south korea (part 9 of 9)

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9

South Korea 2010: A day by day retrospective

I'm never doing this again.

Day 9; the end.

I'm sitting on the plane. I'm tired.

My uncle's two kids keep me up until 5am on the previous night. I vaguely remember what we discussed, but I do recall making a conscious decision to stay awake for as long as I could. Who knows when I will see them again? Both of them share their respective love interests at school. Cute but I am having a hard time keeping up. I try to be the cool older cousin but alcohol and the heat are too much. I shut my eyes for seemingly ten minutes and my aunt is waking me up to eat breakfast. I feel the sort of tiredness in which you can feel a heavy pressure against your ears and heads, as if there is a massive weight being pressed against you. But I'm thinking more about saying goodbye and departing back to California later in the day. I wish Emmelle was here. I wish I had a camera to relay pictures of my one night in Daejeon for my parents and grandmother.

I'm tired and readjust myself awkwardly in my seat and doze off. I wake in time for our first meal. I'm frustrated. The in-flight movie selection is identical to our departing flight. There is nothing to watch to pass the time. But drowsiness envelops me once more. Before I relinquish myself to sleep, still frames of the past week-and-a-half appear before me. I mentally sift through them like the folder contents of a touchscreen device.

JJa JJang myun delivery. It is in Korea what apple pie is in America. It's kitschy, but we were looking forward to the delivery experience the entire time and saved it for our last meal. The delivery man comes to the front door on his tiny motor bike (more like a large scooter than anything else) and carries his magical metal delivery case to the front gate. He slides open the side of the case and a billow of steam emerges and quickly vanishes, unveiling the delicious contents inside. We devour our meals although we aren't hungry. Emmelle's nephew it seems has grown fond of us. He cancels an item off of his list to hang out this one last time with us. Its these small moments that I'm always afraid of losing. Its our last moment in Seoul.

I only awake for a few minutes at a time. I'm able to sleep through a bulk of the flight. But in between, I continue to think about my conversation with my uncle earlier in the morning. I'm melancholy - not so much gloomy or depressed, but more pensive and introspective.

After breakfast, my uncle drives me to the train station which will get me back to Seoul. It's about a 20 - 25 minute ride, and we fill that time easily with anecdotal conversation. Once we arrive at the station, my uncle leaves the car and tells me that he'd like to spend a few minutes with me before I have to depart.

We sit in the parking lot, and he lights a cigarette. I notice a sign near us that explains how to properly dispose one's cigarette butts. I'm not sure exactly why, but I immediately think about how long it took my dad to understand sign like this in the US. I ask my uncle why he didn't come to the US like the rest of his siblings. He tells me that he worked in Saudi Arabia when he was younger, prior to marriage, and didn't want the hardships of immigrant life based on what he had already experienced.

I explain that I feel that life would have been much easier for my parents had they never left. My uncle tells me that my dad is - what I would translate as - unique. He is a unique individual that couldn't be beholden to a white collar or corporate job. He needed a change. I wonder in my head if this is my uncle trying to sugar coat the situation for me or if this is his younger brother persona that is once again, revealing itself. But I quickly understand that he's not trying to protect me from anything. He says that he honestly doesn't know if it was a good or bad decision that my parents emigrated. There isn't an answer. And he implores me not to think about it; it's a moot point.

However, I can't shake the thought, because it's precisely him, my uncle, that triggers the thought more than anything or anyone else. In him, I see a version of my dad that I rarely see - youthful. Physically, they are very similar in appearance. Very similar. Yet, his eyes aren't tired; his shoulders aren't burdened. He is not an immigrant; I am convinced this is the major distinguishing force. Physically, he is my dad without having to perpetually sling this albatross across his back.

We say our goodbyes. I beg him for the last time to come out to our wedding in May. I can't wait to see him again. I need to see him with my dad, for them to interact as brothers. For my dad to regain that piece of his being that makes him so proud and so alive. It's the best possible ending to this trip.

I'm swollen. I awake one final time before our descent. My feet and ankles are solid stiff and bulbous. Emmelle doesn't seem concerned but I'm having a mini panic attack. I'm pretty certain that blood vessels in my legs will pop and my feet will explode. This feeling keeps me captive until we land.

We're back.

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south korea (part 8 of 9)

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9

South Korea 2010: A day by day retrospective

I'm at the finish line. I don't have many words left in me...

Day 8; whoops, I screwed up.

I'm pretty sure Emmelle and I went to check out some of the famous palaces during Day 7, specifically Gyeongbokgung Palace. I could talk about some of its history, but that would be boring. All I know is that the Japanese destroyed it multiple times; you'd think my smart people would have erected something more secure after the first invasion, but hey, who am I to judge? It's quite beautiful.

So what exactly did we do during the eighth day of our trip?

I'm not exactly sure. I recall walking around many neighborhoods in the oppressive heat and having my one male-PMS meltdown during our vacation. Everyone is preemptively sanctioned one per trip, aren't they? Sorry, Emmelle. I also distinctly recall battling my camera time and time again. Things picked up later in the afternoon when we ate jja jjang myun (black bean paste noodles - sounds delicious in English, I know) for the first time during our stay and met up with Emmelle's aunt to pick up our hanboks.

Afterwards, for the first time during our vacation, Emmelle and I parted ways. For Emmelle, she was going to have another feast with her family. I took the subway to Seoul Station where I met my cousin to take an express train to Daejeon to visit my dad's lone sibling in the country.

I had a memorable time with my dad's side of the family, even having the opportunity to eat hongeo (fermented skate fish). Skip to 3:10 of this Andrew Zimmern Bizzare Foods clip to see what I'm talking about. Its served with a variety of accoutrements to mask the pungent ammonia-like taste and smell of the fish. When in rome...I had a couple of pieces without anything else, and while it's not the most pleasant thing to eat, it is edible and entirely unique. I'm glad I got to try it. I'm not glad that I was burping ammonia on the return flight to California the next day.

But my dad's uncle, the third son in the family and closest in age to my dad. I've heard many tales of how he would always follow my dad around. He still speaks very fondly of him and asks about him in a deferential way. He also resembles my dad physically. My favorite uncle. Cute kids now both in college, home for summer vacation. Clean, peaceful home in a safe community. It's a small glimpse into what life may have been like had my parents not made the decision to emigrate to the United States. All these thoughts are a bit disparate and disjointed, but I can't piece it together cohesively in a satisfactory way. At the end of the day, I'm grateful that I was able to spend some time with my family and awfully embarrassed I intended not to see them due to the brevity of the trip.

Shame on me.

....

I knew there would be some errors in my recollection; I shouldn't have waited so long to conclude my thoughts on this experience. Ask this pretty lady what else I messed up.

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south korea (part 7 of 9)

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9

South Korea 2010: A day by day retrospective

It's the last third of these posts. Home stretch. And here...we...go...

Day 7; my mom's side

Emmelle and I spent the morning and early afternoon wandering around various districts of Seoul. This was really our chance to buy gifts more than anything else. While our bodies had adjusted to the time zone, we still were not fully comfortable with the oppressive heat and humidity. As I understand it, we had really lucked out with the overcast skies during our entire trip. The 90 degree+ weather and 500% humidity was actually a true gift. I had given up trying to stay dry a couple of days ago , but the real concern now was the chaffing between my inner thighs. Now, I'm not quite the young buck I once was, and over the years, my body has collected pockets of fat here and there. My sticky thighs were rubbing against each other with every painful stride that I took; the heaviest lotion applications only did so much. Travel tip #1 in the future: stick to boxer briefs.

Additionally, we were meeting my mom's side of the family for dinner. I was nervous. I was just grouchy in general.

My mom's side. My mom is the only member of her family, which includes five siblings, who left Korea. The distance between us engendered a perception in my head that they were my mom's family, and not my own. Prior to this trip, I hadn't seen any of her siblings or my cousins in over twenty years. I distinctly remember one instance while we were staying with my dad's side of the family, and refused to visit my mom's side. Embarrassing and hurtful.

I was very concerned with what we would talk about but recognized that my visit wasn't about me. I was representing my mom and her life by proxy and also introducing them to Emmelle. At least there would be some canned topics to discuss. And looking back now, I realize in that moment, I had completely ignored the unique bond that exists with family, regardless of how little you know each other. Or it could be the case that I really don't have experience with it as an adult. They are my family. To state it more accurately, they are still my mom's family, but it holds the exact connotation it did when I was a child. There is an innate desire as I grow older to be able to touch and feel my parents' lives - present, and particularly past. Whomever my mom loves, I love them.

My aunt met us at a nearby bus station, and we walked to my uncle's work/house. She is as I remembered, just a little wider in her face and waist. She is reminiscent of my mom, but harder eyes and calloused expression. She is tough, a bull. She pointed occasionally to various streets and buildings, remarking about what we used to do here and there, where my mom used to play. I had no idea my mom's side of the family has lived in the same neighborhood for 50 some years (at least). On top of that, I had no idea, my parents first lived here when they got married. And I was born here.

My uncle owns an auto body shop called Oasis, that he runs with his family. His wife does a lot of the administrative and book keeping work (I think), and his two kids, son and daughter, pretty much run the place. The older son is the same age as me, and I wish we had more time to talk, to hang out. My aunt's poor scheduling didn't allow for them to come to dinner with us. But we picked up a couple of street snacks (soon-dae, dduk booki) and had drinks in their home after work hours. While we exchanged stories, I was conscious of how much I was smiling. Not because I was trying to, but because it was so easy and natural. I don't think that there are that many moments in life when all that you want to do is smile, in a genuine way. There's always something to say, something to do. But not in this moment. I just had to smile.

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south korea (part 6 of 9)

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9

South Korea 2010: A day by day retrospective

Day 6; Humbled by Messi

Day 6 can really be summed up by two events - getting measured and choosing colors and garments for our wedding hamboks and the game 2 clash with Argentina with good pal SMP. In between, we shared meals with family members, and my Nikon D60 decided to shut down for the night.

I've been fiddling with Picasa's collage feature (I hadn't noticed it until a few days ago), and it's really making these pictorial summaries much easier to share. Terrific. The shots below are from a famous garment district in Seoul. Emmelle's aunt already had a relationship with this particular clothier, and the mom-and-pop shop did a pretty solid job in helping us select our colors. I had a good time there, and it really made me want to spend another couple of hours with some of the suit tailors in the building as well. Oh well, no time to direct them to help craft a fine womanly cut for me. These luscious silk fabrics would have to suffice:

After the hambok adventure, we had lunch with another one of Emmelle's aunts, a welcoming combination of kal gook soo (a flour-based noodle and starchy broth dish) and tasty bo ssam (steamed pork and some other fixings). For dinner, one of my younger cousins who I hadn't seen in nearly a decade, met us for ddak kalbi (chicken ribs) near her university.

On to game two.

We walked through busy city hall where billions of Koreans were gathering for the critical match. After the convincing win against Greece, the Korean media had been running report after report of how the national squad could pull off the stunning upset against one of the top teams in the tournament (and best player Messi). And everyone bought into it. The country was delusional. I, on the other hand, was incredibly upset with the fact that we couldn't take any pictures of the World Cup frenzy. Of all that we did and experienced, for me, it's the coolest part of our trip. To be there during the World Cup. I can only imagine what it was like in 2002 when Korea co-hosted. Five months later, I still regret my camera's betrayal.

Emmelle and I watched the first half on the streets (2-1 Argentina advantage) and caught the rest of the match at a restaurant/bar in SMP's office building. Argentina tacked on a couple of more goals. At the final whistle, I watched a man in the bar slouch over on his seat, completely crestfallen. That's how I felt. No pictures of this cool night. After some catch-up conversation with SMP, we went back upstairs and were astonished that the streets were nearly completely empty. Wow. Imagine if we were here for a win.

We'll save that one for four years from now.

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my friend sriracha

This is how I feel most of the time when I'm eating a meal:

I just can't get enough of that cock sauce. Neither can you. Thanks for stopping by.

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nikon d60 is back

My brain is filling up with a lot of different entry ideas, content that I'd like to make sure I record for future reading. And I've got a trusty tool back to help tell those stories.

I am excited to announce that my coveted Nikon D60 is back in my life...just a cool $160 out of my pocket to replace broken/missing part(s). Why the vagueness of the issue? Because I have no idea what happened myself. I UPS'ed the damn thing to Nikon and they reached out with a price quote via email. No explanation. But I'm happy to have it again and start snapping away.

And now, I'll be storing my new photos on a new work laptop - the Dell Latitude E6410. Why do I mention this? I'm simply curious as to the technologies that we'll be using in years to come. Will we laugh at the prehistoric gadgets that I'm referring to in this post? Will all of our digital consumption and usage evolve into virtual sphere?

Some fine questions to ponder on what is turning into a sunny, idyllic November afternoon in San Francisco.

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south korea (part 5 of 9)

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9

South Korea 2010: A day by day retrospective

It's 2am on Saturday (Sunday). I can't sleep. I'm feeling a little punchy.

Day 5; Back to Seoul

The image on the right, beautiful isn't it? It's at the eastern tip of Jeju Island and is called "seongsan ilchulbong".

I was delighted to learn that our tour bus would take us to this special destination. I anticipated seeing a beautiful green mound of land mass unlike anything we've witnessed previously. We heard that the true gem of this place is to be here to catch the morning sunrise. Our schedule didn't accommodate, and I had no avoiding a dawn wake up. We arrived around 10am, and even at that early hour, the island air was thick and humid. This made the 20 minute required climb up to the top a bit undesirable, especially for the teenagers in our group wearing jeans that day (they were absolutely miserable when we all returned and met at the base of the peak).

The climb was not arduous but sweat-inducing and uncomfortable. The narrow walkway was crowded with tourists moving up and down the path. I felt a little anxious as the morning fog had settled in around us and created fairly minimal visibility.

And worse, my Nikon D60 started flipping out. That's entirely inaccurate; it wasn't doing anything. Nothing happened when I flipped the "ON" switch. Issue with altitude? Humidity? Too much volcanic radiation? My panic subsided in moments when the gadget would actually come to life. "Just a temporary issue," I assured myself. It would all be worth it however. Emmelle and I were about to behold something truly majestic.

This is what we saw:

Hhmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Looks like I could have taken this anywhere. I was really tempted to put some thought bubbles or cover my handsome face with an angry emoticon on this photo because really, I wasn't feeling like Seongsan Ilchulbong deserved a smile from yours truly.

To top it off, we learned that the famed haenyo were swimming very close to our bus. What's the fun in travel if there aren't any slight setbacks and missed opportunities? I'm being a little too critical of the island; I've been scouring through some blogs and various pictures on Google. It really does look like some of the locations are charming and tropical. I blame our tour bus. Or tour buses in general. Wait, but I blame the island for my camera. My broken camera, we must go back to the island to make it right! (That's a little topical humor - I am watching Lost Season 6).

The Jeju-doh detour of our Korea sprint finally came to a close. Now, it was back to Seoul to stay with Emmelle's aunt and uncle. I'd met them once before when they visited California last year, and I can't say enough about how hospitable they were during the nights that we stayed with them. Wonderful people. I'm excited to see them again in May for our wedding.

Emmelle's cousin picked us up from a bus station near their home, and we drove immediately to dinner. What a feast! I can easily say that I ate the best duck and pig's feet (or is it pigs' feet? Is your order of porcine hooves sourced from the same pig? Doubtful...) I've ever had, and this meal really set off a handful of days of massive carb and sodium intake. This is why we went in the first place.

Thanks for stopping by.

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south korea (part 4 of 9)

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9

South Korea 2010: A day by day retrospective

The Korean march continues, but I'm not exactly sure why. I am stubborn and am impressing myself (as usual). Here are a few disparate thoughts and images from the fourth day.

During this day, we learn what makes this island so strikingly beautiful and at the same time, what's undesirable about it. The island's caretakers it seems have had a very difficult time trying to establish its purpose and direction. Just as you see something stunning in its natural beauty, you'll see an ill-advised man-made structure in the corner of your eye (or possibly right next to it). For every breathtaking destination our tour guide introduced us to, there was another place where we were encouraged to buy horse bone pills, man-made ginseng, etc. That's why it is no Hawaii. Jeju is certainly beautiful but it's difficult to be enveloped in it.

Day 4; More from Jeju Island

Lava rock. That's basically how I would sum up our fourth day in Korea (and second day in Jeju-doh). Our tour bus zipped us back and forth across the island all day to see the various forms and manifestations of hardened lava rock that sprang to life this popular Korean destination hundreds of thousands of years ago.

The natives learned to use if for sustenance - housing, tools, art, you name it, it's pervasive and a distinct symbol of this place. What I didn't realize was that the island is the birthplace of those whimsical volcanic rock statues that all Koreans are familiar with (harubang). You find them everywhere, and they appear randomly in all Jeju shops - I'm proud to say we didn't find any in our luggage when we came home.

The highlight of our entire three days on the island was our venture out to observe the beautiful land forms that exist on the island's shores, centuries of the Jeju wind and sea harmoniously eroding away at the rock to mold a magnificent canvas. I did my best Ansel Adams impersonation (below).

Lastly, leading up to our trip, I grew more and more excited by the possibility of encountering the famed haenyo, literally translating to women of the sea, and purchasing their fresh catch of the day. We never got to see these fascinating matriarchs in action but did come across a group of older women selling a variety of fresh product on the shore replete with condiments and soju. I quickly gathered that these weren't the famous women of lore, but wily capitalists taking advantage of unsuspecting tourists. After all, they were selling steamed octopus - where could they possibly be doing this?

It didn't matter, we scarfed down some luscious seafood - a combination of octopus, sea squirt and sea cucumber (this trip really did help me understand some of the inspiration behind my parents' own restaurant).

Mission accomplished. A half more day of enduring this psychitzophrenic land and we would be back in Seoul. End day 4.

Sweet. Flickr now offers larger embedding sizes. I don't have to go with the rinky-dink 500px images anymore for the blog. Enjoy!

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cufflinks of the awesome variety

About a week ago, I wrote a quick note about my reluctance to grow older. Reluctance isn't the right word; I'm a staunch believer that we, I should say I, won't become an adult until I am responsible for a child. If and only then will I be forced to think about something other than whether Star Wars VII, VIII and IX will be realized on the big screen.

Nevertheless, it's not like I can sit at home in my pajamas and eat massive quantities of cereal all day, right? I've got bills to pay and Batman shirts to buy. And to continue to pursue a leisurely lifestyle, I continue to see an evolution in my professional life - increased responsibilities, more oversight of projects and resources, greater accountability, even undesirable changes in my work attire. It's completely antithetical to how I like to be in my personal sedentary life.

But I can protest playfully. Check out my latest obsession; bad ass cufflinks:

Batman bat signal cufflinks (purchased)

Ninja cufflinks (waiting for somebody to read this before Christmas)

Thanks for stopping by. I promise to right something more substantial shortly. Oh, please let me know if you see some great cufflinks out there on the internets.

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the yusan or susup wedding

I'm not sure why I haven't done this before, but I will try to going forward. I'm talking about live Tweeting people! This past Saturday, the parentals got together for the Colonel Mustard and General Mustard wedding.

Anyway, I've decided to use the following hash tag for anything related to their wedding planning. Can't wait for actual tweeting at their wedding! Good repository for their children.

#yusanwedding

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