Sorry I haven't been posting.
 On the other hand, I'm not. Realizing I can't be living up my time here if I'm busy writing about it.
Of course, I run the risk of not reflecting on things so much because things have been go go go. Most times, at a faster tempo than my life back in NYC. Can you believe it? (It's a problem...) Then again, this blog hasn't become overly personal. I know you guys don't want to read my diary. So I'm sparing you all. Just leaves more to talk about when I'm face to face with you sooner or later...
I have been loving your wonderful emails!
Fall has already begun. It's been raining a lot. It hasn't affected my activity, though. Always out and about, managing to escape the heavy rainfall by ducking into cafes, museums with friends and walking around when it's a drizzle.The weather is still really hot and humid. I still don't know how Koreans get by. I've read blogs before heading out here, about how foreigners end up explaining to locals how they just sweat so much more. The entries were written in disbelief. I read it dismissingly, thinking I wouldn't have a hard time because of inheriting my parents' body chemistry and all. Boy, was I overconfident. How others manage to look comfortable without any air conditioning is beyond me. Public spaces have a government enforced temperature standard after a power outage months back.  Why some homes I've visited chose not to turn their A/C on isn't a simple one. Some older folk brag "we didn't turn it on last year, not once!"
I've been adjusting too. It's a relief to stay with friends who are like me. Otherwise, there's nothing two or three showers a day can't fix.
Be prepared for an overload of random snippets of my meanderings throughout not so little Korea. I'll be posting unpublished drafts while taking advantage of wifi.
Currently typing away in sweet couple's place. I'm growing fonder of cats. (The cultural consensus towards cats is changing, by the way. Cats are just as lovable as dogs.)
I met the couple this afternoon, engaging in the same volunteer work as me. Totally clicked, and they invited me over for the next two nights! How crazy is that? Crazy loving and crazy trusting.

I love how there's a chinatown in every part of the world. This is my favorite obsession at the moment. This order fed 6, don't worry BrBrown!

a souvenir gift for me!

"When you buy something in another country, you always have a story to tell about where you got that particular item".

What’s the big deal over overseas retail therapy sessions? Well, it’s just that: big deals.

There’s a reason why I see people toting empty suitcases for Seoul-Hong Kong flights,or onto coach buses to Outlet malls in NY, or at 6am outdoor lines during NYC secret sample sales. For me, it was the 80-percent-off sale at the Garment District by Ralph Lauren this winter.

I ended up weighed down with so many bags my mom and I agreed we might as well open up a shop. Still, it's hard not to justify the shopping when I was thinking about what to wear to the wedding in Cali. Into my suitcase went in my formal, deep blue floor-length evening gown I'd scored previously for $30!

Then there’s the emotional value.

Jill Fairchild, founder and publisher of the “Where to Wear” city shopping guides, told Forbes magazine, “When you buy something in another country or another city, you always have a story to tell about where you got that particular item. You create lasting memories with your purchases.”

Amen.

That’s exactly why it was so hard for me to part with a beloved rope bordered green Amazonite ring, scored during a summer trip to Brazil. Every time I wore it, as tired I get of seeing the distinct crack on the gem, I could still remember the subtropical heat as my sisters and I navigated the homey, steep streets in Liberdade District. We were hungry but too intrigued by all the little shops to waste time eating. We were hungry for adventure. After my purchase, I temporarily stopped admiring my latest purchase to taste that smelly durian a man was selling from his wooden cart off the street.

You see, this is what a beloved purchase does: it crystallizes your memory of a particular time and place. And hopefully, in the future trips, it is these memories that lure you back for more, regardless of the tangible.

I won't mistake quantity for quality. For now, these will have to do.

They give me the same mixed amount of excitement and nostalgia two bags filled with clothes and accessories would have years ago. 

June 22

I've had the pleasure of going out in field service with the English group. I'm also including some pics of us doing park witnessing. We are always looking for English speaking people wherever we go. During door to door, we look for multicultural marriages. Usually the wife is a mail-to-order bride or something from Vietnam, Cambodia or Bangladesh. They are women escaping their weak economic system in hopes of something better abroad. It is sad for me just thinking about how dangerous that can be. They may be without basic rights in a developed country. They don't have a voice. They cannot speak Korean and have to learn throughout the years. They sometimes speak a little English. But to get through to them, the sisters in the English field must be on good terms with the mother-in-law who usually lives with them. We write letters to areas we cant get to. But get this: they speak/read Vietnamese or Thai so basically, we find a paragraph to copy on the website and copy the funny characters/letters one curvy squiggly thing at a time!
Since this day, I'm enjoying learning how to meet that specific populations' needs, as I consider them my neighbors and want them to enjoy a higher quality of life.

Not all parts of this now developed country are glamorous. 

Boon-shik (inexpensive streetfood/little dishes) for lunch!

Writing letters.

Ddok Bok Ki for a pre dinner snack.

A walk in the park doing informal.

A friend needed to pick up her sister's wedding photo album.Got to tour a wedding hall. Korean weddings are held not at all like the ones back home. It's really efficient. You rent the dress from the studio. After the hair and makeup team doll the bride up, they move onto the picture taking room where friends and family come through in an organized fashion. Then moving onto the food. People give a monetary gift, the larger the sum if you're closer to the couple, in order to receive something like a ticket in for the meal. The gifts are then traditionally given to the parents of the couple. Interesting, right? <--Standing on the catwalk the bride enters on with the works-dry ice, fog and lights. Needless to say, I had fun!!! I'm not the type to think about a fantasy wedding or anything. But I don't think I'll be getting married in Korea.

I'm going to prison, guys...

Military service in Korea has always been an extremely sensitive social issue. Particularly among Korean men, there is a (justifiably) huge sense of sacrifice for devoting two to three years of their prime of youth to serve the country. Few ever enjoy the military, alternately filled with mistreatment(from older ranks and same ranks as well) and boredom. But they all must report.  Here's how one guy feels about how the collective experiences of the Korean military can reduced to this image: 

"...  gives an idea of what Korean military experience is like. (That pose is called Wonsan pok-gyeok, which translates to "bombing of Wonsan." Wonsan is a port city in North Korea. This punishment is applied liberally for various causes, such as being slow in marching, losing a soccer game, or overcooking sarge's ramen.)"

How preparing for this mandatory duty affects an adolescent male's psychosocial development when others his age in other parts of the world are preparing for adulthood and other goals is an interest of mine lately. It isn't exactly dinner conversation.
Especially not for family members of males in that age who are Jehovah's Witnesses. These men make personal decisions based on teachings,as one puts it, like " 'people will learn war no more’ and to ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ I also learned that principled love can motivate us to love our enemies. Based on these and other scriptures and as a result of my firm personal convictions, I made the decision to refuse military service.” It isn't to get out of anything. It's strictly a moral decision.
If you're looking for a good small production film, try a South Korean indie film called "Frozen River" about one Korean Conscientious Objector.
The film does a great job of conveying the internal struggles Jehovah's Witnesses, as well as other pacifists, deal with when faced with conflicting attitudes from family members. For an objective director, the motivation of the politically neutral conscientious objector was pretty accurately portrayed. At least I thought so.
Here's an article from Wall Street Journal by Jason Strother that you don't need a login to read.

So I will be going to prison to visit a conscientious objector this Thursday. If you have any questions for him or words to share, comment or better yet, email me.

Public Restrooms

[[sometime within my 1st week]]

Got a prepaid phone AND unlocked my phone myself! Had forgotten what freedom felt like. I definitely took for my phone for granted back home.I always knew where I was going. My aunt and I separate ways now that I can roam as I please. I venture out on the bus and metro to Yongsan where I need to purchase an universal electric jack plug thing. I may have just made up that word to describe a converter I need to plug in my computer, camera battery charger, curling iron and phone charger. So as you can see, this little plastic thing could not be more valuable to me.
As I'm on this conquest, I'm feeling mighty good- finding the right buses and reading all the signs. I could not be doing better. With a phone in hand, I've begun calling other friends in other cities to fix dates. I'm really doing it! I'm on my own, getting around with such ease former travel-only-with-a-buddy Grace would be proud! I might as well have been born here, or raised here!! At a station, I figure I oughta check to see if the public restroom is clean. Turns out Korea masters cleanliness. There's nothing that can convince me I may be finding things a little too easy, at this point.
Imagine my dismay when I saw this.

This is a toilet. It's kind of like a urinal, only installed horizonally in the ground. This is not a restroom for males. This is, however, the reason why my 11 year old self avoided using bathrooms while out and about. I mean, most girls squat anyway in any public bathroom but this requires a deeper squat. Don't worry, I've gotten better at knowing which restrooms have standard Western toilets. On a sidenote, I wonder how I appeared to passerby as I took this pic.

A Saturday off in Seoul

6.21

I walk the streets and it feels surreal. Food is good and cheap. It's hard not to look for ways to just "treat myself". Walked around Hongdae, a really kitsch culture hub filled with good eats, street fairs, trendy dessert spots, wall murals, fashion, underground music and art festivals.  

 Met EunJin in Seoul for DakGalBi. 

Back home, I hardly ever take a Saturday off. Being on vacation, I have a valid excuse to take it all in. Still, it's starting to let a little old as I've been away from home 4 weeks now.

I am trying to keep my focus on personal study before I can get a phone and make service arrangements and then to get busy in field service. It should be my focus, anyway but not knowing whether I will be here for 3 months or 6 or a year can be quite anxiety inducing. When my working papers come through, I can support myself tutoring privately, unless I get that elementary school teaching job I interviewed for back in the States. If so, I would have a set income and a set list of expenses but if I don't get the job, I have no real reason to keep a one year commitment to staying here. In that case, I would have to find enough work to get by which wouldn't be so bad either. So as you can see, things are quite up in the air. 

Trying to Get Responsible...

6/20

Last night, I was able to attend the meeting. I got the addressed from JW.ORG and even found out there was weeknight meeting locally held in Korean which also hosted a English speaking group. (It's not a language class; it's the same meeting as the religious services being held in Korean, only held simultaneously to provide services for the multi-language population in the area.)

My aunt dropped me off as she doesn't care much for religion. We agree that I'll call her using someone's phone at the end of the meeting if I need for her to come pick me up afterwards. Even she knew that it was likely a fellow believer would offer me a ride home once they knew I were visiting. NOW, as unsafe as that may sound, and as cautious as I am, that's just how trustworthy I've found fellow Jehovah's Witnesses to be. I know I've done the same back home.

Only....Guess what? I had left the notebook with my aunt's number and home address in it at home! HA! Not very responsible. It was quite embarrassing making all these new acquaintances and explaining my situation. Some cool couples wanted to take me for a cup of coffee/tea. But I was afraid my aunt and her husband would worry as I had no way of contacting them to not wait for me(which, realistically, I knew they would do anyway).

As the two young Korean couples stood in the parking lot discussing which cafes were open and then postponing those plans altogether, a petite elderly sister(fellow believers are considered spiritual family) approaches me. She goes "Do you have a way to get home?" "Yes, I do, I'm grateful for your concern." (Btw, of course this interaction is all in Korean. It's so much cuter that way.) "Well, I'm glad because my kids are spread all over the place and when I visit my family, I just find my way to any Kingdom Hall on the website and never miss my meetings. It doesn't matter if I've never been to that part of Korea before. So I know that feeling when you wonder how you'll get home. I've been there. I was going to take you to my house if you didn't have a place to spend the night."

She was so sweet and adorable, I won't forget her face.

So I once again, I accepted the hospitality of some wonderful friends who pieced together where I need to go based on the measly clues I gave them. They solved the mystery. Literally, all I had to share was....it took only about 10 minutes to get here and the apartment complex is called "Switzen". (go ahead, try saying that in a Korean accent and being understood. I was glad this couple frequents London.)

I did, however, have a memo of the security code at the entrance of the building( there's no guard on staff in these apts in Korea) and the code at the door. I only felt half-relieved to be home, though. I was glad I made it but half sad I couldn't associate more.

* The most annoying thing about this mini-adventure is that I actually did have a copy of the address in safe keeping in another compartment in my bag. WOW, yay me.

 This is such a cultural thing. There was additional elevated seating area in the back room. The friends took their shoes off.