Thursday, October 22, 2009
i see you!
my friend, nami and i went to the seoul arts center where we saw a nice exhibit of black and white (read: old skool!) french photographs. the final room of the exhibit showcased mirrors--hilarious fun house mirrors!--that stretched and extended our forms. what good wholesome fun!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
seoul forest
welcome to seoul forest. well, more like a park with clusters of trees, than an actual forest. but still, it's a nice escape away from the city hustle and bustle. i rented a bike and had a lovely quiet afternoon, observing things around me and stopping to take pictures of whatever struck my fancy.
the drawing show
not too long ago, i went to a performance called the drawing show. i'm sure that from the title alone, you can gather what i saw on stage! yep. drawings. lots of drawings. charcoal drawings, pencil drawings, ink drawings and fingerpainting too! it was cool to see the drawings come to their complete form right before my eyes. the performers were talented and cheeky in a cute and endearing way. yay for live performances!
6 for 6.
6 for 6! 6 for 6! oh internet, there has been a plenitude of adventures these past two weeks, one of which includes my job search. i'm pleased to announce, that after every interview, yours truly, has been given a job offer. perhaps it's because of my nunchaku skills... bowhunting skills...or computer hacking skills. nah. i like to think it's because of what i like to playfully call, the "chong charm."
and so, my big decision time has arrived. this or that? that or this?
do i risk the very high possibility of serious burn-out at academy a, while knowing i can make a rather nice paycheck? (italy, italy, italy...)
or
do i risk what could potentially be a precarious part-time only position at academy b, whose work environment is incredibly attractive?
decisions, decisions...EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!
and so, my big decision time has arrived. this or that? that or this?
do i risk the very high possibility of serious burn-out at academy a, while knowing i can make a rather nice paycheck? (italy, italy, italy...)
or
do i risk what could potentially be a precarious part-time only position at academy b, whose work environment is incredibly attractive?
decisions, decisions...EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
feeling funny!
i have no idea how i am not asleep. i hiked for 5 hours today and yet, i'm still awake. to entertain myself, i made faces.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
one pear, many stairs, and some ridiculous audacity
every time i go hiking, i'm reminded of why i love it so damn much. the trees, the earth, the fresh air, the birds, the insects, my heart pumping, the magnificence of being OUTSIDE, alive and healthy.
unlike other hikes in and around seoul, dobongsan was incredibly straightforward, as in, straight up and down an abundance of steps! no joke. stairs. steps. one after the other. earth steps. wood steps. combination earth and wood steps. rock steps. more rock steps. not for the faint of heart or for those with incredibly weak knees. it was of course, worth every step. (hardy har har!) the views were, as they always are, stunning and exhilarating!
a few trees--maples of course!--showed obvious signs of the change in seasons:
overlooking seoul:
an apple smile:
post lunch bliss:
red, brown, orange, blue:
descending stairs:
sometimes i forget how uncommon it is for native koreans to see a younger korean woman hiking alone. while hiking is considered korea's number 1 past time, many hikers usually go in groups. of course, there are solo hikers, but they consist mostly of older korean men. because of this, i am rather noticeably different. it's not unusual for me to go hiking alone. some days, i quite prefer it, actually. i like changing my pace according to my mood. i like taking longer or shorter breaks. i like taking my time when observing and/or capturing an image. being surrounded by nature, helps me find clarity and serenity...things usually best done alone.
this was not my first time hiking solo, so, it wasn't unsurprising when a couple of older korean men approached me with questions, such as "you're not korean (native), are you?" "where are you from?" and "you must really like hiking?"
on my way down the mountain, a 50 year old korean man asked me what path i took to get to the top...and in all honesty, i had no idea how to explain (in korean) the name of the trail because 1) i forgot and 2) trying to explain the track in the korean vocabulary i did know would just take too damn long and i didn't feel like it was really worth the energy...you must realize, my legs were quivering on the way down!
so then dude asks me if ate my lunch at the summit and i replied, yes!
dude: did you eat everything?
me: yes, i did.
dude: oh you shouldn't do that! you have to save some food for later!
me: ah...(realizing that i hadn't eaten everything!) i still have half an apple.
dude: i have a pear! shall we sit and take a break?
me: (in my head, i'm quickly weighing out the situation. if i say yes, he might be a weird-O. if i say no, i'm turning down a pear and some random hilarity and a chance to practice korean...) uh, sure!
we set out his little blanket, he took out his fold-able and extremely portable chair.
dude: do you know how to peel fruit?
me: yes, i do.
dude: why don't you peel this pear? (asian pear=slightly bigger than a softball)
and so he hands me the pear and his swiss army knife.
me: (stunned. dude! did you just invite me to join you in eating your pear and now you're expecting me to peel your pear?!?) ok.
so i set out about peeling this bigass piece of fruit and am trying--TRYING--to do this rather gracefully. meanwhile, i'm thinking, is this really happening? oh that's right, yes it is happening. i'm in korea. this place knows many and yet no boundaries.
dude: you're good at peeling fruit! you peel it very prettily.
me: (thinking, wtf?!?) uh, thank you.
dude: fruit tastes better when it's peeled by a woman.
me: (thinking, oh shit. did he really say that?!? oh yeah. he did. we're still in korea. i'm speechless.) uh...
he took the pear and cut it up into eatable pieces. the pear was delightfully sweet and juicy but my awkwardness-gauging radar was showing quiet signs of distress. and that's when he asked me if i was good at singing and dancing.
uh-oh. (this is not where i thought the conversation would go.)
in my boldness (and also as a way to quickly end that part of the dialogue) i said, "yes, i'm very good at singing." he invited me to sing karaoke but thankfully, i already had plans so i politely declined. (YIKES!)
after we finished the pear, cleaned up, folded the blanket and his chair, we hiked the rest of the trail down...i would've liked to have taken a different path or made an excuse to escape him, but, at that point, i knew that that wasn't likely to happen. he was a talker! so i nodded and added my "mmhmm's" every now and then so he would think that i was listening. and, i was listening, but, i was also thinking...one of the things that i couldn't believe he had done, before our descent was to blatantly share his opinions on my body. that is also very korean, but, dude! really? really? SERIOUSLY? he told me that i should lose weight and actually poked me in the stomach to show me where i should focus my efforts.
i'm chuckling now at his audacity and radical honesty! i chalk up a lot of his behavior to cultural differences. but, BUT. he was also rude--it's one thing to say something, but, to invade my space by physically touching me, even if it was a poke, is insulting. and guess what old man! i'm not fat! and guess what else! women carry more fat than men--they're supposed to! HMMHPF!
unlike other hikes in and around seoul, dobongsan was incredibly straightforward, as in, straight up and down an abundance of steps! no joke. stairs. steps. one after the other. earth steps. wood steps. combination earth and wood steps. rock steps. more rock steps. not for the faint of heart or for those with incredibly weak knees. it was of course, worth every step. (hardy har har!) the views were, as they always are, stunning and exhilarating!
a few trees--maples of course!--showed obvious signs of the change in seasons:
overlooking seoul:
an apple smile:
post lunch bliss:
red, brown, orange, blue:
descending stairs:
sometimes i forget how uncommon it is for native koreans to see a younger korean woman hiking alone. while hiking is considered korea's number 1 past time, many hikers usually go in groups. of course, there are solo hikers, but they consist mostly of older korean men. because of this, i am rather noticeably different. it's not unusual for me to go hiking alone. some days, i quite prefer it, actually. i like changing my pace according to my mood. i like taking longer or shorter breaks. i like taking my time when observing and/or capturing an image. being surrounded by nature, helps me find clarity and serenity...things usually best done alone.
this was not my first time hiking solo, so, it wasn't unsurprising when a couple of older korean men approached me with questions, such as "you're not korean (native), are you?" "where are you from?" and "you must really like hiking?"
on my way down the mountain, a 50 year old korean man asked me what path i took to get to the top...and in all honesty, i had no idea how to explain (in korean) the name of the trail because 1) i forgot and 2) trying to explain the track in the korean vocabulary i did know would just take too damn long and i didn't feel like it was really worth the energy...you must realize, my legs were quivering on the way down!
so then dude asks me if ate my lunch at the summit and i replied, yes!
dude: did you eat everything?
me: yes, i did.
dude: oh you shouldn't do that! you have to save some food for later!
me: ah...(realizing that i hadn't eaten everything!) i still have half an apple.
dude: i have a pear! shall we sit and take a break?
me: (in my head, i'm quickly weighing out the situation. if i say yes, he might be a weird-O. if i say no, i'm turning down a pear and some random hilarity and a chance to practice korean...) uh, sure!
we set out his little blanket, he took out his fold-able and extremely portable chair.
dude: do you know how to peel fruit?
me: yes, i do.
dude: why don't you peel this pear? (asian pear=slightly bigger than a softball)
and so he hands me the pear and his swiss army knife.
me: (stunned. dude! did you just invite me to join you in eating your pear and now you're expecting me to peel your pear?!?) ok.
so i set out about peeling this bigass piece of fruit and am trying--TRYING--to do this rather gracefully. meanwhile, i'm thinking, is this really happening? oh that's right, yes it is happening. i'm in korea. this place knows many and yet no boundaries.
dude: you're good at peeling fruit! you peel it very prettily.
me: (thinking, wtf?!?) uh, thank you.
dude: fruit tastes better when it's peeled by a woman.
me: (thinking, oh shit. did he really say that?!? oh yeah. he did. we're still in korea. i'm speechless.) uh...
he took the pear and cut it up into eatable pieces. the pear was delightfully sweet and juicy but my awkwardness-gauging radar was showing quiet signs of distress. and that's when he asked me if i was good at singing and dancing.
uh-oh. (this is not where i thought the conversation would go.)
in my boldness (and also as a way to quickly end that part of the dialogue) i said, "yes, i'm very good at singing." he invited me to sing karaoke but thankfully, i already had plans so i politely declined. (YIKES!)
after we finished the pear, cleaned up, folded the blanket and his chair, we hiked the rest of the trail down...i would've liked to have taken a different path or made an excuse to escape him, but, at that point, i knew that that wasn't likely to happen. he was a talker! so i nodded and added my "mmhmm's" every now and then so he would think that i was listening. and, i was listening, but, i was also thinking...one of the things that i couldn't believe he had done, before our descent was to blatantly share his opinions on my body. that is also very korean, but, dude! really? really? SERIOUSLY? he told me that i should lose weight and actually poked me in the stomach to show me where i should focus my efforts.
i'm chuckling now at his audacity and radical honesty! i chalk up a lot of his behavior to cultural differences. but, BUT. he was also rude--it's one thing to say something, but, to invade my space by physically touching me, even if it was a poke, is insulting. and guess what old man! i'm not fat! and guess what else! women carry more fat than men--they're supposed to! HMMHPF!
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