Things to do in Daegu

So, the DMZ tours are fully booked the entire month of august, which means, sadly, that that trip will not be my last hoorah in Korea. I will have to settle for Daegu. A daunting a task as that seems, I am not willing to simply sit around my last full weekend on the peninsula! That means Daegu city tour!

A view of downtown Daegu

Not a lot of things to see in this city that seems, increasingly, like the same neighborhood over and over again. But there IS color...

Seoman Market wares: Traditional Korean formal dress. I'm sorry, Katie (my cousin) and other members of my family that requested one after her brilliant (at the time) idea...I can't bring them back! They are custom made, very dainty, and relatively expensive. I will bring you all make-up gifts!

Pretty pillows

...and everyone is getting excited about the upcoming track and field world championships that begin (sadly) shortly after I leave, August 27. The city is peppered with international flags and brightly colored signage like this one:

I have a special place in my heart for this mascot, because he is simply so cute...and who doesn't love runners that are blind? :) 

Finally, I did get to take some pictures of my daily walk to work on base. It still surprises me, after 8 months, to walk along barbed wire fencing and Restricted signs, even as overgrown and relatively pretty as they are.

It was another scorcher of a day, hitting an amazing 95% with 75% humidity. Bleck. I can complain only because, in watching the news, I see that most of my own country is suffering a similar heat wave. It's hard to believe it's slated to get even hotter this coming week, my last living here. Wish me luck! I only have about 5 outfits left that weren't carted off by the movers, so here's hoping I left out the coolest ones:)

All packed up and ready to go!

Ah, Korea...

I am definitely getting reminiscent in my last days living in Korea. I have really enjoyed living abroad, embracing the craziness that is Asia, Korea, government work OCONUS, etc. Here's some of what I'll miss...tempered by some things I won't miss at all, ever (always the Libra!):

Things I will miss
easy travel to nearby, tiny, often exotic other countries
my 4-bedroom apartment with a great view
living among mountains
working a 40-hour week
being able to walk everywhere
water coolers everywhere
small portions at restaurants
being called beautiful by perfect strangers
Engrish
constantly learning - every moment being an experience
automatically smiling at a person on the street because she looks Western - instant camraderie
posing automatically with the peace sign in pictures
the KTX/speedrail in general
enough closet space to fill my entire wardrobe and linens, with space to add!
saying "hello" and "thank you" in 2 languages, one right after the other
being able to have a conversation and know that about half of it won't be understood
the every day opportunity for shooting photos
cheap cabs
tax free goods at the PX and Commissary
being the mysterious foreigner
eavesdropping when I start to hear the one English word in thousands of Hangul
outdoor markets
shopping in categories - all the light stores on one street, all the pet stores on another, food, clothing, cellphones....
car art
shopping at 11pm because everything is still open


Things I won't miss 
the smell of methane wafting up from sewers everywhere - quite the way to start a morning
missing my rich social life back home
working in substance abuse
working a 40-hour week...for an asshole
being able to walk everywhere...but not wanting to walk anywhere!
monsoon season (it's a killer!)
it being difficult to be a vegetarian
the staring
not being able to communicate at my education level (to hair stylists, to coworkers, to my cleaning woman, my movers, on public transit, etcetcetc)
constantly learning - it's exhausting!
being yelled at "Hello!!!!" by little kids trying to practice their English (or being asked "Where are you from?" and then having the conversation end right there.)
the military and civil servants
people taking off their shoes in restaurants...having to take my shoes off when I totally forgot to wear socks or easy-off shoes
saying "hello" and "thank you" in 2 languages, one right after the other
the rudeness of the Korean people - they can be so sweet when they know you, but they can be so harsh automatically when they don't
people being afraid of my cat when they see her
bureaucratic nonsense
not being able to order takeout other than pizza or chicken (and only from one restaurant, aptly named BBQ Pizza)

I am sure there's more.

I keep telling people Korea is great, come visit the country, see the beauty, stay in Seoul or at the beach in Busan, and enjoy a tech'd-out country that welcomes foreigners and has big goals to be a player in the big world. It is an amazing place, and I'm so happy to have had the chance to experience it, in spite of the crazy! It was all good crazy, anyway. 

OKINAWA: Not exactly Japanese for "last hurrah", but we can pretend...

Okinawa...

Boats in a small harbor

...tropical island in the midst of the Sea of China...

...southerly vacation destination of mainland Chinese...

...birthplace of a fantastic person (Ms. Cadena herself!)...

...last hurrah for two travel-crazy friends and my last out-of-country trip before flying home!

I have always had a thing for palm trees

And was it ever some relaxing trip!!! First of all, I want to announce/apologize that this blog post will, in a sense, double as my application for a photography position at Travel + Leisure Magazine. Not that I'm that talented, but it was just TOO EASY to take great pictures of fabulous sights on the island. (Side note: if you think the pics are crap, move on to another blog, please:) ).

Ahhhhh....

Second, I want to admit that this is actually a relatively difficult blog entry to write, simply because the trip was so fabulously relaxing.

An Okinawan beach with concrete "jacks" for typhoons

We drove,

Cadena mans the wheel on the right side...she's the only one with the int'l license...must work on that!

we saw sand and secret beaches (thanks, Martha!) and pokey islands out in the water,

Tide was out

we basked in sunshine, and dipped our toes in bath-like water,

Tide pools

we took photos (obvs!),

Martha taking pictures

we ate sushi (YAY!!!!) (we also ate too many power bars and too much trail mix, but budget-eating is not the stuff of T+L, so I will not go into detail here!),

I didn't take pics of the best sushi ever, so here's the closest thing I "pic'd" of food...an empty crab shell

we read books (I personally started 4 on this trip - Adult ADD?? perhaps...),

We also read lots of Engrish:) 

we spent time with good/new friends,

Martha and Cadena over the menu at Jacapo's

we explored the crazy-biggest base I have ever seen (and spent a little money in their BX, not gonna lie),

The sea wall

we drank coffee and walked and explored on our own schedules,

Look at the cream in my coffee!

we visited the end of the island, with all its jutting, rocky cliffs and bellowing surf, at sunset,

At the edge

and I, personally, felt the utmost gratitude for so many things. After a tumultuous year, I was able to stand on the end of a country, look up at the pinky-blue sky and thank God for my life, for its crazy-adventurous tilt-a-whirl of a year, for its opportunity and for its adversity and its pleasure in the little things. It was an epiphany, self-actualization, and the end of a transition all wrapped up in one perfect sunset. And even on the verge of another move and the start of something else, I was able to look back on the last 7.5 months and feel joy in them.

For that, I thank you, Okinawa - a place I may never have visited but for living in South Korea with a good friend who just had to get there this year (Happy Birthday, again:) ), and my healthy sense of adventure, of course.

Life is good at the beach!

Here's the full album - I warn you, lots of sand and water pics!:)

Stuff Korean People Like

Inspired by one of my personal favorite webpages of all time, I am adding this regular segment to my blog. Enjoy!

1. KIMCHI
Ubiquitous, smelly, and famed for its dietary properties (questionable, as all claims made by Asian peoples are questionable [see also "world's tallest buddha" and "world's longest wall seen from space" posts...ok, one of those IS true}, kimchi is a Korean staple. And the people - they LOVE it! There are about 4 billion different kinds of kimchi, all served in tiny little dishes before a meal. I have only tried about 8, but I couldn't tell the difference between any of them.



2. LADY UMBRELLAS
When in Korea (and other Asian countries), bring a smallish umbrella, preferably in pastel shades, maybe even some lace around the edging, to shade yourself from the sun and preserve your whitest skin possible. Tanning is not big here, and I've even seen some men attempting to block out the nasty sun's rays using their European men's leather carry-alls.

3. SAMSUNG

The home company of everything electronica, the Korean muse seems to rise and fall with the stock prices of this corporate conglomerate. A great many Korean families are way over their heads in debt these days, and technology is one suspected culprit!

4. BLACK PEOPLE

The stereotype is true: Asians think Black people are an oddity. Now, take it to heart that they also think I am an oddity, but still, they're not lining up to touch me or take pictures with me (well, now that I think about it, they kind of do...anyway...). But I have seen great crowds gather around black friends and fellow tourists, just to get a snapshot with them.

It's also been said that Koreans sometimes try to wipe the dirt off, but I have never seen this and that is most likely something that happened many, many years ago. I have seen some distrust in Korean faces when I walk with a black friend (but then again, you see that in the States, too!), but nothing so overt as cleaning behavior. Overall, I think Koreans simply see a photo op and take it!!

Thank You Notes

[cue cheesy elevator music]

Thank you, North Korean terrorists, for shutting down the power on Camp Henry today. Your timing - in hitting my building just when I arrive at work - could not have been less convenient. Bravo, North Korea, bravo...

Thank you, Admin o' mine, who is usually so on top of dates, times, and my schedule, for humiliating me in front of soldiers who came to attend a class today. Way to totally go back on supporting the change of dates that we fought about two weeks ago, and make me look confused...

Thank you, punk Korean kid walking to school with your friends, for screaming "HI!!!!" to me across the parking lot  multiple times, until you got my attention. As if my white skin, curly hair and substantial chest did not make me stand out enough in your society. I only responded "hello" to get you to shut up, but what I really wanted to do was a) punch you and/or b) tell you that kind of behavior is terribly rude...

Thank you, bacterial infection from China, for making me think you were gone, only to ravage my insides this morning in vengeance for my complacency. Well played...

With love,
Kristina