Hong Kong, Hong Kong

2-28-2011
Day 357 of 365: Hong Kong. Is it a city? Is it a country? Is it an island? Well...yes. Having always had a fascination with Kung Fu movies and Hong Kong cinema, I finally had an opportunity to visit Hong Kong for the Chinese New Year (aka - Lunar New Year), which took place during the first week of February. Though it's not officially celebrated in the U.S., the Chinese New Year is a national holiday in just about every Asian country. Many businesses close their doors for a few days at least, and some for up to 2 weeks or more. There were many festivals that week to celebrate the "Year of the Rabbit" in addition to all the sites, food and attractions of Hong Kong, so we just tried to soak in as much as we could.

Taking our own week-long vacation from school in Ansan, two fellow English teachers and I embarked on a 5 day trip that had us constantly moving from place to place. We didn't have much time to remain at any one site for very long, but I did spend a fair bit of time in the famous Lady's Market. I never thought to ask the locals where the Lady's Market got it's name from, but it is THE place for guys and gals alike to find whatever you're looking for in Hong Kong. New, used, real or fake, chances are there's somebody selling it there. Everybody's trying to make a buck, but it's not always on the up and up. For instance, while I was shopping alone (the 2 gals had made their way to Disneyland Hong Kong), an Arab guy asked me if I was interested in a fake Rolex on the street, but instead of showing me his stock right there, he wanted me to follow him 2 blocks, into a sketchy building and up an elevator. My "shady meter" was already going off just by talking to the guy (He was Arab. I'm just saying.), but when we got to that elevator, something in me was just saying, "walk away", so I did. Am I saying that he and his people were going to roll me for all my money or kidnap me and hold me for ransom? Not exactly, but I didn't want a fake watch bad enough to find out. Here's an idea: have your shop on the street level, out in the open like normal folks.

As far as food goes, dim sum (endless small-portioned waves of fried, boiled and steamed foods ranging from chicken and pork dumplings to jellyfish and chicken feet) is probably what Hong Kong is best known for. The food in Hong Kong was delicious and reasonably priced. As in Korea and Japan, I made my obligatory trip to the local McDonald's to see what kind of new and "exciting" burgers the U.S. is missing out on. However, the menu was very similar to back home. I did order a fried red bean desert pie, but it wasn't quite what I was used to. Red bean is a very popular dessert flavor in asian culture though. One thing I didn't realize before going was how much English is spoken in Hong Kong. While there, I found out that Hong Kong was a long time colony of Great Britain, which explains the dual languages. Chinese is still the first language, but English definitely runs a close second. It was rarely a problem getting around in the city since most signs were in English, and people on the street were almost always able to help us when asked.

The highlight of my trip was a solo adventure I took toward the end of our visit. The same day that I almost "bought" a watch and the girls went to Hong Kong Disney, I made reservations to take a harbor tour on a traditional Hong Kong style junk boat (pictured above). "Junks", which were primarily used for fishing back in the day, have long been a symbol of Hong Kong. Although there are not many left today, they are still very iconic and beautiful to look at. Hong Kong is famous for it's nightly laser-light show on the harbor skyline, and the junk tour was a perfect way to view it.

Since our flight back to Seoul was actually scheduled on the Lunar New Year's day (which I later realized was why our flights were so cheap), we missed the main festival happening that day. I imagine it was like a chinese version of the New Year's day parade back in the states, so I was a little disappointed. However, I had a great time overall, and may even make plans to go back this summer when a friend of mine will be there as well. I definitely think the home of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan is worth another visit!

Explosive Clearasil

01/26/2010
Day 324 of 365: I don't fly often. I didn't fly much before 9/11, and post 9/11 I didn't fly for about 3 years, largely due to school. After graduating in 2004, I started to travel more, and therefore began experiencing the hightened levels of security that had been implemented in the US and abroad. As a result, I've had some interesting encounters which lead me to ask, "What's the strangest thing you've ever been delayed by airport security for?".

It only takes one dummy to cause the FAA to add new rules and regulations to airport security checks that will affect and inconvenience domestic and international travelers forever. There's a whole list of these guys who can't play nice with others. Remember the shoe bomb guy? He's on the dummy list. Now I have to take off my shoes at the airport. Was there a guy who tried to smuggle a bomb on an airline with his laptop? Probably. I'm not sure if it's wise to Google "bomb" and "airport" together, so I'll just stick to hypothesizing.

I have to give it up, there are some creative people out there. I mean, did a guy really make a bomb out of the foil from an Eclipse gum package? Must have, because I've been searched for that. Or, has anyone ever endangered passengers on an airplane with a plastic letter opener shaped like a samurai sword? Those were actually confiscated from my carry-on bag on my way back from Japan, but I can sort of understand. I didn't check any luggage on that trip, so I was screwed. And then there's the Ranch Style Beans that I brought back to Korea from Texas. RANCH STYLE BEANS!! I can just imagine a conversation on the airplane going something like this:

Passenger A: "Do you smell something cooking?"
Passenger B: "Yeah, it smells delicious. Asiana has definitely upgraded their in-flight menu."

And then a guy with boots and a cowboy hat jumps out of his chair with 6 cans of beans strapped to his chest, threatening to crash the plane unless they serve him some brisket and potato salad.

Fortunately for me, the women who searched my bag was reasonable and let them pass, but she actually warned me that most people would have confiscated them. I don't doubt it.
LAX Airport Security: "Hey guys! Lunch is on the stupid Texan!".

Now that I think about it, the one time I actually had something dangerous, an Exacto Knife, which is a razor sharp art knife, security missed it and let me pass. It wasn't until I was sitting in a coffee shop inside the airport that I reached into my bag for a pen and found it there. I was scared to death that it had gotten through and went to turn it in. However, in hindsight my word choice wasn't the best.

Me: "Uh, excuse me?"
Airport Security A: "Yes. How can I help you?"
Me: "I think I have something dangerous in my bag."
Airport Security A: "...What do you mean...dangerous...?"
Airport Security B: (Reaches for his gun).
Me: (Oh crap that was stupid. Panic!)

At that point I said it was an art knife. They told me to give them the bag...slowly. It was unnecessarily tense for a long 15 seconds. Needless to say, they kept the knife. I like to think that on that day I contributed to LAX's security quality control.

Lastly, there's the infamous Clearasil incident. Having been pulled aside for having a tube of face soap that was twice the amount allowed, I was more than happy to let them keep it if it meant I could be on my way. "It's only $7, ma'am." I said. "No big deal.". Out of the kindness of her heart, she told me that she would run a quick chemical check, and if it passed, I could keep it. "Cool!" I thought. (That stuff is kind of expensive). So she swabbed the rim with a Q-tip and then scanned it on a machine. After a few seconds she said, "Uh, oh.". "What's uh,oh?" I asked. She replied:

EXPLOSIVES DETECTED

"#@&% $#@$ *&^%#!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!!" was my response. Honestly though, I was halfway laughing because of how ridiculous the situation was. So I asked, "What happens now?". In that instant, a large black man appeared out of nowhere and said, "Now I'm gonna have ta search ya.", at the same time snapping on his latex surgical gloves. Ok. No problem. I've got nothing to hide.

Large Man: "Have you done this before?"
Small Me: "I...'m not sure...?"
Large Man: "First thing I'm gonna do is take my finger..."
Smaller Me: (Oh God, no. ) ...(and looking for somewhere to run)
Large Man: "...and trace it along the inside waist of your jeans."
Me: "Ok. Noooo problem." (relieved)
Large Man: "Then I'm going to take my finger..."
Me: (No! No more fingers!) ...(and avoiding eye contact at this point)
Large Man: "...and I'm going to trace the inside of your collar."
Me: "Sigh". (This will make for an interesting blog post).

After that it was a series of "non-invasive" patdowns and I was free to go. Obviously they kept the soap. I asked if this sort of thing happens a lot, but they dodged the question. Then I asked if I could take a picture of the "Explosives Detected" readout to show my friends, and he gave a definitive, "No.".

Fair enough.

The Austin Bucket List

01/17/2010
Day 315 of 365: The most common thing people asked me when they found out I went back to Austin for the break was, "What did you do while you were there?". So, for those people, and for the pure enjoyment of recounting my adventure home, I prestent: The List. It includes every restaurant I wanted to eat at, every errand I needed run, and every item I wanted to buy while I was home, taking into account that I might not be back for another year, (Key: O = Yes, X = Ran out of time)

Restaurants:

Catfish Parlour - O
Taco Cabana - O
IHOP - O
Dan's Hamburgers - X
Thundercloud Subs - O
Chili's - X
Rudy's BBQ - X
Katz's - O (Ate there on Dec. 30th; closed for good on January 2nd. RIP Katz's Reuben)
Fuddrucker's - O
La Fuentes Mexican Resaurant - O
Chuey's - X (Fail)
Yogurtland - O
Gordough's Donuts - O
Long John Silver's - X (probably better for my health that I missed this one)
Schlotzsky's - O
Random Korean Restaurant in Austin - O
Conan's Pizza - O

Not on the original List but made the cut: Maudie's Tex Mex, Kerbey Lane Cafe (Kerbey Lane and William Cannon locations), Torchy's Tacos, River City Donuts

Errands/Stores:

Best Buy - O (twice)
Walmart - O (3 times)
Bank - O
Champ's - O
Howdy Honda - O
Barton Creek Mall - O
Finish Line - O
Express - O
American Eagle - O
Papa John's - O (my old job)
Costco - O
The High Ball - O
Post Office - O
Day After Xmas Shopping - O!
Tron Legacy - X (fail)

Not on the List but made the cut: The Fighter, Pitch n' Putt, True Grit (but I fell asleep), Monday Night Football (but I fell asleep), Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (but I fell asleep)...jet lag got me on a few of these.

Shopping - (E = Expensive in South Korea, i = Impossible to find)

Socks and Underwear - O (not expensive or impossible to find, just my American preference)
Polo Shirts (E) - X
100% Whey Protein (i) - O
Deodorant (i)- O
US Power Strip (i) - O
Dress Shoes (black) - X
Running Shoes - X
Brown Shoes - X
Football Cleats (i) - O! (It's nearly impossible to find a size 12 of any shoe except in Seoul)
Face Soap -O (funny story about that...)
Dill Pickles (i) -O (screw Korean sweet pickles)
Nyquil (i) - O
Clif Bars (i) - O
Maple Syrup (E) - O
Vitamins (E) - X
Peanut Butter (E) - X
Under Armour Receiver Gloves (i) - O
Backpack (E) - O
Garbage Bags (i?) - X

Not on the list but made the cut: Ranch Dressing (i), a ton of American chocolate (E) for the kids (as I shove this Reese's Peanut Butter Cup into my mouth), Ranch Style Beans (i), Wolf Brand Chilli (i), Lipton's Onion Soup Mix (i), Captain Crunch (i), Fruity Pebbles (i), Bean Dip (i), Giant Marshmallows (i), Pop Tarts (i).

So, subtracting the X's from the total number of items on my Austin Bucket List, my completion percentage would be at 74.51%. However, if I added the addtional 20 items that made the cut, I would be brought up to 81.7%, which is a solid B-, just like in college. Ugh, that shoe shopping killed my average.

So that's my list. What's yours? I'm interested in hearing what some of you Austinites would do if you only had 8 days out of the year to spend in the ATX.

Next blog: Explosive Clearasil.

My Hometown

01/09/2011
Day 307 of ???: After being away for nearly 10 months, I found my way back home for a week that may have been worth another year in South Korea.

I hopped on a plane from Seoul to Austin at 8pm on December 22nd, just 4 hours after the semester's last day of school had ended. I flew back to South Korea at 6pm on New Year's Eve, arriving in Seoul just 24 hours before I had to be back at school again. I averaged 4 hours of sleep per night while I was home and I didn't eat at the same place twice. In short, I acted like I wasn't coming back for a while. It turns out I won't be. I'm staying to teach for a second year in South Korea. I made the final decision this week, but it's something that'd been on my mind for a while.

The idea of going home for vacation was a little strange to me, but to be honest, it may have been the best vacation I've ever had. I knew exactly what I wanted to do, where I wanted to eat and who I wanted to see. I brought 3 suitcases of Korean gifts home with me, and I took 170 lbs. of American goodness back to Korea. The fact that everything made it both ways intact is a small miracle. I was pretty efficient in my game of luggage Tetris too, especially in packing for the trip back to SK. After being away for so long, I was surprised at just how normal it felt to see my family and friends once again. They're people that you always expect to be there, so sometimes you forget how special they are. Only having 8 days to be with them, all the normal things we did together had much more meaning to me. Eating at Kerbey Lane with Isaac and the boys, hitting Plucker's with Jason and Robert, making a run to Barton Creek Mall with Philip and JC, doing Gordough's with Gilbert, and going to Westgate to see True Grit with the folks were all priceless, even if I was too jet lagged at times to express it. I even enjoyed the ordinary parts, like driving on Mopac, making Walmart runs and going to Howdy Honda to get the oil changed on my Civic. It was the same old Austin, just like I hoped it would be.

So the question now may be, "If Austin is so good, why not come back in March?". I think the simple answer is that I just don't feel like I'm done with Korea yet, or the other way around, or both. In many ways I've just begun to hit my stride here, and I think leaving in March would be too soon. It's like I've just hit 5th gear but now all of a sudden I have to exit the highway. I want to see where another year will take me. On one hand, that non-committal side of me dreads signing another 1 year contract, but on the other hand, that's what kept me in the grinder to persevere when things got tough during the first year. I made it through and I think I'm better for it. Having just seen everyone I care about so recently, they are very present in my thoughts and I miss them dearly, but at the same time I am excited to have this opportunity in SK continued.

Lastly, my deepest thanks to my family and those who care about me for your thoughts and prayers throughout this year. I'd be a fool to think that I got by solely on my own natural strength. If it wasn't for those prayers...and this magical think called the internet that allows me to stay in contact with many of you, I probably wouldn't have the guts to go on this adventure. I look forward to seeing what this next year has in store, as well as sharing it with whoever is reading this out there.

First blog of the new year done.

Everland

12-16-2010
Day 282 of 365: A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to go to Everland, the premier theme park in South Korea. Although I have been here almost ten months now, this was my first trip to a theme park, so I was very excited. Many folks consider Everland to be the "Disneyland" of South Korea, and having been to both Disneyland and Disneyworld back in the states, I was curious about how it would measure up.

The impression I got after spending half a day there is that Everland has more in common with Six Flags than Disneyland. It had a couple of exciting roller coasters, but most of the rides were kid friendly. There was also a jungle safari where you can ride a bus through an area inhabited by lions, tigers, bears, giraffes and hyenas. I was disappointed to find that the windows didn't open, but I soon found out why. Any of the above mentioned animals could approach the bus at any time, and they did. Tigers crossed the street in front of us, giraffes poked their heads over, and a particular bear stood up on his hind legs and put his foot/claw directly on my window as the driver threw treats into his mouth! Thaaaat's why the windows don't open. Earlier in the day I'd had an encounter with a small field mouse. He was fast, but I managed to corner him and get a few shots with my camera. However, by the time we made it to the safari, it was too dark. Most of my pictures came out blurry since I couldn't use the flash because of the windows, but I guess it's better than losing an arm to a bear.

The Christmas theme throughout the park was fun, and it was refreshing to hear old familiar Christmas carols (in English) playing over the speakers. There were lights on all the buildings, a big tree with decorations, and Santa sitting under it with kids lined up waiting to meet him. It actually reminded me so much of home, at times I forgot that I was in Korea. It was a great diversion from my weekly routine, but as is always the case when I get a little taste of home, I end up missing the real thing a little bit afterward. It's ok. I'll be home before I know it.

On a side note, I made an awesome discovery that day: Samgak Kimbap. Kimbap is a ball of rice with various kinds of meat or vegetables inside and wrapped in dried seaweed. Samgak means "Triangle". So basically it's a triangle riceball, and it's very popular in Korea. My favorite so far is tuna, or chamchi, samgak kimbap. Mashisoyo! (delicious)

Turkey & Kimchi

11-30-2010
Day 266 of 365: First off, I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a happy belated Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Actually, Thanksgiving and Black Friday are cool, but Cyber Monday kinda sucks. Why does it exist? Secondly, it's hard to believe that I only have 99 days left in Korea. The last few months have flown by, and with the end of the school year fast approaching, I know these next 3 weeks will be a blur. It's been hard to carve out the time to write lately because of how busy I've been, but I just wanted to tell everyone a little bit about what Thanksgiving is like for Americans living in Korea.

Let me just start by saying that the beautiful turkey you see in the picture above is one of very few in the entire country of South Korea. They don't raise turkeys here (this one is actually imported from New Zealand), and so it's just not a part of their diet. As a result, many Americans don't have a traditional Thanksgiving meal in Korea. I asked my kids at school if they'd ever eaten turkey, and only about 5% raised their hands. After discovering this, a few American teachers and I went on a quest to find our bird. On the positive side, we only had to search as far as the Costco in Seoul. However, once we found the turkeys, I was quickly mortified when I saw that the average price was around $80! After all, we had this thing called a budget, and an eighty dollar bird wasn't in it. At that point I was more than willing to re-enact that scene out of A Christmas Story and just go for roasted duck instead, but there were some in the group who just didn't think there could be Thanksgiving without a turkey, so the four of us split the cost. It was a 19lb., $85 bird named Tom (by Ashlee and Soo). As it turns out, we didn't exceed the budget as much as we thought since we couldn't find many of the traditional Thanksgiving foods and ingredients we were searching for.

Since Korea doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving and therefore doesn't give any days off from work, we found it a little difficult to have the dinner on Thursday, so we had it on Friday instead. I also caught word of many Saturday dinners taking place. Ashlee used a "personal health" day to cook the turkey and most of the side dishes. For my part, my parents had mailed a TG relief package full of the traditional ingredients and recipes, but I was sad when the package was delayed at the post office and we had to do without some of my family favorites such as cranberry sauce, mandarin orange salad, and onion dip with potato chips ( more for watching football before dinner). Stuffing and sweet potatoes were also in the package, which arrive 5 days later (not even close), but we were able to find the ingredients for them here.

Despite the setbacks, omissions and substitutions, we had a very successful night. The lineup included mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, homemade stuffing, peach-mallow salad (I improvised), kimchi, rice and of course, the turkey. We had a Costco apple pie for dessert. Ashlee did an amazing job with all the cooking, but especially the turkey. We had over 20 guests at dinner and nobody went home hungry. It was a great night.

Although I was missing my family and football, I had plenty of food and friends to help make my Thanksgiving a happy one. I am very thankful for the people I've met, the friends I've made, the experiences I've had, and the opportunity to live and teach in South Korea. The last 9 months have been a unique period of time for me, and I am excited about the final 3 months. I am still unsure about whether I will sign on to teach for another year, so I am continuing to do, see and learn as much as I can while I'm here. It's been an amazing experience. Now if only the Cowboys and Longhorns didn't suck so bad this year...

My Neighbor Pepero

11-11-2010

Day 247 of 365: Today is a special day for the kids of Korea (in spite of the adults): it's Pepero day. What is Pepero, you ask? A Pepero is essentially a cracker stick that is covered in chocolate. If you want to move up a level, you can cover it in almonds. Anything beyond that is just getting fancy, as the image to the left shows.The next question you might be asking is probably along the lines of, "Why in the heck does a Pepero get it's own day?" and, "What do you do on Pepero day?". The origins of Pepero day are simple. The date November 11th, or 11-11, stood out to some Korean kids somewhere and reminded them of the Pepero treats, so they began giving them to each other as signs of friendship. Later it also became akin to Valentine's day, where significant others now exchange the treats to show their love. Any reason to eat more candy I guess. The tradition quickly caught on and soon kids all over Korea were doing it. However, parents and teachers have conspiracy theories of a more sinister plot that Lotte, the Walmart of Korea, started the holiday to boost sales and, in fact, more than 50% of yearly Pepero sales can be attributed to Pepero day alone. It's the "Black Friday" of Pepero.

To combat the faux holiday, many teachers in Korea have united in banning the chocolate covered treats from their classrooms, instead opting to have their students write letters to their friends and loved ones to tell them how much they appreciate them. Being a newcomer to the whole phenomena, I thought it was cute to see kids walking down the halls with Pepero of various shapes, sizes and flavors. I felt very popular, receiving more than twenty myself. However, after eating about three, I was already sick of them and gave the rest away to others, including to some of the teachers with the self-imposed ban.

All in all it was a fun break from the norm, and it gave me some new introduction material for a few days in class. My only question now is, "What will Pepero day be like next year when it's 11-11-11?". Surely it will be the Armageddon of all Pepero days, and definitely worth sticking around for another year in Korea to find out.

Thousand Islands

11-08-2010
Day 244 of 365: After not having access to my account for a couple weeks, I'm back. Long story short, I switched my OS to Windows 7...mayhem ensued. Nothing too catastrophic, just some lost passwords, cookies, computer functionality, etc. Anyway, I'm back now and have some catching up to do. Last week I traveled with some teachers and staff from my school to the southern tip of South Korea and caught a ferry from the city of Mokpo to Hong-do, or Hong Island. Hong-do, which is more than two hours from the mainland, is 1 out of 1004 islands in the Korean waters to the south. Most of them are uninhabited chunks of rock jutting out of the ocean, but Hong-do, which is largely a fishing community, has a population of 300. The ones who don't make a living from fishing most likely are in the tourism business. Even though there are few people living on the island, there are many hotels, motels and restaraunts in the village, as well as many types of guided tours available.

Apart from Jeju-do, Hong-do is considered to be one of the more scenic islands that Korea has to offer. It's not tropical with beaches and palm trees, but the natural beauty around the island, including 150 water formed caves and rock formations, give it a unique and mysterious feel. Personally, a city boy like me couldn't imagine living on a rock, eating fish and seaweed, and looking at the same 300 faces every day apart from the tourists. Actually, when I looked at the faces around the island, many of them were weathered and wrinkled beyond their years, making some of the people look extremely old. No doubt they live a hard life there, but for some reason they stick around. Being on a trip with my school, we visited the island's elementary school. They have four teachers and 23 total students. I saw six of them throughout the day. The dirt playground/soccer field, which is standard in every Korean elementary school, was the only flat area I saw on the whole island. The rest of the town is on a hill. The multiple levels actually enhanced many of the photos I took, giving me lot to look at in a small area.

Although it was pretty cold (probably high 40's), we took a two hour boat tour around the island to see many of the beautiful rock formations I mentioned before. Supposedly the tour guide was telling legends about the island and stories of pirates and treasure and all sorts of things, but I didn't catch any of it in detail because I still don't understand too much Korean. At one point a smaller boat pulled up alongside of us (no, it wasn't a pirate ship) and some fisherman began selling fresh sushi from fish caught just moments before. Three guys were cutting up the fish in front of us while another man was handling the transactions. Koreans love the raw fish. Needless to say, this was the freshest sushi I've had in my short 8 month career. It was pretty expensive - about $40 for a small plate that 4-5 people could snack on. However that didn't stop about fifty people from lining up to put in their orders. Our group of twenty shared two plates, so it went fast. I asked what kind of fish it was, but again I was at a loss for not knowing Korean. It happens a lot.

Overall it was a fun two day trip, fully payed for by the school. I appreciate the fact that our school frequently has outings like this to take care of the teachers and staff. It allows me to do things in Korea that I would have never known about or done on my own. Even today, we went on a two hour mountain hike followed by dinner with about thirty teachers and staff. Though I still don't speak much of the language, I feel like I fit in because we do things together, which is afterall, how Koreans do things.

Ghibli

10-13-2010
Day 220 of 365: Of all the things I did and saw during my 6 days in Tokyo, the Ghibli Museum was probably the most interesting and unique. Created by Japan's most famous animator, Hayao Miyazaki (whom some call the "Walt Disney" of Japan), the Ghibli Museum is not only a showcase of Studio Ghibli's beloved animated films, but in a way, it is an expression of the master animator himself.

I haven't visited very many places around the world, but I've been to some famous museums in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and London. Since I've been in Korea, I've also seen a few types of museums. There are the places that try to pass themselves off as museums when, in actuality, they are little more than specialty shops with the difference being that the items on the shelves generally aren't for sale. Go to Samcheong-dong in Seoul and you'll know what I'm talking about (toy museum, chicken museum, etc.). Of course there are the real museums, such as the National Museum of Korea, the Seoul Museum of History, and the War Memorial of Korea. Of the three, I've only been to the National Museum and it was a little boring. Sorry. Then there are museums like Ghibli, which is not so much a museum as it is an experience. Admittedly, Ghibli has a special demographic that consists of families with children ages 12 and under and anime nerds. Luckily there are more than enough of both in Japan. Actually, the works of Hayao Miyazaki are so well known and loved in Japan that he is now a cultural icon. The rest of the world has been slow to catch up, but Ghibli films are receiving more recognition with each new film that is released.

Upon approach, you may initially mistake the museum for a very large house. There is no public parking, just a small driveway entrance. The view from the street is almost completely obstructed by trees and there is no giant sign that indicates exactly what the place is. You either know or you don't, which in this case, everybody knows. There is a limit of 200 tickets sold every day to foreigners, and you can't buy tickets at the door (big thanks to Phil and Ayumi for helping me out). You can book tickets up to 3 months in advance, and in addition to the date, your ticket has a specific time upon which you or your group can enter the museum. My time was 4pm, but they let me in 30 minutes early. Having freshly charged my camera battery and emptied my memory card, I was disappointed to find out that you're not allowed to take pictures inside the museum. Luckily, I found this link that has a 6 minute video tour for anyone interested in watching: Ghibli Museum video tour. What the video doesn't show are the amazing animated displays throughout the museum, the mini theater that shows exclusive animated shorts not seen anywhere else, the recreated work spaces of Miyazaki and other Ghibli artists, and the sense of wonder you feel when the place is full of amazed children and adults alike. I was good about obeying the rules for the most part, but I admittedly took a few pictures inside the museum. However, the photos don't come close to telling the whole story.

As I said before, this was one of the top highlights of my trip. It wasn't what I expected, and in this case, that's a good thing. Although it isn't huge, I spent a total of 3 hours exploring and trying to discover every secret in every corner of the museum. It's the kind of place that can make adults feel like kids again, except when you're too big to play on the miniature Cat Bus.

Rising

10-02-2010
Day 209 of 365: Tokyo, Japan. Largest city in the world. Home of the slickest gadgets, most reliable cars, most confusing subway/train system, best sushi, coolest animation, and most iconic movie monster on the planet. Last week I had the opportunity to travel abroad for the first time since moving to South Korea almost 7 months ago. I have to say that I loved every minute of it. It wasn't just the fact that Tokyo has always been at the top of my list of places to visit, but having the opportunity to see another part of the world and be immersed in yet another culture was very exciting. Like many Americans, I'm a huge "contributor" to the Japanese economy. But then, who doesn't love Sony, Nintendo, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, etc? Well, besides Korea that is.

So, yes, I have a huge crush on Japan. To be honest, the fact that Tokyo is a 2 hour flight from Seoul was a major influence in my decision to come to Korea. As a kid, it started when I found out that Nintendo was Japanese (of course), in addition to all the strangely cool cartoons like G-Force (Battle of the Planets) and Voltron. As a teenager, the hottest gadgets around were made by Sony. Remember Walkman or the original Playstation? And as for automobiles, the 3 cars I've owned in my life have all been Hondas (93' Accord, 98' Accord, 08' Civic). there are tons more examples, but it all comes down to this: Japan makes the coolest everything on the planet.

IUnlike my flight from the US to Korea, which was full of inner turmoil mixed with excitement and fear of the unknown, the flight to Tokyo was pretty easy and uneventful, and I was beginning to feel like a pro at passing through airport customs. The real initiation came when I had to make the 2 hour train ride from Narita airport to my hospitality on the far side of Tokyo. I wasn't prepared for how complicated the rail system was. At that point I felt as lost as when I first arrived in Korea, not yet being able to read Hangul. I enlisted the aid of a Korean girl whom I met on the flight to help me out. She practically rode the whole way there with me, even through two transfers. Over the next few days I learned, explored and got lost until I had whole system figured out.

In addition to being the world's largest city, Tokyo also has the highest cost of living in the world. This starts with public transportation. The subways, buses and taxis are all expensive. I only traveled by subway when exploring the city, and ended up spending around $15-20 each day. Food is a big expense also. I went cheap most of the time, spending between $7-12 for each meal. However, to put things in perspective, a Krispy Kreme donut in the US is around 79 cents the last time I checked, but in Japan it's about 2 bucks. You can apply this math to just about everything in Tokyo. That being said, I had a budget and I stuck to it. I brought enough money to spend about $100 a day maximum. I spent an average of $90 each day, so I didn't come home completely broke.

As for the city itself, it reminded me a lot of Seoul - hundreds of skyscrapers, flashing neon lights and something new around every corner. Both cities have multiple areas and districts that rival New York's Times Square. Shibuya and Shinjuku are two of the hotspots in downtown Tokyo, while Asakusa is a more cultural part of the city. Then you have Odaiba, a high tech area of the city that is actually an artificial island built in Tokyo Bay. I did a lot of people watching while there as well. I was hoping I'd be able to tell the difference between Korean and Japanese people after living in SK for 6 months, but it was a total failure. They all still look the same to me. I know that sounds really bad, but it's true. The only differences I could make out between them are that Korean men and women all follow the same fashion trends, so all the men dress alike, as do the women. In Japan, people's dress is more expressive, unique and original. Hair styles are different from Korea also.

I felt much more at home in Tokyo than in Seoul because I recognized all the cars on the road. Like Korea (and unlike the US), Japan buys it's own products, so Koreans drive Korean made cars, and Japan buys Japanese cars, but they don't buy each other's cars. That's because they still hate each other from the Japanese occupation of Korea more than 60 years ago. Koreans hold grudges I guess. The big difference in Japan is that they drive on the left side. I was totally thrown off on the first day when my buddy told me to ride up front, so I went to the right side of the car and he told me to go to the other side unless I wanted to drive. This happened more than once. I never quite got used to being on the left side either. Every time we were on the rode, there was at least one moment where I thought we were going to get smashed from driving into oncoming traffic, only to realize that we were indeed on the correct side of the road. This is also unlike Korea, where Koreans will indeed drive on the wrong side of the road at times. Often actually. Traffic laws aren't really laws in Korea, they're more like suggestions.

That's all for now. I'll be writing more in the coming days on specific sites i visited and other stuff. In other words, to be continued...

Cool Fact: Godzilla's name comes from a combination of two words that mean gorilla and whale, which is how he was first described by his creators.

Uncool Fact: I saw a honeydew melon being sold on the street for $60.