The Roberts in Korea

Lunar Laziness

This past Monday through Wednesday we have been out of school for the celebration of the Lunar New Year here in South Korea.  Just so you know, it is the year of the Ox.  (I never paid any attention to the Lunar New Year and calendar until we moved to South Korea.)

We haven't done a whole lot over the past five days (Sat/Sun plus 3 days off).  Becca and Sarah were showing signs of coughing and low grade fevers early on so we kept out of sight over the weekend.

On Monday night we (Dina and Ryan) had the real treat of going over to Cynthia and Dhina's home for some delicious Indian food.  Cynthia and Dhina are both from India and work at the school (TCIS) in the technology/computer department.  They had quite a crowd of people over to their home and we all enjoyed a great time of food and fellowship.

On Tuesday night we spent the evening with the Miller family.  The kids had a party at the Miller house and the adults went up town for dinner and a movie.  We (the adults) enjoyed a delicious dinner at Outback, watched the movie "Changeling," (it is not too bad) and enjoyed some creative spelling on some of the Korean sign-age.

On Wednesday we went with the Miller family (all 11 of us) to another movie.  This time we all went and saw, "Bedtime Stories" (very funny and enjoyable).  After three taxi cabs, a large purchase of multiple bags of caramel corn, lots of soda pop and numerous boxes of buttered squid we all settled in the for the movie and laughed lots.  It was a good way to end the Lunar Break.

The best thing about Lunar Break was just hanging out together as a family (Ryan, Dina, Becca and Sarah).  The Lunar New Years keep ticking away and Becca and Sarah keep growing--so when we get a few moments together as a family...we savor them.

Back to Work With Joy

There are many great things about being in education and teaching kids, but one of the best things about being a schoolteacher is Christmas break.  A good two weeks off from school, with the festive day of Christmas nestled in the center of the vacation, makes for a truly, “wonderful time of the year.” 

One of the saddest times of the school year, for students and teachers, is when Christmas break is over.  The new toys are shelved, the decorations come down, and the reality of normal life is realized, even as the final strains of “Auld Lang Syne,” hang in the air.

It is sad—almost depressing—to see another Christmas come and go.  Christmas is not only a time for family, presents, vacations, and fun, but it is also a time to reflect on God and His great love for every person who has ever lived.  Christmas is a time to celebrate the arrival of the Savior of the world—God come to earth.  Christmas is a time of hope, joy, peace and amazing love. 

I wish Christmas (and Christmas break) would never end.  I wish that I could just stay in the place of wonder that accompanies the season and the message of Christmas.  Is that how the shepherds felt at the time of Jesus’ birth?  From the little that is known about them, it appears they had it rough.  They were living in a time of harsh governmental rule and their jobs as shepherds were at the bottom of both the social and economic ladders.  They were stuck in dead-end jobs, living seemingly hopeless lives and they ended up being some of the first ones to see the Savior.

In Luke 2, the angels announced the birth of the Savior to an unlikely band of sheepherders and in response the shepherds dropped all they were doing and hurried to town to see the baby.  The shepherds left their flocks—the sheep that were to be used as temple sacrifices—and went to a manger to behold the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  It is hard to imagine the joy and hope that the shepherds must have felt as they knelt before the one proclaimed by the angels as the Savior and Messiah.  I am sure that they never wanted to leave that place and they never wanted that moment to end.

But it did.

“The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.”  Luke 2:20 (NLT)

The shepherds didn’t stay in the company of Mary, Joseph and the infant King.  They left.  They “went back to their flocks.” They went back to the same bleating sheep and to the same challenges, hungers, frustrations, fears, struggles and circumstances that are common to all humankind.  The Christmas decorations came down and they returned to the real world of work and life.  They returned, “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.”

Nothing in the lives of the shepherds had changed…but they were changed.

It wasn’t until thirty years later that Jesus started his ministry and began to show faint signs of Messiahship.  Even then, he didn’t measure up to what anyone had in mind for a Messiah.  Ultimately, the one that the angels proclaimed as Savior and King was crucified on a cruel Roman cross.

The shepherds went back to work, “glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen.”

What have you seen and heard?

On this side of the Christmas story we all have a wonderful perspective of the One that the angels proclaimed to the shepherds on that night so long ago.  We know of Jesus’ life.  His miracles.  His love.  We know of the cross…and the empty tomb.

Christmas 2008 is over and we all have gone back to:

• A raging global economic crisis
• A job (if we are lucky) that is rigorous and demanding
• Hectic schedules
• Stacks of homework
• Life…

The festive decorations have come down, but the celebration of Christmas doesn’t have to end.  Move into the New Year with hope and joy.  Though we still “see through a glass darkly”—we all have a clearer vision of Jesus than the shepherds did some 2,000 years ago and they returned to work…

“glorifying and praising God.”

Crazy View from Here

Last week was the Middle School Spirit Week.  It was a week full of different outfits, school assemblies and fun for Sarah.  Here she is dressed up for crazy day.  Sarah has been studying, practicing the drums and hanging out with friends.

This week has been a cold one and a busy one here for all of us.  The temps have been sub zero and the deep chill has been keeping us all walking very quickly from our home to the school.  Becca has been plugging away at school, going to basketball practice every afternoon and having games on Wednesdays and on weekends.  Last week she traveled south to a game on Wednesday and then traveled north to Seoul for games on Friday night and Saturday morning (the team slept in Seoul on Friday night).  She is also busy playing piano at home and bass guitar in the high school chapel praise band.

Here in Korea there are always plenty of sights to see.  Sometimes we (westerners) are the sight to see.  Lots of little kids are very surprised to see fair-skinned people like us with blond hair, beards, blue eyes, etc.  Sometimes the kids cry and sometimes they smile--they always stare.  Here are a couple of pics of a little cutie that was staring at Ryan in an eating area in a department store.

Korea is a cold place this winter.  We are enjoying the journey of living here in this country.  It is a place of buildings, streets, cars, colorful signs, a fascinating culture and beautiful people.

I'm Hungry

The challenging economic times have left the "western" food that is on sale in the grocery stores here in Korea at an all time high price.  The Korean food in the stores is a better price, but unfortunately we don't know how to prepare Korean food.  It is much more economical for us to eat dinner at small Korean restaurants in our area.  They buy the food wholesale, they know how to prepare it and we enjoy the delicious food at a more than reasonable price.

Here are some of our favorites:

This dish is called "bok-um-bop" and is very tasty.  It is otherwise known as "fried rice."  There are many types of fried rice here in South Korea:  beef, shrimp, tuna fish, and kimchi.

The next two pics are soup.  The cold, damp winter days here in South Korea make a person hungry for a nice hot bowl of soup.  The soup pictured here is called "duk-gook" and it tastes like a very rich chicken and rice soup.  The rice in the soup does not consist of grains of rice but rather the rice comes in slices of pressed rice.  They taste a bit like chewy dumplings.  Pressed rice is called "duk" and the word for soup is "gook", thus the meal is pressed rice soup.

The reddish colored soup in the black bowl is better tasting than it looks in the photo and sounds in description.  It is "soon-toobu-jigae" or in English...tofu soup.  This meal is a boiling hot soup that consists of chunks of tofu boiled with small clams (still in the shells), some veggies and lots of Korean red pepper and other spices.  This is a very delicious and intense tasting soup (and it is good for you).  Ryan loves it.

Yum!

Too Many Moons

Wow, Christmas break ended and life accelerated from zero to fifty almost instantly.  Sorry about the lag in blogging.  The last time I blogged was way too many moons ago.  Speaking of moons, here are some pictures of the moon one night a week or so ago.  It was very big and very bright.

The weather here in South Korea has been extremely cold.  The days have been in the 20s and the nights around 0 (Fahrenheit).  It makes for a cold walk back and forth to work each day.  Dina is back to her nine kindergartners, Becca is back in classes and has already played in two varsity basketball games (they won both of them!) and Sarah is well into her second semester as a 7th grader.  Ryan is in the midst of a 3 week Doctoral class and is back on the road commuting between the two schools where he works.

Life gets busy.  We are already well into the new year.  I hope that you all are savoring the precious moments of life and taking time to enjoy the beauty of the moon on a cold, clear night.

It Snowed!

It finally snowed here in South Korea.  The other day we woke up to a light blanket of snow on the ground.  Snow in the city is interesting.  It turns an otherwise grimy city into a crisp, clean looking place.  It makes an otherwise noisy city into a quiet place.  It slows everything down.  The taxis move at a safe pace for a change.  The other cars tentatively inch along the roadways and the delivery people on motorcycles slow to a crawl.

Kids love snow--even here in the city.  I heard some shouts and laughter and came around a street corner to find two boys "sledding" down the hill near our house.  They were using pieces of cardboard as sleds and they were sliding down the middle of the street.

There is something special about snow.  No matter where you find it--in the mountains of Idaho or the streets of Daejeon, South Korea--snow equals fun.

Bowling

The other day we took our first adventure to a bowling alley here in South Korea.  (The girls have gone bowling with the youth group, but this is the first time for our family to bowl in this country.)  We had a ball!  (sorry)

Overall it was a good time and a relatively normal experience for everyone-- except Ryan.  First, they didn't have any bowling shoes that would fit his size 13 feet.  So...he wore a 285 (about a size 11) with the heel bent down--Slip on bowling shoes!  Second, the finger holes in all of the bowling balls were way too small.  But, after some searching he found a ball that would do.

Becca and Sarah are good bowlers.  (They take after their mother.)  All in all, bowling was a blast.

Get Together With Friends

The other night we had a real treat as we had the Shin family, the Yoo family and part of the Miller family over to our house for dinner.  The Shin family consisted of Jae Young (the owner of the Azuma Kimbap restaurant), his wife, Eun Joo, and his youngest son.  The Yoo family consisted of Dr. Daniel Yoo (Pastoral Counseling and Seminary Professor at a Baptist University in Daejeon), Grace Yoo (Dina’s classroom teaching assistant) and their daughters Christina and Hannah. The Miller family included David Miller, Levi and Gentry.

We had a smorgasbord of food items to eat and we had a great time together.  There were many conversations going on in the house—some in the Korean language and some in the English language.  After we were all done eating, I pulled out the guitar and asked Jae Young to sing us some Korean songs.  Dr. and Mrs. Yoo knew many of the songs and sang along in the Korean language.  It was beautiful.  We had a great time singing songs, talking and laughing together.

A highlight of the evening was a conversation that we had about Korean music, art, people and culture.  One of the songs that Jay Young and the others sang was the very popular Korean folk song, “Arirang.”  They explained to us that the song is a very sad song that holds very deep meaning for the Korean people.  They said that it was one of many Korean folk songs that touches on the aspect of “han” in the Korean culture.  “Han” is a difficult concept to explain as it is a concept that can only be grasped and understood in an experiential manner.

“No foreign word can adequately translate it, for it includes such different nuances as are conveyed by the words rancor, grudge, hatred, lamentation, regret, grief, pathos, self-pity, fate, mortification, etc.”  (from http://www.marys-touch.com/truth/han.htm)

Jae Young and Dr. Yoo proceeded to explain to us that the presence of and feeling of “han” in the Korean people is due to the fact that the Korean people and nation has dealt with much pain and struggle over the centuries.  Thus, songs like “Arirang,” that speak of pain and repressed feelings within the Korean culture, are common.  It was a fascinating conversation.

If you would like to read more about this concept of “han” please click HERE and HERE.

We are thankful for our friends and for the wonderful evening we enjoyed together.  Below is a video of Jae Young singing, “Arirang.”

A Bit More Christmas

Before the “Christmas 2008” chapter is finished I want to reflect on just a few more precious memories from the season.  One of my favorite times at Christmas is when I get to go out shopping (usually on Christmas Eve) with my daughters, Becca and Sarah.  We had a great time going downtown and doing some shopping for their mom.  They were a great help to me along the lines of size, taste and ideas (everything).  During our little shopping excursion we had lunch at one of my favorite little Korean restaurants.  And then in the late afternoon on Christmas Eve day (it was a busy day) we went to the NANTA program in Daejeon.  That was a fun time and a great memory.

Christmas Eve night was another special memory as our family and the Miller family spent it at Jae Young’s restaurant, “Azuma Kimbap.”  This is the third year that we have shared Christmas Eve with Jae Young and family and we enjoyed a wonderful night of delicious food, laughter, singing and friendship.

Christmas morning is always a fun time.  We enjoyed opening presents together and “ooohing” and “aaahing” over each other’s gifts.  Becca and Sarah got some fancy new pajamas and some other cool stuff.

It was a privilege to share much of our Christmas celebration with the Miller family and Paul and Roxie Miller (visiting from Idaho).  One of the fun times with them included a visit to a Korean Norae-bang.  We had a great time singing together.  (Paul has a great voice—a mix of Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash.)

Still enjoying the memories of Christmas 2008.

Millers, Meat and Meeting

There are a few more tidbits to share about the visit of Paul and Roxie Miller to South Korea.  On one of the evenings that they were here visiting they (and all of us) were hosted by George and Heidi Zickefoose at a local BBQ Meat restaurant here in Daejeon.  It is a very Korean place where you are required to remove your shoes before entering and then the seating is on the floor.

The BBQ meat buffet is a spread of "raw" meat that is chosen by the customers and then cooked at the table by the customers.  It is a very unique experience and the food is delicious.  We had a great time at the meat restaurant.

On one of the days that the Millers were here visiting, George, David and I took Paula and Roxie to the Korea Nazarene University campus.  We took the KTX (bullet train) to the city of Cheonan and then we took a brand new subway line to the very back door of the KNU campus.  We were met at the campus by Professor John Bondy and he gave us a wonderful tour of the school.

We stopped by the University President's office and were fortunate to be able to get in and say hi.  Dr. Im was very welcoming, he shared with us some plans for the future development of the university and he even offered Paul a teaching opportunity at the school.  (Paul was a professor at Northwest Nazarene University for nearly 30 years.)  We all had a great time meeting the University President and touring the campus.