The flight from ICN to CJU is a quick 50 minutes. I awaken from my cozy, window-seat nap to the sound of cheery flight attendants. Extra smiley, it seems they’re engaging the passengers with some sort of entertainment. One attendant is donning a Mickey Mouse eared headband. Another is holding a basket of what appears to be chocolates. I don’t understand a lick of what they’re carrying on about, but it’s as though they’re saying something to the effect of: “Ah, ladies and gentlemen, we are commemorating the nth anniversary of the introductions of Mickey to Korea, so let us celebrate!! If you pay attention and are swift with your clever responses, we will reward you with these cellophane-wrapped, boxed, gift-wrapped delicious waxy chocolates!!” They seem to be explaining the rules of “rock-paper-scissors” or, as they say in Korea, “rock-scissor-paper”. As if anyone on the plane would not have known the rules of this game since they were toddlers. Here, it seems to be the common way to solve any sort of conflict: who goes first, who gets the better seat, who gets to (you name it). So they conduct the most expansive game of rock-scissor-paper that I’ve ever seen. All of the passengers participate. Game after game, there are great rounds of applause, and people are eliminated. Finally, an individual seated toward the rear of the aircraft is deemed winner. I didn’t see what prizes were handed out, but the game is over.
18 November 2009
Props to Jeju Air
09 November 2009
For Fukuoka's sake...
A “visa run” is no amazing race, nor is it a beer run. We had two days in Fukuoka, Japan to obtain our proper work visas (E-2 type) from the Korean consulate. Any native English speaker likely wants to pronounce the first syllable of Fukuoka as that favorite, versatile, descript obscenity. The closest I can describe its proper pronunciation is: foo- COKE- ah. So anyway, off we went to Fuck-ooh-uck-ah to get the magic sticker in the passport that allows one to work in Korea for one year. With all the visas I’ve acquired, the reasoning behind the processes to obtain them is still unclear. My two beloved co-worker friends & I were required to take the trip, fully paid by our employer (lucky us).
Day one: go to the Korean consulate. Give them the application, passport, a photo, and money (around $50 U.S.). Check. Done by early afternoon. Next personal mission: get to the nearest disc golf course before the sun goes down. Donae had it in her to join me on what turned out to be an adventure. This required us to figure out the ways of the ‘regular’ subway system, and then transfer to the ‘JR train’. Check. We got there with an hour of daylight to spare, yet the park was closed. I’m talking ghost town. We took advantage of the pleasant evening and strolled the coastal grounds of some luxurious resort-y hotel that, in this off-season, seemed abandoned. We rounded up Stacey at the hotel and headed out for dinner. Starving, we chose half a dozen menu items to share. Easy-Bake Oven (as coined by Donae) was the best way to describe the dishes they brought out. What they called “pizza” was a six-inch tortilla baked with a spoonful of cheeses and a few drops of pesto. The Spanish omelet was served on a little soap dish, as were the edamame. Because we are not size zero Japanese, we were still hungry. Luckily, there was a convenient store conveniently located near our hotel so we could spend $20 on a few snacks.
Day two: find a place to have lunch and watch game six, before heading back to the consulate to pick up the passports. With help from the hotel staff, we learned that all of the nearby pubs and sports bars would not open until dark. But what do you know; they played the game on the lobby’s flat screen. So we sat for the first few innings, long enough for everyone to get excited about Matsui’s outstanding performance that put NY in the lead. For lunch, we dined at Hard Rock Café. Not bad. Back to the Korean consulate, our visas were done. My passport is now full, not an empty page. I’ve had a blast getting all of those stickers & stamps. At a nearby park, we rested before searching for a cup of coffee.
To the Starbucks, we did succumb: a reliable brew in foreign lands. Back to the airport for an overnight in Incheon where I’d meet up with a creative, adventurous friend I hadn’t seen in over three years. After a satisfying dinner, we found a random rooftop for beer drinking, moon gazing, and nice conversation. Ending the perfect evening, we made it to the subway just in time to catch the last train that would take us to our Guest House near the airport. Another night away, then back to enjoy the last weekend before the teaching would begin.
Day three: Early morning brought us news of the shooting that had just occurred at Fort Hood. Fukuoka. Fukuoka. For Fukuoka’s sake, don’t ever forget how lucky you are. And when the day seems bad, when the demons crawl in, when you start to feel a little sorry for yourself… don’t ever forget… Life is Good.
24 October 2009
Where my seabag is...
Across the Fields...
Across the sky, the clouds move,
Across the fields, the wind,
Across the fields the lost child
Of my mother wanders.
Across the street, leaves blow,
Across the trees, birds cry -
Across the mountains, far away,
My home must be.
~ Herman Hesse (1902) translated by James Wright
"Home is where your seabag is."... a Navy-issued mantra of sorts, I've always liked it. I look at the sky and see the half-moon, a black & white cookie. I think home is where the black & white cookies are. Then, I remember where my seabag is. It's here with me. Right where we should be.
16 October 2009
on the rocks
“I have a thing for rocks and stones, I really appreciate them”.
“You’re in the right place”.
The people in my life are like rocks. Some of them are dumb. Some serve for stability, some are rolling stones. I could stack them in piles according to rules of agreement. Some of them, I’d like to lick or throw in the water, others I’d like to carry in my pocket. Some rocks look good, and some keep things back, down, or up. There is a rock in my bathroom that serves as a holder for a bar of Dial soap. That’s not necessarily one I’d like to lick. Some are fun to play with.
Yesterday, I walked a pleasant afternoon with a sweet friend. All over the neighborhood, I was barefoot. Crossing busy streets, getting dirty feet. Most sidewalks around here have built-in bike paths that are rubbery & soft.
Grounded, connected, natural, and free. At a park we delighted in the foot-massaging path, consisting of rocks of various colors that gradually decrease or increase in size, depending on which way you’re walking.
Diagrams posted near the path show how different areas of the feet are supposedly connected and affected by various areas of the body. Brilliant.
Today, while riding the bus, I noticed large rocks beyond the sidewalk. Among the rocks, green plants grow. They’re succulent-like. I love seeing plants growing near rocks. These, in particular, reminded me of Monterey. Later this day, I walked through the neighborhood, hand-in-hand with that same sweet friend, a lovely being that I’m grateful to be acquainting myself with. While walking, I noticed several rocks, way beyond the sidewalk, up a hill. They were arranged upright, upon long ends, in what appeared to be a garden. The garden was divided by stonewalls and contained more rocks, stacked into beautiful piles. I’m sure there’s a name for those piles, but to me a pile of stones is just something that someone focused on for a while. This photo is not of a pile of rocks from the garden, but it’s a close representation: [in yet another moment of 'cleaning things out' i removed several photos from my flick'r site... being mindless of the fact that the images would, then, also be removed from this blog... oops]...
Breathing the mixture of air today was a fresh, renewing experience. Something about it kept my awareness in the moments as they occurred. The breezes were delightful. It’s been yet another fine day of perfect life. More than three weeks will pass before I begin this job. I have been getting paid for a month now; it’s been the best accidental paid vacation ever.
“You’re in the right place”.
The people in my life are like rocks. Some of them are dumb. Some serve for stability, some are rolling stones. I could stack them in piles according to rules of agreement. Some of them, I’d like to lick or throw in the water, others I’d like to carry in my pocket. Some rocks look good, and some keep things back, down, or up. There is a rock in my bathroom that serves as a holder for a bar of Dial soap. That’s not necessarily one I’d like to lick. Some are fun to play with.
Yesterday, I walked a pleasant afternoon with a sweet friend. All over the neighborhood, I was barefoot. Crossing busy streets, getting dirty feet. Most sidewalks around here have built-in bike paths that are rubbery & soft.
Grounded, connected, natural, and free. At a park we delighted in the foot-massaging path, consisting of rocks of various colors that gradually decrease or increase in size, depending on which way you’re walking.
Diagrams posted near the path show how different areas of the feet are supposedly connected and affected by various areas of the body. Brilliant.
Today, while riding the bus, I noticed large rocks beyond the sidewalk. Among the rocks, green plants grow. They’re succulent-like. I love seeing plants growing near rocks. These, in particular, reminded me of Monterey. Later this day, I walked through the neighborhood, hand-in-hand with that same sweet friend, a lovely being that I’m grateful to be acquainting myself with. While walking, I noticed several rocks, way beyond the sidewalk, up a hill. They were arranged upright, upon long ends, in what appeared to be a garden. The garden was divided by stonewalls and contained more rocks, stacked into beautiful piles. I’m sure there’s a name for those piles, but to me a pile of stones is just something that someone focused on for a while. This photo is not of a pile of rocks from the garden, but it’s a close representation: [in yet another moment of 'cleaning things out' i removed several photos from my flick'r site... being mindless of the fact that the images would, then, also be removed from this blog... oops]...
Breathing the mixture of air today was a fresh, renewing experience. Something about it kept my awareness in the moments as they occurred. The breezes were delightful. It’s been yet another fine day of perfect life. More than three weeks will pass before I begin this job. I have been getting paid for a month now; it’s been the best accidental paid vacation ever.
07 October 2009
Making instrumentals instrumental
I’m becoming addicted to NPR’s music webpage again. In the States, I had the variety of friends, work, and local venues for the music fix. In Korea, what we hear out on the street seems to be a mix of the same 8 pop songs. In stores, storefronts, and in taxis, we can almost sing along to the Korean syllables. Yesterday, I gratefully listened to a yet-to-be-released album by the Flaming Lips, [Embryonic]. Yes, an entire album, available for our listening pleasure on NPR’s music page: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113403123
All afternoon, I was thinking about music and, of course, appreciating the fact that I have plenty of time to do so.
Out for a walk, I was listening to Sufjan Stevens’ “Greetings From Michigan- The Great Lake State” (2003, but a recent, satisfying acquisition for me). Traversing the park, I came upon a solo accordion player. He was a middle-aged man with bushy eyebrows. Seated on a bench before a line of trees, with something appearing to be sheet music spread out to his right, and a bag & random belongings to his left. Headphones off, I sat on a nearby bench to rest and listen. It wasn’t a grandiose melodic execution, by any means, but the guy’s heart was in it. The song just kept going and going and going and going and going and going. As I soaked in the continuing, sometimes dissonant, folding & unfolding of the accordion, my mind and thoughts wandered. I just let them go, freely. Abstract colors and shapes, flowing and changing with the passing breeze of song. At its conclusion, I gently walked away. The moment prompted thoughts about the imagery that music suggests. Vocals in music tend to steer us in certain directions. Greetings From Michigan… brought many visions: a grandmother smoking in a hospital room, an individual in prayer, the daily routine of working class America, and yes, a Great Lake. Music without vocals is still quite suggestive but, for me, the power of its suggestion is obviously much broader. The music to which I refer is known as “instrumental”. (Though, in a university Humanities course, I was taught that the voice is the oldest “instrument”, which leads me to question the term). The imagery prompted by instrumental pieces draws on greater influence of environmental factors such as: time of day, inside/outside, cloud cover or absence thereof, temperature, urban/natural setting, absence or presence of other people, season, lighting, listener’s mood, et cetera.
So what about it? For me, it’s an experiment. Three days of instrumental music only. No divine chants or mantras to accompany my yoga practice, no Damian Marley or Shawn Q for my jogging. No Sufjan Stevens in the park. A new, big world of endless possibilities. The first thing I did this morning was dance… to Vijay Iyer’s jazzy new album "Historicity": http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113472412&ps=bb4
As I write this, I learn where Night on Disco Mountain (David Shire, Saturday Night Fever soundtrack) came from... it’s a Classical Party: A Summer Night to Remember:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111595310
Thank you, NPR.
All afternoon, I was thinking about music and, of course, appreciating the fact that I have plenty of time to do so.
Out for a walk, I was listening to Sufjan Stevens’ “Greetings From Michigan- The Great Lake State” (2003, but a recent, satisfying acquisition for me). Traversing the park, I came upon a solo accordion player. He was a middle-aged man with bushy eyebrows. Seated on a bench before a line of trees, with something appearing to be sheet music spread out to his right, and a bag & random belongings to his left. Headphones off, I sat on a nearby bench to rest and listen. It wasn’t a grandiose melodic execution, by any means, but the guy’s heart was in it. The song just kept going and going and going and going and going and going. As I soaked in the continuing, sometimes dissonant, folding & unfolding of the accordion, my mind and thoughts wandered. I just let them go, freely. Abstract colors and shapes, flowing and changing with the passing breeze of song. At its conclusion, I gently walked away. The moment prompted thoughts about the imagery that music suggests. Vocals in music tend to steer us in certain directions. Greetings From Michigan… brought many visions: a grandmother smoking in a hospital room, an individual in prayer, the daily routine of working class America, and yes, a Great Lake. Music without vocals is still quite suggestive but, for me, the power of its suggestion is obviously much broader. The music to which I refer is known as “instrumental”. (Though, in a university Humanities course, I was taught that the voice is the oldest “instrument”, which leads me to question the term). The imagery prompted by instrumental pieces draws on greater influence of environmental factors such as: time of day, inside/outside, cloud cover or absence thereof, temperature, urban/natural setting, absence or presence of other people, season, lighting, listener’s mood, et cetera.
So what about it? For me, it’s an experiment. Three days of instrumental music only. No divine chants or mantras to accompany my yoga practice, no Damian Marley or Shawn Q for my jogging. No Sufjan Stevens in the park. A new, big world of endless possibilities. The first thing I did this morning was dance… to Vijay Iyer’s jazzy new album "Historicity": http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113472412&ps=bb4
As I write this, I learn where Night on Disco Mountain (David Shire, Saturday Night Fever soundtrack) came from... it’s a Classical Party: A Summer Night to Remember:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111595310
Thank you, NPR.
21 September 2009
Two more days
[I accidentally removed several photos from these blogs... oops].
This past Friday: Stacey, Donae & I visited Yakcheon-sa, the largest Buddhist temple in Asia. Quite ornate, amazing colors. Noticed great acoustics as the monks chanted and periodically made rhythmic tappings with a stick. At one point, from the third story windows, we could see a man outside heaving a large wooden log into a bell. The paintings on the wall were... different. There was one depiction of a meditating man being decapitated. From his neck, spewed a tall reaching fountain of water, upon which his head floated. Stacey and I are quite curious about this, and would like to look into its possible meaning. I mostly enjoyed sitting in a tiny temple situated on a shady hill nearby. The gentle fragrance of incense brought calmness to our beings, and we three sat in silence before the altar for a few moments. Here's the main temple:
After the temple visit, we took a taxi to the nearby Jungmun Beach, where the waves were high & lovely, the sunshine intense, the water clear & blue, and swimming temperature ideal. The sounds of air-raid-like sirens alarmed swimmers, followed by an announcement suggesting that swimmers get out of the water- as the waves were too strong. How annoying. What ever happened to quiet signs which read "Dangerous Currents, SWIM AT YOUR OWN RISK"?
This past Saturday: David invited us to join him to Mosulpo, where he teaches students twice a week. The drive down was hilly & scenic... and included Mysterious Road, the optical illusion of a gravity road. We had the car in neutral and it appeared to be rolling uphill! Kind of like the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz, CA. I've googled the phenomena, which occurs in various parts all over the world. Apparently these areas are all optical illusions, rather than areas of "strange gravitational/ magnetic pulls". Worth checking out. We continued on, picked up 5 of David's students, and proceeded to the Glass Castle museum/theme park of glassworks & mirrors... brilliant! It's mostly a sculpture park of amazing glass pieces/installments. In the center, there's a cafe where we stopped for ice cream. The entire back wall is domed glass, and water runs down the outside making it seem like a rainy day. But the sun was out... giving it a gorgeous sun-shower effect. This is one outdoor piece, made of several glass panes, lined up:
After dropping the students off, we went to the Chocolate Museum... but it was closed. We drove on, stopping at a very interesting store/house to buy some drinks. The entire front wall was made of recycled drink cans. Very neat.
The drive home was lovely, as David so thoughtfully drove the coastal road, heading up the West coast at sunset. Amazing views... sun setting over the water... very huge windmills on the edges of the land. Beautiful places... great company... thank you. life is good.
This past Friday: Stacey, Donae & I visited Yakcheon-sa, the largest Buddhist temple in Asia. Quite ornate, amazing colors. Noticed great acoustics as the monks chanted and periodically made rhythmic tappings with a stick. At one point, from the third story windows, we could see a man outside heaving a large wooden log into a bell. The paintings on the wall were... different. There was one depiction of a meditating man being decapitated. From his neck, spewed a tall reaching fountain of water, upon which his head floated. Stacey and I are quite curious about this, and would like to look into its possible meaning. I mostly enjoyed sitting in a tiny temple situated on a shady hill nearby. The gentle fragrance of incense brought calmness to our beings, and we three sat in silence before the altar for a few moments. Here's the main temple:
After the temple visit, we took a taxi to the nearby Jungmun Beach, where the waves were high & lovely, the sunshine intense, the water clear & blue, and swimming temperature ideal. The sounds of air-raid-like sirens alarmed swimmers, followed by an announcement suggesting that swimmers get out of the water- as the waves were too strong. How annoying. What ever happened to quiet signs which read "Dangerous Currents, SWIM AT YOUR OWN RISK"?
This past Saturday: David invited us to join him to Mosulpo, where he teaches students twice a week. The drive down was hilly & scenic... and included Mysterious Road, the optical illusion of a gravity road. We had the car in neutral and it appeared to be rolling uphill! Kind of like the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz, CA. I've googled the phenomena, which occurs in various parts all over the world. Apparently these areas are all optical illusions, rather than areas of "strange gravitational/ magnetic pulls". Worth checking out. We continued on, picked up 5 of David's students, and proceeded to the Glass Castle museum/theme park of glassworks & mirrors... brilliant! It's mostly a sculpture park of amazing glass pieces/installments. In the center, there's a cafe where we stopped for ice cream. The entire back wall is domed glass, and water runs down the outside making it seem like a rainy day. But the sun was out... giving it a gorgeous sun-shower effect. This is one outdoor piece, made of several glass panes, lined up:
After dropping the students off, we went to the Chocolate Museum... but it was closed. We drove on, stopping at a very interesting store/house to buy some drinks. The entire front wall was made of recycled drink cans. Very neat.
The drive home was lovely, as David so thoughtfully drove the coastal road, heading up the West coast at sunset. Amazing views... sun setting over the water... very huge windmills on the edges of the land. Beautiful places... great company... thank you. life is good.
17 September 2009
Home on the Range
... Home on the Range was one of my choices for karaoke the other night. Don't ask me why. Sometimes, with certain people, a night of karaoke seems to evolve into "I can pick a cheesier, funnier, more dramatic song than you..." There were a few moments when my laughter prevented me from being able to sing.
09.17.09
Jogging will get me hot & sweaty… ideal conditions for showering if the only option is a cold one. It reminds me of being at DLI (Navy, language school) on P.T. (early morning exercise) days: if one didn’t manage to catch the first wave of showering, one’s shower would surely be cold. But here, there won't be the slightest possibility of getting a warm shower, until they get the water heater hooked up. My last hot shower was in NY, September 4th. Trying to stay positive… at least the days are still sunny & warm. We’ve gotten plenty of beach time- I think I’ve swum in the ocean half a dozen times since my arrival. It’s a 25-minute, less than a dollar, bus ride to the very beautiful Hamdeok Beach.
All these beach opportunities… how? I have yet to start teaching. The private school I’ll be working in (and also live in) isn’t even completed yet. They’re still doing construction. Very poor, very poor planning. School’s tentative start time will be the first week of October. Apparently, we’ll be paid from September 15th- which is when it should have opened (the recruiter who hired us was 150% certain of this LOL). Normally, teachers are put to work immediately upon arrival. When I arrived in Bucheon two years ago for a job… it was about 1 a.m. and I was required to attend a meeting that morning around 8 or 9, obviously feeling a bit useless and extremely disoriented. This time around, we have weeks of free time before actually teaching. So here I am, with the company of two fun females- Stacey from Nova Scotia, Canada and Donae from Washington State. We’ve had the luxury of relaxation on this gorgeous island.
There are a couple of Koreans who have been showing us the ways of our area. "David", our school’s director (principal) has taken us to restaurants, the beach, markets, his friend’s horse farm, a live music club, and of course, a ‘norae bong’ for karaoke (singing several tunes to include John Denver & Richard Marx). "Jennifer", an assistant who’ll be living a few doors down on our hallway, has taken us to cafes & shopping, given us useful information and has been a great, fun new friend.
I predict it’ll be a great year ahead, though slightly bumpy for the school until they get everything into proper order. I won’t be working the sweet 5-12 p.m.-older- students-evening-shift as promised, but rather doing the 9-5 M-Th, 9-2 F. Not the hours I’d hoped for, but I’m excited to be teaching the little ones again (K-6th). I’m grateful to have this job, these new buddies, and a very reasonable, likable director. Life is good.
09.17.09
Jogging will get me hot & sweaty… ideal conditions for showering if the only option is a cold one. It reminds me of being at DLI (Navy, language school) on P.T. (early morning exercise) days: if one didn’t manage to catch the first wave of showering, one’s shower would surely be cold. But here, there won't be the slightest possibility of getting a warm shower, until they get the water heater hooked up. My last hot shower was in NY, September 4th. Trying to stay positive… at least the days are still sunny & warm. We’ve gotten plenty of beach time- I think I’ve swum in the ocean half a dozen times since my arrival. It’s a 25-minute, less than a dollar, bus ride to the very beautiful Hamdeok Beach.
All these beach opportunities… how? I have yet to start teaching. The private school I’ll be working in (and also live in) isn’t even completed yet. They’re still doing construction. Very poor, very poor planning. School’s tentative start time will be the first week of October. Apparently, we’ll be paid from September 15th- which is when it should have opened (the recruiter who hired us was 150% certain of this LOL). Normally, teachers are put to work immediately upon arrival. When I arrived in Bucheon two years ago for a job… it was about 1 a.m. and I was required to attend a meeting that morning around 8 or 9, obviously feeling a bit useless and extremely disoriented. This time around, we have weeks of free time before actually teaching. So here I am, with the company of two fun females- Stacey from Nova Scotia, Canada and Donae from Washington State. We’ve had the luxury of relaxation on this gorgeous island.
There are a couple of Koreans who have been showing us the ways of our area. "David", our school’s director (principal) has taken us to restaurants, the beach, markets, his friend’s horse farm, a live music club, and of course, a ‘norae bong’ for karaoke (singing several tunes to include John Denver & Richard Marx). "Jennifer", an assistant who’ll be living a few doors down on our hallway, has taken us to cafes & shopping, given us useful information and has been a great, fun new friend.
I predict it’ll be a great year ahead, though slightly bumpy for the school until they get everything into proper order. I won’t be working the sweet 5-12 p.m.-older- students-evening-shift as promised, but rather doing the 9-5 M-Th, 9-2 F. Not the hours I’d hoped for, but I’m excited to be teaching the little ones again (K-6th). I’m grateful to have this job, these new buddies, and a very reasonable, likable director. Life is good.
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