Brotherly Love, City of

Greetings from Philadelphia, in particular the lovely and bougie Manayunk neighborhood!

Why am I in the lovely and bougie Manayunk neighborhood, your might ask?  It's a long story!

My Dad, who passed almost three years ago, was a scientist with the Department of Agriculture.  He got sent around the world (Africa and Asia mostly) to help local farmers and scientists grow more food using advanced (or in some cases, quite primitive but effective) agricultural techniques.  He met many fellow scientists along the way, and developed many friendships.

So in the 1980's, he helped with getting visa sponsorship for an Indian colleague and his wife (a medical doctor).  It's a complicated story, and one that almost didn't work out, but in the end my Dad helped these two very accomplished people and their daughter settle in the United States.  They had been reaching out to my Dad for years, but due to his hearing being shot and his dementia, he wasn't great about keeping in touch with friends.

In any event me and my sister and my nephew drove up to Philly yesterday for lunch with these very wonderful people (and their daughter and her husband, and assorted grandchildren).

So that's how I ended up outside of an organic Italian restaurant crying, when these folks told me and my sister how the memory of my dad was a blessing for their entire family.

People are complicated.  My dad could be so stern and withdrawn on meeting him, and you might never realize how damn funny he was after a beer and getting to know somebody, anybody, a little bit.

I miss you Dad.  We had such a great time celebrating you yesterday but I have a feeling you already knew that.

Staying in Touch in Korea

Following up here, I agonized a little over what to do for phone communication while visiting South Korea recently.  My current plan didn't (AFAICT) offer an international pay-as-you-go plan, which would have been perfect.  So then I thought I'd rent a SIM in Korea (very easy to do) then had nightmares imagining I'd lose either the new or current one.  So, it's also easy to rent an entire phone, and very cheap to do so.

In the end, I did nothing more than download Kakaotalk.  And I hardly used it.

I managed to get by just fine using email and Facebook messenger.  And believe me, I hate Facebook!  But my Korean friends use it, and it worked out fine.

When it comes to travel I always find that less is more.  Another stop at the airport to rent a SIM or phone is just that -- another 15 minutes I'm not enjoying myself.

So at least for me, everything worked out fine with the caveat that it's very easy to find free wifi in Korea, or to buy a data card at a convenience store and roll with that.  Then again, I got along just fine with coffee shops.

Also, be prepared to use an app to get a taxi at night in Seoul, and probably smaller cities as well.  There's a shortage of cabbies right now.  If you ask nicely, I'm sure any good restaurant or hotel will order one for you but be prepared to ask.  They will go right past you if you try flagging them yourself, because they already have a fare booked in advance.

Visiting South Korea Soon? Here's What You'll Need (As An American, At Least)

First, schedule a COVID test for yourself (antigen is fine) within 24 hours of your departure.  I'd bring a hardcopy.

Second, you'll need to register with K-ETA first.  It costs about eight bucks, and it's a mild pain.  Be prepared to upload a passport-style picture (that you can take yourself).  The registration itself is good for two years.

Third, while you can skip the Q-Code I wouldn't.  You'll get through pre-immigration much faster.  Have the code on your phone or print out a copy.  I won't lie -- it took me a good 45 minutes to get their crappy website to acknowledge that my hotel and street address did, indeed, exist.

Within three days of your arrival in South Korea you'll need another COVID test.  You could do this at the airport if the scheduling works, but I went on to Daegu and got mine at the Daegu central public health office.  (The hotel provided directions.)  It was free, which was nice.

Finally, and it appears this is being phased out, you'll need another test for a return to the U.S.  It costs about 70 dollars and you can do it at Incheon Airport, but it's another thing you'll have to budget time for.

That's it!  Have fun!

A final note: I was told, and kind of noticed, that getting a cab in Seoul after nine is now harder than ever if you aren't using one of many apps.  In a pinch I imagine you could ask the restaurant owner to call you one if you find yourself in this situation.  Hotels will be less of a problem.

A Nice Little Trip

I made it home in one piece.  Daegu was hot, but not quite full furnace-blast as of yet.  I saw friends, my former boss, and former students.  In Seoul I met up with some foreigner friends.  I got tested for COVID a total of three times, and only had to pay for the service twice.

I miss Korea and always will.  At the same time, I think the time was right to transition back to home.

I caught a Samsung Lions game too -- they were crushed by NCsoft, 9-1.

Vacay

I'm off to Daegu and Seoul tomorrow for a real vacation.  I'll be back in a week.  Planning on eating anything in front of me, that's pretty much it.

One Week In South Korea Soon

I'm visiting South Korea next week for my first vacation in a long while.  I hope early June isn't too hot, but it will be Daegu so who am I kidding?  I'll sweat buckets.

"a funny city"

"Kathmandu is a funny city.  When you first arrive there from the West, it seems like the most ramshackle and unsanitary place imaginable: the buildings are poorly constructed of old brick, and there are weed patches growing out of the roofs; the hotel rooms are bare pits; all the food you can find tastes like cardboard, and often makes you sick; and there are sewage heaps here and there in the mud streets, where dogs are scavenging.  It really seems primitive.

Then you go out for a month or tow in the mountains, on a trek or a climb.  And when you return to Kathmandu, the place is utterly transformed.  The only likely explanation is that while you were gone they took the city away and replaced it with one that looks the same on the outside, but is completely different in substance.  The accommodations are luxurious beyond belief; the food is superb; the people look prosperous, and their city seems a marvel of architectural sophistication.  Kathmandu!  What a metropolis!"

-- Kim Stanley Robinson, Escape from Kathmandu

Farewell Transmission

Songs: Ohia, "Farewell Transmission"

Didn't start listening to Jason Molina until I landed in South Korea.  Go figure.

I just spoke with my boss and made it official -- I'll be leaving South Korea and my current job this February.

My dad is getting older and needs full-time care, whereas for the past five years or so he could get by with part-time care.  My sister has been doing more than her share of maintenance, and it's time for me to step up.

To say I have mixed feelings is an understatement.  I love Korea, and I really like my job here.

But it's also been 12 years (!) since I came here thinking I'd just do a year or two.

Timing is a feeling more than anything else.  Or maybe an instinct.

I'm just chuckling to myself in my office right now -- Obama wasn't even president yet when I started this little English-teaching adventure back in 2008.

And while moving back to America in the midst of the Trump Virus and Recession might seem daunting, I think it's going to work out.  I'll be living with my Dad in Bellingham, Washington, a beautiful and bizarro place closer to Vancouver than it is to Seattle.  (It's Twin Peaks with a shittier economy and more hippies and meth labs.)  I'll get to spend time with the old man, but also get to see my sister and nephew more than just once every summer.

I'm planning on buying a real bike for what it's worth once I touch down, and taking more pictures, and keeping up with my Korean language skills, and playing guitar again.  (My Fender Strat -- American made! -- sits unused for over a decade in my dad's garage.)

This blog shall remain in place.  I'm sure I'll still have some semi-intelligent things to say about Korea from time to time, but also incredibly fascinating insights into elder-care, or the fact that my 91 year-old dad still loves to talk about his sex life in fairly graphic terms, both past and present.

I'm sad.  I'm happy.  I'm moving on.

The Moon and Antarctica

Life aboard the International Space Station ain't easy, but how about wintering at a science station at the South Pole for a sunless six months?  Challenge accepted:

"From April to September, the station plunges into total darkness, and temperatures regularly hover around minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit. That doesn’t stop White, who has been at the station since January, from getting out for his daily walk or run, always solo. In almost three years on the job, he’s never passed a day without venturing outside. White records every session, and so far has logged more than four thousand miles on the ice. 'I go in any kind of weather,” he says. “It doesn’t matter how bad it is.'

Before he heads out the door, he signs a dry-erase board (which features the handy notation 'If no return, look for frozen pile when sun returns in September') to let his crew know he’s out exercising. When getting dressed to go out, he chooses from utilitarian gear used by the military in extreme cold, a heavy canvas anorak like the one explorer Roald Amundsen wore when he was at the South Pole in 1911, or, on the most miserable days, an Inuit jacket made of Siberian wolf fur. He knows how to read the wind, stars, and snow to find his way back, even in utter darkness or whiteout conditions. 'One of the worst things you face here is the wind,' White says. 'The wind works its way in, and you get frostbite on your nose and face.'”

I think I could last about a week without sunlight and, even worse, no internet. 

Summer

Since I moved to South Korea in 2008 (!) I've been travelling back to America every summer starting in 2010.  I have February and August off, so summer is a good time to get back in touch with my awesome sister near Baltimore and my FOX-addicted dad north of Seattle.

I contacted sis last night and told her I couldn't make it back this summer for the annual visit.

For starters, South Korea expects a 14 day quarantine for all people coming into (or back into) the country.

Then, two days ago, new requirements were announced, including the need for a coronavirus test 48 hours within the time you re-enter Korea.

It's my understanding that in America you can only get a test in most places if you're already symptomatic.  That would make it impossible to actually return to my job.

South Korea has done an exceptional job with this plague, so they get to make the rules.

The quarantine I could probably deal with (although it certainly wouldn't enhance my current level of mental health).

But needing a CV test that I might not even be able to get?  That's too much.

And that sucks.

I miss crabs.  And my nephew.  And the dogs.  Especially the hyperactive black one that seems to like me very much.

His name is Periwinkle.

Hell Is Other People And All-You-Can-Eat Buffets

I guess I'm one of those smug, disdainful libruls who has always considered cruise vacations to be prolonged bouts of imprisonment rather than an actual good time, a boring person's idea of an exciting trip.  (Objectively speaking, cruise ships are absolutely horrible for the environment.)

Still, I hope the hundreds of folks currently trapped on various cruise ships due to the coronavirus make it home safe.

But this homeboy will stick to land for now.

"You got Tennessee tendencies / And chemical dependencies"

Silver Jews, "Suffering Jukebox"

It's impossible to pick just one Dave Berman tune, but damn if the entire lyrics for this one are just pure and amazing.

I'm back from America.  The visit to Baltimore to see my sister and nephew was amazing, as usual.  My visit to see Dad in Bellingham was, just like last year, very rough and depressing.  I think I'll have more to say once I recover from the jet-lag and decompress a bit.

Jesus Christ, I can't believe we lost Dave Berman.  He lived a bit too honestly for comfort, I take it.

Gratuitous Summer Update Post Featuring Awesome Classic Korean Hip-Hop

CB Mass, "CB Mass Is My Friend"

I'd argue this is peak old-school Korean hip-hop.  And as Jay-Z taught us, using a children's choir as your hook will always make for a great banger.

This is my last week of adult classes, and my last week in Korea before summer vacation fully starts up.  Next Tuesday I'll fly to Seattle and visit my Dad for a few days, then fly to Baltimore to visit my sister for a little less than two weeks.  I'm looking forward to seeing my family of course, but visiting my Dad is a bit of a chore -- he lives in the middle of nowhere (about 90 minutes north of Seattle, in fact) and he doesn't have internet.  And while I'm fine with knocking out a few actual dead-tree books while I visit him every summer, his Luddite ways have gone from charming to annoying over the past few years.  The fact that he has FOX News on full-blast for the entirety of my visits means I basically sit on the front porch and read.  Not the worst thing ever, but not exactly ideal for father-son bonding either.

Baltimore will be a lot more fun, if only because my awesome sister and nephew actually look forward to my visits, and they actually plan fun stuff like trying new brew-pubs or restaurants, watching my nephew ride horses competitively, and probably an Orioles game.  (Hey, they're still my US-based team no matter how awful they are and always have been since 1983).

So all is well.  It's hot and humid as hell here in lurvely Daegu, and if you aren't running an AC at full blast everything in your office or apartment gets a slightly damp, clammy feel that's perfectly disgusting.

Also, as per usual, I'm getting about three or four free lunches and dinners this week with my adult students.  I'm all for great-big greasy Korean barbecue extravaganzas but, as mentioned, it's damn hot so we're going down more of the cold-soup and vegetarian bibimbab road.

Anyhow, blogging will be light to non-existent until mid-August when I come back.  Have a great summer!

"Oh, but things just ain't the same"

X, "Fourth of July"

I have some genuinely great memories of July 4th growing up in the DC area.  The downtown DC fireworks were hardly the only choice -- I remember the University of Maryland had some pretty great displays as well.  But I can remember two times -- maybe three -- when we made the trip to the "official" display.  And they were great.  Pretty sure Bush the Elder was president during one of the events, and not a whiff of partisanship was there -- just people out enjoying their three-day weekend.

And now of course, like everything he comes into contact with, Trump has ruined yet another perfectly fine American tradition -- poisoned it on the altar of his bottomless ego.

Anyhow there aren't that many great American Fourth of July rock tunes but this is definitely one of them.  I'm finalizing my plans for America between the end of July and mid-August, and I'll probably catch the new Spiderman this weekend.

I only had one student call and complain about his grade.  That's a minor win as well.

"demented late-capitalist cousin"

As formerly poor nations become wealthier and grow their respective middle and upper classes, are we entering an age of "overtourism"?  Many cities, and not just popular European ones, seem to think so:

"Locals have, of course, complained about tourists since time immemorial, and the masses have disrespected, thronged, and vandalized wonders natural and fabricated for as long as they have been visiting them. But tourism as we know it was a much more limited affair until recent decades. Through the early 19th century, travel for personal fulfillment was the provenance of 'wealthy nobles and educated professionals' only, people for whom it was a 'demonstrative expression of their social class, which communicated power, status, money and leisure,' as one history of tourism notes. It was only in the 1840s that commercialized mass tourism developed, growing as the middle class grew.

If tourism is a capitalist phenomenon, overtourism is its demented late-capitalist cousin: selfie-stick deaths, all-you-can-eat ships docking at historic ports, stag nights that end in property crimes, the live-streaming of the ruination of fragile natural habitats, et cetera. There are just too many people thronging popular destinations—30 million visitors a year to Barcelona, population 1.6 million; 20 million visitors to Venice, population 50,000. La Rambla and the Piazza San Marco fit only so many people, and the summertime now seems like a test to find out just how many that is."

When I first started out in South Korea ten years ago, I was a pretty die-hard traveler and made it to some amazing places -- India, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand multiple times.

While there are still some places I'd really love to visit (Australia, New Zealand, parts of Japan beyond Tokyo) I have to admit that for me, getting older is really all about being less patient with all the bullshit.  As a single dude who prides himself on traveling light and getting in and out of airports faster than the average bear, I actually think I'm quite good at traveling but I just have a bit less tolerance for airports and bus rides and standing in lines and, ahem, other tourists than I used to.

So not to go all Ralph Waldo Emerson on you, but I think this article does a good job of linking travel with a sort of habit of conspicuous consumption and a (highly imperialist, maybe even racist) notion that travel is the key to self-improvement.  (I mean really, does any place in Asia need another white backpacker, well-intentioned or not?)

So while I'm far from swearing off travel forever (I'll probably visit a good friend in Tokyo after my annual trip home to America in August), I do think I'm a bit more circumspect about the whole affair, a bit more picky to be blunt about it.

I've never had a bad vacation since I came to Korea, but I have had a few where I probably could have just as easily enjoyed myself exploring, say, one of the many smaller cities or rural areas of South Korea that I have yet to encounter.  (While South Korea is certainly close to a lot of great places throughout Asia, it's also a simple fact that all told it's going to be 24 hours leaving the country, and another 24 hours getting back in.)

All of which is to say, travel is great.  I treasure many of the experiences I've had throughout the region.  But it's also one option among many for spending free time.  And you aren't "missing" anything if you can manage to have quality experiences in your own country, while saving a lot of money to boot.

And hey, flying less is also a good thing for the earth anyhow.

Tokyo Pics Two

Shinjuku -- fortune teller and "Robot Restaurant"

Akihabara -- Mario racers

Ueno -- Tokyo zoo

Tokyo Pics

Tokyo, Japan -- Kabuki-cho, Shinjuku

Meiji Shrine -- votives

Yoyogi Park -- graffiti

Shinjuku -- conveyor belt sushi

True Fact

The "Tokyo feels like Bladerunner" thing is totally a cliche until it starts raining... Then it feels the fuck like Bladerunner. #fact

— Antifa-boo-lus James (@wetcasements) October 9, 2017

Tokyo Two

Tokyo was a blast.  Lots of pics to sort through and post.

I ate takoyaki every day and I'm not ashamed of it at all.

Tokyo

I'm off to Tokyo for a few days for Chuseok.  Stay safe.