The Ramblings of Loren Christopher

(Remember you can always click on these pictures to view a larger version)  Wow.  What a time I had in China!!  I’m not sure where to start really.  Beijing was much cleaner and less crowded than I had expected (contrary to the above picture), which was surprising to me.  Everyone was so excited about the Olympics coming up that it was really cool to feel that in the air everywhere, you could really feel the pride of the people.  And the people were so nice!  I won’t know until I go back whether or not it was just a facade before the big games, or if that’s the way they really treat foreigners….either way I enjoyed it.

So the first big thing we did was the Forbidden City and Tienamen Square in Beijing.  They were both really huge and I got a little impatient with the heat (soo hot!), but of course it was beautiful and great to finally see all of this in person.

To think that this place was closed off to the public for 500 years, it’s amazing to be there walking around and envision the emperor and so on living there!  We were a little beat from all the walking around, so we figured what better way to revive ourselves than to try some of the street food at one of the night markets?

Yes yes, it all looks innocent enough, but beware:

Yes my friends, I did in fact eat scorpions….3 of them!!  It started as a friendly “I dare you to do it” conversation and then the next thing I know we’re all standing there holding a skewer of 3 of these little critters deep fried and salted saying, “You go first!”  ”No, you go first and then I promise I’ll try it right after you!!”  Oddly enough, they didn’t taste bad at all….kind of like greasy chicken skin.  Well no, exactly like greasy chicken skin actually, except for the flakes of exoskeleton you’re still left with after the first few swallows (nothing a little swish of water can’t take care of!!).  We joked that a bag of scorpions would be the perfect accompaniment to a movie, or maybe even as a quick snack on the go.  The last picture I’m tearing off a piece of sea snake wrapped around a skewer.  It wasn’t as good as the scorpion, a bit too chewy for my liking but the sauce and spices they glazed on it was pretty good!  *sigh* Once you’ve eaten freshly-killed squirrel fed to you by a wild Thai man in the northern jungle, you just can’t say no to scorpion and snake I suppose, haha!

We saw the pandas at The Beijing Zoo.  The first exhibit was a little depressing, concrete rooms where they had little room to move around.  But they had just built an “Olympic Panda Exhibit” that was a little better…I bigger room with like 8 pandas wobbling around and being fed by one of the zoo-keepers.

Cute as can be!  It was truly special to see these guys!  Alright, well we’re off to The Great Wall of China.  Now, this has been near the top of my list of things to do in my lifetime (climb the Great Wall), so I was really excited about it.  It delivered on all counts!!  We ended up taking local transportation and then hiring a couple drivers to take us to one of the best parts of the wall where there aren’t many tourists and it’s the most scenic.  I’m so glad we did!  I was a little worried cause it was raining all morning, but then finally cleared up when we got there which made everything cooler and greener.

I uhmm, yeah don’t really know what to say here.  It was just more amazing than I imagined.  We kept looking around us in awe and all agreed that this was one of the most incredible things we’d ever seen/done in our lives.  It helped so much that there were hardly any people there, no one to bump into or get in your photos, nobody trying to sell you cheesy souvenirs, etc.  It was perfect!

We also went and checked out the Olympic stadium and grounds.  They were doing lots of security drills at the time and there were thousands upon thousands of young Chinese security guys marching around in a line so we got a few pictures of that as well.  I would have liked to actually have gone INTO the park, but they’re not allowing visitors until the games actually begin this week.

Unfortunately I didn’t take many pictures in Shanghai because it rained the first day, and the next two days were solely designated for shopping.  They have more than one H&M in Shanghai, what was I supposed to do?!?  I did get a nice heavy cashmere winter coat tailor made, and a 3-piece black suit tailor made (only $200 total!), and a good amount of clothing to take back with me to Seoul.  Also got some Christmas gifts from the big souvenir market, where you have to bargain with the best of them.  They had some cool communist and Mao memorabilia too.  Shanghai was definitely different from Beijing.  It seemed bigger and grittier, lots of construction and less of an image that they were trying to portray.  I felt like I experienced more of the “real China” there….although the country is so huge I would have to go back for a while to really get a handle on it.  I did stay long enough to gain a strong admiration for it though….it’s probably one of my favorite countries in Asia so far!!

So, after taking ridiculously cheap taxi rides, foot and body massages, getting a special candle shoved in my ear to suck the dirt out, lots of good Peking duck and dumplings, a massage with glass bulbs that they light on fire to suction your skin up inside them (I still have enormous red circles all over my back, lol)….I have returned to Seoul rejuvenated, inspired and ready to get back to work!  I’m teaching extra hours this week and next for a summer camp we’re doing….so the schedule will be a little tight, but I’m getting paid extra so I won’t complain too much.

I’ll leave you with a few more pictures:

As you could imagine, this is quite a touchy subject in South Korea.  It’s one I haven’t even really brought up with my Korean friends, even those I’ve known since just after I arrived.  I HAVE asked my students about it in a writing assignment though….they’re less offended by such topics.  I believe I asked something to the effect of “Do you think North and South Korea should be united?”  The responses were interesting and for the most part what you would expect.  Most students said yes, that “we” are KOREA….brothers and sisters, we should be one.  Some wrote about how they think North Korea is evil because it has nuclear weapons and wants to kill everyone, and even said they are against reunification because the North Korean economy is in such despair that it would be difficult for the South to take such a heavy hit.  (Not in those exact words of course, haha)

And it was sad to hear from a few students who have grandparents and relatives in the North whom they’ve never met, and how they wish they could visit them.  On a separate assignment for homework….one question asked “If you could be any animal, what animal would you be and why?”  One girl wrote that she wished she could turn into a bird, so she could fly over the border to North Korea and find her grandparents.

I will tell you….that living in Seoul I honestly don’t think about North Korea all that often.  It was surprising to visit the border and realize just how close this frightening country is to me!

Our trip began EARLY in the morning….we got to the meeting point in Seoul and hopped on the bus.  It was overcast and dreary outside so the weather fit the tour.  After leaving Seoul, we looked out the windows at the increasing barbed-wire fencing and blockades passing by us as we listened to our guide tell the story of her parents crossing over the border.  She was just a baby at the time, and her mother and father wrapped her up as they crossed the frozen river at the border and into the South.  They would never again see or hear from their brothers, sisters, fathers, or mothers.  I cried a little upon hearing this story because I could feel her passion and anger.

We arrived at the JSA (Joint Security Alliance) and after being turned away due to the unexpected arrival of some dignitaries, we were finally allowed in after a few hours.  It was creepy right away, riding up to the arrivals building we were told that the area around the road we were driving on was scattered with land mines.  Also, photography was strictly prohibited at this time….we were told that we were being watched (while riding on the bus!).  Once we arrived on the base, we signed a waiver saying that we were aware that we were puting ourselves in a certain amount of danger (yeah yeah, I’ve read/signed these things before) and then we were off.

A North Korean guard watching our every move with binoculars.

We made our way into this tiny blue building you can see, which was built half in South Korea, and half in North Korea.  The back door of the building was protected by a guard, because as we were told….if one of us decided to walk out the back door into the North Korean side, we would be shot instantly on site.  Kind of creepy.  It was especially erie to be told repeatedly that “they are watching us”, and then see them peering through small windows with binoculars at us.  Our guide cautioned us constantly not to make any big gestures or make any inappropriate faces, etc.  Well, here’s what the inside of that little blue building looks like:

They only recruit the tallest men for this guard post, and they are required to stand with clinched fists and sunglasses in order to perpetuate the look of intimidation.  It works when you’re standing next to them, let me just tell you!

Here I am actually standing in North Korea folks!  Lol.  Notice the “shoot-on-site” door behind me…I was too scared to get any closer to the guard, I’m a wuss…I know!!

So then they took us to a couple different “look out” points where we could view the propoganda village.  One of them we could even pay 25 cents to view through binoculars over into N. Korea.  It was so interesting to see people walking around and riding their bikes….no cars, no paved roads.  They must know they’re almost always being watched by foreigners if they’re outside walking around because it was a really small village.  We couldn’t take pictures at the point, but later on I was able to get a shot of me with the “Propoganda Village” behind me:

That flag is enormous by the way, I can’t remember the stats but we were all astonished when they told us.  It’s one of those “mine is bigger than yours” games that North Korea is playing.

Well….all in all it was a fascinating experience, and one that I could write a lot more about.  Truthfully I have mixed emotions about North Korea.  I feel sorry for the people, yet I’m confused by their ideologies and the extent to which they really believe that their leader Kim Jong Il is in fact a heavenly avatar with superhuman powers.  Hmm, well anyway.  I hope you found this interesting….I’d like to write more about it at some point.

In lighter news, I bought a very special gift for myself yesterday!!

It’s my very own Canon EOS Digital Rebel.  I’m so stoked to have a DSLR finally!!  I’ve been playing around with it a bit and LOVE it so far!!  I’m teaching extra summer camp hours for two and a half weeks next month and will be paid almost double, so it was a good time to splurge.  AAaaannd, I’m going to China in less than 48 hours!!

I’m glad you all liked my Vlog! I got a pretty good response from it, so I’ll keep those coming! For now though, here are just a few things I’ve come to find interesting about living in Seoul.

The apartments have heated floors. I find this to be a much better way of heating a room. Not only do your feet never get cold, but as we all know, heat rises. How genius!

Most restaurants have a button on the table that you press when you need service. I find that this is both beneficial to the wait staff, as well as the customers. No more awkward interruptions by your server, no more servers waiting around and nonchalantly passing your table. Just push a button and presto…a group (not just one) of smiling Koreans are at your service!

Ajummas. Literally translated meaning “woman old enough to be married”. See picture below:

Sure, she may look like a sweet lady who just wants to offer you a bowl of kimchi….but if you’re in her way when she’s trying to get on or off the public transportation system then you had better watch out! These women often sport huge visors and/or fur coats. When they reach a certain age they cut their hair short, get a perm, and begin savagely stomping through subway stations, pushing anyone in there way to the side.

The stares. These aren’t as bad as I had previously thought they would be…but I assure you that I don’t walk around this city unnoticed. My height doesn’t help my anonymity very much either, haha. The Korean friends I’ve made so far say that these stares aren’t a bad thing….people are just curious about Westerners so a lot of them can’t help but look. The good thing is that if you look back, they will immediately glance away because they want to avoid any confrontation or awkwardness. This is VERY unlike Czechs, who if they recognized you as a foreigner, were perfectly content to stare at you the entire subway ride as you sat across from them….never breaking face.

Animal hats for kids. As if Korean kids were not cute enough on their own, their parents often dress them up in these animal hats for the winter:

There are many other quirks of this place that I’ve come to find interesting and endearing….so I’ll make these entries part of a continuing series. I always find it most fascinating to learn about these little social facts that really separate cultures….and there are many here, I can assure you.

Hope all is well, and much love!

Wow, just a couple of days into my stay in Bangkok and I am still amazed at what diverse and exciting things this place has to offer.  My hotel is conveniently located a block away from Khaosan Road, the Bourbon Street of Bangkok if you will.  My flight got in around one o’clock in the morning, so needless to say I was a bit tired.  I walked around and hung out with some backpackers for a bit, I couldn’t sleep cause of the crazy flight schedules…but I finally hit the hay.

The next day was all about rest, I got a Thai massage for an hour…something I was looking forward to a great deal, although I think I walked away feeling more sore than I did going in.  I got measured for a tailored suit, which I just had my first fitting for and it looks incredible so far!!  That was pretty much it for the first day.

Today, however, I went on a tour.  It included the Floating River Market, Kwai Bridge, and the Tiger Temple.  One thing I’ve learned about Thailand is that the people want your money, and will take every opportunity they can to sell you some souvenirs, most of which are completely useless and could not possibly blend in with your décor back home.  So where does our tour stop first, the Floating Market?  No…the coconut factory.  I’d already made friends with a nice British couple by this point so we just made light of the situation.

After learning EVERY single use a person can get out of a coconut tree, we were off to the Floating River Market!

I didn’t end up buying anything, but then again I didn’t do it to actually buy stuff, it’s more about the experience…which was great.  We had a few close calls where I could’ve sworn we were going to capsize into the murky, god-only-knows-what’s-in-there water…but we survived, and had a good time doing it.  In all honesty the food did smell pretty good, just something about those women touching their river-water-soaked paddles and then handling the food, I figured I’d better pass.  We also saw a few enormous iguanas, or what looked like iguanas, along the side of the river!

Then to the Tiger Temple.  No wait, first we had to ride up river to a place where we could purchase fish food to throw out for the minnow sized recipients (another forced stop to try and get more money from us…I didn’t budge!).  Then we stopped to see the Kwai River Bridge, for an hour (remember it’s really hot here).  So was it worth it?  You be the judge:

Yup, that’s the bridge behind me.  Wait…take a deep breathe.  I know, I know it’s stunning, but we must move on!

Alas the Tiger Temple.  Now, I had heard about this place a couple months before I came to Bangkok, and ever since then it has been at the top of my list of things to do while I’m here.  It definitely lived up to my expectations.  The whole place was like a wildlife reserve.  I just loved the waiver we had to sign before we could enter beyond the HUGE 15 ft iron gate.  It went something like, “By signing below, you understand that you are about to enter a large open area with many wild animals that are uncaged and could harm you.”

Seriously, I wish they would’ve let me keep a copy of it.  Our group had gotten a bit split up, so when I DID enter the big iron gate, the man who took my release form told me that a few members of my group had already entered, and “they went that way” (pointing down a long dirt road).  I power-walked my way up to them, relieved that none of the uncaged and wild animals had decided to take me out as an easy solo target.  We finally entered the Tiger Canyon and got to hang out with the big cats up close.

Uhmm, majestic is one word that comes to mind?  I don’t know how I would describe it.  I mean, I always gave much respect to tigers…but when you’re actually sitting next to a full grown one, petting it, feeling it inhale and exhale beneath your hand, that’s when you come to truly respect these creatures.  Don’t get me wrong, knowing that at any moment one of them could reach around and rip my head off…well, that was a bit nerve-racking, but it was an awesome experience that I will NEVER forget.  I also got to hang out with a couple of the cubs:

They were too big to snuggle with, but still young enough for me to pet them without wanting to pee my pants at the same time.  If you’re ever in Bangkok…definitely take the two and a half hour ride out to Tiger Temple!

Alright, well tomorrow I plan on exploring the city itself, something I’ve neglected to do thus far.  In a couple days I head further north to Chiang Mai for elephant riding, bamboo rafting, jungle trekking, and eating “tradition Thai village food” while staying out in a far away village and sleeping in a hut under a mosquito net.  I can only imagine the stories I’ll have to tell about that one.  Will post more pictures and entries soon…much love from Thailand!!

Hello all!

Welcome to my new blog and homepage! I thought it was a good idea (thanks to my brother Landon’s suggestion) to start a blog where I can post updates on my travels and life abroad. Unfortunately for me, I am an internet addict and spend way too much of my time surfing the web, but this also means I will tend to post new entries here on a fairly frequent basis!

I’m pretty media savvy, so many times I will post pictures along with the text, and videos as well! I think this is a much better way to keep people updated. As I learned from living in Prague and Mykonos, some people don’t always respond to e-mails, so you never know who is interested in keeping tabs, or who isn’t.

So, I had a wonderful Christmas today (I’ve finally regained consciousness after eating way too much food and lying on the floor like a stranded blimp). Now I have basically three days left to streamline my possessions and get pre-packed…I leave for Orlando on the 28th, then Dayton, Ohio on January 1st….then my going away party is on the 4th.

And at last, on January 8th, I leave the country. I have almost three weeks to explore Thailand and Indonesia before settling down in Korea, but I plan on spending most of that time in Bangkok and Bali. I’ve learned from my past mistakes of planning a packed vacation, and getting so exhausted from taking taxis, to trains, to catch a bus to stay at a hostel only to catch a plane a couple of days later. After a while you get to a point fatigue where you’d rather just look at a postcard of some historic monument than arrange a short bus ride out to actually see it in person. So I’ve made every precaution not to reach that point this time around.

I do have some exciting things planned however: petting live adult tigers, treks through the rainforest, jungle zip-lines, open market-shopping and paragliding to name a few. I could not be more excited! So whether you come here to live vicariously through me, or to curse me out of envy (just kidding), I hope that you do return every now and then and comment on my postings….because I want to hear from each of you as well!

Until next time, much love to you all!