Twelve down and six to go!

Our FHE group exiting our apartment
 in our elevator. A little like keystone
cops in a phone booth!

June 10th marked one year of our eighteen month mission. In most ways that fact is very hard to believe, but then again some days still seem more like a week than 24 short hours. We continue to enjoy our Korea mission as we share our home, our time and our beliefs with those we meet. We are blessed to participate in  cultural traditions and see historic sites rich with meaning. Other times we are amused by the differences between what we see in Daegu  and our life in Montana!. We have come to say often "That is so Korea".  Before I continue I need to offer a disclaimer. We mean no disrespect by that term. We have grown to love and respect the Korean people. Many of the things that amuse us are the result translations. We just appreciate the Korean's efforts to cater to English speaking foreigners. Finding humor in the differences goes both ways. I am sure they often think "That is so America". So I hope you enjoy some pictures and descriptions of a few things that make us say....

that is Just So Korea!

Our small congregation gathered for a "Memorial Day Extravaganza". It started with a morning hike up Apsan. As you may know from previous posts, this is one of my favorite places in Daegu.   This time we went a little different direction and were able see some Buddhist temple structures. The mountain was
 so beautiful and peaceful.

Here's a little treat I bought for Fred at a walk up snack shop on the narrow street behind our apartment. The drink size cup is filled about half full with Pepsi. Then the smaller cup fits into the top half of the drink cup just above the Pepsi. The smaller cup has a little round hole used to put the straw through. Then sweet & slightly spicy Korean chicken chunks are placed inside the cup. Ingenious and quite delicious all for 1,000 won. McKorea nuggets!


When you make a doctor's appointment here it is almost always at a hospital. Very few doctors have private offices elsewhere, but there are a few exceptions. Fred thought this doctor's office was the perfect combination... skin and stones! With his recurring minor skin cancers and kidney stones it certainly would be convenient. You also see quite a few plastic surgeon offices as you walk through town.



 I don't think Korean people in general are squeamish about much. If so it's not over the same things that make me squirm.  I am amused by the signs designed to draw people  into restaurants. I kind of get those with cartoon animals and  pictures of cooked meats. After all we do the same at home  What I don't get is the pictures of real animals they use to entice you to come in so you can eat them in their butchered form. Not cartoonish or even very appealing in any way. Pictures of mangy, dirty looking animals in living form do not make me hungry for pork, or beef or fish. For that matter it doesn't work for octopus or eel ether. But then again short of starvation, nothing would probably make those appealing to me!

Translation of Korean to English is quite a challenge. The differences in sentence structure, conjugation and general grammar make direct translation sometimes awkward and often humorous. This sign outlining rules of the park is just one of many examples. I find a few of its warnings very entertaining.
--Disorderly acts, such as shouting and singing noisily with drunkenness in the park, act of drinking, playing "flower cards" on the street. etc.
--Act of neglecting to collect the droppings of pet animal accompanied.
--Act of making others feel hatred, such as noise and bad smell. (This one pretty much eliminates all teenagers from hanging out in the part)

These examples are just a small sampling of the sights and experience that delight and entertain us. We love it when we carefully and very slowly sound out the words on a Korean sign only to discover it's "Konglish"- Korean versions of American words such as tomato, computer, or taxi. We smile at the older ladies pushing the baby strollers filled with fuzzy white dogs they are "taking for a walk". We are touched at the random gifts we receive from strangers ... a few small melons, a handful of nasty ginseng candy, a homemade bath scrubber. So check the blog out again in the future, because "much more come will"!