My awkward church experience : the reality of being outsiders

I have to be careful what I say here, because I know that believers in Christ have their favorite ways of celebrating and worshiping God. (Pepper has also contributed to this particular post).

I am accustomed to the good 'o Baptist ways of praise, which entails a majority of conservative behavior in church. I'd always (distantly) heard about a rowdy, more carefree atmosphere where people not only sing songs, but conduct their praise by jumping, shouting, and exuberantly belting out the words of scripture and song. Well, I now know that such a style of worship isn't a rumor. It exists.

A couple weeks ago, we heard word of a nearby church, and decided to check it out. The day was hot and humid, but since the place seemed to be nearby, we decided to walk. Walking in humid weather seemed like a good idea at the time, but when we arrived, I was bogged down with sticky sweat, and not happy about it. We wearily boarded an elevator and were whisked upward to our first foreign church experience.

The second church we visited.

We entered a room and were greeted by a wall of white, English-speaking foreigners. This had a jarring affect on me, because I'm so used to being surrounded by Koreans and characters like this: 부산광역시 금정구 범어사로 that I thought, wait.....where are all the Koreans at? There were only 40 people there, who were kind enough. The "church" was a medium-sized room that had an office-type feel. A praise band was warming up, and in a room that size, the sound was overpowering, so all conversations from then on were conducted in a shouting-style manner which is exhausting for the vocal cords. When the crowded officially convened for the official singing to begin, the noise level skyrocketed.  Oh man, these people were spirited. Perfectly normal-looking folks were leaping up and down, belting out the words, and waving their hands in the air. This wasn't a youth retreat or revival week...it was just an ordinary Sunday for them. Rather than the occasional "amen" of affirmation, the crowd couldn't keep quiet. There was a continuous chorus of grunts, and at the closing prayer, there was no reverent, quiet moment; people who had politely conversed with us just moments before had morphed into bionic praying machines. I thought......what is this? These people were certainly crazy for Christ, which we definitely admire and respect, but that style is just...too wild for us.

The next church we visited had a much larger congregation. Most of its members were Koreans from the Haeundae community, but we had the opportunity to listen to the translated message via headphones. The only grievance with this was that there were technical difficulties that resulted in us missing part of the sermon. Also, you sort of miss out on some of the raw emotion and passion when hearing words via a translator. At the service's end, they asked (actually, they sort of required) all new visitors to stand up and be recognized, and the whole church faced us and sang a song. Eek. Awkward. Church distress! However, one of their English-speaking volunteers told us about their church's English-speaking branch, which had more foreign members. This is the church we visited today. Well, this experience was fine, with one major exception.

A pair of overly permissive parents who were seated near us allowed their children to coo, babble, and run around the back of the church. The building had wooden floors, so every few minutes, one could hear a rapid thud-thud-thud of tiny feet, hustling to and fro. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the dad saunter over, take the renegade child by the hand, and lead him back to his seat. This was ineffective, because the same child (and sometimes his sister) would scurry away again, and my thought pattern would once again be interrupted by the thud-thud-thuds. I was under church distress, AGAIN. What in the world? Don't most parents sheepishly clutch their suddenly screaming babies and apologetically duck out of the room? Children are precious to God, certainly, but at some point, adult parents have to extend some sort of courtesy. There was a weird moment where I had the urge to tap Pepper on the shoulder and say, "Pst! Let's move to the other side of the room' but of course, I didn't want to draw attention to ourselves. Also, this church requires people to take classes to become a member there; apparently being a guest has an expiration date.

Leaving behind our large Athens Church wasn't easy, but Pepper and I assured ourselves that we'd find a nice, English-speaking Korean church that would offer community and a chance to grow closer to God. Moving to Korea meant we'd have to do this. Right? I initially believed that skipping the live service to stay home and listen to Andy Stanley's messages online would be a lazy way to worship, but right now, that method seems less  intimidating and far less headache-inducing. Every person at each of these places has been extremely nice and welcoming; we just don't feel 100% good about them. But should we? Should this be an instantaneous process or a gradual one? I (Pepper) certainly don't remember the moment, the day, or the service where I felt 100% good about Athens Church and neither does Jessica. Love for a church must be a gradual thing.

Truth alert: I (Jessica) don't like church-hunting. Could it be that we are church-spoiled!? The churches I've spent most of my life in-Mt. Pisgah in Kentucky and FBC LaFayette were full of familiar faces and an atmosphere of comfort. Athens Church had young people our age to befriend, multiple volunteer opportunities, and free coffee and bagels on Sunday mornings. (That last option isn't necessary to serve God, but it does enhance the message-listening experience). Perhaps the problem is that we are subconsciously seeking Athens Church in Busan which is of course an unrealistic expectation. Hopefully we can find a church where we feel comfortable and spiritually nurtured without running through a mental checklists of comparisons during service.

Out of Touch

Some sort of political debate happened in the U.S, and I was unable to view it. It's not good to be blissfully ignorant all the time, but I must say I haven't missed watching the news. Facebook recently reminded me that we are gearing up for another election year. It's not possible to ignore all the political hub-hub. In fact, it may even be wise to plug in a bit, just to see what the current issues may be. However, being in a foreign country is all-consuming, so it's honestly easy to forget about our societal responsibility as voters. I have other interests right now, but when we return to America, I'll start caring about politics again.

Unless I forget how to speak English.

Just kidding, that could never happen. I'm teaching English, after all. We've been so busy teaching English that we've actually picked up very little of the Korean language. I really wanted to know more by now, but at this time, telling the taxi driver to go straight, turn left, or turn right, is one of the more useful surviving techniques.  Also, Pepper and I have our own Korean bank accounts now, so we can finally stop buying every little thing with cash.

Some fun pictures:

Koreans love socks. Does anyone want a pair? They are 1,000 won (US $1.00). So cheap, and so cute, too!

This is the cutest dog in South Korea. He belongs to the owner/worker of a nearby restaurant, and this little guy is ALWAYS tied up outside. People love to walk by and pet his soft, friendly head.

Korean love food, of course! For a project, one student brought some tasty treats. We were all pleased. 

These sandals look pretty good for 10 bucks, huh? The Nampo-dong market has many, many shoes...all for a cheap price.

Rotisserie chicken is sold for only 6,000 won, which is pretty much six dollars.
This guy sells them from a truck, and it's worth the half mile walk to get one of these birds.

It's not travel without a 'lil s-h-o-p-p-i-n-g

One of Pepper's elementary classes.

Yesterday, I discovered an entire shopping center that completely propelled my happiness to new heights. I've been surviving just fine over here, but aside from finding some good Korean cuisine and an extremely snazzy yet expensive shopping mall, I'd been a bit down about the whole notion of shopping. Beaches are superb and mountains strike much awe, yet being able to buy something as simple as a new pair of shorts gives one a better sense of control. Well, as a female, that's how I feel, anyway.

Being a newcomer means we don't really know where to go or how to get there, and traveling anywhere outside our comfortable two-mile radius can bring forth tremendous stress. We were only able to bring a portion of our wardrobes over here, so I'm ready and prepared to find some new clothes.

My boss's wife made this meal for all the foreign teachers.
As you can see, it was amazing.

This week, my school was on a brief vacation, but since Pepper still had to work, I decided to ride with him to his place of work. After all, I was curious and wanted to see how his school compares to mine. Soon after,  I taxied over to a nearby shopping district called Nampo-dong. This area contains many things, such as a well-known fish market, a city tower that offers magnificent views of the Busan, and an assortment of street food vendors. While there, I got completely sucked in. It was wonderful. I found a store that was chock full of Korean trinkets and.....eeek! School supplies! Koreans know how to do to school supplies, believe me. This store was  cutesy pens, pencils, notebooks, pencil cases, folders, and 3-ring binders galore! As a teacher, I was in heaven. Somehow, finding these items gave me an unexpected level of comfort. Naturally, I purchased a couple inexpensive items, but when the first paycheck arrives, I'll be back.

This arched gateway was my entrance to Nampo-dong.
Vendors did not harass me to buy things, which was so nice.

Sue, one of my sweet students, works on a U.S map.
Yes, I'm all about adding geography to my language lessons.

I meandered for what felt like miles, discovering more and more treats, such as shoe stores and a bakery that specifically sells macaroons. I even hiked up a steep hill to the Busan Tower. In the meantime, enjoy the pictures and the captions!

Busan Tower.

Big noises, small sidewalks

It's been three weeks since we departed from the U.S.A, and Pepper and I are starting to adjust to this brand new lifestyle. Adapting to a new area and new culture has been a tad predictable-wonderful at some times, challenging at others. Our schools have kept us pretty busy, so we haven't been able to travel and explore a lot of the city. Let me share what we do know:

The schools-each of us are working at a hagwon-a private language academy for elementary-middle school aged students. South Korea's number one industry is EDUCATION, so private academies are plentiful. Parents who fervently want their children to learn the English language will enroll them in a private academy of their choosing-some to whatever academy is nearest to their home, while others choose academies based on reputation. Language academies such as these will have Korean employees who are fluent English speakers, yet they like to hire native English speakers from countries such as the U.S, England, Australia, Ireland, and Canada. There are many reasons for hiring "native English speakers," but one reason is simply because our accents are more true to how the universal language sounds. Imagine trying to learn the Korean language from an American. That may be ok, but the learning process would be enhanced if the teacher were an actual Korean. Native speakers of any culture or country are best qualified to use their language's pronunciations, intonations, syntax, and more. However, some of our students have to really listen hard to us-American English sounds pretty different than Korean English. There's plenty more to say on the subject of school and Korean education, but I'll save that for other posts.

Just some food at a nearby market!

The city-I always dreamed of living in the city. I'm not sure what brought on this desire. My family has ALWAYS lived in small towns, and even extended family members have lived in suburbs or the outskirts of a city. Let me just say that the city of Busan is impressive, but it's LOUD. Oh, and we live a block from the beach, which is great for sight-seeing, but is bad if you're not in the mood for people. Right now, summer holiday has started, which means many Korean families are vacationing to our beach. If you're familiar with the saying that "Everything is bigger in Texas," well, just put that idea on one end of a spectrum and place Korea on the other. Korean culture seems to believe in saving space. Sidewalks are very narrow, and sometimes, it's every man for himself. Traffic, which includes cars, buses, scooters, motorcycles, and bicyclists, aren't the most courteous people in the world, so you have to WATCH everything like a hawk. I admit that this is super frustrating to me. I tend to zone out sometimes, (which could be dangerous) but I'm training myself to remain alert.

My co-worker, Mike, relaxes in our boss's massage chair.
Talk about an awesome staff dinner! p.s 35th floor view....

Fear of the sun-Koreans are skin-conscience, which means they take extreme precautions to avoid exposure. Let me be clear-their avoidance of the sun is probably wise, but my North American mindset is so used to welcoming the sun, and along with it, tanned skin. At all times of the day, South Korean women can be seen holding open umbrellas aloft-even in the bone-dry sunshine. Umbrellas are for sale at every convenience store down here, and are a common accessory to the Koreans. If you get caught behind a flock of women with umbrellas....good luck getting around them. Squeezing past a colorful, somewhat unnecessary cloud of umbrellas takes precision. Also, even though it's 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), many citizens of Busan will walk around in pants, long sleeves, hats, sunglasses, and even-I kid you not-masks. Masks! Could you imagine that in a place like Panama City Beach or Miami? If you've seen this, let me know. I'd take a picture of people in their sun-blocking getup, yet I feel this would be a rude gesture. Overall, it seems that many Koreans-particularly the older generation-come to the beach merely for the atmosphere, scenery and light exercise-not for the deep tans.

Are you curious about the food, shopping opportunities, or friendships we're making? Stay close to your computers and/or phones. More writing is on its way!