Reflection

My last week was full of social welfare agency visits in Chuncheon and Seoul. Many of these agencies we visited had the capacity to provide many services. They view their consumer as a whole person with a verity of needs. This is contradictory to the social services in America, where there is typically one program designed to meet one need.

Combining religions in Korea is not only acceptable but normal. A close friend of mine from Korea explained that she is a Christian and a Buddhist. This is a cultural difference for me because I am from a country where most people have one religion, if any.
After being home for a while I discovered how egocentric our society truly is. I had developed a habit of being mindful of my comrades' needs. Especially at meal times with little things, like drink refills, napkins and eating utensils.
I found that I was surprised at how much I have in common with my friends from Korea. I found that humor, spirituality and love were easily conveyed without a spoken language.
http://picasaweb.google.com/feekeymarie/LastFewDays/photo#s5225858431717339474

My Favorite Day....So Far

Friday was an amazing day. We drove to the East Sea. It was beautiful. We had the best sushi I've ever had (even though it was still moving) with an incredible view. I actually tried everything and liked most of it.
After riding the banana boat we went to a Buddhist Temple on a mountain. It was breath taking to see the natural and ancient architecture meshed together so well. http://picasaweb.google.com/feekeymarie/TheEastShore/photo#s5222488639345036418

The Seoul of Korea

Last Friday I went to Seoul to see the Gyeongbok Palace. So we took many picture of this beautiful palace in the center of Seoul. It was destroyed a couple of times by the Japanese. They are still in the process of rebuilding it. At any rate, it is amazingly beautiful.
We spent the weekend walking around and discovering the city, the very LARGE city. Please check out the pictures http://picasaweb.google.com/feekeymarie/Seoul/photo#s5221000070698938914

American Beef Protest

Last night we went to McDonald's and Baskin Robbins. I never thought I would really appreciate either one. It's funny how Western people or restaurants put a smile on my face. I didn't realize how attached I am to my home and country.

As we were heading back to the dorms we stumbled on a candle light protest for the "American Beef". It was a bit uncomfortable and I was walking fast (that's why the picture is blurry). The man in the orange hat is on a PA shouting and the people were repeating it back. There were police watching (with paddy waggons). I'm sure it was a peaceful protest. My teacher explained that there is crime here, but the street crime level is lower than in US. The only danger is...getting hit by a car. They have street lights, but it seems more like a game of chicken with traffic.

Tomorrow we leave to go see a palace in Seoul.

First weekend and our cooking class

So my first weekend turned out to pretty fruitfull. I discovered downtown (with an underground shopping mall).


We found pizza, TWICE! It was nice to go to familiar restaurants with familiar foods. I am surprised at how quickly I grew tired of Korean food. I took the food choices in the US for granit. I love choice, especial when it comes to food!

Today in class we made a famous Korean beef dish, bolgolgi.

http://picasaweb.google.com/feekeymarie/1stWeekend/photo#s5218040036311876498