So last night we got to go climbing for the first time in Korea. It was indoors, but right now we'll take what we can get. We found the place about a week ago on a website called http://www.koreaontherocks.com. the site is nice because it has gyms, local areas, gear for sale, pretty much anything you need for climbing in korea. So anyway, we went in to climb, unsure of what we were going to encounter besides the owner who speaks a little bit of English. To our surprise, he wasn't there, while there were about 5 or 6 Koreans bouldering. We timidly asked them if they spoke English and luckily there was one girl who did. It wasn't ideal by any means, but decent enough for her to tell us that the owner was at a meeting of some sort and would be back later. We hadn't paid our membership fee yet, but they said it should be fine to pay him later.
So we bouldered for a little while like normal. It's a one room gym with a few negative inclines and holds everywhere. Eventually the lady whom we'd spoken with earlier came over and we could tell she was wanting to have a conversation with us but didn't know how to start. So we started talking, mainly Rebs. Our conversation was limited and we basically said all the Korean we knew, which was about 5 or 6 phrases and then we were stuck so I went and got our phrase book. But even after that, the conversation was shotty.
The whole experience was good in my eyes. It was good that we were there, first of all, because I can see it being very easy to live in this bubble that is our English village, only going out with English friends or to get groceries. This is a way for us to get involved with the Korean culture. I would hate to come back to the United States and have someone ask me, "What's Korea like?" and all I could tell them was about what a big city looks like, but nothing about their culture. I want to immerse myself while I'm here, and I'm pretty sure Rebecca feels the same way. So by going to the climbing gym, it gives us an opportunity to get to know some of the Koreans.
The second good thing about our experience is that we struggled with the language barrier. It has been very easy to waste my free time lately, choosing to watch a TV show online or check my email, but being in the middle of a room surrounded by people who you cannot understand is the greatest motivator for me to learn the Korean language. I don't know how easy it is going to be, but I hate not being able to understand what other people are saying. Maybe it's the little brother syndrome coming back to haunt me, where my sister would talk in pig latin or whisper in her friends ears, look at me, and then laugh as if they had said something about me. This wasn't that bad, but still very frustrating. I can imagine each time we come back being able to speak a little more and more. It will be interesting to see how much of the language I can learn in the course of a year. I found out yesterday that the cost of Korean classes for 6 months is about $1000, so I think if we do learn Korean, it will be through some of the teachers here at SEV who are Korean.
So anyway, the climbing experience was good. It was great to have something that was familiar to us in such a foreign world. And there is a closeness, an openness among climbers that seems to be worldwide. Even though we didn't speak much Korean and they didn't speak much English, we still sat and watched each other climb, laughing and whatnot. When you don't have the priveledge of language communication, you tend to revert to body language. So I found myself generally understanding what the conversations were about without even understanding a word they were saying.
On a separate note, (I'm not sure if Rebs already wrote about this) we went to the Catacombs meeting last night. We were a little unsure of what it was going to be like, even though I had been there once the last time I was here two years ago. The place was as I remembered it, a small, one room art gallery that was no larger than 15 square feet in size. I was shocked when the leader of it, Tim said he recognized me. Kendall Witt and I had come only one time, but he remembered my face. That was very comforting. I still don't have a label for the group because I don't know if they even label themselves. It was basically many believers in Christ getting together to talk about what was going on in their lives as well as the world around us. What I mean about this is that some of them are involved with the defectors from North Korea. But as for specific details, I am unsure. They are activists which I love because it is very different than what I am used to.
The meeting was much less focused on the self as much as the world. In America, my experience was often that we would get to talking about ourselves alot. The tone at the Catacombs meeting was more about how we can be an active part in what God is doing in the world. For example, there are two "naturalized" Koreans, which means they are North Koreans who have attained South Korean citizenship, who have been imprisoned in China for assisting defetors (which is illegal in China). This is an offense toward the South because as South Korean citizens, they are supposed to have different rights in China. To make a long story short, they are being treated as North Koreans, and there are stories of the Chinese government throwing away S.K. passports and just turning them back over to the North. They would most likely be executed if this happened. There have been several demonstrations for these prisoners because the ministry of foreign affairs kept information of their whereabouts from the public, which they cannot do. I think several of the people at Catacombs were going to the demonstration that I think took place yesterday. But that is just an example of what's going on.
This feels more real than anything I have ever experienced. I just love how hands on the people are with their faith. It's not about me anymore. I'm looking forward to going back.
-----dusty--<><--
