I'm sipping on a little cup of nok-cha (that's green tea) in my hotel room, Insadong, Seoul, South Korea.

Well, well. I'm back.

I flew out of Boston on Thursday morning and arrived in Seoul on Friday night, a little tired but eyes the size of saucers, of course. Korea, I missed you. My saucer-eyes have been drinking it all in, and it feels almost like the first time I came to Korea. Differences have been jumping out at me these past few days. Like:

- little delights tucked into pub menus (bottled beer, chicken wings, popcorn, dried salted fish strips, whiskey...)

- 50-year-old businessmen holding hands

- handbag shops open past midnight (drunken shopping?)

- a mandatory 15-20 noraebang (karaoke rooms) per city block

The TV in my room is a flat-screen and mounted right on the wall, and it's - get this - approximately 41.5 inches diagonally. I didn't have a ruler, but I used an 8.5x11 notebook thrice on the long side, and once on the short. Mathgenuity. At any rate, it's big. I won't be enjoying it too much longer though, tonight I ship out from Seoul to Chuncheon, the site of Camp Fulbright! I'll be directing activities for a little over 80 middle school campers. Super cute camp pics to follow.

I went on a little hike on Sunday with Forest and Ben ('05 Fulbrighters).

With Seoul between my legs, I went umm ... that way!!

When we got to the top, a black squirrel kept trying to steal our lunch. We only put up with him because well, he's a squirrel. They're hard to refuse.

We found a waterfall on the way down and swam like river nymphs. The end!

One more time --- I'M IN KOREA!! I just had to get that out of my system. :)

I've moved! I will now be updating my blog here:

http://deepochre.livejournal.com

Please update your bookmarks.

THE NEW YEAR

Happy new year everyone!

It's been a great year - the best. I've been awful at keeping up with this blog, I'm planning to start posting again this year. 2007! You know how when the year changes like this, it feels really wrong when you say it, or write it? Well, somehow 2007 seems right. Like I've experienced it before, or something. Omens for a good year.

I'm drinking jasmine green tea right now, freshly bought from Peet's Coffee and Tea down the road from our apartment. Have I mentioned I love Boston? I really do.

I just started a new job last week at CIEE (Council for International Educational Exchange), and this week I'll have access to the databases and I'll start my training. Henceforth, you may refer to me as "Employer Vetting Coordinator". Don't worry, I had no idea what it was either until I looked it up. Basically, I evaluate companies to make sure they are suitable to hire Work and Travel students from other countries. The people are amazing, and it's exactly what I want - a job in the non-profit and international sector. But yeah, I miss teaching. Wish it could have been full-time!

Let's see ... what else? Recently Taehwa and Stu got into a fight, but she totally kicked his ass.



Details to follow. It's good to be back!

EGG GHOSTS

I'm full swing in Camp Fulbright. It's funny how when you have literally no time at all, you find more time to do the things you never get to normally. I like when things fall into different persepctives like that. Today was day one of classes, I'm teaching the second from the highest level, and I only have seven kids in my class. It's ... beautiful, in a word. But I haven't been without a needy child on my arm since 8:00 AM, 15 hours ago, so it's nice to get some alone time. Earlier tonight I took a group on a little walk around campus, and I had a little conversation with one of my tiny new friends. It was really dark out. That should quite nicely to:

Me: Are you afraid of ghosts?
Student: No.
Me: Really? Have you ever seen a ghost?
Student: Yes.
Me: A real ghost? Like ... woooooo? (at this point I'm, I guess, walking around like a ghost and making scary sounds)
Student: No, not person ghost.
Me: Oh, like ... an animal?
Student: No, egg.
Me: An egg ghost?
Student: Yes, egg ghost.
Me: What ... what did it do?
Student: (making egg-rolling-around-motions) It went shing-shing-shing.
Me: And you weren't scared?
Student: I catch that. Then break, and fry, and eat!
Me: Did you like it?
Student: Egg ghost was delicious!

In 40 minutes: officially 2 weeks till I'm back in the States. But maybe, I want to take some of these kids with me?? :)

THE COMEBACK

August 8th, 2006.

But first:

-finish two week lesson plan for Camp Fulbright
-write final report for Fulbright to release my plane tickets
-resist the temptation to watch new eps of Samurai Champloo whilst doing the above
-close out bank accounts, transfer money to my account in the States, transfer money to Stu for the new apartment, cancel cell phone
-goodbye dinner with the teachers
-goodbye noraebangin' (karaoke) with the teachers
-attempt to stay relatively not-passed-out without offending a highly intricate array of alcohol-pouring customs
-pass out
-wake up
-pass out teachers' gifts (vitamin drinks and Kit-Kat bars, a snack made in heaven?) at Thursday's morning meeting
-last classes on Thursday
-clean office
-make CD with teaching materials for new ETA's reference
-PACK. and back up my computer files.
-wake up early
-try not to cry
-kiss the dogs goodbye
-drive to the aiport with SooHee and Mr. Oh
-deliver my luggage to the Fulbright building
-luncheon with Jacob
-find my way to the Lotus Lantern Meditation Center
-4 day meditation retreat
-buy all manner of Korean giftables in Insadong in Seoul
-buy a new suit in Itaewon?
-last night in a jimjillbang
-wake up and pick up my luggage from Fulbright
-train to Chuncheon
-hang out with the orientation kids and the new ETAs?
-start camp prep
-2 week camp with my 13-kid class!! :)
-postcamp madness on the streets of Chuncheon
-wake up, pack up, train to Seoul, bus to Incheon
-1:50 PM August 8th: flight departs from Incheon
-8:30 AM August 8th: flight arrives in San Francisco ... yes, in the PAST!
-7:54 PM August 8th: flight arrives in Boston. Give up trying not to cry.


I don't know how much I'll be blogging. I have so many pictures to show you guys, but they may have to wait till I'm Stateside. Until then! Miss you all, and see you soon. :D

I'm in the Jeju newspaper today! Check it out:
http://www.jemin.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=153010

THE RAINY DAY WONKTA BLUES

I've made it no secret that I've been extra homesick lately. I'm almost rounding out a year, and the constant pandering to Confucianism, fake smiles and exasperating language mishaps can be just plain exhausting. Skyping and letters to home at times can make you feel FURTHER away I think - it's like letting a hungry person smell a big ol cinnabon but not letting him actually get a taste, and thinking that somehow the smell satisfies almost as well. Yes, to all my family and friends out there reading this: I want to taste your cinnabons.

Anyway. Today was no different, and with the rain and the clouds and the fact that I'm still recovering from mild food poisoning from my trip to the mainland, I wasn't exactly pickin' daisies. But I decided to get on up'n'out of this funk, and took a walk down to the cinema to check on the times for the Da Vinci Code tonight.

First though, let me give you guys a little background on the word "wonkta". I don't know very much Korean, but from what I do know, a wonkta at least in the classroom setting is nothing short of a pariah. There are a couple of wonktas at my school, and they sit alone in the cafeteria, have the saddest expressions on their faces, never speak a word at any time, and I've actually been prevented by my coteachers from including them in the activities. I was a little mad at first at such blatant discrimination, but I guess it was done with the kindest of intentions, to shield them from further attacks from the students. Though if they're never called upon in class, they'll never have a chance to prove themselves, or to climb out of their wonkta status through academic recognition from their peers. It's a tricky issue. The very fact though that Korean has a word that fully encompasses the concept seems to me to be a tacit approval of the wonkta's place (or lack thereof) in society. We have the terms "outcast" or "social reject" but those terms can mean other things - we can refer to an entire group of people as being outcasts in society, or we can refer to a lone wolf as being an outcast in wolf society, or we can use reject as a verb in other situations. As far as I know, wonkta only refers to people, and only in the situation of extreme aloneness.

One of my friends over here was trying to explain the Columbine shootings to her advanced class last fall, and to try to deliver her point mentioned that the gunmen were wonkta. She was chilled when the class said "no no teacher, there were two of them! they had a friend!" Wonktas are totally and completely isolated. And unlike America with its almost limitless youth sub and countercultures (particularly in this case, goth), the kids don't have any identity to turn to when mainstream society spurns them. Even Japan has seen the rise of weekend cosplay displays, popular mostly with high school girls who are taunted during the week. Without a subculture to identify with, the wonkta is left utterly alone.

It was in that state that I, turning a corner, passed one of our Daesin Middle School students. She was standing on a corner waiting to cross, and she was crying. It wasn't just tears - this was full-on, shoulder-heaving ... sobs. It was a singular moment - my mind had been flitting back and forth through all the things that I had to complain about - missing family and friends, feeling constrained in a homestay, feeling like an alien in Korea. But I'm a traveller in another country, all of that is understandable. Here was a girl whose own culture had bitterly rejected her. Lord knows she had everything in the world to sob about.

What was I going to do? Our eyes never met, I don't know if she saw me. I wanted to hug her, I wanted to tell her it would be alright, I wanted to do something - but honestly if I had approached her she would have run away in shame. And things won't be alright for her. She's going to have to wake up tomorrow and deal with it all again. I truly do not understand how this goes on in Korea. In Korean society, wonkta might be treated as less than human - but I think this girl's weeping was the most singularly human act I've witnessed all year.

FAIRY TALES: ALIVE AND WELL IN KOREA

So my homestay mom made homemade jam yesterday. The jar is now sitting on top of the kitchen table. I'm fixing myself a snack and my homestay brother comes in and wraps his arms around it. "It's my jam!" (He likes to claim things. Everything.)
"Oh yeah?" I say. "Yeah!" he replies. "His name is James." I laugh. "James, can I eat you?" I laugh harder as he puts his ear to the jar. "He says yes! I will drink your blood! James, you are so kind!"

I was in the cafeteria when I noticed one of my students had a name written on her gym uniform sweatshirt that wasn't hers. I point it out and ask, "who's that?" She replies, beaming, "my boyfriend!" Me: "Yeah? Wow! How long have you been dating?" "Two days!"
"Oh, so short! When did you meet him?"
"Once upon a time!" :)

halcy0nX: at my college religion was sociology without the statistics
halcy0nX: philosophy without the accountability
halcy0nX: psychology without the experimentation
sethzeren: which leaves what...
sethzeren: ??
sethzeren: :-D
halcy0nX: yeah, thats what we were trying to figure out ;-)
halcy0nX: but somewhere along the line
halcy0nX: i graduated
halcy0nX: and then got a fulbright
halcy0nX: and then ... a scholarship to study this ephemeral something further

This past Saturday I was out with my friend JiHyoung and we decided to have a little campfire on the beach and drink some hot tea before we went down the road to the newly built Lotte Cinema to see MI3 (don't see it - that's my review). The beach was a small one, at the end of a walking trail by the southern cliffs of the island - rocky, secluded, and perfect. We got one going despite the wind, and it was just dying down when a group of maybe 5 people with backpacks came down the stairs, shining flashlights around and generally acting very confused. They settled down at the base of the cliff and we decided they must be a group of ajoshi out for a late night soju picnic. Just then, full moon peeked out from behind a bank of clouds and in that picture postcard moment a gong sounded maybe a hundred yards up the shoreline from us. One of the group had snuck down there with a kkwaenggwari . We put out the fire and crept closer. A group of ajummas were setting up for a shaman kut! I had seen a kut (ritual) before, but in the formal confines of a ... fish warehouse in Jeju City, with distinguished members of the community there, video cameras, and all the huzzah huzzah Korean culture buzz going all around. If we hadn't been there, these women would have only the sea as their witness. One of the women circled burning incense sticks above her head, another woman bowed to north south east and west, and another lit candles among the rocks. The gong continued to sound from the shoreline and we could make out chanting from that same direction.
Some of the peripherary members sitting on rocks could have been men, it was hard to tell in the moonlight. The women were just ... Korean women - they were wearing track suits and baseball caps, and one of them was texting on her mobile. But they were here, among the volcanic rocks and the sea and the gorgeous big full moon. Watching them felt like being invited into another world, one so close to ours that it might be separated by the most transparent glass. And that night, by some crazy twist of luck and fate, that I passed right through that glass for a moment.

So, I guess that's what religion means to me.

THE HOMESTIZZLE

Lemme tell ya, I have a lot of fun here. At times it suprises me. :) My homestay brother Kyeong-Hwan is such a great kid, and I dare say a lifelong friend. This weekend we went to the PCbang (PC gaming cafe), where we played a really addictive game called Chaos, which is a mod of Warcraft (a Korean version of DOTA). Here's Kyeong-Hwan contemplating his imminent defeat:



But let the record show that last time, it was ME weeping in utter Warcraft ruin.

Today he saw me writing letters and getting things from my art box, so he dug around in there till he found my sticker letters. Our dog Jeong was quite pleased.





Boshintang anyone?

It has certainly been a while. I ... went to Japan! Now I'm back. Man, do I have a lot to catch up on.

It isn't often when something lives up to and even exceeds your expectations - even less often when that something is travel related. To all those Japan-o-philes I've known in my life - Chris Langevin, I'm talking to YOU - you were right all along. Korea is the "hot ham water" to Japan's thick, viscous, giblet-filled Thanksgiving gravy. The temples were beautifully minimalistic, the gardens were gorgeous, the anime was nudie, and the fashions were insane. Oh and the sake was good too. Sushi tastes best from a conveyer belt. Chilled green tea tastes best from vending machines, located approximately 50 feet from each other (this extends well into densely wooded countrysides). I want to learn Japanese so I can live in a manga internet cafe for the rest of my life. :) Yeah, I loved it. There are maybe a hundred new pictures on Flickr.

The legendary Ryoanji Zen rock garden in Kyoto:



Sunset over Tokyo skyline:



Rachael has an educational experience at the Yebisu Beer Museum:



Shibuya station is more city than I've ever experienced ...



Mist, temples and giant trees in Nikkho, north of Tokyo:



Me and a torii in Meiji, Tokyo:



And perhaps most important, to Japan's gardens and really everyone, is the VIM (very important moss). In comes in many varieties, as you can see here:



Despite my torrid love affair with Japan, it is nice to be back in Korea. I think my kids have been extra adorable lately. The sun is warm, the air is clear, and life on the island smells GOOD. :)

I came out of the library just now and walked through the park bathed in spring-tree-smells ... if I knew anything about botany I'd be able to say things like the lush musk of rosewood, the rich stink of cherry ... let's pretend it was just like all that. Anyway, heady and gorgeous. Ran into some of my third graders, confident and shining from their basketball game and smiling all sort of English greetings my way. And genuinely really happy to see me - that never, ever gets old. It's only a two minute walk from the library to my homestay, but it was definitely the best two minutes of my entire week. :)

Some other life-snippits:

One of my dogs, the little one named Jeong, has recently started sneezing compulsively whenever I come back home, and only for maybe the first ten minutes of seeing me.

I can't believe it's taken me this long to read Dharma Bums (thanks to Forest for the loan).

I'm hungry now, so I'm gonna go reheat some of that whole baby octopus and beef stir fry in the fridge. Mmmm! ;)

Well, a lot of things have happened in the last week or so, but I haven't done much bloggin'. ;) The weather's been beautiful, and I've been outside every day playing jumprope with the girls (and getting laughed at), running around with the boys (and getting laughed at), and teaching class (... yes, and getting laughed at). ;)

Last weekend JiHyoung and I went to the cherry blossom festival in Jeju City.



I am now of course fully Korean and feel the need to make this pose whenever possible:





Later we visited Ham-deok beach, played some frisbee, and just chilled out. Then we climbed a little oreum (small mountain - okay, small hill) which was in fact another crater. We found this little guy living among the magma:



Then it was out for traditional Korean rice wine (macoli) and some earnest pub-atmosphere-inspired contemplations:





Perfect day? Yes.

In other news, I heard yesterday that my school, Daesin Middle School, has been recognized as having the best English program in ... all of KOREA!! We were also told that some government officials would be coming down to videotape my class, some of my extra programs like the advanced class and my lunchtime program, and some of the other English classes. And that this tape would be shown to the ... president of Korea?? I don't know how much of this is just Daesin propaganda, but ... !! :) Amazing, just amazing. I definitely never thought I'd have school pride, but now I've got it bad. The English department is next to mad with preparations. As for me, this weekend will be devoted to relearning to tie my tie again. I think routinely forgetting it is my last shred of punk-music-teenage-rebellion holding on for dear life. ;) Hello, real world?

SIGHTSEEING, VOLCANO RIMS, AND PROBABLY ILLEGAL FARM-RELATED MANUEVERINGS

For its size, Jeju Island is relatively dense in the sight-seeing and awe-inspiring activities. My friend Lindsay's fellow English teacher, Mr. Kim, has been kind enough to take us around to some of the more out-of-the-way locales.



Buddhas leading the way into Kwanumsa, a temple near Jeju City. We caught the end of a chanting session and bowing session in one of the main temple buildings.



This little hollowed out cave had some candles and a Buddha image in it ... and most probably belonged to a hobbit.



Stone statues of Buddhist nuns gather in the ampitheatre for the annual Buddha vs. Jesus gladitorial games. Yeah, I have no idea what all this symbolizes, neither did our guide.



We next went to a rock and tree sculpture park which was, well - spectacular, seriously. I hadn't expected it to be, and I feel like a granny for getting excited about it. But man, Jeju rocks and trees can be damn pretty. This one's entitled "Walking Virgin Forest" (Treebeard's daughter perhaps??).



Our guide Mr. Kim routinely brings his "lady-friend" (or LF, in the parlance of our times) with us on these little excursions. She doesn't speak English and is quite shy but is prone to short-lived bursts of absolutely ridiculous energy sometimes. Here she demonstrates what was explained to us as on old Korean bath ... rock. When you take a bath, you're supposed to make that face, aids in pore cleansing.



The next day, my friend JiHyoung, her roommate and I went on a trip to Mara-do, a small island of 90 people off the southwest coast of Jeju-do. It's basically a plateau maybe the size of a football stadium or a little bigger. This pic reminds me a little of the Cliffs of Moher ...



Bikers and the windy grassy plain of Mara-do.



Back on Jeju, the plot thickens as JiHyoung and I discover that the volcano rim we wanted to explore seems to be in the middle of privately owned farmland and horse fields. The solution - law-breaking! ;) Mere barbed wire fences are no match for JiHyoung's wily powers.



Me and a horse on the way up the forbidden volcano.



As they say in Korea, "Assah!!" (Aww yea!) We made it to the top of the volcano, feeling at this point much like Frodo and Sam (wow, three LOTR references in one post! definitely a good weekend). With our hairy hobbit feet tumbling red volcanic rock into the crater, we scrambled around the rim and found a much easier path back, which incidentally led right to the tourist road. But ... it was fun to at least pretend and believe we were criminals for a time. ;) All in all, a perfect sunny Sunday, with only warm weather to come ... Jeju, gimme a kiss! You're swell!

A GLIMPSE INTO KOREAN MEDICINE

Well I've been sick for the past couple of days. Some of you know I loathe doctors more than -- well, I loathe them. Not personally of course. Categorically. A trip to the doctors' in the States usually requires a complete barfing-up of your entire medical history, that of your parents, grandparents, cousins, and known ancestors - in fact, a family tree is probably the best thing to take along. I don't know if this is the same with everyone, but doctors' offices in my mind carry with them that "oh-god-there-goes-the-afternoon" feeling.

So after sniffing and coughing my way into several classes and teachers' offices, it was the general opinion that I needed to go to the "hospital", as its said here in English. Oh god. So after stalling a few days I finally acquiesce. The first "hospital" (they're really just storefront clinics) is filled with maybe 20 elementary schoolers and their parents, though I did get a glimpse of a side room that looked a little like the oxygen bar I went to in the Bangkok airport. I was intrigued, but we moved on.

The second place was a lot less crowded and my coteacher and I went up to the desk. The woman got our name and the name of our middle school, and then told us to sit down in the waiting room. As it turns out, the "waiting room" and the "examining room" were the same thing. We sat down on a long bench next to a young army officer on one side and an ajjuma (middle aged Korean woman) with her son on the other. Right next to the army officer were beakers (yes, 10th grade chemistry class beakers with little spouts for your mouth and condensation on the inside. I think this is what the kids were using in the "oxygen bar" in the last place. My coteacher said they are a "form of treatment". Ahhh. Another apparent "form of treatment" are headphones placed all around the room with tiny stools (the chair variety) next to them. One guy was using a pair (of headphones that is), with his eyes closed, possibly hearing the soothing sounds of the sea, wind through a pine forest, or perhaps getting the wax sonically blown out of his eardrums. Or maybe previewing a CD before purchase? I'll never know. All around the room, apparently controlling nothing, were dials and pressure readers that looked like they belonged to a defense network supercomputer circa 1959. The dials were most concentrated near the Chair in the center of the room. The procedure went a little something like this: the doctor called a new name, the patient sat in the chair, got a little tongue depressing, a little nostril and mouth prodding, two puffs of Something in each nostril, a prescription note passed to the nurse, and pat on the head (one little boy did actually!) - of course while being oggled by the rest of the room. Turnaround time: approx. 50 seconds. I was about 4th in line. The doctor was a gentle man, spoke a little English, and with that and my coteacher's translations we explained my symptoms. One of the prodders turned out to be a nasal camera, and with it the doctor showed me, in at least 32 bit color, the inner workings of my nose. No pat on the head, but the whole thing cost me $12, and about 15 minutes. Honestly, it was almost worth it to be sick, just for the experience. ;)

I guess there's been a lack of posting lately, but I guess that's because I've just settled into a busy school routine. I'm teaching more classes this semester - doing an advanced class in the mornings at 8:00 three days a week, and I've been putting more time and thought into my lesson plans. My days look pretty much like regular working days. This week has had its highlights though. I had my butt poked by frisky first grade boys (it's a thing here, apparently). I explained, in a moment of good-humored and mutual understanding, the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster to a pair of wandering Mormons in Seogwipo. I've driven my scooter through the rain and loved every minute.

In other news, I went to a soccer game last week! I live right across the street - literally - from the Jeju World Cup Stadium, which has been in disuse since the World Cup games were played there in 2002. Last week marked the first game of the new Jeju United team, which competes with other teams around Korea. It was my first *real* soccer game, and though nobody scored, everyone was a winner. Awwww. Especially these kids who collected all the toilet paper they could find and paraded around with it:



and a taste of the game itself, in the fabulous stadium:

A lot of you have asked me what a normal day in Korea might be like. Well, kinda like this:



Welcome to my world! ;)

THE REFORMAT

An hour or so hence, I shall reformat my computer. I like to think of this as a new beginning - a squeakier, cleaner beginning.

I might not have the internet on this one for a while. Sure, I can go across the hall and use the homestay family computer. Or I could use the one in my office - or my classroom! Or go to the PC cafe right up the street. But - owning your own computer is like owning your own puppy. Sure, you can love someone else's puppy, but when you know those little yips and yaps and beeps and bytes are really for YOU, and and you alone, there's something special in that knowledge. You know that you don't really own the puppy-computer, it owns YOU. Your soul, I mean, and the attention of your every waking moment. I digress.

In the meantime, I took these pictures yesterday in Jeju City, there is literally no end to chuckle-able Korean signage.





The rest of the pictures from Thailand and Cambodia are also (finally!) up. They're not in sets yet, and the rotation thingy in Flickr has been slow lately, so you might have to muddle through them a bit. Enjoy!

SHAMANISM!

Today I woke up at 6:30 (AM, yes.) and took the bus into Jeju City. My destination was Soohyup fish market. Tucked away in a warehouse next to a large industrial ice machine and behind tanks and tanks of fish bigger than me ... I witnessed a sacred event. Today marks the arrival of the gods to Jeju - apparently the gods are still low-level employees and don't have that many vacation days, so they return to where-ever they came from during a similar ceremony on March 13th. Below you can see the ajjumas setting up the scene and the shaman in the corner getting dressed, apparently the colored bits of art are to attract the gods - like god flypaper?



The first male shaman then read the names of all the fishing ships and of the haenyo (fisherwoman divers ... they catch all kinds of mollusks and shells for the restaurants), to put them in good favor with the gods.



Of course, the gods are only appeased with a good stick raise,



and a stick twirl.



Another shaman gives a rousing talk in Korean, with the most excellent hat I've ever seen.



The "Legitimate Businessmen's Club" of Jeju City (actually, the Fisheries Bank senior staff) get the gods' fishy blessings for a new year.



Members of a shaman dancing troupe onstage for a traditional dance.



A female shaman (wearing brown) lets out a delighted bellow as the dance goes on.



The ritual ended with a free-for-all of bowing, dancing, and even a belligerent drunken fisherman who staggered on-stage, arms outstretched. Who knows, perhaps the gods come in strange forms?

These pictures seem a bit whimsical, but seriously ... they don't really capture the scene. I have some great video clips and when I get a clips site up and running (hopefully soon) I'll be linking to it ... the crescendoes with the traditional drumming got both the shaman and the crowd's hearts pounding, like the climax of a good techno song. I caught myself gasping a few times. There was something sacred happening today -- even if it did smell like fish. ;)

PARTNERS IN CRIME

So my homestay brother Kyeong-Hwan comes into my room today with a big grin on his face and his finger to his lips. "Shhh" he says. "My mother wants me to study. I hide here?" Who am I to stand in the way of mischief?? My host sister pokes her head in my room a few minutes later and seeing no brother, goes away - and lucky for the little bugger, doesn't hear him snickering under my desk, hidden by my chair and big coat. Classic. I don't think he did any homework that night. ;)

I realize I haven't posted in quite a while. It's one of those things - there's so much to post about that I'm worried I couldn't possibly cover it all, and so I don't post at all. So here we go - after Chiang Mai I hopped to Bangkok and then Siem Reap and spent about 5 days in the ruins Angkor Wat, an amazingly well-preserved Hindu and Buddhist temple complex that had been hidden in the jungle for centuries. Pictures to come. For now, I'm settling back into my homestay in Jeju, teaching a small winter break class of advanced students. I've developed an almost unholy urge to make fruit smoothies after having them for breakfast every day in Southeast Asia ... I believe I've cleaned the blender maybe 5 times in the last two days? Current favorite: too-yoo (soy milk), protein powder, and fresh strawberries. Still on target with the book goals: just finished Peter Matthiessen's The Snow Leopard and I'm starting In Search of Duende by Lorca at the recommendation of Miss Ariana Balayan (I'm entranced). :) More on those ... maybe I'll start a book review section of this site? In this creepy post-college world, yes - giving myself homework sends oh-goody shivers down my spine.

CHIANG MAI, THAILAND

Let me say right off - I can't tell you how much I love this city. Chiang Mai is in the north of Thailand, near the Lao / Burma border (the "Golden Triangle") and is surrounded by jungles, hill tribes, and no doubt all kinds of adventure. Tomorrow Jennifer and I are heading out on a trekking tour - ours includes hiking and visiting 2 different hill tribe villages (the "long necks" and the "big ears" - political correctness not being a big priority with our travel agency, I guess), riding elephants, and ... white water rafting!

For farang (foreigners) Chiang Mai is something of a hippie, outdoorsy enclave. A lot of expats here own bars, restaurants, hostels and travel companies and the city has become a mecca for Thai massage lessons, cooking classes, yoga, vegetarianism, eco tourism, jewelry making, alternative bookstores on every corner, and of course the purchasing of elephant print handbags in all shapes and colors. For those of you from MA, it's like someone airlifted Northampton and plopped it in the middle of Thailand and let it sit for a few years to soak up a distinctive Thai flavor. Jennifer and I actually took a cooking class our first night here with disastrous results. The food was amazing - tom yum soup, pad thai, stir fry, and banana spring rolls ... mmmmm. But about an hour later, I started to feel a little queasy and we headed back to the hostel. I puked every single hour all night, for about 10 hours straight. Have you ever puked out of your nose? I have! :) So we're taking it easy for a couple of days. And later this week we're signed up for massage classes! I think Jennifer's out on the city getting a massage right now ...

So good news, people. Right before we left Bangkok, I found a place that read Sony cards and got my pictures on CD! The Flickr web upload is super slow but here's a sneak preview of what I've been up to lately (with big and I think understandable focus on da beach) ;)


Gorgeous bridge to the Andong Folk Village ... yes. This is what all of Asia looks like. We also have flying swordmasters. ;)


Jennifer tries a forbidden door ...


Me, on a Buddha in Gyeongju. We actually ate lunch up there, on Buddha's head. :)


A man sketches a cliffside Buddha image, across the valley from the peak we're ascending.


Me on the beach in Koh Chang. I usually find it quite hard to do a genuine smile for the camera -- not that day. :)


My hammock on the beach, at sunset. I fell asleep in the late afternoon and woke up with this ...


Our bungalows on Koh Chang. Beyond the trees, monkeys. Turn around to see the sea. :D

I realize this post is painfully out of date. Well, it's now Thursday the 8th of February, and I'll be beginning my flights home tomorrow - and in Jeju by mid-afternoon on Sunday. Much more on my travels next week, I have so much to write about! :) Can't wait to share it ... missing you all !