We're back!

I know, some of you didn't even know we were gone. But we're back from our quick 3-day trip to Seoul with our friend Evonne! We did a lot of shopping, saw a lot of stuff, and had a good time overall. Seoul has nearly 24-hour shopping; when I asked an information girl what time the store closed, she said 5. Since it was 9 pm when I asked, that answer was a little strange! But yes indeed, the high-rise department stores close at 5 a.m. We had some kimchi (cooked cabbage in red-pepper sauce), noodles, KFC, and of course, Starbucks! Here's Jackie and I during late-night shopping:

We also saw a lot of temples and palaces. Quite interesting, and very ornate! However, I can't help thinking that European cathedrals and palaces from the same age are more impressive. But maybe I'm biased... Here's a nice shot of the emperor's palace:

There are more pictures or our trip on links to the right. Just a few, since I'm more into video than still photography anymore. Sorry!

As far as shopping is concerned, I'm embarrassed to say I was the big winner this time around. Not only did I find a nice Detroit Lions jersey for $9, but much more impressively, I found these:

Actually, it was Jackie who found them. Well, "tripped" over them is more true-to-life! We were walking along, looking for interesting things in different booths and vendors at a giant flea-market in the dirty streets, and stumbled upon these books.

I know, I know...so what?!? What's the big deal? Well, it just happens that these are THE standard modern commentary on Scripture, the International Critical Commentary on Scripture. Not that they're perfect, but they're almost always to be referenced and are a great starting point in understanding modern interpretation of the Bible. These volumes, new, typically run anywhere from $60-$110 apiece. It's a set I hope to buy a piece at a time, throughout the remainder of my brief existence. Even used, in less-than-great shape, they run about $40-$80 each. I got all twelve of these for $40 total; they're in immaculate condition, and 8/12 of them would have been my first choices. I don't think they've even been read; just a little dusty from sitting on somebody's shelf. I believe I could've gotten them for much less had I not started hyper-ventilating right there in the street. The shop-keeper, obviously ignorant as to what these books were, was clued in to their value by my ridiculously undisciplined reaction. So, when I asked how much, he reached for the stars and asked for $50 for all twelve. My blood pressure went up even more. Unable to contain myself, I made a weak counter of $35. We settled upon $40, and I couldn't shell out the Korean Wan fast enough. So, to sum up the story, I got about $900 worth of books for $40. Unbelievable. Evonne said I made that shop-keepers night. Let's just say it was a win-win situation!

And boy, they sure were heavy to lug around! But it was worth it. Every sore muscle and knuckle was worth it. The girls found a few small things, but were a little disappointed that they didn't find something special as well. Maybe next time!

Jackie and I thought Korea seemed much more nice, over-all, than Japan. It was a little more chaotic and dirty, but there was much more open country-side, the streets were nice and wide, and the city was more well-organized and open than Japan's crazy, crammed cities. The Korean people seemed much more socially comfortable and free than the Japanese, even if they were a little more brash and noisy. Also, they have a lot more western influence and restaurants. To Jackie's delight, we saw no less than 4 Outback restaurants in the city...and conveniently, there was one within easy walking distance from our hotel. It was a much-appreciated meal for the girl who lives for cheese and fried stuff. And I have to admit, that Outback Special steak tasted pretty good.

Next week, we're taking Evonne to Kyoto. We'll have much more news and pics for you then, I'm sure. Have a great week, and enjoy living in America!

Hooray!

We're very excited to tell everyone that I (Jeremy) have been accepted to study at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York City! I'll be in the Master of Theology program, studying early church theology under Fr John Behr. For those of you unfamiliar with Eastern Orthodoxy, here's the link to the seminary's website. From there, anyone interested can get a basic overview of Orthodoxy and what they believe.

Here's the link: http://www.svots.edu/

Just for the sake of experience, here's a picture of the Orthodox liturgy, as celebrated in the chapel at St. Vladimir's...

I enjoy many aspects of Eastern Orthodoxy, and am very excited to study under Fr John. He's Oxford-educated, and one of the best in the field. I have been in contact with him for over 2 years now, and he's already been of immense help and guidance to me, both personally and academically. I am very fortunate to be able to study under him! This truly is my ideal situation for advanced study; I couldn't ask for more. The MTh is a 2 year advanced research degree at St Vladimir's, and hopefully, 2 more years at another school will add up to a PhD in Patristics (a fancy name for the study of the church fathers, or earliest, most important theologians). My field will be Historical Theology, and if all goes as planned, someday I'll be a professor of Church History and/or Historical Theology.

I wish to thank all of my friends and family who have believed in me, supported me, encouraged me, prayed for me, and put up with me over the years. It would be a very lonely life without you all, and I love you very much. And thanks most of all to my wonderful wife Jackie. She's the one who has to put up with me when I'm stressed out, confused, sleepless, excited, etc. And she's a wonderful listener, as I'm always talking to her about abstract and obscure things most people will never even think about, let alone obsess over as I do. I couldn't have asked for a more patient and supportive partner.

In other news, this week we're flying to Seoul, South Korea for some sight-seeing and shopping with our friend Evonne. We'll hopefully have some pictures up soon. And the week after, we'll be taking the bullet-train (shin-kan-sen) to Kyoto, the medieval capital of Japan. We've heard a bunch of great things about the buildings and gardens up there, so we're looking forward to it. Supposedly, we'll be there during prime cherry blossom season. We'll see!

Thanks for reading!

For Nakahara-Sensei

This post is dedicated to one of my Japanese teachers of English, Nakahara-sensei. She is probably my most faithful reader, and has made several subtle comments about my lack of posting activity. So, Nakahara-sensei, this one's for you!!

Please note, there are new pictures under "Japanese Bliss." To see the pictures, just click on the link and you'll be taken to another page to view all our photos, along with my almost witty comments.

Ok, so here's a superb example of Japanese English:

Isn't it great? I have no idea what it means, either. It's very common to see English in Japan, but whether or not it actually succeeds in communicating is completely another matter. Shirts like this are very common, but we thought this was an excellent example of what is called "Engrish," or Japanese English. And of course we bought the shirt! At about $4, we couldn't refuse.

On a different note, we're discovering Spring in Japan. It's shaping up to be a beautiful season, for sure. I've often said Japan isn't the most beautiful country I've ever seen, but to be fair, I have every confidence there will be loads of amazing flowers coming up very shortly. We're eagerly anticipating the upcoming cherry-blossom season, which, I'm coming to learn, is an essentially religious experience for the Japanese people. There aren't any cherry blossoms out just yet, they're not due until the last week in March. But for now, we have some lovely trees blooming called "Ume." It's pronounced "oo-may," not "yoom." I have no idea what they're called in English. I could look it up, but I'm far too lazy. It's much easier to upload a photo and show you...so, here's what it looks like:

Jackie and I went to a big park in our city, to see the ruins of the old castle. The ruins were interesting, but more importantly, we got lucky and saw the beginning of the flower season! They smelled really nice, and there were lots of Japanese around, taking pictures with their camera phones (just like we were). In the photo albums to the right, I've included close-up shots of some ume blossoms in another park...they're not bad photos, but my camera phone likes to blur close-up shots. That's what I get for being cheap and lazy! But a development in the camera department is in the works, so hopefully our photo quality will improve in the coming weeks.

And finally, this past weekend Jackie and I took a trip with some friends to Kagoshima, a fairly large port city on the southern part of our island, Kyushu. It's the southern-most major city in Japan, and just happens to sit right next to a pretty active volcano! We thought that was pretty cool, so here's a shot of the volcano.

And yes, that's steam coming up from the summit. It was a perfectly cloudless day, so that's real volcano action! Stupendous! Fantastic! Sensational.

Other than that, we continue to do average things, like eat at KFC and meet friends at Starbucks. We occasionally get drenched riding our bikes to the train station or work in the pouring February rain. I recently showed up to work with my pants sticking to my legs and my air dripping like I'd just gotten out of the shower. The vice-principal had a good laugh at my expense. Of course, I'd been aware it was raining and packed a pair of dry pants to change into, and the hair dried out nicely, just in time to have a party with some 7-year olds. I found out, not only can I juggle TWO bean-bags, but I can also catch a ball with a cup-on-a-stick. The kids were ecstatic. I thought they were easily impressed.

In a couple weeks, Jackie's best friend Evonne is coming to visit! She'll be staying with us for almost 3 weeks. We're very excited to show her around our city and town, meet our friends, and just see her reaction to such a foreign place. We've got a trip to South Korea in the works, as well as a trip to Kyoto, the medieval capital of Japan, and by all accounts one of it's most beautiful cities. I'm particularly looking forward to seeing some old temples, shrines, and castles. We even hope to get lucky and spot a geisha! But that's what everyone says when they go to Kyoto, and not all see their hopes come to fruition. We'll see. Rest assured, if I can get a picture with a real geisha, it'll be on this blog, front and center. If you don't know what a geisha is, Google it. It's a rather long explanation, and I'd get it all wrong anyway.

We have about 20 weeks left in Japan, so we're trying to make the most of our remaining time. It's a little difficult to keep perspective, as Japan feels so normal right now. It's America that seems exotic and far away, and Japan feels so "everyday" and un-exceptional. But, this is where one has to rise above one's circumstances and see the truth: very soon, we'll be back in America, and Japan will be a distant memory. We want to be sure we do it well, and make the most of our time! We'll never have this opportunity again, and it's more important now than ever to maintain a proper perspective.

That's enough for now, I suppose. Enjoy the new pictures, and have a great March!