Being Sick Stinks!

So I come home last Monday to a sunny and beautiful America. Fighting jet lag and all for about a week, I was having a grand of a time catching up with my family, my friends, and other peers I haven't seen in a year. Home is where the fun's at.

Then came Sunday...

A visit to grandma's...it was all good. My father, brother, and I chit-chatted with my grand-rents for a few hours and we head out to go home. Cough* Just one cough.

On the way back, two coughs. Still feeling fine. The more we get nearer to my house, I produce a few more coughs. I thought it was just seasonal allergies, or re-entry culture shock syndrome.

"Mark's coming down with something..." commented my father.

Despite the few times I have been sick in Korea, where, with the potent combination of healthy Korean soups and Korean medicines, I have been able to recover pretty fast, I felt like I was pretty immune to most communicable diseases by now.

Not this time. I came home at the perfect time: America is suffering from one of its more worse flu epidemics in a while. Before I even came back home, my mother and father suffered a horrible bout of the flu, putting them out for a combined 30 days. My sister-in-law also caught the flu, and so did her mother. My brother is on the run to not catch it. My friend Fawn's father is out with the flu. On the news, some schools had to even cancel wholesale classes because kids were out with the dreaded disease (something that would never happen in South Korea).

I succumbed. Its awful.

Monday morning, I woke up to a temperature that was near the Phoenix Suns' team scoring average (if you don't NBA stats, tis okay). When you have a fever, your brain simply cannot rest. So I woke up Monday with the sweats, chills, and your mind feels like it cannot rest while you try to sleep.

My body ached, at the same time I was tired, I was hot, and my whole body feels like you've been paralyzed by fatigue. Its scary sick. Basically, you're immobile. My parents, who thank goodness recovered by the time I got home (so we can say they are immune), know my pain and attended to my every need. All I could do was just sit and rest. This started Monday.

So all throughout Tuesday and Wednesday, I was out. Yet at the same time it was not like I was missing too much action. While I am here on vacation, everyone else I know is not. My brother is a working man (his wife is out sick), my parents had to go to work, my friends have school, other friends are working full-time, so for me, it was good for me to sit out. Ever since I got back from Korea, I've been straight doing things with my friends that I haven't been able to sit. Its not fun one lick to have the flu...its miserable. Yet I believe the Lord allow me to be infected so I can reflect and endure. You can learn a lot when you are physically sick.

For some reason, I do recall times when I really, REALLY sick. They are moments of total stoppage as they really impact the rhythm of your life. The last time where I was knocked out, where I had no contact with anyone except my parents due to my home isolation/quarantine and due to a vicious bout of the flu was in Spring 2006. I was swamped with homework and readings for my university study, but I came down with a bad run with that darn virus. That whole weekend, I simply watched movies and college basketball. I was miserable, but I just rested. Yet it was fun...

By Sunday, I was feeling the healing. God was slowly rehabilitating me, and I could feel it. The human body that He created is very resilient and built to endure. One of the most ironic things about that experience was that it ended up being one of the most fun weekends I ever had...simply because I had the opportunity to drop all of my responsibility plates and just rest. I watched some really great college basketball games that weekend (all the conference tournaments were going on...and tickets to be punched for March Madness).

This time around, I felt a little disappointed to come down with this thing. My time here for my home stay has been very limited to just 13 days, and coming down with the fluzy was the last thing on my agenda. However again, I waited patiently as the Lord just let me crash. I got a full year ahead of me starting March 3rd, a whole new school, a whole new job, and a whole new neighborhood to get acclimated to.

Yet one verse got me through these past few days: 2 Corinthians 4:16 - "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are renewed day by day." My body feels the pain, but my spirit is slowly coming back for a fresh start.

Hopefully by tomorrow my body can come back and go outside for a change. Don't want to rush it. Like I said before, my whole goal for this two week break is not to feel regret when I leave, but be recharged and spiritually get ready to go to meet the challenges that are ahead of me.

In the meanwhile, I have not watched so many NBA games in a long, long time...and its awesome. And on hi-def...its like I was at the game myself.

#20 - Marky

Home Sweet Home

Yes, I am home, and it feels great. I touched down here in the DC Metro Area last Monday, and I've spent a good three days catching up on sleep and seeing all of my family/friends.

Nothing has changed here that much. Many of my friends are still locked in with many of their gigs that they were doing throughout the year, with the exception of a few getting engaged, one getting a new house, one getting a new job, and one having a baby.

I have been officially gone for almost a year, and its amazing I am back. I can't believe a year went by that fast. Sometimes, when I look back at the past year and coming back home, it feels like I never left. My whole experience in Korea...it feels like a dream to me.

I am slowly getting re-energized. I'm just sleeping in, spending time and joking with my friends, spending time with my brothers and sisters in Christ, and spending time with my parents. I am watching American TV (American Idol is still kicking it), using the computer, and taking care of business such as paying my dues to Uncle Sam.

I also got a PlayStation 3 today, which was awesome. I hardly buy big purchases, but after finishing a long year in Korea, I figured I award myself today with some entertainment and one of the top videogame systems in the world. The system rocks.

I visited my church, First Baptist Church of Waldorf last night. Everything still seems to be intact, yet with new changes in store. They have begun building a new sanctuary near the worship center, which has been a long time coming. The whole church is excited to have a permanent home to worship in and continue to grow and outreach throughout the burgeoning Waldorf suburb.

Coming back home after such a long stay away does bring "re-entry culture shock." The term being self-explanatory, there are some things that I found to be "weird" in coming back to my home country:

1. I can speak English at full speed! As an ESL teacher, I have been conditioned to speak at a slower rate to not confuse my students and teachers alike, and also conditioned not to use too many big words. This can take a toll on the verbal arsenal because I end up talking more slower than expected. Yet it was a great relief to have real, intelligent conversations at all corners with my family, friends, and with employees who help me out at stores.

2. Where are the Koreans? This one is a funny one. Its really funny that after staring at a populace that is homogeneous for most of the year (with the exception of Dave, James, and other foreigners in my circle), my visual contact has been accustomed to Asian people. Now being back again, my eyes are bouncing around to see whites, blacks, Latinos, oh my! Where I am from in Southern Maryland, the Asian population is quite small. Its kind of nice actually to see diversity around this area, the beauty of people's tones that makes our America.

3. Going to the Store/Bank/Restaurant - "I can understand them!" Ha, after a full year of immersing myself in a language learning environment where no one helps you and hardly no one speaks English, its nice to come back and be understood by everyone. However, I really enjoyed my time in Korea where I had to take care of business such as shopping and banking, all in Korean. Those kinds of situations only made me refine my Korean skills and learn from my mistakes. I learned how to order in Korean at restaurants through my mistakes, and I learned new vocabulary by bumbling at the bank or shopping. Yet, it was so cool today to talk to a representative at the bank and have a full-fledged conversation without stopping for understanding. Yea, it was cool.

4. Jokes - American Humor Inside humor is the best. Among one's circles, the jokes come out and you can really let yourself become you when you are around your best friends. Seeing my friends Jon, my brother Sean, Jordan, and my other friend Jon, we can really bring out the Humor Archives of some of the best and worst of our lives, but have a good laugh about them. My body felt so much better as I got to laugh about the memories of the past with my homies.

5. The Politics of America We have a huge election coming up. Its most likely going to be Senator Barack Obama vs. Senator John McCain. This election is not just an election of who is going to lead this country, but the election of the man (or woman) who is going to put trust back to the system. I really believe many of our citizens are fed up with the politics that we see today and the way we are combating the ills of our society (such as poverty, health care issues, and overall direction of our country) and the ills of our world (terrorism, global poverty, AIDS, and economic issues). Well, however you feel on the issues, I see a more resolve and fiery action among the citizenry to become more involved. Its nice to be in America, to follow the news and local events that are crucial for the upcoming elections. Take your pick!

6. Sports I love me some NBA Basketball. Shaq to the Suns, Bibby to the Hawks, Kidd to the Mavericks. Its becoming crazy in the Western Conference. Last night I watched my first NBA live game on TV, and it was Shaquille O'Neal's debut with the Suns no less, as they lost to the more dominant Kobe Bryant/Pau Gasol-led L.A. Lakers. It was an awesome battle and fun to watch from my couch upstairs, late at night with my friend Jordan.

7. Home Simply put, its my house. We've been living there since 2002, and many memories were made there. Its been really cool to be home and just revive my spirit.

Though my time is limited here, I think it will be the right amount of time to gather my thoughts, prepare for the upcoming year, and spiritually get my act together. In some ways, this is true vacation.

Home...and Round Two

I found out I had home leave. Right after I got back from Japan, my friend Dave pops to me that I am supposed to take home leave right before the beginning of my new contract.

So I got back from Japan literally last Sunday. When I found out this piece of news, I have only touch landed in South Korea for one week, in which I will be headed back to America the next.

Three countries in three weeks...I am true road warriors.

So thus ends my first year of teaching English in South Korea. It ends on a successful note. Going home. I miss home. I miss my family and my friends, and I am looking forward for an energon booster to get me going for year two.

I said goodbye to all of my teachers, prinipals, and staff, and of course, my students. My students were sad to see me go, but in the end I have to move and they have to move on.

In a twist of God's Will, He placed in at the same high school I worked at as a guest English teacher over the winter: Hagik Girls High School. As my friend Doug noted, "From one extreme to the other." I moved all of my stuff out from my first apartment and moved to an older, but more bigger apartment, which resembles my friend Bobby's apartment. Props to my friend MoMo for coming out to Incheon and helping me move.

Well, I'm just thankful to God that I got my apartment before I went home...because coming back to a new place with nothing set up would be an absolute logjam while being jet lagged.

But, enough of the worrying. I am tired. I am exhausted. Dave and I duked it out with Japan's natural and artificial wonders for two weeks, I had to pack up everything and move out of my office and apartment in one, while teaching, and try to say a brief goodbye to my Korean family throughout the week. Wow, the plane ride back to the States sounds great about now...sleep!

I'm going to enjoy that plane ride for once.

I'm going to miss Yeonsu High School though, even though I might stop by to say hi now and then. A great staff, great students, and a great English Zone really made the transition much more easier for me to come here to Korea.

I made a huge risk in asking for a school transfer, but the Lord's Will has put me into another good school. I'm looking forward to working with opposite end of the gender spectrum and do alot of comparing while doing classes...its going to be weird.

To even start over again in a new neighborhood is like coming back to Korea all over again: to find the supermarket, to find a bank, to find the local subway station, bus routes...yeah...I was a little stressed out thinking about it. But God kinda told me to just, "relax...go home, and let's take care of things when we get back." So let's go home for two weeks.

Things I want to take care of when I get home:

a. Mexican Food - I miss Mexican food. I'm going to go to Mexico Restaurant and get me some Mexican food.

b. Taxes - I have to pay dues to Mr. Sam sometime

c. Register to vote absentee - someone has to be president by my decision

d. Church - church family is important. I miss First Baptist Church of Waldorf and their support for me this whole year, especially through prayer

e. Rest - no thoughts about Korea

f. Laughter - talk about things that we Americans can understand, especially humor

g. Fellowship - catch up on a year's worth of fellowship within two weeks with my family and friends in Christ

h. Sleep - I never get enough

So, Goodbye Yeonsu as I open the chapter to Hagik...only God can use me to be an effective tool for his Kingdom.

Mark 9 says, "'If you can?' said Jesus. 'Everything is possible for him who believes.'"

2008, I believe.

Byakkotai

I've been to Japan for almost one whole week, and the experience has already been special.

I tackled the huge monster called Tokyo for one week. Let me tell, it was chaos! Tokyo is one of the most dense cities in the entire world, so everywhere was just an onrush of humanity. Good thing my new travel partner Dave and I stayed in a hostel on the outskirts of the city, because it was absolute madness. My first hostel experience was awesome. Very friendly staff, and the travellers come from all parts of the world who are friendly and very open-minded to new cultures. Obviously you sort of have to be or else you will have a hard time travelling. So staying in Tokyo was really great because I got to sight-see during the day, and come back to a very friendly hostel that has great people you can meet and share your adventures with. I met people from Europe, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and Korea. What was even more neater was to listen and learn about some of these people's hopes and ambitions for life. Some want to study Japanese, some want to live here in Japan, and some just want to see the world. We all have a story to share.

Tokyo has so much to offer, something will have to click according to your hobbies or interests. For me its the history and the cultural relics. For others it could be the international flavor in the Roppongi district, Japanese youth culture in Shibuya (and the awesome crosswalk that you see on TV where there are four crosswalks filled with people, while surrounded by huge, neon-lit buildings), the entertainment districts in Shinjuku, and the quiet parks in Ueno. So it had something for everybody. Dave and I were really keen in the Akihabara District, which offers girl and boy geeks their fantasies in the form of manga, or Japanese comics, or anime, Japanese animation, or other major stores containing all their electronic needs. There were videogames galore, which was very tempting and fun for my hands to press the buttons of a Japanese Nintendo DS.

We spent a few days in some cities in Northern Japan, thanks to our train pass that allows us unlimited rides on the Shinkansen, or bullet train, in the northern areas of Japan. Getting out of Tokyo was so tight just because you can see what the "burbs" are like. The town we stayed at last night, Aizu-Wakamatsu, reminds of a small midwestern town in Illinois. Very quaint and low key, and the mountains surrounding the city just made it seem like Colorado-like. Even Japanese style fast-food restaurants seemed to resemble their American counterparts as they lined up the small streets. People seemed more friendly and more laid-back compared to the city folk, as a I met two Japanese ajumma who helped us with directions, but proceeded to ask me questions about my background...in Japanese! With whatever Japanese skills that I derived from my textbook, I managed my first basic converastion in Japanese...that was a riot!

Aizu-Wakamatsu is a famous samurai castle town. It has an awesome samurai villa (we couldn't see it due to time contraints), a huge castle called Tsuruga, and a shrine on Imori Mountain. One of the most famous of samurai stories in all of Japan took place in Aizu-Wakamatsu, which tells the story of the "Byakkotai," or the White Tigers. The Byakottai were a group of 20 teenage samurai warriors who fought in the Boshin Wars of 1868. They were all just a mere 15 or 16 years old as they were recruited and trained to fight against the newly formed Meiji Imperial Government. In a tragic twist of fate, after fighting against the government near Tsuruga Castle (which we saw today), they retreated to nearby Imori Mountain, which we also saw today. There, as they rested, believed to have saw their castle and feudal kingdom being burned to the ground. In anguish and in honor, the warriors, all teenage boys, killed themselves through "seppuku," or ritual disembowelment. They did this as an honor and to remain loyal to the Aizu clan to whom they served. However, in a tragic twist of fate, the castle was not destroyed by the government, it was just the surrounding countryside that was on fire. The fall of Aizu would not come for weeks.

Basically, they killed themselves for nothing. Only one teen survived, a 14-year old who lied to get into the Byakottai unit, and he went on to tell what happened. As I went through the castle, I saw portraits of these young guys who killed themselves to keep their honor, all young faces eager for battle. It hit home for some odd reason.

In one part of my mind, I was like, "why did you waste your life like that?" Then, despite what seemed to be a waste of life, there is a method to their madness. Jesus says, "those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life will save it." These boys were headstrong, energetic, but so ready to fight and die for their lord.

I think about all the missionaries and Christians in the world who go to dangerous situations and give up their livelihood to spread the Gospel. Many have paid with their lives with it. I saw sometimes wonder about their bravery and their willingness to go the distance with Jesus. Its a fascinating thing to read, for example, North Koreans going back to their country just to share the Gospel. That's bravery, honor, and loyalty to our Lord.

So through this historical tour of Aizu-Wakamatsu, Tsuruga-jo ("Jo" means castle in Japanese), and the Byakkotai Memorial on Imori Mountain...I learned about one major aspect about samurai life that shows how dedicated some of these warriors are...to loyal and to serve their Lord to the end.

Do I have enough faith and gusto to serve my Lord and Master till the end? Looks like I need more training now...

For now, I am a Samurai who needs more training.