Mid Summer Crisis!

Last week it suddenly hit me that my time in Korea is more than halfway over! NOOO!! I don't ever want this experience to end!! I also noticed that I haven't taken advantage of the easy traveling options from Yeosu to other places in Korea. Until recently I had only gone to Seoul but their is so much more to Korea than just Seoul. Because of my "mid-life crisis" I pulled together a list of places that I want to go to before the end of the summer. So this is my.....

 Summer To-do/Bucket List:

Odongdo - An island right across from Expo site. I can either go by shuttle bus or walking. Why I still haven't gone there I have no idea!

Gwangju - To meet with my new friend who came with her school to Expo.

Gyeongju - Korean Pre-modern history was one of my favorite classes last semester. I really want to go to Gyeongju, the old capital of Silla dynasty, and see the historical buildings. This trip is an absolute must!

Rest of expo - So much more to check out! I still haven't been to the Korean Pavilion (completed 7/1), Aquarium, most of the Business Pavilions, and the Theme Pavilion (completed 7/1).

Busan (completed 6/27-28) - To explore and also meet a friend I met in San Diego, Cali. I went this past break. The beaches there are amazing! I can't wait to go back.

Suncheon - It's about 2 train stops from away from Yeosu. To me, the nature of Suncheon is what makes it attractive.

Yeosu/Jeollanam-do - There is so much more in Yeosu than just the expo. A friend recommended I go to Hyangilam Temple. I also want to check out the historical part of Yeosu (Yi Sun-sin square).

Songnisan National Park - It's a little farther than other places I want to go to but I saw pictures and the park looks amazing!

DMZ tour - I might have to wait until I come back to Korea but this is something that I really want to experience.

천사의집- Angel House

Welcome to Angel House!

If you take the SeoulMetro to Yeonsinae Station 연신내역 , walk up the stairs of Exit 3, take bus number 703 to Goyang market고양시장, ride it for about 30 minutes, transfer to minibus number 54, and ride it all the way to the end of the bus line, you’ll find Angel House 천사의집, an orphanage catered to people with disabilities. Every first and third Saturday of each month, a group of volunteers take a trip to Angel House to help out for the day. Saturday June 3, 2012, three Student Ambassadors of the USA pavilion traveled to Seoul in order to be a part of this group. The ambassadors include Eric Park, Brisbane Naomi, and myself.

Because of its location in Goyangsi Dukyangu 고양시 덕양구 on the edge of Seoul, the residents have very little interaction with people outside of Angel House, hence why the first and third Saturday of each month is really special to them. Using the word orphanage is not quite the appropriate description for Angel House. The house is home to 50 residents of all ages with various disabilities.

When we arrived, the 40+ volunteers split up into 4 groups. Brisbane and I joined the laundry team while Eric joined the cooking team. Being part of the laundry team did not just involve washing, drying, and folding. The washing method we used made it feel like we were back in the 1800s. One of the volunteers started by stomping in a big tub of wet laundry, 7 other volunteers, including Brisbane and me, used wooden scrub boards to clean the clothing one-by-one with soap, and the rest washed the soap out in the washing machine and hung the clothes on the clothing line. During this time, Brisbane and I had the chance to chat with other volunteers. Everyone had a different reason for being in Korea and volunteering at Angel House. For some volunteers, this was their first time at Angel House. Others, like Nadia, a chemical engineer from Mozambique, are veterans. We also met an English teacher from Cincinnati, OH, two engineering students from Seoul, retired US soldiers, and an English teacher from Great Britain.

Working hard scrubbing! This was my first time using a wooden scrubbing board. Left: Engineering student friend, Yohan. Right: English Teacher from Great Britain.

끝나! All finished!

After about 1.5 hours later, with the laundry completely finished, we went back into the house and helped put instruction stickers on the back of nail polish packets. We didn’t know why exactly we were doing it but our best guess was the company that owns the product supports Angel House in some way or another and Angel House repays them back with small labor tasks. After tediously putting sticker-after-sticker on, it was time for the residents and the volunteers to eat dinner together. The cooking team made black bean noodles자장면and dumplings 만두. Once dinner was finished and everything was cleaned up, everyone headed upstairs for music, fun, and games. During this time the volunteers got to meet more residents, converse with them, take pictures together, etc. Game time was not perfect though. One of the residents started kicking and punching other residents. It took a while for him to calm down but once he did all peace was restored and everyone continued to have a fun time together.

Picture time!

Dancing~ :)

As 7pm rolled around, it was time for the volunteers to return to the city. You could tell the residents were very grateful, however, I felt even more grateful. I noticed

by the end of the visit that my mind had forgotten all about things outside of Angel

House, including my cellphone. Usually I am constantly checking my phone to see if

there is Wi-Fi or if any messages arrived. However, during the 5 hours I spent at Angel

House I did not take out my phone once. Parting with Angel House was not sad in the slightest because we know that we will be back next month, hopefully with even more Student Ambassadors.

Brisbane, Eric, and me with one of the residence

Same Place, Completely Different Reason

This is my second time coming to Seoul and navigating around is getting easier and easier. Getting on the right side of the platform to go in the right direction was a challenge once I arrived at Yongsan but once that was sorted out getting around was easy peasy. 

I was scheduled to work today but an opportunity arose that I couldn't pass up. Today, at 1:30pm, I will be going to an orphanage called Angel House along with two other Student Ambassadors, Eric and Brisbane. Angel House is not a regular orphanage. What makes this orphanage special is it caters specifically to children with physical disabilities of varying degrees. Every first Saturday of each month, 40 volunteers go up to this orphanage, located in the outskirts of Seoul. As volunteers we help out by cleaning, making food, feeding and interacting with the children.

Beginning in high school, my ideal job was to start and orphanage, or at least work at on, in either China or South Korea. At the moment this is as close to that dream I will get but I know that it will be an experience like no other. 

For the summer I am enrolled in a class. Each week we have to write a journal entry about any topic of our choosing that relates in some way to the assigned reading. For my first entry I will be writing about being disabled in Korea. From my personal experience through travelling via metro, Korea is not 100% accommodating to people of disabilities. I will elaborate on this late, but for now, it's time to head to Angel House. Of course I'll be writing a blog entry about Angel House and my experience there so wait for the update!

Annyeong~