31 March 2008
Comments
Hey everyone, I just found out that leaving a comment on my blog was restricted to registered users only. Well, that's bullshit and I just found out that I can change that feature so please feel free to comment whatever you feel. Love. Juba
28 March 2008
Shaman Temple Hike
So, last Saturday my coworkers and I planned a trip to a shaman temple in Seoul. The subway ride there seemed to take forever, it took about one hour and forty-five minutes for us to get there. On the subway, there was a malfunctioning television monitor that looked really cool, so I decided to record some video. That video can be view below this blog. My intention is to eventually record my music over it.
Once on foot, we had a little trouble trying to find exactly where the temple was so we asked some of the locals, in very basic Korean, where to go. After figuring where our destination was, we hiked up the inclined streets to the entrance of the temple’s gate. A couple of my coworkers were allergic to climbing things like stairs and hills so they were miserable and didn’t really care to climb more once we got there, so they followed us all the way to the first level of the temple site and then disappeared. On our way up, there were some temple buildings that were painted with these beautifully vivid colors. We took some photos and headed further up to a serene meditation rest. You could feel the change in energy; I almost instantly went from observing and just taking everything in to feeling and being aware. The higher we got the more quiet everything seemed to get, with faint noises of the city making its way up the mountain. Most of the group stopped at one spot and partook the beauty of silence. You could see all of Seoul from where we were. There were apartment complexes, from right to left, as far as one could see. I thought about how it would look at night with all the red crosses.
After a while, I decided to leave and get higher, I just wanted to go higher and higher as high as I could go. I don’t know what that’s all about. Why do we have the sensation to climb higher? What purpose does it serve? Regardless, I climbed higher up the mountain and on my way I saw Soju bottles, candy still in wrappers and other foods. We found out later that they are offerings to the spirits. From my point of view, it was littering. There’s nothing like hiking, feeling one with nature and then seeing plastic wrappers, empty booze containers and other products of man’s creations. Some of the group joined me on higher ground and we trekked further up this beaten path to where more people were meditating. On our way up, I saw this narrow passage in the mountain and I had the urge to climb through it so I carefully jolted up to check it out. As I was climbing through this passage, some Korean guy started heckling my friends in Korean and they started yelling to me that I’m not supposed to go up there. After a few photos of the guy telling me to get down, I made my way to my friends and we scaled down the mountainside to reunite with the rest of the group. Once every one was together, we headed back to the city to get some food and head to our next destination, Insa-dong (the artsy section of Seoul). Before entering the subway, we stopped at a fried chicken called Thunder Chicken. I mean with a name like that, you have eat some chicken. In the store’s window were piles of fried chicken waiting to be photographed then eaten.
Once on foot, we had a little trouble trying to find exactly where the temple was so we asked some of the locals, in very basic Korean, where to go. After figuring where our destination was, we hiked up the inclined streets to the entrance of the temple’s gate. A couple of my coworkers were allergic to climbing things like stairs and hills so they were miserable and didn’t really care to climb more once we got there, so they followed us all the way to the first level of the temple site and then disappeared. On our way up, there were some temple buildings that were painted with these beautifully vivid colors. We took some photos and headed further up to a serene meditation rest. You could feel the change in energy; I almost instantly went from observing and just taking everything in to feeling and being aware. The higher we got the more quiet everything seemed to get, with faint noises of the city making its way up the mountain. Most of the group stopped at one spot and partook the beauty of silence. You could see all of Seoul from where we were. There were apartment complexes, from right to left, as far as one could see. I thought about how it would look at night with all the red crosses.
After a while, I decided to leave and get higher, I just wanted to go higher and higher as high as I could go. I don’t know what that’s all about. Why do we have the sensation to climb higher? What purpose does it serve? Regardless, I climbed higher up the mountain and on my way I saw Soju bottles, candy still in wrappers and other foods. We found out later that they are offerings to the spirits. From my point of view, it was littering. There’s nothing like hiking, feeling one with nature and then seeing plastic wrappers, empty booze containers and other products of man’s creations. Some of the group joined me on higher ground and we trekked further up this beaten path to where more people were meditating. On our way up, I saw this narrow passage in the mountain and I had the urge to climb through it so I carefully jolted up to check it out. As I was climbing through this passage, some Korean guy started heckling my friends in Korean and they started yelling to me that I’m not supposed to go up there. After a few photos of the guy telling me to get down, I made my way to my friends and we scaled down the mountainside to reunite with the rest of the group. Once every one was together, we headed back to the city to get some food and head to our next destination, Insa-dong (the artsy section of Seoul). Before entering the subway, we stopped at a fried chicken called Thunder Chicken. I mean with a name like that, you have eat some chicken. In the store’s window were piles of fried chicken waiting to be photographed then eaten.
26 March 2008
Sickness and Unavoidable Politics
I have just recovered from some sort of throat sickness. It was weird because, I wasn’t coughing much, my head was fine, I didn’t have a fever, no runny nose, but I had a severely soar throat. SEVERELY! I mean I was on the brink of crying. I was really going to cry. It was extremely painful every time I swallowed. You can never truely conceive how much you swallow until it feels like someone has stabbed you in the back of the throat with a white-hot knife. Yeeeeeeaaaaaaah. So anyways, teaching was very difficult. I would take a bunch of over the counter drugs and random pills that my coworkers handed me and then I would go off to teach my classes. The medicine would make life a little bit more bearable, however, towards the end of the day the drugs would wear out and so would I leaving a very exhausted Juba.
After about two days of this, I couldn’t take it any more and I asked about going to the doctor. I had naïve apprehensions about doing this, because a doctor’s visit in the States is like handing over your entire paycheck just so they can tell you what you already knew before. Or better yet, so they can tell you what you just told them… and a prescription. Things are different in Korea, yes the doctor told me what I already knew but the visit was only twelve dollars! Ruined by US health practices, my natural skepticism led me to think: Sure, the doctor’s visit was twelve bucks but the price of my medicine is surely going to bury me. Nope, the cost of my three times a day for three days prescription was $11.30.
Since then, my realization that I have a fear of going to the doctor (the person paid to make you better) because of what I know will happen to me financially has resurfaced. Because of this fear, spanning my entire adult life, I have avoided the help of the person designated to help me. The system is fucked. The thing is, everybody knows it and there is no change we just take and deal. Why is that? Why do we just let injustice happen? Is it because of our ignorance? Is it because we are conditioned to feel helpless and there’s nothing we can do about it? Is it because there's so much shit on our plate, we become overwhelmed and just do wat we can to get by?
Whatever the reason, the system is fucked and there needs to be change… real CHANGE not fake propaganda bull you know what. Change has to come from the people, not political figures or a government whose only interest caring for itself and not you or me or your mother or your grandmother or your local grocer.
Anyways, that’s it for now and of course there’s more to come. I haven’t said anything about my weekend, so stay tuned. Pictures are a must.
After about two days of this, I couldn’t take it any more and I asked about going to the doctor. I had naïve apprehensions about doing this, because a doctor’s visit in the States is like handing over your entire paycheck just so they can tell you what you already knew before. Or better yet, so they can tell you what you just told them… and a prescription. Things are different in Korea, yes the doctor told me what I already knew but the visit was only twelve dollars! Ruined by US health practices, my natural skepticism led me to think: Sure, the doctor’s visit was twelve bucks but the price of my medicine is surely going to bury me. Nope, the cost of my three times a day for three days prescription was $11.30.
Since then, my realization that I have a fear of going to the doctor (the person paid to make you better) because of what I know will happen to me financially has resurfaced. Because of this fear, spanning my entire adult life, I have avoided the help of the person designated to help me. The system is fucked. The thing is, everybody knows it and there is no change we just take and deal. Why is that? Why do we just let injustice happen? Is it because of our ignorance? Is it because we are conditioned to feel helpless and there’s nothing we can do about it? Is it because there's so much shit on our plate, we become overwhelmed and just do wat we can to get by?
Whatever the reason, the system is fucked and there needs to be change… real CHANGE not fake propaganda bull you know what. Change has to come from the people, not political figures or a government whose only interest caring for itself and not you or me or your mother or your grandmother or your local grocer.
Anyways, that’s it for now and of course there’s more to come. I haven’t said anything about my weekend, so stay tuned. Pictures are a must.
13 March 2008
Saturday Night Fever
The days are flying and so are the weeks. I am approaching two weeks. Next stop is one month and so on and so on. One of my goals here is to learn Korean at any degree, conversational to fluent. It’s a real pain in the ass to find the things you want without understanding the language that everything is written in. One of my new games is “Ask a Korean!” I do this a lot. What is this? Where can I find? What did he just say?
I visited Seoul for the first time last weekend. The first day, Saturday, a few coworkers and I went to Itaewon, which is known for having the largest population of foreigners. It’s nice because more people speak English and more businesses cater to the Western lifestyle. Last weekend was also the first time I have ever ridden the subway. On our way from Ansan to Itaewon, we were shining examples of the reason why some Koreans don’t like foreigners. We were laughing and talking loudly, publicly drinking Soju (the nation’s #1 alcoholic beverage) and more than likely being asses. Soju is about 19% alcohol and very similar to a cross between sake and vodka. 19% and we were mixing it with Coke Zero. Yeah, a site to be seen.
Anyways, my coworkers wanted to go clubbing and I was just along for the ride. First we hit up Homo Hill, the gay/les section in Itaewon. I was very nervous because my past experiences in gay clubs in the US weren't so fun. I always feel like a piece of meat and all these dirty men would stare and hit on me, the whole time I’m clenching my cheeks as a piece of mind. Not so much fun, but this was different. I wasn’t a focus or at least not noticeably. I eventually did get hit on but I didn’t feel violated. All in all, it felt like a straight club.
Then we moved on to some random club with only two speakers, one close to the entrance and the other way in the back, so if you’re close to the entrance you can’t hear shit but Top 40 bull, so we found the perfect medium and I tried to enjoy myself. I think my coworkers picked up that I wasn’t fully enjoying myself so we bounced and I was pretty much through with the night but one coworker wanted to check out one more spot before heading. So we took a stroll down the same street the club we just left was on and after passing our next destination up a couple times and we turned into this dark and shady alley and headed downstairs into what looked like some underground speakeasy. It was this small bar-ish joint with a DJ and a dance floor the size of a small bedroom and a few seating options. The good news is they sell tequila shots for 3 bucks, the better news is the DJ was pretty good. He was spinning old school rap/hip hop, old r&b, and some shit I haven’t heard before but it was good, he knew what he was doing. Needless to say I cut the rug. It was my kind of place and I will more than likely frequent it whenever I’m in the area.
After that, we spent about an hour or longer eating street food and being drunk…. Oh, the Cupid Shuffle is HUGE out here. I cannot believe it! Every club plays it at least three times a night. Clubs play the music that they're playing inside on street speakers and just standing eating I heard it about two or three times.
There’s more to come, I spent more time than expected on this subject. Holla!
I visited Seoul for the first time last weekend. The first day, Saturday, a few coworkers and I went to Itaewon, which is known for having the largest population of foreigners. It’s nice because more people speak English and more businesses cater to the Western lifestyle. Last weekend was also the first time I have ever ridden the subway. On our way from Ansan to Itaewon, we were shining examples of the reason why some Koreans don’t like foreigners. We were laughing and talking loudly, publicly drinking Soju (the nation’s #1 alcoholic beverage) and more than likely being asses. Soju is about 19% alcohol and very similar to a cross between sake and vodka. 19% and we were mixing it with Coke Zero. Yeah, a site to be seen.
Anyways, my coworkers wanted to go clubbing and I was just along for the ride. First we hit up Homo Hill, the gay/les section in Itaewon. I was very nervous because my past experiences in gay clubs in the US weren't so fun. I always feel like a piece of meat and all these dirty men would stare and hit on me, the whole time I’m clenching my cheeks as a piece of mind. Not so much fun, but this was different. I wasn’t a focus or at least not noticeably. I eventually did get hit on but I didn’t feel violated. All in all, it felt like a straight club.
Then we moved on to some random club with only two speakers, one close to the entrance and the other way in the back, so if you’re close to the entrance you can’t hear shit but Top 40 bull, so we found the perfect medium and I tried to enjoy myself. I think my coworkers picked up that I wasn’t fully enjoying myself so we bounced and I was pretty much through with the night but one coworker wanted to check out one more spot before heading. So we took a stroll down the same street the club we just left was on and after passing our next destination up a couple times and we turned into this dark and shady alley and headed downstairs into what looked like some underground speakeasy. It was this small bar-ish joint with a DJ and a dance floor the size of a small bedroom and a few seating options. The good news is they sell tequila shots for 3 bucks, the better news is the DJ was pretty good. He was spinning old school rap/hip hop, old r&b, and some shit I haven’t heard before but it was good, he knew what he was doing. Needless to say I cut the rug. It was my kind of place and I will more than likely frequent it whenever I’m in the area.
After that, we spent about an hour or longer eating street food and being drunk…. Oh, the Cupid Shuffle is HUGE out here. I cannot believe it! Every club plays it at least three times a night. Clubs play the music that they're playing inside on street speakers and just standing eating I heard it about two or three times.
There’s more to come, I spent more time than expected on this subject. Holla!
08 March 2008
Early Impressions
I have been living in Korea for about four days now and I think I am adjusting fairly well. It’s kind of weird because it doesn’t really feel like I’m in another country far away from home. It feels like I’m still in the US only… not. Hard to explain I guess but I thought I would feel a different energy, see a lot more crazy or strange customs. Don’t get me wrong there are a lot of differences, I guess I was hoping there would be more.
On my ride from the airport, I couldn’t believe the number of red illuminated crosses. I brought them up in conversation with my supervisor the following day. She said they are churches. How many f-ing churches does a city need? Now, I’m from a city littered with them but I good lord. It’s eerie to see, driving down a highway with endless rows of apartment complexes and surrounded by a field of bright red crosses. I can see what inspires the backdrop for some anime. So many people live is these complexes. I like to imagine what’s going on in every one of them. A family dinner, a husband just getting home from work, a little child punished in his room silently cursing everything alive. You know, come to think of it, I have yet to see an actual house. That’s what you get when you live in the world’s second largest city. People stacked on people… people stacks. Put that in the Urban Dictionary. “Fucking people stacks everywhere!” Can be used out of context.
I finally got my luggage yesterday. Putting on a new change of clothes was a godly experience. I had been wearing to same clothes for about three days then one of my coworkers let me borrow some of his, still nothing like having the freedom to choose what you want to wear. Showers are very interesting these days. I have a bathroom with one of those handheld showerheads, so essentially my bathroom is my shower. A very new experience for me. I’ll try and post a picture someday. The floors are heated in Korea and provide the heat for the entire apartment. It is something I have grown an affinity to instantly. I will soon dread the day my floors are no longer heated.
I am teaching six classes, each 40 min long, MWF and four classes, two 40 min and two 80 min, TTh. I’m looking forward to my first weekend. I arrived Sunday night and began teaching Monday afternoon. After a rough start, I feel a lot more confident and I think I have a better grasp on my classes…Wow! I just looked outside my window and guess what I saw? A red illuminated cross! Why red? Why everywhere? Why not stand out and use white? Blue? Why not open a breakfast place and serve pancakes, eggs and bacon instead?
Anyways, I’m excited to see Seoul this weekend. It should be a good time, I’ll keep you posted.
On my ride from the airport, I couldn’t believe the number of red illuminated crosses. I brought them up in conversation with my supervisor the following day. She said they are churches. How many f-ing churches does a city need? Now, I’m from a city littered with them but I good lord. It’s eerie to see, driving down a highway with endless rows of apartment complexes and surrounded by a field of bright red crosses. I can see what inspires the backdrop for some anime. So many people live is these complexes. I like to imagine what’s going on in every one of them. A family dinner, a husband just getting home from work, a little child punished in his room silently cursing everything alive. You know, come to think of it, I have yet to see an actual house. That’s what you get when you live in the world’s second largest city. People stacked on people… people stacks. Put that in the Urban Dictionary. “Fucking people stacks everywhere!” Can be used out of context.
I finally got my luggage yesterday. Putting on a new change of clothes was a godly experience. I had been wearing to same clothes for about three days then one of my coworkers let me borrow some of his, still nothing like having the freedom to choose what you want to wear. Showers are very interesting these days. I have a bathroom with one of those handheld showerheads, so essentially my bathroom is my shower. A very new experience for me. I’ll try and post a picture someday. The floors are heated in Korea and provide the heat for the entire apartment. It is something I have grown an affinity to instantly. I will soon dread the day my floors are no longer heated.
I am teaching six classes, each 40 min long, MWF and four classes, two 40 min and two 80 min, TTh. I’m looking forward to my first weekend. I arrived Sunday night and began teaching Monday afternoon. After a rough start, I feel a lot more confident and I think I have a better grasp on my classes…Wow! I just looked outside my window and guess what I saw? A red illuminated cross! Why red? Why everywhere? Why not stand out and use white? Blue? Why not open a breakfast place and serve pancakes, eggs and bacon instead?
Anyways, I’m excited to see Seoul this weekend. It should be a good time, I’ll keep you posted.
07 March 2008
On My Way
It’s been a very long road to get to this point. I have jumped hoop after hoop and am reaping the fruits of labor. I am now writing my first blog 30,000 feet above the Pacific Ocean, almost over Japan and three hours from my final destination, South Korea. I have no what’s in store for me there. I have only just begun to realize that everything I am familiar with, everything I know and everything I was is nine hours behind and only getting further away. I am heading towards a new life, a new culture, a new way to be.
My journey began in stages of idea or thought and then process and now it’s happening. I am going to live in South Korea for a year! I am. These are two words that can make all the difference when the followed by action. I am going to live in South Korea for one year. I am going to learn about Korean food, culture, geography, mannerisms, language, art, music… who knows what else.
This is the first installment of what I hope to be regularly updated blog. Never thought I’d be a blogger, but I have chosen a new path in life and I want others to experience it with me. It’s a beautiful thing to see one’s development from point A to point B and everything in between. Examples that immediately come to mind are Colin brewing his first batch of beer, in the kitchen of 316, using emptied Culligan water jugs. Kimsta practicing guitar in the blue and white jail cells we refer to as South Hall. Or me in fact, I remember coming to Gustavus with twelve cd’s in my cd wallet. Before I knew it, I had 600+, was a DJ at KGSM and the Dive. People grow, life is crazy, I smell tacos and the smell makes me want to eat some. Anyways, thanks for stopping, I hope you stop by often.
Soon to come are photos and videos (if I learn how to embed them).
My journey began in stages of idea or thought and then process and now it’s happening. I am going to live in South Korea for a year! I am. These are two words that can make all the difference when the followed by action. I am going to live in South Korea for one year. I am going to learn about Korean food, culture, geography, mannerisms, language, art, music… who knows what else.
This is the first installment of what I hope to be regularly updated blog. Never thought I’d be a blogger, but I have chosen a new path in life and I want others to experience it with me. It’s a beautiful thing to see one’s development from point A to point B and everything in between. Examples that immediately come to mind are Colin brewing his first batch of beer, in the kitchen of 316, using emptied Culligan water jugs. Kimsta practicing guitar in the blue and white jail cells we refer to as South Hall. Or me in fact, I remember coming to Gustavus with twelve cd’s in my cd wallet. Before I knew it, I had 600+, was a DJ at KGSM and the Dive. People grow, life is crazy, I smell tacos and the smell makes me want to eat some. Anyways, thanks for stopping, I hope you stop by often.
Soon to come are photos and videos (if I learn how to embed them).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
