Currently, my favorite sweatshirt.

thoughts....?

Finally... my big break!

This picture was taken on a recent trip to the KBS TV station in Gwangju. Yes. I'm still trying to usher in the unshaven and wrinkled era for TV host fashion.

Tiger-style.

At a temple that we have visited several times, there is—tucked off to the side of the entrance road, almost unnoticeable—a big metal tiger statue. This is, obviously, fun enough, particularly for people like me who like big metal tiger statues. But, even better, the tiger periodically growls a fantastically fake and distorted growl! We're all trying to growl...or something... in this picture.

(incidentally, on this device I'm using, it won't let me attach more than one photo to a post...sorry).

Strangers...

Before I get into this post, I feel compelled to apologize to many of our fans—particularly, those rallying in the streets around Columbia University for more gogwangju content. Internet isn't always available and when it is, sometimes our devices don't cooperate. So, many apologies! We'll try to be better.

So, today, we went hiking (after the tour of the soju factory). It was a pretty steep hike, we were sweaty, and tired... and still not feeling quite right from the night before. As we approached our car at the end of the hike, my knees were hurting due to keeping me from rolling down the hill, and I said something to the effect of "gravity sucks." A couple of seconds after that, this guy gets out of his car and wants to take a picture of me and Barry. We say, "sure." Though, I have to say—and, I say despite the number of pictures of random people's t-shirts I've asked to take recently—I'm always leery of a random person wanting my picture, especially since I wasn't wearing an interesting t-shirt. But, I'm generally paranoid. So, he took our picture. I took his. And, that's that...

Strangers here have also randomly bought us food, just because we're strangers. And, on a previous hike, some old folks demanded that Barry share their makoli (rice wine...yes, Koreans know the best way to hike) at the top of the mountain.

So, and this is especially for readers in Ohio or Virginia (as it may be a bit impractical in NYC), if you hear someone speaking a foreign language take their picture, share a drink, or buy them some food... just for being from somewhere else. It's really nice.

Vocational Visits

We've had great vocational visits this past week. We were able to attend a class in which our translator is enrolled in, Global Literature, at Chosun University. The professor is from New Zealand and even though he had one day to prepare, he certainly had a lesson plan for the class. We interacted with the class by "performing" a traditional Maori welcome. The Maori people are native to New Zealand, and like many cultures, their lives are steeped in traditions. The class sung a song, we introduced ourselves, touched noses (literally), and shared food and drink.

The point was to exchange introductions, welcome us, and share cultures. This was a perfect exercise since this is the whole point of GSE. Not only have we been learning about Korean culture, but we also got a chance to learn about Maori culture. It goes to show that no matter where you are, you are able to share and learn about others.

Not your typical sightseeing!

Although we are "tourists" here in Gwangju, we are certainly not treated like it. The people of Gwangju have opened their houses and hearts to all of us, welcoming us with huge smiles and tremendous generosity. While we have seen many sites that any tourist would see, we have also stepped off the beaten path and into the homes of the locals - a rare treat and invaluable experience for building lifelong friendships. We have also had the privilege of visiting a missionary, an orphanage, a "silver house" (or nursing home), trying on hanbok (valued at over $600 per outfit), and have had a painting done for each of us by a monk at the Baekyangsa (a Buddhist temple). Furthermore, our families and friends through Rotary welcome our questions, no matter how banal they may seem, and truly want us to learn about this beautiful country. Tomorrw, (Monday, May 16) we will see a Coming of Age ceremony. Definitely not your typical sightseeing! :)

Food...seriously.

Koreans take food seriously. 

It's true we might say that Americans are obsessed with food—sweets, fried things, creamy/cheesy/salty things—but however much we may get dreamy about "comfort food," I'm not so convinced that we actually take food seriously. For Koreans, food isn't just something to please the palette, it's part of a larger system of physical, mental, and social health and is crucial to the entire functioning of society. In the US, of course, you could try to make the same case with fad diets or fantasy-laden beer commercials, or you could describe the centrality of food advertisements and agribusiness (industrial farming, genetic modification, meat cloning...etc) to the American economy. But, still, none of these things mean that Americans take food seriously. Every meal we've had with our Korean hosts has been focussed on a local artisanal delicacy: homemade soy sauce, kimchee, chili sauce, and beanpaste (all of which are fermented and aged for over a year); green tea; pigs that only eat green; snails that only live in a nearby stream; herbs from a nearby mountain; beef so prized for its freshness that it's eaten raw. We could contrast this with any American's regular trip to the megasupermarket: genetically modified veggies, trucked in from another state or country (see for example tomatoes, indistinguishable from plastic, combined  with fish genes to last longer in cold storage); and beef packed in gas so that we have no clue what its age is (or its condition when it went to slaughter). 

Sure, Americans like to eat. 

But, this doesn't mean by any stretch that they take food seriously. Koreans (not "Korea"), on the other hand are obsessed, not just with taste but, with the health of foods' origins and effects. There is something special about Koreans' (or at least those we've met in Gwangju) care for themselves and for others, which is reflected in their seriousness about food. Clearly, I think there's a lesson here for Americans (not "America"), a cultural lesson that no government agency can provide.