Touring Seoul, Korea

We all have mixed feelings and emotions today because Mindy is leaving tomorrow to return to Iowa. She will be starting her last year of nursing school. You go girl! I cannot bear to think of saying goodbye. I intend to duck out and skip the formalities of farewell.

We took Mindy out for dinner Friday night. We stayed in Ilsan and had a wonderful beef dinner. We sat on the floor Korean Style. The table had a gas burner in the center and the owner brings out a kettle she fills with a type of beef broth. She then brings tons of side dishes and the thinly sliced beef that is rolled up. We begin to add ingredients and then add the beef, meanwhile you begin to eat your side dishes. There was way too much food and the cost was like $5000 won which is around $5 American. Unbelievable.

After dinner we took a bus to the subway station then took the subway into Seoul for a night of shopping in Dong de Mun. It is an outdoor type of market where a lot of souvenirs are sold and deals are made. Chandler got a Hom Bok which she has always wanted. It was great fun, but we had too much fun because we missed the last subway back to the bus station and had to catch a cab. As it turns out there were still buses operating so it was not as expensive as it could have been.

Saturday night was another night of celebration with Mindy. We again took a bus to the subway and decided to first eat dinner. We ate at Friday's - Chan had a huge steak and I had a salad! We then proceeded to walk to the Seoul tower almost 2 miles away. It was very hot and humid, but we survived. It was very tall so we took a cable car to reach the top. It overlooked all of Seoul; nothing I would return to see again , but the camaraderie with chandler, Anita was good. I got nervous when we got to the base because there was an incredibly long line to get off the top and only one car running. I knew that we would not have time to see everything and get down in time for the last subway. as it turns out I was correct, but the buses were running, so we rode a bus back to Ilsan. Church was cancelled because of their summer conference and I slept in!

Korean Customs

Although I grew up in a home with parents who were born and raised in America, most of my brothers and sisters and I are Korean. We spent the majority of our lives in America and could not possibly remember or understand the customs from Korea. My parents wore shoes in our home like the majority of Americans (their biological daughter Susan wears them in the house also). We adoptees naturally took off our shoes to enter our home (which is Korean custom ); how on earth would I have known to do that since I came over at one month of age? That is amazing to me.

A custom that I have not enjoyed and will not miss is the way that one disposes of toilet paper. You cannot flush it in the toilet - you must throw it into the waste paper can and not all are covered cans. Additionally, many public places have their toilets as an opening in the floor for men and women and do not stock toilet paper. One learns very quickly to carry it with you, together with hand sanitizer. yuk!

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are at 7:30 am, 12:00 pm, and 5:00 pm sharp. Rice, Kim (dried seaweed) and Kim Chee are served at all three meals! Although I feel as though I cannot get enough of the Kim and Kim Chee, I am unable to eat it in the morning. It is funny to me that I have always craved Kim Chee (my mouth waters when someone mentions it); and I devour it with my meals. I am wondering if I will feel the same when I return to the United States.

Koreans have specific sandals that one must wear to go into the bathroom - no bare feet! That includes using the toilet and the shower/tub.

Soup is served with evry meal. They especially love one that is made from the leftover bean curd and has a rather rank odor. Fish is another very common soup that is served, as-well-as seaweed soup and a couple of others that I cannot remember how they are made.

The water is unsafe for anyone to drink. All people have water filters that typically provide both cold and scalding hot water. It is nice to have it so handy.

Koreans do not drink many liquids. There is no coffee, tea or water served with meals. After they eat, they may drink but you must ask for water if you want it with a meal. Also, most places do not sell soda or coffee. You either wait until you are finished eating or bring it with you.

Korea is very safe. There is a very low crime rate because punishment is swift and suitable. Murder is almost unheard of in this country (guns are prohibited except for hunting... then they have to leave them with the police).

People are not required to get a vendor's license to sell things. People randomly set up shop all over the place, selling anything from clothing to fruits and vegetables.

Yes, dog is eaten here and very expensive; men believe that it makes them more verile and women believe it makes them smarter. There are specific breeds of dogs raised for the purpose of being eaten (Chandler and I were invited for dog at a house mothers' barbeque...we declined!) Others raise dogs and cats as pets.

Molly says that Koreans have very high blood pressure as a general rule. They live by so many rules and customs plus the majority of their food is way high in sodium. When they make instant coffee or tea (pre-measured packets) they only use 1/2 of the recommended water because they like it SWEET!

Week II

This week went by so quickly as we were busy with residents. A couple of days Miss Ma asked me to cancel activity center so that I would be able to help her edit letters to sponsors from residents. She gets the housemothers to help write the letters and she translates them; her english is good but she is concerned about her sentence structure. I edited about twelve and she loved the way that I write and has asked me to try to finish the rest before we leave. I will do my best; also she asked me if I would write about my visit to Ilsan and she will follow me and take pictures for publishing.

Friday Molly took us to Busan (pronounced Pusan) where a grand opening was held for a new service center. Holt owns the land and paid for the building construction; next year the government will help to support their programs but this year they must finance it themselves. The government asks Holt to take over most of their service centers for the handicapped because of the efficiency in which they manage them. They operate them with less money, staff and supplies with better outcomes. What a credit to Molly's family name and to our God whom she serves so faithfully.

We took the train (got up at 3:30) for a 3 hour train ride in Busan where we were met by Holt staff. We went to the office where beautiful floral arrangements and trees were sent in congratulations for the big day. The meeting was opened in prayer and everyone of importance was introduced - local television interviewed Molly. A huge lunch was catered with more Sushi than I have ever seen in one place... Chandler was delighted with it.

We got to tour around Busan while the board met and we saw the Sea of Japan (Koreans are offended by this name and call it the East Sea). It was beautiul to see. We returned home around 10 pm very tired from a long train ride home.

Sunday

Today Chandler and I attended the church at Ilsan with the residents. Their choir was very good and informal meaning that one of the residents leads them. They have no formal practice but do well anyway. Molly interpreted the service but it was difficult to understand as she said Koreans "beat around the proverbial bush" and sometimes never get to their point before running out of time. The residents are often disruptive and they have older ones who try to control the younger ones. Their hyms are already in the back of their leather bound bibles and are the same ones we sing (only in Korean). It was nice to sing with them.

After Ilsan church Molly goes to her church in Seoul which is very large. Many residents also attend with her and she picks up their retired pastor - pastor Lee and his wife. We squeezed in 10 people (including one wheel chair). This serivce was over 1 1/2 hours and I dozed off for a bit but recovered eventually. The church in Seoul is air conditioned. Following the serivce we went next door for a delicious lunch of fish soup, kim chee, rich, kim (sea weed), Korean noodles and salad. Koreans do not drink with their meals and only drink water at the close of the meal. I have to ask for water with my meal as the food is very spicy but delicious.

After lunch we went to a small christian hospital to visit two residents who are admitted for bed sores they got while in the hospital for surgeries. Won Bok is doing better and scheduled to have a skin flap attached next week. The other is not doing as well. In Korea one must have friends or family to care for the sick or you must pay someone $50/day to feed and bathe you. The hospital does not provide this service.

We got home around 4:00 and Chandler had gone out with Anita and Mindy to a huge outdoor market for shopping. I am uncertain what time they will return but Molly thinks it will be late as the market is 2 hours away.

Saturday

We get Saturday and Sunday off from the activity center with residents. Today Molly offered to take us north where the Hun River meets with the Imgin river and then flow out to the Korean Sea. Across the river from where they meet is North Korea. We went to a place that is high up on a hill where you can use telescopes to see the North Korean town that was set up by the dictator to look good. For a long time, nobody lived there and the buildings were wasted; eventually some people were allowed to live there. We also toured the peace bridge where South Koreans write letters to family members who remain in North Korea. Life over there is dreadful; they have no food to eat and are very very poor. People are unable to escape because anyone who is related to the escapee is tortured and killed. We view a shrine where people worship pagen gods and saw some South Korean soldiers who guard their border. There was a sign that said do not get close and do not take pictures... naturally I got close and took pictures. More later!

Friday

Today was an exciting day as Molly took Chandler, Mindy and me into the Seoul office where we got to see 10 babies who await foster mothers; babies and toddlers come in for their well-baby clinic checkup and our adoption records. You see, Korea does not have the very strict privacy acts that we in the US must endure (they have their merit). When I was adopted, Holt maintained handwritten records of all babies and included pictures for the file; Molly is very accurate and precise and insisted that they recordes be as complete as possible. When Holt decided to begin using electronic files and microfish for data storage, some of the board members wanted to destroy the originals - Molly said absolutely not as she would want to see her original paperwork if it were her record. She is an amamzing woman with a heart of gold.

We got to hold the most precious babies and I felt so happy knowing that they would soon be going to a loving family. I only wish that Holt would include in their files the condition of their adoption so that they would know that they were not cast-offs. Koreans view their babies and children as precious and unlike some of the people in the US, they give up their children as a great sacrifice of love.

Today was very enriching and fulfilling for me; I had never considered coming to Korea until about one year ago. Chandler conintually talked about it and wanted to know her heritage. God began to lay it on my heart to go (and not wanting to be as Jonah) I began to make the arrangements. God in His infinite wisdom gave to me a husband who would support my desire and did not protest. So here I am, a humble servant who is made more humble each day as I work with twisted bodies; blind individuals and the mentally retarded. What a great lesson in humility this has been for me.

We went into seoul this evening via bus and subway. We randomly stopped at a restaraunt where we thought they served sea food. The owner could not understand us and sent his cousin to interpret (but I think he spoke Greek) but he did not understand us at all. He left and brought back the brother-in-law who spoke beautiful English (three words - kidding) and they did not have sea food so we ordered their grilled fish; mackerel and something else. Both came out with their heads and tails attached. We were a little nervous but determined to try them and boy were they delicious. We were unable to clean them off as efficiently as the Koreans, but we tried our best.

Thursday

Today is very humid; I awoke again at 5:30, got up and drank coffee, check email and did some laundry (you know how Asians can be). It is so humid the air is foggy. Everything smells damp here except for our room because of the air conditioner in our room. The residents have touched my heart in a way that I cannot explain; their needs are so simple and just a hug or holding their hand makes them so happy. The group of young men that we took out yesterday were rather low functioning. It was pouring rain so that we could only take them into physical therapy room (very crude and simple). We had crayons and markers, paper and coloring books, but they really did not seem to enjoy it. We tried playing catch (I throw like a girl) and tossing balloons but that did not work either. One of the residents we had was an albino. Can you imagine a Korean with white hair and very pale skin? His eyebrows were very bushy and white. I got pictures that I have posted. Mr. Bang - computer genious is supposed to get my computer set up today but we are going to Seoul with Molly to the Holt office so I am uncertain if that will happen.Mindy, Anita, Chandler and I are going to take a resident or two with us to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) hopefully this weekend. They love to get out and have very little opportunity to do so as they only get to go out when there are volunteers and they take turns as there are over 200 of them. Yesterday we got to see and play with some of the younger children most of who are in wheel chairs and very crippled. There are several who are just lying in beds drooling almost unaware of their surroundings, but they are clean and their hair is always fixed up. The house mothers are extrodinary with these guys.One of the residents that we had yesterday afternoon is autistic, but does not have a space issue (he does not freak out if touched or someone sits close). He sings in their international choir and travels around the world performing. He is tall, dark and very handsome. Oh it breaks my heart to know that if he had been adopted at an early age that his life would be so different. He was very into our activity and very precise in cutting out pictures and gluing them onto a paper. Another resident (I have a difficult time remembering their names) we had was an amazing artist. We alway provide a small snack and coke or some other soda for them during their activity which is a real treat for them. This guy ate a little and drank his cola but was so into his artwork that we did not want to eat much. He almost appeared as Down Syndrome but wow what an artist. He drew several flags from other countries and was very accurate. He wrote their country names below the flags but when he colored them in he was completely off. He also got very close to his work almost with his nose touching the paper so that I believed he needed glasses and is probably color blind. I thoroughly enjoyed yesterday with these residents. Another of the residents we had in the afternoon was much lower functioning. He came to us with a sore on his thumb and caused it to bleed. The closest place to take him was a girls dormitory where boys and men are not permitted. I had to take him to show the house mother his thumb and make motions of wanting it bandaged. It was so cute when we stopped at their doorway and all the girls giggled to see a boy (about 18 yrs) in their dorm. He was quite the character; he like to burp for attention. I finally told him to stop or that I would tickle him (of course he did not understand me). As he continued to burp, it would tickle his side and he laughed, but would push me away. After about three times he knew that I would tickle him and would flinch after burping. We all laughed about it including him (but he never did stop). They crave attention so much. A boy with Down syndrome that we had in the afternoon did not want to participate in our arts or playing ball. He just wanted to be hugged so I hugged him, there was nothing inappropriate on his part; Anita said that she was uncomfortable with how physical he was, but I felt like a mother for him. It was very emotional for me that just a hug could comfort another human being so much. I am getting nervous that I have been writing for quite awhile and not sent this, like the idleness of the computer will shut it down so I am going to send this and continue over in the office (we have computers in Memorial Hall where we stay but they are very old and slow. Any pictures that Itake must be uploaded on Molly's computer or Miss Ma's.

Computer nightmres

Okay, so technology is a great thing, right? Afterall, when my parents first visited Korea back in the 1960's nobody knew what a PC was, let alone email, voicemail, cell phones or blogs... I brought my laptop and had several experts look at it only to find that it does not understand Korean! It refuses to acknowledge their IP so it looks as though I am at the mercy and kindness of strangers to write in my blog, contact my husband ($.01 per minute via yahoo messenger voice), check and write email and upload all of my pictures. Oh well, perhaps I will be weaned from the computer while I am away... FAT CHANCE DANNY! *> ) It is crazy using their computers because most of their programs are in Korean. My Yahoo comes up in English, but any of the commands I try to find are in Korean (cut and paste). I was unable to use this computer for the first two days (in Memorial Hall where we are staying) because when I would log onto Internet explorer, it would come up in Korean. When I then logged onto Yahoo, the computer was set to Korean and therefore my user id and password were not correct. I sat for a couple of hours trying to fix the language to no avail. Finally I asked the director to help me and she told me of a key on the keyboard that converts Korean to English. Ha ha... really easy fix! There is a huge mosquito circling its prey (me) and dive bombs every so often - I have slapped my face, arms and head in an attempt to kill it and avoid his needle nose. It is so exciting, but I also feel so burdened here. There are many benefits to living here as I am losing some weight; the food... I am a little sick of Korean food right now. It is all that is served at every meal. Chandler is eating very light as most of what is served is hot and spicy and there is a lot of meat, which I am reluctant to eat as several cats and dogs have disappeared since we first arrived (kidding). There are many people in my life that I wish were here to experience this with me. It would change their lives (and gastrointestinal tract forever)!

What we did on Day 2

I awoke around 5:30 am (Seoul time) after sleeping like a dead person. It has not been horrible getting used to the different time zone so far. We gathered up a group of residents for Activity Center and took them to a park nearby. Ilsan's hills are a challenge for many of the residents; for our first outing, Chandler and I both escorted women who walked very, very slowly. We cross the street to get to the park and must cross over eight lanes. The interesting thing is that in Korea, red light do not necessarily mean stop. Drivers pretty much do as they wish and as we were crossing with these two ladies, traffic began to get close. I got scared and tried to get Hong mee sook to move faster by pulling her hand; she resisted and tried to turn back. I said a prayer and talked calmly to her with my heart beating through my chest. We made it to safety just in time. We gave the the girls a snack and polished their nails; some of them got on the swings for a bit. We then went back to Ilsan Center for lunch with Molly.

The afternoon is a bit of a blur. We picked up another group of residents and due to the extreme heat and humidity took them to the gym. Holt also has a school for individuals with disabilities and has a lovely gymnasium where residents and students are able to play tennis, bad mitton, and basketball. In fact, Holt has a wheelchair basketball team that travels locally and does quite well. This time we had a group of guys - three in wheel chairs and two who were ambulatory. One of the "walkers" was blind and very spastic. He did not like to stop or sit down so when we got to the gym we had him push a wheel chair and it kept him busy for some time. The wheel chair that I pushed had a resident (I am sorry I cannot think of his name right now) who clearly had CP and was not in a proper wheelchair. His head dropped to one side and he slept almost the entire time we were out. Fortunately there were fans in the gym so I wheeled him in front of the fan and woke him for snack time. Molly told me that there is new wheel chair that has been ordered for him so I hope that it comes while we are still here.

Be well my friends, hug your family and friends; thank God for your life and loved ones.

Seould, Korea - Day 1 and some background

Today was a national holiday - Constitution Day, so most everything is closed. We are staying at Ilsan Center in Ilsan, a town outside of Seoul that is operated by Holt International. Ilsan Center was built by Harry Holt back in the 1950's as an orphanage for the 1000's of babies who were either abondoned or given up by their parents' for a variety of reasons. Harry Holt was a farmer and an Oregon logger who was a multimillionaire; he and his wife Bertha had six biological children and lived a very comfortable life in Creswell, Oregon. Harry developed a serious heart condition and almost died; it was then that he dedicated his life to God through Jesus Christ, and sought His will. Harry saw a movie by World Vision about the plight of Korean Orphans who were abondoned and starving to death. After a lot of prayer, he and wife Bertha cut through a lot of political red tape to adopt eight of the Orphans - Harry travelled to Korea to pick up the new addition to his family. He could not get over the thousands of children who were left behind, and believed the God was not finished with his work in Korea. Back home in Oregon, the press gathered for the arrival of the new family members and word spread quickly around the United States of this almost unheard of event - foreign adotion! Letters poured in from around the country asking Harry to help others adopt the Korean orphans. As it turns out, Harry's faith, fortune and hard work were spent building orphanages and offices to expedite adoptions for needy children, and today Holt International is one of the largest agencies in the world, placing over 50,000 children into loving homes around the world. Most of the children placed were cute and cuddly babies and toddlers, but there remained a popultation of children who were not so easy to place - ones with disabilities that ranged from mild to severe and included cognitive deficits, physical limitations or a combination of both. I am uncertain of the year that Ilsan became dedicated to individuals with disabilties, but today it houses about 227 people with ages ranging from 1 year to 57 years old (the 57 year old came to Ilsan as a young girl and has lived here for 50 years).

Ilsan Center has about 35 buildings and sits on over 30 acres. It is very hilly around the grounds so one gets a lot of exercise throughout the day. Molly Holt - daughter of Harry and Bertha, is now the Chairperson of Holt Korea. She has a master's degree in nursing and felt led to serve in Korea where she has lived and worked for over 50 years. She lives in a small home with two of the residents. Both have cerevral palsy and one has a condition a lot like cystic fibrosis. They are so sweet and gentle, I am humbled to be around them. I say that because I have found that most of the residents have very simple needs in order to be content. And Molly, what can I say about Molly? She is a very humble woman who has dedicated her entire life to our Lord and Saviour by serving the residents of Ilsan place. She is a well-educated woman who was raised with wealth (millionaire back in the 1950s), yet she has chosen to live and serve in a country where women are not held in very high high regard with full time residents who require 24 hour care. Her home is very simple, her bedroom is also her office and quite small. She sleeps on the floor, just as the Korean people choose to do. She has no privacy because her front door is always open to the residents who stop by for a quick hello, or a longer chat. Often times, Molly's telephone rings off the proverbial hook with people calling from all over the world. The first day that I met Molly, she told me that she had gotten a call from Norway at 3:30 in the morning (the person did not realize the time difference). She takes it all in stride. Also, volunteers may eat one or all three meals with Molly and her residents. Currently, besides myself and my daughter Chandler, there are two other volunteers here; Mindy who is quite young and ready to enter her senior year of nursing school in Iowa and Anita; a fascinating young lady who sold her home and most of her earthly posessions to come to Ilsan Center and volunteer one year ago. She intends to remain here through September of 2007. Anita has really been immersed into the Korean culture. She speaks quite well and reads almost fluently. Korean is a very difficult language to master, partly because there are many different levels of hierarcy and depending on where you fit and the person to whom you are speaking fits dictates the words that you use.

Ilsan Center relies on its volunteers to help with the residents. We are responsible for getting them out of their surroundings and into the community. It appears as though close to 1/2 of the residents are in wheel chairs. Some of the ones who are ambulatory have crooked limbs and walk very slowly. Very few are verbal, but most that I have seen respond to human touch and a soft voice.

Since today is the national holiday, Molly took us for her weekly outing to EMart (formerly WalMart but the Koreans did not seem to like the merchandising of WalMart so EMart purchased them). Molly always loads up her van with as many residents as she can handle. We fit two wheel chairs and two residents who could walk in addition to Molly, Anita, Chandler and me. It was an amazing experience. Driving in, there is an EMart greeter with white gloves, waving people into the parking garage - as one enters, he/she bows. There is also a greeter at the entrance wearing white gloves and welcoming people. EMart has three floors of groceries and merchandise; they also have bays for automobile service and a food court - all Korean of course. there are ladies around the store preparing food for people to sample. We always take residents with us to EMart so that they may get experience at selecting merchandise, paying for it and receiving change and a receipt. We all had great fun in the store.