It's not easy being green

Some of you (whoever you are) may read this blog and wonder what my political beliefs are. Of course, I don't ponder the political beliefs of others that often, but that's just me. And I admit I'm weird.

That is the answer, albeit a vague one, but I'll clarify a bit. I can't assign my convictions to one party or the other, so I call myself Independant. Too often I feel like quoting a judge in an excellent movie: "You're both right, and you're both wrong." So choosing the donkey or the elephant becomes problematic. In the end, I know we won't find our Savior in either party, so I don't waste too much time on it.

So if I congratulate one candidate, it's because there's too much slander out there, and it's about time we recognize positives when we see them. If Mccain does a good thing, I'll mention it. The same goes for Obama or Palin or even (gasp) a Clinton who's not even running.

Politically I'm not that liberal. But there's one problem anyone who knows me can spot; my heart bleeds green. I care about the environment and want to take good care of the natural resources around me. That makes me a sizeable blip on the "bleeding heart liberal" radar. Oops.

I grow tired of the arguments and intended mockery of global warming. I believe the flood promise, and that we don't need to fear worldwide flooding. But the argument is beside the point. We don't have any excuse to flush the world around us down the crapper. Living simply and living green is not unreasonable. If anyone presses us on it, we can say that God wants us to take care of what He's given us. Of course we're not driven by fear of global warming or anything else. God hasn't given us a spirit of fear, but of love. I know the reference, but I won't tell you so you can look it up. Yeah, that's it.

In the end, I'm still deciding who to vote for.

I wish recycling was a realistic option in Korea.

Game What?

Setting: Int. ELD classroom

Teacher: What shape is this?
Students: a circle.
Teacher: Can you find something shaped like a circle in this classroom? (students point) No, that's not a circle. What shape is that?
Older student: Oval!
First grader: Game oval.

Brief newsy stuff

If you ever start to question if you are living in a mission field, move into a ground floor apartment. A couple of months ago some friendly locksmiths unsuccessfully tried to help themselves to our stuff. Recently, they were more successful in our friends' place across the hall. We sat with them as police dusted for prints.

I think these things happen to show us our own ugliness. I feel nothing but anger when it happens.

The point is, someone went to a lot of trouble to do this. They seemed to know when the four of us would be out. Someone who is so skilled at something that wicked is either extrememly desperate or deceived.

So we pray.

It's about time

I usually don't get into politics, but the story below gives a good example of politics vs. actual leadership. Sometimes they intersect, and when they do, it's nice to see somebody doing the right thing. I still consider myself Independent, but in this matter, way to go rich white guy.

#!&$*@, it hurts to say that.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080924/ap_on_el_pr/mccain

One more thing. The best argument for this debate may be to not show up. I'd consider that the most effective debate ever.

Modern Life

Modern life, especially in the workplace, requires one to be A.D.D. At the very least, it strongly encourages it.

I blame technology. Blogging is okay, though.

Rain, Food, and Music

We started our day, activity-wise, at a church. Twenty adults met and loaded up vehicles with food for a barbecue. It was drizzling out, and we were hoping that wouldn't last long. Some of us brought umbrellas, others had left the house before it started raining and were unarmed. Yes, I was in the second group.

We talked about the orphanage we were going to host, and the plan for doing so. We would take the kids from the orphanage to a nearby park for the barbecue with games to follow. People were assigned games, and we loaded a canopy to cover the food for the light rain. We prayed, and then we were off.

Once we got to the park, the rain was not so light. We went through plans from A to C, until we lost track of what plan we were on. We set up the canopy, unloaded the food, and awaited orders.

The rain didn't light up.

We finally went with plan whatever letter of the alphabet which involved having the cookout and games at the church. We reloaded everything, broke down the canopy and went back to where we started.

We found a gym in the basement of one of the buildings and played games while some prepared the food. Some of the adults rounded up the children to play dodge ball. I scooped up the soccer and basketballs and kept them safely out of the way. I joined the kids who didn't want to play, and we switched between playing catch and watching others play dodge ball.

I asked one young man if he wanted to play dodge ball in Korean. He said no, then in perfect English, "I'm hungry." Me, too, I tried to answer in Korean. He was not impressed.

That was around 1:00. We had started out around 12:00, and I'm sure we weren't the only two who were hungry.

The food was ready around 2. We gave thanks, served the kids hamburgers and hot dogs, then helped ourselves. Watermelon (what else?) was for dessert.

The pastor noted how much these children had grown since we last saw them. They are growing, and seeming more familiar each time we visit. I wish I could remember their names.

Later we got home, dried off, and then I farted around online a bit. I discovered a tour that continued to answer one of my struggles with Christian music. I sampled the music, which was okay, but not great. I doubt that part matters much.

The tour is called art, music and justice. It features artists I don't usually listen to, even though one song entitled "I Never Met a Savior on Capital Hill" may be one of my new favorites for the title alone. It reflects my frustration with much of what is going on nowadays.

The point of the tour is to encourage Christians to see the importance of social justice issues. It challenges us to get out there, and I can't argue with that.

Getting out and serving. Why does it seem so hard for us to do?

On Caring

Caring can be a black hole. The more I care about something, the less effective I feel. I finally see teaching as a ministry, then I feel like the worst teacher ever.

It's actually more like a hamster wheel than a black hole. My mistake.

I guess I should see it as a small victory when they start saying "I don't know" in English. Then again, maybe I shouldn't. I don't want to seem over confident. No one likes a show off.

Thoughts on "Foreign" Movies

My roommate in college started my interest in foreign movies. He was from Hong Kong, but he didn't care much for Chow Yung Fat, John Woo, or Jackie Chan. He preferred movies from around the world.

We saw quite a handful of movies. Many were enjoyable, while one or two seemed random or boring. We agreed that in those cases, you had to understand the culture.

What I appreciated then and now was the patience of these movies. They had stories, but they were primarily about the people in them. They didn't seem as insecure as many popular American films are.

I live in Korea, and "foreign" films has a new meaning. Many of those are American, and they're anything but patient. Whatever is the most popular gets released, and that reflects a noisy, often violent, impatience. I once asked Koreans if they thought every American has a gun because of movies. Some get that impression. It's even more disconcerting when we realize many consider America a Christian nation.

There are many interesting American movies I have to wait to see. I'll go ahead and plug them:

The King of Kong
Into Great Silence
Young@Heart

These are difficult to find anywhere these days. They're movies about people. There are others as well, and some find a great balance (The Dark Knight is the best movie ever). But we usually choose noise over excellence.

I recently read an article about watching movies with subtitles. Americans don't like to read their movies, but when we watch movies from other countries, we see a perspective different from our own. These are our neighbors, and this could be a good start towards intelligent conversation with them.

I'm still waiting for good movies. I guess I need to be patient.

Balance in Worship

I've decided to update earlier blogs when needed. That's the beauty of growing, you never stay exactly the same. You live and learn, and all of that great cliched stuff.

A few posts back, and before that, I took issue with music as used in worship. I realized my problem as I started listening instead of singing. Then, at times I could even join in.

I don't concentrate on the words or meaning much, especially when there's not much to concentrate on. Listening makes it easier somehow. When I sing words and don't mean them, I feel it can be worse. So sometimes I just listen.

I thought about the concept of taking the Lord's name in vain. I don't believe that has anything to do with saying naughty words. I believe more than ever it concerns saying things you don't mean, especially in relation to Him. Treating His Name lightly takes many forms, and some of them we do habitually on Sundays.

I listen to the music and the meaning of the words. I consider what it means to those around me as well as myself. And sometimes I sing along. This too is a form of worship.

China Trip Day 4

We shopped in the outdoor 2/3 mall one last time and enjoyed some more Starbucks before we left. We made our way back to the airport, and I finally got to push the smiley face at Immigration.

Once in the airport, we hiked from one end to the other hunting for another Starbucks. We finally asked people where it was and showed them the Starbucks map we had acquired earlier in the week. The first person told us where they thought it was. We followed that path and after a good hike we found nothing. We asked a second person, who told us there isn't one in this terminal. We sighed, claimed another coffee shop as a consolation prize, then made our way back. One short and uneventful flight later, we were home.

China Trip Day 3

Beka's uncle took us to the Great Wall to be "good Chinese" and climb a bit. While on the wall, we decided to take a few pictures. Some local tourists seized the opportunity to get a picture of some whities. We posed, smiled and moved on.

Later, we chatted with T-shirt and souvenir vendors. Okay, Beka's uncle did most of the chatting. But we did our best to listen.

On the way out, we saw a little clay guy that pees when you fill him with water. We considered bringing one with us until Uncle Steve told us he quits peeing when you get him home.

On the way to and from the Wall, we saw another interesting site--an unfinished amusement park bearing a slight resemblance to a certain theme park in Florida. The castle and spacey-looking mountain were particularly familiar. Apparently it had stood unfinished for at least five years.

Later, Aunt Yumi took us to the Olympic super store in Wanfujing. We shopped for Olympic memorabilia in a still crowded store, then roamed the area for good pictures. We came to the oldest Catholic church and noticed a photo shoot of a bride and groom. Beka and I posed in front of the church. Aunt Yumi took pictures of us, as did some random members of the crowd. At one point I smiled for the wrong picture. Oops.

We went out for pizza that tasted remarkably close to some we've had in New York. The middle eastern food we had for lunch was surprisingly authentic as well. Good stuff.

We saw a building with an amusing slogan outside. Beka wanted to take a picture, but some dude in a t-shirt and shorts told us not to. Aunt Yumi asked him who he was in Chinese. He said his name, then ran away to bother someone else.

We ended the evening haggling in Silk Alley. At one point Beka and I were able to use Korean to communicate how much we wanted to pay without the lady in the shop understanding us. Finally we could use Korean. We were pleased.

We bought some things from friends of Aunt Yumi and Uncle Steve, got some good deals and went home.

China Trip Day 2

We went with Beka's aunt to the summer palace, where there was basically a palace for each season. It made for a good hike, in a flat-take-a-boat ride-for-part-of-it sort of way. It was quite huge.

We next took a cab to the Olympic green, to see what we could. It was still locked up, so we joined the notably large crowd and took some pictures from a distance. That being settled, we went out for lunch.

Later we walked around in an outdoor mall that was about two-thirds finished. We saw some stores that exist in Korea, one of which we hadn't heard of before. Two individuals were taking a picture of one of them, and I heard them counting in Korean. I did a double-take and almost ran over Beka. Sorry dear.

We got some pictures of Artbox, which didn't have a lot of customers. Maybe it'll catch on later.

Northface had a back room where an ice wall was being constructed. There were pineapples on plastic plates around the store to cover the smell of the ice wall.

We visited the Croc store and noted that the special Olympic red and yellow crocs looked better on the cardboard cutout than they would on either of us. They offered a free t-shirt, so I was almost tempted.

Later that evening, we saw a show with Chinese acrobats. Some of the most noteworthy items were the birds trained to fly in a straight line towards our heads and people who twisted arms and legs around their bodies. Cool stuff.

One act proved difficult. People kept jumping through rings that were stacked on top of each other. One guy jumped high enough to make it through the top ring for the finale of this act, but the rings kept falling. We all applauded, but they continued to try. The rings wouldn't stay put, but they kept trying. Finally, another performer held the rings and the guy made it through. Again, we applauded their effort.

China Trip Day 1 Part 3

Beka's uncle and aunt sent us to the Forbidden city in a cab after arming us with a map and three Chinese expressions: "hello," "thank you," and "I don't want it." I kicked those around in my head for the remainder of the trip. Occasionally I actually used them.

It rained half the time we were in the Forbidden city, but it was still fun. Fortunately there were plenty of palaces to provide shelter for the short bursts of rain.

We went to the Temple of Heaven,acknowledged its large size, took pictures of the lovely greenery, and left. Before that, we saw Tiennamen Square, acknowledged its small size, and left. In between the two acknowledgments we took a subway. A first for us was seeing a security bag check area in every subway tunnel. It moved quickly enough, so no complaints here.

We got back to the apartment, ate dinner, and went out with Beka's aunt for a massage. Two muscular Chinese guys and one girl proceeded to beat the snot out of us. We were quiet, so they kept twisting, crushing or punching harder. I was half-prepared to give them my lunch money.

At one point one of the guys twisted my arm behind my back. I kept laughing at that point because I was thinking, "Uncle! Uncle!"

That being said, I felt better the next day.

China Trip Day 1 Part 2

We arrived at Beijing airport in a timely manner. Everything was as shiny and new as we would have expected from watching the Discovery Channel, and the place was huge. As we passed through immigration, we noticed a sign that said "Feel free to comment." We were moved through quite efficiently, and it was then that I noticed the buttons we would have pushed to comment. I did manage to push the smiley face for "satisfied" on the way back.

We met Beka's uncle and piled our stuff and ourselves into a taxi. Soon we were on part of Beijing's sixth ring road, which was also fairly new. Beka's uncle pointed out most of the buildings which were new as well. Pretty much the whole city is new. Later, we'd find out that "Old Beijing" was over by the Forbidden city.

We also discovered one of the ways Beijing was trying to control the pollution for the Olympics. Only cars with odd numbered license plate number endings were allowed to drive on odd days, and the opposite for even days. It made for an entertaining travel game for the rest of the trip. By the way, most of the people followed the rules. I thought I caught a perpetrator, but it turned out taxi cabs are exempt.

We commented on all the plants and trees we saw, since we never see that many in Seoul. It turns out those were new as well. It was causing issues with farmers, who couldn't get enough water for their crops. There was an article about it in the Beijing paper.

China Day 1, Part One

We got to the airport a good two hours early, being the obedient travelers we are. It was about 7 in the morning, and we had a short flight to look forward to. We weren't expecting food on our flight, even though we ended up getting that too. We're too used to American flights.

Dunkin Donuts wasn't open yet, nor was Subway. Our choices were Burger King, or Burger King. Burgers for breakfast are overrated, by the way.

While we were heading to the terminal, a big, young American-looking guy caught up with us. "Do you speak English?" he asked us. If we had heard his second question first, I would have considered saying no.

"How the #%#@^$%^@ do I use a payphone here?" Hello to you, too.

He explained he was in the marines and he had to call people, etc. We said we didn't have much experience with payphones, but his best bet would be to get a calling card. He didn't like our advice, and gave us a hard time for living here and not knowing anything that was important. To him, anyway.

We moved on. We made our flight, and asked the flight attendant for an arrival card. Unfortunately, the name of the place our visa was issued was in Chinese. We called her again and got her to graciously copy the character for us. That was a first.

Crawl to China

We went to China over Labor Day weekend because we could. We didn't actually crawl, as the flight went quite smoothly. But the song title reminded me of how long it took me to finally visit this country. I originally thought this was where I was going to be. Six years ago I was ready to spend a year there.

The interesting part was as Beka's uncle and aunt pointed out changes since the Olympics in Beijing, we were noting a few (not many, but a few) similarities with our current home in Korea. Tall buildings and roads newly and quickly built, and slowly rising prices of formerly cheap items. We thought a pizza was quite good, but we later learned it was getting more expensive lately.

Over the next few days, I hope to share some of the experience we felt. It was amazing to see changes, similarities, differences and an unfinished theme park vaguely reminiscent of Disney World. And yes, we saw the Wall.

Until then, look up Christian metal, keyword tourniquet, and enjoy the atypical but legitimately rocking song.