why korea?

Beautiful Korea – (photo credit via 500px.com)

You guys know that I really want to go to Korea. After I get my BA, I want to live there forever and eat jajjangmyeon and kimchi and translate books. My friends have frequently asked me why. It’s a tough question, so let me outline a few of the most important reasons.

First off, I love the Korean language. Since I’m studying Linguistics, this is important. I want to be a translator, and I want to work with my favorite language – Korean. I don’t know why I like it so much. I just think it’s beautiful, the written language appeals to my artistic side, and I like that they have varying levels of respectful language.

Okay, I love food. Anyone who knows me knows this. I get really excited about food, and the surest way to make me happy is to give me something delicious to eat. And, of course, I love Korean food. Mexican was my favorite before I found Korean, so I think it must be the spiciness. I adore spicy foods. So if I can eat tteokbokki everyday, I think I’ll be content.

I love Asia, but Taiwan is way too hot and humid without the benefit of cold winters. The Korean climate, from what I’ve heard, does get hot and humid (and a monsoon season; yippee!), but they also have bitingly cold winters. I love winter and the cold, along with all the cute fashion that goes with it, so that is appealing.

Culturally, Korea is often referred to as the most Confucian of all the East Asian countries. While I don’t like some aspects of that ideology, I do like the focus on harmony. See my post on why I love Asia here. In ancient China, Korea was referred to as the “Land of the Morning Calm.” Why wouldn’t you want to go anywhere called that?

Koreans are also referred to as the “Irish” of the Orient (The Korean Mind, Boye Lafayette De Mente). This is because of their poetic nature, willingness to fight over offenses, love of drinking and partying, and fierce spirits. That analogy just makes me feel cheerful. From friends of mine who live in Korea, I’ve heard that while they are slower to warm up than people in Taiwan, they are crazy awesome friends once you get to know them.

So there you have it. A very brief reason why I love Korea. Really, it can’t be explained. So just deal with it.

NOTE: Since I will be going to Korea in June, I will probably write a response to this post after I’ve been there. It will be interesting to compare expectations with first impressions!

Also, do you think it’s odd to love a country you’ve never visited? I don’t. I think people can love anywhere, Japan or America or France or Korea, if they’ve lived surrounded by the products or seen it on TV or studied it and found it to their liking. Just my thought.

otter.

romanticizing travel

Traveling – not always yelling off of mountain tops…

“I had inadvertently brought myself with me to the island.” (By Alain de Botton in his book The Art of Travel.)

The Art of Travel is a sleepy kind of book, well-paced and thoughtful. The above quote really struck me, since the author was talking at the time of a trip to Barbados, in search of an escape from a miserable English winter, and how his idealization of the place was far from reality. Seeing glistening seas and waving palm trees in a picture usually fails to represent reality as far as vacationing is concerned.

More specifically, he talked about an argument he had with his partner, and how that conflict rendered the glory of the surroundings worthless. His point – no matter where you go, you will bring yourself with you, including all of your vices and emotional baggage, all problems and grievances, all tendencies to worry and think of other things, and all discontentment.

Travel is often glamorized by people who don’t live as a traveler. It has a romantic connotation and reputation, no doubt exacerbated by the glowing travel reports brought back by world roamers, and the paintings, pictures, and videos of lands far away. Not that those ideas or images are untrue. They are; but they are also only a small part of the whole. Artists, photographers, and writers don’t include mundane stories or images in their collections. It wouldn’t sell. No one wants to see more suburbs, more roads, more long lines at bus stations; but all those things are as inherent in travel as coconut milk and adventure.

I fell prey to this over-romanticizing too. I built it up in my mind as the most exciting way to live. To be a traveler meant always having adventures, always being on the move and being happy, looking just like those smiling jetsetters in pictures with hair a-blowing and luggage behind them. Never mind that pulling luggage anywhere automatically increases stress by about a thousand. Honestly, those pictures are a lie. A LIE. (I demand restitution.)

I digress. The point is, a lot of people, myself included, seem to see travel as an escape from an otherwise dissatisfying or unfulfilling life. Some people use it to escape problems with family or work. The trouble is, that while you can be physically removed from the source of the problem, eventually it will come back to haunt you. If you have emotional problems resulting from those situations, being somewhere else won’t make them magically disappear. You’ll still be depressed if you already were, you’ll still be angry or bitter or afraid or whatever. Running doesn’t solve anything. It’s the coward’s way.

Now, here’s what travel can do. It does provide a change, and for those stuck in a lackluster environment who are just plain bored, changing pace and getting out into the wider world can kick-start a better life. You might discover your calling overseas and change your whole future. Traveling broadens perspective; I know many people who were profoundly moved when they saw poverty in third-world countries. It helps you learn to appreciate other people, even those you left behind. I know for me, when I travel and move about, I tend to get the creative spark more often. I write better after seeing something new and exciting.

So be careful of expecting too much of travel and new places, and remember, you always bring yourself with you.

otter.

being a foreigner part 2

I wrote part one of this a while back, but felt like there was more to say.

Difficulties

There are definitely some challenges to living in a foreign country. Learning the bus routes on your own is tough. My team leader knows the area we live in well, but anytime we go outside our usual sphere, it can be a veritable nightmare trying to figure out the transportation. We’re also pretty limited in eating out, since a lot of the best restaurants don’t have English names or menus. I would like to be adventurous and just order whatever was at the top, but I have some food allergies that make this unwise. A real shame too, since I think I miss out on some great traditional food because of it.

Making Friends

Meeting people is both easy and hard. I mentioned before how eager a lot of people are to stop us and talk, but the conversation never goes beyond, “What do you do? Where are you from?” etc. We haven’t met anyone it would be worthwhile to continue meeting. We’re at the school constantly, and we’re here on weekends and evenings for the most part, so we can’t make it to the meetups or wherever we’d need to go. I’ve made some great friends among my co-workers, but not outside of work. I’m pretty disappointed about it, but there’s really nothing I can do.

Embarrassed by Americans

This one is sad. I didn’t notice when I arrived how loud Americans tend to be. I mean, I’ve been annoyed at home with people on phones or whatever, but just in general, we talk really loudly. Since coming here, I’ve lowered my pitch to match the others around me, and I feel really out of place if I accidently laugh or say something loud. But sometimes I see foreigners, not always American, but mostly, coming in and everyone can hear them. It’s obnoxious, but they don’t even realize. When I went back to the States for vacation, I was shocked how much I noticed it when out and about. We went to Dairy Queen and I was overwhelmed with the sheer volume of all the conversations going on. That and the fact that I could understand them. If you’re coming into Taiwan, know that people are quiet in public, and especially on public transportation, like buses and trains. Keep it down.

Perks

It’s not all bad though. I really do like being a perpetual guest and given that extra attention. It’s nice, and when it gets me a twenty percent discount at an upscale retail place for no reason, I’m really happy. Seriously, this has happened probably three times. I don’t know if they’re just being nice or if they think it gives them prestige to have an American shopping with them, but either way, I’ll take it.

Language Expectations

This one is funny and annoying. If I go into a store and just speak English, they will assume I speak no Chinese, and one of two things will happen. They’ll ignore that fact and still greet me and give me a sales pitch in Chinese, which I ignore, or they’ll act like I’m not there until I go to checkout. If I go in and speak some Chinese, like I ask for something or order in Chinese at McDonald’s, they will think I have more Chinese than I do, and ask me various other questions I can’t reply to, causing a great deal of embarrassment on both sides when I just stare blankly at them. Either way, I can’t win. The best thing is when I go in and the person speaks enough English that I’m not given a choice whether to speak in Chinese or not, and can conduct business with no hassle.

We’ve finally managed to establish a good relationship with the waitress at McDonald’s, since we’re there once a week at least, and she knows what Chinese we know, and doesn’t ask us other questions. She knows our coffee order now too, which is fantastic.

So there you have it. More perspectives on being a foreigner. Overall I really enjoy it. Yeah, there are some difficulties and problems, but for the most part, it’s just plain fun.

otter.