I'm off!

Hey friends,

So, I have come to the end of my time in Korea, and thought to give a heads up about what is next. Tomorrow I'm headed to a persimmon farm in Busan for a week, and afterward I'll be visiting friends around the country/hiking/sightseeing.

After that, on Oct. 19, I'm off to India! I'm volunteering with an amazing NGO in Mumbai: http://www.thankindia.org/.

Then, traveling with one of my best friends, Leah, up through the country to her sister's wedding in New Delhi.

After that, I'm visiting another dear friend of mine, who is doing Peace Corps in Mozambique. We will travel up the coast and visit a few incredible beaches, until we reach Mandy's site in Qualimane.

After that, I'm off to Syria for Christmas, to spend with Ben and Amber, and my new baby niece and brililant little nephew! I can't wait.

So, the next few months I'll be traveling about seeing good friends/volunteering. I'm obviously terrible at blogging, but I'll post a few pics on facebook from my last few months in Korea, and I'll post more pics after my trip. Thanks everyone for your support and prayers for this next step of adventure and discovery.

Peace,
Rochelle

Oh, p.s. I recently chopped of fmy hair, its just a few inches long; mostly for the convenience of travel. I'll post a pic if I have time :)

Picking Potatoes!

We went potato pickin' with the Kindergarten class a few months ago...had a great time!

On the Upswing...

Loved ones!

That last entry was rough, eh? I should tell you that things have gotten significantly better. And thank you for all your letters/notes of encouragement. Perhaps hitting that kind of low is normal...and everyone seems to deal with it in their own way. Esp. here in Korea. Frustration can manifest itself in so many ways. I grew disillusioned with my way of life, my habits, my vocation, my relationships. It was a strange and unfortunate rut to get stuck in. Wasn't appreciative of anything around me. Chose not to see the beauty in simple things. Like a child's rare perceptiveness to the world around them. Or a loving exchange between two people. Or unexpected compassion from people in positions of authority. Or bubble baths with a good novel. Or a friend's candid sense of humor. I am learning how to laugh more...how to find passion and trust in this new and strange world outside of the communities I was once so comforted by.

Yesterday I began training for a half-marathon. Race day is April 3rd. It's nice to have a goal. Also, taking a big snowboarding trip in early Feb. with some friends. Snowboarding, for me, is the absolute best natural high. Can't wait.

Also, just confirmed vacation dates with the boss, and I'll be back in the US for 10 days in July!! Woooop! That's another nice thing to look forward to.

For now, I'm a much happier, sane person, taking life one day at a time and doing my best to stay motivated and passionate. Rather than continually thinking about what's NEXT, I really am trying to be present and appreciative.

Keep a look-out for my snowboarding pics in a few weeks!

Love,
Rochelle

A New Years to Remember.......

Ok folks, I'm going to be honest. My time in Korea hasn't exactly been peachy keen during the past month-and-a-half. I caught the infectious boredom disease, which spiraled into minor depression, which resulted in never laughing and constantly feeling sorry for myself. A journal entry, to paint the picture:

"I have hit rock bottom. I feel ill, I can't breathe, think or communicate. My world has gone to shit. I've never been so unhappy, so unsure of myself, so lonely, so unfulfilled.

Perhaps I can look back on this and truly think to myself, 'it was worth it...because I made it worth it...' But right now being here seems like the biggest mistake I've ever made. I'm not sure how it propels me further into my goals and dreams. I can't see how it enhances personal growth. Depression is seemingly inevitable. Going from the busiest, most stimulating time in my life, to the most unfulfilling, broken, uninteresting times in life.

I KNOW I'm being pessimistic. I KNOW things will get better. I'm just generally really really sad and unfulfilled these days. Last week I hit a low that I didn't think was possible. Perhaps things will get worse before they get better. Whatever happens, I really do feel like I'm in mourning--the loss of a deep, intense relationship, re-location to an unfamiliar place, a weak social life, forced frugality (since, of course, that's why I came here in the first place), and non-existent spiritual life, and a lack of motivation I've never experienced. For the first time the thought crossed my mind to LEAVE. Go back to LA. Move to Egypt. Peace Corps. MCC. Canvass. Something. "Travel is like setting the reset button" wrote John, a travel writer while in Morocco.

Maybe reset button is being pressed, too. But at the moment, I actually strongly dislike my life here in Ulsan, South Korea. "

[end]

Whoa. So, that was the beginning of December. Before I discovered an organization called WWOOF--World Wide Opportunities On Organic Farms. Check it out: www.wwoof.org

I just spent the past four days with a Korean couple living in rural Pusan, at their herb garden. The following is my account of the experience:



Day 1, Dec 31, almost midnight...

It began with a bus ride to Pusan--asleep the whole way. Then a subway trip half awake, then a bus trip up the hill to Dungi Medical Center, my host mom's hospital; she's a nurse. She gave me a tour-rehibilitation center, a few co-workers. She's been at the hospital for 20 years. After the hospital we went to City Hall where we met her husband. As we saw him approach, she said "my husband has brain like a baby." Heh. She and I walked arm in arm all the way to the car. "Choooua!" (Cold!) We then drove up the side of a mountain and saw the most gorgeous panaramic view of Pusan. Captivating--it absolutely took my breath away...that or the harsh winds. After, we went out for sahsimi with mom's ENTIRE family--g-pa, sister, niece, BABY. That was a nice touch. Our meal was complete with oyseter, clam, raw every-other-kind-of-fish. Kimchi, Kimbap, fish soup. Whew! And loads of red pepper paste. The whole time I kept telling myself "strong stomach...strong stomach." It worked. Was apprehensive since two days ago I had the stomach flu. After dinner we drove through town, all the way to the outskirts of the MASSIVE indoor herb garden. First thing we do: take a 30 minute rest in their traditional hand-made Korean hut. Papa built it in three days. Naturally heated floor, made of a yellow-ish sand material. Me and mom shared stories about our siblings over a few clementines. She says they usually have their friends over in it and share stories late into the evening, over soju and then all fall asleep. Mom is a super nurturing, mellow woman. Dad is a retired IRS agent, who enjoys laughing and using his limited broken English. They are a fabulous pair. Their home is LARGE. Huge open living room with a flat screen and enormous chandellier. Artifacts from all over Asia hang from the walls and adorn every surface, in a classy way. One has to wonder, how on a nurse and IRS agent's salary they can afford it...perhaps cause its in a rural area. I am sleeping in the guest bed, whilst (I never use that word haha) they've taken the hut outside. Tomorrow we're going on a 6am hike! Heaven help me...with my sleeping habits, this will be interesting. I FINALLY feel like I can breathe. Smile. Think normal thoughts. Be challenged--my perceptions of Korea and Koreans changes with every interaction, every exchange, and its good for me. For while there I was becoming quite the xenophobic ass.

May the next three days be educational, fulfilling and bring new perspective.

I am thankful. So thankful, I started tearing up in the car as we were comind down off the mountain. The Creator picked me up and dusted me off in my time of need. Once again.

Happy New Year! 2010!





Day 2--Jan 1

She's an aquarius; he's cancer. Found that out on our hike up to an observatory to ring in the new year. Today:
-Woke up 6am
-Drove in the dark to a mountain where hundreds of people already began their hike
-Got to the top and watched the sunrise and the release of hundreds of balloons. Epic.
-Restaraunt-traditional New Year's soup
-Jim Jil Bong (public bath). Ang-do exfoliated me...just like the other mothers I've seen do to their daughters. I felt so special and pampered. Ang-do is tough as nails, that woman. Switching between scaulding hot water to ice-cold freezing water. I woulda passed out.
-After JJB went home and slept for 2 hours in the "natural hut." Was incredible.
-Woke up. Wandered the garden and took pictures.
-Then we cooked. Fried eggs, cheese slices, beets, apples, almonds, makali (rice wine), date tea, pastries, and hommade kimchi with rosemary from the garden...a nice touch to the otherwise spicy fermented taste.
-After eating , we took a LONG bus ride to the city--Po Dong (?) and walked hand in hand through the massive bazaar eating street food, and caught a view of the fish market (which promptly helped me decide that as soon as I step foot out of Korea I'm going from pesci to veggi. No ifs, ands, or buts about it). Ang-do bought me lepard patterned leggings...my new favorite article of clothing.
-We saw Sherlock Holmes. Not bad.
-Then we caught a taxi to the subway station where me and Ang-do salsa danced as we waited for the tram. Tee Hee.

I'm spent.



Ang-do was complaining about the shape of her eyes...saying mine were "big!" and hers were "small!" So we switched eyes, and here is the outcome.


Day 3, Jan 2

Sitting with the bro (Ang-do's nephew came for a visit), watching Korean sitcomns. For some reason, I've got this massive headache. Altitude changes, perhpaps. Tonight is my last night here...I will miss them. I'm not ready to go back. This truly is the life I want...simple pleasures like persimmon tea and roasted sweet potatoes. Pleasures like waking up to smiling faces enjoying a meal together. Like harvesting veggies and eating it in our meal 20 minutes later. Like taking naps in hand-constructed huts and going to public baths and being laughed at for my squemishness in the cold tub. Like being put in situations where adaptibility is required. Like hiking up mountains and enjoying chinese tea at the top. And sipping hommade brewed wine. Like mending the herb garden.

Today we went on a hike again to a Buddhist Temple, Un Ha Sa. We went to the public bath again, soooo nice. And went to Ang-do's friends' restaraunt for bimibap (rice and veggie dish)...best I've had in Korea...until Ang-do decided to sprinkle tiny silver anchovies all over my dish as a garnish :-)

This weekend was everything I've needed and more.

Goodnight and much love from Ulsan,

Rochelle

Recent Happenings

Yesterday I was bored teaching the same old material to one of my higher level classes. So I said, "okay, today is open discussion...I want your opinion on Korean politics and social life." It was SO SO interesting. These kids (middle schoolers) know way more about these things than I ever did at their age. They discussed past and current leaders, social issues, and the dichotomy between North and South Korea. Things like, if N. and S. Korea united, everyone would end up having less material wealth, since S.K. now has more than N.K. And that they were excited about Obama's recent tour throughout Asia, promoting a "nuclear-free world." We talked about North Korean refugees in China, and their plight. We talked about the philosophy of education in Korea...and the pressure they are constantly under. The fact that it is a law to learn English in the public schools upsets them; they don't understand why it has to be mandetory. We talked about the history of Korea...the Japanese invasion, and its cultural economic effects.

I learned a lot from them yesterday. It made my week!

Tomorrow I'm going to Busan...a little solo trip. I feel like getting lost somewhere. I've been guided SO much since I've been here (which I am SO thankful for...), but it would be nice to try a little adventure on my own for once. I'm going to the park across the street in the morning to read a bit, then hopping on the bus to Busan where I'll visit a cool historic temple and go to Korea's most famous fish market. Will post pics soon!

I've officially gone vegg-o. BUT...I still eat fish. So, I'm not technically...I'll let you know the name for what I am when I find out. And I have a confession. Two days ago I ate chicken. We were having a little "level-up" party in one of my classes, and one of my most ADORABLE students, Moses, 8 years old, with his button nose and glasses sliding down, and a massive grin, shoved a popcorn chicken piece into my mouth. "Teacher!! Eat!!" How to refuse such an offer??

Time here is flying by. It's looking like it's going to be a good year.

Tonight I'm going to eat dinner on my roof with a view of Ulsan's ferris wheel and decadent motels. :-)

Happy Friday!

Misery on the Menu

Lately I have been thinking about consumption. Meat consumption. And for some reason, only recently, I have grown uncomfortable with the amount of meat I consume here in Korea. We have been out to quite a few delicious restaurants which serve an abundance of pork, chicken and fish products. Last week we went out for Korean BBQ. And it was delicious. Yet, I had a moment I've never had before, a moment of disgust and guilt. I've heard about the meat industry's connection to global warming. I've heard about the animal cruelty that takes place in the modern meat industry. I've met many many people in my sociology and global studies cohorts in college who went vegg-o for their own various reasons. It never appealed to me. At all.

But for the first time last week, it felt absolutely unnatural to eat meat. This could be for a number of reasons. Perhaps I'm on overload. Another night we went out for "chicken soup" and were served our very own cornish game hens, boiling in a pot of onion broth.

I was heavily involved in an environmental organization before coming to Korea, and learned a bit about global warming and the threat to our earth's well-being. With this awareness, it is difficult to consume meat and dairy products knowing how it contributes to the fate of our planet.

I haven't decided to become vegetarian yet, but here a few things I've been reading and I think they are worth mentioning:


The Case for Vegarianism:

UNESCO reported that each day about 40,000 children die because of hunger or lack of nutrition. Meanwhile, corn and wheat are largely grown to feed livestock (cows, pigs, chickens, etc.) or to produce alcohol. Over 80 percent of corn and over 95 percent of oats produced in the United States are for feeding livestock. The world’s cattle alone consume a quantity of food equivalent to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people, more than the en-tire human population on earth. Eating meat and drinking alcohol with mind- fulness, we will realize that we are eating the flesh of our own children.

Climate change:
The livestock sector has major impacts on the atmosphere and cli- mate. It is responsible for “18 percent of green- house gas emissions measured in carbon dioxide equivalent, which is a higher share than transport.” This means that raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined.

About global warming, Thay recounted to Times Magazine the story about the couple who ate their son’s flesh—the story told by the Buddha in the Son’s Flesh Sutra. This cou- ple, with their little child, on their way seek- ing asylum had to cross the desert. Due to a lack of geographical knowledge, they ran out of food, while they were only half way through the desert. They realized that all three of them would die in the desert, and they had no hope to get to the country on the
other end of the desert to seek asylum. Finally, they made the decision to kill their little son. Each day they ate a small morsel of his flesh, in order to have enough energy to move on, and they carried the rest of their son’s flesh on their shoulders, so that it could continue to dry in the sun. Each time when they finished eating a morsel of their son’s flesh, the couple looked at each other and asked:

“Where is our beloved child now?” Having told this tragic story, the Buddha looked at the monks and asked: “Do you think that this couple was happy to eat their son’s flesh?” “No, World Honored One. The couple suffered when they had to eat their son’s flesh,” the monks answered. The Buddha taught: “Dear friends, we have to practice eating in such a way that we can retain compassion in our hearts. We have to eat in mindfulness. If not, we may be eating the flesh of our own children.” is on a massive scale and its potential contribution to their solution is equally large. The impact is so significant that it needs to be addressed with urgency” (page XX).

Land degradation:
Presently, livestock production accounts for 70 percent of all agricultural land and 30 percent of the land surface of the planet. Forests are cleared to create new pastures, and it is a major driver of deforestation.

As a spiritual family and a human family, we can all help avert global warming with the practice of mindful eating. Going vegetarian may be the most effective way to fight global warming.

This is the practice of the
five remembrances:
1) I will have to grow old;
2) I will have to get sick;
3) I will have to die;
4) One day I will have to lose the things I cher-
ish today, and the people I love today;
5) When my body disintegrates, I cannot bring
anything with me except my actions of body,
speech and mind—they are the only inherit-
ance that I can bring with me.
When we can practice accepting these
truths in this way, we will have peace, and we
will have the capacity to live healthy and
compassionately—no longer causing suffer-
ing to ourselves and to others.

FIVE FOOD CONTEMPLATIONS
by Thich Nhat Hanh
Here below are our Five Contemplations recited
before meals:
1. This food is the gift of the whole universe—the
earth; the sky; numerous living beings; and
much hard, loving work;
2. May we eat and live in mindfulness so as to be
worth to receive this food;
3. May we recognize and transform our unwhole-
some mental formations, especially our greed,
and learn to eat with moderation;
4. May we keep our compassion alive by eating in
such a way that we reduce the suffering of living
beings; preserve our planet; and reverse the pro-
cess of global warming;
5. We accept this food in order to nourish our
brotherhood and sisterhood; build our Sangha;
and nourish our ideal of serving living beings.

A few photos of the good times :-)

This, my friends, is Ulsan. A place of vibrant fall colors, beaming friendly Koreans, outdoor gyms, parks and hiking trails. And lots of kimchi :-)

This is my place. I'm getting settled in, slowly slowly.


We went out to Busan for my birthday and met up with a few college friends. Good times.















And had a little Halloween celebration at work...the one in the pink wig is my boss, Julia. She's such a hoot.


























Me and Jennifer, one of the Korean teachers. A real nice gal. Hilarious costume too.


Us with the kindergarden class. They all got dressed up and we made a haunted house for them. We hid in the dark as ghosts and spooked them, and almost every single kid cried. Honestly, the h.h. was scary even for adults. I would've peed my pants.















Have been having a great time, although sometimes a bit lonely living alone...still getting used to that aspect. We have been keeping busy, though! Going to all kinds of incredible Korean restaurants--eating plenty of SPICY pork, noodles, and loads of side dishes. Real good food here. And quite healthy. Have been to Ulsan Grand Park a few times, a basketball game last night, a Halloween celebration at a local pub with live music, hip hop dance class. Lots of great things to get involved in. And when I come home after school its so relaxing--take a bath, read, cook, watch movies. Now I just gotta get started on learning Korean. There are a few good podcasts out there...will have to give that a go.

That's it for now.

Much love from the R.O.K,
Rochelle