The Beauty in Language Barriers

Okay, so it's obviously been way too long between blogs. My apologies. I'll try to do at least one blog every week or two. I'm so busy! I'm way busier than I ever was at home! It's crazy! I'll start with the language barrier, as it's fresh in my mind due to the events of this evening. Other subjects such as simlarities, differences, and general reactions will follow at a later time. Not two months later, I promise.

Language Barriers-As frustrating as they often are and can be, I have to say there is a bit of beauty embedded within them. I noticed this when I visited Finland as well. Over broken grammar and slaughtered words, somehow the point gets across on both parties' sides. This happened most recently this evening, when my co-worker Hannah and I went to the convience store for some post musicing snacks.
Hannah plays violin. The problem with playing violin in Korea is that noise becomes a factor when the majority of the population, English teachers included, lives in apartments. As it happens, Hannah and I live next to a church with what I have deduced to have a fairly active youth group. There are always Korean teenagers playing ping pong, basketball, and musical instruments. Fortunatly, Hannah is a clever character and decided to ask if she could practice her violin in the room in which we always see the kids hanging out in. (There are glass doors to the building that we walk by, hence the visual knowledge). As I was walking home from church this evening, I glanced down and saw Hannah sawing away through the glass doors. Admittedly, seeing all the teenagers jamming out and playing games always makes me want to hang out with them. Hannah was my in. (There is nothing like working with pre-schoolers to make me miss teenagers) I walked in a began talking with her, and some of the kids (high schoolers will now be referred to as "kids") said hi and chatted a bit. Now, having left my guitar and mandolin in the good ol' USA, I have really been jonesing for some frets. So I asked who the guitars belonged to, asked if I could play, and for the next hour and a half or so I dinked around and sat with what I presume to be a big stupid grin plastered on my face as my fingers revisited the strings of a guitar. There has been an incredible lack of music in my life in Korea, recorded, live, and my own, and that 90 minutes elated me. I'm still on a bit of a high.
The youth pastor came in to lock up, and I took advantage of talking about youth ministry as well as some common worship songs. A few weeks ago, as I was walking outside, I heard the worship band of this church playing a David Crowder Song. The lyrics were in Korean, but I recognized the melody, and that in it self was a beautiful thing. His English was broken, but we understood each other, sang a bit of a common song in our respective languages.
Back to the convience store. As I said, we had just finished playing our stringed instruments and were in need of nourishment of the snack persuasion. We went to the convience store on our block, the GS25, (which shall herein be lovingly referred to as "the GS") and some folks from the church recognized us and said "hi!" Even if they speak not a single word of English outside of "Hi", Koreans generally greet us (white folks) with a warm "Hi!" One of the kids was there as well as bid us goodnight as he left. (Sidenote-walking into the GS is always such a pleasant experience as when the door opens it doesn't ding like most gas stations back home. Rather, it plays the tune of "It's a Small World," or other commonly known songs that I can't think of at the moment)
The girl at the cash register, whom I've seen several times before but never talked to, was wearing a necklace with a wooden cross. She said something in Korean and Hannah and I looked at each other and shrugged, having no idea what she said. I pointed to her necklack and gave a thumbs up. She said something again, then said, JeJus something and pointed to her heart I think, which was really sweet. Then she said "My uncle (something in Korean)" Hannah and I shrugged again, but then I said "Pastor! I bet her uncle is a pastor!" By this time she was looking up a word in her electronic dictionary, handed to us and there on the screen was "pastor." Her uncle is indeed a pastor. Between context and, even more so, just being human, we understand one another and I think that's a really beautiful thing.