Dispatch from South Korea

Greetings from sunny Seoul, home of 10 million or so Koreans. We have been spending the last day or so eating kimchi and walking around exploring Seoul. Yesterday we took a leisurely 2 hour bus ride from the airport, which promptly zoomed about a mile and a half past our stop. Made our way back through a pretty intense market full of all kinds of stuff you don't want to buy. Our hostel is cheap and almost tolerable, but is very close to a subway stop so we are happy. Last night we went out and had our first Korean meal, which was very cute because the old woman running the restaurant had to mix up our rice bowls for us, since we didn't know to do it. It was adorable. After that, we decided to have the most authentic Korean experience possible, and headed to Starbucks as the sun was setting. After that, we decided to delve a little deeper into the culture, and so went to go see The Good Shepard starring Matt Damon. Then it was pretty much bedtime.

This morning, we woke up at the crack of 7. Actually, it was just me, since the hostel people kindly came into Hong's room at 12:30 am and informed her they had assigned her to the wrong room and could she move please. Why, sure, no problem! So she made it up by 7:45, groggily. We jumped on the subway to head to a station where we could locate the start of the "Shaman Hill Climb" or something like that. It was a hike up a big mountain in the middle of Seoul.

Coming out of the subway stop, we followed the directions in Lonely Planet and walked into an alley, eventually ending up in a construction site, and then a path up the hill. We faced numerous confusing turns, and after a while came upon a party of older men and women just sitting around resting and chilling out. After that, needless to say, we took a wrong turn and the next thing I knew there was a barbed wire fence, a siren blaring out, and a guy with a green helmet and gun staring at me. OK, I guess that's not the trail.

After narrowly escaping our harrowing brush with the Cold War, we stumbled across a party of friendly and also lost Koreans who happened to know English. They inquired with the aforementioned loafers, who pointed us to the proper trail. We had to scale part of the old city wall to get on the trail, but finally we joined the masses in their ascent of the mountain. From the trail, we could see central Seoul and some of the other parts of the city, and only one word comes to mind to describe it: BIG! This place is big looking in ways that other cities I've seen just aren't. It doesn't just go out, it goes up, in big-ass apartment buildings that make your standard U.S. apartment complex look like so many helpless blonde girls in the clutches of Godzilla (or King Kong).

Our newfound friends were climbing the mountain with other members of their church, many of whom were carrying flags and passing out cards at the top where you could write a letter to yourself, which the church would then mail to you in 1 year. Hong wanted to do it, but they sadly informed her it was domestic addresses only. She's recovering slowly.

After that, we scouted out one of the better dining deals I have ever found in my life. We walked down a quiet but not too-dirty looking alley looking for food, and finally decided on a place. We pointed to a delicious-looking photo at the wall, and the lady, who was running the place alone that day, groaned and rolled her eyes not quite, but nearly, to the back of her head. She gave no indication as to whether or not she actually would indeed cook it, but kept us in a worried suspense for a few minutes until she asked us if we wanted it for 2 people. Finally, many heaping plates of side dishes arrived, then rice, then 2 huge black pots filled with delicious looking soup, spices, veggies, and gigantic pieces of pork on the bone. It was good, and it was a feast. And when the time came to pay, it tasted even better when the total came to $10 for the both of us. I mean this isn't in a third world country where $1.50 can buy you a majority stake in the state telecommunications network, this was Korea, one of the biggest economies in the world. Great success! Go us.

We followed this with a visit to a truly huge, quite beautiful palace used by the Joseon kings back in the old days of Korea. Hong decided that telling me she was going to wander off to some other part of this Milwaukee-sized complex was completely unnecessary, so I enjoyed much of the palace in search mode, looking in vane for my lost mate while Korean people stared at me walking around with an inquisitive, squinting look. But the palace was just breathtaking. It was destroyed many times by the Koreans' good friends, the Japanese, and so all the buildings are reconstructions dating from 1990 onwards. Let me say that they did a phenomenal job. Never have I seen historical reconstructions of such beauty and carefulness. I think it is easily one of the most impressive sights I've seen in Asia.

After that, it was time for another traditional Korean meal, this one at a local Korean specialty shop that the locals call Pizza Hut. We ordered the large pizza ("3-4 Persons") and finished it with a bit of difficulty and 2 very large Pepsis. I think it's safe to say we earned the respect and fear of the whole restaurant.

And that's all I've got to say about that. Goodnight to everyone in America!

Sakura Spectacular!

Now that the cherry blossom season is over, it's time to publish the top 20 sakura photos taken this season. It really was as beautiful as I thought it was going to be. Please enjoy.

1. Mighty cherry trees next to the river in Nakatsugawa.
2. Cherry blossoms come in all shades of pink and white.
3. Cherry trees drape over the river in a quiet neighborhood of Nakatsugawa.

4. Sakura tree with house, Nakatsugawa.
5. The bridge to the park at Naka, Kakamigahara. This bridge almost seemed enchanted it was so beautiful.
6. My first view of what cherry blossoms could really be, in Naka.
7. A Meitetsu train makes its way through the cherry trees
8. Cherry blossoms next to the river.
9. The famed Cherry Blossom festival in Naka, Kakamigahara. Hong's city is rightly famous for its cherry blossom festival.
10. People enjoying "Hanami," or flower-viewing parties.

11. Elation on the shoulders
12. A path under the trees
13. Dreamy path under the petals.























14. Well-dressed woman under the trees.
15. Sakura blossoms at the end of the season, next to the Nakatsugawa River, Nakatsugawa
16. The fog over the Kiso River on my early morning drive back home last Sunday.
17. A mighty sakura tree in the mist.
18. A blossom-lined path shines in the fresh spring air.

19. Lunch under the Cherry Trees.
20. Happiness is eating with your friends under the trees.

Goodbye, Kocho and Kyoto-sensei

After the school year ended last month, the Principal and Vice-Principal of the school both retired. All of the teachers gathered out front, the student band played the school song, each gave a speech, and we all clapped. After that, the principal got into his car and drove away, and the vice-principal, who lives next door to school, just sort of awkwardly walked around the corner, to applause. It was quite funny, actually.

Although I've only been here for a short time, I can tell just from talking to other teachers that these men were enormously respected and will be very missed. Most Japanese administrators are very tough and kind of autocratic, but from what I can tell these men were utterly without pretense and very understanding of the teachers' situation. When I talk to friends at other schools, I realize how lucky I have been to work at a place that is so harmonious, and I think these two guys have something to do with that. They will be missed.

The Yuppie Life

I went to Nagoya a few weeks ago to have my camera repaired, and after it was done I couldn't help patronizing the Starbucks in the building. This was only my 2nd Starbucks in Japan ever. Sitting outside on the street in Nagoya, sipping my Starbucks, listening to my iPod, wearing my Team Italy Adidas warm-up jacket, I realized what it felt like to look like a hip young urban professional. Of course, there is no suppressing the prevailing dorkiness that is my life, but I think I was quite convincing.

10 Hours in Kyoto

Last weekend, I had to go to work on Sunday. I would complain, but I've been on vacation for the last 3 weeks, so I have NO basis for complaint here. So, I had only one glorious day of weekend to use as I chose. Luckily, Ms. Tanya, of Treehouse fame, was vacationing in Kyoto at that very moment! So I took the slowest, cheapest train I could find, and after only 4 1/2 short (and relaxing) hours of riding, I was there!

We had a great time. The cherry blossoms had just come out, and it was just pretty darned lovely. I was supposed to be the Japan expert, since I've been here for no less than EIGHT months, but Tanya knew where everything was and generally led me around Kyoto. I realized I had forfeited my title after I forwent the map in favor of some good old fashioned 'visual recon' and led us in precisely (really) the wrong direction for a while until I decided to, like, check where we were going. Those mountains I saw in the distance weren't the ones I thought they were, it would seem. So much for visual recon. I guess Science majors really are smarter. Damn!

As I was saying, the beginnings of the cherry blossom bloom were lovely, and so was the weather, and I guess a lot of people predicted this very thing happening, because I got very intimately acquainted with the butts and elbows of about half of Japan on the train ride. My arm was literally just sitting on some kid's neck for like 20 minutes because I had nowhere else to put it. When the doors opened at Kyoto, it took--no kidding-- 30 seconds before ANYONE could get out the door. We all pushed together and created so much pressure that we literally wouldn't budge. It was amazing. Everyone was relatively calm about it, though. Anywhere else and someone's teeth would be getting knocked out.

So most of these pictures are from Kenninji, a beautiful temple in Kyoto. I'd never been there before, but both Tanya and the Japanese teacher at my school recommended it. They weren't wrong. I really love the layout and the feel of the building, because it almost feels like a sleek sort of Japanese home, instead of a temple. Pretty much every room was wide open to the outside, with really beautiful woodwork and gardens. The whole environment was very...harmonious.






One of the back alleys of Kyoto. We strolled around for a while, aimlessly. It was great. By accident, we even found Kiyomizudera temple, one of the most famous in Japan.























A little shrine at the Kiyomizudera temple.


















Yeah, I don't know either.