Travel – Page 7 – Life In Limbo

Summer 2.0

September 11, 2014

The seasons have changed for me, here in Busan. The weather got cooler overnight, though we’ve still had days like today that were blazing hot and sunny. But whenever it starts cooling down, it instantly feels like fall and brings up all kinds of nostalgia and feelings and memories. I love the fall, but this year it’s been feeling like life is going by really quickly and that the seasons of my life are happening faster than ever. I’m sure this is not going to change anytime soon, which is why I’m so glad I decided to try and document my year here in Korea through videos. Over the past month, I didn’t shoot as much and as a result a lot of things are missing from this video. Even so, I’m so happy that even a few of the great memories I have got preserved this way.

I’ve been experiencing so much in the past 6 months since I arrived in Korea – so many ups and downs, but mostly ups. The second half of summer had a different feeling from the first – more growing and thinking was going on, lots of dinners out and beach days and my solo adventure in Japan. Life was busy in August, but we still managed to enjoy our summer evenings, celebrating often with picnics and wine. I saw a ton of gorgeous sunsets and a few sunrises, went kayaking and surfing, learned some acro yoga, read some good books, and soaked up as much of the summer as I could. It was such a great one.

The video this time is short and sometimes wobbly but always sweet.

The Funniest Konglish Phrases

August 14, 2014

I’ve been living in Korea for over 5 months now, but the English translations can still make me laugh out loud. Walking around, you see a surprisingly large amount of English printed on t-shirts and signs, but very little that makes any real sense. Hence the term Konglish! Konglish technically means words in the Korean language that are basically English words, but most foreigners have adopted the term to mean hilarious translations of Korean phrases into English as well.

I have noticed that most of my students use Naver translation services (Naver is basically the Korean Google) to translate words into English and the results are almost always bizarre or too formal. By contrast, typing the same word into Google usually gets a more accurate translation. As an example: on Naver, the result was “refractory” but on Google the result was “annoying”, which is what the student meant.

I can only assume that the thousands of Korean t-shirt companies are also using less-than-ideal translation software to come up with the gems that they do. All of the phrases listed below are taken verbatim from store names, poster slogans and of course, the infamous t-shirts. Anything that looks like a typo or grammar mistake on my part is not – all are written exactly as they were originally seen.

Ps. In case anyone is worrying – I truly am not meaning to make fun of anyone Korean in posting this. In fact, I think most Koreans who have a grasp on English would also find these shirts and slogans absolutely hilarious. Not to mention that I don’t think it’s a reflection on Korean people if they don’t understand that these sayings are funny. I live in Korea, the language is Korean, and English is not overly important here, nor should it be. All this is to say: take it lightly, the way I do! It’s not a reflection on anyone Korean.

Hot Dog Fighters
Be classy with eye gentry
Baby Café
N. Hollywood I Am
Play wave athletic sportive
How to Slake Summer Festival
Holy chic, try popular new things
Play with me joy
Zombie nation eats your hard
Venereal disease
To the Difference
Kitsch Something
Grand Open
Fashionabl stylemixpink
Beard Papa’s
New Paradigm Party Restaurant
Let’s Party Time
Love Ritual Hoegaarden
Jerry is the natural leader
These sailing crews will explore the Atlantic
You’re nothing but a pack of cards
Lady yourself more

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Funny, right? They always put a smile on my face, especially when I spend time thinking about what the original Korean phrase could even have been before it was translated. Some of them just seem like a graphic designer threw words together that looked cool, and others I just laugh and think that there must be a native English speaker at a desk somewhere giggling as they design gibberish phrases for the fronts of t-shirts.

24 Before 24: Have a Picnic Somewhere Stunning

August 6, 2014

I’m doing 24 fun or new things before I turn 24. You can see the rest of my list here.

For the month of August, I have a different work schedule – I’m working 9-6 instead of 1-9. I’m not much of a morning person, so last week I was really tired as I tried to adjust to the change. Even still, I have to admit that having my evenings free was totally wonderful. Finally I’m on a similar schedule to my friends, leaving us open to exploring the beautiful city we are lucky enough to live in. That means that in the evenings last week alone, we had a gorgeous dinner sitting on a patio, explored some awesome English bookstores in the university area, and of course, had this picnic at one of the most scenic spots in Busan.

Igidae Park offers one of my favourite views that I’ve seen in Korea. The park itself is made up of fingers of land that jut out at various intervals, parallel to the far shore, which means that no matter how far you walk along the coast, you get stunning views of the city – the Diamond bridge on the left with Gwangalli beach behind, Marine City in the middle, Haeundae beach and Dongbaek Island further right, and of course Dalmaji Hill. None of those names will mean anything to you if you’ve never been to Busan, but the pictures speak for themselves. It’s beautiful.

After work last Thursday, we took the metro 11 stops, then hopped in a 5-minute cab ride and ended up in Igidae. We were met with gorgeous views, beautiful clouds, and the prettiest blues and pinks of the sunset. I’d been once before, in the Spring, but I absolutely loved it at dusk.

Our picnic fare was random (as the best picnic food is!) but perfect. We had kimbap (kind of like Korean sushi), chips, pastries, crackers, wine and cookies.

We sat on the rocks overlooking the water as the sun went down, and for as long as we could after it was dark, until the ceaseless mosquito bites made us flee the scene. We talked about how lucky we felt to be able to experience such a beautiful place on a weeknight, after work, a short half hour trip from where we lived. It felt like freedom, and summer, and I was so grateful to be living so close to the water, to have made such great friends here, and to be eating Ritter Sport chocolate. It made me feel excited and inspired to make the most of the rest of my summer evenings as much as I possibly can. Life is grand.

Kyoto, Japan

August 5, 2014

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably know by now that I absolutely adored my time in Kyoto last weekend. In the week before I left I was feeling really overwhelmed with everything going on – I felt like I didn’t have enough time to keep up with anything, let alone plan a vacation, and I wasn’t sure how my trip was going to turn out. Of course, I needn’t have worried. Japan is a wonderful place, and my time in Kyoto was magic in all kinds of little ways. The city itself was so welcoming. It’s small enough not to be overwhelming but big enough to offer hundreds of beautiful temples, shrines and other attractions. The people are so friendly and helpful. It’s easy to navigate and the whole city is pretty walkable.

I was really only in Japan for four nights, but it really stretched out and felt like so much longer. I had some amazing sushi, and even befriended one of the sushi chefs – before I left, he hand-carved an intricate design into a bamboo leaf using an enormous knife the size of a small sword and gave it to me as a gift. I went on one of the most gorgeous hikes of my life, on one of the hottest days I can remember, through an old, old forest that made me feel tiny and grateful in the best possible way. One day, I spotted a wild monkey eating only ten feet from where I was standing, and the next day I held hands with a monkey (for approximately 1 second while feeding it a banana) at a monkey park. In both cases, the monkeys lived wild in the forests, but at the monkey park there is a bit more supervision, and a cage for humans only (!!) that you can enter to feed the monkeys who otherwise run totally wild. I was lucky enough to see some truly stunning temples and shrines and actually have some pretty spiritual experiences there. I made new friends from all over the world (but funnily enough, mostly from Canada!) and also enjoyed myself so much just wandering around on my own.

It was absolutely the perfect trip, exactly when I needed it. I came home feeling re-energized and excited about living abroad. It was a great reminder of exactly why I chose to come live in Korea in the first place – precisely so that I could do things like go to Japan for a long weekend and a less than 200 dollar flight. It reminded me that I love to travel alone and that I am totally capable of anything I set my mind to. It made me feel inspired and alive, as all good trips should. Most of all, it made me feel calm, which means it was the perfect vacation. There was no pressure and no stress, just lovely sights, a gorgeous river, a cozy downtown, breezy rooftops, friendly people, delicious food, huge old trees, lots of bright orange, and lots of smiles. I hope to go back to Japan and the beautiful Kyoto some time very soon.

Favourites:

Ganko Sushi: where I befriended the amazing chefs, right near Sanjo bridge
Sitting by the Sanjo bridge on the river bank: lots of locals and ex-pats gather down here by this bridge! I had drinks (bought at the convenience store right around the corner) down here and appreciated the water every night I was in Kyoto.
Fushimi-Inari Shrine: probably my favourite part of my trip to Kyoto. I hiked all the way to the top even though I was exhausted and sweating more than I have in recent memory, it was totally worth it just for the hike back down. On my way down the late-afternoon light was filtering perfectly through the trees and I saw barely another living person most of the way. And then I saw a monkey. It was magic.
Gion: I stayed at a hostel in this area (called A-Yado Hostel) and I absolutely loved the whole neighbourhood. It’s so quiet and feels so old and mysterious, with lots of tiny little alleys and a river running through it.
Arashiyama, for the monkey park and the bamboo grove. I really liked the nearby Tenryu-ji Temple also, but I preferred touring the gardens to the actual temple itself.
Tokasaikan: I didn’t actually eat at this Chinese restaurant, but went to it because it’s right on the river and looked like it had a gorgeous rooftop patio. I went for drinks up there twice and fell in love with the atmosphere and the view, as well as the ride up on the oldest elevator in Japan!