It might be cute. It might come in a pretty green bottle. It might cost only a few dollars.
BUT...
Soju is not your friend.
It's one of those blind thieves. You think "Oh this is so nice, it hardly tastes like anything." Then after sharing 8 bottles amongst you and your friends, you hit the floor!
I am not on the floor today, but part of me wishes I was. Damn you Soju!!
Pronounced: hwan yung bat neun
Meaning: Welcome (according to an internet Korean Dictionary)
Yesterday, Feb 18th, we had the Opening Ceremony for the 2011 EPIK Orientation. Despite the fact that they made us all wear our matching EPIK hoodies, it was a really great event. During the ceremony, groups from local schools performed traditional Korean performances for us.
Students from Pukyong Nationaly University did a Samul nori number. Samul nori is a form of percussion music, in which the members play only four instruments.
Local high school students performed two dances for us. The first a Sogo (small drum) dance.
The final performance was a dance inspired by the poem "Love Song of Butterfly". It was beautiful!
Following the performance we were addressed by Hee Du Jeon (VP of the National Institute for International Education) and Park Mae Eon (President of Pukyong National University).
Overall, a pretty impressive evening and a great display of Korean traditions.
Leaving was difficult.
I thought I'd be all right. At least well enough to hold back tears until I was departing the States for Korea. But then Heather shows up, and one hug from me has her chin bobbing and tears falling. Then my Dad starts! Then my Mother! That's the whole family! And what happens next?! I'm crying!!!
I'd bet more than a few people were scared of me as I walked up to security. Red-faced. Puffy-eyed. Crying freak of nature!
The flight from Cleveland to LA went well. I was original trapped in the window seat, next to a couple that was throwing money at the flight attendant (paying the TV charge, buying food and liquor). I had to escape!! Luckily there was a whole row of seats open just in front of where I was assigned. Despite the fact that we were rolling down the runway, I climbed out of that claustrophobic's nightmare to freedom. A freedom that was short-lived, as I was joined by a fellow passenger, who stole my leg room and farted the entire ride, but I'm not complaining, fresh air was going to be available soon in LA. It was only 5 hours of bad gas.
Once in LA, I was suppose to have a 5 hour layover, but I have a good friend from college who lives in the area, Benny, and I got to hang out with him instead. It was a great break from the airport scene. Plus the food I had for dinner was excellent, and hanging out with Benny was a great stress relief before my long flight to Korea.
I felt really good returning to the airport. Really good, until I found out I had Benny drop me off at the wrong terminal and I had to hike about a mile, steaming from the weight of my bags and the temperature of California, to the right one! What another great impression! Showing up to check-in at Asiana Airlines red-faced and sweaty! Good grief! I used to think I was pretty good at traveling, but this adventure was setting me back to novice. I did finally make it to my gate, after having to ask where the gates where! Me - Where are the gates? Security guard - Which one are you looking for? Bill Gates? Me - blank stare. Idiot. He did show me where the gates where, thankfully no more "jokes" were supplied.
And that's where, at my last location in the United States, I cried. I didn't mean to, I was trying to stay pulled together, but I was alone. My tiredness, my nervous, my excitement, everything there was to feel, just combined and I had tears, traitor tears, betraying me!
But that's where I also met my first friend, Tim. And now, after all the traveling and stress, I'm meeting so many people. Some people won't stay here with me in Busan, most of them will move to Daegu, but it's not that far away and there's a train, and trips are already in the talks.
My visa came today.
10 days without any word regarding its status had me slightly anxious. 'Slightly' means a lot, in case you were confused.
But here it is! A big, beautiful sticker in my passport.
Flight has been booked!
Takeoff in ONE WEEK!
 Asiana Airlines operated by Continental Airlines | Flight | OZ 9516 | |
| Depart | 15-Feb-11 (Tue) 04:55p | Cleveland (CLE) | |
| Arrive | 15-Feb-11 (Tue) 07:00p | Los Angeles (LAX) | |
| Flight Time | 5hr 5min | Economy | ||
| Aircraft | Boeing 737-900 | ||
| Stops | 0 | ||
Asiana Airlines | Flight | OZ 203 | |
| Depart | 16-Feb-11 (Wed) 00:30a | Los Angeles (LAX) | |
| Arrive | 17-Feb-11 (Thu) 07:00a | Seoul (ICN) | |
| Flight Time | 13hr 30min | Economy | ||
| Aircraft | Boeing 777-200/300 | ||
| Stops | 0 | ||
Asiana Airlines operated by Coast Air | Flight | OZ 8807 | |
| Depart | 17-Feb-11 (Thu) 09:30a | Seoul (GMP) | |
| Arrive | 17-Feb-11 (Thu) 10:25a | Busan (PUS) | |
| Flight Time | 0hr 55min | Economy | ||
| Aircraft | Boeing 737-400 | ||
| Stops | 0 | ||
Jane OrmondLonely Planet author
Travel can be wildly intoxicating, there’s no doubt about that. And the comedown, that return to ‘real life’ can be conversely depressing for most.
But maybe you’re happy to get back to work – or at least you feel you need to come home in order to have a satisfying career.
It’s a tough balance to strike – travel vs ‘real’ life. Is there a way to have it all or is that just a pipe dream? Does it really have to be all or nothing? And does it get harder to breaker away from work the more established (and older) you get?
This is a concept our travel-loving forum members grapple with on a regular basis.
Are you a sucker if you’re working?
Yep, we’ve all met those ‘free spirits’ who make you feel like a real Dilbert because you’re racing to a train to work while they’re just hanging out in your city, going with the bare-footed flow. It can set off panic alarms in your head, worrying that time’s slipping by and you’re not out there seeing as much of the world as you should. But world travel doesn’t come free…
In a great post on the issue, one forum member recently noted:
Lately I’ve noticed an attitude amongst travelers where, if you are not living in a 3rd world country on $5 a day the second you save enough money to quit your job when you are able to, then you’re a sucker for not doing so, and I find this incredibly pretentious.
I LIKE my job. I compromise so I will probably never go out traveling for more than a few months at a stretch but make sure I can take those stretches along the way. I think people lead a sad life who only view work as a way to save money to travel.
Does saying goodbye to home mean saying goodbye to a career?
Another consideration is how long-term travel can interrupt or derail the trajectory of your career. Would you be willing to gamble with your ambitions in order to travel?
What would you do if you had planned a big trip, only to be offered a promotion? Take it and postpone your travel (when you can do it P-Diddy-style) or turn it down and hit the road with a jaunty ‘que sera, sera’?
Can you have it all – career and travel?
Hey, it worked for Richard Branson, surely it can work for us too? A lot of people thrash around trying to bundle travel into their working lives – either byvolunteering or trying to transfer their skills to another country.
To some this might seem a viable option. For others, the sheen might wear off quickly when they realise they’re working a crummier job than if they were back home, just under different skies. But perhaps those skies are worth it.
So what do you think defines the smartest travel attitude? A bit of column a, a bit of column b?
Well, wherever you are in the world right now, at home or in some gnarly jungle, just remember this piece of forum wisdom:
‘Hey if we were all huge travelers then who would stay at home for the rest of us to visit ‘em?’
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These are the questions of my life, but before I can get to these… I must find what it is I'm meant to do, what I love, and what inspires me.
The biggest fish on the table are teaching and tourism. Korea looks like it will be helpful - I hope!
A very large, huge! gracious "thank you" to Lea Banner for this amazing suitcase!
