Ryan's Ramblings

The Eagles--they were great

The Eagles were in Seoul on their 40 year tour!  The concert was amazing.

 

A Favorite

Sorry that the blog is so sparse, but right now my final DMin paper is trumping nearly everything.  I am hoping to have the bulk of my rough draft done soon.  Mabe then I can resume my ramblings. 

For now, I want to share with you one of my favorites.  You know how you listen to a favorite song over and over again?  Well, I like to look at this picture over and over again.  One of the people in the picture is my daughter Sarah--that makes it very special to me.  But, there is more to it.  I think this picture speaks volumes.

Building Lights at Seoul Station

Amazing building lights at Seoul Station.

Snow Equals Fun

It finally snowed here in South Korea.  The other day we woke up to a light blanket of snow on the ground.  Snow in the city is interesting.  It turns an otherwise grimy city into a crisp, clean looking place.  It makes an otherwise noisy city into a quiet place.  It slows everything down.  The taxis move at a safe pace for a change.  The other cars tentatively inch along the roadways and the delivery people on motorcycles slow to a crawl.

Kids love snow--even here in the city.  I heard some shouts and laughter and came around a street corner to find two boys "sledding" down the hill near our house.  They were using pieces of cardboard as sleds and they were sliding down the middle of the street.

There is something special about snow.  No matter where you find it--in the mountains of Idaho or the streets of Daejeon, South Korea--snow equals fun.

Amazing

Many of my miscellaneous pictures from the week revolve around the season of Fall and harvest time.  After a late evening at school I found myself pausing to enjoy the amazing harvest moon on my walk home.  As it hung over the top of the TCIS dormitory I had to try and capture its glow with my camera.  It followed me all the way home and I enjoyed its light.

Giant red, yellow and brown leaves blanket the streets, gutters and sidewalks of the city.  They crunch under our feet and serve to hide the litter and grime that is so prevalent on the Korean roadways.  It is very common to see elderly men and women up early, sweeping clean the area in front of their local shops and apartments.  The leaves of the city are everyone's responsibility.  I don't miss raking and bagging leaves in Idaho.

 Throughout the city there are signs of harvest and preparation for winter.  It seems like on nearly every corner one can find a truck loaded down with cabbages, beets and other produce.  Every load of cabbage is destined to become pots and pots of kimchi.  The beets will be pickled and transformed into various types of side dishes.  The bags of dried red peppers will be ground into power and rubbed into the cabbage leaves as a part of their transformation into kimchi.  The leaves of various plants will be dried and ground up and will serve as a base for various soups.

In the midst of all this--the city, the leaves, the cabbage and the red pepper--are the amazing people of South Korea--doing life.  All of my observations, that are so unique to me, are the things that make up the ordinary, every day aspects of life  for the Korean people.  The patience and persistence of the little elderly Korean ladies (azumas) as they sit/squat for hours pruning and preparing produce for market and domestic use is nothing short of amazing--more amazing than a glowing harvest moon.

Surprising

The other day I was sitting in a new coffee shop near our school and I came across this sign on the table.

As I sat there sipping my coffee and pondering the sign, I found it...surprising

Thankful for Work

This is the view from the front door of our house in South Korea.  As the morning sun peeks over the hill it is eclipsed by the figure of a Korean Azuma pulling her recycling cart.  She is looking for cardboard, plastic bottles and cans that she can turn in for money.  For many of the elderly people in this country, collecting and redeeming recyclable materials is a way of life…and survival.

As the sun rises and the land of the morning calm transforms into a day of activity, challenge, responsibility and struggle, I walk to work.  And I am thankful.

Silly Signs of Korea

During my visit to Everland, an amusement park in South Korea, I came across some funny Korean signage.  The first sign sounds like a fun place to eat.  The second sign sounds...painful.

Open?

The other day we visited a new restaurant that is very near our school campus.  When we got there we didn't see too many people, but there was no question that the place was open.

Slogans

• Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is!
• Flick your Bic
• Finger-lickin' good
• Obey Your Thirst
• Just Do It

Slogans, they are everywhere — especially in South Korea.  They are on walls, windows, balloons, GIANT screen TVs, on the doors of taxis and on the sides of buses.  Here is a slogan that I won’t easily forget.