I'm sitting in Incheon airport's free internet lounge, so this will be my last blog post (and it will be short because I'm boarding in 20 min) written in Korea .. until I come back! I'm not 100% sure that I will, it is tempting, and I'll keep my eye open for a good deal while I look for stuff to do in America as well.
It's been an incredible year, I don't have the time to reflect on it deeply here, but there may be one more post in the near future with some parting shots.
My last week here was packed with goodbyes - friends, students, co-workers. Although I don't like the awkwardness of goodbyes, it's also sentimental in a good way to feel that I'll be missed. I guess I won't go into the details of my sayonara's, but I will add one more: Farewell to my readers: thanks for sticking with me through the year, but it is time to say goodbye to Colin the blogger, and welcome home to Colin the homeless man. My immediate plan upon arrival is to go to a wedding. Then bum around LA for a while, if I don't find a worthwhile job within a few weeks I'm heading to the SF bay area, then NYC at the end of Oct / early Nov. These are the places with the highest concentration of y'all readers of mine, so I hope I'll be able to couch surf a couple days at a time until I find a job, but if nothing pans out by mid-Nov. I'll visit my parents in Myrtle Beach then head back to Korea for next semester's university gigs.
Well, time to get on the plane; see some of you real soon.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Another idyllic day in Korea (twist ending)
Here's a brief description of one of my recent weekend days
After a lazy start to the morning I decided to take a bike ride out to the green tea farm cultivated by my buddy the monk. It's about a 90 minute ride along the scenic river then steeply up into the mountains. The day turned into a bit of a scorcher ~90 degrees, so I was happy to stop at a villiage on the way back to sip some sweet iced rice based drink out of a dried gourd in the shade of a traditional open air market.
Back home I visited my friend who works in a sandwhich shop. Since it was so hot I asked him about swimming in the river. "I don't know, it's pretty dangerous. Every year people die."
"Really?"
"Yes, this summer a middle school student drowned."
Of course, this only strengthened my resolve.
So around 6 o'clock I head down to the river bank. We have a peaceful pine forest park, and some tennis courts a little further down the bike trial that runs along the river, and the river itself has a wide sandy bank; it would make for a nice beach if it was on the ocean.
But before I can take a dip I'm sidetracked by a group of Koreans (strangers) at a picnic table calling me over. For them it is exciting to talk to a foreigner, and for me it is fun to have a conversation almost entirely in Korean. Of course the conversation wasn't too deep, a bunch of random nonsense, but I suppose the same could be said for most conversations between 1st language users. Another similarity between this conversation and a generic one between strangers is that it was fueled by booze and thus plenty entertaining. I can't tell if it was some kind of soju cocktail, or maybe a fermented fruit juice, but it was sweet and strong whatever it was we were drinking.
Anyway, after an hour or two the party broke up, and although it was dark by now it was still hot and I was still looking forward to that swim. The water was glorious, it was shallow, calm, and just the right temperature. I really felt peaceful seeing the mountains surrounding my town lit up by the moonlight and reflected in the smooth ripples of the water in which I swam; the quiet stillness broken only by the occasional splash of a jumping fish, or murmer of conversation from the park on the banks. At length, I emerged and walked up stream to retrieve my bag.
I found it surrounded by policemen! Apparently it is against the rules to swim at night. If this was Orange County California I would now be facing handcuffs and a $100+ fine, but with the good men of Hadong police force it was a simple, "We thought you were dead. Please don't swim at night." And I head home for a well earned night's rest.
After a lazy start to the morning I decided to take a bike ride out to the green tea farm cultivated by my buddy the monk. It's about a 90 minute ride along the scenic river then steeply up into the mountains. The day turned into a bit of a scorcher ~90 degrees, so I was happy to stop at a villiage on the way back to sip some sweet iced rice based drink out of a dried gourd in the shade of a traditional open air market.
Back home I visited my friend who works in a sandwhich shop. Since it was so hot I asked him about swimming in the river. "I don't know, it's pretty dangerous. Every year people die."
"Really?"
"Yes, this summer a middle school student drowned."
Of course, this only strengthened my resolve.
So around 6 o'clock I head down to the river bank. We have a peaceful pine forest park, and some tennis courts a little further down the bike trial that runs along the river, and the river itself has a wide sandy bank; it would make for a nice beach if it was on the ocean.
But before I can take a dip I'm sidetracked by a group of Koreans (strangers) at a picnic table calling me over. For them it is exciting to talk to a foreigner, and for me it is fun to have a conversation almost entirely in Korean. Of course the conversation wasn't too deep, a bunch of random nonsense, but I suppose the same could be said for most conversations between 1st language users. Another similarity between this conversation and a generic one between strangers is that it was fueled by booze and thus plenty entertaining. I can't tell if it was some kind of soju cocktail, or maybe a fermented fruit juice, but it was sweet and strong whatever it was we were drinking.
Anyway, after an hour or two the party broke up, and although it was dark by now it was still hot and I was still looking forward to that swim. The water was glorious, it was shallow, calm, and just the right temperature. I really felt peaceful seeing the mountains surrounding my town lit up by the moonlight and reflected in the smooth ripples of the water in which I swam; the quiet stillness broken only by the occasional splash of a jumping fish, or murmer of conversation from the park on the banks. At length, I emerged and walked up stream to retrieve my bag.
I found it surrounded by policemen! Apparently it is against the rules to swim at night. If this was Orange County California I would now be facing handcuffs and a $100+ fine, but with the good men of Hadong police force it was a simple, "We thought you were dead. Please don't swim at night." And I head home for a well earned night's rest.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Scotland trip report part III: after Edinburgh
After the better part of a week in Edinburgh it was time to visit some of the more laid back places in Scotland. So my parents, aunt and uncle and I loaded up the cars and headed out for Oban on the Western coast. The trip across was serene and very scenic. Some people enjoy traveling to meet interesting and stimulating people of ancient cultures, and kill them. That can be nice, but I really enjoy seeing the different textures of earth.
Oban is a quaint little fishing village with a harbor, a whiskey distillery, and not much else. Except of a little masonry folly on the hill that looks a bit like a miniature colleseum from outside. Aparently a local banker commissioned its construction during a period of unemployment. Nice guy.
We took the scenic route back across the country. We drove up past the Nevis range then up the west coast of loch Ness. No monster sightings, except for the beast in the 58 inch kilt throwing stones at Drumnadrochets highland games. The games themselves were disappointing, poorly attended and organized.
The last portion of the drive was across the Cairngormes - almost unpopulated purple mountain highlands (purple from the blooming heather which covers the treeless landscape).
This was a very relaxing vacation for me. Lots of good scottish food beer and a little whiskey. and reconnecting with family. My parents commented that it was gratifying to them that their children, now grown up, voluntarily choose to spend vacation time with their parents (myself in Scotland coming not too long after a trip through some of the parks of Utah that was joing by my brother and sister). Well, it is gratifying to me to be lucky enough to have family worth spending my vacation time with. Getting a couple rounds of golf out of the deal is a nice bonus as well.
The week at my folk's timeshare was dominated by golf. We played
Cullen Bay - a unique course on the north coast, the seat of Scotland. It was right on the beach where a cliff and some rock formations made for some almost cartoonish holes. Also surreal was the wind whipping through the rocks. Cullen is famous as the home of Cullen skink, a potato seafood chowder, it's delicious.
Aboyne, Ballater, and Tarland - nice courses. I don't have a whole lot to say about them.
Braemar - A most distinctively Scottish course. Nestled in the highland mountains it is beautiful and frustrating.
Finally it was time to get back to Korea to finish the last month of my contract. It took three days to travel what with 2 stopovers and a delay -> missed connection -> night in a posh heathrow adjacent hotel paid by the airline.
Oban is a quaint little fishing village with a harbor, a whiskey distillery, and not much else. Except of a little masonry folly on the hill that looks a bit like a miniature colleseum from outside. Aparently a local banker commissioned its construction during a period of unemployment. Nice guy.
We took the scenic route back across the country. We drove up past the Nevis range then up the west coast of loch Ness. No monster sightings, except for the beast in the 58 inch kilt throwing stones at Drumnadrochets highland games. The games themselves were disappointing, poorly attended and organized.
The last portion of the drive was across the Cairngormes - almost unpopulated purple mountain highlands (purple from the blooming heather which covers the treeless landscape).
This was a very relaxing vacation for me. Lots of good scottish food beer and a little whiskey. and reconnecting with family. My parents commented that it was gratifying to them that their children, now grown up, voluntarily choose to spend vacation time with their parents (myself in Scotland coming not too long after a trip through some of the parks of Utah that was joing by my brother and sister). Well, it is gratifying to me to be lucky enough to have family worth spending my vacation time with. Getting a couple rounds of golf out of the deal is a nice bonus as well.
The week at my folk's timeshare was dominated by golf. We played
Cullen Bay - a unique course on the north coast, the seat of Scotland. It was right on the beach where a cliff and some rock formations made for some almost cartoonish holes. Also surreal was the wind whipping through the rocks. Cullen is famous as the home of Cullen skink, a potato seafood chowder, it's delicious.
Aboyne, Ballater, and Tarland - nice courses. I don't have a whole lot to say about them.
Braemar - A most distinctively Scottish course. Nestled in the highland mountains it is beautiful and frustrating.
Finally it was time to get back to Korea to finish the last month of my contract. It took three days to travel what with 2 stopovers and a delay -> missed connection -> night in a posh heathrow adjacent hotel paid by the airline.
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