Attack of the Elevators: The Korean Experience

Motorcycles jump the curb and weave through people on the sidewalk. Traffic laws are loosely followed and even more loosely enforced, yet there appear to be very few accidents. The food is tasty, spicy and cheap! Kim chi(any of various vegetables[usually cabbage] pickled in ginger, garlic and red chili pepper powder) and Pickled white radishes are served with every meal. Drinking is a large part of the culture, and on any night drunken groups of businessmen with their ties around their foreheads sing NoriBang (private room karaoke) and old men and students can be found weaving down the streets singing or just slurring at each other. There is next to no crime. The people are universally friendly and though they do not speak English very well, many understand the basics of what you say, whether you mean for them to or not. Passive aggressive seems to be the accepted mode of communication. This sounds like a bad thing, but its not. The culture requires you to read the feelings of those around you through subtle gestures and body-language, they call this ability nunchi, and you use it to read the meaning behind their words. Any of you who know me understand that this will be good practice for me.

Oh yes... and one more thing... Elevators Attack! There is no cool laser to detect when someone is in the door and hold it open. So step quickly between the jaws of descension and ascention because they will snap shut on you.

Blogger Fail

Ok, so... I COMPLETELY failed at documenting my road trip around the USA! I tried to journal first and then copy that to my blog, but I never got around to copying it, and somehow forgot to save the file when I reformatted my computer. We have an outline of the road trip somewhere on paper, so maybe someday i'll go back and fill it in. Highlights were:

-Seeing family and friends all around the country!!!

-Glacier Natl. Park : #1 place to go back to and backpack.

-Crazy Horse Monument and the black hills of South Dakota : most impressive.

-The Peninsula in Michigan and the great lakes : most peaceful.

-Ottawa Canada: Coolest spider statue.

-New England : gorgeous and quaint.

-Boston and the Samuel Adams Beer tour : Best time with friends and beer.

-Niagara Falls : biggest and wettest.

-Rickets Glen State Park in Penn : coolest waterfalls.

-Pisgah brewing outside Asheville North Carolina : best beer.

-The Outer Banks of North Carolina : Best Beaches I've ever been to.

-Tennessee : Surprisingly pretty drive up the middle of it.

-Chicago: At the time, the biggest city I'd ever been to; great deep dish pizza.

-Omaha Nebraska Zoo: Coolest Zoo I've ever been to.

-Rocky Mountain Natl. Park: Most Immensely gorgeous sight I have ever beheld.

-Great Sand Dunes Natl. Park in southern Colorado : most sandy.

-Ouray Colorado The Switzerland of the USA : Best Scenic loop from Durango Co to Telluride Co.

- Mesa Verde Natl. Park : Coolest Native American Ruins

- Arches, Canyon lands, Bryce Canyon, and Zion Natl parks in Utah: Who knew brown and red could be so Beautiful!

- The Grand Canyon : Grandest

- Las Vegas : Best waste of money and coolest Performance (Zoomanity by Cirque du Soleil)

- Death Valley Natl. Park in Cali - Hottest

- Yosemite Natl. Park in Cali - #2 place to return to and go backpacking

Then we went up the Cali coast and Home. There is so much more to tell, but again, maybe some other time. For now I need to start a blog for my Newest Adventure... Teaching English in Korea.