James Ha

Yesterday while out in Seoul with my friend Danim and her friend, we met up with a few of their friends.  One of which, was this guy James Ha.  He makes cool sounds with his hands lol!

The clicking is his snapping. Cool huh? Hope you become famous one day James! Nice to meet you!

~Melissadaptable

Happy Birthday Buddha!!

Last week on a blistering hot afternoon, my uncle took me on a hike up a mountain.  It was breathtaking!  The trees, the greenery in general, all the people, the atmosphere was one of joy.  You know that feeling when people gather together with good food and everything just seems a little brighter?  This was one of those times.

...

If it weren't for the brightness, I'd probably be quite annoyed by the thousands of FLIES.  They seem to love the dark confines of nostrils...honestly, I know this is gross, but I'd rather have boogers in my nose than the number of flies trying to get in there.  At least boogers don't move.  

비빔밥 (bibimbap) and lotus lanterns were given out for Buddha's Birthday

~The 아즘마s in the bottom pic are washing the bowls in a creek~

FREE FOOD!

Such pretty party decorations!

So many lanterns!  Each is a prayer.

(My personal fav pic of the day)

Water is poured into the little Buddha statue by everyone

Lovely hike up the mountain...most green I've seen in a while

I was struggling to breathe from being so out of shape most of the hike...the fact that I'd stop to take a picture, then have to run up that natural staircase you see to catch up didn't help at all.  Nonetheless, I love love loved the mini 2 hour trip!  It was so REFRESHING and beautiful! 

Makes me want to hike up Mt. Everest!

2nd adventure:  DONE!

~Melissadaptable

Usain Bolt...fast as lightning

A couple of days ago, I had the opportunity of going to the Daegu Stadium. It wasn't an easy journey, riding a train for about 2 hours and then walking about 5 miles in brand new heels (don't wear stilletos in Korea...they will get MESSED UP) but once there, it was definitely quite cool.  

These were taken with my Blackberry (http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices/blackberrycurve8500/)

Not bad for a phone camera eh?

It just so happened that I went on the day that the IAAF World Challenge event was taking place. Everyone was in a frenzy because Usain Bolt, a multi-world record and olympic gold medal holder from Jamaica, would be competing here in Daegu.


Of course, he won this competition as well. This video found on youtube uploaded by alanmonty06 was the best I found...Bravo!



PS. On the way to the stadium, a group of students walked by...in case you didn't know, students are still required to wear uniforms (from kindergarten on).

You may as well think it's the same person.

Now, I'm not the type of person to go out and dye my hair crazy colors or do something to my appearance to somehow set me apart from everyone else and label myself as a "unique individual," but I think this is a little extreme.  

...

Then again, it seems like people here like to fit in and follow trends...you should see the number of "bowl cuts" I see every day. I suppose it allows less stereotyping and attraction by materialistic means, allowing a less shallow approach to creating relationships. I encourage adapting to fit into surroundings, but you won't find me with a bowl cut anytime soon, sorry. :P  


Do you remember having to wear uniforms during school in America? Even then, girls would hike up their skirts to try and stand out. After doing a little research to confirm my premonitions of a low individualism rating on Hofstede's scale of cultural differences, I was right. Find the results here:

Korea has more of a group-oriented culture

First official adventure: DONE.


~Melissadaptable

Tips for Travelling

FLYING

•  Never leave important documents on the outermost pockets of your bags…easy to get stolen
• Atlantic spinner suitcases are most convenient…specially walking down aisles of airplane and maneuvering in small bathroom stalls http://bit.ly/ce3I2y
• Don’t wear jewelry…I mean small earrings are ok but anything else you’ll have to take off before going through security and it’s hard enough with just a suitcase and a backpack
• Keep your baggage compartmentalized:  laptop, liquids, life (everything else).
• Speaking of liquids, don’t bring a waterbottle…you can’t take it through security and you’ll get free water on the plane
• Keep a smile on your face. Everyone is uncomfortable and not excited about getting on a cramped airplane next to the screaming baby or the person who forgot to put on deodorant, soaring for several hours 34,000 feet above the ground, but try your best to get past that.  I learned in my psychology class that your body can psych out your brain so if you smile for long enough, your mind will be tricked into believing your happy.  Don’t believe me? Try it! Annyways, it’s extremely refreshing to see that one person with a smile on his or her face in the long lines of getting through security amidst the curtain of frowns, so why not be that person?

Travel Light

1.  Divide packing into 2 phases.  

       Phase 1:  From your bedroom, decide what you want to bring.  Lay out your suitcase and put everything around it.  

       Phase 2:  Then of all your stuff, decide which things you could live w/out (aka not extremely necessary things)…I know it’s hard because we all have that “what if” instinct. 

2.  If you’re only going to use it once, it might not be necessary.

3.  Make sure to weigh your suitcase before you leave the house to prevent having to repack and show the world your panties.

4.  Leave room in your suitcase because you KNOW you’re going to buy stuff when you’re there so always have space to bring it back.

Timing for the Airport

1. Be early.

2. Seriously, try to be an hour early.
3. It leaves time for mishaps (possible full body searching, repacking of overweight luggage, nature calls, etc.) and you’ll be more relaxed sipping on aStarbucks latte, chilling at the gate. Plus it guarantees you a seat in the waiting area so you’re not stuck sitting on the floor by the big window saying “ooh, aah!' With the 3 yr. olds.)
4. Having your name called over the loudspeaker as a last call to board is extremely embarrassing.

Day 1 (Plane and arrival)

As I wait in line to check my bags, (in this case bag singular thanks to the tips I learned through personal trial and error (see following post)...I can’t help but wonder who I will be sitting next to.  Everytime I get on a plane, which is actually quite often, I hope that it’s that super attractive guy with the nice arms, that helps me put my carry-on in the overhead compartment and offers me a massage mid-flight…I can dream right?  This never necessarily happens so I’ve learned to prepare for the worst.  This means packing a neck pillow, (the bobble head look is not very attractive apparently) earplugs/earphones, my credit card, and a hoodie.  [the pic's a little creepy, but this is what they do in Korea when your face is not presentable...after 14 hrs on a plane, ya catch my drift?]

Brilliant idea for an airport...

The neck pillow is so that you don’t end up leaning on the shoulder of your neighbor who is probably taking up your armrest anyway; the earplugs are for that inevitable screaming baby, the headphones for any movies or music (they charge like $4 if you don’t have them and sometimes they even charge for movies), the credit card for those movies if they charge or for any snacks because being hungry and trapped on a plane is not a pleasant feeling, and the hoodie because it gets cold on airplanes.  Apparently they can’t turn the heater on unless it’s -30C and it seems that it’s always colder way up in the sky, even if it’s 100F on the ground.




So the plane ride wasn't that bad...the flight attendants loved serving orange juice every 10 minutes and I definitely appreciated the amazing service!  Korean Air is the way to go when flying for over 13 hours.  6 movies and a bibimbap later, I made a friend on the plane who helped me find my way through the airport.  And walked out to greet my aunt and little cousin before I inhaled my first meal in Korea.

Me-mul gook-soo (ice-cold buckwheat noodles dipped in soba soup)

Along with a greeting from my relatives, I received a warm greeting from Korea...there was a performance

Traditional Drumming Performance



And a more [modern] performance...people in business suits playing electric guitar...new fad?



Before I end this post, there is one last thing that I would like to share with you.  Korea has become a very health conscious country.  Check out their means of keeping toilets sanitary...and yes, I took a picture of the toilet, as well as edited it so you could understand what was going on (that's plastic covering the seat):

And that concludes day one in Korea, folks.

Let the adventures BEGIN!

A baby's first step

Melissa Brown, a baby to the world of blogging, has just been born.

I may be simple-minded now, but wait until I take that first step...then I will never stop running.  Follow me as my life unfolds and share in the excitement and unexpected adventures.  I'm thinking it'll be better than an episode of Dora the Explorer, which my baby cousin loves so much.  Think Korean instead of Spanish, and adult, rather than child.  Goodnight! =  ahn-young-hee joo-moo-sae-yo (until I get a korean character keyboard)  안녕히주무세요!