Just writing to let you know that we're HOME!  We made it safe and sound, and we'll be compiling our pictures at the start of next week. 

Hopefully we'll be in the news or on FUNet in the near future, and if anything like that happens we'll link it on this Xanga.

~Monica Handa

Hey there!  I apologize for not writing until now, but with all of the interviews and tours and just taking in Korea, it's been hard to get time on one of the public computers.  Anyway, I have been having an AMAZING experience and am so thankful to Furman, The Riley Institute, and the VTM program.  It seems like the other folks have been keeping you up to date on a lot of the people we are meeting, but I thought I would write a quick note about some of the interesting cultural experiences we have had the past couple of days. 

For the first part of our trip, most of us were concentrating on just the basics--like eating entire meals with stainless steel chopsticks (which is more difficult at first than one would think) and bridging the language barrier.  Now that we're nearing the end of our visit, I feel like we have had so many incredible opportunities to be immersed in Korean culture, I hope that I get to return someday to travel the country more widely.  Yesterday my group traveled with the spouses of the APEC CEOs, and we participated in a traditional Korean tea ceremony, saw a re-enactment of a traditional wedding, and explored a street market. Although all of the speeches and fancy dinners have been interesting, and I have greatly enjoyed the opportunity to question business leaders in an open forum, these are the types of experiences I will remember when the name of the Chilean diplomat or the Australian businessman fade from my memory with time.  I somehow managed to fold my 6' tall frame into a low kneel to drink tea with the spouses of the world's business leaders.  We got to try on the beautiful Korean traditional dress (Monica ended up in the Queen's outfit--lucky girl!), and play with the little children that always seem to be running around together after a wedding, whether it is held in the U.S. or Busan, Korea.  We've been joking about how some parts of Korean culture have been a little difficult to adapt to, like the fact dessert here is nearly always fruit (some of us are serious about our daily chocolate intake) and a dish of spicy, pickled cabbage is served with every meal, but I think other cultural elements of Korea I would be able to quite easily adapt to.  For instance, when walking around the street market, men would call out to us "You are beautiful!  I love you!"  I personally think that tradition would make a trip to the mall much more enjoyable if it was carried over to the States. 

In all seriousness, though, I have had not only a lot of fun but also many meaningful experiences.  I've learned more than I ever dreamed about trade, globalization, and APEC as an organization and had the opportunity to meet interesting people from around the world.  Well, I have to get going to another interview, but I hope the next couple of days are as enjoyable as the rest of this trip has been.  As much as I have been enjoying Busan, I still look forward to getting back to Furman an seeing everyone again!

Take care,

Jen Holden

I can't believe today is the last day of the conference! 

Just a quick recap of what we've done so far today (it's 10:42 am here in Busan): 
  Breakfast with Vicente Fox (President of Mexico)
  Address by Ricardo Lagos (President of Chile)
  Address by John Howard (Prime Minister of Australia)

Our own Nadia Savova even asked President Fox a question! 

We'll be having a traditional Korean lunch, visiting some traditional markets (including the fish market), and returning for the CEO Summit farewell dinner tonight.  At the dinner there will be a performance by APEC participants for the CEOs as after-dinner entertainment.

Tomorrow we'll get to tour Busan on our own and meet with a US Ambassador to Korea.  Then on Sunday we have our loooooooooong flight home, and we'll be in Greenville in the afternoon.  Even though we've had a week full to the brim with interviews, cultural experiences, and addresses by influential political figures, it's still amazing to think that it's almost all over.

Time for more interviews and lunch now--we'll be seeing you soon.  I can't wait for Thanksgiving dinner!

~Monica Handa

This place is great!

Yesterday, my group was able to experience some tradition Korean culture with the spouses of the CEOs and APEC leaders. We went off to Busan Women's College and had a traditional tea cermony. The spouses and us students were able to try on traditional Korean costumes prior to the peaceful tea cermony that took place afterward.One thing I have learned about the Koreans is that they like to take their time with their culture and not rush it all. After the tea cermony, we went to another learning center within the College to experience a traditional Korean wedding ceremony.

The women at the Busan Women's College treated us like almost royalty for the day. When we left our first site, there were people lined down the sidewalk to greet us. But the coolest part of all were the kindergarten students who were playing the drums in costume for us. I can see how Korea is able to produce masterminds of technology because they start the discipline at such an early age. These kids were adorable and gave us a little performance befor the wedding began. It was really interesting to see the traditional Korean wedding practices. The bride never sees the groom until they are off at their honeymoon spot, they do not speak their vows, and instead of slauting the bride with a kiss at the end of the ceremony, the husband gives his new wife a piggyback ride out. We found that to be humorous. Our guide was sure to tell us that Korean's no longer practice arranged marriages, except for those families which are really stubborn.

After the wedding, which the Mayor of Busan's wife attended, we were able to try the different teas. Sooo good! As we stood out in the courtyard area, we were asked to take pictures with the children who performed and then there were the girls of the Women's College. They were so fasinated with the guys from the Mexican delegation as well as the blond hair blue-eyed All-American boy- Chris Schoen. That was pretty funny! After the experience at the college, we went out for yet another traditional Korean meal and then we were able to head to the markets.

At the market we caught up with the spouses again, but in many ways had paparazzi followiing us around. This made it incredibly difficult for some of the spouses to baragin because with cameras around snapping pictures, it was clear that they could pay full prices for those items. As far as fashion, Korea is pretty much like the States. After the market, we took at walk to one of the parks and I finally got up enough courage to speak with two of the spouses that I had sort of admired all day. They were wery, very friendly women and one was actually from Texas.

Meeting people is what I have enjoyed the most. I hung out with some of the Canadian delegation and was able to meet Adriana Lever, one of the 6 women who are apart of the ABAC. Can you believe that 6 out of 63 members are women?! She introduced us to some other people. At the start of dinner, I met one of the contacts I had with the US State department, which was fun. But, the best part of the day for me was when I was able to chat again with one of the CEOs from Citigroup.The one-on-one conversations is what I have enjoyed most here. And was unique about our conversation was that I met Mr. Andrews the first day that we were at the Lotte Hotel and he remembered me. We did talk at the end of the evening about how I was the only African-American at the APEC summit and how interesting that was. Ok...well, Condi is here too, but who really gets to see her. hahah =) Just kidding.

Anyways, this was typed quite fast and I will spell check later I promise. We have another interview in a little bit, so until my next post have a great day!

--Christina Henderson

This here is a quick one, as I am writing this running to another interview. It is Friday morning and we just came out from PRESIDENT VICENTE FOX's speech, my hands still shaking since I got to ask him a question on the microphone in front of all those CEOs and political leaders, but I think the Bulgarian upbringing has trained me well to survive in critical situations! 

From my experience working for the OAS in Washington and for the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education on a joint project, I pointed out Mexico is a leader in the Americas in the area of intercultural education and scholarship opportunities for minorities, asking him what role he sees for the education and cultural preservation to play in the formation of Mexico's young generation in moving the country forward along the path of liveralization it has chosen. President Fox's response was imbued with energy and inspiration, with the belief that broadening educational opportunities is one of the main facets that would harness and fully develope the immense human potential of his nations, and I myself have experiences every word he said.

However, I have also lived the extreme poverty that still plagues many areas in Mexico, and the injustices in the Chiapas area with the unequal government treatment of the Zapatista movement for indigenous rights. More government commitment to the roots of national identity and the land rights of its 62 different ethnic groups needs to be integrated into a comprehensive development plan for Mexico to advance in the world. And it is a country of truly beautiful people, to whom I wish the freedom to expand and enrich their potential.

KISSSSSSSSSSSSSES!

Nadia