Route 1706

August 1, 2009

got on a random bus after dropping sister off at seoul station... hoping that the bus will give me a little tour of seoul that i have not yet seen. to my surprise, i was given a lot more to see than what i hoped for.

Gwang-hwa-moon station... was full of people, lights, and camera!
it happened to be the opening of the "new gwang-hwa-moon square" that had been under construction for months to finally show off its new istorical charm. Rows of water shout up high in the air from the newly established fountains next to the "historical walk" of Korea.
A huge stage was provided for performances to celebrate this day; camera crew, new and old from all over the country, rows of police buses stood in awe.

I couldn't believe that I was allowed to be part of this special moment.
stones that bear encryption from 2009, all the way back to the 1300's of Chosun dynasty, with its historical moment layed under our feet... under a streaming water... as history flowed through the years. What a metaphorical, touching moment it was.

I stayed on the bus to see familes get on and get off.
A mom with 2 little sons got on, and they both pulled for her attention and love.
"mom, you're going to sit with me this time!"
the son chattered away next to his mom without any care for his older brother sitting further away.

A young family of mom, dad, son and a daughter got on. The little boy was stubborn next to his daddy to sit next to a high window... not to miss the water fountains shooting high up in the air. Then a naive clapping filled the bus with his big smile & shout... from such a little boy. Dad scolded the boy not to be so stubborn, but for some reason, it does not sound harsh at all; a sweet, loving scold from a young dad who apparently adores his son so so much.

Another mom with 2 other sons hurriedly tries to get off the bus, and lovingly calls out to her son: "Isn't this your stop?" And they all chuckle as they finally make their way out of the bus, then up a hill to their sweet home.
i must have followed them home, because then the bus driver called out to me, "aren't you getting off?!" oh no... i came to his end stop... "no, i'm not. just keep going 'back' in a circle." ^^

is it a coincidence that these scenes of families keep capturing my eyes, my ears and my heart?
or... is it time...?

A Ball of Fire

A great anger built up inside of me... like a ball of fire, ready to explode.
No one would ever imagine a girl like me would be so full of anger... frustration...
Sometimes at night this anger keeps me awake, I feel like punching everything in reach of me,
as if that would tire me out... to... finally put me to sleep.

There are hidden issues that must be dealt with...
but i keep running from... hiding from...
To avoid confrontation at all cost...

What is it that I must accomplish in this school ground... of LIFE?
That I must continuously run in circles of roller coasters... up & down... up & down...?
Only if I knew... I would chase only after those things...
and then call it an END.

Korea is Changing Me

Korea amazes me...
how it's changed over the years,
how it's become a world's recognized giant,
how it works so hard to be the best,
how it stays awake 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week,
how it just doesn't fail to show me more and more each day...

Korea is changing me...
how it pushes Me to work so hard toward my goals,
how it forces Me to stay awake as long as humanly possible,
how it takes me around to show off its limitless boundaries...

The faces of my Korean students that I see each day humble me greatly.
The hours they put into studying multiple subjects in and outside of their school,
The seriousness they have toward their "job" as a student,
The innocense they have toward life, yet the mature attitudes they carry on their shoulders.

"Lazy Libra..." BH likes to call me...
Well, this lazylibra doesn't sleep until 5am nowadays, trying to make sure all work's done.
She has a job to run to during the day, and a business to run at night.

"13, going on 31"

"13, going on 31"

1990, i left Korea at the age of 12, made my way over to America.
2004, i finally had a chance to visit my home country again.
coming back after the long 14 yrs, I no long felt "at home" in Korea...
everything felt so... "foreign"...
Yet, I felt like my old 12-year old self again... when i was almost 30.
I felt like I could rediscover my old friends, old school, old home again... somewhere hiding deep in my heart.

After short 3-weeks of reminiscing, memory-searching, visiting old friends...
i was on my way back to America... where my fiance awaited.

2005 came my marriage with a "Non-Korean," yet a true soul-mate of mine. who would've ever guessed...?

...fast forward...

2009, January... I find myself back in Korea again.
I never really thought that I'd live in Korea ever again, due to such different customs that I was no longer used to, a lifestyle that was so "foreign" to me now...

Yet, my husband is here with me... an American... like me(?),
yet we both fell right in love with Korea, deeply!

This really is where "Seoul" is!!!
People are so passionate, compassionate, and so caring,...
not to mention... opinionated, rude, and ... well.... in such a rush at all times.
Whatever it is, they will put in there all, at full-force.

To sum up: "Koreans Work Hard, and They Play Hard!"

There are all kinds of people that live here, yet not many are used to "foreigners."
Whenever they see Bryan, some bold people would yell out to him,
"Hey, Obama!"
"Hey, where are you from?"
"Hey, how are you?"

People would just randomly strike up a conversation with foreigners in hopes of improving their English even a little bit; they would stare like there is no tomorrow if you're an English-speaker.
Actually, if they would stare no matter what... haha.
They stare at your clothes, your shoes, your bag, purse, glasses, hat,... whatever they can get their eyes on. But you can't blame them... when we all share the same public transportation and have nothing better to do, ...than to stare across from where we are sitting. ^^*

So far, I am really enjoying my life in Korea.
Yes, we do live in a small place with only 1/2 kitchen... but sometimes I feel like we're really living it up!
I love the teaching experience that I am gaining through CDI, exporting business experience through many different manufacturers and contractors in Dong Dae Moon.

Every Day is a life experience and Every Day brings us something new.
The slow pace of America no longer exists... Everything is SO rapid here!
We're only slightly adjusting for now...

Korea has so much to offer... i'm not so sure that I can really digest everything.

I am in LOVE with Korea,
the country that gave me life,
the country that shares the same birthday as me,
the country that I never learned to appreciate much,
the country that I am just starting to get to know... ^^*

7,000 miles away. . . the little one went.

so there my little sister went...
7,000 miles away from all of us family

gave us heartaches, gave us worries, gave us some tears,
with her little selfish tantrums, her stubbornness...

the little one in the family, now no one to depend on but herself
she can cry, she can shout, she can whine all she wants
but no longer will anyone be there for her

she's gone to grow up, to mature a bit
without her mommy, without her unnies,

she'll be back though soon enough
hopefully this time more independent than ever before
to stand on her own two feet
like a tall bright sunflower that she's always liked

Living with OPM - Other People's Music - in Los Angeles K-Town

Current Time: 8:57pm PT on a Saturday Evening
Current Room Temperature: 95.1 degrees Fahrenheit (with the fan blowing High in my face)
Currently Playing Music: Some Mexican Fiesta Music Blasting outside of my window, across the street ... "Eh~~yah!! Cha-Cha-Cha!!"
How I feel: Burning up from the ridiculous TAN I got earlier this morning (not to mention the current room temp.) laying on Santa Monica Beach, waiting for BH to finish his "jump up and into the waves" game.... silly hubby... hahaha!

OK... you can't say you've LIVED in LA, until you've LIVED in a 100-years old Korea town house across from the "amigos and amigas" who love to blast their music every evening.
I've always wondered why the "brothers" hung outside of their homes when driving around Washington DC... it seemed intimidating to me more than anything. Well, now I know why - this 100-years old K-town house has NO AIR CONDITIONING and NO HEATING!! You think it's hot outside... until you've been INside with NO A/C in the middle of HOT summer in this deserty Los Angeles. The hot breeze is better than the suffocating stale air of indoors. I am truly LIVING the LOS ANGELES life.

Now... I don't know why God is putting us through some of these difficult trying times. Just last year, we lived in one of the luxurious LOFTS downtown near the financial districts of LA, paying $1750/mo... A/C pumping so hard I had to wear a hoodie to keep warm indoors. Now I pay $750/mo in this 8-bedroom house, sharing showers, bathrooms, and a kitchen. I have faith in God that He'll pull us out of here soon enough (before we toast or just melt away)

However... I have learned SO MUCH through these times: "MINIMALISM" above all else. When we first came to LA, we rented a U-Haul trailer and hauled it with our new F150; and packed it up with our queen size bed, leather couch, coffee table, desks, and etc. This time was different. We had sold our F150 at a loss (those darn gas prices), received a free car from "mommy." Due to my refusal for lugging anything across country anymore; we sold all our furniture, rented our own condo, and headed out to CA in our suitcases. After living out of "A Bedroom" for a few months, I was surprised what many things I really don't need in my house. Because when I got back "home" in VA, I was amazed at how much FOOD I had stacked up in the cabinet, how much CLOTHES I had that I do not wear anymore, ...and just how much STUFF I had around the house that I did not need. I really felt like a Queen in a castle with all these STUFF at hand.... that I actually started giving away all my stuff. I wanted to be at a situation where... (if I had to)... I could just pick up and GO quickly... to wherever I needed to go. I no longer want my NICE bed, NICE couch, NICE furniture, NICE house, NICE anything holding me back from doing what I want to do. Look how long it's taken us to finally wrap up everything to "move" to Los Angeles from VA. ...12 long months.

At this point, I'd like to quote Solomon:

Ecclesiastes 1

Everything Is Meaningless

1 The words of the Teacher, ^[a] son of David, king in Jerusalem:

2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!"
says the Teacher.
"Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless."

3 What does man gain from all his labor
at which he toils under the sun?

4 Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.

5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.

6 The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.

7 All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.

8 All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.

9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.

10 Is there anything of which one can say,
"Look! This is something new"?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.

11 There is no remembrance of men of old,
and even those who are yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow.

So, what's the use of the latest and the greatest computer, cell phone, or any type of electronic gadget?!! soon it'll not be the latest and the greatest... just like my little roomba vacuum that eventually got sold on eBay for not performing to its full extent. ...i got bored with it.

That was my random rambling of the day... i think this heat is getting to me... as us Koreans like to say "I must have ate the hotness" and have lost my mind finally.

WAIT--- I think I actually hear some English words in that song... oh... no... it's still Spanish... it's so LOUD and CLEAR in my ear. =OS

To East, To West, To South, To North

This year 2008 Must be the beginning of something spectacular!

My family has each unconsciously decided to spread out in all directions, starting on a brand new venture in life... every each one of us.

To South - My parents went, after purchasing a huge Auto Body/ Mechanic Shop in Georgia. They finally sold and left their very 1st house in America, that they lived in for 17-years straight, where all 3 of us daughters grew up. Some sentimental moments were there... but they're now looking to purchase a gorgeous home in GA. The body shop has a funny name called "Tri-Circle Auto Center"; I think they were going for "Trinity" "Tri" or some sort... but it just makes me laugh because Automobiles have Four wheels, not just Three. LOL! Nonetheless, the body shop lies on top of 2-acre land and is growing fast. The 1st time we visited, they were still struggling with the county permits and right paint booths and etc., but just this last time we visited, the lot seemed almost full with all the cars that needed to be repaired. WOW... amazing how one dreams something and makes it happen. ^^* ...a good fuzzy feeling in the belly~^^*

To East - My younger sister Kori is going to teach English to a bunch of kids in Korea on a 14-months contract. She seems to be getting pushed out of everything she is trying to do in the States. From Criminal Justice, working for the FBI, working as a sales rep at a bank, to even working at Starbucks as a Barista. I'm pretty sure that God is sending her off to Korea... as far as possible from all of us family, who she is so used to depending on... for almost everything. Being the last child comes with benefits, but also some unbearable pain, I'm sure... like being so self-consumed that nothing else and no one else's feelings really matter. She has a LOT of growing up to do.

To West - I went to focus on my fashion business venture. BH & I have started our clothing line, yet at the same time, we're working with a 30-years seasoned industry expert who provides consulting to manufacturers from foreign countries wanting to enter the American Apparel Market. These are exciting times as BH & I are in charge of actively working with Korean companies in particular due to my background. This will give us so much experience and knowledge that we need to succeed in making our own company a success!

IN VA - Rachel stays (the most North of all of us) with her brand new job at Navy Federal Credit Union as Senior Accountant. Good old Dependable Rachel, with the most dependable life style. I wondered if Rach had not secretly prayed that all of us would just leave her alone, and that is why she IS being left alone in VA now. I've always admired her and regret that we didn't get to "enjoy" our roommate days together. We were so busy doing our own thing that we barely saw each other... I only wish we had done more together.

SO...

Off We Go to Live our New Lives
In All Directions We Chose Our Paths
Will There Be A Day We Gather Again
With Lots More Stories to Share & Build
What a Spectacular Day That May Be
Perhaps even an added Member in the Family

^.^*