Weightless
Beomeosa Temple
Busan, KOREA
May 8, 2011
celebrating Buddha’s birthday early
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Everybody gets their day
May 8th in Korea is technically called Parents Day, they sell small baskets of flowers and children who were just spoiled on May 5th for children's day show their parents a little love. I really wish I had children's day when I was a kid but my mom used to say, "Everyday is children's day!" Kids here got the day off school (and so did I so no complaining here) and were spoiled with fun activities and gifts and today families were out celebrating in the sunshine. It is a beautiful week to be in Seoul.
Being an American traditional gal, I still celebrate mothers and fathers on separate days. Inspired by a friend, I decided to make a video for my mom for her special day this year. It was a fun project and I was so excited with the final product, I have to share. Happy Mother's day Mom:)
abandoned amusement park
on the way back to busan from geoje, we had to stop at the abandoned amusement park.
replete with graffiti, garbage and vines, it was a creepy place.
and of course, matt had to find ways to put his life in jeopardy.
and we played with the big toys.
i think the hobos live here. every room was filled with trash and ashes.
there are a few things i think are quintessential asian experiences. for example, dodging traffic on the back of a motorcycle. one more i can check off the list after today: sitting in the aisle of an over-crowded bus.
glad to be home.
—
geoje camping
things started foggy at the beach.
but we kept ourselves entertained by breaking firewood with big rocks, a.k.a. “practice rocking.”
folks kept wandering through our campsite to fish while holding infants. seems like a good time for a portable play pen or something.
we made up games.
which our team totally won, though admittedly with the help of some dumb luck.
the morning’s yoga class was a good way to shake off the cramps of sitting on rocks and sleeping on sand for two days.
Dream Forest (북서울꿈의숲) Video
Before I launch into the photographic story of my visit into the Dream Forest, first let me share with you the video.
Also, I want to note that inspiration for the editing and direction of this video comes from another video creator in Korea, named "GreenEggsandHamster." I was especially influenced by the following video of his...
Check out his youtube channel for more, and stay tuned for the photographic journey of the Dream Forest in Seoul.
More questions answered
As a follow up to a previous Q & A post we have been asked more questions and here we will answer them, in case you were wondering the same. Yesterday, Nikki happily chatted with two good friends Amanda and Kelsey on the phone. They had similar questions to ask and so we decided to publish another Q & A based on our conversations. N=Nikki S=Steve
Q: Do you feel like time is going fast?
N: Yes and no. There is a weird time warp happening here. Sometimes I can't believe that we have been here almost four months, but other times a day can feel like a week. Our brains are always overloaded and over-stimulated so time can be a strange concept. But, it has been almost 4 months and I can't believe it!
S: Time is going incredibly fast. The workdays go by in the blink of an eye. One minute I'm stepping on the school bus in the morning and the next minute I'm walking home. Our weekends that are spent traveling go by fast too. I guess it depends on how much we sit back and really enjoy the moment, that seems to slow time down. But, that is the same anywhere I guess.
Q: Do you like your job? How are the kids?
N: I do like my job. There are definitely trying times, but working with young children can be like that. The kids are so adorable and really sweet. It is hard not to like the job in that sense. The frustrating part is not having a Korean co-teacher and not being able to effectively communicate with the children at times.
S: The job is good. I didn't think that I would enjoy these younger students as much as I do. Think of doing a job in which you need absolutely no training whatsoever, you just teach others something you have a total mastery of. I've been speaking English for going on 30 years now and teaching it doesn't stress me at all. Most people need to go through college or other training to be able to do their job, but we just teach kids things we have been saying our whole lives. I don't prepare for more than 5 minutes before teaching a class. I can walk in, pick up the book, and teach from there. No one questions my methods or worksheets or books, and I'm free to decide how to teach the material.
Q: What will you do when you get back?
N: I really don't know. It seems like we are always searching for something, greener pastures, the next great thing. I just don't like to think too much about the future right now. I want to enjoy the here and now. The thought of moving back home does scare me though with the economy and prospective jobs for teachers. We have such a good thing here with jobs and finances that it will be really hard to leave. We are able to travel easily and that will be hard to move on from. At the same time, being so far away from family and friends is really hard. I just don't have an answer for this question right now.
S: That bridge will have to be crossed when we come to it. There are many things that I want to do in many different places in the world. Bottom line for me: I want to live in a place that is kind of similar to here. A smallish town with good public transportation, no need for a car, work close to home, low cost of living, and interesting things to see and do on the weekends. I don't ask for much.
Q: What is the culture like? What are the people like?
N: The people and culture are beautiful. We have had such amazing experiences so far. Many Koreans have been incredibly kind to us. There is also the downside of people that will just push you out of the way, as if you don't exist. This is just the culture though. Most Koreans are really kind and generous people that want you to have a good experience in and fond memories of Korea.
Q: Do you feel like time is going fast?
N: Yes and no. There is a weird time warp happening here. Sometimes I can't believe that we have been here almost four months, but other times a day can feel like a week. Our brains are always overloaded and over-stimulated so time can be a strange concept. But, it has been almost 4 months and I can't believe it!
S: Time is going incredibly fast. The workdays go by in the blink of an eye. One minute I'm stepping on the school bus in the morning and the next minute I'm walking home. Our weekends that are spent traveling go by fast too. I guess it depends on how much we sit back and really enjoy the moment, that seems to slow time down. But, that is the same anywhere I guess.
Q: Do you like your job? How are the kids?
N: I do like my job. There are definitely trying times, but working with young children can be like that. The kids are so adorable and really sweet. It is hard not to like the job in that sense. The frustrating part is not having a Korean co-teacher and not being able to effectively communicate with the children at times.
S: The job is good. I didn't think that I would enjoy these younger students as much as I do. Think of doing a job in which you need absolutely no training whatsoever, you just teach others something you have a total mastery of. I've been speaking English for going on 30 years now and teaching it doesn't stress me at all. Most people need to go through college or other training to be able to do their job, but we just teach kids things we have been saying our whole lives. I don't prepare for more than 5 minutes before teaching a class. I can walk in, pick up the book, and teach from there. No one questions my methods or worksheets or books, and I'm free to decide how to teach the material.
Q: What will you do when you get back?
N: I really don't know. It seems like we are always searching for something, greener pastures, the next great thing. I just don't like to think too much about the future right now. I want to enjoy the here and now. The thought of moving back home does scare me though with the economy and prospective jobs for teachers. We have such a good thing here with jobs and finances that it will be really hard to leave. We are able to travel easily and that will be hard to move on from. At the same time, being so far away from family and friends is really hard. I just don't have an answer for this question right now.
S: That bridge will have to be crossed when we come to it. There are many things that I want to do in many different places in the world. Bottom line for me: I want to live in a place that is kind of similar to here. A smallish town with good public transportation, no need for a car, work close to home, low cost of living, and interesting things to see and do on the weekends. I don't ask for much.
Q: What is the culture like? What are the people like?
N: The people and culture are beautiful. We have had such amazing experiences so far. Many Koreans have been incredibly kind to us. There is also the downside of people that will just push you out of the way, as if you don't exist. This is just the culture though. Most Koreans are really kind and generous people that want you to have a good experience in and fond memories of Korea.
Our quiet place
Steve and I set out today for our "quiet sitting place". There is a park near our school that has become quite beautiful with the spring bloom. Shortly after we arrived in Jinyeong we found a path off the side of the park that leads to a secluded overlook amidst burial mounds. It is a very peaceful and quiet place indeed. We have gone there several times, mostly when we are feeling upset or need to gain perspective on why we are here or, like today, to seek peace and quiet. South Korea, like other places in Asia, can be an overwhelmingly loud and bustling place. Steve and I live in a small town and still become overwhelmed with the fast pace of South Korea. Cars and scooters that zoom past you within inches of your body, crowds of people (even on mountain hiking trails), loud speakers blaring K pop on every corner. Sometimes it just gets to be too much to deal with. We seek solitude, quiet, and wide open spaces. There are none, it seems, except for our quiet place. We went there today, on Mother's Day. We took some drinks and snacks and books. We sat in silence, no need to converse. As I was writing, Steve stated, "this is heavenly" and it was. There were no other people in sight. We could actually hear the songs of birds and the buzzing of bugs. The cars and the voices of people were distant. The sound of a motorbike, the crow of a rooster, a child crying, all out of sight and pleasantly distant. Our quiet place, our escape.
See some photos of our place. It's not exceptionally beautiful, but it's quiet!
See some photos of our place. It's not exceptionally beautiful, but it's quiet!
Korean Urban Legends 2: The Foot and Mouth Scare (구제역 괴담)
This is the second post in a new series on Korean urban legends and spooky stories. These stories, like the Western urban legends, are more or less wide-spread but almost always false. (No one actually gets a Chicken Blood Tatoo but some people will claim to have heard of someone who got one or will post fake pictures on the Internet to prove that they did). Anyways! On to today's story:
Earlier this year, there was a foot and mouth disease outbreak. People started to bury the infected pigs and cows in giant graves. At about the same time, a strange rumour spread around middle-schooler in Kyeongnam province and popped up on the Internet. All over the country, human bodies were being dug up in the middle of the corpses of slaughtered pigs and cows.
The story supposedly started in a small village. After burying their cattle, people heard a human voice coming out of the grave. The village chief and all the villagers started to investigate and found a human body among the carcasses. It was later found that the a loanshark had been after the person, and therefore people started to investigate the loanshark trail. But then, all over the country, at each burial spots the bodies people that had previously been reported missing started to pop up. In only one grave, 30 bodies were said to have been found among the remains of dead cattle. According to the investigation results, all the people that were found had either been formerly kidnapped, or had been the target of loan sharks or had participated in an Internet IRL meeting. The police told the media to suppress the story, but people learned about it and therefore the information was able to spread.
Of course, nothing of the like ever happened. Though I guess this is a nice indication of how much people trust their government and police :) I guess rumors such as this are also a good indicator of what people are afraid of.
Also as I haven't posted anything about language or vocabulary in a while, here are a few words related to this story!
Foot and mouth disease: 구제역
Loan shark: 사채업자
Cattle: 가축
Smother up/Cover up a story: 사건을 쉬쉬하다
Internet meeting: 인터넷 정모
I started my photography project yesterday (05/07/2011) at...
I started my photography project yesterday (05/07/2011) at Seomyeon Station, just outside of the Lotte Department store, in Busan. If you didn’t already know I’m going to tell you something about myself. I love photography. I decided that I was going to improve skills and expand my knowledge in photography since I’m going to live in a beautiful country such as South Korea for a year.
This photography project is not new, and is actually an idea from one of my favorite contemporary photographers, Danny Santos II. Just like Santos, I want to capture the beauty of people. In this case I want to capture the beauty of the Korean people, one by one. I am undaunted by my project and it is actually quite exciting when I press down on the shutter. Weird? Maybe. Why is it exciting when I take a picture of someone or something? It is simple. We are always busy, always moving and we are always thinking. Our environment also changes, but as soon as I press down on the shutter button time stops and I get to see how beautiful life can be.
Anyway, I managed to take a couple of dozen shots and I’m going to upload the pictures very soon. Stay tuned! Until then, here is a taste of my project.
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