More Great Stuff

Hello Everyone,

Hope you are all doing well. Keep the emails coming!!! Things are good here. It is Sunday night for me around 10pm. Since the last blog, I have had some pretty sweet experiences and am learning a lot.

The first one is back to baseball. I know I blog a lot about it, but man, joining this club has been incredible for me. We had a game on Tuesday and won by a landslide. Our team played very well. I was excited because they moved me to playing first base and batting 3rd! I went 2 for 2 with a double a single and a walk so I was pleased about that. But then something else pretty cool happened. At first I was pretty ashamed of this because I felt it was unnecessary and unsportsmanlike but after a chat with the mother she gave me a different perspective on it.

Anyway, what happened was a guy hit a little trickler in between first and the mound. The pitcher went to get it but stumbled so the guy was safe. I went to help our pitcher up and picked up the ball; what a perfect opportunity to try the hidden ball trick!!! The coolest part about it was that the pitcher and I have a bit of a language barrier but he understood what I wanted to do. He played it off beautifully and the second the guy took his lead off I tagged him out. Wonderfully executed but at the time I felt terrible.

The reason was that we were already up 14 to 1 and pulling that was not cool in my mind. I have been loving the vibe of the game and the respect the players have for it and felt that I dishonored that. But the good mama helped me realize a few things. First of all the guy who we got out came up to me after the game with a smile and shook my hand so I don't think he was too hurt about it. And also, it was a good play and in a way it could be cocky and rude just to let up and take it easy on them since we were winning by a lot. Anyway, not really a big deal but I think it is important to look at myself in sports; I can really learn a lot.

So that was Tuesday. Then on Wednesday I went to the Seder in Seoul. This was awesome. As you may or may not know, it was being run by Chabad. I got there and found a table with some young people at it which was neat. There was also an Israeli guy at my table here on business. In total, there were roughly 75 people I think in total. But it was awesome because I was celebrating Passover with Jews from all over the world. The service part wasn't even that long. The rabbi that ran it was a neat guy. He traveled here from New York to do it. The rabbi that is actually living in Korea wasn't running it, not sure why. But his wife did hand cook the meal for everybody!!! She made soup, gefilte fish, beef and potatoes, and other dishes. The amazing thing was how many people she cooked for. She must have worked for hours. Oh, on a quick not, their two little children were adorable.

So I was enjoying the time. I had good conversations with the people at my table and definetly enjoyed the beef. But I was starting to feel connected to Judaism in a way that I never have before; this feeling came about more and more. After the meal people started fading out. They had to get back to their home towns as many had to work the next day. But I was staying in the hotel the Seder was held in courtesy of mamabank so I was in no rush. The rabbi running the Seder along with another younger guy, who is studying in Israel specializing in "Koshering" animals and something else, sat down with me for some conversation. Here I was with these two guys whom I would call "hardcore Jews" but found them wonderful.

We talked politics and some other stuff but then got into Judaism. I really like the way Chabad looks at the religion from what i gathered in the short period of time. I first asked them about reform, conservative and orthodox. The rabbi's answer was that he knew no such thing of those words. To him, "a Jew is a Jew is a Jew." A little intimated I made the comment, "I am a bad Jew" because I am not "practicing." The rabbi's answer to this was something like this. "Wait a minute. There is no such thing as a bad Jew for one. And next, look what you have done today. You have traveled three hours by bus and train to come and celebrate one of the most important holidays of the year. What you did yesterday and what you do tomorrow is irrelevant. Today, you did a great thing." Wow! He really put it in to perspective for me. Anyways, I felt very welcomed. I was in a room full of Jewish people from around the world, some read in Hebrew, some in English. But I belonged.

Another neat thing was these caucasian Jewish guys with their Korean wives. I was really wondering if these women converted. If so, then we would have some Korean Jewish people. And speaking of Judaism in Korea, I have found that the majority of people do not know what Judaism is. But before the Seder started there was actually a Korean TV station there doing a program about Judaism or something. So they are making an effort to learn about it.

Perhaps the best lesson of the night though was the idea of the fifth son. When the four questions came up the rabbi brought up the idea of the fifth son who is not listed at the table in the Haggadah because he is still "out there". In the conversation with the rabbi, he talked about this more and from what I understand that is Chabbad's main mission; to get that fifth son back to the Seder or Shabbat, etc. If you ask me, from only one short night I think their approach is a good one. They helped this Jew not only feel connected and welcomed but really proud and honored to be Jewish.

So the next realization I had is that I have come to Korea and connected with things that are very important to me and are attainable back home, mainly baseball and Judaism. I find it interesting that pulled out of my comforts of the Western World and immersed in another culture I have connected with those things, while experiencing new things as well. It has ben a great combination so far.

Continuing on, friday we went on a field trip. Although it was a little overkill on the driving, about 6 hours in total on a bus, the trip was neat. We went to a traditional Korean Confucian school that is not active but open for visitors like us. We had a traditional lunch, had to follow their rules, made Korean cookies, and copies of designs the old fashioned way. It was a good exprience but sitting on the floor not being allowed to lean against anything sure did suck. Unfortunately I did not bring my camera so I don't have any pictures.

Anyways, those have been the highlights since the last blog. This weekend was good. Went out in Seoul last night and then to see my friends of Bill today which is always so wonderful to connect to. I am off to bed soon as I am quite tired. Hope you all have a great Sunday. Happy Easter to those celebrating.