Pictures of our North Korean students

Tuesday morning, I was able to get onto the U.S. air force base in Osan and take my Sociology CLEP test. You cannot get on the base unless someone who lives on the base signs you on and then "babysits" you the entire time you are there. I am so thankful to the Lord for working out the details so I was able to be 3 credits closer to graduating from college.

Tuesday night was our weekly trip to the North Korean refugee center. Gabriel came along with us for the first time and brought his camera with him. I asked if we could take some pictures, and everyone was fine with it. The only requirement was that we black out the faces of the North Koreans so they will not be targeted. We had a smaller group this week since one group had transitioned out, and the center was still waiting for another group to come in. My two students could not have been past their mid-twenties, but they have all had a grueling life. Our English lesson was on feelings and one of my students said, "I feel sad." When I asked, "Why do you feel that way?" he said, "Because I am very lonely." I cannot imagine what it must be like to leave all of your family behind in a country like North Korea, knowing you may never see them again and not knowing what they are enduring in your absence.

High school co-op

Every Thursday is our high school co-op. Dad teaches Worldview; I teach Logic (Leadership class); Dad, Mom, and I all have our own English classes; I teach Biology; and Dad and Mom teach Parent Training. We have twenty-one high school students. I enjoy teaching them all; they are eager to learn, fun to be with, and grateful that we are here. Dad's advanced English class has many English speakers that have lived overseas so we are able to talk with them almost like we do to people our age in the U.S.

We pray that the Lord is working in the hearts of all these students, raising up the future leaders of Korea. These students are venturing out into brand new territory as they struggle against the pressures of their culture and society (in the same way that homeschoolers in the U.S. were about twenty years ago). There is great potential in this group to impact the world.

Yon-pyo

Sok-jun and Yong-jun

Learning about genetic fallacies during Logic

A few of Dad's advanced English students (Gabe works with Dad)

My English class - I teach the middle level students (Susanna works with me)

Min-suk, Isaac, and Mike

One of the 4 different groups for Biology

During Biology class this week, we learned about the algae in Kindom Protista. Alginic acid is used to thicken all kinds of food, including ice cream and pudding, so I bought an ancient package of instant vanilla pudding at an import store. Since making ice cream in class was a little difficult to pull-off, I opted for Jello and pudding. It was quite popular!

Watching in amazement as the milk thickens....the supsense is terrible! :)

Today, before Family Sunday School (but on Saturday - go figure), Susanna and I took a quick (5 hour) trip into Seoul with one of our Korean teachers and her daughter. Clothing in Korea is expensive, but there are cheap "markets" in Seoul where you can buy off-brand clothing. It was good to be with a native Korean as you don't make nearly as many mistakes while riding the subway, walking through Seoul, etc. I was able to get a "Coach" wallet for very cheap which made my day :). Since I was this particular man's first customer of the day, he gave me a good deal. It is Korean tradition that the first customer will set the pace of business for the rest of the day so they don't want you to leave without buying something. I was happy to oblige him!

Fall colors

Dad and Mom decided on Saturday night that we should take a quick overnight trip to Mt. Sorak so we could see some of Korea's fall colors. Sunday morning we all quickly threw a change of clothes into some suitcases and then hit the road. Traveling in Korea is always a unique experience for a bunch of English-speaking foreigners. Despite the fact that we now have to cram to get everything ready for co-op tomorrow, it was good to get away for a few hours and enjoy some hiking.

Looking out over the ocean

The beach was pretty much deserted

Trying not to get wet

The reaction of a Florida person finally seeing the ocean :)

After the beach, we headed to Mt. Sorak. Here are some of the pictures from our hiking:

The sun rising over the mountains

These two are inseparable

This lady was selling some of the very unusual snacks offered by vendors all over Korea. No matter where you go in Korea, whether you are in downtown Seoul or trudging up a mountain trail, there will always be people selling "treats." These include such things as boiled silk worm larvae, bean paste bread, dok (rice dough), corn-on-the-cob (which we refer to as "bean-on-the-cob" because it tastes nothing like our corn in the U.S.), chestnuts, squid, roots, etc. Hungry?

Language Lessons

Susanna and I (followed closely by Caroline and Gabriel) are doing our best to learn to speak Korean, but it is definitely a struggle. The younger ones (Susanna included) pick it up much quicker than I do - whether that is because I'm older or just slower (sometimes I think it's the latter) I don't know.

Having lunch with our teacher - we had soup which contained mandoo (dumplings), eggs, seaweed, boiled fish heads, & dok (rice dough).
Every Wednesday, Susanna and I meet at the house of a Korean lady for an hour of Korean and an hour of English. We happened to meet her on a bus while we were traveling in to Seoul. She saw us both studying Korean and began to chat with us. It turned out that she attends Global Mission Church and has also taught Korean to many other foreigners. She wanted to be able to brush up on her English, and we were desperate for a teacher, so we've worked out a trade.

Learning Korean has it's ups and downs. There are times when I hear a conversation and can actually understand it which makes me excited. But then there are other times (which are by far the majority) when I don't understand anything and am utterly confused. The worst was one time last year when I tried to ask a little boy his name, and he said in his broken English, "I'm sorry; I don't speak English." That was a bit discouraging, but thankfully it hasn't happened to me lately! As I was walking through E-Mart yesterday (their equivalent of a super Wal-Mart) my amazing language abilities enabled me to translate something they were advertising for baby diapers - they were green tea scented! That's one pampered baby...

Even though my feeble attempts at speaking their language are sometime laughed at (mostly by little kids), we have had a few good laughs ourselves from some of the English we hear over here. The best are the giant advertisements all over the city. Businesses like to advertise in English to be catchy, but some of the things that they say make absolutely no sense! Here are a few examples:
Under a giant advertisement for Mercedes-Benz: Your intelligence choice! (Yeah, real intelligent.)
Painted on one of our mugs: It's always great to meet another world. (Yeah, I'd have to say that each time I've met a new world, it's been a great experience.)
On the back of a bag of charcoal: It sounds great if the remains are used for manure of flowering plants. (The remains? Of who?)
On a package of bread rolls: To make you family happy, please try the heart-warming delicacy of Shilla Myunggua. Our efforts on little details will help you create a peaceful, harmonious family life and share pleasant conversations. (Forget family discipleship - it sounds like a package of bread can solve all your family problems!)
The advertisement for a photography studio: Happy Moment. Well, I hear the rhythm. Close my eyes - in a flash I hear the moment. I am happiness. (No comment; I don't get it at all.)

Costco

I had to lean out of the car window in the middle of a busy intersection to take this picture, so sorry it's crooked but I did my best!

Every other Friday, Dad and I go grocery shopping at Costco (about 25 minutes from where we live). I am so glad there is a Costco here as it enables us to get many American products that we can't find anywhere else. Costco is always jam-packed full of people; they seem to get more business here than in the U.S. I get scared sometimes, as I try to maneuver my shopping cart down the aisles, because the Koreans navigate their shopping carts like they navigate their cars - crazy! In Korean stores, many different employees hand out free samples, yelling loudly about what they are selling, prices, etc. To succeed as a business in Korea, Costco has adopted the same policy. I'm glad to get the free samples, but sometimes I feel like I'm being trampled to death. Last time we went, they were giving out samples of cheesecake. Cheesecake is my favorite, and we can never get it here because it costs too much money. So, I patiently waited my turn in line to get a sample, but every time there was a new piece, some lady's hand would shoot in from behind me and grab it before I could!

Dad actually let me drive on the way home yesterday. Obviously, we survived, and it was nice to get to drive again. It's quite an experience. I enjoy driving with Dad because he's very laid back (he practically goes to sleep) - Mom, well, that' s another story! :)

Think we have enough for two weeks? :)

A Glimpse Into North Korea

Tuesday night, Dad and I had the opportunity to teach English to a class of North Korean refugees. South Korea provides a place for the refugees to stay while they learn how to adapt to life in a developed country. The refugees live in a military compound, and we had to drive through a gated check-point so the guards could inspect who we were. All the men living there have risked their lives to reach freedom, and if they are ever returned to North Korea, they will be killed. All their lives they are taught that America is a horrible place, and they are curious to see if we are as terrible as they have been told. Though I spent most of the time trying to teach my students how to pronounce basic sounds, I was also able to show them a picture of my family. The men were shocked to see how many children we had. Due to the language barrier, there was little I could communicate, but it is my prayer that through our feeble attempts, the Lord can bring some hope into their impoverished lives. Our English lesson was on feelings, and one of Dad's students told him, "I feel happy because I escaped from Kim Jong Il!" It is hard to imagine what life is like for the people living in North Korea. I thought I'd share the following story from The Voice of the Martyrs to help you understand what Christians go through in this country:

North Korea: The Villagers of GokSan
The young, brown-eyed girl looked up at her mother. What would her mother decide?

Earlier that morning, the young girl's mother, their pastor, and twenty-six others in her North Korean village of GokSan were bound and taken before a screaming crowd of Communists.
One of the guards ordered Pastor Kim and the other Christians, "Deny Christ, or you will die." The words chilled her. How could they ask her to deny Jesus? She knew in her heart He was real. They all quietly refused.
Then the Communist guard shouted directly at the adult Christians, "Deny Christ, or we will hang your children." The young girl looked up at her mother. She gripped her hand knowing how much her mom loved her. Her mother then leaned down. With confidence and peace she whispered, "Today, my love, I will see you in heaven."
All of the children were hanged.
The remaining believers were then brought out onto the pavement and forced to lie down in front of a large steamroller. The Communists gave them one last chance. "Deny Jesus or you will be crushed." The Christians had already given up their children; there was no turning back.
As the driver started the heavy piece of equipment, the singing from the villagers started softly. "More love, O Christ, to thee, more love to thee."

It is unbelievable what these Christians are willing to endure out of love for their Saviour. Could I do the same? How can I ever whisper a word of complaint? Pray daily for North Korea; pray that God would give courage to His people there. And pray that we could portray the same passionate love for our Saviour that these people portray. May we sing along with the North Korean Christians:

Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest

Now thee alone I seek; give what is best:

This all my prayer shall be, More love, O Christ, to Thee,

More love to Thee, More love to Thee!

Field trip day

Our elementary/middle school co-op is studying Korean history so yesterday, we went on an all-day field trip to Gyeongbokgung (don't ask how to pronounce that!) Palace. It served as the main royal palace of the Joseon Dynasty and was constructed in 1395. Korean palaces are different from European palaces in that they are actually gated enclosures with many different buildings inside. The buildings are not huge, but they are all ornately decorated. I can't imagine how much effort went into painting all of the tiny details on every wooden beam.
After the field trip, we went to supper with one of the Korean families. We ate shin-sal-tang which is beef soup served with a side of rice and kimchi. It was very good - I was just thankful we didn't get the boiled cow's knee that was also on the menu (thankfully, it was way to expensive for the budget!).

The whole group outside the main gates into the palace

A lesson on Korean culture - you never wear shoes inside a house or even in many restaurants. The palace was no exception; we had to take off our shoes before we could go into the king or queen's residence!

All I can say is that I feel bad for any tall Koreans who weren't paying attention!

Typical Korea - ancient, traditional palaces in the middle of bustling Seoul. You can see the tip of Seoul Tower rising up in the background.

The children here are adorable...

...and FULL of mischief. This little boy enjoyed using Dad as a punching bag - we found it highly entertaining.

A little building where the emperor would go to enjoy some tea. For your info - Korean emperors who lived in this palace were fat and did not live very long because they were carried everywhere they went and never exercised.

We split up into 3 different groups and a few of the older students acted as tour guides (they had prepared beforehand). This was our group (and we didn't understand too much).

According to Chinese tradition, Julie was born in the year of the tiger. I was born in the year of the dragon - unfortunately, I missed the opportunity to get a picture with him.

The outside wall around the entire palace

A quick note of thanksgiving: Tuesday night, Dad and I were driving with some other Koreans in a church van on a 5 lane highway (during rush hour) when a truck swerved into our lane and slammed into the back of us. Even though our van was full, there were no serious injuries. One man had some glass in him and one girl hurt her head, but we were able to take care of everything at the emergency room. I got my first taste of the the Korean emergency response team - their system works very differently from the U.S.! It is a lot more laid back...at the hospital, patients who want to go eat some kimchi and rice will simply push their IV's down the road to a nearby restaurant. Thank the Lord we were all fine, and also that it was a Korean driving because we have heard that if a foreigner is involved in an accident, they will often be blamed no matter what happens. I am just grateful that this was the first accident we've been in considering the way people drive here. The other day, Dad finally let me perform my maiden voyage driving here which consisted of driving out of the parking garage :) I don't think I'll be driving much further than that, though, especially after the accident.

Everyday Life

Usually, the pictures we show and the stories we tell are the special events that happen to us on unusual occasions. So today I thought I'd give you a glimpse into the daily, regular life going on in the Pent house in Korea. Since that would make for a pretty boring story, I am going to do it through pictures.

Caroline doing her school

Julie studying history

Angie practicing piano

Dad preparing for co-op

Vacumming

Evangeline doing dishes

Buying groceries for supper at Powermart (a little grocery store right below our apartment complex)

Mailing a letter home

Cooking supper

And, of course, studying Korean!

Exciting day, right? :-) And we didn't even do laundry, cleaning, or trash sorting today - you'll never know what you missed out on!