This evening, I returned from a week long Korean adventure. We started in Seoul for a few days, drove to Busan down the east coast of the peninsula, stayed there for a few days, then drove back to Seoul to fly back to Jeju. It was a road trip of epic proportions, on which I was joined by the Michael Chu. I shall now briefly chronicle my experiences.
The trip began last Sunday, March 22, 2015. We thought our flight was scheduled for the late afternoon, so we headed to the airport a few hours early, hoping to grab dinner there. When we arrived and went to check in, the kind and very confused woman behind the Eastarjet counter informed us that our flight was booked from Seoul to Jeju instead of the other, more correct way. The return flight, too, was scheduled for the opposite direction. This began a several hour long emotional, physical, and psychological roller coaster. It reminded me of the stages of grieving you learn in Psychology 101. At first, we just couldn't believe our stupidity, and we laughed quite a bit, and started to consider options to get to Seoul. We put ourselves on standby at a rather hefty price, and waited for an opening on a flight, since all of the flights for the entire night to Seoul were full. We went downstairs to 7/11, bought a beer each, and sat and waited for the first flight. The first flight came and went with no space for us. We then realized that we could be in for a long evening. Both of our moods worsened, and we grew quiet, considering the prospect of spending a night in the Jeju airport. The next flight came, and they had one spot. We considered going separately, but decided to stick together. We were still pretty sour, and we decided to grab some Dunkin Donuts for a snack/energy. This was the first of far too many trips to Dunkin on this trip. The third flight came, and luckily, they had a spot for us! We got our tickets and sprinted to the gate, nabbing two seats next to each other, and finally we were on our way.
It's funny now to think that all of this happened before we even got on our way. We felt a little bit doomed. It seemed like a bad omen for the rest. There were a few more hiccups, but nothing too major. We made it to Seoul and got some Mexican food, had a few drinks, and hit the hay. The following day, we met up with Kathleen and Greta from KIS, as well as Kathleen's friend Tammy. We spent the day and evening with them, which was lots of fun. We went to bed in anticipation of the Demilitarized Zone tour the next day.
It's been several days since the tour, and I'm still processing it. It was unreal in every way. The tour began with the news that there was a large fire in the DMZ, so a portion of the tour had to be cancelled. We missed out on the tunnels built underneath the DMZ as well as one of the observation decks. At first, this seemed like another blow to the trip, but it turned out to be an incredible tour regardless. We began at an observation deck looking over into North Korea. There was several little farming huts along the river, and through the binoculars, we saw some North Korean citizens working in the fields. Michael and I talked quite a bit at this point in the tour about what life could be like for the North Koreans. Those people could easily see the highway across the river. They had to know that not everyone lives like they do. The poverty was pretty noticeable in the rundown and abandoned buildings we could see. It started a day full of a lot of pondering.
We then visited the site of a train bridge that goes through the DMZ into North Korea. There was a train salvaged from the DMZ after the Korean War that was preserved in its original state. It used to run North-South through the whole united peninsula. It was covered in bullet holes and torn to shreds. If that's not a microcosm for the way things turned out, I don't know what is. We then visited the last train station before the North, a completely operational station that is never used. It was kind of eerie to see the same turnstiles and ticket machines you use in Seoul, but to know that they are never used.
The crown jewel of the tour was a trip to the Joint Security Area, the actual line between North and South Korea. We drove to Camp Boniface, the UN base on the South side where US and Korean soldiers were based (I assume as well as others). A soldier came onto our bus and checked all of our passports. He then briefed us on what we would be doing, and reiterated to us that we could only use our cameras when he said so. We drove through the DMZ's defenses: a wall of C4 for blowing up vehicles, barbed wire entrenchments with land mines, and spacious fields farmed by a small village in the DMZ. The village had under 200 inhabitants, and it was only inhabited by those alive at the time of the schism or direct descendants of those people. We drove to the Joint Security Area, and went from the bus into a large glass building. We were put into 2 single file lines and lined up on the inner steps of the building. The soldier told us that we would be under constant surveillance by North Korea when we stepped outside, so we were not to gesture, point, or do anything else that could possibly by used by North Korea as propaganda against the UN Security Forces. We then filed through a set of glass doors to outside.
We were lined up on the steps outside, and suddenly there it was. There were several little blue buildings sitting on the Military Demarcation Line (the MDL, the border between North and South), and the line was clearly visible as a concrete slab. Eight or nine soldiers stood on the South side, and there was one North Korean soldier standing on the stoop of the building on the North side. He seemed very uncomfortable, as he couldn't stand still. The soldier told us that they call him Bob, and it's always him or one other guy on duty there. The South Korean soldiers were the most intimidating humans I have ever seen. They stood in bulldog poses with dark sunglasses, and we were told not to step behind or in front of them. A woman made that mistake, and she was quickly moved back to the side by the soldier. It was the swiftest karate chop movement I have ever seen. The American soldier then informed us that all of the South Korean border guards are blackbelts in either judo or tae kwon do.
We were led into one of the small blue buildings which houses diplomatic discussions between the North and South. There were a few tables, two guards, and a door leading to the North. The MDL passes right through the house, so we technically stood in North Korea when we went to the other side of the building. We stood around for a while and took pictures, were lined up, and led back away. We were then put back on the bus and driven to the site of the ax murder and the bridge of no return. Then we went on the bus and drove back to Seoul. It was all kind of a whirlwind.
The JSA was the most intense thing I have ever been a part of. It felt like at any moment, someone making a wrong move could set off a fire fight. You could feel the tension in the air between North and South, and the American soldier's nonchalant demeanor seemed out of place. I asked him if he felt uneasy taking groups around, and he said no, that it had just become his daily life. It was indescribably surreal and tense. The more I thought about it, the dumber it felt. A stupid concrete slab marking an arbitrary line stands between families, countrymen, and peace. It sparked a lot of thinking, that's for sure.
The following day, we got the car and headed for Busan. The drive along the east coast was beautiful and very relaxing. We jammed out all day and stopped a few times to look at the beach or other random things. We made it to Busan to find that the AirBnB we booked was the penthouse of a swanky apartment complex (the 47th floor), and we lived in style for two days. In Busan, we checked out markets, the beach, and met up with my friend Nick from Loyola who is teaching in Busan. We also ate sannakgi, the most inhumanely disgusting thing I have ever seen. It's octopus sashimi, and it's still moving and writhing and sticking to the plate as you try to eat it. I forced myself to try one bite. Michael ate the whole plate and enjoyed it. Never again.
We drove back up to Seoul, stopping at an awesome cherry blossom festival in the mountains along the way, and spent two days with Kathleen and Tammy, did some shopping, and flew back here to Jeju. It was an incredible trip, and I started to feel some serious anxiety about leaving this country in a few months. The drive was stunning. The people are great. The country is just a good place. I got back to Jeju tonight, and it was clear and warm. The stars were out and the moon was shining brightly. I will definitely miss it here. I suppose that's part of life though. You leave a little piece of your heart in each place you grow accustomed to. I've got a few months left including a trip to Nepal and a trip to Australia, and I intend to make the most of it.
That's about all I have for now. Thanks for reading, folks, and be in touch!
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Miyajima
Today, I returned from almost a week in Japan, and it was a much needed break from the craziness of working in a middle school! I almost missed my flight this morning because I had the time wrong, and I made it to the gate as boarding was starting. I'm tired as I work my night shift tonight, but it was one of the best weeks I've had in quite a while. I'll summarize some of what I wrote in my journal below.
2/21/15, Tokyo
Tokyo has been a lot of fun with MJ and Ice. We visited the fish market, saw Harajuku street, ate lots of sashimi, and in general just kind of wandered the city. It's been nice having some companionship, but I'm looking forward to the days alone to clear my head and recharge. Last night, I hung out in the hotel bar when we got back and had some long-awaited Blanton's bourbon and bought a box of Cuban cigars. It was a great treat for myself, but not so much for my wallet.
2/22/15, Hiroshima
What a surreal day. The photos of charred bodies and shadows of people literally vaporized into thin air were too much to handle. Photos of fat dripping off of people's fingers as they melted and blood boiling up under the skin of people unfortunate enough to survive for only a few hours or days after the explosion. Radiation still killing people decades later. I wonder if the rest of the world thinks Truman is a war criminal. I'm sure the Japanese do. How could they not? I am certainly thinking that right now. Not to say that Japan didn't do their own messed up stuff in World War II, but I've never seen anything quite like this. Just complete and utter disregard for other humans. It's so sad that it's been reduced to a number, and more so how insane that number is. It was striking to see all the photos of the dead at the exhibit. It was 150,000 people instantly dying, but it was 150,000 individuals. They had mothers, fathers, siblings. They had friends. They played games and liked music. It's so sad to think of all they could have been, but instead we wiped out a whole city (two really) of civilians, and tried to claim it was justified. I think this day has been pretty life-changing.
2/23/15, Miyajima
I'd seen photos of the floating torii before, but I didn't know it was accessible from Hiroshima. Thankful I found out! I went with Alexis, a traveling Italian, Seamus, an Irishman, and a Korean girl whose name I butchered all day. You'd think after half a year living here, I would have pronunciation down for names. She was kind about it though, and she appreciated that I knew any Korean at all. That's one of the things I love about staying in hostels. It's a blast to meet random people and bop around with them. We climbed Mt. Misen and had a really cool view of the coast from the island. It was a tough hike, but well worth it. Then we took the cable car down and enjoyed a small dinner. I had a weird moment in the Miyajima train station today. It was like a split second where it hit me how lucky I am and how unreal it was that I was in Hiroshima. Everyone learns about it, but how many people are fortunate enough to go? I felt sure of myself, which felt good. It was like a weird butterfly in my stomach that came and went quickly.
2/24/15, Tokyo
I had the same feeling today where I realized how ridiculous it was that I was walking the streets of Tokyo amidst beautiful temples and cherry trees. I passed on going up in the SkyTree because it was so expensive. It was too early to see cherry blossoms, but I saw the buds, so I guess that counts for something, right? It occurred to me that I've developed Asian eating habits as I slurped my noodles with freight train volume and ferocity tonight. I'll have to reign that in if I ever want to eat Chinese food in the States around other humans. I really like the symbol of paper cranes from the exhibit at Hiroshima. The Sadako Sasaki story is pretty cool. Maybe a paper crane tattoo? Back to work tomorrow. Going to be a ridiculously long day, and back to workplace drama and all of that jazz. Only a short while 'til spring break!
It was an incredible trip! Pictures are up on Facebook. Thanks for reading.
2/21/15, Tokyo
Tokyo has been a lot of fun with MJ and Ice. We visited the fish market, saw Harajuku street, ate lots of sashimi, and in general just kind of wandered the city. It's been nice having some companionship, but I'm looking forward to the days alone to clear my head and recharge. Last night, I hung out in the hotel bar when we got back and had some long-awaited Blanton's bourbon and bought a box of Cuban cigars. It was a great treat for myself, but not so much for my wallet.
2/22/15, Hiroshima
What a surreal day. The photos of charred bodies and shadows of people literally vaporized into thin air were too much to handle. Photos of fat dripping off of people's fingers as they melted and blood boiling up under the skin of people unfortunate enough to survive for only a few hours or days after the explosion. Radiation still killing people decades later. I wonder if the rest of the world thinks Truman is a war criminal. I'm sure the Japanese do. How could they not? I am certainly thinking that right now. Not to say that Japan didn't do their own messed up stuff in World War II, but I've never seen anything quite like this. Just complete and utter disregard for other humans. It's so sad that it's been reduced to a number, and more so how insane that number is. It was striking to see all the photos of the dead at the exhibit. It was 150,000 people instantly dying, but it was 150,000 individuals. They had mothers, fathers, siblings. They had friends. They played games and liked music. It's so sad to think of all they could have been, but instead we wiped out a whole city (two really) of civilians, and tried to claim it was justified. I think this day has been pretty life-changing.
2/23/15, Miyajima
I'd seen photos of the floating torii before, but I didn't know it was accessible from Hiroshima. Thankful I found out! I went with Alexis, a traveling Italian, Seamus, an Irishman, and a Korean girl whose name I butchered all day. You'd think after half a year living here, I would have pronunciation down for names. She was kind about it though, and she appreciated that I knew any Korean at all. That's one of the things I love about staying in hostels. It's a blast to meet random people and bop around with them. We climbed Mt. Misen and had a really cool view of the coast from the island. It was a tough hike, but well worth it. Then we took the cable car down and enjoyed a small dinner. I had a weird moment in the Miyajima train station today. It was like a split second where it hit me how lucky I am and how unreal it was that I was in Hiroshima. Everyone learns about it, but how many people are fortunate enough to go? I felt sure of myself, which felt good. It was like a weird butterfly in my stomach that came and went quickly.
2/24/15, Tokyo
I had the same feeling today where I realized how ridiculous it was that I was walking the streets of Tokyo amidst beautiful temples and cherry trees. I passed on going up in the SkyTree because it was so expensive. It was too early to see cherry blossoms, but I saw the buds, so I guess that counts for something, right? It occurred to me that I've developed Asian eating habits as I slurped my noodles with freight train volume and ferocity tonight. I'll have to reign that in if I ever want to eat Chinese food in the States around other humans. I really like the symbol of paper cranes from the exhibit at Hiroshima. The Sadako Sasaki story is pretty cool. Maybe a paper crane tattoo? Back to work tomorrow. Going to be a ridiculously long day, and back to workplace drama and all of that jazz. Only a short while 'til spring break!
It was an incredible trip! Pictures are up on Facebook. Thanks for reading.
Monday, February 9, 2015
고생 끝에 낙이 온다
고생 끝에 낙이 온다
"After troubles comes happiness," or that's the extent of it, I suppose. It's been a rough few weeks since Christmas break with the boys, to say the least. It really felt like things spiraled out of control, and the boys showed me how capable they are of trying my patience. Changes have been made, and it seems like as far as the job, things are on the upswing. I like that proverb a lot, and it seems like that's kind of been the theme for me for a while now.Suffice to say, I'm happy. The island is still freezing, much to my dismay, but I'm still in the same personal groove I found when I got back to Korea. I get off campus often to read and write, and I'm trying to enjoy the beauty of the island. I'm going to Japan in about a week, and I just booked a trip to Nepal for May. All is well here.
I've been having a lot of Skype and FaceTime sessions, and I've got a few pen pals at this point. The contact with home has been really nice, and I feel missed, which is really uplifting to feel. I miss everyone a lot, too, wholeheartedly, and talking to people from home really makes my days. Time is going by more quickly than ever, and I'm certain it will only continue to go by faster.
I'm certain now that I'll miss it here when I'm gone. Despite all previous admissions, due to some administrative difficulties, it's beginning to look like my tenure in Korea will end in June. That's not to say I've made a decision, but it's most likely that I won't be back. It's kind of out of my control, but I'm really not all that sad. On to something different. It's crazy the change that's occurred in my brain in a short few months. Not knowing isn't nearly as terrifying as it was coming out of college. I don't wonder every day and let it nag at me constantly. I'm working to figure out what I'm going to be doing in the coming year, but that's just it. It's not going to go any faster or be any more efficient if I'm constantly worrying about it.
Baseball season is drawing near, and I'm as excited as ever. Pitchers and catchers report in 10 days. I'm already dreaming of being home and having a hot dog at the ballpark. I'm going to have to force myself to watch the games delayed and get out when the weather starts to get nice! Getting my boys out to play some baseball on the weekends should start happening. I hope the Cardinals have an open spot at Spring Training come 2016. I'll be ready.
I can already feel the time dwindling. It won't be long before I'm on a plane to Japan, to the DMZ, to Nepal, and finally home. It's a lot of activity for a few months, but I've never lacked in the scheduling department. I wonder when my body will catch up with my desire to keep doing things. My knee already slows me down a bit, but I figure I can keep doing twenty hour itineraries for flights at least until I'm 75 right? Especially with advanced medical technology. I guess we'll see.
That's all I've got for now. Thanks for reading, as always.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Setting Goals and Climbing Mountains
I just left my refrigerator door open for several hours after buying groceries. I fear my food is spoiled. What an end to the day!
Today was a sore one. I woke up at 1pm, and my whole body ached with a pain unfelt since I ran a marathon a few years back. My knees, my abs, my back, my quads, and just about everywhere else screamed at me to not roll over and get out of bed. The reason for this terrible pain, is that yesterday, I climbed the tallest mountain in South Korea, Hallasan, or Mount Halla in English.
Michael Chu and I have been talking about summiting the mountain for a while now, but the timing never worked out until this Monday. We borrowed some crampons anticipating ice at the top, but both of us underestimated what we were in for. It ended up being a 13 mile hike when it was all said and done. The first couple of miles in the morning starting at 6:30AM were relatively easy. It was a slight incline, and we rolled along at a solid pace. The incline got progressively higher though, and by the time we reached "base camp," we had been going pretty straight up for a while. The last 45 minutes of the hike up were the most brutal though. We battled a snowstorm as we reached the summit of the mountain, fighting gale force winds, ice, and snow. We joked later about how truly frightening the experience had been. You could see a long way down off the side of the mountain as we climbed, and all of the trail markers were buried in snow. The only thing holding us to the mountain was our crampons, and we had to stop and brace ourselves with each blow of the wind. When we finally reached the summit, we didn't want to stay long. It was so unbearably cold that we were losing feeling in our fingers and toes. We took some pictures and video and hightailed it back to warmer, thicker air.
Climbing the mountain was so worth today's pain, and it was an unforgettable experience. Today, as I downed Advil and wished I was dead, I realized that there was a really important reality and metaphor that came with climbing the mountain. The fact is that climbing a mountain gives you a goal. It gives you something to strive for. If I compare climbing Halla to doing the same 13 mile workout on a stair-stepping machine in the gym, I know I would not have been able to do it. Setting a goal for myself was the only reason I was able to push through and get it done. It was the same with running the marathon. I wouldn't just go out and run 26 miles on my own if there wasn't a clear goal in mind. I find that this sort of mentality is important in all that I do.
I wouldn't get anything done if I didn't set the goals for myself, and I realize how important it is for me to keep my eye on the prize. Keeping my eye on the prize is what allows me to take joy in the process. Knowing I was heading towards the summit of the mountain was the reason that I wasn't crying in pain the entire way up and down. It was an enjoyable time the whole time, not just the few minutes we were at the top. If the goal is to clean my room, the prize is the clean room. If the goal is to fill out all of the applications and apply to grad schools, the prize is getting into a school. It seems so simple, but I think I needed a reminder that I need to be conscious of why I do the things I do.
Anyway, tonight I tried making my first mustard-based barbecue sauce, and I fear it came out with too strong of a mustard flavor. I'll need to come up with some ideas to try to counteract that next time, I suppose. Tomorrow is back to the work grind! I just found out that my dear friend Cayla Turain, who is studying in Vietnam for the semester, is going to try to come visit Jeju in a few weeks! She was a freshman when I studied abroad in Rome, and it's crazy to think we will be abroad together again. Time to start planning places to take her!
I heard from my dear old friend Conor Duncan today, and that also did wonders for making this a good week. If anyone has any desire to write letters or emails, let me know, because I love communicating via both! We've had some issues with disrespect towards the staff with our eighth graders in the last few weeks, and I think the big project for this week is getting that under control. So, it should be a busy one. I wish you the best of weeks.
-Ryan
Today was a sore one. I woke up at 1pm, and my whole body ached with a pain unfelt since I ran a marathon a few years back. My knees, my abs, my back, my quads, and just about everywhere else screamed at me to not roll over and get out of bed. The reason for this terrible pain, is that yesterday, I climbed the tallest mountain in South Korea, Hallasan, or Mount Halla in English.
Michael Chu and I have been talking about summiting the mountain for a while now, but the timing never worked out until this Monday. We borrowed some crampons anticipating ice at the top, but both of us underestimated what we were in for. It ended up being a 13 mile hike when it was all said and done. The first couple of miles in the morning starting at 6:30AM were relatively easy. It was a slight incline, and we rolled along at a solid pace. The incline got progressively higher though, and by the time we reached "base camp," we had been going pretty straight up for a while. The last 45 minutes of the hike up were the most brutal though. We battled a snowstorm as we reached the summit of the mountain, fighting gale force winds, ice, and snow. We joked later about how truly frightening the experience had been. You could see a long way down off the side of the mountain as we climbed, and all of the trail markers were buried in snow. The only thing holding us to the mountain was our crampons, and we had to stop and brace ourselves with each blow of the wind. When we finally reached the summit, we didn't want to stay long. It was so unbearably cold that we were losing feeling in our fingers and toes. We took some pictures and video and hightailed it back to warmer, thicker air.
Climbing the mountain was so worth today's pain, and it was an unforgettable experience. Today, as I downed Advil and wished I was dead, I realized that there was a really important reality and metaphor that came with climbing the mountain. The fact is that climbing a mountain gives you a goal. It gives you something to strive for. If I compare climbing Halla to doing the same 13 mile workout on a stair-stepping machine in the gym, I know I would not have been able to do it. Setting a goal for myself was the only reason I was able to push through and get it done. It was the same with running the marathon. I wouldn't just go out and run 26 miles on my own if there wasn't a clear goal in mind. I find that this sort of mentality is important in all that I do.
I wouldn't get anything done if I didn't set the goals for myself, and I realize how important it is for me to keep my eye on the prize. Keeping my eye on the prize is what allows me to take joy in the process. Knowing I was heading towards the summit of the mountain was the reason that I wasn't crying in pain the entire way up and down. It was an enjoyable time the whole time, not just the few minutes we were at the top. If the goal is to clean my room, the prize is the clean room. If the goal is to fill out all of the applications and apply to grad schools, the prize is getting into a school. It seems so simple, but I think I needed a reminder that I need to be conscious of why I do the things I do.
Anyway, tonight I tried making my first mustard-based barbecue sauce, and I fear it came out with too strong of a mustard flavor. I'll need to come up with some ideas to try to counteract that next time, I suppose. Tomorrow is back to the work grind! I just found out that my dear friend Cayla Turain, who is studying in Vietnam for the semester, is going to try to come visit Jeju in a few weeks! She was a freshman when I studied abroad in Rome, and it's crazy to think we will be abroad together again. Time to start planning places to take her!
I heard from my dear old friend Conor Duncan today, and that also did wonders for making this a good week. If anyone has any desire to write letters or emails, let me know, because I love communicating via both! We've had some issues with disrespect towards the staff with our eighth graders in the last few weeks, and I think the big project for this week is getting that under control. So, it should be a busy one. I wish you the best of weeks.
-Ryan
Monday, January 12, 2015
Time and Solitude
It's been kind of a thoughtful day for me, and I figured it would be remiss if I didn't write some of the thoughts down.
First, time. Recently, my workouts have consisted of a lot of interval work. For instance, today I did 2 minutes of low resistance high speed, 2 minutes of high resistance and as high as possible speed, for an hour on a bike. Same thing with running a few days ago (as much as the knee will permit!). 2 minutes sprint, 2 minutes light jog.
One of the things I've noticed as I do these types of workouts is that the easy portion always flies by, and the hard portion always drags on and takes forever. I think life is kind of like that sometimes. It's tough for us to really revel in our good times because we're in the moment, but when something bad happens, we really want it to be over, so it seems like it takes forever. I wish there was a way to rewire that part of our brains to make it the opposite, eh? I'll come back to another story about timing after I discuss something else briefly: solitude.
My mom has laughed at me a few times because something I like to do every once in a while is see a movie by myself. Tonight was one of those nights when I felt like I needed to get away, process the recent events of my life, and be alone. I think these types of nights are essential to my functioning as a human being. Reflection is something that often goes undone in today's world. We're a society of constantly doing and doing but never stopping to smell the roses. Alone time is like a battery recharge for my patience and character. I wouldn't be who I am daily without it.
Anyway, I went to see Unbroken, and I rode my motorcycle 45 minutes each way in the freezing cold Korean night to do it. I left campus at 9, and it was chilly, and I was cold, but I knew the way back would be worse. I had brought some hand warmers, and after the movie was over, I heated them up, stuck them in my gloves, and got to riding.
By the time I got home, I couldn't feel my fingers, my legs were tingly, and my toes were near frozen. The stupid hand warmers didn't help much. As I hopped off my motorcycle, all I could think about was getting back to my warm room. I raced up to the door of my building, got almost all the way to my room, and then had an "oh, shit" moment. I'd left the keys in my motorcycle. After a fair amount of cursing under my breath, I went back outside to retrieve them.
To my surprise, it wasn't so cold outside (the wind whipping at 90km/h on a motorcycle apparently makes things colder). As soon as I stepped back out, I noticed a star-filled sky, so clear that every few seconds I was seeing a shooting star or a bright star blinking wildly. I walked slowly down to my motorcycle, neck craned toward the sky, got my keys, and meandered back to the dorm. I was pretty glad I had forgotten my keys.
When I got to my room, I thought to myself, man, isn't timing everything? Sometimes life just works out the way it needs to. Sometimes the universe knows you need to notice the spotlessly starry night, so it makes you an airhead, and then you forget your keys. Sometimes you think you have a plan, but screw your plans. Get ready for life to change them. Just because you're dealt a bad hand doesn't mean you can't play it a certain way. Making plans is a necessary life strategy, but if you can't adapt and figure things out when they go sour, you're stuck in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a raft surrounded by sharks and enemies without food or water (shameless Unbroken reference). And like I said before, when things go sour, like finding yourself on that raft, it tends to last longer rather than shorter. Your brain pays more attention when things go bad. I think the happy people are the most adaptable ones.
I have been happy with my adaption to Korea. Sure, things didn't go as planned, but thank God, or I wouldn't have been there tonight to see those stars. I am not being sarcastic. Life finds a funny way of putting you where you need to be when you need to be there, whether it's your dream or not. We'll see where my next dream takes me.
Also, random, it occurred to me that our bodies need carbs before we workout and protein after perhaps for evolutionary reasons. Like when our ancestors were nomads, what they could gather (berries, nuts, other carbs) was their energy for the hunt, and if they were subsistence hunting or on a long track, they would need that energy, but when they killed the animal, that meal was obviously protein filled. I'm sure this brilliant epiphany is written somewhere by some famous scholar, but I thought about it while I was showering this morning. I digress.
That's been my day. Grocery shopping, Indian food, relaxing, cooking, sending a letter to my dear friend Mary Whitmore (who has become quite the best pen pal), and then the movie/motorcycle/starry night extravaganza. Life is good.
I miss you all at home. I'll catch you on another time.
-Ryan
First, time. Recently, my workouts have consisted of a lot of interval work. For instance, today I did 2 minutes of low resistance high speed, 2 minutes of high resistance and as high as possible speed, for an hour on a bike. Same thing with running a few days ago (as much as the knee will permit!). 2 minutes sprint, 2 minutes light jog.
One of the things I've noticed as I do these types of workouts is that the easy portion always flies by, and the hard portion always drags on and takes forever. I think life is kind of like that sometimes. It's tough for us to really revel in our good times because we're in the moment, but when something bad happens, we really want it to be over, so it seems like it takes forever. I wish there was a way to rewire that part of our brains to make it the opposite, eh? I'll come back to another story about timing after I discuss something else briefly: solitude.
My mom has laughed at me a few times because something I like to do every once in a while is see a movie by myself. Tonight was one of those nights when I felt like I needed to get away, process the recent events of my life, and be alone. I think these types of nights are essential to my functioning as a human being. Reflection is something that often goes undone in today's world. We're a society of constantly doing and doing but never stopping to smell the roses. Alone time is like a battery recharge for my patience and character. I wouldn't be who I am daily without it.
Anyway, I went to see Unbroken, and I rode my motorcycle 45 minutes each way in the freezing cold Korean night to do it. I left campus at 9, and it was chilly, and I was cold, but I knew the way back would be worse. I had brought some hand warmers, and after the movie was over, I heated them up, stuck them in my gloves, and got to riding.
By the time I got home, I couldn't feel my fingers, my legs were tingly, and my toes were near frozen. The stupid hand warmers didn't help much. As I hopped off my motorcycle, all I could think about was getting back to my warm room. I raced up to the door of my building, got almost all the way to my room, and then had an "oh, shit" moment. I'd left the keys in my motorcycle. After a fair amount of cursing under my breath, I went back outside to retrieve them.
To my surprise, it wasn't so cold outside (the wind whipping at 90km/h on a motorcycle apparently makes things colder). As soon as I stepped back out, I noticed a star-filled sky, so clear that every few seconds I was seeing a shooting star or a bright star blinking wildly. I walked slowly down to my motorcycle, neck craned toward the sky, got my keys, and meandered back to the dorm. I was pretty glad I had forgotten my keys.
When I got to my room, I thought to myself, man, isn't timing everything? Sometimes life just works out the way it needs to. Sometimes the universe knows you need to notice the spotlessly starry night, so it makes you an airhead, and then you forget your keys. Sometimes you think you have a plan, but screw your plans. Get ready for life to change them. Just because you're dealt a bad hand doesn't mean you can't play it a certain way. Making plans is a necessary life strategy, but if you can't adapt and figure things out when they go sour, you're stuck in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a raft surrounded by sharks and enemies without food or water (shameless Unbroken reference). And like I said before, when things go sour, like finding yourself on that raft, it tends to last longer rather than shorter. Your brain pays more attention when things go bad. I think the happy people are the most adaptable ones.
I have been happy with my adaption to Korea. Sure, things didn't go as planned, but thank God, or I wouldn't have been there tonight to see those stars. I am not being sarcastic. Life finds a funny way of putting you where you need to be when you need to be there, whether it's your dream or not. We'll see where my next dream takes me.
Also, random, it occurred to me that our bodies need carbs before we workout and protein after perhaps for evolutionary reasons. Like when our ancestors were nomads, what they could gather (berries, nuts, other carbs) was their energy for the hunt, and if they were subsistence hunting or on a long track, they would need that energy, but when they killed the animal, that meal was obviously protein filled. I'm sure this brilliant epiphany is written somewhere by some famous scholar, but I thought about it while I was showering this morning. I digress.
That's been my day. Grocery shopping, Indian food, relaxing, cooking, sending a letter to my dear friend Mary Whitmore (who has become quite the best pen pal), and then the movie/motorcycle/starry night extravaganza. Life is good.
I miss you all at home. I'll catch you on another time.
-Ryan
Friday, January 2, 2015
2014: A Year of Growth and Change
Hello dear compadres!
Happy New Year! Currently writing from my living room in St. Louis, and it's incredibly weird to me that I was in Korea a week and a half ago, and I will be back in Korea in 3 days. A ton of travel! Twenty-something hours on planes each way, and I have to work as soon as I get back. I hope the kids are feeling merciful. It's been an incredible trip home. I got to see my cousins Liz and Catherine in Los Angeles on a long layover, as well as my old friend Joel Schmidt who I haven't seen in at least three or four years. That was a great start. Then, I got back to St. Louis to see my family, went to Chicago for a few days to see my Beazley family, Brad and Kim Zandstra, and countless other friends. Now, all of my friends are in St. Louis for Alex's wedding, and it's been a few amazing days of catching up. I am loving home, but in a way, I'm also excited to get back to Korea after the beautiful wedding celebration tomorrow. As the year has wrapped up, I wanted to take some time to reflect and look forward.
2014 started much like this year has. I got to see some great friends on New Years, including my dear Laura Welp, and it was a blast. Last year, I couldn't wait to get back to Loyola to finish up my last semester and enjoy the final stanza with my friends. The year was one of lots of ups and downs. The spring was truly one of the best of my life, and I felt like I grew and learned a lot about myself and what I want out of myself, others, and life in general. I had a pretty concrete plan for life after college. I was pretty confident I would get hired for a job in Rome; I was relatively ready to try to make a long-distance relationship work; I was way overly confident in just about everything I imagined would happen to the point of naivety.
To make a long story short, in a matter of a week, I didn't get the job and had a break up. I hit a low in the next few weeks after that, and I kind of felt like the floor was pulled out from under me in one of the most important transition periods of my life. I remember saying to Alex that I felt like my foundation for the future was pulled and that I felt lost.
At the beginning of June, Mikey and I left for a month-long trip to Europe, and the day before I left, I found out I would be taking a job in South Korea beginning in the fall. As I rushed to get my documents in order for Korea, I hopped on a plane with Mikey, and suddenly my life had the pace and direction back that I needed. The good times I had with Mikey brought me back up, and the fear and anticipation of Korea made me both ecstatic and completely crazy at the same time. I had no idea what to expect, and I was proud of myself for taking the leap into the unknown.
The first semester of Korea has been filled with ups and downs also, but overall, it's been really incredible. The island is gorgeous. I've made great friends. The job is good (besides when the boys drive me insane). I've traveled to Seoul, Hong Kong, and U-do Island. I've accomplished all I want to and more. I've missed home like never before, and for the first time, I really feel like I'm a whole world away. I've learned how to be more independent. I've learned how to move on and move forward at the same time instead of dwelling in my defeats. I've truly felt the importance of family and friends in a sense much deeper than I've ever known before.
I return to Korea hopeful. I decide in the next few weeks if I go back for another year, and I've decided I'd like to if the school will give me the opportunity. My last few days in the States will be well spent, witnessing the marriage of the two people who are more in love than anyone else I've ever seen, two of my best friends. I'm truly honored to stand next to Alex as her marries the love of his life, and I'd have traveled home three times for it if I had to.
2014, there were days I thought you would stand as a reminder of defeat. You taught me that control of my life lies with no one but me, and turned out to be one of the best years yet. 2015, you've got a lot to live up to.
Finally, my New Years resolutions, because if you put them in writing on the Internet, you have to fulfill them:
1. Lose 40 pounds by the beginning of school next year.
2. Do more nice things for people for no reason.
3. Maintain the relationships that matter, no matter where I am in the world.
4. Prioritize what's important, and treat it as such.
5. Uphold my own ideals. Love, forgive, and listen to others.
Thanks for being the best, folks. Happy New Year.
Happy New Year! Currently writing from my living room in St. Louis, and it's incredibly weird to me that I was in Korea a week and a half ago, and I will be back in Korea in 3 days. A ton of travel! Twenty-something hours on planes each way, and I have to work as soon as I get back. I hope the kids are feeling merciful. It's been an incredible trip home. I got to see my cousins Liz and Catherine in Los Angeles on a long layover, as well as my old friend Joel Schmidt who I haven't seen in at least three or four years. That was a great start. Then, I got back to St. Louis to see my family, went to Chicago for a few days to see my Beazley family, Brad and Kim Zandstra, and countless other friends. Now, all of my friends are in St. Louis for Alex's wedding, and it's been a few amazing days of catching up. I am loving home, but in a way, I'm also excited to get back to Korea after the beautiful wedding celebration tomorrow. As the year has wrapped up, I wanted to take some time to reflect and look forward.
2014 started much like this year has. I got to see some great friends on New Years, including my dear Laura Welp, and it was a blast. Last year, I couldn't wait to get back to Loyola to finish up my last semester and enjoy the final stanza with my friends. The year was one of lots of ups and downs. The spring was truly one of the best of my life, and I felt like I grew and learned a lot about myself and what I want out of myself, others, and life in general. I had a pretty concrete plan for life after college. I was pretty confident I would get hired for a job in Rome; I was relatively ready to try to make a long-distance relationship work; I was way overly confident in just about everything I imagined would happen to the point of naivety.
To make a long story short, in a matter of a week, I didn't get the job and had a break up. I hit a low in the next few weeks after that, and I kind of felt like the floor was pulled out from under me in one of the most important transition periods of my life. I remember saying to Alex that I felt like my foundation for the future was pulled and that I felt lost.
At the beginning of June, Mikey and I left for a month-long trip to Europe, and the day before I left, I found out I would be taking a job in South Korea beginning in the fall. As I rushed to get my documents in order for Korea, I hopped on a plane with Mikey, and suddenly my life had the pace and direction back that I needed. The good times I had with Mikey brought me back up, and the fear and anticipation of Korea made me both ecstatic and completely crazy at the same time. I had no idea what to expect, and I was proud of myself for taking the leap into the unknown.
The first semester of Korea has been filled with ups and downs also, but overall, it's been really incredible. The island is gorgeous. I've made great friends. The job is good (besides when the boys drive me insane). I've traveled to Seoul, Hong Kong, and U-do Island. I've accomplished all I want to and more. I've missed home like never before, and for the first time, I really feel like I'm a whole world away. I've learned how to be more independent. I've learned how to move on and move forward at the same time instead of dwelling in my defeats. I've truly felt the importance of family and friends in a sense much deeper than I've ever known before.
I return to Korea hopeful. I decide in the next few weeks if I go back for another year, and I've decided I'd like to if the school will give me the opportunity. My last few days in the States will be well spent, witnessing the marriage of the two people who are more in love than anyone else I've ever seen, two of my best friends. I'm truly honored to stand next to Alex as her marries the love of his life, and I'd have traveled home three times for it if I had to.
2014, there were days I thought you would stand as a reminder of defeat. You taught me that control of my life lies with no one but me, and turned out to be one of the best years yet. 2015, you've got a lot to live up to.
Finally, my New Years resolutions, because if you put them in writing on the Internet, you have to fulfill them:
1. Lose 40 pounds by the beginning of school next year.
2. Do more nice things for people for no reason.
3. Maintain the relationships that matter, no matter where I am in the world.
4. Prioritize what's important, and treat it as such.
5. Uphold my own ideals. Love, forgive, and listen to others.
Thanks for being the best, folks. Happy New Year.
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Worldwide Winter
Alas, winter has struck my little island paradise. It's in the 40s and 50s, and the wind is strong, and I know everyone in the northern part of the States is sending a big old "kiss my ass" in my direction. We did have our first bit of snow the other day, but none of it stuck. Despite the temperature for winter being a bit higher here, it has the same effects. The bright green island of the summer turned to beautiful oranges and reds, and those have turned to browns and branches.
As the natural landscape around me has decayed, it so seems that the rest of the world has gone with it. I don't see many good things happening around the world; all of the Facebook posts and news stories are dismal. I need some good news, people! The days are shorter, a bit of the old seasonal affective stuff is kicking in, and I'm not sleeping nearly as well as I had during the brighter months. It's more difficult to get away from campus, in part because it's tough to ride a motorcycle very far in freezing temperatures.
Despite all of this, life is still going pretty well. I've been doing a lot of cooking, and I'm trying to perfect my first strain of homemade barbecue sauce, a sweet/spicy combination. We will see how it plays out as I continue to try to perfect it. The boys really enjoyed the first batch and have been asking me for more!
One of my friends here and I went on a whole day adventure this past week on my days off, and it was definitely the refresher I needed to make it through to Christmas break at home. We went first to get coffee, then found a Chicago hot dog place, then went to a beautiful waterfall on the beach, then went to an awesome art museum (the Bonte Museum), which coincidentally was modeled after the Pulitzer Foundation in St. Louis. It's such a small world sometimes. It really blew my mind that this place could have any connection to my home, and I found two in the same day in the form of a hot dog and a Picasso.
Exactly two weeks from today, I will be on a plane to Los Angeles. I will hopefully be seeing my dear cousin Liz Buhn, which will be a nice holiday treat! I can't wait. This week's hurdle with the boys has been personal space. They don't seem to get it. They're fascinated by the fact that I have hair on my arms and face, and they constantly want to touch it. They are amazed that I have a belly, so they constantly poke it (talk about a motivation to diet after Christmas...). I've had to get a bit stern with them in telling them that it's inappropriate to hang on me, and I'm not really sure that it's gotten through entirely.
I scheduled a trip to Japan for February, and a roadtrip around the Korean peninsula for March. I'm pretty pumped for both. In Japan, I'm flying into Tokyo, and hoping to do a few days in Hiroshima as well to satisfy my WWII historian cravings. I will most likely be flying solo for that trip, so that should be interesting! The esteemed Michael Chu and I are going to take the road trip in March, and we're flying into Seoul, doing a DMZ tour, and then getting the car and driving all over. It should be a lot of fun. Looking forward to traveling more lightly for these two trips and taking it easy.
I'm bringing home a lot of Korean goodies to share with everyone! Looking forward to seeing friends and family soon. Have a great week.
-Ryan
As the natural landscape around me has decayed, it so seems that the rest of the world has gone with it. I don't see many good things happening around the world; all of the Facebook posts and news stories are dismal. I need some good news, people! The days are shorter, a bit of the old seasonal affective stuff is kicking in, and I'm not sleeping nearly as well as I had during the brighter months. It's more difficult to get away from campus, in part because it's tough to ride a motorcycle very far in freezing temperatures.
Despite all of this, life is still going pretty well. I've been doing a lot of cooking, and I'm trying to perfect my first strain of homemade barbecue sauce, a sweet/spicy combination. We will see how it plays out as I continue to try to perfect it. The boys really enjoyed the first batch and have been asking me for more!
One of my friends here and I went on a whole day adventure this past week on my days off, and it was definitely the refresher I needed to make it through to Christmas break at home. We went first to get coffee, then found a Chicago hot dog place, then went to a beautiful waterfall on the beach, then went to an awesome art museum (the Bonte Museum), which coincidentally was modeled after the Pulitzer Foundation in St. Louis. It's such a small world sometimes. It really blew my mind that this place could have any connection to my home, and I found two in the same day in the form of a hot dog and a Picasso.
Exactly two weeks from today, I will be on a plane to Los Angeles. I will hopefully be seeing my dear cousin Liz Buhn, which will be a nice holiday treat! I can't wait. This week's hurdle with the boys has been personal space. They don't seem to get it. They're fascinated by the fact that I have hair on my arms and face, and they constantly want to touch it. They are amazed that I have a belly, so they constantly poke it (talk about a motivation to diet after Christmas...). I've had to get a bit stern with them in telling them that it's inappropriate to hang on me, and I'm not really sure that it's gotten through entirely.
I scheduled a trip to Japan for February, and a roadtrip around the Korean peninsula for March. I'm pretty pumped for both. In Japan, I'm flying into Tokyo, and hoping to do a few days in Hiroshima as well to satisfy my WWII historian cravings. I will most likely be flying solo for that trip, so that should be interesting! The esteemed Michael Chu and I are going to take the road trip in March, and we're flying into Seoul, doing a DMZ tour, and then getting the car and driving all over. It should be a lot of fun. Looking forward to traveling more lightly for these two trips and taking it easy.
I'm bringing home a lot of Korean goodies to share with everyone! Looking forward to seeing friends and family soon. Have a great week.
-Ryan
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