Voice for the Voiceless: Flash Mob of Love

There's a group here in Seoul called Incurable Fanatics*.  They stand up against human trafficking and, by golly, they do things about it.  Most of the group are Korean-Americans and straight foreigners.  I had the honor of being involved in one of their flash mobs last month.  We went out to Gangnam and Seoulleung, two areas where you will find flyers covering ledges, littering the ground, and stuck into the cracks of car windows.  The flyers are mild to graphic advertisements for prostitution which is illegal in Korea.  The advertising is also illegal, but it is rampant as if there's no law whatsoever.

We went out to collect the flyers and cards one night in a large group.  At the end of the night, the leaders of the group took the loads of bags and ads to the police station to show the authorities that the foreign voice is on their side and to show them what a poor image the prostitution industry gives Korea in the foreign eye.  The outsider's opinion holds a lot of weight these days in the light of the Korean Wave, and the Incurable Fanatics want to use all the leverage they can.

For some background information, I highly recommend reading how much a part of the culture prostitution is from the standpoint of a foreigner married to a Korean man as posted here on The Grand Narrative. It may also be helpful to know that Korea is one of the largest (2nd largest in 2006) internet pornography consumers in the world.  It makes up 25% of the worldwide pornography revenues. Finally, here's the Wikipedia article on Korea's prostitution.

Here are some photos from the night.

**Be advised.  I've kept the selection to the tame ones, but I will show some pictures of the ads.**

We headed off in Gangnam first.

The sense of mission was so thick.  Everyone was of one mind and of one purpose.  It was amazing.  At the beginning, many of us were silent as we had just come from the gathering meeting where we were all encouraged to pray through the night for effectiveness and safety.  The silence alone was an encouragement.

After just 30 minutes we moved over to Seolleung.  Our bags were already halfway full.

The team

I had a strange and unexpected reaction when I would pick up the ads and put them in my bag.  I felt like, even though the world, the pimps, the distributors, and the Johns weren't respecting these ladies and their bodies and souls, I was covering their vulnerability.  I was covering them with something that mattered.  I prayed so much that the something that mattered would travel to those girls.  I prayed so hard that God would transfer the love and the words we were whispering that night to their hearts and ears.  I prayed that we were making a difference for them.

The cards were everywhere.

The darkness was thicker in Seollung, and not just the absence-of-light kind.

This is the building where many of the girls stay.

Many girls will be tricked into the industry or just into one stunt thinking that they're getting a modeling or television gig.

A smaller group of 6-8 took another lap after this photo was taken, but this is how much we 50 collected in a little less than 2 hours.

Young Creativity: Writing Samples

Besides the relationships I am blessed to build, my favorite part about teaching English to my Korean students is seeing their creativity flow through the clunky sieve of their developing English.  At the turn of the school year, I picked up a new high intermediate 1st grade Treasures class.  As if their minds aren't brilliant and beautiful enough, add in the usually awkwardness of a foreign language, and you pure gold every day

Describe how to make your favorite snack.
First, get bread.  Second, cut slicely, onion, sausage, olive, cheese, and ham.

-Aaron

Why does elderly Mr. Putter choose Tabby, an old cat?
Because when Mr. Putter go[es] to sky Tabby need to live alone so Mr. Putter buy an old cat.
-Chris

Sometimes I'm amazed by the brilliance that comes from the sentences my students write to test out their new vocabulary.

Make a sentence with "shelter."
Shelters block something that is dangerous for me.
-Daniel

Make a sentence with "feelings."

Robot does not have feelings.
- Chris

I jumped on this one and asked all who were interested (the boys) to elaborate.

Because robot is made with trees and metal!

Because robot does not have brain and heart. They have PCU!

Because robot cannot do things by itself.  It cannot remember!

Lastly, from low proficiency sixth grader's weekend writing:

I'm happy because my class change the partner.  I have a new partner.  My partner is very good face and very tall.  He like baseball game and read books.  I don't like him.  Because he is a perfect.

-Stella

Young Creativity: A Lego Land story

Lego Land

A long, long time ago on Mars, there was Lego Land.  Korea and Japan made Lego Land.  There was a war because of the tornado.  The robot was very strong, and he could make the tornado.  The robot was in the tornado.

It was in 1849.  Japan was winning.  Their center was strong and made of legos, but Korea's was made of sand.

In Korea, there was a school.  One day, someone found a key in the ground.  They went tot he tornado.  My friend and I went together.  We put the key in the key holder.  We waited and waited, and it was working.  Korea won and they got Japan's land, and they built a lego castle and they mixed sand, too.  Korea was happy and they got Japan's land.

The End

-Aaron, Treasures Class

While I couldn't find a guilt-free image of legos nor the original source for the image I did use, the other pictures curated from the Creative Commons.  And I'm telling you, this is the last time I make a collage for something like this.  The visual aid is worth it, I'm sure you agree, but I'm glad to be finished digging out all these credits.
Tornado from Arte & Fotografia
Flags from Public Domain Images (1 & 2)
Civil War reenactment by Nat Bocking on Geography.org

A Quick Update on My Situation

Well, after much worry, prayer, an epiphany, and a decision, then some chickening out and a little more resolve, today I will tell my supervisor that I will extend my contract for 5 more months!  I'll be home by Christmas, I'll make a bit more money, I'll get to be with my loved ones here a bit more before never seeing them again, and I'll get to stay in my favorite city for a little longer.  I'll also get to enjoy the edge of another frigid winter, I'm sure, but I'll see one more full summer and fall, too.

And, 'cause maybe you're wondering, my boyfriend's support remains strong and caring.  Both of us are feeling the weight and the burdens of our long distance relationship, but we're still going strong.  And, he'll be visiting in two weeks for 12 days.  I'm so excited.  :)

Also, I've redone the blog layout.  I like its cleaner and brighter mood,  but I'd love to hear what you think.

I hope you all are doing well!  Thanks for checking in and for supporting me through this whole adventure.  You guys have been great, and I'm so grateful for your encouragement to keep on and to not leave any opportunity wasted.

Here's what the street looks outside my school now, by the way.  The cherry blossom trees are all over spreading their loveliness.  The large cherry blossom festival was last week.  These sakura trees are celebrated so much.  I really like that.

Elegance Class Learns About Jobs

My preschool class just finished learning about communities.  Our new vocabulary included firefighter, restaurant, cashier, and park.  We learned about how different people help us.  One of our activity pages asked what certain people use for their jobs.

The firefighter has a _________ and _________.  (hose and ladder!)
The doctor has a _________.  (stethoscope!)
The police officer has a _________.  (gun?)

I got to that last question and thought, "The police officer has a gun?  That's not very child friendly."  But Yoo-Jin and Sein trucked right along with "The police officer has a badge!"
"Ahhh, yes.  Yes, children.  Police officers help us and don't shoot at us.  Especially here in Korea where they don't carry guns."

I laughed at myself.  Yep, this was just a funny quirk of the culture difference I wanted to share.

One of our last activities was a career role play followed up by the question: What do you want to be when you grow up?

I'd forgotten for a long time, but I remember now that I had wanted to be an artist when I grew up.
Here's what Elegance Class wants to be.

Judy

"I want to be a nurse, because I want to help sick people."

 

Sein
"I want to be an artist, because I like drawing."

 Ruby

"I want to be a mother, because I don't like [the] other jobs."

Eva
I want to be a police officer, because I like police officer."

Yoo-Jin
"I want to be a doctor, because my mother is a doctor."
(The day before, Yoo-Jin had wanted to be a baker.)

Sophia
"I want to be an artist, because I like drawing."

Ryan
"I want to be a monkey, because I like monkey."

Ryan later said he wanted to be a doctor because his father is a doctor, but I still like his first idea.

Eelgance Class Discussed Long Distance Relationships

In preschool, we always go around the room and ask everyone, "How are you today?"  I have a very hard time lying to them, even when I'm feeling terrible, so I usually stick to the truth.  Today, I told them, "I am... okay today.  I am happy for dance class tonight, but I am sad because I miss my boyfriend."


"Caleb?"

I've talked about him so much, they have his name, hair color, eye color, and general height and build memorized.

"Yes.  Caleb."

Ruby said, "Lindsay Teacher!  Why you no... school finished, go to America?"
Eva added, "You no talk computer?"

"Sigh.  No, I can't go to America after school.  It takes 20 hours to get to America on the airplane!  (*gasps*) And it costs 1,700,000 ₩!  (*more gasps*)  And, I cannot talk with Caleb on the computer because I have dance class, he has school, and we are both very busy."  I started to get gloomy just thinking about it, so I finished off with, "But!  In May, Caleb will come to visit for 12 days!"

Next, I asked Ruby.  "How are you today?"

She took a very long time saying "um... um..." but I could tell that she was thinking about how to properly communicate what she wanted to tell me.  Finally, she said, "I am happy because... April finish and Caleb is coming."

"That makes me happy, too, Ruby.  High freakin' five."

My First Time Observing Lent

Jubilee Church
Seoul, Korea

This place, it's got something.  The Spirit is there, man.  And, He, like, does things.

During the change of the calender year, the whole congregation of 500 strong had this misty energy.  Everyone was talking about change, new beginnings, and the Lord's faithfulness.  Some New Year's resolutions were made, but they were made with eyes set on the One who makes the difference.  I've never seen this kind of attitude surrounding this time of year, but I knew that I liked what I saw.  I saw one people, determined to live out the calling set before them and thankful for the reminder of God's coming promises.

A little before Ash Wednesday came around, Pastor Dave mentioned fasting for Lent in one of his sermons.  Even before PD had mentioned it, I'd heard snatches of conversations on the topic.  Once the sermon was delivered, everywhere I turned people were talking about it.  In the next few Sundays, no one I talked to didn't have something they were sacrificing for the 46 days until Resurrection Day.

Of all the bandwagons to jump on for the sake of jumping, well, this one might not be the best one to choose because God judges the heart, not your actions.  But... I kind of jumped on the bandwagon.

AND I'M SO GLAD I DID!

Honestly, nothing about observing Lent sounded like a bad idea, so I thought, "You know, there's something I've already been thinking I want less of in my life."  With that lead, but without praying about it or seeking any outside guidance, I decided to fast from Pinterest, Tumblr, and Twitter.  The Saturday before all this, in a sort of out of body experience, I saw myself consuming these blurbs and pictures of life like they were the air I breathed.  I was sitting at my computer for hours just scrolling through pictures of what I could be doing.  I was sincerely disgusted with myself when I realized that I live in freakin' Seoul and life is right outside my door for the taking.  So, just like that, I decided that I wanted to live the life God set for me, not the one the Internet whispered I could have.  I didn't want to deal in "could" anymore.  I wanted to do.

In addition to this fast, I've been reading the Bible like a hoss.  I've been following a chronological schedule since January, and I've been trying to truck through so that I can finish the whole Bible in 180 days instead of the prescribed 365.  Starting the fast was difficult at first, I used to go to these sites for my wind-down and for pleasure, but having something of legitimate (and eternal) value to turn to instead started to make things easier.  In fact, there were many nights when I came home from work and wanted my computer to remain off.  I actually wanted to read the Bible instead.  For hours.  How weird is that?!  To top it all off, there have been some serious happenings that have compelled me to spend extremely long lengths of time in prayer.  I'm telling you, man, this has not been usual for the first 23 years of my life.

After the first week and a half, I started to feel my desire for those hollow shells drain away.  It actually became very easy to not care about it.  I was... free.  Tumblr didn't own me.  Pinterest didn't hold my happiness anymore.  Twitter didn't define my value in follower figures.

This morning, when the fast was over, I logged in to Twitter with friends clapping around me for completing this small act of sacrifice.  I scrolled down the screen for a few moments and then wanted to get back to my friends in real life.  This afternoon, I checked in to see what I'd missed on Pinterest.  Within seconds, I was incredulous.  "Why in the world was I following those boards?  How did I not get sick of all this blabber about stuff I don't really care about?  I'm not even engaged, what the heck's up with all this wedding junk?"

I checked my sister's, by BFF's, and my boyfriends pages and got off.  I, this is weird but, I didn't even want to be there.  It felt toxic to me.

Please, allow me to explain how I am not condemning any of these sites.  While they can be used for unhealthy things or to unhealthy degrees (see my life before Lent), moderation rocks, social media can be excellent tools in relationships, and a free online picture catalog is a sweet deal that I still appreciate greatly.  I hold no judgement, I only want to express how I was chained to these things and now those chains are gone.

The chains are gone.  The chains ARE gone.

The groping claw of the Internet was keeping me from living.  It was telling me that I'm only as valuable as the number of blog comments I have.  I'm only as popular as long as I'm gaining new followers.  I'm only cool if I pin the hippest things first and with the wittiest captions.  The worst part was, I was believing the lies.  I was so blinded, I was begging for husks to feed on.  I devoured what I could find on one site.  I sucked it dry then moved to the next until I was left as empty as before at the bottom of my news feed.

Now, I still struggle with how my Internet personality does not reflect my real worth.  But, I have seen what it's like to be on the other side.  I know what it's like to refuse anything less than value.  I know what it's like to depend on the Word and prayer for sustenance instead of images of what other people find their worth in.  And, I know what it's like to not need the Internet for my happiness.  Truly, God has given me back everything I sacrificed, but He gave it back to me better.  How could I ever again choose the gristle over the meat?

But, I know exactly how I could choose the gristle over the meat.

I am humbled by what God has shown me over the last 46 days.  Through my fast, my reading, my praying, the community at church, and PD's recent sermons, I've learned an invaluable lesson about choosing value.  We're designed to do so, you know.  It's been wired into our system to choose value.  We are made in God's image and, as such, God put that into us so we would seek value as He does and ultimately find Him.  I hope, I hope and I pray, I hope so badly that I will choose Him at every chance.  I know that my heart is unfaithful and foolish.  I hate that I'm going to fail Him when decisions come.  But (and this is my last "but"), He is faithful when I am not.  He has chosen me, and His hand is strong.  He will not let me go.

Praise the Lord, my Father who loves me.
I am His, and He is mine.
The victory and all power belongs to Him, and He is risen indeed.

Happy Resurrection Day!

Racism in the classroom

I was in Elegance class eating lunch with the kiddos.  My new co-teacher was there, too.

At one point, Judy looked over to me and asked, "Teacher.  You know this song?"  She started to hum.  I didn't recognize the tune at first, but then I pegged it as a song I played when starting piano and violin lessons.  I started to hum along with Judy and Eva who had also joined in.

My co-teacher had been listening from her peripherals, I believe, and she pounced in with, "Judy, that song is Korean.  Lindsay Teacher doesn't know it."

#1- Sorry, but that musical piece is not Korean.  If anything, it's probably English or Italian.  Millions of children around the world have learned it as they started learning to play music.

#2- Just because I'm not Korean doesn't mean I don't know about Korean music or culture.

Despite the fact that I know significantly less about Korean music and culture than any one of my students, I was genuinely offended.  I believe that this is the first time in my life I had been profiled by my race to my face.  I know that, in comparison to what so many others have been through in this area, this incident is nothing, but the heart here is the same.  Judging someone based on their race instead of going deeper and looking at them as a person, not a skin color or face composition.  I was incensed that my co-teacher viewed me as White, not as Lindsay, musician, artist, creator, learner, soul.  (Don't even get me started on how my co-teacher did all this in a teacher's position around 7 impressionable young students.)

I've been a victim of bold-faced racism.

Finally.

I recommend it to everyone who hasn't been on the receiving side at least once.

Japanese curry

Who knew I'd ever be chowing down on Japanese curry with fried pork cutlet.

This is my usual at a small Japanese curry restaurant near Garosugil in Sinsa: Udong noodles, mild curry, with added pork cutlet or cheese for some protein and interest.  Light fried fish cake floats on top, and the whole thing is ready to be slurped up in traditional Korean fashion.  Yum.

This was my first shot at really trying to do well at food photography.  Not too bad, yeah?