Let The Journey Begin

Look out Jeju, here I come.

My big adventure began with the getting there. Jeju is about as far as you can get from Dongducheon and still be in South Korea, so there was a lot of country to cross. Instead of taking the easy way out (plane), I decided to take the KTX (bullet train) and the ferry, because I wanted to actually see the land I was traversing. Besides, I have never been on a high speed train, and as soon as I found out Korea had one, I knew I would ride it one day. After too little sleep and too much last minute packing and repacking, I finally made my way to the subway station.

An hour and a half on the subway to Yongsan and a two hour layover at the train station was completely uneventful - which means I must have just been tired. The ride on the KTX was about three hours, and while it would register as uneventful on the Snelling Scale, the ride was captivating. Nothing takes your breath away like pressing your face to the window and watching the majestic scenery fly by at nearly 300 km per hour............ then WHOOOOSH the northbound KTX passes a mere 24 inches from your face. Forget majestic nonsense, nothing takes your breath away like watching your life flash before your eyes in the reflection of another high speed train. After that happened to me the second time, I decided to forego the scenery and took a nap instead.


I arrived in Mokpo (the south western coast of Korea) with about an hour and a half to spare. There was a sign that said "Mokpo Harbor" and I figured my boat had to be in the general direction of the harbor, so I decided to go walking. Although I had to stop and ask directions, (there are ALOT of places to get on a boat in a harbor) I found my way to the ferry terminal with 10 minutes to spare.

Here are my fellow passengers boarding our ferry for the final four hour leg of the trip. There is also a picture of my "stateroom" on the ferry. Keep in mind it is a Korean stateroom, so I had all the amenities of a floor. Chairs are so overrated. There was a TV in the room, but guess what the odds are for either of the two channels to have English programming. (zip) I spent some time outside on the deck, but it was a wee bit chilly. While chugging along at 20 knots is nothing compared to 300 km/hour, it can still pack a wallop when the temperature is only about 40 degrees.

The scenery was beautiful, and there was rarely a time when an island or two were not in view. When you have islands and rocks, you have lighthouses. At one place, I could count five lighthouses on different islands and points. This lighthouse was the most unusual and one of the largest. I did not see any sea gulls, and that was a little disappointing. Everyone knows a ferry ride ain't a ferry ride without throwing food to the gulls.

I finally arrived on Jeju about 8:30 PM where I my "never met before" friend, Jae Shin, picked me up and took me to my hotel. In the excitemet of trip preparation, I decided I was going all out and reserved a room with an ondol bed - which is an oxymoron, because ondol means no bed. A heated floor and floor mats sounds great when planning, but after 12 hours of traveling, I was beginning to question the wisdom of that choice. Fortunately for me, I was the only traveler and there were multiple floor mats in the room. After I prepared my "bed" it looked more like something from the "Princess and the Pea" rather than anything Korean.

I will leave you with the view from my hotel window:

Still here.......somewhere

For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

I just realized that two weeks have gone. *poof* Just like that.

The past couple of weeks have been a bit unusual, but things seem to be settling down. I cannot write about it here, but there has been a lot going on and keeping the chaplain really busy. The chaplain (probably the Battalion Commander too) was very glad for this field exercise to finally begin so he could have all the soldiers in one general place at one time. With alcohol off limits, there is a good chance our battalion can make it through the next few weeks without making any more headlines.

Since everyone is tucked securely in their tanks and tents, I am off on a little trip. I will have the chance to mix a little volunteering with sight seeing, so it should be a fun. Stay tuned, because it should not take 10 days for the next post.

hmmmm.....unless I do not have internet access where I am going - then it will take about 7 days.

I Feel the Earth Move Under My Feet

....and there shall be earthquakes in divers places... Mark 13:8

Seems there was an earthquake on the peninsula last night. After it happened, I just looked at Meghan and said "Did you hear something?" Knowing good and well what I thought it was, but then not really believing it. Meghan was too funny, she just looked at me and said, "DUH! The building just moved!"

Move is a bit harsh, lets just say it vibrated, and we did not just feel it - we heard it. One minute we are just minding our business and going about our evening routine and the next second the building "moves." As far as earthquakes go, this was pretty minor - but it was our first.

Nuclear tests and now an earthquake just goes to show how we really do not know what to expect from one minute to the next.

Culture-fied

It seems that Miri is single handedly trying to culturize a certain bumpkin. We have already attended Handel's Messiah, Nanta, a Broadway show from Korea, and the ballet. There is an opera in my not too distant future, but tonight it was the Vienna Boys Choir. It was a fun experience, and those boys can sing. I think my favorite part was the encore when they sang three songs from "The Sound of Music."

Of course we could not get together without our customary stroll down the street to offer our financial support to a street vendor and then head over to a convenience store to load up on a variety of chocolate. I have named these little trips our $30.00 walks. We got off cheap tonight, but it was nearly midnight, so our spending options were limited.

The Dust Offensive

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These last couple of days, I have let my obsessive compulsive self run rampant - like vacuuming four times. Not sure why this is called a disorder - I like it.

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Since teen forces that have been drafted into service develop MP3 induced tunnel vision when cleaning, many fail to notice dust bunny agents taking cover. These rogue insurgents were no match for the M.O.M. Radar System and superior fire power from the U.S.S. Shop-Vac. On land, troops led by Mr. Clean attacked the dust bunnies that had dug in on flat surfaces. After much rinsing and wringing of the M1 Abrams cleaning rag, these sneeze inducing forces had been eliminated. In spite of a fresh lemony scent, experts have advised that the air is safe to breathe and there is no evidence of residue or proof of a rumored chemical attack by the Mr. Clean forces.

Remaining dust forces had regrouped and formed a secondary headquarters under the bed and out of the reach of the unweildy vac. Intel provided reports of socks and a book that had been taken POW and were being held in that desolate wasteland. Fears that these POWs would be used as human shields forced leaders to turn to Black Ops. Delta Force Mop with the Top Secret self wringing attachment stealthily retrieved the POWs. Commanders will neither confirm nor deny reports that the destruction of dust forces had anything to do with the recovery of POWs. Rumors of a possible coup by the minority dirt faction might explain the reports, but conspiracy theories are rampant.

Initial reports are sketchy, but more details will be fortchcoming as they are provided.

Just Cannot Get Used To This.....

I love waking up, looking out the window and finding an unexpected surprise:

Back In The Saddle

The smell of horsey poo and hay is like a drug for Erin, and she had been cold turkey for too long. Even though she did not have any of her real horse gear, Erin was on a horse and that is all that mattered. She looked like a red-neck bumpkin out there in her camouflage hunting boots, jeans, hoodie and vest - not like someone ready to ride English, must less jump. The Koreans at the stables were all dressed like they were ready for a horse show, so someone was sticking out like a sore thumb. We rented her a helmet and some chaps, then she was ready to go.

Erin was really wanting to jump, but these instructors had never seen her ride and most jumpers have their own horse. After they let her ride for about 20 minutes, they moved her to the jumping ring. They placed the cavaletti on the ground and Erin walked her horse, Sugar, over the obstacles. A little bit later, the instructors set up two obstacles and moved the bars into an X so Erin could actually do a little low jumping. I thought she was finished for the day, but they changed the second obstacle into a 2 foot jump and Erin was soaring - literally and figuratively.

At this particular stable, there are about 6-7 elderly Korean men that care for the horses. They bring the horse to the ring already tacked up and then take the horse from you when you are finished. Since Erin has always done this for herself, she asked and they let her groom her horse. I think this surprised the men a little bit, and a couple of them even got a chuckle out of it when she was cleaning out Sugar's ears with a towel and kissing her on the nose.

Even though it is a four hour round trip subway ride, I imagine we will be back.

Happy New Year!

Proverbs 6:9 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

Two all nighters in one week - whoever planned New Years and Christmas so close together was not thinking about us. We had a fellowship at the chapel where everyone got together and played a variety of games like Scrabble, Spades, Phase 10, Dominoes, Bingo and of course X-Box. We also ate lots of food, so we could start 2007 out with a sugar rush.

At 11:45, we moved into the sanctuary for a prayer service. Afterwards, many went home, but there were a few die-hards that stayed on for more games and such. Even when others had dozed off in the wee hours, the chaplain was still glued to the X-Box. Hey, it was Nascar! They played for about 7 hours straight, and this picture was taken about 6:45 AM.
Erin, a budding photographer, managed to take pictures of a few guys recovering from the chaplain's wild party. The fellow deep in ummmm....... prayer?..... on the sanctuary pew is the new Chaplain's Assistant, Ricky. He seems to have a high tolerance for Snelling shenanigans and is pretty good at Spades too.

And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the assistant wrapped in a swaddling sleeping bag, lying in a pew.

I think we will keep him.