In Case of Emergency

Seoul is empty. The Lunar New Year is a bigger deal than Christmas, and everything closes down for a couple of days so that people can go be with their families. They flock to the city outskirts and countryside, leaving me to roam the streets in an eerie and cold silence. I've never seen my neighborhood so dead, or so white. It has snowed the past three days, and I happened to get caught in one of the most ferocious of falls. Snowflakes the size of my ears. My toes were numb and my face felt like it was going to chip off, but beautiful nonetheless. It reminds me of snowfalls when I was younger, where I would miss school and soak my clothes through before curling up under the blankets to inhale hot chocolate and read Little House on the Prairie.
This past Saturday I somehow ended up at a temple sitting on the floor across from this older woman talking about Buddhism and making a Lotus Lantern. My Lotus Lantern turned out quite nice for being as inexperienced as I am, but our conversation left me a little dissatisfied. She asked me one of those questions most 24 year-olds struggle with and I certainly need a heads up on: "Who are you?" Well, gee. I only had one cup of coffee this morning; that's more like a 3 or 4 cup conversation. Seriously. And its like 10 degrees outside. I gave the most simplistic and confident answer I could: that I am a child of God, and I try to live each moment with my actions and decisions, remembering that little bit of information. That was all I really had right then. She then asked if I believed that God was the creator of all things? Yes. Okay. Then she informed that she used to be a Christian, went to missionary school, and then became a Buddhist. She began telling me a number of things about Buddhism, which I welcomed because quite ashamedly, I know little about the faith, and I must admit, that there are some valid beliefs and practices. Who can argue with needing to shine light into darkness, erasing ignorance, giving up your own desires and having compassion on others? It was one of those moments I really just wished I would have more of my own creed available in words, I guess. I blame the fact that my leg was going to sleep, and I was intently trying to glue vibrantly colored petals together. I wasn't prepared though, and I should be prepared to tell what I believe in, whether its my religion or my political standings or my favorite music or why I choose North Carolina over Duke. Fortunately, she's there every Saturday so that may be an ongoing effort.