today; perhaps the rain is good for me. I had been working on “The Practice of the Presence of God” by/about Brother Lawrence for a couple of weeks. Brother Lawrence was a monk who worked in the monastery kitchen. He didn’t accomplish anything that would end up in history books or do anything that Hollywood could make millions off of; instead, he simply lived in “the presence of God” at all times through constant thanks, praise, confession, and general conversation with God: simple, yet difficult. Brother Lawrence was a devoted servant of God who sought no praise or recognition for his work, humbly carrying on his tasks and serving others as though he was serving God Himself with every action. He also did not see great value in the classic idea of pietistic Christianity, believing that he was just as close to God when washing pots and pans as during set times of prayer. Humbly walking with God at all times: not a bad way to live your life.
The second book that I read was “The Old Man and The Sea” by Hemingway. I must confess that I began to read it so that I could say that I had read a classic. I don’t read many fiction books and I don’t know if I’ve ever read a “classic” before. I don’t think I’m very good at analyzing the meanings and undertones of novels, so I’m not exactly sure about all of what Hemingway was trying to convey to his readers. I do know that it was a book about relationship, a book about the deep desires within us, a book about fighting to attain and the cruelty of losing the things we’ve worked for, a book about what makes life worth living and the stuff that really matters.
I should write a book? With all of the brilliant literature available in the world, with so many books written by authors with great depth and insight, what would I write that would say something new or worth reading? No, I think I shall read books for now, or at least until I am struck with a genius idea. I have heard it said that many of the genius minds in the world were also a little crazy. I’m not sure what comes first: the genius or the crazy; but it’s still raining, which means I may be traveling quickly down the path of crazy. Let’s hope that genius follows, or maybe that it just stops raining.

I am 12 days into my life in Korea: still amazing! Last week classes were a little hectic as I was still pretty confused on what I was teaching and confused about how things run at the university. That confussion still remains, but I have a better handle overall on classes and the functioning of the university. One of my classes is a conversation class that meets 4 days a week; I'm pretty excited about it as there are "only" about 20 students so I can get to know them better and have more fun in the class. One class has over 70 students so that could be interesting.
My time outside of class has also been pretty fun. Justin and I hung out with President Kim and his wife again all day Sunday. He told us that the best way to learn Korean was to get a Korean girlfriend; I told him that I didn't think Jenni would like that too much. For some reason he found this pretty humorous and started making jokes about my classes shrinking and Justin's overflowing; he also went ahead and told the pastor of the second church that we visited about his hypothesis. That wasn't really a big deal except for when the pastor introduced us during the service and went ahead and told the congregation about it; this resulted in much laughter and many young ladies giggling and staring at us. It was pretty hilarious! President Kim wants Justin to marry a Korean girl and stay at Kosin so I think I'm going to spread the word that Justin is single and wants to learn Korean. :)
Besides hanging out with the president, I played basketball yesterday with some students in my dress clothes, tie and all. It was really fun, it had been a while. Justin and I also went to one of the main shopping areas last night. I had a list of 3 things to get with brown shoes being the priority; however, Koreans, in general, don't have feet that require size 12's. After asking at about 10 stores and being disaoppointed 10 times I gave up my search for the night. I'm not really sure what the solution to that problem is, hopefully I can find a 'Big and Tall' store or something like that.
Anyway, life in Korea is good. It has been a great experience so far and I anticipate it to only imporve as we explore the city more and become more comfortable in our classes.
Here are some pictures of life so far.

Deciphering the root of the main verb in the Japanese phrase.



First day of class (we didn't know if we were teaching or not that day) as we are leaving the hotel.



Shopping in Nampo-Dung