Tokyo--Days 3 and 4, plus my thoughts on the city

I woke up after a long sleep on Saturday morning with plans to explore in detail the more historical places in Tokyo. So I set off for yet another shrine and came across a big souvenier shop in Asakusa, where I found a Godzilla keychain for Sasha. I saw yet another shrine and the related gardens, but I was really more impressed with the big incense pot that seemed straight out of Leviticus. I hiked it over to the museum district next and went to the Tokyo National Museum. I had high expectations that it would be akin to the fabulous British Museum, but this one turned out to be quite limited in its displays for whatever reason. It was large, but nothing on the scale of a European museum, and I covered the whole thing in a little over an hour. The samurai armor and katana swords were interesting, as well as the Japanese paintings. I particularly like the paintings that depict ocean waves. I also saw an interesting exhibit on the expansion of Buddhism across Asia as seen through sculptures of Buddha, and they had good maps explaining how the philosophy/religion spread from India to Pakistan, China, Korea, and Japan, and how each of those cultures depicted Buddha differently. I liken it to seeing pictures of a white Jesus in American pictorial Bibles or a black Jesus in others, when it's quite obvious that he was Semitic and nothing like those pictures. As I left I came across the Japanese Museum of Western Art, so I went in. It was free, and after perusing the small inventory, I could ascertain why. They had some good pieces, like Monet's Water Lilies, but it was (understandably) really just tiny in comparison to other places I've been. They also had lots of Rodin sculptures outside, and my favorite, The Burghers of Calais, so I quite liked that.

After my fill of the museum district (having ignored a number of other non-promising edifices), I headed for another busy ward/area/district of Tokyo that houses the Toyota Auto Salon, Ikebukuro. The showroom was impressive because you could see all of the most recent models, but none of the cars were really familiar to me because they were the Japanese versions, not what they sell back in the States. I walked around Akihabara some and ate dinner near my hostel, and after strongly considering a trip to Roppongi that night, decided to just rest. Looking back, I wish I'd have gone down there, but I was just discouraged because of my inability to communicate well.

Sunday I finished up going to some places I had previously not had time for, and I took in the sights and sounds for a final few moments before ineptly locating a train to take me back to Narita. I got to the airport with two hours to spare, so I went around the gift shops and ended up writing a list of everything that had happened in my life in 2008 on a month-by-month basis. Before making the list, I'd thought of the year with a slighty negative overtone, but after reviewing all the events and considering them as a whole, I had to admit it was a pretty good year with just a few problems, and I had a tendency to highlight those negatives instead of the far more numerous and significant positives. Anyway, it's an exercise I recommend, because you will probably surprise yourself with all that's happened in your life in a year. I feel this past year could have comprised a decade of events, and I guess I wouldn't want it any other way.

So, my summary thoughts on Tokyo: basically, I compare it to an Asian version of Paris. It's busy, fashionable, upscale, somewhat touristy, expensive, and the center of all things Japanese. It had its own Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysee, royal palace (like Le Louvre), and a dozen other things that cause it to strongly correspond to Paris. It was good to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. I found the Japanese less friendly than Koreans, and far less likely to help a lost foreigner. But that's not to say it was a negative experience, because overall it wasn't. It's just not my ideal place. But to see a city that has such a high population that yet can function so well was certainly impressive. I was in awe the whole time and thought the city to be a monument to human achievement.

Anyway, the best part of the trip for me was the return flight, for two reasons. First, I felt much more comfortable back on my home soil in Korea, and second, I met a great girl on the flight back. We are going out to downtown tonight to celebrate New Year's. There's a park with a big bell that is rung every year at midnight, so I think it'll be fun to check it out.

Tokyo--Days 1 and 2

So Tokyo is pretty big. I've spent several hours just walking up and down a hundred different streets with my brain totally overloaded from all that I've seen and experienced. It's been busy since I arrived, so I figured I ought to write down my thoughts before they vanished into the haze of this trip.

I arrived Thursday afternoon and started off the trip with two problems: 1. I left the wonderfully useful Japanese dictionary/phrasebook on the train on the way to the airport, and thus had no way to communicate, at all, and 2. Visa thought it would be funny to disregard the note on my account that said I would be traveling around Asia for at least a year, so they froze my account the second I tried to use my card at Narita Airport to exchange money. So I had to use my emergency cash to get enough yen to call Visa's 800 number so I could remove the hold on my account. I accomplished this task after a 600 yen phone call, and was then able to get the cash I needed. After those two early setbacks, everything else was great. I got a nice subway and city map, arrived at my hostel in the late afternoon, and then spent five or six hours wandering around. It was the first time I'd just wandered through a metropolis with no plan and no real direction. I really just wanted to take in the sights and watch the people and see what would happen, so I ended up doing just that. I witnessed Japanese pop culture, observed eating habits, explored entertainment districts, rode endless subway lines, and basically just absorbed everything I could. It was mentally exhausting and overwhelming, and I felt some strong culture shock for the first time. It was like I wasn't really there, instead I was just observing this alien city. No one talked to me, and I spoke to no one. It's a quiet city, too, for the most part. It seems like in Korea people are always out until after midnight, and the streets of Daegu are rarely empty, but in Tokyo, with the exception of a few special areas, the whole city is indoors and quiet after 10pm.
Friday I embarked on my plans to see some major tourist sites. I first walked to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, where I must have been one of only 100 visitors that day. I learned lots about the history of the exchange and it's switch from a "call out" system like on Wall Street and instead to a fully computerized one about 10 years ago. As a result, inside the Stock Exchange you can only see a large glass cylinder where a handful of workers monitor the Exchange to make sure there aren't any crashes or problems.
From there I went to the Imperial Palace where the crown prince lives. It's only open on two days during the year, so the visitors can only see the outside moats and walls of the fortress. I left there after just a few minutes and ambled off towards the subway station, but on the way I caught a glimpse of Tokyo Tower, a knock-off of the Eiffel Tower that stands a few meters taller than its Parisian counterpart, so I headed towards it. Along the way I bought some food at a street stand, saw a random shrine, and climbed a thousand stairs. From the Tower you can see all of Tokyo and even Mount Fuji which is 50 or so miles away.

My next goal was a famous Meiji Shrine. The Meiji Emperor took over in the latter half of the 1860s and was critical in Japanese history because he opened up the country to Westernization (see Tom Cruise's The Last Samurai for a slightly ahistorical representation of the period). Tons of foreigners were around this site as it was also close to a popular shopping district called the 'Champs-Elysee' of Tokyo. The shrine itself wasn't all that interesting, and I wanted to kick myself for going while knowing that there wouldn't be much to see. It's just like seeing the Eiffel Tower or Times Square: you don't actually need to do anything there, but you just should go because you are in the city and it's a well-known place. Whatever. I went shopping from here and found a massive English bookstore with lots of good books, but the prices were three times higher than American stores, so I didn't buy anything. I then went to the hostel and crashed...

Christmas came early...thanks to Joy and Reed!

As of 12/22 at 13:18 eastern time, I became an uncle! Joy and Reed had Audrey Kate Parman in the early afternoon in Jacksonville, and that event constitutes the only regret I had in coming to Korea. I really wanted to be there to celebrate the birth and all, but at least I was able to see Reed and Audrey on Skype at a the hospital. Audrey was as healthy as could be, and I saw about a hundred pictures with her being held by every member of the family. Maybe I can photoshop my head onto one of the bodies so when Audrey asks me in twenty years where I was when she was born, I can show her some evidence. =)

As for life here in Korea, it's been fun recently. I finished up Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 and I thought it was one of the most fun, witty, and engaging novels I've ever read. It's good stuff...read it if you get a chance. I also saw a couple of movies recently: Australia and Tropic Thunder. Neither of them were that impressive, both receiving about a 5 out of 10 from me. Went to the board game cafe again a few nights ago and played Battleship (I beat David), Risk (I lost to David in a gutsy move and a single die roll), and Star Wars Epic Duels (Sasha, David, and I each won a round). =)

Sunday I went to a Korean wedding. It was astounding. The wedding hall (hotel) hosted five weddings, all within a few hours of each other. The ceremony itself lasted all of fifteen or twenty minutes, most of which was a guy talking to the couple. Some of the strange things were the bubbles that surrounded the couple as they marched up the aisle together at the outset, the staged smoke that shrouded their feet, the jumbo screen that filled one wall of the hall, the 50 or more guests who talked throughout the entire ceremony with total disregard for the processions, the wedding cake that was carted out to be cut by the newlyweds and then carted back, and the groom being made to do push-ups in his tuxedo. We went out to T.G.I.Friday's for the wedding reception and I partook of some lovely ribs. =)

Not too much else is going on with me at the moment, except I'm getting excited about seeing Japan and all. Some big news did come up today at work, though. Apparently the troubled economy is resulting in a 30% reduction in our workforce. Most of those cuts will happen in Seoul, but our center will be losing a teacher and several Korean staff members, and they will make all the decisions by Friday. That could mean some big changes for me and the staff in the next few days...which of course I'll miss because I'll be in Japan. =(

Tied Up

My new coworker David often wears a tie to work. I don't. Matthew, Adam, Doug, Patrick, and Chris--the entirety of the male staff--also do not wear ties to work. So I mentioned to David that wearing one wasn't necessary, but he persisted. So, we recently made a joke out of it. On Thursday, I also wore a tie to work with the intention of logging all the inconveniences related to wearing ties throughout the day so I could relate them to David. This was of course a joke. At the end of the day I had compiled a nice list: 1. It prevents proper and convenient usage of the water closet, 2. it hinders workplace cohesion by creating a foolish competitiveness among employees, 3. coupled with my blondness, it makes me irresistible to students, 4. it looks businesslike and professional...uh...wait, no....uh...., 5. you can't do yoga well in a tie (David attempted yoga in his tie on Thursday), and 6. ties make foreigners look like Mormon missionaries. As you can see, there's a lot of solid reasons for not wearing one. Somehow this tie debate turned into a "who-has-the-best-tie" contest later in the day, and despite my early lead at the polls with a 3-2 lead, I ended up losing 11-3 (I think it was conspiratorial). So we devised a new contest for Friday, "worst tie/shirt combination competition." Friday morning I bought a fabulous Korean tie: brown, green, and pearl with a bizarrely arabesque pattern. See Facebook for an image. I won the votes handily on Friday, 30-1. David's tie combo, intended to clash, actually appeared fashionable to a number of the Koreans. I was accused of cheating because of my tie purchase, but it was nevertheless a win, and our contest is now at a standstill--we are tied until further contests emerge. In other weekday news, I finished the French novel The Charterhouse of Parma, recommended as a classic from the 19th century. It was tolerably entertaining until the last few pages, which the author seemed to have carelessly heaped together to end his overly long story, and which resulted in them being absolute garbage. Oh well.

Friday we celebrated a staff member's birthday, Gemma. We also played some darts, and I was able to reclaim my status as "okay" after my disappointing prior showing. Saturday I had tentative plans to go to Seoul and see Yun Hye and Dana, but Dana was in the hospital recovering from an intestinal infection and was obviously indisposed for the weekend. So instead, I slept in on Saturday and went to get a Thai massage downtown. I had my coworkers call ahead to make sure the place was reputable, and feeling relatively secure in their assurances, I went to the 11th floor of the Hotel Amigo where the massage parlor was located. Much to my surprise, although it should have been quite evident at the time, the room I was taken to for my massage was simply a hotel room, complete with a small bathroom, a television, and a small wardrobe. On the bed was a change of loose fitting clothes, like pajamas, and I was feeling quite uncomfortable and tense by the time the masseuse came in. She was actually Thai, another unecessary surprise (I was told the staff was Korean), and she spoke only a few words of English. Despite the initial discomfort and awkwardness that has typified my international massage experiences (Brazil was even worse) everything was fine and the massage was quite good. She used her elbows and forearms often, rather than just kneading muscles with her hands, and the results were quite good. I felt more limber and relaxed than I had in many months after the session. From there I went to Kyungbook University to see a concert. The concert was okay--not great and not bad--and it finished around 7p. After returning downtown I caught up with David, his girlfriend, and about five of their old coworkers. David had been in Daegu a year teaching at another school before starting at Wall Street, so he was catching up with them when I joined. We also played some darts and chatted for several hours.

Sunday I woke up a bit late and did some reading. I finished all of Deadeye Dick, a Vonnegut novel set in Ohio. I really enjoyed it, as I do with pretty much everything he writes. I was inspired upon finishing to work on some of the short stories I've had swirling around in my mind, and so I got to work on some of them. I had lots of time Sunday, since church was largely cancelled for a packed-out performance of Handel's Messiah, which I had no interest in seeing. Later that night David and I went to Doug's place for a guy's night: movies and Halo and trash-talking and eating and laughing and punching each other and laughing some more. It's a fun life in Korea. =)

Talked to Joy and Reed on Skype for awhile Monday morning. It was good to catch up with them and swap stories, and it almost made me miss home. Perhaps without the convenience of Skype, I would miss it....

Reading The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James this week. It looks to be a challenge. I'm not excited about it thus far. I'd rather be writing. Funny side note: as I'm writing this, on the 16th floor of a downtown skyscraper, I'm watching two Koreans playing badminton on the spacious roof of a six or seven story building. It's got to be in the low 30s, lower with the wind chill, but that fact certainly does not deter them from getting in meaningful midday exercise. And amazingly, the shuttlecock hasn't flown off the building...yet. Going to Tokyo next week--trying to decide what to see while I'm there...okay, that's it for today.

Book List

Today a friend of mine requested that I send him a list of about a dozen literary classics to read over the next year, and his admirable request prompted me to think through what I think are essential "reads." So, based on the last few years of my reading experience done for pleasure, higher education, and my own personal benefit, I've compiled a list of twelve works--one book per month--that would make for a suitable goal for the upcoming year. Feel free to suggest any classics to me that you think would be useful as well.

I'm choosing the following titles for a couple of reasons. First, they exhibit excellent literary quality and a person can improve simply by allowing their mind to engage in the ideas presented. Second, these works are part of the fabric of our society, demonstrating tremendous cultural relevance, influence, and references. Finally, they function as both mirror and flashlight, for the reader can see themselves in the pages and can utilize these texts to examine themselves, those around them, and society. This list is drawn from Greek, British, African, American, Chinese, French, and Roman sources, and, obviously, is merely my opinion of worthwhile reading.

Some are fairly short, none should be over 400 pages.

These are not in any special order. Let me know if you need any clarification.

1. Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth (any or all would be greatly beneficial--these are Shakespeare's top works)
2. The Good Earth, Pearl Buck
3. Candide, Voltaire
4. Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
5. The Odyssey (I like the Fitzgerald translation, but many others prefer Fagles)
6. 1984, George Orwell
7. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
8. Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe
9. Meditations, Marcus Aurelius
10. Frankenstein (1818 text), Mary Shelley
11. Oedipus Rex, Sophocles
12. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Snowy Season!

I woke up this week on Friday morning and quickly remembered that snow was in the forecast. I rushed to my window and found that there was snow falling everywhere! It was a beautiful and memorable scene, made more poignant because of its rarity compared to Florida. That was around 8am, but strangely, by the time I was walking out the door to work, the snow was mostly gone. It was really short-lived, but I'm glad I saw it while it was here, and perhaps it will come back in a few weeks. The temperature has really dropped lately, so I'm wearing my jacket, hat, gloves, and scarf most every day. I think it's fun, though sometimes the walk to work is a bit uncomfortable.
In other news, I got an awesome Christmas package from my mom. Unfortunately I could only open the pair of gloves and two books that I'd ordered from Amazon--the rest of the gift-wrapped present must remain unopened for a little longer. They make for nice decoration in the house, though, so I don't mind too much.
This past week at work was a little tough as we were down a few teachers. We have a new teacher, David, from England (not really from Wales--he just lived there for a while) and he seems like he'll fit in well. Sasha is nearing the end of her stay here, so we've been hanging out as much as possible. We went to a board game cafe to play Risk twice in the last week, and good luck and some strategizing let me conquer. It's such a fun game! I really enjoy it. We played with five people in one game, which is all the better, because everyone is so unpredictable and anything can happen. I was paid back handily though in darts. Usually I win by a fairly large margin, but last night I was destroyed three games in a row by the typically mediocre Doug. He somehow played the best darts of his life and consecutively dominated all of us, shamed as I am to admit it. =)
This only other big news I have is that I am going to Tokyo for four days later this month. There was a really good deal for a round-trip ticket from Busan to Tokyo that was half-price. It's actually cheaper than taking the ferry across and comes with meal service, so I was really blessed to get such a deal. I'll leave Christmas morning and get to Tokyo in the early afternoon, and stay until Sunday night. I think it will be fun to explore one of the world's largest cities and experience a completely different culture. I'll make sure to take lots of pictures.

A November to Remember

So, looking back on November, I'd have to say it was perhaps the best month yet. I feel more and more comfortable here all the time. I know the bus system, the subway system, where to buy the best groceries, where to shop for other things, how to heat my home, where to hang out, and where to get the best meals. In short, I now feel fully at home. I even got a toaster this past week, which has significantly broadened my breakfast possibilities.

I'm going to try to be more concise and to the point in this blog, to keep my scant readers from getting lost in the tedium of my thoughts. So this past week there were a few notable happenings. First, my coworker Sasha finished her last work day, and while she is still here for another week or two, she'll soon be going to Moscow for another teaching job. She brought a lot of energy and camraderie to the office and is a really fun person, and I'm sad to see her go. Her replacement showed up Friday and started today. David's Welsh--and acutally the first guy I've ever met from Wales. He's polite, formal, about two years younger than me, has some teaching experience, and overall seems like a good guy. My other coworker from the UK, Adam, went home for two weeks, and with Sasha being gone, there's only five teachers instead of the usual seven working right now (David is training for the week) so we are teaching more classes than normal. I don't mind it--it makes the days go by quickly--but it means I'm getting less reading time than before at work....haha.

The weekend was full of fun, and probably was one of the most packed I've had recently. Friday night was a house-warming celebration for Doug's girlfriend Cheri, and we chatted and played games til 2am. Saturday I slept in and met Christina at Outback for a "thank you" lunch. I'd helped her several times to prepare for English interviews for jobs in Seoul and the lunch was a more-than-adequate compensation. I had a rack of ribs (at her insistence) and I ate the entire plate. These were no ordinary ribs, either--they had been seasoned and grilled to an unusual degree of perfection and I loved them. After lunch Christina and I parted ways and I met up with my new-found Korean friends at the English study group. We chatted in a Korean tea shop for a few hours about "green" energy, blind dates, and fast food, then Vivian and I went to Doug's apartment for the long-anticipated Thanksgiving meal. We had mashed potatoes, stuffing, Swedish meatballs, broccoli and cheese, and some roasted chicken (turkey being mostly unavailable here). We stayed and chatted for a while, then took off around 11:00p so Vivian could catch her train to Gumi, a town about 35 minutes away by train. Silly as it sounds, the 35 minute train commute takes the same time as a subway commute across Daegu, so it's really not all that far away.

Sunday I got up early to play soccer with Phillip and Jason. We played til 1p on artificial turf, so that adds up to about four hours of solid playing time. There were three or four teams (I couldn't quite tell because players were switching jerseys so frequently) and so I had some break times in between. The highlight of the day was scoring my debut goal in the Korean soccer league--I intercepted a pass intended for the keeper and placed the shot perfectly between the keeper and the near post. However, I missed two one-on-one chances with the keeper later on, which my team jokingly harped on me for. The weather was ridiculously cold and windy because we were playing on a field in the mountains, so I had to borrow a jacket to avoid freezing. After the games, I went home and got dressed for church and went off to the English Bible study group. We talked about Moses and his objections to serving, and the Koreans put a spin on it that I hadn't considered before so it was fresh for me. After the study I took the subway to Daegu's train station and got a ticket to Gumi to meet Vivian for dinner. We ate at a Japanese place and then spent a few hours chatting in Starbucks. (As an aside, we saw a girl get "hit" by a car on the street outside while we were chatting, and an ambulance came and collected her. I think she was faking or was just frightened, and wasn't really injured.) Vivian and I have a lot in common, and I think she carries more potential than most of the girls I've met. She's mature, independent, intelligent, open-minded, goal-oriented, and she has a heart for other people. I like her.

I'm going to start listening to Christmas music over the next few days, and I've heard numerous reports of snow falling across the country, which I'm eagerly awaiting for Daegu. December is here!