CONTEMPORARY EUROPEAN CINEMA SERIES

Where: Busan Cinematheque

When: May 7-23

This month, the Busan Cinematheque is running a series of films by contemporary European directors. Unfortunately, it’s a pretty sad sample and most of the continent’s greatest working auteurs are conspicuously absent. Apart from the “Four Seasons” by Eric Rohmer (who, as of January, can sadly no longer be called a contemporary), the only film worth checking out is Bela Tarr’s “Werckmeister Harmonies.” Clocking in at a mere 2 hours and 25 minutes, it’s much less of a commitment than sitting down to watch Tarr’s other masterpiece, a 7 and a half hour beast of a movie appropriately entitled “Satantango.” Other than the obvious difference in length, both films share a unique vision of the world that translates on-screen into pure cinematic bliss. But unless you’re brave enough to gamble 8 hours of your time on one of my recommendations, I advise you to start with the considerably trimmer “Werckmeister Harmonies”.

Films With English Subtitles:

A Summer’s Tale (Eric Rohmer, 1996)

A Tale of Spring (Eric Rohmer, 1990)

Werckmeister Harmonies (Bela Tarr, 2000)

Smoking (Alain Resnais, 1993)

No Smoking (Alain Resnais, 1993)

The Secret of the Grain (Abdel Kechiche, 2007)

Games of Love and Chance (Abdel Kechiche, 2003)

Eccentricities of a Blond Hair Girl (Manoel de Oliveira, 2009)

Another snaggle-toothed Tuesday in Busan.

Everything is just so damn annoying here. Probably just me. Could change my name to Morrie and be a Tuesday person, but I’d lose major imaginary street cred.

I was having a minor breakdown last week about being back and decided that I wasn’t drinking enough/hungover enough at work to induce the proper zombie-like state required for mouth shitting out hagwon curriculum. It actually worked pretty well, but I’m getting long in the tooth to be hanging out in bars all the time. Not my cup of Creedence. Much more apt at pubs.

Pubs, to me, differentiate themselves from bars in being tenaciously anti-social. This isn’t strictly true, if you sit AT the bar, you’re inviting all sorts to come and converse. Sort of like chat roulette, but with less “I’m Turks!” No, I prefer the abused varnish, scuffed up chairs and semi-social collectives gathered around to worship the foundation of civilization, ale. Bars have lager, which could be misconstrued for twice used, sans flush, toilet water. I love ale. There’s no ale here. Well maybe in Seoul, but I can’t deal with that much subway/shithop culture.

There are two eternal questions here; What to do and what to eat? Both are pretty ambiguous, in that neither has a real desirable solution. Desirable would be something I wanted to do. Here it’s just killing time. Lot like prison.

I’ve spurned technology in my apartment. Tv’s in the closet, no ‘puter to speak of and I’d buy a cell phone if I had anyone to trade stupid texts with, but to be honest, I don’t. My friends left awhile ago or recently and now I’m trying to sort out what to do without a drinking buddy or few, besides drink alone. Not that exciting thou, usually leads to napping or eggs n toast then napping. Going to give the artsy fartsy a shot ie sketch an hour a day, make some disturbing collages, etc. I inherited all my most recently departed amigo’s tools and I should probably get on fleshing out the chairs I’ve been meaning to build, but that would require a certain amount of dealing with Koreans to buy lumber and I just don’t have it in me anymore. There’s a lot of people like that here, essentially we have no involvement with Koreans other than frequenting their businesses and unwillingly serving as stare-fodder. Actually, I could just steal wood from construction sites (stuff their going to trash anyways) or out of the piles of garbage (mostly particleboard… yuck) or peruse the mountains for fallen branches. Have to wait and see on that one. Inspiration’s hard to come buy here.

Too much internalization.

I’m just gonna get on it, as they say. The only things I’ve ever really enjoyed are creation related. And I gather that when you’re stuck somewhere that culturally makes you want to step in front of buses, the only real option is to make your own culture. I have a little space deemed for occupancy, but there’s no difference between a flat and a studio. Studios just tend to smell more like glue.

And eureka! It has been turned on its head. The hard part is being self disciplined about it. Artists are inherently selfish people I find. Better than musicians thou, insecurity is not becoming. If I ever make it back to grad school I’m going to carry around $100 to pay for every fucking acoustic guitar I smash in public.

안녕하세요.

Hello again everyone. I'm keeping good on my word and I'm writing up this "part II" post to the blog I began Saturday.

Beware readers... long post ahead.

Saturday was an... amazing... day.

I had recently begun to feel a bit homesick. I miss my family, and I miss my friends especially around this time of year when the weather is so nice. I began feeling a bit misplaced. Friday night I went to bed thinking about the awesome summers at home, all of the bike trails, the coffee shops, the pool, the lakes, all the other fun things to do.

That feeling of loneliness also started to close in on me. While I have plenty to keep me occupied during the weekdays, and lovely co-workers to chat with during the breaks at work, I didn't really have anyone to bond with. I haven't been able to make any friends due to my hectic schedule. I'd been searching frantically for groups or activities that I could get involved and help me meet people, but let me tell you guys, that's not as easy as it sounds.

I went to sleep Friday night feeling kind of down, but woke up Saturday with some strange kind of strength. I was determined not to feel blue. If I had to be by myself, I would do whatever it took to make that time totally enjoyable. I woke up at 6:30AM Saturday morning (don't call me crazy, it was great!), piddled around the apartment for a bit, then put on my jogging clothes, laced up my shoes, and set out to the park. No way I was going to spend that gorgeous Saturday morning cooped up in my apartment!

I didn't realize HOW gorgeous Saturday really was until I was setting foot in the park. That place is a little piece of paradise. Green grass, trees, big wild bushes, and one of the most breathtaking mountains views I've ever seen. That scenic atmosphere coupled with the warm sun and the cool breeze gave me some serious energy. My first trip to the park on Saturday was great, but it was my second trip that set the mood for what was to be a truly amazing day.

After jogging for a bit (a lot of power walking too, because I'm so out of practice with jogging) I began noticing a lot of guys in uniforms begin to filter into the park. Soccer players. The green grassy part of the park is actually made up of two soccer fields. Neato! I thought to myself "Hm. Soccer. Interesting sport. I need to be interested in a sport of some kind." So, I made up my mind after my exercise to go home, get clean, and then go back to the park to watch the soccer matches.

About 10 minutes after I arrive at my apartment, anxiety sets in. I'm not much of a "Go and do new things by yourself" type of person. Actually, I get quite terrified for the most ridiculous reasons. I began to second guess returning to the park to watch the soccer games.

"What if there's a huge crowd of people there and I can't find a place to watch, I'll just have to turn around and come back home and feel all awkward."

"What if these are actual games of some kind, and it's not just leisurely playing, and I have to pay to get in? I need so save my money."

"I don't know the first thing about soccer, what if I get there and totally hate it?"

Yeah. These were some of the things going through my mind. But, I still had that curious strength that was telling me to 'quit being a baby' and go.

I kept repeating Eleanor Roosevelt's words of wisdom to myself over and over: "Do one thing every day that scares you." ...or at least makes you feel slightly uncomfortable.

That last straw happened when I was just about to decide against going back out to the park. This thought, as obvious as daylight, came stomping into my mind. "You'll move to another country all by yourself but you won't walk to a park to watch a soccer game? That's weird. That's just plain weird."

Alright, I talked myself into it. Out I go again, armed with a book and some study material just incase I get bored. The first thing I notice upon arriving back at the park, is that there are no observers of the soccer games going on (two, one on each field). The only people in the stands are other soccer players waiting their turn. The people who didn't come out to play soccer are strolling, or jogging, or riding their bicycles. Very relaxed atmosphere. No crowds, no yelling, just people enjoying the Saturday. Score!

I scope out seating for optimum comfort/view and then take the long way around to get to the park benches on the other side of the field from where I am. I take a seat. Suddenly, I notice God.

You think I'm kidding? You've got another thing coming. That one moment, settling down on that park bench in the warm sun with the cool breeze and the shady trees, the mountains looming in the distance against a perfectly blue sky... the presence of God was so blazingly obvious that I think my entire mind shut down momentarily with an overload of 'happy'. I just sat there in complete contentment. I was SO content in fact, that I sat there for over an hour doing absolutely nothing but soaking in the sun and the scenery and occasionally watching the soccer matches going on nearby.

Bliss.

At some point an ajushi (older gentleman) strolled past. He had a mask on his face (to prevent from inhaling dust and dirt) and a tool that looked like a pick axe in one hand. As he past me he turned his head, I could tell by his eyes that he was smiling. I smiled back and he raised his free hand to wave at me. I greeted him and he smiled even bigger, and then strolled on by.

Kindness. It's AMAZING what bit of minute kindness can do to your day. Things were only getting better.

A little later another ajushi on a bicycle stopped in front of me rather suddenly. We smiled at each other and exchanged greetings. Then he asked me if I liked to ride bicycles. Of course! I responded. He chatted a bit more and then he told me that he rents bicycles for people to use. He asked me if I would be interested and I had to politely decline and say "Perhaps another time." I found out later that apparently renting a bicycle for a few hours is free. How neat is that?! So it's actually 'borrowing' a bicycle.

Just a few minutes after this I realized that I was starting to get a little bit uncomfortable. That bench wasn't exactly made of down feathers. So I finally gathered my stuff, got up, and made my way into town. I bought some yummy bread (thank you Paris Baguette for having wheat bread!) went to a little stationary shop and then headed home.

All of this was done before 1:00 pm. I LOVE early mornings!

Cup Overflowing


"God is not a 'just enough' God, he's a 'more than you asked for' God. He's not a 'cup half full' God, he's a 'cup overflowing' God. God's timing is perfect, his wisdom and mercy unfathomable. God is not a 'standby' God, waiting until you call on him before he enters your life. He is ever present, with you every moment, ready to give you wisdom, help, and love that you didn't even know you needed."

As I mentioned earlier, I had been battling the inevitable loneliness that creeps up on you when you're in a new place, adjusting to completely new surroundings with no one familiar about to make that adjustment easier. It hasn't been anything serious, just a little blue feeling every now and then. I was handling it quite well, I think.

However, I prayed that God would send me a friend, someone who I could connect with. Meeting people isn't spectacularly easy in a country where you don't know the language.

In answer to my prayers, God sent me Regina (해리).

Last week Regina posted a message up on Koreabridge about a conversation/culture exchange club that was meeting on Saturday nights. There was a phone number posted and an invitation to call.

Those of you who know me well know that I have a bit of anxiety when it comes to making calls to total strangers. There was even a time when I had difficulty ordering pizza! Of course, It's not that bad now. But anyway... I dialed the number a few times and then changed my mind before finally coming up with the brilliant idea to send a text message.

The response to my text message? A phone call! Regina lets me know when and where the club will be meeting and I'm invited to join! 7:30pm on Saturday night.

Am I excited?

ABSOLUTELY!

Saturday comes around and I make the 50 minute trip to Seomyeon where the club meeting will be held. I get kind of lost, so I call Regina for help and she comes all the way out to where I am to find me and take me to her office where the club meeting will be. As I'm waiting I hear someone call my name and I turn to see this young woman waving and smiling at me. My first impression of Regina? SO CUTE! She had such a big smile on, and she even gave me a hug.

The club meeting was fun, hilarious, and fantastic. I met a lot of kind, interesting, and friendly people. I thought that this was what it meant to be blessed beyond what you asked for. I asked for a friend, and God directs me to a whole group of nice people.

God wasn't done.

Apparently Regina, her brother Aaron, and a few other members live in the same city that I do! What are the chances?! One of the foreign teachers (a young man who was born in Korea and adopted by a family in the US) even lives in the apartment building next to me.

Also, over the course of the evening I hear someone talking about a church that they go to with Regina. I'm immediately on alert. I've been looking for a church, but there are so many here and some of them are kind of strange... so I've been really wary. There are a few English ministries around, but for some reason I wasn't feeling right about those. So, I ask Regina about her church and she gives me some info and then invites me to join her the next day at the 2pm service.

Podowan Presbyterian Church

I could write another full post about Podowan Presbyterian church. It was just an amazing experience. This section is going to be long, but not quite epic, I'll leave some stuff out so family and friends, if you're ready for me to talk your ears off, then ask me about everything else!

I attended the 2pm Korean service with Regina (there are something like 4 services, to accommodate everyone that wants to attend. It's the biggest church in Hwamyeong.) I couldn't understand the sermon, but the pastor was animated, passionate, and apparently really funny because there was a lot of laughing. My desire to learn Korean became even stronger.

My goals with Korean? Know it well enough to attend a university in Busan and understand a Korean sermon. Woo! Can I do it? You bet!

Before the service started Regina helped me fill out a 'guest registry' form. At the end of the sermon the pastor took out some papers and Regina turned to me and said "Okay, new members are going to stand up now."

What?

Stand up? As in, in front of hundreds of people stand up? HA! I'm already blushing, but I tell her "No no, maybe next time." thinking that all guests were to stand up together all at once. I was wrong. They called out each person individually. Right after telling Regina I would stand up next week, I hear my name. I freeze. I can feel my face getting red as the pastor calls my name again and looks around. By this time half of the congregation have turned around to look for me, and have found me.... because my name is definitely foreign and I'm the only blonde in the room.

The people who have spotted me are smiling, it's probably impossible to miss that I'm embarrassed with as red as my face must have been. The pastor calls out my name one more time and I stand up half way and give a weird, awkward little wave. I sit back down quickly and take a deep breath... but it's not over! A young woman comes to our pew and hans me a little bag with some things inside and asks Regina and I to follow her. So we stand up, again, and follow the young woman out.

We're ushered to a room where all of the other guests and new members are. The pastor enters and calls everyones name out again and speaks with them a bit, I'm sure asking questions about where they're from and what not. He gets to me and all I can do is smile and try not to look as awkward as I certainly feel. BIG smile from the pastor and he shakes my hand and says "Welcome". He and Regina speak for a bit and then off I go to speak with the people at the English ministry.

The English ministry people are kind. But I can't help but think that the English ministry atmosphere wasn't what I was being lead to. It was nice, at least, to know that they were there. I also got to meet another really sweet girl named Shelly. She's from Chicago originally and her parents are both Korean. She's also here teaching.

After meeting the English ministry people a new group of us all head off to the College meeting which is just like a Sunday School class. Children's Day is on Wednesday, so there was a lot of discussion about children in need throughout the world. I couldn't understand what was being said, but the slide show was pretty self explanatory.

I'm looking at the slide show, the slide changes, and all of the sudden there's my name up on the screen. "Audra from the USA". My reaction? UUUUUHHH?!!!!?!?! I blush five shades of red again as everyone turns in their seats to look back to where I am. All I can do is smile and wave again. This time I don't stand up, I don't think my legs would have supported me. That much unexpected attention is pretty surprising.

But, I enjoyed being there with all of the other young adults. It felt good to be surrounded by people around my same age with a heart for God.

After that meeting we break off into small groups. Regina takes me to her small group where I meet four other young women. They are SO kind!!!!! Go Eun is the group leader. She's a molecular biology major at a University preparing for entering Med-school. Her English is actually pretty good, and she's so sweet. They include me as much as they can in their study, ask me about my prayer requests, and then ask me to pray (I pray in English and Go Eun translates). Close to the end of the small group Regina asks me if I would like to attend the evening service too.

My response. Sure!!!! We have a bit of time after small group before the evening service so some of our small group meet up with Shelly and a young man about our age to go eat.

After dinner we all headed back to church for the evening service. The evening service is full of singing, music, and a variety of praise that really kept me smiling and made me positive that God filled that place and everyone knew it. There was a children's group that came to sing and I recognized one of their songs.

"Oh how he loves you and me.
Oh how he loves you and me.
He gave his life, what more could he give?
Oh how he loves you.
Oh how he loves me,
Oh how he loves you and me."

I almost cried.

Then I almost cried AGAIN when a young woman came up to play the violin. Readers, she MUST have been famous because she was INCREDIBLE! I have never heard, and I mean NEVER, someone play an instrument like this. Even seeing fiddle players and what not in Branson and at shows... they couldn't match her, not even close. She was so passionate, and she moved with the music, it was SO amazing. One of her songs even made people cry. Her tone was perfect, on key, notes crystal clear. Every time she played the high strings I got goose bumps. It was phenomenal.

More singing again, and then the service ended.

Shelly and I say goodbye to everyone. Regina heads home, and Shelly and I go to Lotte Mart. We chat for a bit and express how glad we are to have someone to chat with in English. Then hugs, and Shelly goes home and so do I.

Later that night I get text messages from people telling me that they're glad to have met me. I feel completely happy.

So what about this cup overflowing thing?

Okay, so, I pray and ask God for a friend.

God answers my prayer with:

*Regina
*Aaron
*Go Eun
*Shelly
*The girls from my small group (Their names are hard to remember! But I WILL remember them!)
*The people from the culture club
*And... on top of all of that... a church home for me in Korea.

Consider my cup overflowed! ♥

To my family and friends in the states: I miss you so much! But I'm doing great, so don't worry about me! Smile a lot!

To my new friends here in Korea: I feel so blessed to have you in my life!

To my readers wherever you are: I hope that you're healthy and happy and enjoying life!

Until the next blog!!!

Your blog host,

~Auggie