Kathmandu

I've made it safely back to Korea after two amazing weeks in Nepal and India.  I'd really like to share some of my thoughts and photos about my trip, but I have so many of both that it may take a bit of time.  I'll piece together some of my journal entries, emails, facebook posts and see what I come up with.  So I'll start from the very beginning, I've heard it's a very good place to start.

After many many flights, (Seoul to Taipai to Bangkok to Delhi to Kathmandu--all to save $500, and actually it was kind of worth it) I arrived in Kathmandu.

Kathmandu is unlike any city I've ever been to.  It appears to be one chaotic mess.  I got a taxi from the airport to my hotel.  The taxi driver let another random guy hitch a ride part of the way.  These guys were very friendly, I chatted with them for awhile.  The driver said he thought most Americans were very quiet and unfriendly but he was happy that I liked to talk.  I didn't see that I had much choice when they were firing a barrage of questions my way.  As the driver was chatting with me he was effectively avoiding cows, school children, buses, and garbage in the road.  When it comes to driving in Nepal, the rules are there are no rules.  (Except that you should blare your horn loudly and frequently.)  

I met my group at the hotel.  Overall they were a great group of people and I was lucky to get to know them over the two weeks.  My roommate was a Londoner named Olivia.  We had a lot of random fun throughout the trip and I was fortunate to be placed with her.  Although anyone on my trip would have made a great roommate.  

On our first day of sightseeing in Kathmandu we visited holy Buddhist and Hindu places.  

Monkeys just hang out in Nepal and India.  Here's a mama and a baby.
Cows also just hang out in Nepal.  Traffic doesn't stop for much else, but it stops for cows.

The holy Hindu place (sorry I forget the name and am too lazy to look it up right now).

An aerial view of a holy man.

Sneaky monkeys.

Hindu people come to this river because it is considered holy.  

Woman in a sari.

They also cremate people at this river.  Not sure if there is an actual body in there or if they're just stoking the fire in preparation.

Some dye.

Nepali schoolchildren.  So cute!

A Buddhist monk doing some drawing.

The Buddhist temple.  The prayer flags are yellow, green, red, white, blue and represent earth, water, fire, cloud (air), and sky respectively.

The Buddhist temple from the front.  Buddha is watching.

Anna Rickert Minnesota

"I think I'm going to Kathmandu...

I think it's really where I'm goin' to."  I will be MIA for the next couple weeks because I'm traveling to Nepal and India.  Dreams really do come true... I've always wanted to visit these countries.  I may write a post on the road depending on internet access and time, but I'm not sure.  When I come back, I'm sure I'll have plenty of pictures to share.  Until we meet again....

What are they teaching these kids? Part 2

Two weeks ago I showed you a sign that was up at my school.  I don't understand why the kids needed to know how to say that, but here is one of the phrases that was up yesterday.  Now this is some learning I can get behind.  

The Chaser

I try to keep you updated, dear readers, on the pop culture scene here in Korea (ok, so I do a poor job, I apologize).  I told you about my obsession with Boys Before Flowers.  I shared with you some of my favorite K-pop songs.  Well, now I'm going to let you in on another secret (ok, it's not really a secret, any well-versed movie buff has probably heard about this already), but there is going to be a Hollywood remake of a pretty well-known Korean movie.  This will be like the next The Departed which was a remake of a Hong Kong movie Infernal Affairs.  The Korean movie is titled The Chaser.  Supposedly Leonardo DiCaprio is in talks to star in the Hollywood remake.  I watched The Chaser a couple weeks ago and it's very good.  It's a far cry from the cutesy Korean dramas and romantic movies that seem so popular here.  I would highly recommend it, especially if you too want to appear one step ahead of the average movie enthusiast.  You can watch the movie with English subtitles here.   

Say Kimchi!

There are certain things I dig about Korea and wish we had in America.  The photo booth is one of these things.   As a general rule in Korea, nothing is ever too cute.  It doesn't matter whether you're male or female.  Ladies, you want to wear a pink jeweled scottie dog barrette in your hair?  You go girl!  Oh wait, you're forty?  Even better!  Guys, you want to wear a bedazzled purple tie?  Hey no problem here!  And you're straight?  No one would have thought otherwise!  So anyway, the cuteness meter can't get much higher in these photo booths scattered around Korea.  You can take pictures with your friends and then decorate them.  They also have hats, wigs, sunglasses, etc. that you can wear in the photos.  I've visited these photo booths many times over the past ten months.  Here are just a few of the pictures that I've actually scanned onto the computer:

Okay, Chrissy and I frequent the photo booths quite often.  

Celebrating Julie and Adi's birthdays.  We were pretending to be "Woo Girls".  ("How I Met Your Mother" reference)

And Chrissy and me again.

What are they teaching these kids?

Outside of my English Zone there is a sign that flashes English words or phrases and their Korean translations.  Each day the students are supposed to write down the words and then they are quizzed on them on Fridays.  Yesterday I noticed this gem of a phrase:  

Really, some students can't even understand "My name is...", but yet you want them to be able to say this?  And who decided to use Sharon Stone as an example (and then misspelled her name)?  I think 1992 called and they want their celebrity back.  Once again the Korean educational system fails to make sense to me.  

Two months!

As of Sunday, I officially have two months left in Korea.  Last week I booked my flight to Minneapolis for September 5th.  I have mixed emotions about this.  I am dying to see my family and friends, and I truly believe the happiest day of my life thus far will be when I step off the airplane at the Minneapolis/Saint Paul airport.  But I also think about all the people I will be leaving.  Most of them I will never see again, which is rather depressing to think about.  I fully intend to take advantage of my final two months here in Korea.  I will be living it up.  

Actually, I really only have a month and a half left in actual Korea.  I am traveling to Nepal and India from July 31st-August 16th.  Because my schedule didn't work out with any of my other friends, I will be traveling alone (sort of).  Yikes!  This will be a first for me.  But Nepal and India have been travel goals for me for quite some time so I figured I really have to go for it.  But because I didn't totally want to travel all alone (especially in Nepal where they are having some political unrest supposedly--the U.S. has even issued a travel warning), I am going on a tour with Intrepid Travel.    I will begin my trip in Kathmandu and end in Delhi.  

And in honor of going to Kathmandu, here's a little Bob Seger for you:

I couldn't have said it better myself.

If you'd like a clear telling of annoyances in Korea cast in a positive light, please read my friend Andrew's oxymoronic (I mean that in a good way) blog post here.   It's everything I'd like to say but can't without sounding like I hate it here (which I don't at all).

The first of many goodbyes.

Last weekend (not this past weekend but the weekend before for those of you keeping track--which is probably no one, so for my own sake) about 40-50 of us Incheon foreigners descended upon Deok Jeok Do (an island southwest of Incheon). I visited Deok Jeok Do last fall and it's really one of my favorite places that I've been in South Korea. It's really cheap to get there, stay there, and eat there and it's just a nice place to chill on the beach. We swam and laid out during the day and had a bonfire at night. As I left on the ferry on Sunday afternoon, I realized I will probably never go to Deok Jeok Do again in my life. It's weird to think about things like that, saying goodbye to some place for a final time. I'm not really trying to be morbid here, because overall it was a good time, but I just don't really have any intention of ever returning there. Anyway, it made me realize all of the goodbyes I am going to have to say in the next two months. I really hate goodbyes. Here are a couple pics from the weekend. I didn't take any because I took a million last fall, so I stole these from my friends.

We rented some tubes from our pension and laid out in the sea all day.  It was glorious.

Chrissy and me on the ferry.

One of the locals.  I'm not really sure how people survive on the island because it's not a huge tourist destination and there isn't much else going on there.  

Rockin

Can we just appreciate this line-up for a minute? This is a festival that's going on in Seoul in July. Ummm, Weezer, Oasis, Jet, Jimmy Eat World all in the same weekend? Yes please! I am especially looking forward to seeing Weezer in Korea. I've seen them a few times, but never in Korea, obviously. And as all Weezer fans know, Rivers has a thing for the Asian ladies. I wonder if that's why they tour around Asia so much? (Yes, I know he's married now...) Anyway, this should be good.