8 Seasons in the Land of the Morning Calm

Friendship is a diverse endeavor; layer over layer of intensity, mercy, strength, and weakness. It has a rare quality in its fleeting or stamina. You will always remember . Years from now, when the name escapes your tongue, a sudden surge of nostalgia will reconstruct a memory, a glimmer of the eye, a subtle texture of differences, and regardless of the distance that’s grown between, you will always smile fondly. Friendship is an education of the heart. It will teach you how far you will go, how willing you are to bend or break, and with what urgency you move through a particular time in life. I will have many moments in years to come that throw me back into the heart of my life in Korea. I owe the greatest debt of gratitude for rediscovering myself, and how much we all need each other, to my friend Ali . Some of you have taken the time to read his website and comment on his ordeal. But there is more than what is posted on a page. Letter after letter, his face materialize...

I returned to martial arts this month, and lucky for me, my muscles have good memory. The break was nice.  The abrupt end to our tournament aspirations with our bus accident, coupled with the pressing training schedule and mounting injury... I had needed this break.  The first three weeks back have been relatively painless, and it's been nice to be back in the dojang working out with Alex. I look forward to having my butt kicked into trekking shape by the time March rolls around. Hopefully we'll make one last trip out to Damyang to hack away at some bamboo, too.

With the help of our two closest friends, we negotiated with the landlady today for an additional month (our lease ends on February 3rd). It was rough-going for awhile. She was insisting we sign for an additional 6 months, sublet & give up our deposit ($3,000), then it was to pay double rent for the last month. At this point a mild panic began to overtake me as I thought of all the extra stress that would come from having to live with Alex's boss. A sweet offer, no doubt, but Alex may have actually lost his mind.  Lucky for us, Seung-gyun and Ki-hyeok are well-versed in the art of haggling. Game faces on, calm, questioning the landlord very subtly until she came around to what they deemed a fair price. We will pay an additional ￦150,000 ($150) for our last month, which is more that reasonable compared to the first options. With that mess out of our way, we divert our attention to selling furniture and the miscellaneous odds and ends we've acquired over the past ...

Not many people mention how disastrous bleaching a head of hair can be.  It had become a tangled, damaged mess despite additional coloring with Manic Panic (very moisturizing hair color), and warm oil treatments. I have a limited tolerance for things that annoy me.  I had reached that limit with my hair when I enlisted my husband to help me with a DIY haircut.  Take a gander below for green through gone. Dyed turquoise-green Buh-bye!     A joint effort pixie cut.  

In the time since Mom & Dad M.'s visit, nothing much has changed. Well the weather's changed a bit, but we've not been buried in snow like we were this time last year. It's a shame, because the temples look their most serene under thick white blankets as the monks wander the grounds in their warmest hanboks. As we approach our last two months here, it's dawned on me that 1. We're approaching our last two months here (!), and 2. We've a lot of things to think about and do in the next two months. I had sort of forgotten the chore of relocating overseas; deciding what to send home, taking the time to properly thank and visit with friends and those who have become like family, to see and do the things we still want to and revisit the things we enjoy. Regardless of the fact that I cannot wait to see my family, Korea has become a part of me and I will miss it greatly. Even in the most trying of times, this country has still offered enough kindness, j...

Celebrating their wedding anniversary with green tea cake. Hiking on Mudeungsan Aiming for happiness at Seonamsa's well. Buddha on stone pagoda On the trails My man. One temple is never enough. Walking up to Seonamsa. Fall respite.

Mom & Dad M. were in Korea last week!  It was an amazing week filled with walking, hiking, and of course, card playing.  Meanest game of UNO in these here parts! The first day they were here was the second to last day of the Gwangju Kimchi festival, which could not be missed for a visitor to Korea. So on day one they got an overload of the national dish.  Though Koreans often believe it's not palatable to Westerners, we really enjoyed it. Although by the 7th or 8th stall, I think their tongues were getting spice-weary.  That day was also an introduction to the very helpful nature of Koreans, and their desire to make certain everyone understands even if they cannot fully explain it. While I cannot speak Korean to communicate the vastness of Kimchi experience, I am able to read quite well and translate the main points. However, despite all my assurances to the volunteers, we were followed by no less than three volunteers who want...