tea diaries ~~~~~ groooooovy

Liaison at the 포장마차 / bOtTLe caFé, Gwangju, Korea

2011-09-19T05:36:00.000-07:00

Liaison at the 포장마차 (street food cart)

The man was short, his white cap matched his scuffed white track jacket, I think, though I didn’t get a good look at either. He was already done with one stick of 오댕 (processed fish cake) when I turned to look at the couple; his thin lips were chewing, smacking, stuffing the stuff past his teeth. The 오댕 stick was marked on the end with red paint, and it had flaked a bit on the tips of his fingers. He grabbed another stick and I stole a look at his companion. Her hair was dyed a shade of brown/red, the same shade I find my college freshmen favor, finally freed from 6 years of forced middle and high school dress code conformity. She was maybe 42, or perhaps 34, not any older than 45 and certainly not 29. Her shirt was unbuttoned one too many, not totally obvious but certainly adding to a general sort of atmosphere about her. Her hair stood out, mostly tucked behind ears, a few strands escaping at the temples; here in Korea, it stood out in much the same way a belly button ring would stand out on a mom-aged woman back in the States. Her glasses were framed with an ornate, spidery kind of wire that looked like it might frame the borders of the diary of a teenage vampire wannabe. She was the sort of person who you could tell was wearing a lot of makeup from say, 50 feet away, at a glance. The possibility of high boots disappeared under the sheen of gray business pants, and the frills of her white blouse contributed to the overall impression that she was just off work. She seemed simultaneously too well poised and too much sex for this man in the ratty white track jacket, loose khakis and blown out sneakers.

They spoke to each other in clips of sentences. I caught “one more?” as they reached into the bubbling broth for more fish on sticks, piling up spent sticks like kindling in front of them, fueling up for some ferocious activity or perhaps refueling after the same. I noticed the way they conjucated verbs - he spoke in 반말 (informally) and she in 존댓말 (respectfully). The woman at the cart blithely stirred the two vats of 떡볶이, and I munched on my 순대; we all ate around the 포장마차, brought together by the food there glistening, propped up on metal trays or laid out resplendent and magnificent, sugar glazed and spicy and marvelous, a cornucopia of Korean fast food. 닭꼬치 (chicken on a stick) sat lined up like matchsticks, and at their stick/feet sat hard boiled eggs, looking oddly and intensely fertile and glaringly unpeeled and white against the glazed brown of the chicken on their sticks. The man nudged his companion, he was ready to go and started walking, strutting and stretching his legs an impatient 10 feet from the truck; she looked back at him and asked “국물?” (broth?), and she ladled some of the 오댕국물 into a paper cup and he stuck his hand out and had at it, in the same way I imagine a hawk might approach a paper cup filled with broth, if gripping a paper cup was ever a possibility for a bird of prey. She handed the vendor a fiver and grabbed her change over the nubs and nodules of steaming food, and they clipped and scuffed their way down the street behind me.

As they left and I sighed and I took it all in, at all this food filling every possible surface of the transformed rear of this woman’s truck (it was indeed just an elaborately unfolded truck, blocking the end of a pedestrian street in Gwangju downtown), an end of a toilet paper roll serving as napkin/papertowel/whatever else, unfurled a little too much and blowing in the wind, the edge of chill in the late September air breathing a growing reminder of fall weather, and the street itself, this truck food cart in the middle of sidewalk and street with cars rumbling past, neon lights of cafes and banks and shops pulsing and situating the stroller or the street cart eater in the exact center of Korean society, at the epicenter and the keystone of it all, happening all around, as said eater munches on sugary/spicy fare in lieu of dinner. I had a little more broth in a paper cup, paid my 4,000 won (a little less than $4) and kept walking.

bOtTLe caFé, Gwangju, Korea

I was a little hesitant to go in, alone, but something about the gray painted steps and the Spanish music enticed me. The decision was made for me, thankfully, my feet dropped, one in front of the other, all the way up the steps. I nearly don’t remember the decision to just, enter. The music was loud upstairs in the restaurant, it was some sort of Spanish rhythm with instruments I can’t name but would like to. The lights were incandescent and you could tell – the light reminded me of an artist’s loft in a warehouse, or an Ikea, or a Home Depot with smooth painted concrete floors with snaking white cracks built right in, smooth and imperceptible to a finger’s touch (though I didn’t touch the floor, I’m guessing). The clientele was entirely, 100%, Korean girls in their 20s gesturing gently to each other and smiling.

I was greeted by half a dozen servers in white chef’s aprons, befuddled that I was alone but happy to see me. I indicated I wanted to sit at the front, on one of the two chairs conspiring with a couch around a coffeetable in front of a screen projecting some sort of movie featuring an Orthodox Jew shoveling his sidewalk. The sound was off (Spanish music had changed to something reminiscent of snake charmers and woven baskets).

I sat down in one of the chairs, which looked like it might be more comfortable on a porch somewhere tropical, and instantly felt like I was on safari, and knowing that this reaction was very misplaced, I continued to relentlessly believe it. The feeling was intensified by a very odd plant/tree – with a stick of a palm tree’s trunk and what looked like a tiny aloe vera cluster of fronds at the top, the palm-like trunk veering sharply to the right at the top, as if swaying to a windy day in a Dr. Seuss book.

Each and every table and chair in this café is different, and it's intentional. Curved back wooden chairs sneer across a white table at their straight backed metal counterparts. The center cushion of the couch opposite me is a different brown than the others. A leopard-ish print pillow sits against one side of the couch, waiting.

A menu arrives, and I order a glass of house red, and it comes in a kiddie swimming pool a couple of minutes later. I open my laptop to write something else, and then I started writing a sentence or two about this café, and then I couldn’t stop.

This place gives you an entire repurposed wine bottle full of water and a glass to start, and I had slurped ¾ of the way through mine before I even realized it. I guess I’d been thirsty.

P.S. They just gave me free nachos.

Wild Swimming Inspiration - Tad Alang

2011-07-13T00:30:00.002-07:00

My good friend Katy over at Wild Swimming New England has asked for submissions from other wild swimmers worldwide to showcase their favorite natural swimming holes, so although it's been a few months since I was in Laos, I thought I'd blog in more detail about the best wild swimming I've ever done.

The story of my wild swimming experience began with an idea - my buddy Forest and I decided that we'd hire motorbikes and explore around the Bolaven Plateau in southern Laos, since that's what all the backpackers we met in that area seemed to recommend. We had one waterfall picked out, Tad Lo a bit north of the plateau, but as for the rest of the trip we figured we'd head to the city in the middle of plateau, and just ask people what's up.

The "city" of Pakxong was basically one main road with a couple of hotels, a marketplace, and a coffeeshop called simply "COFFEE" in block letters. The Bolaven Plateau, being of higher altitude than the rest of Laos, has a perfect climate for coffee and numerous plantations; the coffeeshop was run by a Dutch expat who hand wok-roasted his own beans. At the shop we found a hand-drawn map to a secret waterfall with a new homestay opened just a month before, plus a few favorable traveler reviews of the place. I took a picture of the map and we headed out immediately. Though to be honest, the "71 km dusty trail" didn't look too appealing.

The road ended up being under construction (in the process of being paved) which was even worse, we were thundering down the shoulder the whole time, sometimes in dust halfway up to our knees. The real fun came though when we came to a series of forks in the road that weren't on the map, I was dizzy with hunger since we had skipped lunch (no villages on the way and we hadn't eaten packed any snacks). We backtracked a bunch of times, and took a road that pointed toward a dam, and finally stumbled upon it.

View Larger Map

To follow where Forest and I traveled, find Pakxong and the three roads leading east. Tad Alang (the waterfall) and the adjoining homestay are somewhere along the middle road, most likely between Ban Latassassine and the edge of the green conservation area.

We knocked on the door of the homestay hut and met a group of French travelers who had arrived a short while before. The homestay owner had apparently driven off to a village to buy ingredients to make them dinner, so there was nothing to eat. Never having in my memory as a child or adult ever skipped a meal, in desperation I went out to the fields around the homestay with my Lonely Planet phrasebook and begged them for rice, but didn't get any offers. Below is me, dirty from the road, in the homestay, and a view from the exterior.

Sugar-high from candy from kind French folk we all decided to hike down to the waterfall while we waited for dinner. It was only a maybe 15 minute hike downhill, through bamboo and banana groves, and then we saw this:

A waterfall probably a little over 100 m tall. For a better perspective, check out this video I shot as we headed back up after swimming.

Following the format of Katy's blog, I'll include some wild swimming details here:

Wild Swim Type: freshwater river / waterfall.
Convenience: 4 hours from a major city by motorbike, 30 confusing minutes from a village with gas for said bike, an easy hike from the homestay, a dangerous scramble over sharp rocks to get to the waterfall itself.
What to Expect: A handful of backpackers, a friendly homestay owner, a somewhat jealous wife when she sees said homestay owner talking with foreign backpackers, various dogs, gorgeous purple flowers everywhere due to constant mist from the falls, in Forest's words, "speechlessness".
Amenities: warm beer a 15 minute motorbike away, homestay bamboo hut, possibly food poisonous salty dinners, no running water, no bathrooms (be prepared to do your duty in nature).
Swim level: advanced due to currents and sharp rocks underwater. Best to swim with your legs in front of you so that if you do get scraped up, it'll be feet instead of stomach. Water though is clear. Resist the urge to get as close as possible to the falls, or if you can't resist, fight that current!!
When to visit: Winter, as that tends to be the most comfortable season in Southeast Asia, though since the Plateau gets colder layers are advised for a good night's sleep.
Why to visit: There's nothing more stunning than a secret enormous waterfall in the jungle.

When I finally got dinner, it was blissfully delicious: cabbage and pork cooked in what we all guessed was pure MSG sauce. I ate about twice the amount that everyone else did, and gobbled up clumps of sticky rice by the handful. That night we drank warm beer we bought from the back of a woman's house in a neighboring village, I pored over my Lao phrasebook with the owner, and we strummed ukulele and sang songs. In the middle of the night I woke up all kinds of sick, possibly food poisoning, and ended up bailing alone at 6 AM to bomb it back 4 hours across the plateau and into Pakse before I was too weak to ride on dusty / muddy (it was raining) roads. Made it back and had the best Indian food of my life for lunch.

If you haven't checked out Katy's Wild Swimming New England blog, and especially if you live in and around the Boston area, you should give it a read!

Lapis Lazuli by W. B. Yeats

2011-07-03T04:25:00.000-07:00

I have heard that hysterical women say
They are sick of the palette and fiddle-bow.
Of poets that are always gay,
For everybody knows or else should know
That if nothing drastic is done
Aeroplane and Zeppelin will come out.
Pitch like King Billy bomb-balls in
Until the town lie beaten flat.

All perform their tragic play,
There struts Hamlet, there is Lear,
That's Ophelia, that Cordelia;
Yet they, should the last scene be there,
The great stage curtain about to drop,
If worthy their prominent part in the play,
Do not break up their lines to weep.
They know that Hamlet and Lear are gay;
Gaiety transfiguring all that dread.
All men have aimed at, found and lost;
Black out; Heaven blazing into the head:
Tragedy wrought to its uttermost.
Though Hamlet rambles and Lear rages,
And all the drop-scenes drop at once
Upon a hundred thousand stages,
It cannot grow by an inch or an ounce.

On their own feet they came, or On shipboard,'
Camel-back; horse-back, ass-back, mule-back,
Old civilisations put to the sword.
Then they and their wisdom went to rack:
No handiwork of Callimachus,
Who handled marble as if it were bronze,
Made draperies that seemed to rise
When sea-wind swept the corner, stands;
His long lamp-chimney shaped like the stem
Of a slender palm, stood but a day;
All things fall and are built again,
And those that build them again are gay.

Two Chinamen, behind them a third,
Are carved in lapis lazuli,
Over them flies a long-legged bird,
A symbol of longevity;
The third, doubtless a serving-man,
Carries a musical instrument.

Every discoloration of the stone,
Every accidental crack or dent,
Seems a water-course or an avalanche,
Or lofty slope where it still snows
Though doubtless plum or cherry-branch
Sweetens the little half-way house
Those Chinamen climb towards, and I
Delight to imagine them seated there;
There, on the mountain and the sky,
On all the tragic scene they stare.
One asks for mournful melodies;
Accomplished fingers begin to play.
Their eyes mid many wrinkles, their eyes,
Their ancient, glittering eyes, are gay.

Dunkin' Donuts, Korean style

2011-04-29T01:15:00.000-07:00

Carrot donuts, spinach donuts, glazed tofu, and broccoli. Boston, are you ready for all that??

Engagement rings

2011-04-28T05:01:00.001-07:00

Our engagement rings are in! We ordered them a little while ago, and they just came in. Perfect.

So, how did I pop the big question to Hanna? Here's what happened. Ages ago when I was visiting this beautiful girl on Jeju Island, I was just hanging out for the summer but Hanna was working hard hours at an after-school academy (학원). On a particularly rough day, we went out for a drink afterwards, and I happened to tie a napkin around her finger to cheer her up. She loved her napkin ring so much that she ended up saving it, I think she even has it in a box somewhere back in Jeju.

So April 10th was her birthday, the day I had been waiting weeks for - I'd made the decision to ask her quite some time before, but I was nervous as all hell, of course. It was a Sunday, but I woke up at 5 AM and and couldn't fall asleep, I read a book in bed and watched the skyline slowly brighten. Around 6 I got out of the little napkin I had stolen from the university dining hall, and tied it around Hanna's finger as she slept. I had meant for her to keep sleeping and for her to ask me about it when she awoke, but I guess she could sense something, and she sat up and looked at me. It was now or never. I got on one knee, asked her, and ... well you know the rest. She said yes. :)

That night we went into the city and picked out rings together - Korean style. I wanted to get her one with a stone, and I didn't want a stone in mine, though all of the Korean "couple rings" were bejeweled even for the men. Finally found a little shop with a couple of real nice ladies who gave us a discount for the two we ended up with. This will be my wedding ring, and Hanna's is an engagement ring (I'm sure she'll get a wedding ring as well too^^). I think Hanna has pictures of the napkin ring on her phone, I'll ask her to upload them when she gets a chance. The band-aid has no romantic story attached, just the unfortunate consequence of early morning veggie chopping.

Spring days

2011-04-19T21:53:00.001-07:00

Today Hanna asked me, where in the world is the weather like this all year long? I said maybe southern China? Ahh to live in a land of eternal spring!

An unexpected hike

2011-04-19T07:58:00.001-07:00

Last week, I went on a run toward a spot on Google Maps where a road disappeared into the foothills of Mudeung Mountain. My plan: go for a quick hike after the run, and if I was too tired to run back to take a taxi.

Here's the very edge of the paved road, disappearing into meadows with burial mounds in the valley.

Since I was planning on running for only about an hour, I didn't think I'd need any water, and I had my wallet just in case. But there were no convenience stores out here, only farms. I almost turned back when I stumbled upon this 약수 (literally medicine water, basically fresh stream water) at a tiny temple, which was just a shack on the side of the road.

Close-up picture of the shrine outside the temple, the red ladle is what you use to drink the water, I just scooped it with my hands right out of the stone bowl. The mat is for your knees as you do the traditional 108 bows.

After drinking I walked up the dirt path you can see in the above pictures to find a hidden lake in the meadow with a bold "NO SWIMMING" sign. I was hot enough that I almost disobeyed, but I ran into some fishermen there so I decided not to. I ended up chatting with them for a little while after asking them how the day's catch was going (not well). One of the fisherman's daughters is a student at Gwangju University where I teach. Drank some beer and ate some snacks with them, and then, properly refreshed, continued on the path up to higher ground.

I could see on my GPS that if I walked for about 30 min or so and cleared the next ridge, I'd be at a bigger lake with another temple and a road back to civilization, so I decided to follow the mountain paths in that direction. As I reached the top of the ridge, caught a glimpse of Mudeung Mountain with some wild flowers.

The white spots in this picture are wild cherry blossom trees in the hillside.

As I came down the other side of the ridge I could see a large lake, dammed on one side. On the bottom left of the picture you can see a cliff, this was a stunning vantage point and a great view of Mudeung Mountain, and the valley below. Wonder why more people don't hike this way? Probably because of the "산입금지" (don't enter the mountain) sign posted near the dam in this valley. In my defense there wasn't a sign on the valley where I came in! ^^

As I hiked back toward the road in the second valley, came across this female Buddha statue at a small temple. Hanna looked at this picture and said 무섭다 - scary!! By this time I really needed another drink of water, but had to walk another 30 minutes on a lonely village road until I found - huzzah! - a tiny convenience store, and a main road where I could flag down a taxi. An hour's run turned into a 3 hour adventure, totally worth it.

New glasses

2011-04-05T05:30:00.001-07:00

Sweet frames, sweet lenses. Never, never underestimate Korean fashion.

The Road

2011-04-03T17:52:00.001-07:00

Hanna kickin off her boOts with joy in the middle of the road! Or, maybe she had a pebble problem.

hiking a mountain in our backyard

2011-04-03T06:24:00.001-07:00

This Saturday Hanna and I hiked 금당산 (Gemdang mtn), one of the local giants that watches over our campus.

We used the GPS on my phone to find a path behind an elementary school leading up into the hills. There's something about encountering a trail with no signs, just a path leading into the forest - exhilarating.

Beautiful, tall purple flowers mingled with the trees.

The view from a bench on the path of part of 남구 (the south section) of Gwangju city, my neighborhood.

When we reached the top we could see right down to Gwangju University campus. The tallest building there toward the center of the picture, with the white towers on the roof, is the classroom building. My office is on the 17th floor, facing this side. With good enough 'nocs, you could see all the papers on my messy desk from where I stood to take that shot.

Whenever I gaze out my window at all these gently rolling hills, I get the urge to pack a couple rolls of kimbap and some makkoli in my backpack and just start walking ...

The official school picture

2011-03-27T21:56:00.001-07:00

Posing outside the 호심관 (ho shim gwan) classroom building, standing on the astroturf soccer field that separates the dorm from the classrooms. My office is on the 17th floor, classrooms on the 8th and 16th. Hanna bought me that bag, with it I am without a doubt the coolest prof in school.

Hanna's happy moments

2011-03-26T23:10:00.001-07:00

Hanna had a tough day at work, it was raining, and all she wanted was a beer. One Hoegarden left in the fridge! Beer tastes better at the end of a long day. So does a cute baby - thats my friend Lucas's baby San.

만만치않았던 하루! 비도오고해서 맥주로 마무리~ㅋㅋ그래,인생 뭐 있어?이렇게 잊는거지뭐♥산이도 나를 행복하게해~^^

19 hours in New York City

2010-01-03T12:39:00.000-08:00

Back in December, I thought it might be fun to spend New Year's with Hanna in New York City, watch the ball drop in Times Square, all that great stuff. But the one thing we didn't want to do was pay New Year's Eve prices at a hotel. The solution? Bolt Bus early in the morning on the 31st, and back to Boston at 7 AM on New Year's Day. Total roundtrip cost each: $30. Good idea? Well, let's see how it all played out.

The fated e-tickets. Don't have a working printer, so I just showed the guy my camera. Hooray for technology.

That bus was sweet. Even had outlets for charging our iPods and wifi ~ lap of luxury!

The bus dropped us off near Penn Station in Manhattan. Hanna was impressed with the size of all the buildings ...

... then we walked up to Central Park.

We didn't know that they had an ice rink in Central Park - nice surprise! We rented skates and Hanna tried skating for the first time (she's really good).

We made it back to the Times Square area around 7:30 and stood for about a half hour at 54th and 7th streets with this mass of people. Those lights down the hill is Times Square, 12 blocks away (42nd street).

Realizing we still had 4 hours to go, we decided the rules of standing and waiting didn't apply to us, and ducked into a bar across the street "for one drink". 3 hours and 45 minutes later, we came out and rejoined the cold and bored masses, and during the last couple of minutes jumped over the police barrier and saw the ball drop. Huzzah for cheating!

The zoom couldn't zoom 12 blocks, but believe me, we saw it.

After the ball drop, we went to a nightclub, hung out and slept in cafes, hunted for Koreatown and finally found it at 5 AM, slept in hotel lobbies, and made it finally to our bus at 7 AM. Tragically, we took no pictures, so these 7 hours will remain a mystery.

Oh and somewhere along the line we saw the Statue of Liberty. Twice!

Thanks Boltbus !!

uke envy

2009-11-21T07:55:00.000-08:00

I saw these guys a couple years ago in Boston, they were brilliant. Who's for me growing a mustache?? ^^

grad schoool.

2009-11-15T18:12:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a while since I posted here, it's been an adjustment settling into life in America but since I moved into my new place in sunny ALLSTON!, it's been nice to walk instead of commute in the mornings. Amidst frantic reading, papers, and general learning-about-linguistics-ness (which has been brilliant!), I've managed to get out into the world a little bit and catch up with old friends.

Stu, Dawn-Marie and I at King Richard's Faire.

A normal day at work, socializing with students before class starts.

Students show their (Halloween) school spirit.

Me and my buddy Suzanne wait for the Public Library to open in Copley. Love that place.

The trees on my street in Allston are gorgeous.

It's been hard work, but I really love my program at UMass Boston, the readings are all things that I would have loved to explore on my own, but let's face it - didn't have the self-motivation to ever do so. Life is busy but fulfilling. Honestly, my biggest fear in coming back to Boston and diving back into a more normal (less travel-centered) life is that I'll lose sight of the little things in life that make me smile - changing seasons, a quiet cup of tea, blue skies - I don't want to become one of those busy busy people who's so buried in a schedule that he can't see the world around him. I ever get like that, you've all got permission to kick me in the shins till I wake up. :)

SNSD!

2009-09-06T07:25:00.000-07:00

소녀시대, "Girl's Generation" ~

Tell me your wish
Tell me that small dream you have inside of your heart
Draw that ideal person you have inside of your head
I'm your genie,
I'm your dream,
I'm your genie
Let's go, riding in the dream car
Sit next to me
Throw everything into my guidance
Even if your heart beat explodes
Even if you fly away with the wind
Right now, this moment, the world is yours
Yes, I love you
Always believe in me
My dreams,
My passion
I want to give them all
I want to answer your wishes
I'm the goddess of your fortunes
Tell me your wish (I'm genie for you boy)
Tell me your wish (I'm genie for your wish)
Tell me your wish (I'm genie for your dream)
Tell me your wish (I'm genie for your dream)
Tell me your wish
Don't the boring days bother you?
Have you become buried by your ordinary life?
Now stop and wake up
You are my superstar, shining star, super star
Release your body into the trembling beating of your heart like a Harley
Now this world is simply your stage
The waves of cheers
In my heart, your body temperature is my path
Forever your Biggest Fan
Yes, I love you
Always believe in me
My dreams,
My passion I want to give them all
I want to answer your wishes
I'm the goddess of your fortunes
Tell me your wish (I'm genie for you boy)
Tell me your wish (I'm genie for your wish)
Tell me your wish (I'm genie for your dream)
Tell me your wish (I'm genie for your dream)
DJ Put it back on
Yes, I love you
Always believe in me
My dreams,
My passion I want to give them all
I want to answer your wishes
I'm the goddess of your fortunes
Tell me your wish!
Yes, I love you
You are my Music
I love you
You are my joy
I love you
I want to be your fortune
(Tell me your fantasy, without holding back
I'll show you the genie's path
Tell me your wish, without holding back
Your genie, I will grant them)
Tell me your wish (I'm genie for you boy)
Tell me your wish (I'm genie for your wish)
Tell me your wish (I'm genie for your dream)
Tell me your wish (I'm genie for your dream)
Tell me your wish (I'm genie for you boy)
Tell me your wish (I'm genie for your wish)

the highest good

2009-09-05T17:14:00.000-07:00

The highest good is like water.
Water gives life to the ten thousand things and does not strive.
It flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao.
In dwelling, be close to the land.
In meditation, go deep in the heart.
In dealing with others, be gentle and kind.
In speech, be true.
In ruling, be just.
In business, be competent.
In action, watch the timing.

Tao Te Ching

what is enlightenment?

2009-09-04T05:58:00.001-07:00

I've been thinking about this question for a few years now, and whenever I'm struck by something I read or experience, I try to somehow add it to my own unwieldy definition. I know others have said it more simply, but I see the journey to enlightenment more as an unfolding mental process, and I've liked developing this more lengthy version which works for me whenever I find myself heading off track. Wondering what you guys think, here's what I've landed on so far:

Enlightenment begins with the sharp perception and experience of present moment awareness and thankfulness and the wonder of being human, builds with education and the broadening and refining of a sense of culture and the world and the good life, an unattachment to results, the realization that everyone (including ourselves) is Buddha/Jesus/insert_deity_here (perfect, just as we are), the nonjudgmental acceptance of and celebration of everything, the oneness/nonduality of everything - and ends with effortless compassionate actions to empower others.

go down from the mountain!

2009-09-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

Hanna taught me a fascinating Korean idiom today. 하산해 - "ha san hey" - which literally means "go down from the mountain", in common speech is used by a teacher when a student has mastered something. In ages past, it was common for the old masters to live on mountains, and the students would come up to visit and learn from them for a while. When the master had nothing left to teach, he would say "go down from the mountain, go back to society!" Such a great image, in just three syllables! It comes from:
the Chinese 下, which in Korean is 하 (ha), meaning down,
Chinese 山, Korean 산 (san), meaning mountain,
and the Korean imperative verb ending 해 (hey) meaning to go, do, etc.

ugly baby

2009-08-31T19:28:00.000-07:00

A woman gets on a bus with her baby. The bus driver says: "That's the ugliest baby that I've ever seen. Ugh!" The woman goes to the rear of the bus and sits down, fuming. She says to a man next to her: "The driver just insulted me!" The man says: "You go right up there and tell him off – go ahead, I'll hold your monkey for you."

how's the tom sawyer in you? 너의 마음속 톰 소여는 잘 있니?

2009-08-22T13:07:00.000-07:00

Hanna gave me a book in Japan called "Love and Free" - a photo/poetry diary of a Japanese couple as they traveled around the world.

"As a kid, I got a bicycle
and the entire town became my playground
As a teenage-punk, I got a motorcycle
and the entire prefecture became my playground
And now, I got time
and am trying to make the entire world my playground

I've always been really good at thinking up new ways
to play in new playgrounds
My style hasn't changed at all
The tools have changed with age
my playground just keeps expanding

"Hey, what do you wanna play?"
There aren't any words that could stimulate
my creativity more than this question does.

"Hey, what are you playing?"
"어이, 뭐하고 놀고 있어?"

- Ayumu Takahashi

Hurricane Bill is coming on Sunday, and creating some beautiful dark cloud / sun patterns in the sky.

Today I went swimming in the sun, while it rained!

MUD!

2009-07-30T03:16:00.000-07:00

At 대천 (Daecheon) Beach in 보령 (Boryeong) in Korea, there's a whole lot of mud.

last days in jeju, 2009

2009-07-09T00:26:00.001-07:00

I'm really going to miss it here in Jeju.

The other day Hanna and I went to a coffeeshop and played Jenga ~

We've climbed the misty mountains,

and made friends with fat fat Buddhas.

Last weekend we went to Udo Island, a small island off the east coast of Jeju. We camped right on the white coral beach, here's our tent!

We could see the sunset from the beach every night.

On the second night we climbed a small volcanic hill in one corner of the island, where they let the horses graze w/ no fences or ropes to restrict them - true island life!

... and of course ramen for breakfast on the beach!

Until we meet again, Jeju Island ... it's getting harder and harder to leave you!

Xi'an, China - snake wine, warriors, Muslims

2009-06-18T23:23:00.000-07:00

Xi'an, near the center of China, is steeped in history as well as, at least when I was visiting, near monsoon-caliber rains. Though of course, I did get out to see the Terra Cotta Warriors.

It's very difficult to capture in a picture the size and grandeur of this place. You can walk around the outside of the complex, which resembles a giant stadium, and look down on the the warriors inside. There are some places where you can get a closer look.

The Emperor Qin Shi Huang (around 210 BCE) constructed these warriors and had them placed in his future tomb, so that he'd have an army even in the afterlife. Quite soon after they were built, the emperor who ordered their construction died. Not surprisingly, the peasants soon revolted and ended up looting the tombs and smashing all the Terra Cotta Warriors they could find. Some survived, most did not, and almost all that are on display now had to be pieced together from parts.

Not all the warriors were locked up in pits, however. Some had made it out to local bars and hostels in Xi'an - there was one Terra Cotta head in our hostel bar, who gratefully accepted a beer when I offered it. He must have been thirsty surviving for over 2,000 years (not to mention being made of dirt).

Also in that hostel bar was a very interesting jug of ... pickled animals?? Upon closer inspection:

There was a very visible turtle in there as well, don't know why it wasn't mentioned on the list. :P The bartender told us it was medicinal baiju (Chinese liquor). What with the rainy weather, a few guys and I thought it would be a good idea, for the sake of our health, to take a shot. Mmmm ... just what the doctor ordered!

The next day, all rested from my medicine the night before, headed out to explore the Muslim quarter of Xi'an. It was my first visit ever to a mosque.

This one was, to be expected, very Chinese in style - it was very interesting to see the juxtaposition of Muslim and Chinese architecture, Muslim and Chinese writing everywhere.

Also in the mosque, saw an amazing tree!

Next stop - Beijing!

Tiger Leaping Gorge

2009-06-18T02:41:00.000-07:00

I know this might seem a little out of order, but I'm doing a little retrospective of my Chinese trip, since I didn't have the bandwidth to blog about it in China.

Tiger Leaping Gorge! The place is as cool as the name sounds. The Yangtze River flows at the base of the gorge, which is the third longest in the world and spills out eventually into the Pacific at Shanghai. According to local legend, there's a rock in the gorge which sticks out over the river, and long long ago a tiger once jumped from one side of the river to the other, from that rock. Didn't see the rock, but I see a whole lot of other breathtaking sights.

Right after I started the hike I was closely followed by a man on a ... is that a mule? I think so. He didn't say much, and my little attempts at Chinese conversation were just met with a smile. It was creepy how close he stayed behind me, stopping when I stopped, but talking with other travelers I discovered that these locals are eager to step in and offer assistance to weary / injured travelers on the trail (for a price of course). They're not highway robbers.

Huzzah! Note to self - leave the heavy bag at the hostel at the trail head next time, and take a day pack.

I met up with a couple of Koreans on the trail who were great company (and I got to practice my Korean!) They told me w/ some guilt about how they lied to their children and left them w/ grandparents before coming on this trip to China. Hey, you gotta get out of the house somehow! Here they are looking out on the gorge.

This was the place I stayed at, close to the half-way point on the trek - 茶馬 "cha-ma" meaning "tea horse". It was amazing, I've never stayed at a guest house on a mountain before. We all ate together - the trekkers who crashed there that night - and I felt bad that I was feeling so sick, it was hard to leave the good conversation.

Sunrise at the guesthouse was glorious but late (maybe 9:00?), since the sun was behind the mountains.

Found a Tibetan temple close to the end of the hike (Tiger Leaping Gorge is fairly close to the Tibetan border and there are a lot of ethnic Tibetans in the area).

Definitely one of the highlights of my trip, maybe someday I can go back when I'm in better health!