ersatzkaffee

architecture in gunsan

2011-08-15T05:52:00.000-07:00

During the Japanese Occupation Period, Gunsan was a port city from which rice was exploited and sent to Japan. Many Japanese merchants settled here and grew rich. Today, many of the colonial buildings still remain along the harbor and in the old parts of Gunsan. Unfortunately for me, many of the buildings were being renovated so I couldn't get very many pictures. Although much of it tells sad stories of plunder and greed, the buildings themselves are quite beautiful and the government has done a great deed in protecting them.

Dongguksa (東国寺) is the only temple left in Korea from the colonial era. At the peak of the colonial period, there were more than five hundred Japanese style temples. This temple was originally founded by a monk by the name of Uchida in 1909 and the building itself was built in 1912. The main hall is constructed in a style that was quite popular during the Edo Period in Japan.

The Hirotsu House below was the residence of a wealthy Japanese merchant. It is an Edo-style Mansion (Yashiki) with a few modifications. Several rooms on the bottom floor employ the Korean ondol floor heating system while the rooms above use traditional Japanese tatami mats.

Below is the Old Gunsan Customs House. It was designed by either a French or German architect in an eclectic mix of European styles in 1908. The red bricks were imported from Belgium. This was where much of the rice that was grown was shipped out from.

the myeongdong intersection

2011-08-11T07:13:00.000-07:00

Above is a bird's eye view of what is now mostly Myeongdong. You can see the former Bank of Chosen and the Old Seoul Post office in the foreground. The Mitsukoshi Department Store has yet to built in this picture. As one follow the street just right of the bank, the street opens up to the City Hall and a large, open plaza. On the left is a close up of the intersection, with the Bank of Chosen on the left. Today, most of the other buildings have all been demolished unfortunately.

Above is the former Mitsukoshi Department Store now Shinsegae Headquarters and below the Former Bank of Chosen Bank now museum.

The former Korea First Bank.

The recently built Korea Post Office.

downtown's heyday

2011-08-09T06:37:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles in 1952 before all the skyscrapers came in. One can see the Alexandria Hotel (which still exists) and the wonderful Eastern Building in the background.

Above is the the Hall of Records which was unfortunately demolished in the 70's and below the Eastern Columbia Building.

Above is the Richfield Building which was demolished in the 60's and below a picture of Broadway during a time when it actually flourished and was a destination for culture.

frankfurt am main

2011-07-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

It seems like I always have a layover in Frankfurt whenever I visit Europe. Except for the fact that its airport is too small for the amount of people it serves (hence it always being crowded) it is a nice city to stop by if you have enough time to leave the airport. It only takes about fifteen minutes to get to the city center.

In reference to the original inhabitants of the area, Frankfurt means the 'ford of the Franks.' The main attraction is the Römerberg (Roman Hill) where the elections of the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire took place for 600 years. In this area, eleven buildings make up the Römer (The Roman). They are all said to be connected by hallways and labyrinths. The center building of the three gable-roofed structures was where the emperor's coronation would take place. It is known as the Haus Römer (Roman House) while the left and right one are called Alt-Limpurg and Löwenstein respectively. Many of the buildings were heavily damaged during World War II and reconstructed thereafter. The picture below is dated from the late 1880s.

Much detail was added in the recent reconstruction of these buildings. The wooden balcony for instance was added so that ceremonies could take place before a crowd of people. One interesting fact about these buildings is that the rulers bought them from wealthy merchants rather than building separate structures for their city.

Directly across from the Römer are these buildings in the picture above. All of them have been reconstructed and now have restaurants on the bottom floors.

Dom Sankt Bartholomäus (Saint Bartholomew's Cathedral) is the city's main cathedral. It was constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries on the foundations of an earlier Merovingian building. The building was destroyed in an 1867 fire and rebuilt in its modern day form.

sabi palace

2011-07-18T08:14:00.003-07:00

I finally got to visit Sabi Palace that was recently constructed. It was indeed an impressive site. Nevertheless, being the critic I am, two things bothered me. First, the palace was not built on the original site and secondly, it felt more like visiting an amusement park rather than a site from the past. The first problem I can overlook because it really doesn't matter, except to the few zealous historians and archaeologists. I did have issues with the second. Once inside, there are speakers blasting 'traditional Korean music' and large plasma televisions inside the buildings playing history lessons. Of course those who build these things have to consider the monetary returns or else they would go bankrupt. I can understand that. But I think they were only thinking of the returns. I personally don't think they should have built the palace. Instead, they should have rebuilt the long-gone Buddhist structures that we know existed during the Baekje Kingdom (e.g. Mireuksa) and actually have them function as places of worship. Like other temples in Korea, these sites could reach a point where they would be self-sustaining.

Still, it is better than having nothing at all and I would recommend this place to anyone interested in early Korean history. There is a museum next door where you can learn a bit about the early connection between the Baekje Kingdom and early Asuka Japan.

In the background, one can see Neung Temple and its pagoda. Unfortunately, it is not used as a place of worship but is just a small part of the entire complex.

This is suppose to be a replica of Wirye Fortress, the very first fortress that was located in Seoul. It is interesting to see that the tiled and gabled roofs have not yet become a part of Baekje architecture.

architecture in luzern

2011-06-28T08:29:00.000-07:00

One is treated to a marvelous facade immediately after exiting the current railway station in Luzern (below). The facade is the only part of the original station (left) that is left standing after a fire broke out in February of 1971. It now serves as both a memorial to the old building and Luzern's version of a triumphal arch.

Right across the Reuss River sits the Hauptpost (main post office) of Luzern.

Connecting the two banks is the Kappellbrücke (Chapel Bridge). It is Europe's oldest bridge with a cover and Switzerland's most photographed landmark. The bridge was first constructed in 1333 to help protect Luzern from attacks. In 1993, large parts of the bridge burnt down but fortunately was reconstructed. The Wasserturm (Water Tower) is an octagonal brick tower that was formerly used as watchtower, treasury, torture chamber, and prison. Currently it is a guild hall used by the Artillery Association.

Luzern has predominantly been a Catholic town in a predominantly Protestant Switzerland and as a result, one can find this rare instance of a Catholic church. The Jesuitenkirche (Jesuit Church) was built in 1666 at the order of Christoph Volger and dedicated to Saint Francis Xavier. It is one of a few examples of architecture in Switzerland that is in the Baroque style.

mireuksa

2011-06-27T23:52:00.000-07:00

Mireuk Temple was established in 602 by King Mu of the Kingdom of Baekje. Legend says that King Mu and his queen saw a vision of the Maitreya Buddha at a pond and subsequently had the pond drained for the construction of this temple. It was then dedicated and named after the Maitreya Buddha.

The reconstructed plan of the temple is rather unique; it does not exist in China, Japan, or in other parts of the Korean Peninsula. The two stone pagodas flank the larger wooden one in the center and corridors separate it from the rest of the complex. One of the arguments for such tall pagoda structures in early East Asian History is that it was to legitimize the power of the ruling class. This can be seen in major pagoda construction during the Tang Dynasty, Silla Kingdom, and early Yamato Kingdom of Japan. The wooden pagoda is said to have been built by a craftsmen named Abiji.

The Western Pagoda survived into modern times and is the oldest and largest stone pagoda to survive from the Baekje Kingdom. The Eastern Pagoda was recently reconstructed after extensive studies of the Western Pagoda. The Western one is now undergoing thorough excavations and will be reassembled sometime in the future. The stone pagoda showed how Baekje craftsmen adapted their knowledge of woodworking to stone. Except for the simplification of the bracketing system, most of the construction techniques mimic wooden ones.

suwon

2011-05-19T21:13:00.000-07:00

My second visit to Suwon. Many of the walls have been reconstructed and they've created a lot of green space in and around the fortress. It certainly is a pleasant sight.

Hwahong Gate allows the Suwon River to flow into the walled city.

Changan Gate is the biggest gate in all of Korea.

You cannot help but take notice of this gigantic church as it looms over the city like the Death Star. I am not sure by whom and when it was built, but its eclectic Gothic-esque architectural style and austere Protestant aesthetics suggest a recent construction and perhaps a koreanization of cathedral architecture.

wood xylophone

2011-04-08T09:50:00.000-07:00

the urban shift?

2011-04-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

People supporting suburban sprawls use recent figures of the declining population of most major cities as proof that suburbanization of America continues. Unfortunately, figures do not tell the entire story. With governments turning towards austerity and refocusing on sustainable development, it is curious that one study shows, on the contrary, the downtowns of american cities actually growing. Yes, this does mean that cities are shrinking but more people are turning towards denser areas. Areas where people can walk or take public transportation to work, to the grocery store, to wherever they are headed.

This isn't anything new. The cities that we know of today all began as dense settlements and slowly became centers of commerce, education, and the arts. Cities in Western Europe or Eastern Asia have always been the heartbeat of the country. It was during the baby-boomer generation that America saw people moving away from the city and creating large suburban sprawls. (especially in places like southern California) This led to the decay of cities (New York and Los Angeles during the 70's and 80's were thought of as very dangerous places, ridden with crime and gangs) and a flourishing of small towns and a car-centered life. But before I offer my criticism of such a lifestyle, I will say that the suburban life is indeed nice and comfortable. Suburbs offer much more space and are safer and cleaner than cities. One could actually own property and a home for much less.

There will always be suburbs and even rural areas, and I do believe that there is a place for them. My only qualm is that the suburbanization of America was not a sustainable lifestyle for such a large group and now my generation will have to deal with its consequences. Because of voracious appetites for houses, developers built and people bought even if they couldn't afford it and the housing market crashed. Because the baby-boomers worked hard (which is a good thing), they thought they deserved generous retirement benefits and pensions (a bad thing and perhaps has nothing with urban or suburban life but I still want to include it), governments are bankrupt. Because of the car-centered life, we've become dependent on gas and the price continues to climb. This doesn't seem sustainable.

One allure of the suburbs was the ability to own a home and actually make money. It seems that many (here, here, here, here) (though arguable) are saying that what we saw in the last half of 20th century will never happen again. They say many in this generation will not be able to ever own a home. Some critics are optimistic that the housing market will come back up. People will always need a place to live they say. The one thing they don't take into consideration is that housing markets do go up when the job market in that particular area goes up as well. And unfortunately, that most likely will not be ameliorated anytime soon.

Many educated people of the post-baby-boomer generation are choosing to stay in cities because it offers many things that they did not experience as kids. They see the cities as an exciting place, where one can meet people, try new foods, and go to art shows and concerts. They do not need to drive as often. Thus, we are seeing a revitalization of cities. Go to New York and see how exciting of a place it is.

Washington recently opened up the Office of Urban Affairs in order to address sustainable urban living. They want to see more public transportation and better school systems in the cities. (here, here) Cities in return are investing heavily in railway. Inner city school problems are constantly being addressed. (Though we still have to wait and see whether anything happens at this time) Perhaps we will lose our individual space and landscaped yards but in the long run, I believe that our government is focusing on the right things. I do hope that people can see that we need to sacrifice our personal desires for the greater good of the society.

detroit

2011-03-28T16:06:00.000-07:00

A hopeful but slow rebirth of Detroit.

the eastern columbia building

2011-03-17T12:47:00.000-07:00

Considered one of Los Angeles' most beautiful buildings, the Eastern Columbia sits at the end of Broadway and served as the headquarters for the Eastern Outfitting Company and the Columbia Outfitting Company. It was designed by Claud Beelman and constructed by September of 1930 in the zig-zag Moderne Style. It later became offices and slowly fell into disuse but was fortunately saved from the wrecking ball (unlike the Richfield Building). In 2006, the building was converted into condominiums by the Kor Group and now is a highly sought after place to live.

The building is cladded in turquoise terracotta tiles and accented with gilded trimmings. Christopher Hawthorne, a Los Angeles Times architectural critic wrote that it is "one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture in the city, a building that would be world-famous if it were located in Manhattan or San Francisco. Hopefully, as Downtown L.A. gentrifies and becomes a desirable area to live in, the building will indeed become well-known.

The zig-zag lines and the heavy geometric depictions characterize the zig-zag Modern Style. One can see the sun at the center of the metalwork with the rays projecting out as stylized plants. The gilding is said to be actual gold dust.

bank of korea

2011-03-11T23:18:00.000-08:00

The Bank of Korea was designed by Tatsuno Kingo, the same architect behind Tokyo Station and the Bank of Japan. It was completed in 1912 and served as the Bank of Chosen (朝鮮銀行) until 1945. In 1950, the Bank of Korea was established and was headquartered here until a new skyscraper was built just behind the building. It is now the Bank of Korea Museum. It is built in an eclectic mixture of French Chateau and French Renaissance styles.

the first mall in seoul

2011-03-11T19:48:00.000-08:00

The first department store in Seoul was the Gyeongseong Branch of Mitsukoshi (三越京成支店), built in 1930 and designed by Japanese architect Hayashi Kouhei. It is one of the few structures that actually survived the Korean War. In 1963, the Samsung group took over the building and began the Shinsegae Department Store (신세계 백화점) and in 2007, it was remodeled with escalators.

During the colonial era, this department store was one of two Western-style buildings that ordinary Koreans could enter (the other being Seoul Station). It is here that concepts such as 'modern boy' and 'modern girl' entered the vocabulary of young Korean people.

A view of it today at night

During Christmas

In 1914, Japan opened its first Mitsukoshi in Nihonbashi in Tokyo modeled after department stores in London (Harrod's) and Paris (Le Bon Marché). Sixteen years later, the Seoul branch would open.

Harrods in London, 1898

Le Bon Marché, 1850

the richfield tower

2011-03-11T13:45:00.000-08:00

The Richfield Tower was a twelve-story art deco structure completed in 1928 and served as the headquarters of the Richfield Oil Company until 1969. In 1966, Richfield merged with Atlantic Petroleum and formed the ARCO company. The tower was then dismantled and two new skyscrapers went up for the new company. To many however, the destruction of the building was arguably one of the most regrettable decision made in Los Angeles' architectural history.

The building was designed by Los Angeles architect Stiles O. Clements with a black and gold facade to symbolize oil as being 'black gold.' The building was crowned with a tower that was suppose to represent an oil-well gusher. The tops were also lined with sculptures of angels sculpted by Haig Patigian.

There were forty angels that were salvaged but only a handful remain. The one above is now back in downtown. Four others are in a sculpture garden at UC Santa Barbara. Below are the elevator doors that were also saved.

The ARCO towers came the replace the building. Many people today detest these modern skyscrapers but at the time it was built, I am sure that people hailed it as progress. It was modern, sleek, shiny, and very tall. Very few people in the sixties were actually concerned about preserving older buildings and therefore, I think we should be fair to the people who designed and constructed these buildings. A good historian does not think with his or her own preferences and emotions and hopefully tries his or her best to understand the people of that time. And I think we should step away from what our contemporary senses tell us and enjoy it for what it is (Although as a modern person, I would also prefer to have the old building).

the old seoul post office

2011-03-09T14:21:00.000-08:00

Certain buildings, I wish were still extant. The old Seoul Post Office being one of them. It was originally called the Gyeongseong Government Post Office (경성 우편국 청사) and served its purpose from 1905 to the 1950's when the Korean War erupted. And it was during the war that much of it was sadly destroyed. In 1957 a three-story building was constructed until it was expanded in 1968 to serve the growing metropolis.

The first building was constructed in the Japanese 'Imperial' Style, which was a style loosely based on late German Baroque. The red brick and whitish granite are typical of architecture in colonial Korea during the early 1900's. A central dome topped the building in typical Baroque fashion.

By the early 1950's the building had already lost its dome and parts of its roof.

After the demolition of the original and the two subsequent (and mediocre) buildings, this is the Seoul Central Post Office today. It was designed and built by the architecture firm Space Group headed by Lee Sang-leem in 2008.

conservation

2011-03-09T13:52:00.000-08:00

Most people look at the facade of a building and walk away with a superficial understanding of its history and symbol. It appears that much of what people deem significant is how beautiful and clean the exterior of a building is. And for many people, that beauty is synonymous with something built in a pre-modern style: Classical European, Moorish, Historical East Asian. If one walks around the most popular shopping spaces in Los Angeles for instance, buildings are built in a hodge podge, pseudo-European style (of which I firmly detest). On the flip side, people look at a building erected after the sixties and judge its simplicity and patterns with the intricacies of pre-modern architecture and conclude that it is ugly. There is a longing for the old and a subtle hatred for the new.

One possible explanation is that it is a response to the blind destruction of historical buildings for the sake of development. In 1963 in New York City, when Penn Station was demolished to make way for a modern station with a skyscraper, people lamented their loss and a conservationist group was formed to prevent such things from happening again. Countries in Europe have gone the extreme and governments have banned development in any historic core area of their city. Most skyscrapers are located on the outer limits. We Americans then go to these European cities and are in awe of the historic value of the buildings. And of course, we become agitated by the unfortunate lack of history and the 'persistent' destruction of the old in America.

Interior of Penn Station

A postcard of the waiting room

Penn Station Before

Penn Station Now

Personally, I am for development as new buildings bring about innovations and progress in architecture. The Romans expanded on Greek ideas and created the arch and discovered cement. During the Industrial Revolution, the British began to build with steel. America took these ideas and created the skyscraper. Progress is not a bad thing. I do not think that developers and city planners deliberately want to destroy every beautiful building in their city. They are utilitarian. They are looking for the most efficient and cheapest way to serve people. I am sure that the old Penn Station could no longer serve the citizens of New York and in addition to the cost of maintenance, it was more logical to build a larger and newer structure. Still, the loss of such a structure affected people.

These days, conservationists want to protect every building ever built and are strongly opposed to development. They elicit people's emotions and band together to stop development. Entire communities have become what we call NIMBYs. Yes, some developers do make mistakes and occasionally destroy buildings that should not have been razed but the good things they do are largely ignored and they are hounded by the one thing they do wrong. In my opinion, the biggest problem about this is that people begin to think more emotionally and ego-centrically than pragmatically and thus limit our progress. When building a new skyscraper could provide more jobs and cheaper housing, the fierce opposition of a small but very strong NIMBY group prevents progress for the majority.

I like to take the middle ground and wish we would only conserve historically important buildings and let developers create new things. Of course everything they build will not be historically important and that would eventually be torn down to make way for future buildings. I do not think we need to protect every single building. That way, we can still enjoy history but also make way for advancement. It seems like a logical compromise but I guess for the urban planner, architect, and policy maker, it is an extremely difficult task to balance.

man

2010-12-16T00:39:00.000-08:00

I was asked what the difference between human, human being, person, human race, mankind, and man was by my Swiss friend. And being such a loaded question, I had to mull over it for about a day. The following morning, I had my morning coffee and built up the boldness to piece together my scattered thoughts. The following is not meant to be a complete analysis; I did not look into the history and etymology of each word. It is just a primer to a possible research project at a later date.

1) Human(s) was originally a French word which I suppose came into the English Language after a word had already existed for the concept of man and human. French words supplied English with sophisticated nuances and abstract ideas, e.g. beef vs.cow meat, mansion vs. house. Thus, the word human most likely took on this subtly intricate gradient of meaning. Today, the word is used when talking about it as a physical body sans the spirit and emotions, i.e. in the sciences. We do not say the person body or man body but the human body. We are not the person or man race but the human race. It is often used in conjunction with words such as evolution, species and cloning.

2) Although the word 'human being' and 'human' do share several gradients of meaning, there also seems to be a stark difference in the emotional response of the speaker/listener. Many times, when the question of life and spirituality arises, human being is the favored word.

What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?
- Psalms 8:4

You wonder why your life is screaming, Wonder why we're human beings.
- Van Halen

It also seems to be used when contrasting man with a god or an idea of some sort. We step away from being a human for a second and critique the race and find meaning in it.

3) The word person is most often used in daily speech. It is who we see and interact with everyday. "I like that person" or "I saw that person yesterday" are common things we say. This word is from a latin cognate and took on this stoic meaning. (In italian person is 'la persona.') The plural form of person, people, can interestingly be used as a verb as in "the island of Australia was peopled by deported criminals." The word likely started as a noun and was verbified and verbification regularly happens with words that are commonly used. What would be interesting to see is how people came to mean many persons.

4) The human race is normally used to contrast it with other races other than humans. It is frequently used in movies and video games with aliens or monsters. In mythology, there is the elven race, the dwarven race, and the orc race. The human race also refers to all of man as a whole. Statements must be satirical, a general truth, or a critique. Mark Twain says, "The human race is a race of cowards; and I am not only marching in that procession but carrying a banner."

5) Mankind seems to be used a lot in the telling of stories and histories. It is a word of extremes: triumph, valor, and courage, failure, danger, and weakness. The famous quote "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" succinctly demonstrates that. In contrast, Albert Einstein once said, "We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive."

6) In its simplest form, man is the male species. It is also the idea that encompasses man and woman. In its more complex form, it includes not all but many of the meanings of the words above. This makes it a very elaborate word and tricky for learners of English. It is most likely the oldest of all the words discussed to have come into the English Language. We see cognates in other Germanic Languages that point to this antiquity. (e.g. der Mann in modern German)

My speculation is that all the previous words came into the language at different points in time and assimilated certain meanings of the word man. Sometimes the dual usage was unnecessary and one was made obsolete. Other times, the two coexisted peacefully. This process is the reason why it is difficult to concretely narrow down the meaning of each word. I have tried to draw attention to distinct meanings each word contains but am not proposing that they cannot intermingle. Many in fact can be interchanged without significant loss in meaning and nuance.

iwan's video

2010-11-19T11:52:00.000-08:00

I think it's an awesome video. He should do more.

The Kingdom Invited from 1wan on Vimeo.

august 3, 2010. bern.

2010-11-18T01:34:00.000-08:00

It had been two weeks since Iwan and I had moved back to Busswil and now my time in Switzerland was nearing its end. Iwan had left for work early in the morning and I slept in. I assumed that Iwan's mother had left for work as well. Once awake, I plodded into the kitchen and saw that Iwan's mother had laid out a plate of golden peaches and a loaf of bread. She had placed each slice perfectly in its place and the sweetness of the fruit was even more exceptional because of it. I thought of her kindness and smiled. The bread that she regularly bought had easily become a favorite. I am quite sure that such marvelously aromatic loaves of breads do not exist in America and if money were not the issue, I would go back to Switzerland for just a tiny morsel. During breakfast I recalled everyone's hospitality and thought of things I wanted to do for them. Not that I needed to but it would be the way I could tangibly show that I cared about them. That subsequently lead me to think of the sadness that I and others will perhaps have to cope with when I fly back home.

After a bittersweet breakfast, I went online and chatted with Iwan about our plans for the day. We decided that I would take the train down to Bern and meet Flo and Janina and do something with them until Iwan could meet up with us. I packed my things and walked to the train station.

In Bern, Janina, Flo, and I walked along the Aare River and wandered into a zoo. Iwan had told me that this zoo was divided into a free and not so free zone. None of us wanted to pay so we did the best to entertain ourselves with the free things. It actually turned out to be an interesting afternoon. Flo told us stories of her childhood visits to this very zoo and which animals were her favorites. Janina on the other had learned the English word for 'Ibex.' I learned that beaver was biber in German and it sounded very similar to Justin Bieber. Perhaps there was a connection I thought. We marched up a few staircases and stumbled upon an area for the flamingoes. I was very fascinated by their strange legs.

We met Iwan half way back towards the apartment and stopped by the Marzili, Bern's public park area where people dive into the river, swim in the outdoor swimming pools and lay out sun-bathing. Nüssbu came and joined us there shortly. We laid out talking, jumping over each other, and laughing at the silly competitive games we created. It was a merry time. Then Iwan had the idea that we should take a dip in the swimming pool one last time. It did seem exciting except for the fact that it was rather cold and the wind had started blowing. No matter, we swam, dove, clenched our teeth, trembled and made new memories. And Iwan mastered his flips on the diving board.

Initially, I was going to cook dinner for everyone but that quickly was overruled when we all got very hungry very fast. Instead, we went to a Chinese take-out place. We enjoyed our food in downtown Bern in one of the open squares. I had a sense that it was going to be one of those evenings that you remember really well because everyone is in good spirits. We took pictures, horsed around, and conversed. We talked about the possibility of me moving to Switzerland and everyone else coming to visit America. The conversations blended well with the soft breeze of the evening. The windows of the shops and restaurants began to light up as though they were decorations for the celebration of old friendships and of new friendships being developed. It was a wonderful way to wrap up my trip to a country whose people were welcoming and accepting.

westwood at a glance

2010-11-10T01:43:00.000-08:00

Westwood was first conceived in the 1920's and all the buildings originally followed a mediterranean theme. Today, the architectural styles of Westwood is more of a hodge-podge having collected buildings erected in the subsequent decades. Many of the old mediterranean buildings and tile work remain fortunately.

If you have visited Westwood before, the first thing you will notice is the building on the left. Today it is a sushi place called Yamato but it originally began as the office of the Janss family corporation. In this picture, it is a Bank of America.

Another view coming up on Westwood Blvd. That intersection is quite busy today but back in the day, a stop sign was all that was needed to serve traffic.

The building we all know as Peet's Coffee was originally a Ralphs! And where the Standard Gas Station once stood is now the mundane brick building that foreign students come to learn English in.

How it looks today, with that ultra modern building in the background.

Another view coming up through Broxton Avenue. The Fox Theater looks just like how it did back then.

A picture from the seventies when they started building tall skyscrapers along Wilshire Blvd. Notice that the medical building has not yet realized the huge monetary potential of humongous advertisements that it generously slaps onto the west facade today.

A more modern addition that developers razed last year to build something. That something never came to be and it is now there's just a big hole in the ground.

This proposed building is planned to go where the Hollywood Video was, at the corner of Glendon and Wilshire. Hopefully we will see this building go up soon because it's beautiful.

hiking

2010-11-02T02:47:00.000-07:00

On one overcast day, Iwan spent the morning and early afternoon thinking about where our next excursion would take place. I will never know for sure what he was thinking or feeling but I had a hunch that he was deliberating over a possible hike. Perhaps this delay in a decision was caused by a fear of the dark gray clouds that had been hovering over the town the past week. By mid afternoon however, he had made up his mind and we were in the car, on our way to a plateau of some sort just behind his grandfather's farm.

It was a windy and narrow road and we slowly made it to the base of the hill to park. It was an enormous cliff - beautifully covered in foliage like sweet frosting and the face of the cliff dangerously austere and imposing. The clouds had temporarily cleared and the cold blue of the sky created a dramatic backdrop for the jagged cliff.

We began our trek up a stairwell that was quite slippery from the rain the night before. Iwan, being that he was in better shape than I was and also not wearing the shoes I was wearing, eagerly climbed the steps and I slowly followed a few feet behind. I definitely was not dressed for this occasion and thought how foolish I was that I had decided to wear slacks and a sweater.

It was awfully quiet and Iwan and I did very little talking. The sporadic sun rays and the strange glow of the leaves made it seem like an enchanted forest one reads about in the books. If there had been fairies or elves, I know I would have seen one or two of them. About half way up I grew a bit tired and forced myself to imagine how majestic of a feeling it would be looking down on the valley once we got to the top. It was enough motivation for me.

When we got to the top, the wind howled and blew and we could see in the distance the dark clouds it was pushing towards us. I decided to ignore it for a few minutes and take in some of the beauty that was before me. Iwan had seen this many times before and slowly began to walk down the trail that would lead us to where the two sides of the cliff tapered into a sharp point. I naturally followed. Midway through, the winds became stronger and droplets of water began to hit us. A storm was on its way. He walked faster with each step and I tried to keep up with him as best as my picture happy fingers would let me. He then shouted that there may be a lightning storm and we would likely be struck if we didn't get off the plateau. We both panicked a little and looked for a trail down.

We eventually made it back down and lived to see another day. We had come down the most slippery trail Iwan could have possibly found and we slid, jumped and maneuvered around fallen trunks, giant slugs, cows, and mud. We could have died if one of us had slipped. Or at least been hurt really bad.

It felt good driving back home and I was glad we had had this adventure. Most memories I have seem to be replayed in black and white but I can distinctly remember the smells, the colors, and the sense of fear we had on this trip.

will visits los angeles

2010-11-01T22:39:00.000-07:00

William Tidwell facebooked me two weeks ago to tell me that he would come for a visit. The following week he drove ten hours from Utah and safely arrived in Los Angeles. I hadn't seen Will since May of 2007 when we had parted ways in Daejeon, Korea. His contract was up as an English teacher and he subsequently went to the University of Hawaii for his Bachelors. I still had six months or so left on mine.

Will is pretty spontaneous and I like that about him. Willing to go anywhere and experience strange things. I think it's a trait that very few people have. He doesn't seem to worry too much and it definitely relaxes those of us who tend carry around the burdens of the world.

I drove him around to many parts of LA and it might perhaps be true that I had more fun than he had going through our neighborhoods. I hadn't yet been to Los Feliz and so I took him there and went through all the hipster cafes, vintage shops, and a bookstore. We quickly went to the observatory, drove from Silver Lake to Beverly Hills on Sunset, and ate lots of Korean food. We spent an entire day in downtown admiring all the old and new buildings. We had novelty ice cream, rode the subway and trams, and people-watched. We also hit up a jjimjilbang, one of those Korean bathhouse, and it was remarkable indeed.

On the left, the wonderful Eastern Columbia Building. One of my favorites in the historic core. On the right, Will admiring his Walt Disney Concert Hall pictures.

how it was a hundred years ago

2010-10-20T19:17:00.001-07:00

This was Los Angeles once. A little bit of perspective can make one quite thankful.

How it was a Hundred Years Ago by George Garrigues

If you were living in Los Angeles a hundred years ago:

You would take the streetcar to work. Another streetcar might kill you when you got off. You would work six days a week. If you were a bank clerk you would work Saturday nights. If you were really, really lucky you might get a week’s paid vacation. Perhaps a 10-year-old would be piloting the elevator in your building (don’t worry; the building wouldn’t be higher than five or six floors). You would shop Downtown (even, perhaps, for groceries).

If you were black, you would live near the railroad tracks. If you were black you could be a policeman or a fireman, but not police chief or fire chief. You would have to sit in the balconies of the theaters. You could be a lawyer or a doctor or a minister or a porter. If you were white and had a fancy title or owned a business, you might live on Ninth Street or on Adams.

If you lived in Hollywood, you might be raising flowers or fruits. If you lived in the San Fernando Valley, you definitely would be raising something or growing something or tending to some kind of animal.

If you spoke Spanish in your home, you would be called a cholo. A cop could arrest you ‘on suspicion’ and then try to figure out what to charge you with. You could be arrested for speaking to a crowd without a permit. You might be treated with radium and milk for breast cancer.

You could take Angels Flight to your mansion on Bunker Hill. If you were a police officer, you might have to work from 3 a.m. to 6 p.m. You wouldn’t have a union or even an officers’ association. Likewise, a streetcar conductor would work from 5 a.m. until 11 p.m. (well, on the Fourth of July at least).

You could go to see a “coon show,” or even be in one if you had some blackface makeup (or already had a black face). You could see Lillian Russell, Sarah Bernhardt or Booker T. Washington — in person. All ladies would be women, but not all women would be ladies. You would have to buy textbooks for your schoolchild at jam-packed Downtown stores. The schools would be overcrowded. If you were a woman you could join a club and try to do good things for your community and your country. You could also work six days a week in a department store. If you were a married woman, you would always use your husband’s name, with Mrs. in front of it.

You would take the Pacific Electric to Venice or Long Beach as often as you could, unless you already lived there. If you lived in Venice, you could get fifty dollars in gold for having a baby there. If you lived in San Pedro or Wilmington you might decide being a part of L.A. would be better than watching your trees die of thirst. You could go to an ostrich farm and see them pluck the ostriches.

It's very unlikely you’d be one of the 20 people murdered in a year within the city limits. Ghouls might dig up your grandparents’ bones. No, strike that; your grandparents were probably neither born nor buried in Los Angeles — unless you were of Mexican (or French) descent. You would get the flu in December or January, but you would call it the grippe.

If you were Chinese, there would be about 3,000 other people like you living in or near the Plaza, and most white folks would think you odd, dirty and smelly. You would probably be a man and, if so, you would wear your hair in a pigtail. But you’d be allowed to march in the Fiesta parade — because then you’d be considered colorful.

Your local minor-league baseball team would be called the Looloos. You could get two years in the clink for stealing seven cents from a church poor box. You’d be shocked that the donor of Griffith Park was charged with trying to murder his wife. But you’d be happy that she survived and divorced him.

If you were a man living in Hollywood, chances are you would vote to outlaw the sale of beer and wine except at drug stores. If you were a woman living there, you couldn't vote. If you lived in Watts, you’d be surrounded by nature. If you died, chances are your final illness would be diagnosed as tuberculosis.

a rainy day

2010-10-18T02:34:00.000-07:00

As my alarm went off my body awoke to a heaviness. It reminded me of the dreadful mornings after a generous dose of cough medicine or alcohol from the night before. But what made me particularly uneasy was the terrible mood I was in. A minute ago I was sleeping, unaware of the world but once awake I held contempt in my heart.

I reluctantly rolled off my bed and brought myself under the shower. Perhaps the warm water would soothe my stiff muscles and the warm steam dilute hostilities.

I was wrong. My hideous mood had already latched itself onto my heart. I turned into a grumpy, tired, cynical man who lamented about the foolish world. I didn't want to talk with anyone. At church, I couldn't focus because my mind was racing with ideas of how horrible mankind was. When people asked how I was, I simply replied with a "I'm really tired"and immediately eyed something just beyond their shoulders. That ended conversations quickly and safely. Thoughts unfortunately are like a spiraled staircase and one can choose to go up or down it. I chose to run down.

When I returned home, I went to bed. I was indeed tired and I thought a nap would help my pitiful state. Sleep does a lot to renew a person but it certainly does not change one's mood. So, for the next three hours, I tossed and turned, dreaming about the cruelty of man.

What is one to do when the world looks so dim and pathetic?

Once awake, I decided to take a walk and go grocery shopping. I wasn't excited about it but it was better than mulling over the character of people. Perhaps I could cook dinner for everyone and that would allow my mind to rest.

Walking back home with groceries in hand, I sensed that I was better than I had been all day. As I began to think about the good things in life, I thought I had heard someone pour out a bucket of water from their balcony. Naturally I looked up and was surprised with a large, round drop of water to my eye. I wiped my eyes and looked around and began to see dark circles forming on the sidewalk and the road. It was going to rain. The streets were being pelted by raindrops the size of hail and all I could do was smile. I was going to get wet and there was nothing I could do about it. I decided to enjoy it.

The rain began to wash away the contempt I had nurtured throughout the day. The smell of rain comforted me. The beauty of the rain subdued my ungrateful heart so I could once again think clearly and find the courage to appreciate the people in my life. I was going to win this battle for joy.

busswil

2010-10-13T00:45:00.000-07:00

After Iwan and I moved out of Bern, we headed back to his hometown in Busswil. I knew he wasn't too excited to be going back but we were going to be leaving Busswil the following day anyways. I guess it wasn't horribly disappointing for him. We had booked tickets to Barcelona and Rome for a ten day trip.

But of course, with the kind of luck I have, our flights were cancelled and Iwan and I never went to either cities. The French were apparently on strike and were not letting flights go through their territory. Iwan didn't find it too shocking either because all Swiss people know that the French are extremely considerate and strike as often as they can. That's why the world loves them so much. After this incident, my eventual trip to Paris that I'd hope to take in the near future evaporated away for ever. The city in my mind now seemed dreary, pale, pompous, and unfriendly.

I got to add an extra ten days in Busswil as a result. And because of that, I know Iwan stressed out a bit. He was constantly thinking about how he could make my stay more interesting, cool, and memorable. I kept reassuring him that everything was fine and he didn't have to go out of his way to impress me. This was the town that he grew up in and that was enough to make it an interesting town for me. It had meaning. In fact, the most common or random things we did were perhaps the most memorable.

One memory I recall is walking to a kebab place in the rain and eating our kebabs on the way back to our car. That kebab we had was so good for some reason. Then we went to Sara's house and did some origami. It could be seen as a mundane evening but it was oddly exciting and entertaining for me. It stirs a bit of nostalgia for me as I write about it.

We also climbed a tower and took pictures of ourselves jumping around.

A lot of movies were watched as well. A Serious Man, Moon, Inception. All great movies and great facilitators of good conversations.

I got to eat Raclette, the Swiss dish that one MUST try when visiting this beautiful country. Iwan described it to me a couple of times and I looked up pictures but none of it really helped prepare me for what was to come.

Iwan and I played a lot of ping pong. I think I got better but sadly not enough to beat him. One day...

We went miniature golfing and the family that followed after us was definitely mentionable. They had professional miniature clubs and balls, complete with cases and uniform. I couldn't believe that they took this game so seriously. We also took one bike and took turns pedaling. It reminded me of my weekday afternoons after school when my brother and I would have to share the one bike we had.

It rained a lot and the smell of earth was a good change from the smell of concrete I get in L.A. when it actually does rain.

In a sense, I'm glad that our flight was canceled because I was able to live a normal Swiss life for the remainder of my time. But most importantly, I got to know a friend better which in the long run is far more valuable than saying that I went here and there and experienced this and that.

first time in new york city

2010-10-06T22:38:00.000-07:00

I've traveled a lot to other parts of the world but this was my first time on the east coast of America. I guess my thinking was that if I were to spend that much money to get there, I would rather pay just a little bit more and go to a foreign country. That was a hasty and an un-thought-out decision I think because New York turned out to be one of the best places I could have visited.

I went with my roommate John to hang out with his girlfriend Mary-Renee and her sister Carol. We all stayed in Carol's tiny but very design-conscious and hip apartment in East Village. East Village I suppose is where all the students and young people live and it definitely sounded like it at three in the morning when I was woken up by loudness of drunk kids.

We didn't have a must-see list of monuments so we just walked around and did whatever we felt like. That turned out to be a great idea at the end because none of us stressed out about missing important sites. Perhaps I can say it was one of the least stressful trips I have taken. We even forgot about the Statue of Liberty but none of us cared. But beyond the things we saw, the best part of the trip was the food. Carol took us to Grimaldi's Pizzeria which was the best Pizza I have ever had and according to many New Yorkers and Zagat, the best pizza place in New York. If I had the money, I'd go take another trip just for the pizza. We also went to DuMont which had excellent Macaroni and Cheese and Hamburgers. I definitely will be going back.

reconstruction of the kingdom of baekje

2010-10-06T21:08:00.001-07:00

Baekje was one of three kingdoms that endless fought for dominance on the Korean Peninsula until its demise from a combined Silla-Tang onslaught in the year 660. Many government officials and aristocrats, instead of being captured by the incoming force, committed suicide by drowning in the Baekma River. Others fled to the court in Japan and were warmly welcomed into the royal court.

According to the Nihon Shoki and Samguk Sagi, we know that Baekje and Yamato Japan had a very close relationship. Architects, scholars, doctors, and priests from Baekje went to the Yamato court to spread Buddhism, writing, architecture, and other advanced continental ideas. Sadly however, for the past fifty years or so, this idea was a point of major friction between many Korean and Japanese people. The question of who influenced who, who created what, or what really happened in history had severe ramifications on the history of the time. Imperial Japan in the early 20th century used this relationship as one of their justification for annexing Korea for instance.

Today, save for a few artifacts and some stone pagodas, not much has survived. So when the city of Buyeo (Sabi, the old capital of Baekje) decided to bring back the main palace and a temple 1500 years later, it definitely did stir mixed emotions. The skeptics and pessimists knew that the buildings could never be reconstructed to what they actually looked like since no architecture from the kingdom has survived. Those excited did not care for the integrity of the architectural style of course since a complex like this would bring in tourist dollars as well as some pride in knowing that a great kingdom had existed there. The city went ahead and fourteen years later, the complex of Sabi Palace, Neung Temple, and a peasant's village was opened to those curious about this lost kingdom.

Without any intact architectural examples, the architects who build the complex began with a chimi that was discovered at the site of Mireuksa Temple, Baekje's most important state temple. This chimi bore close resemblance to those used on temple architecture that come from that time period in Japan. From there, they went to Japan to find inspiration for the palace and temple, knowing that Baekje architecture and Asuka Period Japanese architecture were similiar. Horyuji Temple for instance is a fine example of Asuka Buddhist architecture. Although the chimi does not adorn the roof of this particular temple, it can be seen in many other examples in Japan. The five story pagoda at Horyuji Temple was probably one of a few inspirations for the five story one in the new Neungsa Temple complex. This pagoda is Korea's first reconstructed wooden pagoda and perhaps the impetus for their revival. All pagodas were burnt down in invasions and self-inflicted temple fires. I really hope the trend will continue.

july 19, 2010. bern.

2010-09-20T23:12:00.000-07:00

Today was the big going-away dinner. Iwan and I would soon pack up and leave the apartment that I had been staying at for the past three weeks and he for several months. All the roommates had been great hosts and I was feeling a bit sad to leave. But I was sure that Iwan was feeling a menagerie of emotions since he had been there much longer and had become close to everyone at the apartment. It's always so sad to separate.

Flo, Nüssbu, and I had been talking about having a surprise dinner for Iwan. Flo's plan was to tell a friend of Iwan's, Märcu, to call Iwan for a barbeque at his place. Of course one needs a distraction so that the victim does not suspect anything. She would also get in contact and invite Iwan's friends. My job was to distract Iwan until everything was in order at the apartment and Nüssbu would make sweet and sour chicken, one of Iwan's favorite dishes.

That afternoon, Flo, Iwan, and I had lunch and headed out to the Marsili to swim. Sadly, it seemed that Iwan had school on his mind the entire time and it made him feel anxious. After taking a dip in the Aare River, we sun-bathed for a while and by late afternoon, Flo left to go shopping for the food and told Iwan she had things for school to take care of.

When Iwan and I came home, he went directly to his computer to work on some parts of his thesis. This unfortunately was not so good for me because the thesis completely changed his mood and it was quite difficult for me to get him to do anything. Initially, I asked him to ride around on bikes through Bern but he insisted that there was not much time before we were suppose to go to the fictional barbeque at Märcu's. Being the uncreative guy that I am, I got a bit desperate and told him that I would like to do a little shopping, to which he reluctantly complied.

We ended up going to Migro near the main station in Bern and I wasn't sure what I was going to buy. I didn't want to buy things I didn't need but I needed to keep him there as long as I could so that people at the apartment could be ready for his arrival. In the end, I bought a Swiss flag (which was probably the most impractical and random thing) and some yogurt. It made me wonder if Iwan knew something was up.

After the grocery shopping, I made Iwan walk for a while and he started to get a bit antsy. I was feeling nervous that he would want to go home before everything was set up. In the end though, I had distracted him long enough for everyone to be ready and when we finally got home, he was definitely shocked. It turned out to be a brilliant scheme for us and a wonderful night for Iwan.

july 17, 2010. luzern.

2010-08-31T11:55:00.000-07:00

After two weeks of sporadic facebook messages, I finally got to meet up with Iwan's sister Tamara. I had met her the first time I was in Busswil but now she was living in Baden, a town somewhere between Bern and Zürich. We had talked of meeting in different places but finally decided that we should meet in Luzern. It was in between where she and I were and there would be a lot more to see and do than in most other towns. I had already seen Switzerland's biggest towns.

I was going to make this trip alone; I had relied on Iwan for all the trains routes up to this point so hopefully I wouldn't end up on the wrong track and in the wrong city. Fortunately, I did get used to buying train tickets - I was even purchasing them in the default German setting! Thus, I confidently bought my ticket and boarded the 9 o'clock train bound for Luzern. Everything was fine until the ticket collector man checked my ticket and told me I had bought the wrong one! Little did I know that there were actually two routes to Luzern and I just happened to buy the wrong one. Of course it would happen to me. I kind of had a feeling though that everything would be fine since I was a foreigner and all, but the tone of his voice and the way he spoke English seemed to be a bit unpleasant and rude. Nonetheless, he printed out a new ticket for four extra Swiss Francs and then left me feeling a bit dumb for having bought the wrong ones. I thought I should have been a pro at this by now.

It took exactly an hour to arrive in Luzern and the first thing I noticed was the station teeming with tourists. An entire group of high school students from Korea were waiting around perhaps for some tickets their teachers were purchasing and I could hear Japanese and English from every crack and crevice of the hall. This is THE tourist town of Switzerland I thought and it was slowly confirmed as my day in Luzern proceeded. As I neared the exit, I saw Tamara at once and we greeted each other. I was glad that she could make it out and show me some things.

The Kapellbrücke is what all people mention when talking about Luzern. From my understanding, it was a prison at one point in its history and the bridge near it was burnt down many times. I guess it had been hyped up because I was expecting something more spectacular. We walked across the bridge and one could also hear various languages other than Swiss German being spoken. The Chinese was especially loud.

Tamara and I had lunch at a restaurant along the river and she even offered to pay. It was awfully kind of her to do so. After lunch, we walked around and I took pictures of buildings and I realized that Luzern had a lot more diversity in its architecture compared to Zürich or Bern. But what struck me the most was the löwendenkmal, the lion carving. Neither of us expected to see it but as we were walking, we happened upon it and the image immediately pounced at me. We continued walking through the city, visiting second-hand stores (which are my favorite stores to look through) and Tamara and I ended our day sitting down near the river once again for some coffee. Then it began to rain and we decided it was best to head back to our respective towns. We ran to the station in the rain and went our way.

july 12, 2010. bern.

2010-08-28T01:53:00.000-07:00

In contrast to America, many in Switzerland choose to buy groceries and cook at home. Perhaps it's how expensive dining out is. Or perhaps it's because people generally prefer it and see it as more healthy and tastier. Personally, I tend to cook more at home and I was pumped to see that an entire country was doing it. Even the young people. In America, most young people live off fast food, ramen, and instant macaroni. And they continue doing so until they get married, make lots of money so they can eat out everyday, or die. As morbid as that sounds, it's true.

It was a Monday morning and I really wanted to surprise Iwan and Flo with lunch. I chose to make Ragu sauce and I knew that they would love it. Who doesn't like meat sauce? I went to the local Coop and bought groceries in Switzerland for the first time. It was the first step in becoming a Swiss. Everything was reasonably priced except, if one compares it to American prices, the ground beef. Swiss cows are well taken care of and not injected with all the crap that goes into ours. So the meat is probably better for one's health. O well. It still tastes the same.

When I returned home, I asked Flo if she would be home for lunch. She said she would be and I was psyched. She was going to love it. I began the process at ten and was not done until a little after twelve. Although we were waiting for Iwan to join us, Flo unfortunately had to leave by one. She had her first serving and I kept her company at the table. I was going to wait for Iwan to eat. We talked about what we would do and decided that when she came back from school, we would go to Marzili, the outdoor park near the river Aare. Just as Flo was finishing her plate, Iwan walked in and I began to set up some plates for him and I. Flo decided that she would have seconds and I was glad.

july 10, 2010. biel.

2010-08-26T02:12:00.000-07:00

On Friday night after the concert, Iwan and I went our own way. He went back home and I stayed in Biel with Sara. Iwan was still writing his thesis and the longer he was away from it, the more anxious he would grow. Of course, it was partly my fault for coming to visit at such a busy time but he did his best to balance school work and to hang out with me. I would say he was quite generous with his time.

Thus, after our Lake Biel bike ride on Saturday, Iwan decided to come back to Biel and spend the night at Sara's. We would both go wakeboarding with Hoschi the following day. Sara surprisingly told me that Iwan rarely comes to stay the night. In fact, when he has lots going on in his life, spending the night at people's house apparently stresses him out. Perhaps what she said was true or perhaps he actually missed writing about his transgenic wheat and woodlice, but it really didn't matter. All I could think of was how grateful I was that he was coming. It made me think that he valued the time I would be in Switzerland.

We slept outside in Sara's backyard with some cushions we found lying around her house. It wasn't going to be the most comfortable of nights but a little bit of excitement kicked in knowing that opportunities like this don't come often in Los Angeles. We talked for a bit and Iwan clonked out. It took a while for me to fall asleep. The next morning, I was woken up by Iwan and he suggested that we go back inside the house. So, like zombies, we walked in and I immediately crashed out on the couch until it was time for us to leave at around noon. Today was going to be my first time for two things: swimming in a lake and wakeboarding. I have actually never jumped into a lake and there was definitely some adrenaline rush. At certain times though, I thought about how deep the lake was and that there were living creatures that in my imagination could pull me down into the depths. Then I would freak out and climb myself out of the water until I forgot about those ridiculous thoughts. Definitely ridiculous. Wakeboarding on the other hand was frustrating and extremely difficult. I couldn't get up from the water and my arms began to weaken after being pulled twenty times or so and having the handles ripped out of my hands. What made it worse was that the two wakeboarding pros, Iwan and Hoschi, propped up as if it were in their nature to do so. I was terribly jealous. Next time I said to myself, next time.

Mid-afternoon, we picked up Sara and Domi and Captain Hoschi took us out on a gnarly boat ride. The sun began to disappear behind a blanket of clouds and rain shortly followed. We had barely made it to the docks when it started to pour. Eventually we scrambled to the car and then went to town for some burgers. The burger joint was definitely eclectic americana but so well decorated that it reminded me of home. Food was satisfying and I felt fully content how the day had gone. Domi, Sara, and I also had good conversations throughout the weekend and I began to feel comfortable and accepted. Don was happy.

july 8-9, 2010. biel.

2010-08-24T13:50:00.000-07:00

It seemed as though Iwan and I were missing a lot of trains. I'm sure if he were alone, he'd be prompt and ready to be on whatever train he needs to take. It was probably me who could not get myself together to leave on time. Could I blame my California-ness? Back home, we are always late to functions and everyone seems to be fine with it.

We had already missed the train that came around six so we ran to catch the one that came at a quarter after. We sadly missed that one too. There was another one at the half and nothing would prevent us from getting on that one. Such an ordeal it seemed for something as easy as taking a train. I could not help but feel bad that I was lagging. Nonetheless, we got on and were finally on our way to Sara's house, an old friend of Iwan's.

Sara and Iwan have been friends since high school. She is a midwife now and lives in a charming house with her sisters. This particular weekend, she invited Iwan and I for dinner and also suggested that I stay in Biel for the weekend. She would take me around the beautiful lake and show me the nitty-gritties of her town.

Iwan and I rushed over to her house only to find out that another friend, Jans, was already running late. Everything turned out ok. Domi, Sara's boyfriend and Pädu, another mutual high school friend, had already arrived and were waiting. Sara began to bring out the most delicious of breads, pasta salads, and couscous, which I absolutely favored over the meats that we were being grilled. She is an exquisite cook. Domi started the barbeque and I acquainted myself with Pädu. Jans arrived a bit later and we all enjoyed dinner out in the backyard.

The next morning, Sara and I had breakfast and then biked to the station to meet Hoschi, another friend of Iwan and Sara. We were going to ride around Lake Biel and hopefully better my swimming abilities. We began along the vineyards and Sara showed me her favorites waterfront houses. Along the way, there was a quaint village-town that we stopped at and Sara and I took pictures. We continued and after about an hour took a dip in the lake to cool off.

Back on the trail we went and rode until lunch time. There was a small post that served hamburgers and hotdogs and we decided we were all too hungry to wait for a better restaurant. We sat down, got our food, and then became spectators of a comical scene involving four senior citizens. There were docks near our table and the steerer decided that he would park the boat there. It seemed that they were going to get some drinks and relax before continuing their adventure. Unfortunately, they had no sense of balance and one of them fell straight into the water. We tried so hard not to laugh. The waiter came out to help but now they were all terrified of falling. When it was time for them to leave, they looked paranoid and frightened. It took them a very long time for all four of them to board.

Although Lake Biel is the smallest of three lakes in this area called the Seeland, it is still very large and significant. The waters in Switzerland are also pristine - one can drink from just about any body of water and not run the risk of dying. It was in this lake that my right foot was sliced by the sharp rocks near the shore. I left a bit of genetic material in that lake. The bike ride took us about six hours and it was one of the nicest experiences I had. Moreover, on the side opposite of the vineyards are cherry farms. And as we neared the end of the Lake Biel tour, we purchased a bunch of cherries and enjoyed them as we rode towards the city.

july 5, 2010. bern.

2010-08-21T23:05:00.000-07:00

Sometimes a simple thing can make a person happy. After everyone came back from work, we made pizza from scratch. I made the dough, Iwan kneaded and rolled it, Regola cut up the vegetables, and Nüssbu took pictures of the whole process. Thus, we devoured succulent pizzas, played word games, and enjoyed each other's company. What else does one need?

july 1, 2010. bern.

2010-08-18T01:00:00.000-07:00

One vivid memory of Switzerland I have is a random excursion we made into town to find what I later realized was a Chinese restaurant. Perhaps Iwan and Nüssbu forgot to tell me where we were going, assuming that I had understood or that one of them had translated what the plans were to me in English. Regardless, I went with it and the evening turned out to be epic.

Although it had been a very warm day, the evening brought about a breeze that made it exceptionally nice and pleasant. I rode Nüssbu's bike and Nüssbu and Iwan skated the entire way. We had to first ride up a street where a lot of prostitutes hang out, which actually was not as weird as I had anticipated to be. From there we rode to the main square between the Bundeshaus and the federal banks, took some pictures, watched kids play, and then were off to look for the Chinese restaurant the two of them found randomly while training for a marathon. It was located in a small alleyway of a street that many do not seem to travel through. All the tables were taken and thus we improvised and sat on skateboards and used chairs as our tables. I reveled in it.

After dinner, we went to see the Bern bears, which by the time I had left Switzerland, were on death-row because neither the city or zoos wanted to keep them. Sad. Just above the area the bears lived, there was a brewery with a delightful view of the Aare river. We had a few beers and of course I felt a bit inebriated. I also think Iwan was frightened not knowing how I would act or what I would say. Or maybe it was all in my mind. Nonetheless, Nüssbu kept requesting funny jokes and the three of us had a jolly time laughing.

Afterwards, we rode through town again, dodging pedestrians, buses, and trams to meet Flo and her friends at a restaurant they were at. When we arrived, I regurgitated some Swiss phrases that Nüssbu told me to say to them. "I ha dr Wolf um sock" or something like that. Everyone laughed. I had no idea what I had said until Flo told me. We then went for more drinks at an outdoor bar of some sort. Again, Iwan and Nüssbu told me we were going to the gym at first and even now I am still confused about it. They never told me whether it was a joke or if we actually went to a gym that happened to be a bar at night.

june 28, 2010. zürich.

2010-08-16T23:48:00.000-07:00

When I arrived in Zürich, there were several things running through my mind. How would I greet Iwan and what would be the first words I say to him? What could we possibly do in Zürich? I had no idea what there was to see or do in the city. Not a good way to start a trip. I was also extremely exhausted and thirsty. And on top of that, it was exceptionally warm. I had worn three layers only to keep me warm during flights because it's always cold on flights. Thus, the combination of the Swiss heat, weariness, airplane air, and nervousness made me feel a bit sick.

Nonetheless, I slowly made my way to the luggage area and waited for my stuff. As I waited, I took a quick glance out the other side of the glass windows where people were waiting for arrivals. I thought I had seen Iwan but decided to look away so that my greeting wasn't ruined. I wanted to save the excitement for when I was actually in hugging distance. It took some time for my luggage to come out but eventually I got my things, exchanged some money, and rushed out the exit. I immediately saw Iwan and ran in for a big hug. I was thoroughly happy to see him.

We headed for the train to go into Zürich proper and Iwan offered me some water and fruit. That was just what I needed because after some water and an apple, I felt significantly better and ready to talk my head off. We aimlessly walked around Zürich and Iwan showed me some stores, historical buildings, and the lake. We had some awesome kebap for lunch and watched the Netherlands play a World Cup game. One of the more amazing things I saw was the Freitag store. Iwan is totally into designs and urban cultures and so he thought it would be cool to show me the store. He knew that I'd like it as well.

The entire store is made out of containers and it spirals up quite a few container-stories where at the top one can get a beautiful view of the city. The store sells bags, wallets, and other accessories made out of used leather from old trucks and cars. Pretty neat idea but also very expensive.

At the end of the day, we took the train to Bern, his home, and there I met his fun-loving and hospitable roommates Flo and Nüssbu.

a birthday gift

2010-05-10T16:46:00.000-07:00

John got me this for my birthday. Dinosaurs that pop out of pills. I had a good laugh when I took it ouf of the nice plastic bag that it was gift-wrapped in.

I actually knew all the Dinosaur names and noticed that three of them were spelled wrong. It should have been Tyrannosaurus, Iguanodon, and Pteranodon. (I was obsessed with Dinosaurs when I was young. My life long dream of becoming a Paleontologist crumbled when I realized I also had to be good at math.)

The funniest part of this is the sticker on the upper right side of the package. Apparently cheap toys nobody wants belong in the Mexican Aisle.

daily things

2010-05-08T13:24:00.000-07:00

Very few things are made in America these days and recently I've been paying closer attention to where my stuff is coming from. Here's a few things that I use at least on a weekly basis. From left to right:

1) One of millions of journals that I own. This one is from France and I write my thoughts in Italian in it.

2) A Swiss army knife given to me about a year ago by a friend. I use it to do some gardening and art projects. It'll come handy when I'm lost in the wilderness someday.

3) My roommates and I drink a lot of Port, a wine named after the city Porto in Portugal.

4) All our computer components are from Korea. This old ram/memory thing is from my mac.

5) My point-and-shoot Canon camera from Japan.

6) Besides China, clothes are also being made in India.

7) My SLR digital camera made surprisingly in Thailand but I'm sure it was designed in Japan.

8) The Bible. This one is printed in Italy.

9) A Nalgene bottle. Probably one of a few things actually made in America.

10) My Google roommate John. Sometimes he's better than Google itself!

11) My wonderful pencil sharpener from Germany. It somehow keeps itself sharpened no matter how long I've had it. It's probably the Germany engineering that went into it.

12) It's funny that my I-pod is made in China but it's nice that they emphasize the design coming from California.

13) My favorite mechanical pencil which is 0.3 mm and churns out Chinese characters like no other. The Japanese make the best pencils.

14) Shirt made in China of course.

15) Cheap but good red wine from northern California.

16) The eraser from Germany that I take with me everywhere. I like my writings and notes to be neat and orderly. It would never be without this wonderful piece of rubber.

命より健康

2010-05-07T10:11:00.000-07:00

As I share my Emergency Room story, my Japanese professor replies with "Inochi yori kenkou." Literally, health over life. She tells me to guess what it means and I tell her that I think I know the general meaning, but the gleam in her eye also tells me she wants to explain it herself. She proceeds and a paints a picture of a man who lives but suffers from bad health.

"It's better if he weren't alive isn't it?"

"Yes, I believe so." I reply.

She continues, "If you don't have health, how can you really enjoy life?"

I don't think she meant to disregard people who suffer from health problems, but her point was that I needed to take care of myself. I had been so busy that my health had deteriorated.

She's a rare person in academia. Most professor push you hard. Read these five books by next week. Go learn Chinese, Arabic, and Russian by next year. Vacation? You don't need a vacation! This professor on the other hand, says to enjoy what you like. Many times we voluntarily enter a rat race where competition is relentless and harmful.

"Don't you see that a lot of the professor here are weird? They don't know how to interact with normal people and live in a world that nobody really cares about."

"Yes, I think many people would agree. That's why I'm not gonna pursue a phD anymore." I answer.

"Yes, you don' t need to. You know, I'm a bit old but I still dream about having a kisaten (coffee shop). I'm going to pursue it someday. The economy is really bad right now, so maybe that'll give me the jump start to go and do that."

"So when will your grand opening be?" I add and we both laugh.

brain is extended to its fullest

2010-05-06T16:01:00.000-07:00

Today as I was walking out of my Japanese professor's office, I casually said "Jaa ne!" And immediately I begin to think of the horrible mistake I had just made. Why in the world did I exclaim, "See you later" rather than politely excusing myself as I humbly walk out of the room. Should have left with a "Shitsurei shimashita" or a "Jaa, mata aimashou." Another regret to add to the tons of regrets in my life...

And of course I start to mull over my actions. As I thought, it occurred to me that this is how I say good bye to my Chinese professor. "Zai jian" and I leave with a wave, not a bow. Subsequently, I noticed that "Jaa ne" and "Zai jian" are also two syllable words and somehow I had confused the two. The Chinese that I had learned was influencing my Japanese and it materialized in this embarrassing moment. I hate moments like this.

no need for responsibility

2010-05-02T00:56:00.000-07:00

There are days when language learning is tiring and seems to have no end. But then there are days when I learn something especially mind-stimulating about a language and it make my brain really excited. So here's a little something for your mind to chew on and hopefully it'll excite you too.

As wonderful as our English language is, we do not have a grammatical structure for the 'impersonal' as they do in the Latin languages. We are forced to use the word 'one' or 'they' when we construct sentences that detaches a particular person or group from an action. For instance, in a sentence such as "One goes to school" we do not know who exactly has gone to school; nonetheless, a general person has gone to school. In Italian, this type of structure is created through the use of the third person pronoun si + third person singular/plural verb conjugation. So the same sentence would go something like "Si va a scuola."

We had a discussion in class about how in Florence, many young Italians use this structure to free themselves from the feeling of responsibility from actions committed that would otherwise be considered less than acceptable. If a kid skips school, goes to the movies instead, and subsequently his mother finds out, he could reply to her angry words with a "non si è andato al cinema" or literally "one did not go the theater." Of course this sounds strange in English, but apparently in Florence it is perfectly fine. Another interesting point comes from one of our phD candidate's research on Italian writings on World War II, especially those dealing with Hitler or Mussolini. She writes that history books are written in this impersonal form so as to perhaps free the government from full responsibility of all the atrocities that took place.

Now, this brings me to Korean and Japanese (henceforth called KJ), the two languages I love the most and how they construct this idea. In the KJ languages, since pronouns are frequently dropped and only picked up in context, the verb becomes the most important part of the sentence. If one asks "Did you eat?" in KJ you would word the same sentence as "Did Eat?" The 'you' is implied because the question is obviously directed at a person. So it is in the verb that changes happen. Now, Korean and Japanese people hate to take credit for things they do. (Whether good or bad.) So, this impersonal structure we have seen in Italian is achieved in the KJ language through intransitivity. What happens when a kid breaks a cup and is faced with telling his mom the truth? "カップが割れてた" or "the cup had been broken (with an implied meaning of when I found it there)." When somebody makes dinner for all his friends he will say "밥이 다 됐어요" or "the food has been cooked." One really important thing to notice here is that the cup and food in the examples take a subject particle when the subject should be the actual person! Furthermore, it would be strange and awkward socially to take full responsibility by saying "I broke the cup" or "I made dinner for you all." The speakers take no responsibility.

innovation

2010-04-19T15:12:00.000-07:00

Nothing is ever too objective but charts and graphs give us a good picture of what is generally going on in the world. So what can this list of the fifty most innovative companies tell us?

1) US still dominates in innovation. 22 out of 50 companies are American. If one breaks down the companies by their countries, it would go something like: Japan in second with five, China and Britain with four, Germany and Korea with three, Switzerland, Canada, Italy, Brazil, Finland and Spain with one each.

2) Innovation is increasing in Asia (13 in total). Especially as China rises, the number of innovations, patents, and companies will naturally increase as well. We see this in the number of patents Asia is producing (The top three patent holders are America, Japan, and South Korea) and even in the number of gold medal counts at the Olympics.

3) Innovation is decreasing in Europe (11 in total). Although still a very affluent part of the world, many continue to wonder when and if Europe will ever be as powerful as it once was. Or perhaps, the social Marxist bent of many European governments tends not to lend itself to innovation? I personally wouldn't care to work hard to create if the government took care of all my needs. (Although with the collapse of certain economies (i.e. Greece), the E.U., especially with Germany's lead, is slowly realizing that their socialist governments were unsustainable and unrealistic. While our country, on the contrary AND unfortunately, goes the other way.)

4) Brazil is listed as well (although the one company seems to be an oil company). Will we start to see more companies from other parts of the world?

school

2010-04-09T11:20:00.000-07:00

In about two months I will be done with school. Although I am thoroughly excited that all the essays, homework, deadlines, and kissing up to professors will be over, I know I will dearly miss the learning.

At the beginning of this school year, I decided that I would not move onto to the phD program that I had been pursuing for a while. The extreme competition between professors, the stress of constant publishing, or becoming an expert on something 99% of the world doesn't care about were just a few of things that began to irk me about the academic world. But most importantly, I realized that because many professors are under the stress of constantly outdoing one another, they have to continually study and read. Thus, they become recluses and socially awkward people. They lose touch with everyday people and most everything they believe in are theories cut off from the actual realities of the world. As much as I enjoy learning, I don't think it is worth it for me to forego my social-butterflyesque and outgoing personality.

With all that to say, I'm facing real life and trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up for the second time. Some days I feel stressed out about it; other days, I am carefree. In any case, I realize that I naturally want to have full control over my life or at least feel as though I am. Looking at all this from a distance however, I also realize that the most awesome things that have happened in my life were seemingly accidental and altogether out of my control. Somehow, this paradox in my life works to keep me sane and for the most part content. Perhaps it brings balance into my life so that I don't fully rely on my achievement for a sense of security and value, nor do I just lounge around for things to happen to me rather than working hard for things.

desert weekend

2010-03-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

Stephen's co-worker had told him about the wild flowers blooming in Anza Borrego and described it to him as though it was Alice's wonderland. I personally wouldn't call it a wonderland, but it is indeed pleasant. I have been there twice during the spring and all the flowers are a nice change to the otherwise barren desert it is most of the year. So, during Stephen's Friday afternoon lunch break, we decided that we would go to Anza for the weekend. We also brought up the great idea of visiting Salvation Mountain. A man by the name of Leonard Knight had been building an artificial mountain out of adobe and clay and sharing what he believes to be the most important things in life.

To shorten our trip a bit, I called my friend David to see if we could stay with him for the night. He lives in Menifee which is about an hour away from Anza Borrego. We could at least drive half of it Friday night so as to avoid those dreaded early morning. With our other roommate John and his friend Mitchell, we were off.

Randomly bumped into Erick and his family at Anza. I was delighted to see them.

Leonard Knight has been building this for over twenty years now! Some people say that he is crazy but I was more appreciative. He was a man who wasn't constrained by what society thought he should do. Perhaps some people might see this as irresponsible but others might see it as freeing. I guess it's just how you look at it. But I do know that he's brought a lot of happiness and hope to people through this massive project.

Salvation mountain was one of the places that was featured in the film "Into the Wild." I really enjoyed it but it's one of those movies that gets a lot of mixed reviews. Many people tell me that the book is even better. Nonetheless, I would still recommend it because for some reason the story really resonated with me.

north korea today

2009-12-26T10:13:00.000-08:00

Found this interesting article on North Korea and how the government is slowly weakening through a flourishing private commerce. Apparently, Kim Jong Il tried to reevaluate the currency and he was met with many, many angry people. Read for yourself.

my level of italian after a year

2009-12-17T20:14:00.000-08:00

Si sembra che molte persone vogliono abitare in una casa grande con molta terra e lontana dalle città affollate e rumorose. Ciò nonostante, l'alloggio del mio sogno curiosamente starebbe in una città come New York o Tokio. Sicuramente, alcuni amici insisteranno che mi abiti fuori a città perché è più logico e non mi costa molti soldi. "Abitare in città è più costosa di fuori a città!" loro diranno. "Puoi avere più terra e una casa più grande per lo stesso prezzo!" Ma gli dico no. Forse, perché io sono cresciuto in città, non penso che posso abitara in campagna o in un paesino.

a surprise

2009-12-08T14:03:00.001-08:00

It was pouring yesterday. It did feel good to be indoors but it was deathly cold in the apartment. I couldn't sit still for more than an hour. I had to study for a Chinese final but I was distracted by how cold it was! To keep moving and warm, I tried doing laundry. It turned out that laundry made me even colder and distracted. I had to walk over the next building to do it, got wet in the process, and lost ONE sock. (This wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that every time I do laundry, I lose ONE sock!) The only redeeming factor was that I got a free car wash. For that, I am truly grateful.

As I shook and shivered, and tried to get my mind off the cold, somebody began knocking at the door. Who could that be in this awfully wet and cold weather I thought and immediately sprinted to the door. It was a surprise package! I looked at the return address to see who had sent it and it was from Chie... in JAPAN! (Every time I get boxes from people from foreign countries, it really makes me happy. There's some thing more special about it than 'normal American' packages)

I open it up and it's a little package of goodies and a book. It's a book called "Kitchen" and Chie says it was her favorite book when she was thirteen years old. I hope my Japanese level is at least at a junior high level because it would be embarrassing to tell her that the book is too difficult to read.

Well, after the big surprise, the rain stopped and I saw the most ginormous rainbow I had seen in my life! My balcony is littered with really ugly contraptions but the rainbow definitely out shines the ugliness.

i love maps

2009-12-08T13:05:00.000-08:00

I thought this map was pretty cool. (But also very nerdy)

A map showing how crazy our country is for baseball

Map says it all.

A map showing GDP differences in the world. Apparently, America, Europe, and Eastern Asia is fattened up and living in excess. Mexico seems to be a good balance...

Cool design.

Just a funny map of europe.

east asian economic bloc

2009-11-04T19:18:00.000-08:00

I am sure most people in America do not really know or care for that matter, but this year is the first year that the combined GDPs of China, Japan, South Korea, and the Association of South East Asia Nations (ASEAN) equaled to about 12.67 trillion dollars or 21.1 percent of the world's GDP. This is significant because by next year, East Asia's economic bloc will surpass that of the Euro bloc. By 2014, it is set to equal that of the US.

While the economies of the West continue to decline, Asia's continues to grow, mostly of course through its interaction with China. There is much talk these days about integrating their economies - much like what has happened in Europe. Even Japan, with its newly elected liberal government, is courting South Korea and China and resuming stalled talks on Free Trade Agreements and historical issues that were left more or less unresolved. They are also trying to rebuild their military so that they will not have to rely on the US. South Korea has just landed a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union, yet another possible strategy to lessen American influence. (Although the FTA with America is still pending. Where that goes, who knows...) Naturally, this makes the US uneasy as two of their allies are now trying to break away American influence and assert themselves more.

Will China be able to claim once again, their position as the biggest economy in the world? I personally hope not.

a smile

2009-10-09T19:11:00.000-07:00

I said goodbye to my teacher and was glad Friday was over! I made my way to the bus stop listening to my ipod in my own musically enchanted world. As I got on the bus, I headed for the back - my usual routine. As the bus driver made his way from stop to stop, I noticed a young lady running with a bag and groceries in both her arms from the other side of the street signaling him to wait! (I hate to admit it but I do people-watch from the back and find it quite entertaining.) I immediately thought whether or not he would ignore it or make her day by waiting. He waited! She had the largest smile on her face and it radiated to every corner of the bus. I felt it. It made me smile. She seemed to be a happy person. She stood near the front and took out an article to read.

The bus driver continued and three young kids entered the bus - one girl and two boys. They were most likely just out of high school because it was only one in the afternoon and most kids who ditch school would not dare taking the bus during that time. They also had never taken the bus it seemed. They talked to the bus driver and although I could not hear anything, it turned out they did not have enough money. Looking around, they gently asked the young lady with the big smile if she could lend some money. She looked eager to help. She went into her bag and gave them some money with, of course, a big smile on her face. And from the movement of one of the kid's lips, I could clearly make out that she had said, "thank you very much!" An older man sitting near the young lady began a conversation with her and both laughed and had a good time.

This definitely made my day today. How one smile can affect multiple people's lives in a matter of minutes! I wanted to laugh out with joy because it was a simple, yet beautiful gesture.

switzerland!

2009-10-06T14:47:00.001-07:00

Switzerland was the most memorable part of my trip. Maybe because my expectations were not as high as Portugal or Spain. Or maybe because my friend Iwan and his family were so hospitable. I don't think I can explain it concretely but it left a wonderfully deep impression.

Before I left for Europe, I bought a ticket to Basel at the last minute so I could go and hang out with Iwan. Basel however, happened to be an hour and a half away from where Iwan lived. But Iwan, being the good guy he is, came all the way up and greeted me at the airport! We spent the next day just hanging around Busswil, Biel, and Bern. (Which all happen to be great cities or towns or villages, or whatever you want to call them.) The most memorable thing was riding bikes with Iwan through the side streets and farms, along rivers and lakes, and into downtown Biel while just chatting about random things, about life, about hopes. It felt very freeing, calm, and all my worries in life were insignificant compared to the grandeur of the mountains and lakes. I decided that I would go back next summer...

portugal

2009-10-05T23:53:00.000-07:00

Porto, Portugal was my first destination. Downtown Porto is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which means that it is an old, really rad part of town. I went to see my old roommate Hugo and of course he was extremely hospitable. I'm glad to be his friend. We saw sites, drank lots of wine, hung out with Hugo's friends until the wee hours of the morning, and ate a lot of good Portuguese food. I am now quite surprised that Portuguese food is not popular in the states because it would do so well! My favorites were Arroz de Marisco and Francesinhas. Arroz de Marisco is similar to the paella but in stew form and significantly better in taste. Francesinhas are sandwiches with steak, ham, and cheese. Melted cheese is poured over the sandwich and topped with an egg. Lastly, a beer-tomato sauce is poured over the entire food-structure (at this point it's about a good 6 inches thick!) and eaten with french fries. It packed with tons of calories I'm sure, but it's so good.

A few initial observations of Portugal: 1) the Portuguese speak really good English! (In relation to Spain, France, and Italy, the other Romance language speaking countries) I had no problem communicating with any of the young people I met. 2) They are a little smaller than other Europeans. They also eat a lot of fish and live longer than other Europeans. I have a hunch that maybe it's the fish.... 3) Tan is the IN thing. If you are not tanned, you are not cool. I guess I'm not cool then. 4) Don't wear white socks. (I found out the hard way.) Only old construction workers wear white socks. 5) Portuguese r's are pronounced like English h's.

These are the boats that used to carry wine from an area upstream down to this area.

The River Duoro that flows between Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia.

Hugo's awesome friends whom I befriended.

spain

2009-10-05T23:10:00.000-07:00

Back in March of 2009, my soon to be friend Hugo contacted me through couchsurfing and asked if he would be able to stay a couple of days. He was coming to Los Angeles for ten weeks to take an English class. Instead of crashing for a few days however, he became my roommate for four months! He left for Portugal, his home, in June and we communicated through email and facebook occasionally after that. One afternoon in July, Hugo skyped me and had me check some flights to Europe. I had thrown around the idea of going to Europe, but I didn't really think I would go anytime soon. As I searched, I found a flight to Madrid for 560 dollars and I booked it immediately. Talk about an impulse buyer. I was off to Europe.

My first destination was Portugal. Afterwards, I flew to Switzerland and then to Madrid. Now in Madrid, I have a friend who I have known for a little over two years now. While living in Korea, Jorge found me through a language exchange site and we communicated through skype. I taught him English and he taught me Spanish. We became pretty good friends through it.

The idea came into mind that since I was flying into Madrid, I should meet up with Jorge. And that's exactly what happened! The funniest thing is that Jorge has a really unique voice and a really thick accent over his English. So, at the airport, even though I had no idea what he looked like, I was able to recognize him immediately once he opened his mouth.

This is the Palace of Communication. It pretty much dominates this main intersection.

The Plaza Mayor. A beautiful little square where people (mostly tourists) hang out. Jorge told me things are double the price here.

Parco de Retiro, an enormous park with many grand buildings and sculpture. This one commemorates some ruler in the past.

This is Jorge, his wife Raquel, and I in their living room. They have such an awesome pad in a town thirty minutes south of Madrid. They were so warm and welcoming.

filial piety, love, and tragedy

2009-10-03T23:44:00.000-07:00

I had written about Suwon in one of my previous posts and briefly talked about the history and ideas that went behind the construction of the city. This week however, I was able to read about it in more detail and was consumed and moved by the story of a king's love for his father and the subsequent tragedies that shook the palace and its people.

King Jeongjo (1724-1776) was a strong ruler. It is said that the dynasty flourished and prospered under his command. Unfortunately, he was also a strict and seemingly 'uncaring' father who instilled great fear and paranoia in his son, Sado. Prince Sado felt he could not live up to the standards of his father and eventually believed his father would kill him. He began to hate washing himself, which led to himatiophoia (the fear of clothes) and hallucinations. He also began digging holes to store weapons as a precaution to any assassination attempt. This paranoia eventually led to erratic murders of eunuchs and maidens in the palace. Throughout all this, his wife Lady Hyegyeong documented in her journal the mental illness that had befallen her husband. Their son (who would become the next ruler), Yeongjo, also saw how this illness had taken of a hold of his father. In the end, King Jeongjo ordered the death of his son for treason (which during this period usually meant suicide). After a few failed attempts however, Sado was forced into a rice chest where in eight days, he died of starvation.

Nine years later, King Yeongjo took the throne and with the thought of retribution, began to order the deaths of all who were involved in the death of his father. This led to the death of many officials, including his grandfather, Lady Hyegyeong's father. He then collected the finest architects and city planners and began the construction of Suwon (Hwaseong as it was known then). He moved his father's remains to the city and gave his father a proper burial that a king deserved. It is said that he loved his father dearly. Visiting the mausoleum had become one of his major preoccupations.

"Returning from the tomb, how many times I halted my carriage to look back in its direction and think of him."

The saddest part about this story is Lady Hyegyeong's loss and her helplessness throughout it all. She saw her own husband's mind deteriorate and his eventual inhumane execution. Soon after, her father and much of the people in her family were murdered at the orders of her own son. The deep pain and suffering that she went through must have been excruciating for her. In her journal, Lady Hyegyeong writes that it was the father who was the cause of his son's mental illness and it was he who murdered his own son for the very illness that he caused. Such irony and tragedy.

One interesting side note is that the palace-fortress-mausoleum in Suwon is quite different from all other memorial sites because it was actually inhabited by REAL people. The great pyramids in Egypt, the vast tombs of China, and other note-worthy memorial sites were only recreations of a world. Paintings, sculptures, buildings were made but not lived in by real people. This makes Suwon all the more important and fascinating.

towards economic integration

2009-08-31T00:38:00.000-07:00

Busan, South Korea and Fukuoka, Japan have decided to create an economic zone that will become, hopefully, the seventh largest economic hub in Northeast Asia. For those of you that don't know how close these cities are, a speed boat will get you across the strait in less than three hours. I've done it once but I got real seasick on the way back to Busan. Going to Fukuoka was fine though...

This would be the first step towards full economic integration of Korea and Japan. (Or at least they would hope.) The democratic party of Japan winning a majority seat in parliament just recently could, however, make this a reality. The beginnings of an East Asian Union?

couchsurfing

2009-08-18T15:56:00.001-07:00

Back in Korea, while on a trip to Mount Songni with a couple of my friends, we happened upon a German who had studied abroad a year in Mexico and was slowly making his way back home. He mentioned that he was couchsurfing and immediately it sparked my interest.

Now a year later, back home in Los Angeles, I've hosted about fifteen people (mostly from Europe) and some of them have become very good friends. When I tell most people that I do this, they initially gasp for air and seem ready to brand me as being insane. Quickly, I must explain the nature of the exchange and redeem myself. I inform them that one does not need to accept everyone that they come into contact with. They are free to go through their profile and reviews. Then I tell them stories of some awesome experiences and that will usually calm them down.

Remco and Abel from the Netherlands and I. They had been traveling for six months, mostly in South East Asia. Los Angeles was their last stop before heading back home. One of my favorite guests that I have hosted.

Iwan from Switzerland and I. Probably my favorite guest. I promised to come visit him in Switzerland in the near future.

pictures from nashville

2009-06-19T17:05:00.000-07:00

after a game of disc golf

birdhollow bridge

なぜ青い山脈

2009-05-10T02:21:00.000-07:00

山脈や葉、信号など、緑色だと分かっているのだが、現実に日本人は青い色だとよく言われる。英語で言うブルーより、「青い」という言葉の意味は日本語でもっと広くなり、色の濃さや印象を表せるように使うのである。緑という言葉は本来の四色ではなく、青は日本語に昔から中心できて、発達されてきた。

my italian mini-essay: when i was young

2009-05-01T00:01:00.001-07:00

Quando ero piccolo, sentivo sempre da mia madre, “Non giocare più con i videogiochi!” “Dov’eri?!” o “Fa’ il tuo compito!” Mi piaceva giocare molto da ragazzo. Il mio amico Craig, mio fratello Mike ed io giocavamo sempre – prima e dopo la scuola, qualche volte in classe, e la fine settimana. Ci divertivamo molto insieme.

Sicuramente, tutti i ragazzi vogliono sempre giocare. Ma i miei genitori volevo che io studiavo come un bravo ragazzo. Quando il mio amico Craig veniva a casa mia, che erano tutti i giorni, giocavamo con i videogiochi o fuori con i bambini del quartiere. Preferivo giocare con i videogiochi Megaman, Castlevania, Super Mario e Zelda sul Nintendo. A volte, dopo cinque, sei ore di Nintendo, il mio amico volevo giocare fuori. Ma lui volevo sempre fare le cose cattive come giocare con il fuoco.

Una volta, giocavamo con il fuoco nella casa mia e l’abbiamo quasi bruciata. Quando uno è giovane, è anche molto stupido. Mio padre era molto, molto arrabbiato! Abbiamo bruciato il sofà e il tappeto. Ho promesso di non giocare mai con il fuoco e Craig non veniva alla mia casa per circa un mese perché aveva paura di mio padre. Durante questo periodo quando lui non veniva alla mia casa, i miei genitori dicevano che la nostra casa era molto tranquilla e non si preoccupavano più. Purtroppo per loro, dopo un mese, Craig è tornato e abbiamo cominciato a giocare con il fuoco di nuovo. I ragazzi non imparare nulla!

what we owe the aztecs

2009-03-12T22:06:00.000-07:00

Tonight my friends and I were dipping bananas in chocolate for dessert and I started thinking about where the word for chocolate came from. So, I did some quick research and found out that our word for chocolate originally comes from the Nahuatl language. For those of you that don't know, Nahuatl was spoken by the Aztecs in Mexico. It was called xocolatl and that was borrowed into the Spanish language and then subsequently ours. I find it quite amazing that certain words from obscure languages can have such an impact in all the languages of the world.

Other words I found that were derived from Nahuatl were tomato, coyote, chili and avocato. They were called tomatl, coyotl, chilli, and ahuacatl respectively.

sea salt coffee

2009-01-15T10:08:00.000-08:00

Kinda sounds strange but in Taiwan, sea salt coffee are all the rage right now. Apparently, its not the entire coffee but the foam which is suppose to be salty.

in the month of december...

2008-12-25T12:59:00.000-08:00

* According to one study, tangerines help reduce fat.

* In another study, yawning is said to be caused by our heads overheating. Makes you wonder if you ever yawned in the cold...

* Germany sues Italy for compensating victims of Nazi hate crimes.

* Brazil and France sign an arms deal worth 12 billion dollars which will allow Brazil to modernize its military equipment.

* Korea aims to set Christmas Carol World Record with 30,000 carolers!

* Japan and Vietnam have signed a free trade agreement.

* China bans 'The Dark Knight' citing 'cultural sensitivity' while they aim to build the biggest Santa ever.

* And the Somali pirates give the rest of the world a hard time.

shotoku

2008-12-18T04:42:00.000-08:00

For the past two weeks, I've been writing my final essay for my grad class and I think I've finally got it to where its decent. I'm not all that happy with it but I want to turn it in asap because I've been at this topic for a whole 12 weeks! I'm so tired of rereading this book (I've done it five times now) and rewriting every sentence in my essay. Sadly, it makes me wonder if I can actually continue on to a phD knowing that just 12 weeks will drain all the fun out of a topic I initially enjoyed. Oh the joys of graduate school.

We were assigned a book and we had to pretty much give a class lecture on it and turn in a book review/essay (the longest book review ever I would add) at the end. I chose to read a book by Michael Como called Shotoku. It pretty much deals with the origins of the Japanese (with at least those in power), nationalism and how it pretty much destroys everything nice about history, and most importantly, a historical/mythological man by the name of Shotoku Taishi. He is pretty much like our founding fathers except he did it all by himself and most of what he did according to Como was fabricated. A book like this would never be written in Japan and if it did, it would not definitely not be a best-seller. A fun read nonetheless for those who can get beyond nationalistic tendencies.

winter time

2008-12-15T20:02:00.000-08:00

I've been back in L.A. for about 12 weeks now and I honestly forgot that I once had a blog...

A recap of my 12 weeks back in America:

1) Got a free one-week layover in Japan on my Seoul-Los Angeles flight. Got to see my friend Wataru, visited Osaka, Kyoto, and Uji on my own, and met a kind lady in Nara who gave me a full on tour for free. That weekend, I met my friends Brian, Jen, and Angela in Tokyo and went to Nikko. Wataru took us to Tsukiji Sushi house and I had the best sushi of my life there.

kinkakuji in kyoto

bustling downtown osaka at night

2) Went to Joshua tree with Kaleo the weekend I got back. It was so awesome and refreshing to be a part of the fellowship again.

3) Started grad school the week after that. My classes included Chinese 1, Japanese Linguistics, and an art history/archaeology class on early Japanese temples. The quarter is now officially over but I'm still writing a paper for the Japanese art/archaeology class. We, as a class, asked our professor about the prompt and he replied, "Do your best!"

4) For next quarter, I will be taking Chinese 2, Italian 1, Readings in Japanese, and a grad class on ancient city planning in East Asia. And yea, I know Italian seems a little out of place.

5) I'm kind of on winter break. No classes to go to but my professor for my grad class assigned us nine books and a research project to start on all before his class starts in January. I don't mind reading but when each book is over 600 pages, it is a little overwhelming. As of now, I've read 5 chapters of a book on city walls and started another on the history of China. It's gonna be a looong three weeks.

almost home

2008-08-26T03:29:00.000-07:00

I have about 2 weeks left and the only thing I keep thinking about is what I will be missing when I get home. So, in no particular order..

1) I'm going to miss Pocari Sweat. And Milkis. And Barley Tea. I'm sure I can find it at some Asian store back home, but the fact that it's ubiquitous here allows me to have it anytime I want.

2) Samgak Gimbap (Onigiri), the triangular rice balls one can find at any convenience store.

3) Public Transportation. Never once did I need a car here.

4) Not having to worry about my stuff getting stolen. I actually lost my wallet here and got it back in the mail a month later with everything in it! For the most part, people are quite honest here.
5) All the Korean and international friends I met this year. When I left last year, I didn't feel the same way for the people at home because I knew I would be seeing them again in the future. I will probably not be able to see many of these people again. That makes it extremely difficult for me to depart.

the most economically powerful cities

2008-07-20T21:52:00.000-07:00

1) London, England.
GDP: 452 billion. population: 8,567,000.
2) Hong Kong, China.
GDP: 244 billion. population: 7,206,000.
3) New York, USA.
GDP: 1.13 trillion. population: 19,040,000.
4) Tokyo, Japan.
GDP: 1.19 trillion. population: 35,676,000.
5) Chicago, USA.
GDP: 460 billion. population: 8,990,000.
6) Seoul, Korea.
GDP: 218 billion. population: 9,796,000.
7) Paris, France.
GDP: 460 billion. population: 9,904,000.
8) Los Angeles, USA.
GDP: 639 billion. population: 12,500,000.
9) Shanghai, China.
GDP: 139 million. population: 14,987,000.
10) Toronto, Canada.
GDP: 209 billion. population: 5,213,000.

From Forbes.com

rebirth of gyeongju

2008-07-09T07:20:00.001-07:00

Gyeongju was the capital of the Silla Dynasty, the kingdom that eventually unified the Korean Peninsula. The dynasty began in 57 B.C.E with a man who supposedly hatched from a golden egg and ended with a drunk king who gave up his throne to a Buddhist monk turned general in 935 C.E. For over a thousand years, this city was the capital.

Today, it is known as a museum without walls. Ancient relics, tombs, pagodas, and foundations of palaces and temples can be found standing in the same place they stood for the past thousand, two thousand years. Sadly, many of these historically significant buildings remain in their decrepit state. Only a few have been brought back to their former glory. Two sites have been designated as UNESCO significant but there are many more sites that I know can be added if only they were restored.

Fortunately, there has been a lot of talk about reviving the city with a lot of money being set aside for the reconstruction of this city. They are now pushing to make their city a world-renowned tourist attraction not only through their history but through impressive structures and landmarks that once stood there.

A park with tombs of unknown royalty. It's amazing that people freely walk amongst it. (It would probably be looted if it were back at home in California.)

Bulguksa (Temple of the Buddhist Lands) one of the sites that has been designated as a part of the UNESCO World Heritage. This temple was first built in 751 and reconstructed many times afterwards. The stonework are all originals from the first time it was built. The two stone pagodas inside are also originals from the 700's. An amazing place to visit.

Seokguram, an artificial grotto with sculptures of Buddhist figures. It is a part of the Bulguksa Complex and was built at the same time as the temple. One of the finest pieces of Buddhist art one will find in the world.

Anapchi (Pond of Ducks and Geese) is a complex where royalty would hold banquets. (e.g. get drunk) There were a total of 26 buildings but only 3 remain. They are in talks about rebuilding more but we'll see if they actually do it. Still a pretty neat and relaxing place to spend an afternoon at.

This is one of the pagodas they will be reconstructing soon. This belongs to Hwangryongsa (Temple of the Imperial Dragon) which was razed back in the 1200's by the Mongols. This was the biggest pagoda in East Asia at the time. It will definitely be a sight to see once it is completed in 2035. The rest of the complex will be built after the pagoda. I've heard that Buddhist monks are leaping for joy!

Woljeonggyo (Moon Bridge) This is a 216 feet long bridge that once connected Anapchi (the pond from above) to the main palace. It's twin Iljeonggyo (Sun Bridge) will be built right after this one is finished. I saw a scaled down version of this at the pond and I was quite impressed.

mood

2008-06-25T22:52:00.001-07:00

Korea is often describe as a society being governed by relationships and social order rather than law of the government. I'm sure it will change and has been changing with the newer generations, but I've noticed it with especially the older generation (those that lived through the era when Korea was a dirt-poor, war-ravaged, third world country to what they enjoy now - an industrialized, psuedo-first world one.)

After being here for a while, I noticed that Koreans seem to make irrational decisions because that's what social order prescribed. When making decisions here at work, my boss and co-workers really depend on something called bunigi, roughly translated into English as atmosphere, mood, or dynamic. If the buneuigi is off or awkward because of one student, they will change his/her class. Instead of trying to help the student out or working with him/her, they take him/her out. From a western point-of-view it may seem like Koreans are taking the easy way out. But from a Korean point-of-view (maybe even a pan-East Asian one) they are following a social norm.

This might explain why Koreans (and the Japanese) really deck out a cafe or a restaurant with as much decoration, lighting, and music as possible. They are trying to recreate say a coffee shop in Europe or a restaurant in China so that the buneuigi of a respective country can be felt. It really does feel like entering a new world when one goes to a bar, a coffee shop, hair salon, convenience store, this list can go on.

bilingual people can change personalities

2008-06-25T05:24:00.000-07:00

According to a study, bicultural and bilingual people can change their personality whenever they switch their language. People can switch to a "cultural-specific frame" and thus the changes in personalities and expressions.

I did always notice that I acted a little different when I spoke English, Korean, and/or Japanese. Now I have a study that tells me why I act the way I do. It's just what I needed know...

random thoughts

2008-06-23T07:58:00.000-07:00

Something I've been thinking about a lot lately: "Life is about things being taken away slowly. Things that are very important in life. The accumulation of wealth, family, friends, health, youth, security. Should we then put our trust in these things? Christ is the only thing that will not be taken away. He will only grow stronger and more brilliant in our lives. Then, how can we reject him?" It seems logical to believe and yet I find it very difficult to live out.

danwon

2008-06-12T08:11:00.001-07:00

Kim Hongdo (1705-1806), or better known as Danwon. My favorite korean painter. He is considered one of the three most famous and valued painters in Korea. Much like the genre paintings of the Dutch, Danwon painted scenes of daily life. If one looks closely, Danwon's paintings are comical, dynamic, and in-touch with real life. The style of his work reminds me of today's comic books but obviously, they carry a lot more meaning than the former.

In this painting, a boy is dancing while the musician play traditional Korean instruments. The man at the top right puffs his cheeks with air as he plays his wooden flute.

Workers add tile to the roof of this pavilion. The workers are serious and diligent as shown by their facial expressions.

The quintessential depiction of Korean life, whether it was five hundred years ago or today. The students are studying hard and the poor little boy is crying probably because he was lazy or did not live up to the expectation of the teacher. I guess nothing's really changed here in Korea.

the ainu people

2008-06-09T07:08:00.000-07:00

Japan has finally agreed to officially recognize the Ainu people of Hokkaido as an indigenous people "with a unique language and culture." For centuries, they have been repressed and neglected and many had to hide their identities so they would not face discrimination. Originally they inhabited the Sakhalin Peninsula and Kurile Islands (currently part of Russia), Hokkaido, and the northern part of the main island of Honshu. Today, they only occupy the southern part of Hokkaido.

Genetically, the Ainus are very different from the Japanese. They have fairer skin and to put it bluntly, are hairier. They almost look native American. Some scholars have even speculated that they are the descendants of the Jomon People.

I was first introduced to their culture back in 2002 when I took a trip to Sapporo, Japan in Hokkaido. I went to a store that sold goods made by Ainu people and was startled by the similarities between them and the native Americans. I even found out that the city of Sapporo is the Ainu word for village of much dryness. (It's been modified of course to fit the Japanese tongue, but in the original Ainu language Sapporo was pronounced Satporo kotan with the word kotan eventually being dropped.) So the next time you drink a bottle of Sapporo Beer, remember the Ainus and their contribution to the world.

over-the-top with amusement parks?

2008-05-27T08:38:00.001-07:00

In the next five years, we should see four new, large-scale amusement parks operating in Korea. I wonder though if this is sustainable, as there are already two amusement parks in existence in a country with only 48 million people. Koreans must love amusement parks!

The first amusement park in the works is the "Paramount Movie Park Korea" which is scheduled to open in 2011 in Incheon. Themes from the movie Titanic, Tomb Raiders, and Mission Impossible are to be included in the park. The second is an MGM theme park also in Incheon. This will be MGM's first ever amusement park. Can't think of exactly what movies they made at the moment but I'm sure they'll have rides themed after them. Universal Studios will open their fourth park in 2012 after Hollywood, Florida, and Osaka, Japan. The fourth will be a Marvel Superheroes theme park in Busan, Korea. This one, I'm actually excited for. I would actually visit this one since I was and still am a huge fan of Marvel.

taeglish

2008-05-26T07:22:00.000-07:00

Koreans are now learning Taekwondo and English at the same time. I think I would be more excited to go and teach at these hagwons than the kids would be attending the schools.

rocket ship

2008-05-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

I saw this building back in Tokyo near Shinjuku in February and I thought it was a pretty neat building. Looks like a rocket ship in the middle of all the other buildings.

the bowing building

2008-05-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite buildings north of the Han River in Seoul. Apparently, SK Telecom added the bend at the top as a symbol of the company bowing to its citizens. Pretty neat concept I think.

photo experiment

2008-05-23T23:48:00.001-07:00

I overexposed this on purpose to make it look somewhat like an Asian landscape painting. What do you think?

world's "hardest workers"

2008-05-23T22:10:00.000-07:00

According to Forbes, Koreans are the hardest-working people in the world as they put in 2,357 hours of work a year. But from my experience, I don't think Koreans are necessarily the hardest-working. (Though I have met a lot of Koreans who do work very hard!) They're just AT work a lot. Much of time is wasted because people are expected to all come and leave at the same time even if they don't have to be there. For instance, I have to come into work at 1:30 but I don't start teaching until 3:15. I come in at 1:30 because other teachers start at that time. Lots of time wasted, I would say.

Greece comes in at second with 2,052 hours a year, then the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland. The Netherlands is at the bottom with only 1,391 hours a year. After living and working in Korea, the Netherlands sound very appealing.

favorite photos thus far

2008-05-22T07:46:00.000-07:00

Taken somewhere in the middle of Mongolia. These are prayer sites where rocks are piled up and topped off with these blue banners.

Taken in Harajuku, Tokyo. Young kids show up on Sunday afternoons and show off their costumes and makeup. Usually they dress up as their favorite anime character or rock star.

Taken in Nikko, Japan.

Josh and Jenny are just too photogenic. They make any picture look good.

Korina's way excited for her wedding day.

Taken from inside the Gwanghwamun in Seoul. The biggest and most important palace out of the five in Seoul.

Shot this on Jeju Island while I was waiting for Jon and Tim.

Cheonjiyeon in Seogwipo, Jeju Island.

Asian Magnolias shot at the Summer Palace in Beijing, China.

blue roses

2008-05-21T23:00:00.000-07:00

A lot of "specialists" in Asia continue to regard Asia as a mere copier of Western ideas and that they lack creativity. I tend to think that Asians (and when I say Asians I mean the Japanese, Koreans, and to a certain extent, Chinese) are just playing catch up. The reason I bring this up is because I think that these Asians ARE very creative. I'm always quite amazed by products they come up with. I think it's a shame that in the West, we never get to hear about these things.

So a while ago, a Japanese company genetically altered roses and came up with blue roses. It was suppose to be an impossible feat, a horticulturist's dream. Now it's available for people to purchase, though I've heard that it costs over a hundred bucks just for one rose.

top five things to do in seoul

2008-05-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

5) All that Jazz in Itaewon. A place where you can have a glass of wine and listen to live jazz music. A pretty sweet way to spend a night out in Seoul.

4) Go watch Nanta. A musical comedy about four chefs cooking up a birthday dinner bash. It actually is more exciting than it sounds. The music and beats are all derived from traditional Korean music. And the greatest thing is, you don't have to know Korean.

This is how Meredith felt after watching Nanta!

3) Go to a barbeque restaurant in Myeongdong. Most restaurants cater towards the Japanese here but that doesn't mean it isn't good. One of the best places for meat in my opinion. And then after all that meat, you can refresh yourself with a nice bowl of cold naengmyeon!

2) Spend a few hours at one of the five palaces. I prefer Changdeok Palace to the other four only because there are always less people around. A beautiful place to enjoy traditional architecture and nature. Extremely calming and peaceful.

1) An afternoon strolling around Insadong. Walk down Insadong gil and in between all the narrow alley ways and visit all the little pottery shops, painting galleries, and tea houses. And don't forget to grab yourself a 700 won hotteok from the street vendor and a bowl of cold plum tea from one of the tea houses.

A restaurant in one of the alleyways in Insadong

jon in korea

2008-05-21T04:58:00.001-07:00

I'm grateful that my friend Jon came out to Korea during his vacation time. Him being here though really made me miss home and even now, I feel a bit homesick. Luckily, I only have three more months left before I fly back to California!

Jon's flight came in late on Friday night so he could not bus to Daejeon, the city I'm living in. I made him stay with my friend Brian who he had never met and I met him the next morning. We hung out in Seoul for the day and then flew out to Jeju Island the next morning. My friend Tim who lives on Jeju Island picked us up. Jeju was probably the highlight of our trip. On Monday morning, we hiked up Seongsan to see the sunrise. Seongsan is a mini crater that juts out from mainland Jeju. I guess it's famous for sunrises and since everybody's does it while they're there, we did it.

Immediately after, we took a ferry to Udo (Cow Island) and rode scooters. While scootering around, we happened upon Haenyeos, really really old woman divers. These women dive and catch sea creatures for food. They can hold their breath for about three to five minutes and from what I saw, most in their seventies. Despite their age, it seemed as though most were in better shape than I was. According to one Haenyeo who we talked to, most woman start diving at the age of ten and continue to do it until the day they die! Unfortunately, they wouldn't let us take pictures with them and we dared not to secretly sneak one after we saw a haenyeo punk a father and son who had done so without their consent.

I think Jon actually did better with the food that I thought he would have. Granted, I kind of know what he likes and dislikes... I was still surprised at how adventurous he had gotten after Tokyo.

korean x-boxes

2008-05-21T02:22:00.001-07:00

When Bill Gates met with the president of Korea two weeks ago, Mr. Gates presented him with an X-box inlaid in traditional Korean mother-of-pearl. Three of them were made - one for Bill Gates himself, the president, and the artist. Another hundred will be made for who know who.

Kim Young-joon, the designer, with his new X-box

hello kitty

2008-05-21T02:12:00.000-07:00

Hello Kitty was just named the official Japanese tourist ambassador. The government is hoping to bring in ten million visitors a year with their new mascot. Apparently, there is a "Hello Kitty Wave" happening in China and the government hopes to bank on this.

I don't think I'll ever understand the Asian obsession with cuteness.

will's last weekend

2008-05-09T10:11:00.000-07:00

This passed weekend, Will, Rachel (Will's friend), and I went to Busan to hangout for the last time before he left for America. A couple of weeks prior to this weekend we had thrown around the idea of going to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tsushima, or Tokyo but it just didn't seem to work out. So we ended up in Busan... again. While in Busan, we decided to go check out if there were any tickets to Fukuoka, Japan on the ferry. I honestly didn't think there would be any left because this was a prime weekend for Koreans to travel. Miraculously, there were tickets left, and that morning we left for Japan for two hundred bucks!

Will and I in Busan posing in front of an image used by the kings of Korea for their throne room.

A park in Fukuoka

When we arrived, I got hassled by the customs guy saying that I needed a specific address on my customs form. I told him that we were just going to find a hotel but he kept insisting that EVERY hotel in Fukuoka was going to be booked. Luckily, I spoke enough Japanese to whisk my way out of there. Right when we entered the city, I was determined to prove him wrong. How could EVERY hotel/motel/inn be booked?! And it turned out he was wrong. We easily found housing and spent the rest of the time enjoying Fukuoka.

Fukuoka is known for its canal and ramen. Canals are nice and ramen is very good. They have "yatai" (street vendors) that serve delicious ramen and yakisoba. Would go back just for the food.

One of Fukuoka's many canals.

Ubiquitous ramen shops of Fukuoka

An older lady started talking to Rachel about something in Japanese but she had no idea. Around that same time, Will got in trouble for shooting a video of a Buddha statue and touching all the merchandise. Right then, she took us into the back and started talking to me. She was very warm-hearted and personable. We chatted for a while. We told her that we were tourists from Korea and she told me that she would be delighted to take us around for a bit. She bought us subway tickets, we talked some more, and she guided us to some ancient castle ruins and a beautiful park. And she told me that I spoke very good keigo (Japanese honorifics). It made my day.

人生なんてそんなものだねえええ

2008-05-01T10:50:00.000-07:00

友達たちに会いたいんだけどね。後３月。

busan in april

2008-04-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

Beomeosa, a temple founded in 678. It has been destroyed several times but its always been reconstructed. One thing that caught my attention at this temple was that Koreans actually let nature and architecture coexist. Let me explain. Traditionally, Koreans never destroy mountains, hills, trees, and plants but instead they build around them. And then once these buildings are in place, they let nature take its course. One will see trees and plants growing from the most random spots because the people will not uproot them. This is one of the stark differences between Korean and Chinese/Japanese architecture. In Chinese architecture, projects start after an entire area is razed. Buildings are then built to impress people with their enormous size. "Nature" is then brought in after the buildings are finished. The same goes for the Japanese but to a lesser degree. Buildings are not as grand and they usually try their best to fit it in to its surroundings. Initially, one will notice that traditional Korean buildings are not as grand or gaudy as Chinese and Japanese buildings are but one will definitely get the sense of nature and humans coexisting. There's something really peaceful about being in a temple in Korea.

Will, Meredith, Emily, and I with our new British friend Phil.

Will and I also bought these sweet shoe/sandals in Busan. Greatest buy ever. They are so comfortable!

sunday

2008-04-15T05:36:00.000-07:00

We sang happy birthday to my friend Melody in eight languages. And then it hit me that I really enjoy being here in Korea because of the diversity. Granted most people there were from America, it still did make me think of all the different people I got to meet during my six months here.

My Minnesotans, (or was it Wisconsin) Emily, Meredith, and Tim. Except for Tim, Emily, Meredith, and I travel pretty much everywhere we go. Weekend trips are boring without them. Tim happens to live on an island so he really can't join us on our weekend trips. Only unless, we go take a trip to his semi-tropical paradise.

Will is from Utah. I also travel with Will pretty much everywhere. What makes him fun is that he is fluent in Korean. It's hilarious to see him interact with Koreans like a Korean even though he is a white-American from the boondogs of Utah.

My new Brazilian friends Bruno, Paolo, and Koji. Paolo and Koji happen to be fluent in Japanese so a lot of our conversations are in Japanese. Bruno can't speak Japanese so he leaves our conversations sometimes. These three are really good at foosball.

The Germans, Reinhart, Dennis, and Martin who left for Germany about two months ago and Ali, the Turkish-Norwegian. Maybe I was just fascinated by their German accents, but still very fun people to be around. Ali, on the otherhand, almost died last month but now is back partying it up every night.

Joosang, my only Korean friend here who I see only on Sundays. He goes to my uncle's church and I hang out with him whenever I go there. Probably the only reason I befriended him so quickly was because he actually speaks English. Everyone else either can't or doesn't because they're too self-conscious.

The Canadians, Jen Park, Jen Chough, Johnny. Jen Park is like a mother, Jen Chough is my Japanese language student, and Johnny is my Chinese teacher.

I guess these people have made my stay in Korea extremely fun, random, and enjoyable. I think Korea would have stunk without them around.

the granite conspiracy

2008-04-14T11:20:00.000-07:00

Why is it that granite is so expensive in America? People pay so much money just to get some granite in their homes. I'm starting to believe that a few major companies are hoarding them just so the prices on them are inflated. The reason why I think this: granite is stinkin cheap in Korea. Almost every building is finished with granite and even sidewalks are paved in granite. After being here for a while, I began to wonder what all the hype was about back in America.

pictures from jeonju

2008-03-31T07:27:00.000-07:00

This is a catholic church and school that my aunt used to attend. A stark contrast to all the traditional Korean buildings and houses that surround it. Built in 1910 and designated National Treasure Number 288.

White and red plum blossoms blooming in Jeonju.

unearthing roots

2008-03-31T04:59:00.001-07:00

After more than six months, I finally got to meet my extended family on my mother's side in Korea. I got a phone call Sunday morning from an aunt saying that it was my grandmother's birthday and that I should come to her house. (One thing about Koreans is that they don't plan in advance. They just expect one to be able to come.) At the time, I was with my aunt and uncle from my dad's side who were visiting Korea. Being the flexible person I am, I left immediately to go meet the family.

I found out that I have two aunts, three uncles, and six or seven cousins. (I actually wasn't sure who was a cousin or not. A little bit of miscommunication I suppose. I might actually have more cousins.) One of my cousins did not talk to me, presumably because he didn't feel confident about his English. The funny thing is I was speaking Korean the whole time. Two others were either seniors in high school or just out of high school. They were extremely shy and after subsequent conversations with my uncle, I found out that they were the rebellious type and had been giving him a hard time.

That night, I rode the bus back to my aunt and uncle from my dad's side who were in the city of Jeonju. The following day, I took a tour of Jeonju and got to see the places that my dad saw as a young boy. In Korea, clans are based out of towns, and I was told growing up that I descended from the Jeonju Lee clan. (This clan was the last royal family of Korea and apparently, our family descends from one of the first king's concubines.) Things began to make sense when I got to see the monuments and palaces that this family had made throughout its history. Everytime we saw tablets and old portraits of former kings, my aunt kept referring to them as great-grandfathers. A strange feeling. Really.

spring is here

2008-03-24T10:06:00.000-07:00

Finally, it has warmed up and flowers are BLOOMING!

korean proverbs

2008-03-24T09:54:00.000-07:00

원숭이도 나무에서 떨어질 때가 있다. [Monkeys occasionally fall off trees] Meaning everyone makes mistakes.

둘이 먹다가 하나가 죽어도 모른다. [If two people are eating, one will not know if the other dies] When food is so good to the extent that if one were to die, no one would notice.

개구리가 올챙이 적 생각 못 한다. [The frog does not remember his tadpole days] Remember where you come from.

my favorite 4 character proverbs

2008-03-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

竜頭蛇尾 - Literally meaning "dragon head snake tail." This describes someone who starts something off with much enthusiasm, rigor, and energy but fails to "finish the race." Pretty much one has pooped out.

山戦水戦 - One has battled the mountains and rivers. Thus, one has seen and experienced the world.

道成肉身 - Truth changes into flesh and body. In biblical terms, the Word became Flesh.

a new word

2008-03-10T06:38:00.000-07:00

Kachilhada (까칠하다) - to be strict and boring. To be like one of those old, bitter teachers who watched your every move so that they could bust you for doing something.

Well, that's how I felt about my boss for the longest time. It turns out though, she actually likes me. She even brought up the idea of me staying another year! I'm pretty sure I won't take her up on that deal, but it's such a relief to know that she wasn't holding a grudge.

shabu shabued out

2008-02-17T00:55:00.000-08:00

I'm really starting to hate boiled vegetables. I went out for shabu shabu with the pool champion of Korea tonight and I decided that I would never eat boiled vegetables again. Soggy vegetables... mmm...

babariman

2008-02-12T20:59:00.000-08:00

This is one of the funniest words I've learned here in Korea so far. 바바리맨 (Babariman) comes from the word "Burberry," the famous British clothing company, and "man." It's someone in a trench coat who likes to flash people. In Asia, rather than streaking in front of a crowd, men like to look conspicuous and flash people when people least expect it. It's also quite interesting that Burberry has become synonymous with trench coats here, similar to how kleenex is to tissue in America.

happy lunar new years

2008-02-12T05:49:00.000-08:00

I left for Jeju Island early Wednesday morning to catch a flight to Tokyo in the evening. My friend Tim and I decided to meet down there because we would be able to avoid the madness of people traveling in and out of Seoul. Lunar New Years is one of the two biggest holidays here in Korea.

Tim took me to a bar/restaurant called Bagdad in Jeju City that served Indian food. It's a bit random that it would be called Bagdad but a lot of things here in Korea seem random. I never really liked Indian food but the food here was amazing. Definitely would love to go back there again. We then went to the airport and enjoyed what has become one of my all-time favorite fruit - Hallabongs. I believe that they are a cross breed of some Japanese Satsuma Orange and Jeju Island Mandarins. We hung out in the airport for about 3 hours or so. By 11:30 we were in Tokyo.

Tim and I stayed with my friend Takuya who I met in Tokyo back in the summer of 2006. I got to meet his family and they were especially kind and welcoming. We had dinner with Takuya's family every night so it really saved us money. The whole time however, Takuya tried convincing me into moving to Tokyo with him. He even tried looking at jobs for me. I guess it's still an option for the future... I actually would love to live there.

Rather than being tourists, Tim and I just hung out with people. We met our American teacher friends, Emily, Meredith, and Kirsten, who were also in Tokyo, their military friends Davia and Derek, hung out with my Japanese friends Tetsuya and Wataru, and met two British girls who were also vacationing in Tokyo.

Things I realized in Tokyo:

1) My Japanese is very rusty. Takuya even said that he noticed that I forgot a lot. Kinda disappointing. 2) Only if you want to throw away money, try avoiding Roppongi Hills. It'll drain your wallet fast. 3) I really really like Mister Donuts. 4) The taxis remind me of Transformers.

the city of filial piety and samsung

2008-02-01T19:26:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, my friends and I decided to take a trip to Suwon, a city an hour south of Seoul. A king back in 1796 had tried to move the capital city from Seoul to Suwon but failed miserably. The story goes that the king missed his deceased father so much that he decided to build him a great tomb. Instead, the tomb ended up becoming a fortress. The king then wanted to be closer to his father's burial place so he tried to move the capital. I think it's a neat story of honor and love. An interesting side note, Suwon happens to be where Samsung headquarters is. This is where all those designs for cellphones, flatscreen TVs, and flashdrives come from.

Prost! I think that's German for Cheers. My German friends taught it to me when we were in Suwon.

the great city of busan

2008-01-22T05:12:00.001-08:00

I spent the past weekend with my friends Will, Tim, and Kim down in Busan. It's Korea's second biggest city with about four million people. Everyone speaks in the Gyeongsando accent so it was kind of difficult to understand things. Generally, people down there are kinder and warmer than the people here in Daejeon.

On the shores of Haeundae, we met an old man who insisted he was Son O-gong (손오공, そんごくin Japanese) and if anyone knows who that is, he the monkey-king hero from Chinese mythology. If you ever watched Dragonball, you'll get an idea of who this is because the main character is based on the hero. He did though, take this picture of us.

We also visited what I thought was one of the most beautiful temples because it was right next to the ocean.

My friend Tim wanted to see if he could get his hands on oatmeal and so we went grocery shopping. It was there that we met a Canadian-Middle Eastern English teacher. He had a lot of hair sticking out of his ears and it really distracted Kim and I. We couldn't stop laughing. Tim and Will on the other hand got into an interesting conversation that ended with him advising us to go wine tasting in the wine section. He insisted that the Chilean wine was the "sexiest" and if we told the sample lady to fill up a glass, she would. We went, tasted, and left to find oatmeal. I didn't find it too sexy. By chance, we bumped into the English teacher again and he dragged us all to go and try some more. When the sample lady saw him coming, she rolled her eyes, sighed, and knew what he wanted. We knew he had frequented the wine section. She then poured full cups for us. Quite hilarious.

The last day, Tim, Will, and I went to "the best sauna in the world." Unfortunately, Kim had to go back to Jeju Island that morning. In Tim's own words, it was the most naked bodies he had ever seen since Schindler's List. We got to enjoy the Jasmine Tea baths, cherry baths, outdoor baths and salt baths. We were a little disappointed though because the Strawberry Milk bath that were supposed to be there weren't there. Nonetheless, a very relaxing time.