A Special Place and Being a Part of Scholarly Discussions in English

A good Canadian guy had a birthday today which calls for a proper celebration, so I'm getting to this blog a little late, but here goes:

In most of the places that I've lived I've had some kind of 'special' place where I can think, run, pray, and just be.  In Hagersville it was the quarry (probably the ultimate special place); at Calvin it was a spot near the Sem' pond; there were a couple places in Gallup; and now I've found 'my place' here in Pohang.  Just across the main road is a forested hill, a couple blocks long and wide, that I've mentioned earlier.  Since I got here, I've wanted to 'explore' it, and a couple weeks ago I finally did.  In it, I found a really great trail and quite a few burial grounds (which I shouldn't have been too surprised about.  Anywhere there's an 'open' space, there seems to be burial mounds, whether it's right in the city, or in the middle of a paintball course).  It's really a beautiful, quiet place and perfect for running.  It means a lot to me that I have a place where I can somewhat get away and just sit, or run.

This past Saturday I had an interesting experience.  A while ago I had gone to an 'English Club' where Koreans come to learn English from any English speakers who are willing to join.  There I met a Korean guy who's English name is also Michael.  He's an interesting guy; he's friendly and I think I like him because he seems to smile a lot more than most Koreans (he also has a pretty funny laugh).  He's unemployed, which I think is quite rare for a Korean (job status is a big deal here).  Anyway, I ran into him recently and he invited me to hang out with him and a couple other Koreans on Saturday.  I agreed, and the resulting occasion was interesting for me.  I went with him and his friend, who's also unemployed, to Postech, a university just outside of Pohang.  There we sat in a room with a couple others and just talked/debated - in English.  We talked about two things: first we talked about North Korea and the issues involving South Korea's relationship with them; then we talked about the culture of eating dog meat that is found in some areas of Korea.  I learned quite a bit about both topics.   I felt like an invited guest to a scholarly discussion.  But for them it was totally natural.  I think the main purpose for them is to practice their English and so any time they can coax a native English speaker into their circle, they jump on the chance - which was fine with me.  It was a good experience and I think it demonstrates how important learning English is Koreans of all ages.  One of the guys was taking time away from his wife and kids to be there.  Then on Sunday Michael came to church with Natasha and I - kinda cool.

So that's what's going on here.
Thanks for reading.
Michael