what i think i like about Korea - take one

i never thought i'd say this, but:

1) bidets. there's nothing nicer on a freezing day than to pull down one's pants (and multiple layers of long underwear) and to plant the hiney on a nice, warm toilet seat. My workplace has one. So do nicer restaurants and retail establishments.

2) Anglicized Korean. in other words, the popular usage of English terms in the Korean language. actually, this is one of those things that really breaks my heart. sometimes I wonder if Korean vocabulary is on its way to extinction. instead of a nah-moo-jip (Korean for 'tree house"), these days you'll see it written out in Hangul as te-lee hah-woo-se.

but i did put this on the "what I think I like" list for a selfish reason. it's easier for me. for instance, when i first arrived in Seoul, i was trying to stock up on supplies. i picked up something pink wrapped in packaging, but couldn't figure out what it was. thank goodness for Anglicized Korean. the package was labeled in Hangul: sha-wuh tah-wul (shower towel). i bought it.

but aside from the convenience it bestows upon me (not having to learn Korean vocabulary), and that Koreans are "sorta" learning English in this manner, i really think this co-option of the Korean language is tragic.

3) technology. i think Koreans have Americans beat hands-down when it comes to technology. have you ever walked into a U.S. bank to open a new account and walked out with an ATM and/or credit card ready to use? none of this "it'll be in the mail in 7-10 business days" funny business. and if i want to pay rent, i can just go to an ATM and transfer funds into my landlord's bank account. just.. like.. that. or if i owe my friend some cash, same thing. easy as pie.

it also took me approximately 45 minutes to buy a cell phone. that's from walking in, picking out the phone i wanted, choosing and setting up my phone number, getting it activated on the desired plan, and walking out the door with a charged and activated brand new handset. it cost me 50,000W (less than $54) to buy a nice compact slide-open handset with a ton of features (MP3, Korean-English-Korean dictionary, schedule planner, games, camera, etc.).

4) being green. i love that most grocery and general merchandise stores charge you for shopping bags. in other words, BRING YOUR OWN. i also love that you can buy refills of laundry soap, shampoo, air freshener, etc. in plastic bags. i mean, the brand-name stuff like Dove, Pantene and Febreze. i've always been curious why we need brand new shampoo bottles every time we use up the previous batches. what a freaking waste.

5) lockers. everywhere. chicken or egg, not sure. but lockers everywhere mean that people are more mobile to travel by foot, bus and subway rather than feeling like they need their automobiles for portable storage.

6) dental hygiene. okay, this is might not be a Korea thing. it might be specific to the capital city, but it appears that people are avid brushers in Seoul. it is not uncommon to see people brushing their teeth after meals in restaurants, at the workplace, etc. i'm a huge fan of good dental hygiene, so this one makes the list.

on a different note, i saw "The Last Empress" this past weekend with Alan and Katelyn at the National Theater of Korea. it is a Korean musical about the... well, last empress of Korea. She is a historical figure who has gone through as much turmoil after death as in life, due to the much-divided sentiment of her role in Korean history. she has been both criticized and revered as being the real power behind the throne in the final years leading up the Japanese annexation.

the musical, while simplistic in its historical presentation (most likely for wider audience appeal), was a treat to watch from cultural and entertainment standpoints, incorporating singing, dancing, swordsmanship and acrobatics.

Alan, Katelyn and i are going to see another cultural performance next Thursday (27th) at Sejong Center of the Performing Arts: "Grand Presentation of Korean Traditional Dance". seeing as i have never seen a full-on professional Korean traditional dance performance, i'm super excited!

posts are a-comin'

i'm in an apartment of my own now. pictures, descriptions and further news will be coming next week.

meanwhile, this is a bookmark for updates:

1) i moved into an apartment
2) i'm working two jobs right now, about to be three
3) my apartment got broken into (the first full day i was there)
4) i'm going to travel again for 3 weeks to Thailand & Laos (leaving late January)
5) i'm most likely going to stay in Asia longer than originally planned

sleepy head

i like to document things while i travel. i keep a strict money diary (down to the cent), which tells me a ton of things: where i stayed, how i traveled, what i ate, what i saw, etc. so in my first installment of my money diary, i want to share how i slept each night - and what it cost me.

10 Oct: BEIJING/Elaine's apartment (on the college campus where she is teaching); Y0
11-12 Oct: BEIJING/Parents' apartment (owned by a church); Y0
13-14 Oct: BEIJING/Elaine's apartment; Y0
15-18 Oct: BEIJING/Parent's apartment; Y0
19 Oct: BEIJING-XI'AN/Overnight train (soft sleeper); Y405/2 (sleep + transport)
20-21 Oct: XI'AN/Hostel (private ensuite/shared bathroom); Y158 (x2)
22 Oct: XI'AN-CHONGQING/Overnight train (hard sleeper); Y191/2 (sleep + transport)
23-25 Oct: THREE GORGES/Cruise ship; US$350/3 (sleep+transport+tour fees)
26-28 Oct: SHANGHAI/Tram's apartment in Pudong; Y0
29-31 Oct: HANGZHOU/Hostel (4-bed female dorm room); Y50 (x3)
1-4 Nov: SHAOXING/Heng-Hartses' apartment (provided by the university where they are teaching); Y0
5-7 Nov: HONG KONG/Couch-surfed (floor of a couchsurfing host); Y0

total: Y764(US$101.87) + US$116.67 (1/3 of cruise) = US$218.54. not bad for a month's worth of sleeping!

twice during my trip, i stayed with strangers. the first time was in Shanghai, wherein i stayed with a younger sister (Tram) of a Seattle friend (Mai). i stayed there for three nights and was hosted graciously by Tram and her fiance, even though they were both super busy running the Chinese headquarters of the his family business and preparing for their wedding. (they were leaving for L.A. a few days after my departure.)

staying with Tram in Shanghai was a quite interesting affair. first of all, they live in a very fancy apartment a block away from what will be, for a few short weeks, the tallest building in the world (World Financial Center). to give you an idea on how fancy the place is, there are no key or code entry for the apartment - only fingerprint. secondly, there wasn't a spare bed - so i slept in the window alcove (that was comfortably cushioned) of their office. a unique arrangement for sure, but the cool thing was that i had a view of Pudong from my "bed".

my second round sleeping with a stranger was via Couch-Surfing. i got turned onto the idea when i got concerned about the guy who was subletting my apartment. i wanted to make sure that my departure in early October wasn't too late; that he had a place to stay in the meantime; perhaps like my former subletter, he was staying with friends. so i asked him if he was couchsurfing.

he answered, "no, but i did that in Europe!"

huh??

so couch surfing is a real thing - not just something you do with friends when you get in a fight with your parents or partner!

the basic idea is: you log onto a site, search for cities where people are offering up their couches (or in this case, a floor), contact the individual and ask to be hosted, and then sleep on a couch. the intention is to be an open community of hosts and guests - to be a host and to be hosted.

anticipating that Hong Kong would be both overwhelming and expensive, I decided to give it a shot while there. (i had the money to stay at a hostel - even a hotel, but i wanted to try this method of lodging.) So before i even left Seattle, i contacted a woman who was offering her floor. she had similar demographics as me: single, in her late 30s, social worker, living in a tiny apartment in the city. we emailed back and forth over the next few weeks (she was in Croatia traveling when i first contacted her), making plans for my arrival (which was always in flux since i wasn't traveling with an itinerary.)

despite some minor trepidation (it was my first time couch-surfing; it was her first time hosting) about inviting/staying with a stranger in a strange city, we hit it off splendidly. she was extremely accomodating (even taking some time off from work to host me). she got to practice her English with me, and i got to learn about/experience H.K. from a native's perspective. it was a wonderful experience, and i'm hooked to this cross-cultural exchange idea. moreover, lodging didn't cost me a thing! (i did treat her to a couple modest meals while we were out together, but the cost was significantly less than what i would've paid for lodging. anyway, i wouldn't have gotten, what was essentially, a native tour guide in the mix!) we are now Skype and Facebook friends too!

when i return to my own computer (i'm in a PC bahng right now), i'll post pictures of Fong and her lovely apartment. needless to say, couchsurfing was a resounding success!

static

apologies for the radio silence. i've been sick on and off since i was in Xi'an four weeks ago. it's taken a turn for the worse in the past few days, so writing is a mental chore.

thankfully, i went to the hospital this morning. i've been reassured that i'm not dying and that many drugs will help me get better. the hospital visit: about $16.50 (less than my Group Health co-pay); four different drugs: about $12.50 total.

China/Hong Kong trip

04-05 Oct: Seattle to Seoul
10 Oct: Seoul to Beijing
12 Oct: Tienanmen Square, Forbidden City, Wangfuxing
13 Oct: Walking tour of Central Beijing (with Elaine)
14 Oct: Walking tour of Back Lakes area; Beijing opera (with Elaine)
16 Oct: The Summer Palace
17 Oct: Happy Birthday, Elaine Magil!
18 Oct: Great Wall of China
19-20 Oct: Overnight train to Xi'an
21 Oct: Xi'An - Big Goose Pagoda; Muslim Quarter
22 Oct: Xi'An - Banpo Village; Terracotta Warriors; overnight train to Chongqing
23 Oct: Chongqing; board Yangtze River cruise boat "Three Kingdoms"
23-26 Oct: Yangtze River cruise (Chongqing - Yicheng)
26 Oct: Three Gorges Dam (Yicheng); bus to Wuhan; flight to Shanghai
27 Oct: Shanghai - The Bund; China Sex Culture Museum; Nanjing Road; Pudong
28 Oct: Shanghai - The French Concession; Renmin Park (People's Square); Shanghai Museum; Yu Gardens
29 Oct: Hangzhou - Leifeng Pagoda
30 Oct: Hangzhou - Biking; West Lake; Yellow Dragon Cave Park
31 Oct: Hangzhou - Biking; Lingyin Temple
01 Nov: Hangzhou - China National Tea Museum; train to Shaoxing
02 Nov: Walking tour of Shaoxing - Fushen Park; city square
03 Nov: Shaoxing - Orchid Pavilion; Canal boat ride; historic district walk; Night market
04 Nov: Shaoxing - KTV
05 Nov: Flight to Shenzhen; Light rail to Hong Kong; Victoria Peak/Tram
06 Nov: Hong Kong - Lantau Island; Po Lin Monastery; Night market
07 Nov: Hong Kong - Sai Kung
08 Nov: Hong Kong to Seoul

a weekend in Shaoxing

this is an entry that i never finished or published while in Shaoxing. but since it's half-written, i may as well post it...

-----------------

it's an overcast Sunday morning in Shaoxing - perfect for coffee, a New York Times crossword puzzle and lounging around. the Heng-Hartes and i enjoyed glorious weather yesterday by spending the day (mostly) outdoors. we embarked late (so we thought) for the Orchid Pavilion (10 km away) and were pleasantly surprised by an essentially empty site. we explored paths that led us to different delights (pavilions, ponds, museums, wildlife, etc.)

after we having a pleasant lunch at a semi-hidden restaurant, we were shocked at how populated Orchid Pavilion had gotten in 45 minutes. there were tourist groups everywhere, complete with the sea of matching red caps and tour guides' megaphones!

beautiful Hangzhou

i spent 45 minutes earlier this afternoon writing a post, and then somehow lost it. i think i wrote some interesting stuff about Hangzhou, its beauty and its sights - links and all. but alas, all gone!

i'm staying at the lovely West Lake Youth Hostel right on West Lake, the major attraction in this gorgeous city. it's across the boulevard from Leifeng Pagoda, which has a long history - both real and mythological. a famous legend/opera about White Snake Lady takes place in Hangzhou/West Lake/Leifeng Pagoda. Elaine and i saw a scene from this legend at Beijing Opera a couple weeks ago.

this morning, i rented a bicycle from the hostel to explore the scenic area - lake, pagodas, tree-lined boulevards, arched bridges, ponds, temples... (yes, a very romantic city). i had intended to go out for the entire day (weather forecast: sunny and 70 high), but it was foggy and chilly the entire time - visibility close to nothing. then it began to rain around noon.


after trying to ride it out (pun intended) for a couple of hours, i gave up and returned soaking wet to the hostel in the early afternoon. i had intended to leave Hangzhou tomorrow for an mountain island, Putuoshan in the East China Sea (about five hours away by bus & boat), but i've decided to stay here another day instead. the forecast tomorrow is supposed to be warm and partly cloudy. one can only hope that the weather will be better than today.

interesting sight of the day: an italian olive oil specialty store & hair salon. i kid you not.

this hostel is clean, comfortable and has a lot of character. it, however, does not have good food. after a bland and disappointing dinner last night (cheese sandwich with fries) and an equally bland and disappointing breakfast this morning (congee and fried egg), i was in search of FLAVOR. so lunch today was a McDonald's cheeseburger and fries (salty goodness), which almost hit the spot. but i must've not totally sated my desire for flavor because this evening, as i was wandering around, my eyes fell upon an Indian restaurant and i made a beeline for it.

i don't know if it was an appetite borne out of the biking/hiking i did today or if it was just that good, but i ate the entire order of naan and chicken tikka masala. it felt like the most delicious meal i've ever had in my life. i was in gastronomic heaven!

sadly, i've not been totally in love with the Chinese food i've had in China. so far, nothing in my travels has come even close to the delicious, spicy food i had in Thailand - of which i still remember and dream. food in Vietnam and Cambodia was okay; food in China has been okay. tonight's Indian food (in Hangzhou, CN) was fantastic.

there's a VERY cute little resident black puppy in the hostel. cute and little (about 9 inches long) are the operative words. when i was on the internet this morning, he stole one of my slippers.

i'm heading to Shaoxing in a couple of days to visit Joel & Sarah. we actually got a chance to hang out a bit this weekend in Shanghai; as it turned out, we were visiting the city at the same time! we got a chance to ooh-and-aah over the dazzling and strange Shanghai lights at night. somehow beautiful in an eerie way... J & S, after reading about my hot pot woes in Chongqing, have promised me a hot pot night in Shaoxing! i'm very excited... i think some tasty hot pot will make a positive dent in my Chinese gastronomic experience.

i have just nine days left in China. my last significant stop is Hong Kong out of which i'll be flying on November 8. i'm feeling sad about leaving because i've so loved being here and exploring the country, but i'm also excited about starting the next phase of my sojourn in freezing cold Seoul.

they don't use that word anymore

i am back on land after a very foggy, three-day cruise on the Yangtze River through the Three Gorges. i had hmm-ed and haw-ed about spending the money for this excursion. it cost me about $400 for three nights & three days by the time gratuities and expenses were factored in. this was not a "backpacker's" expense...

but in reading about the trip through my trusty (not-so-much) Lonely Planet, i couldn't pass the opportunity by - and to do it comfortably. so i bit the bullet, forked over the dough and booked the trip.

let me tell you, it was SO worth it! if you get a chance to go to China before 2009, DO THE YANGTZE RIVER CRUISE. there are less expensive options, like passenger boats and Chinese tour boats - but for me, paying extra for the convenience of having everything organized/prepared (including English-speaking guides, shore excursions, and full-on delicious Chinese spreads) made the trip relaxing and enjoyable. don't get me wrong - i also enjoy trying to figure local things out (refer to previous post re: taxis), but well anyway, do this trip.

the three gorges in between Chongqing and Yicheng are famous not only for their beauty and mystique, but also for their endangerment. with the construction of a dam in the 80s, the water level rose significantly - displacing villages, towns and people. it also shortened the height of the three gorges. in 2009, a bigger more powerful dam is set to be completed (it will be the largest, by capacity, hydroelectric station in the world), raising the water level another 20 meters. 1.2 million more people have been or will be displaced/relocated. i was able to capture some pictures wherein you can see the old village - and the new village being built on top of it.

oh, so the title of my post...

i bought a half-cabin, which meant that the cruise company matched me with another single female passenger. fortunately, my cabin mate was English-speaking - and a lot of fun! she was a Chinese tour guide for a group of 35 older Australians, so i ended up hanging around the Australians a lot, which was also a lot of fun. three of them were celebrating anniversaries during the 3-day cruise: 43 years, 49 years and 50 years! wow! (picture: Three Gorges dam)

anyway, one of these older Australian ladies asked me at one point in the trip what i did for a living. for simplicity's sake, i always say that i'm a social worker. (i am, of course - but for most people that conjurs images of welfare workers, case managers or the like. rarely does someone think of a community advocate, a non-profit administrator, a researcher or a public policy analyst. but anyhow...) she responded in a genuinely curious voice, "so do you work with Negroes? or with Asians?"

ten years ago, this would've sent me in a tirade about something or other. five years ago, i would've turned red but not said anything. i think i'm getting to the point where i'm better able to distinguish someone's intention and respond appropriately. seeing as i was from a different country and a fellow tourist like her, i didn't want to embarrass her; she obviously didn't mean any wrong. so i smiled and said that i worked with immigrants and refugees.

but i was secretly thankful when one of her fellow Aussie tour mates gently said, "they don't use that word anymore..."

traveling alone in China

today is the first day that i have not enjoyed being in China. Chongqing has not been as easy to navigate as Beijing or Xi'An, leading to some frustrations inherent in traveling to a place wherein one doesn't know the language. i wished earlier to have a travel mate with whom i could share my confusion.

so i'm sort of an obstinate traveler. well, actually i'm sort of obstinate, which bleeds into my traveling habits. i refuse taking taxis when i think public transportation is just as good. unfortunately, i don't know the language or the cities i'm visiting, so it requires a great deal of energy to find the right bus (if i do find it).

this morning, i could not find the right bus from the train station to the bus dock. i walked around, waited, got approached by a zillion "drivers". in a huff, i even thought about walking (which i discovered, after finally getting into a taxi, would've been a HUGE mistake). needless to say, there was no way i could've navigated the city to find the boat dock. to drive the point home, however, the taxi driver did try to convince me that i owed her double the fare.

Chongqing's air is bad. i thought Beijing's was bad, but Xi'An's was worse. i thought Xi'An's was bad, but Chongqing's is worse. visibility here is about 100 feet. there's no skyline because the smog completely obscures the view. i blew my nose a couple hours ago, and well - it was bad.

Chongqing is famous for Hot Pot. Mmm... HOT POT. unfortunately, this is a dish best experienced in a group (skewers of veggies and meat simmering in spicy broth, much in the fashion of shabu-shabu). i had planned to have hot pot while here, but honestly it doesn't seem that fun having it alone - even in the city from whence it came.

tonight i board the "Three Kingdoms" boat for a three-day cruise down the Yangtze River. internet access is available on the boat, for a whopping $11/hr. needless to say, i won't be writing again until the weekend after i reach Shanghai.

cheers from China!

Xi'An and beyond

Xi'An is a wonderful city wherein the old city walls are still intact and in use. it's geographically logical - centered around the Bell Tower and extending north to the North Gate on North Street, east to the East Gate on East Street, etc. my hostel, Xiang Zi Men Youth Hostel, is right on the South City Wall - about 2 minutes' walk to the South Gate.

it was a wonderful place to stay. when i changed my reservations from dorm room to private room (because i got sick), they put me on the third floor where there were the least number of guests. it was very peaceful for someone who unexpectedly stayed longer than hoped in her room.

the building itself is gorgeous. when i get a chance, i'll post pictures of my hostel. yes - my hostel was picture-worthy...

i got to see the Terracotta Warriors earlier this afternoon. actually, i almost went yesterday - trying to take the city bus. i wasn't feeling all that great and after a number of taxi drivers harrassed me while i was waiting for the city bus, i decided to go back to the hostel and try again today via arranged tour. i was feeling rather tuckered.

i'm quite glad i did because it was much less crowded today (Monday) than it would've been yesterday (weekend). anyway, i was feeling more energetic and even met some nice fellow travellers on the tour: three guys traveling from Sweden (via the Trans-Mongolian Railway), two women from Scotland (also traveling via the T-M R), two women who studied in Manchester together (one from Norway; the other from Mexico City), an Australian woman who's on her 8th month of travel (just one more to go) and an older Pakistani couple.

so this emperor who commanded 720,000 workers to build an army of Terracotta Warriors (complete with weapons, chariots, etc.) was a bit crazy. he not only spent 40 years of his living years creating a whole other kingdom to rule in his death (his mausoleum is the largest in the world), he also "protected" his mausoleum with a zillion booby-traps including a lake of mercury - which is why his mausoleum is yet to be excavated. it is said that he drank mercury with the belief that it would give him long life; historians believe it's what contributed to his madness. that being said, Emperor Qinshihuang also conquered six nations and is responsible for unifying China and starting the Qin dynasty. numerous people cruelly died during his rule - either as subject or as foe.

i'm disappointed that i didn't get to visit Mt. Huashuan while i was here. illness kept me close to my room. but i'm looking forward to my next leg. the overnight train to Chongqing (aka Chungking Express) leaves here at 10:26 p.m. i will arrive in the morning, will check out the city for a few hours, have famous Chongqing hot pot and board a small cruise boat in the evening. then i'll spend the next few days traveling through the gorges on the Yangtze River. i have heard it will be a sight to be seen, and unforunately soon to be destroyed once the Three Gorges Dam is complete and the entire area is flooded out.

speechless

as i go throughout the day absorbing Beijing, there are a million things i want to blog about. i think to myself: oh, i can't forget to blog about this; i should share that. but when i get myself in front of a computer, i find i haven't the interest to write. perhaps it is an urge to just inhale...

what i can say is that i'm thoroughly enjoying my time in Beijing. it is both ancient and modern; communist and capitalist. it reminds me a lot of Seoul - with a much sloooooower relaxed pace, which i appreciate.

meanwhile, more photos at the previous posts' link and here:


Pictures: 1. Forbidden City; 2. Hall of Embracing the Universe (Summer Palace); 3. Sunset at the Summer Palace

a penchant for the comrades

so it occurred to me recently that this is the second Communist country that i've visited this year. since i am wholly fascinated with this side of history, i'm thoroughly enjoying absorbing communist culture: wide boulevards, exquisitely planned and manicured parks, populist slogans, the works.

so this is the thing about China so far. i can post, but i cannot actually see my blog. web addresses to ...blogspot.com seem to be blocked. so is BBC News, which is another one of my frequented websites. i, of course, being the impatient person that i am, find all of this quite frustrating.

also frustrating, not being able to speak or read Chinese (duh). although, i'm slowly picking up super basic words. okay, i learned just one new word in the last week: 42 (s - sh- Er).

also not cool: kids peeing & puking in public - not discreetly. yesterday afternoon, we saw a mother help her not-so-young son (maybe 5 or 6?) pee on the public sidewalk near Tiananmen Square. this morning, we saw a mother help a little boy pee on the subway platform. that's right; ON the subway platform. as we crowded onto the subway car, we could see the yellow puddle where thousands of people would walk after we were long gone.

but other than that, i'm having a blast. Elaine and i are to depart shortly to the Beijing opera.

more to share...

plus PICTURES

Korean diaspora

after spending the first night with Elaine, i took a taxi to where my parents are staying in Wangjangsan area. as it turns out, it's essentially like LA's Koreatown - except in Beijing. the businesses are run and/or staffed by Koreans, the products are Korean, the services are for Koreans, even the prices are Korean (meaning high by Chinese standards).

my parents are staying in a nice two-bedroom apartment leased by their home church in Seattle. this apartment is available to individuals/couples who want to spend time in Beijing to worship, study, evangelize, whatever. my parents are spending a month here meeting with local church leaders, taking seminars, going on walks and getting every-other-day massages.

so far, i've had a full body massage and a foot massage. lovely.

Beijing, here i come...

i have never been to a city as populous as Beijing. i also read recently that breathing Beijing air is the equivalent of smoking four packs of cigarettes a day. this should be interesting...

thankfully, i will be splitting my time in Beijing with two parties whom i know well: Elaine (former colleague) and my parents. it will allow me to settle into the Chinese culture/language/surroundings with familiar faces.

how my parents ended up in Beijing in October, exactly the same time as me, is a random coincidence. our sojourns were independently and blindly planned of each other's intentions. there is some discussion about possibly taking a quick side trip together before i leave the Beijing area and head south.

but first, Elaine. this darling woman, with whom i've grown to love and respect in the time we worked together, will be waiting for me at the airport and saving me from total culture shock. she, the tiny Jewish-American she is, speaks Mandarin fluently.

cybercafe

it's 2:10 p.m. on Monday afternoon in Seoul. after a delicious meal of yuk-gae-jang (spicy beef soup), i'm now in a cybercafe known in Korea as a PC bahng; this translates literally to "PC room".

this brings me to another point: Koreans are more PC-dependent than Americans, meaning there is little in the way of Apples here. i was at a coffeeshop last night wherein i saw a young Korean woman with a MacBook, but it's an unusual sight indeed.

PC bahngs are everywhere - even more numerous i believe than no-rae bahngs ("singing rooms"; or in Americanese, private karaoke rooms). what you'll typically find in these cafes are: blackened windows, black lights, decently large flat screened monitors, high speed internet connections, 80% males ages 14-30 playing online computer games, and the random female gamer or plain email/internet user. each station has its own set of speakers, so you can imagine that the place is LOUD with "bang! bang! kapoom!!"

gaming addiction is a problem here in Korea. however, this is among the more innocuous addictions facing Koreans these days. there are also not-so-hidden addictions associated with alcohol, gambling and sex. so pervasive are Korean addictions that they are, in many ways, incorporated into the culture here. the sex trade is hardly hidden. blatent drunkenness hardly raises an eyebrow anymore either.

at least in public, the women in Seoul seem surprisingly tolerant of the sex-, alcohol-, gambling- and gaming-oriented culture, mostly indulged by Seoul's men. most women respond to these topics with a shrug and a "hal-su-up-ji-mo" ("what can one do?"). there seems to be a mutual understanding that this culture is about working hard and "playing" hard.

i'll have to come back to Korea's work culture, but something i read this morning in the Lonely Planet Korea: within the top 30 world economies, Koreans take first place for number of hours worked per year.

safely arrived

i arrived safely into Korea last night. the weather is good: 70s and sunny. this is a nice change from the too-early winter that is currently descending upon the PNW. i left Seattle in long underwear; i arrived in Seoul shedding layers.

with severe lack of sleep and a 16 hour time difference to blame, i'm in serious jet lag mode. a mid-afternoon nap is in order, so i will write a more detailed post in the next couple days.

the art of packing

i do not possess this art. the art i seem to possess instead is the art of re-packing, which i did three times last night.

the first time i packed, i didn't get all my stuff in. not by a long shot. this was rather discouraging because i thought i had condensed and planned well. i had already eliminated much unnecessary packaging and placed things into Ziploc bags. i also pared down my books to about 1/4 the original list, painfully taking out book by book to make more room and less weight. but since it didn't all go in, i emptied and sorted all the luggage contents onto my apartment floor.

come to find out, i am a terrible packer. among the luggage contents were a sock and a gloves without matches and a belt to a jacket i had already decided not to take. i had also packed shoes i liked, but hardly ever wore - even in the U.S. so into garbage bags these went (to store, not to discard).

three successive repacks later, i managed to shed about 25-30 pounds and about 2.5 cubic feet from my luggage. i tried to use the list/principles of OneBag, but alas - i have many excuses: work clothes, play clothes, 100+ degree clothes, -20 degree clothes, everything in between clothes, plethora of western medication, and requests from abroad.

Asiana allows 50 lbs per checked bag (maximum two). I'm still nervous...

take two, part two

so this is it. the year is different, but the season is the same. in 2005, i returned from Thailand on November 8 and settled into a life in Seoul. this year, i arrive back in Seoul from Hong Kong on the exact same day. the plan is to teach English during the winter quarter, study Korean, write poetry and freelance articles, deepen relationships, study and practice the discipline of contemplative prayer, save money, and travel more when the quarter is over.

as i said, this is Korea: Take Two. maybe God will let me know why i was led there two years ago, and why the experience was so drastically different from my expectations. maybe this sojourn is a bookend - which side of the story, i'm unsure.

Korean winters are cold - not as cold as Siberia, but definitely colder than Sarasota, Atlanta and/or Seattle. i still have my winter arsenal of clothing from last time: long underwear, cotton tights, leggings, down jacket, ski gloves, hats, scarves, wool socks, the works. i'm working on the body insulation; the endless series of goodbye breakfasts, lunches, and dinners are helping - but not quite as much as i'd like.

i have a list of goodies to bring to awaiting folks in Asia. Alan (Seoul) wants a nice bottle of bourbon and power goo for his upcoming marathon. (erm, to be clear - he does not want the bourbon for the marathon. well, actually that's an assumption. one never knows...) Elaine (Beijing) wants instant oatmeal (which was my top desire two years ago in Korea). my mom (Beijing) wants a tube of Sensodyne; the one she brought on her carry-on was confiscated at airport security. she asked me to please pack the new tube in my checked luggage.

one last note before i finish off my task list: i'm going to couchsurf in Hong Kong. yes, i recently learned that there really is such a thing and that it will help me extend my stay in HK to more than 8 very pricey hours. my host will likely be a 38-year-old social worker. upon reading her profile, i thought we might have a lot in common: older, single, traveling, social-working Asian women. (she's currently vacationing in Croatia.) so, yea - couchsurfing it'll be. i'll let you know how it goes...

take two

some friends and i went to see Naomi Klein the other night at Town Hall. this post is not going to be about Naomi Klein and her crusade, but if you at all pissed off about the corporate takeover of the world - or at least your own "village", her material is worth looking into. i read her 2000 book, No Logo, in one sitting; i couldn't put it down...

but anyway, one of my friends (who had witnessed my last departure to Korea in 2005) asked me: "what do you hope to get out of this time?" and almost without hesitation, i replied: "it's Korea: Take Two."

in 2005, i left my job running a local anti-hunger coalition. it was a good job. i had a great deal of room to could shape & strengthen the coalition (which i believe i did); i woke up every day knowing that i was making a difference; i got to do what i did best: build partnerships, collaborate with other passionate folks, advocate for good public policy, educate meal providers on program management and food safety, educate the public about hunger & homelessness, and so forth.

but the work was also tiring. during my tenure, the coalition came head-to-head with the Mayor's Office (which tried to shut down the outdoor meal providers). i spent hours on the phone with partners, media, public officials - and then come home exhausted and in tears. sometimes i just didn't understand how people could be so numb to the realities of a homeless individual. it often felt like we were talking about two different things: they were talking about concepts; i was talking about people.

there were other things going on in my life as well: a spiritual reawakening and a relationship with a man. both of these took up a great deal of brain and heart space. i was exhausted all the time.

after failed attempts at couples counseling, and seeing the coalition through the outdoor meal program project, i felt a calling to go to Asia. (to be more specific, i received a rather clear message from God while in silent prayer - but that's a whole other thread, to be or not to be discussed here.) so i gave notice to my job and made preparations to live in Korea for a year or so.

TAKE ONE - my goals were to:
1) reclaim time with God
2) give the relationship space to deepen
3) make/save money (via teaching English) to pay off school loan
4) travel
5) create time for reading and creative writing
6) learn Korean language and culture

i didn't exactly happen as i hoped. a series of unexpected circumstances brought me back to the States after only five months. i was depressed and dejected, with none of the above having been accomplished. in fact, quite the opposite: i started doubting God (again). the relationship was over. i spent most of my three months' wages on flights back and forth to the U.S. i traveled about 10% of what i had planned. i produced a few very cruddy poems in five months. and i suffered a long miserable winter, cocooned in my apartment.

(more to come...)

the inaugural post

at 5 p.m. today, i depart one meaningful destination (my job as a social worker) and strike out towards another (a 5-6 month soul-making "sabbatical"). 6 days until i board the plane to Seoul...