CAPE TOWN

Only a few miles away from home.

I knew I was going to love Cape Town before the plane even touched ground.

I got chatting with Chris, a local Capetonian, on the airplane after my deformed tray table failed to provide a good eating platform. Chris was in the shipping industry, accustomed to travel, typically spending 4 months at sea delivering containers to various countries worldwide, and 2 months home with his wife and kid, Robin. He was incredibly friendly and gave me a few suggestions of things to do, like go up Table Mountain, and have a look around Cape Penninsula. He also taught me a few words in Afrikaans! Buie Dankie! No, I don't want to buy a donkey. ha ha.

It was a pleasure to meet someone as kind and friendly as Chris. After we exited the airplane, Chris introduced me to his family and even offered to show me around Cape Peninsula himself! The offer was too good to pass up, so we planned to meet again and do our own tour on Thursday.

CHRIS & SHARON & COLE

It was a memorable day. We zipped along the penninsula, just four of us, Chris, his wife Sharon, and his nephew Cole. The highlights included seeing the Penguins at Boulders Beach, the gorgeous coastal scenery, and the view of the Cape of Good Hope.

BOULDERS BEACH
Boulders Beach is home to a colony of penguins! SO CUTE!





CAPE OF GOOD HOPE
Many people belive that the Cape of Good Hope is the southernmost point of all of Africa, and also the point where the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans meet. Surprisingly, it is neither!


It was so cool of them to volunteer to show me around. What wonderful people.

My friend Ray told me that his sister owned a backpackers in Cape Town called Ashanti, which also happened to be the same place Chiara recommended I stay. It was a good place, and I enjoyed meeting the other travelers. I also was lucky to meet up with Ray's sister, Amy, and talk with her about her travels!

(PICTURED: Amy at Journeys) Amy was a real sweetheart and super interesting. She is an American, but she has been living in Africa for 7 years! She met a South African man and has been living in Cape Town ever since. I enjoyed learning about her life: she owns a clothing shop called Journeys, located on the famous Long Street, and she goes shopping in Thailand for stock! This, in addition to having her own cookie baking business while also taking care of her 3 year old son makes her a very busy, but happy, woman! It was nice of her to make time to show me around a little bit. She took me to one of her favorite local restaurants called Birds cafe.

I took the cable car up to the top of Table Mountain.
(PICTURED: A view of Table Mountain, Cape Town's most famous landmark, from the Waterfront)
I met another solo female and hiked across the plateau from the Cable Car to Maclear's Beacon.


And of course, I went shopping in Cape Town! My backpack is too small!!! I went up and down Long Street, the Waterfront, and still had some time to take a hurried stroll through the colorful Bo-Kaap neighborhood.


Bye Cape Town, see you next time!

Peace out HOYAH!

This is goodbye to Korea Part III.

Unfortuneately, my 40 hour / 6 day work week left very little room for blogging. I appologize for not posting more photos and pics. Thank you to Hoyon for assuming the role as social photographer and facebooker.

The REAL Crew: Me, Karim, Paul, Frank, Haej


THANKS for a great summer guys! Everything from the first weekend outing at NB to the very last Kogi Kogi.

To Paul: AHHH Freakout! You will forever be the King of the Wappi. And Norebang. Love your style.
To Karim: YOU ARE VERY DELICIOUS. Thanks for radiating positivity and happiness.
To David Son: "Hey guys, I'm gonna take a shower!"
To Haej: Hostess of the year award! Reunion 2007 was fun! See you 2008? Just kidding.
To Frank: It was fun sharing classes with you. Our kids rock. Purse lips.

To the Hoyah Crew

A toast to Mark (and yellow panda t-shirts)

The highlights go beyond Kiwi soju, yogurt flavored yogurt, and milkshake in a bag.

Ten days of treasured brother/sister time in the motherland.
A few memorable traces left behind...

A stroll around Gangnam



A few sights

Cheonggyecheon Stream / View from Namsan Tower

Bongeunsa Temple

Jogyesa Temple / Garden

Nami Island



A visit with "The Grandparents." The Shims are a friendly couple who I met on the airplane on my first trip to Korea. We have since had many dates traveling around Korea.

Suwon Hwaseong Fortress




Korean Independence Day
Korea National Independence Hall
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The Hof & Hoesik




Sticker Pics!

Face to Face

It was a typical day doing what I do here on a summer's interim acting as “teacher.” Teaching test prep for iBT TOEFL has not been the most exciting job in the world, but I try to enjoy it for what it is, and learn new things from the educational content and interact with the kids.

Today’s listening problem on South Africa brought about an interesting conversation. The topic struck a chord with me, as I’m currently contemplating the opportunity to make a visit. The topic also struck a chord with one of my younger students, Greg, who was especially curious as well.

In 5 minutes, we learned about the social policy, population and economics of South Africa. Greg stopped me often to ask a questions: Where is South Africa? Is it a country? I, showing off my new Africa knowledge, explained them all. I didn’t realize why he was so curious, until later, when we dug deeper into the conversation. He wanted to know where South Africa was, so he could stay as far away from it as possible.

We talked about the Apartheid, the systematic segregation of blacks and whites, which was finally dismantled as recent as 1990. We discussed how, under the Apartheid, blacks couldn’t take part in government, how they could not vote, how they had to live in reserves, and how they couldn’t use the same toilets as the powerful white minority. To my surprise, Greg agreed.

He told me he didn’t think Africans should use the same toilets as him. He didn’t think Africans should mix at all. I asked why. He said Africans were dirty. Why are they dirty? They are poor. Why are they dirty? They have AIDS! “You can get AIDS in from sitting on the toilet!!!” he proclaimed. Apparently, he learned this fact in a Health and Living class, so it was a true fact. Greg believed one could just go to Africa and one would automatically get AIDS. Greg believed Africans were dirty.

I questioned him to know if this feeling was representative of all races or just Africans. I mentioned Raffe, the one white guy who works here this summer. How would you feel if you used the toilet after him? I don’t use the toilets here. Where do you study abroad in America? Surely, he must encounter people of other races there. “It doesn’t matter,” he said, “I live in Korea town.”

It was the first time in a long time I’d talked face to face with someone who had such opposite beliefs as me (And, if I go to South Africa, I will probably have many more discussions on the topic). The whole encounter just saddened me. It saddened me that he had such prejudice beliefs; that a young boy labels people based upon their race and even FEARS people of other races. It saddens me that he is so misinformed, and thinks he can get AIDS from a toilet seat. It saddened me that we didn’t have more time to talk about it.

It was this moment that I felt truly grateful for my unbiased upbringing. I felt grateful for my education; my general education and the diversity classes I was recommended to take as a LEAD Scholar; grateful for having friends from many countries and diverse backgrounds, and grateful my parents instilled fair beliefs and values in me.

The discussion also reminded me the about the general thoughts and beliefs about Africa as a whole, the ideas and stereotypes associated with Africa, and my own personal thoughts about it. It called attention the greater issue, the hot topic of race and diversity, and how it plays a part in everyone’s life. Finally, it reminded me to reevaluate my own motivations in going there.

We continued talking a few minutes after class until I was pulled away because my boss was waiting to ask me a question. I thanked Greg for sharing his opinion, and left with only one recommendation, ”I encourage you to learn more about this topic.”

I realize this one student’s values and beliefs cannot be generalized to Koreans as a whole, as these same values and beliefs can be found everywhere. But, it certainly does bring up the question, what are these kids taught in school? What are they taught at home? Is the feeling of racial superiority widespread? Considering yesterday, I listened to my doctor explain why the Meningitis vaccine I requested was not available because the disease is not prevalent in Korea. She went on to tell me how she personally believes Koreans are a superior race in terms of health, lucky me, because there are relatively few diseases within Korea compared with the rest of the world. How prevalent is racism within the morals and values among Koreans? Again, Americans, too, have their share of racists, but, confronting the issue here, I’m reminded me that we have so far to go collectively as a human race.

Let's Jump the Gun

I have been holding off on the big announcement—mostly because this decision has triggered a million other more pressing things to do with my time, and also because the “plan” is not yet finalized. So there’s really no reason in announcing something that isn’t quite ready yet, is there? However, it is desperately time for a blog update (I’ve been a very bad blogger, which I will make up for soon, I promise), so I suppose I should finally break the news: I just bought a plane ticket to Africa!

Phew. That wasn’t so bad. Just open my mouth and the words come out. I’m going to Africa. I am going to Africa. I am going to go to Africa.

WHOLY SHIT, I’m GOING TO AFRICA!!!!!!!

It is all starting again--all the things that were missing when I booked my trip to Korea for the third time last May:

The anticipation. Waiting, just waiting for it all to happen. The stress. OMG there so many things to do before I leave! Buy a sleeping bag, find insect repellent, purchase travel insurance, update the vaccinations (all might be a little difficult to do while I’m in KOREA)... The fear. Is it safe? Will I get Malaria and die? Will I hate it? The unknowns. oh God, the unknowns. The research. What will it be like? How much will it cost? When should I go? And, most of all, WHICH FREAKING TOUR SHOULD I PICK!!!! (As usual, I’m driving myself MADDDDD with decisions). And last, but not least, the excitement! THE excitement. the EXCITEment. the exciteMENT. When does that kick in???

As magical as this idea once sounded in my head, it now stirs up a whole mix of emotions. I think that, in the name of my Mr. Clark-inspired classroom dance, it might be time to “Ahhhh, FREAK OUT!!!”

In dealing with the planning process, I’m finding it hard to get the kind of support I’m looking for:

My students ask when I’m going back to the states, and I tell them October. When they ask what I’m going to do for the month in between, their eyes bulge, blink two times, and then say, “WHAT???”

One has responded, “Take me!”

One responded, “WHY? I don’t want to go there. I only want to go to good country. You’ll get a disease.”

My mother asks me if I’ve ever traveled to a developing country before, you know, a really, really poor place. She worries I think it’ll be like backpacking Europe. I know it won’t be like Europe. I suppose that’s part of the allure.

I know it won’t be like Europe. It won’t be like Australia. It won’t be like Asia. Africa is it’s gonna be a whole different ballgame, and I think I’m ready for it.

Of course, it’s nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time, to travel to a place so few people in my personal network have BEEN to, let alone even THINK of going to before. Everytime I ask a friend about a decision, they have a difficult time helping me because they know so little about it.

So, yeah, that can be a little challenging. But, I know there’s a traveler circuit throughout Africa, in parts. Kenya and Tanzania both appear live and well on the traveler circuit, and there's a string of tour companies touring the place. The thing is, not a lot of Americans go to Africa. Maybe this reflects the poor political ties / the less desirable traveling and living conditions / fear / or perhaps just a general lack of interest, but not a lot of Americans go to Africa. There are more British and Australians going to Africa.

That being said, it would be cool to know know who these people are who are going to Africa! The only person I know who has ever done what I'm about to do, the overland tour, is my dear friend Jayne T. She did it about 10 years ago when she was about my age. When I visited her in England last year, I took a long look through her Africa photo album and decided maybe it was possible for me to do it to...

And now, here I am, one click away from signing up for my tour!

Anyways, I’d love to write more, but I should really get back to researching more details about choosing the right safari I want to book (yes, I know there’s not one “right” choice. That’s why it’s so hard!)

Wish me luck.
Tell me a story.

Departing August 27th. Seoul to Hong Kong. Arriving in Nairobi September 2nd.

Good Clean Fun at the Mud Festival

The Boryeong Mud Festival is one of the most popular festivals for foreigners in South Korea. Last year, around 44,000 foreigners attended the Boryeong Mud Festival out of the 1.72 million Koreans during the week long fiesta in July. This year, I had to be a part of it.

Sunday morning, my roommates and I hopped on a 3 hour bus to indulge in some summer fun. Daechon Beach was packed with young crazies covered in mud. I would have loved to see the mud-caked Korean girls juxtaposed to the primed & primped Korean women that I see everyday on the streets of Gangnam. But that would never happen, because if it did, the two would certainly bump into each other in passing in true Korean style, and the dirty one would accidentally soil the pretty one's feminine outfit.

The music was thumping on my left side. To the right was the mud painting station. Time to dig in!

\We lathered our bodies in Boryeong's famous mineral-rich mud, which is said to prevent aging and purify the skin. We painted our bodies a cement grey-brown color. Then we painted our skin pink, then blue. The mud contains far-infrared rays that activate water molecules in the body, which then eliminates toxins and fats from the bloodstream and removes waste. We hoped our skin would be soon be revitalized, or at least come out a bit softer.

Throughout the afternoon, we witnessed a number of toddler-inspired mud activities: an inflatable mud obstacle course, a mega mud tub, a mud super slide, and even a mud prison (Unfortunately, we had missed the marine mud marathon and the Miss Mud beauty pageant)!!!

But, it was the mud wrestling that did us in:







Best of all, it was all free!

The day ended with a well-needed rinse at the Boryeong Mud Skin Care center. Two thousand Won ($2) bought me a cycle through one of Daecheon's best stops: a shower, a soak in warm salt water, a trip to the steam room, a dip in cold water, another coating of fresh mud, and a final cleanse at the shower. Voila!