Simon

Last December there was a knock on our door and this wonderful man was standing there with a gift for the Millers, the BYU couple who lived in our apartment last year. Jane was here and recognized him and we invited him in a visited. He became very close to some BYU teachers a
few years ago and researched to find out what makes they special. He had to go to Hong Kong last year for some business and so while there quickly took some lessons and took care of some other necessities and now shares the most precious thing to me. We have become friends and
although we have only spent a few days around him and can not discuss common beliefs it's like family in a special way. Yesterday we went to him home town and spend the day with him.

Greater Qingdao covers a very large area. The area that he is from is a 40-minute ferry boat ride across the Yellow Sea to an arm of land called Yellow River. What a pleasant change and beautiful surprise. I have known of it all year but just assumed that it was more of the same. Apparently it was a fishing village until 1989 when the first huge factory was built there. Now much of it is an industrial area. When the winds are high or there is too much fog the ferry can't run so the government is building a huge underwater tunnel with a speed train so people will be able to get from Qingdao to Yellow Island in about 10 minutes. Presently there are ferry's full of people and cars going back and forth all day.

These star fish were just lying out drying as we got off the boat. When we went through the gate there was a girl sitting with a pile of them selling them. I don't know what they do with them and didn't get a chance to ask.

Simon was able to borrow his father's car for the day and it was great. I would never have tried to see the areas that we did by bus or without a local. We drove through a rural area with just small villages to a beautiful national park. I believe I was able to triple or perhaps quadruple my daily dish of stairs in the process but it was gradual and had landings about every 10 stairs so it wasn't too bad. The area was beautiful and I couldn't believe I was still in what many refer to as Qingdao. Where we are in the heart of 7 million this was so peaceful.

We were not left without the opportunity to enjoy some Chinglish.

Included in this park is a newly remodeled Buddhist Temple. Apparently it is one that monks are pleased to be sent to because of the beautiful area and the air conditioning in their living quarters.

For lunch we went to KFC. Out in front were these 24 accordions and some of the owners. I was sad that we weren't able to hear them play. They were the first accordions I have seen in China and I have never heard more than 2 play at the same time.

When we walked in Simon was happy to introduce us to his sister who we met by surprise. She is a professor at a University there and just got married this last October.

When you ride down a street in Qingdo there is always traffic. Usually there are about 5 lanes of traffic on a 3 lane road. We have NEVER seen beautiful wide roads with light traffic like we saw all day. Even when we went downtown it was more like being in Provo than Qingdao.

Before we headed back home we visited a very famous beach called "Golden Beach". It truly deserved its name. The sand was beautiful and golden. They had tents to rent, I guess if you want to get out of the sun, put a baby to sleep or something. There were these big circular balloons that you can get into and roll around in the waves and something like water bikes. It was foggy and windy when we were there so there was no one riding on them.

I took this picture just as we were getting back to Qingdao. We were glad that we left when we did because it was getting very foggy and we would hate to have been stuck there.

Mike has spent much of our time here looking for a hand operated cobbler's sewing machine like we often see on the streets here. Because it has no motor you can set it up and use it anywhere. It is great for stitching leather and other heavy materials and would be handy in a shop. We have had Simon and four other Chinese friends looking for places to buy them.

Simon had really done his homework and found a store that sold them in Yellow Island. He had spent most of a morning earlier in the week locating the store (it was in an apartment building so not in the place you would usually look for it.) Mike and he were in the store for over 2 hours because the first one they got out to give him wouldn't work. I sat in the car with our friends, the Shields and made plans for a trip to their place and time share in Canada in September. (Mike will learn to leave me with time on my hands.) I'm really very glad that he found one, that it is in a nice box to get home and that he has something different that he really wanted from China.

Korean Ward Conference

Today we went to Ward Conference with the Kangs. The building is, like the Temple, just squeezed in between other buildings. The chapel and recreation hall are on the top floor and Stake offices, Primary, YM/YW, etc. are on the stage and downstairs. Everyone was SO kind to us. They bowed when they met us and made us feel needed and welcome. After Church they had a huge lunch and had us eat first since we were leaving for the airport.

They had a special musical number sung by a very famous Korean tenor. He is 79 years old and sponsors music festivals and is one of the top names in music in Korea. His grandfather was the first member of the Church baptised in Korea. I had an interesting experience. He came with no music and the Kangs came to me and asked if I could transpose a hymn that he wanted to sing into another key. I tried to explain that it takes me hours to do so with all of the parts etc. and then someone said, "Can't you do it on the computer?" I remembered that I have changed the key on many primary songs on LDS.org so I had them bring it up and I was able to find it quickly. It was interesting to hear him belt out a hymn in full volume and fun that I was able to help.

The little girl in yellow just kept coming up to me and hugging me. I couldn't resist bringing her home in picture.

Duck!

From there we went to a special restraunt where he had made reservations for roast duck. Every table had a grill where they brought hot coals and a grill and you cooked pork slices of the roasted duck, mushrooms, garlics and other things. There were many, many sauces and relishes and you would pick up a piece of lettuce, put duck and/or pork into it with onions, garlic and whatever else you want and then roll it up and eat it. We were happy that Sister Kang's parents who also had been in our Branch in Qingdao were able to join us. Again, most of the seating was on cushions and in private rooms but we sat at tables.

April 19th Korean Revolution Memorial

We picked up Mike and Roger and headed out toward the area where the Kangs live. In the back yard of their place is a mountain and just to the side of their place is this memorial. Students in Korea rebelled against the corrupt government and many were shot and killed. They won, however, and this memorial is in their honor. It was an amazingly peaceful and lovely place. In all of Seoull this was my favorite location. The city is so crowded and was extra packed on the roads because Friday was Budah's birthday but this was a quiet, peaceful spot.

Here is some information about the revolution:

Marking the 50th anniversary of the April 19, 1960, pro-democracy revolution, the people should remember that democracy in the Republic of Korea is not something that was simply transferred from the West or bestowed by a democratic government. The flame of the revolution was lit by high school students in Daegu Feb. 28 that year, or 51 days before the movement started. Educational authorities forced students to return to school to block them from attending outdoor election campaigns on a Sunday in 1960, but students took to the streets to protest anyway. On the day of the presidential election March 15, when the ruling Freedom Party committed systematic illegal activities, a massive protest rally was held in Masan, South Gyeongsang Province. News then spread April 11 that the body of a 17-year-old high school student, Kim Ju-yeol, who was killed after being hit by a tear gas bomb in the eye at a demonstration that day, emerged from waters off the port of Masan.

After demonstration at Korea University in Seoul April 18, protest rallies were staged across the nation the next day. When college professors took to the streets, holding up banners reading “Compensate for student bloodshed” April 25, then President Rhee Syng-man announced his resignation the following day. As the public and professors joined a movement for justice initiated by students, they brought down a dictatorial government that sought prolonged rule through illegal elections. In the course of the campaign, however, 186 people were killed and 6,026 injured. This was a sacrifice for democracy and a “revolution through bloodshed.”

Yoo Se-hee, former chairman of the civic group April Club, said, “The democracy movement of the Republic of Korea started with the April 19 Revolution,” adding, “The revolution was an incident that showed the world for the first time that the Korean people have the capacity and will to embrace democracy.” He said this in his keynote speech at an academic conference marking the 50th anniversary of the revolution hosted yesterday by the club and the Korea Political Science Association. Public recognition of democracy has significantly increased and democracy started to take root after the revolution, so the revolution was the country’s first landmark incident in the successful national quest for democracy through struggle.

The Dong-A Ilbo also added momentum to the revolution. The newspaper carried in-depth reports on the rally in Daegu Feb. 28, and unearthed secret plans for illegal election campaigns. When Kim’s body emerged from the sea, Dong-A was the first to report this to the nation. Cho Yong-jung, former president of Yonhap News Agency who was a Chosun Ilbo reporter at the time of the revolution, said, “After an exclusive report by The Dong-A Ilbo, other newspapers scrambled to report on a secret police order for illegal election campaigns.” He said this at an April 7 seminar on the revolution and media hosted by the journalists’ group Kwanhun Club.

The revolution proved to be short-lived and incomplete due to the coup d’état of May 16, 1961. Its spirit was transferred to the pro-democracy movement of the 1980s, however, enabling the Korean people to realize democracy at long last. The country has had five peaceful transitions of government since 1987, meaning procedural democracy has taken root.

Honey Candy!

Korean Wedding Parade

On Saturday morning Mike and Roger took a bus tour to the DMZ and Jane and I went to a traditional shopping street with the Kangs. These pictures are of a staged wedding ceremony with parade, the groom and finally the bride in the box with tassels. It was a fun street with lots of ceramics, clothing, traditional items and high prices. We picked up a few things but mostly just looked. The Kangs took us to a noodle place where we had bean noodles, cold noodles and an interesting and quite good noodle soup.