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why korea? oh i will tell you…
On 04, Jul 2011 | No Comments | In Uncategorized | By Natalie
so you say you are interested
in teaching abroad?
and you are thinking about coming to Korea?
let me tell you right now,
teaching abroad is not for everyone.
and Korea is probably not for everyone either…
but if your on the fence
about plans for your future,
you should consider this burst of
persuasion.
at least think about it.
number one:
i teach some of the
cutest kids you’ve
ever seen.
number two:
Koreans grow massive amount of their produce
in country.
and let me tell you…
whatever comes with the season…
will take your breath away.
number three: the old men.
sometimes these lovely old men
might invite
you to drink a little beer
and eat a little squid with them
because you just happened to be
sitting in their favorite spot
in the park.
the spot where they have
sat,
drank,
and munched on squid together
for the past…
the past forever.
number four: rice fields.
because they are just actually so awesome.
so foreign to me.
and so breathtakingly beautiful.
number five:
you get to wear amazing shoes like this…
at work.
typically with socks
showcasing the most popular
cartoon characters.
and if it’s winter…
you get to wear slippers.
number six:
mogyoktangs.
i.e.
korean bath houses.
with separate bathing areas for
men and women
[yes you will be naked throughout this whole experience]
you will discover
something so wonderful
you’ll wonder how you ever lived without
such pure
bliss.
 |
| picture from this fun blog. |
number seven:
Korean co-teachers.
if you are fortunate enough to have them
they will make your life better.
and completely
worth it.
all you must do
is take the time to get to know them.
they’ve changed my life.
that’s for sure.
and i will never be the same again.
number eight:
after the long winter color emerges in the form of…
cherry blossoms.
and it’s just as magical as it sounds.
number nine:
Korean baseball.
best.sporting.event.i’ve.ever.been.to.
no.question.
number ten:
the special coffee drinks.
best latte i’ll ever drink.
made to perfection
each and every time!
and i’ve only just begun…
are you teaching and living abroad in
Korea?
tell me why you love it.
squids & trains.
On 21, Jun 2011 | 2 Comments | In Uncategorized | By Natalie
i stood on the other side
of the security tape.
watching as my lovely mother
extended her passport
[with two hands]
to the security guard.
she flashed the peace sign.
her shoulders signaled
a deep and slow sigh.
a final goodbye was mouthed.
and then my lovely mother
disappeared behind the security barrier.
i stood very still.
the people bustled around me.
the giant clock hanging high over head
moved on.
i felt convinced she might reemerge
from behind that barrier.
but she didn’t.
she journeyed on.
breathed in. breathed out.
and i realized i must too.
i caught the express subway.
from incheon international airport
to seoul station.
and just like that, we pulled away.
we were moving.
the ever-prompt and informative
korean public transportation system
with the flashing screen
in multi-languages
informed me
this ride would take approximately
54 minutes.
and i realized…
i’d stayed too long at the airport.
and i was going to miss my 5:00 pm [17:00] train,
bound for my Korean home.
but as luck would have it.
i stepped onto the KTX train
car number 12.
seat 14D
at 4:59.and a half…
just as the doors were closing.
just having sprinted up four levels of escaladers.
from the very deepest depths of the world
of seoul subway systems,
my breath was heavy
as i approached my seat,
“아줌마..??”
adjumma…
i addressed the older woman who would be
my seat-mate for the ride.
she smiled kindly and stood to move
so i could slide between her
and the window
into 14D.
and just like that, we pulled away.
we were moving.
the Korean country side
blurred in and out of my distracted attention.
i tried to read.
i tried to listen to a “this American life” episode.
my seat-mate slowly and methodically read
her newspaper.
without warning.
a few tears settled themselves into my eyes.
and they would not be blinked back.
my face.
it was turned from her [my seat-mate],
out the window
to the rolling rice patties
perfect in their twists
and playful, deliberate turns.
the next thing i knew.
my seat-mate adjumma
was offering me half the package
of her snack,
dried squid.
with a little wet-wipe even
for my assumedly dirty hands.
she wouldn’t even look at me
as i fumbled through my feeble polite-Korean
language attempts.
she pushed the squid into
my hands with serious force.
her face barely hinted at a smile.
her act was done out of necessity.
not for her.
but for me.
how could she tell?
was it the few measly sniffles
that made their escape from my tight throat
into the wide wide world?
or was it something about her mother’s heart,
that just knew?
i hate dried squid.
but this one.
went down brilliantly.
and i never tasted something so sweet.
and just like that…
we kept moving.
letters and the post office.
On 09, Jun 2011 | No Comments | In Uncategorized | By Natalie
it’s faster to type.
you’ll get it momentarily,
if not instantly.
i can
:::skype you.
IM you.
email you.
facebook you.
facebook chat you.
gchat you.
tweet you.:::
did i miss any?
in a world of utter connection
:::exchange of pictures.exclamations.words.memories.news:::
staying in the loop
with the happenings of,
well just about anyone,
is a breeze.
:::the president of Yemen.my sister living in India.my girlfriend country hopping from Egypt to Saudi with her family.my little cousin’s latest soccer game.and my friend’s hot date last friday:::
but there is something to be said
about receiving [and sending] mail
that cannot be matched.
i’m talking about mail,
the kind embraced in an envelop.
the kind you lick to close…
[hoping you don’t cut your tongue].
the kind where you have to look up
the other’s postal address.
the kind dropped into the little
red [or blue] box on the corner.
the kind that is still
a complete mystery of how it goes
from that little red[or blue]
box on the corner,
over highways and under bridges,
to airports and over
rivers and oceans,
trucks to little vehicles,
to the small satchel the man
with blue pants
[who sincerely hopes the receiver owns
no canine to speak of]
to…you.
the kind when the little PO Box lid
is lifted in mindless routine.
the kind that catches something
in the gut,
something like small sparks
igniting from the eyes to the
stomach and back again
when that little-traveled-envelop
catches your attention
in the mail slot
and you know that little message.
is intended
for you.
so here i am.
living in the land of stationary stores
literally around every curve and bend.
and with unbelievable graphics
and English-tag lines like this…
HAPPY DAY! ! !
when your feeling down, take a bath. you’ll look better and feel cleaner too.
how can you you not stock up,
buying stationary for
everyone you know?
[INSERT PICTURE HERE].
Korean post offices
think of everything.
i mean really.
there’s the packaging and addressing station
complete with four different
kinds of tape,
various markers with which
to address your mail,
spectacles
[in case you forgot your glasses at home],
a choice of 20 different sizes
of boxes and envelops.
i waited in the international line,
with all the ladies.
assumedly mothers.
clutching their varying sized parcels
of gimchi,
the Korean national food.
a few letters and
small birthday package
in hand.
packed and ready to go.
i gave them one last look
and a wish for safe traveling.
i tried to imagine the moment when
my friends,
my grandmother,
my cousin,
would pull the lid to that mailbox.
i wondered if the butterflies,
the catch in the throat
would come.
until next post office visit.
watch your postbox!
i beg you…
On 31, May 2011 | No Comments | In Uncategorized | By Natalie
i beg you,
to have patience with
everything
unresolved in your heart.
and to try.
to love the questions
themselves.
as if they were
locked
in a room
or
books written in
a very foreign
language.
don’t search for the answers,
which could not be
given to you now.
because you would not
be able to
live
them.
and the point?
to live.
everything.
live the questions now.
perhaps then,
someday
far in the future.
you will gradually,
without even
noticing it…
you will live your way
into the answers.
so today.
breath in.
and breath out.
look around.
what do you see?
poem compliments of Rainer Maria Rilke.
i added and changed the style a bit.
$5,000 & a years worth of chocolate.
On 25, May 2011 | No Comments | In Uncategorized | By Natalie
this is the photo.
that won
the years worth of
Endangered Species Chocolate
and
$5,000 to my favorite
environmentally focused non-profit.
after much research
and deliberation.
Youth Farms and Market Program
will be the ones
receiving this prize money.
their main goal is to empower kids
through the process of growing food
in several urban gardens in
Minneapolis/St. Paul.
they have garden plots in the
Lyndale, Powderhorn, and
West Side Neighborhoods.
Youth Farm and Market Program is about
connecting locally produced food to
the neighborhood communities from
which it was grown.
they are about educating youth,
living in urban neighborhoods,
in gardening, nutrition and
entrepreneurship skills.
by seeing this young
and growing generation
and what
ideas
and
dreams
they have to offer their communities,
YFMP is empowering young voices to be
advocates and leaders within their own communities.
and this is why i am excited to see the
money going to support them.
as for the chocolate?
and the bewildering question
that has always tormented me:
“just what exactly does a year’s supply of
anything look like?!”
well look no further…
coming in six different varieties…
it’s hard for a girl to
know where to begin!
maybe here.
but don’t worry.
with an incredibly long shelf life
i have to some time.
until the next chocolate bar,
stay in peace.
peanut butter.
On 23, May 2011 | No Comments | In Uncategorized | By Natalie
sometimes the circumstances of life
give us no choices.
or at least.
the choices are
…limited and
just plain unfortunate.
exhibit a:
peanut butter.
typically
upon a trip to the local
grocer.
it is hard to not be overwhelmed
by the selection.
but this.
is not currently true
about my grocery shopping experience.
and so i am left with
limited choices:
like Skippy Peanut Butter.
[just plain unfortunate].
it’s been a few now
since one
g.i.a.n.t
jug of Skippy has been consumed.
and upon completion.
i knew.
this could not happen again.
so i bought some peanuts.
from the local grandmother
selling her collection
on the corner.
after a trip to the local
superstore.
i left proudly cradling a
blender slash food processor,
that i was
convinced would greatly
enhance my life.
three ingredients.
peanuts.
canola oil.
and some locally grown honey.
i’m still working out
the perfect combination of
the three.
but generally
it goes something
like this:
2 cups of peanuts.
2 tablespoons of oil.
1 long drizzle of honey.
grind well.
yet cautiously.
because some
blenders slash food processors
are better than others.
so.
go easy.on.her.
and soon you will realize.
that limited options
only happen
with a limited imagination
and determination.
and i can now
proudly say,
Skippy?
oh is that a children’s game?
i am just
a beginner in my
tales of peanut butter making.
so any suggestions for
tweaks and adjustments
would be greatly toiled over.
[and appreciated].
pass them on please!
until the next
peanut butter adventure…
"just root.root.root for the home team"
On 17, May 2011 | No Comments | In Uncategorized | By Natalie
i think i startled her.
because i nearly jumped at her
when she walked into
class today.
“what is that on your shirt!!?”
silence. perhaps a gasp.
speaking more slowly,
i try again.
“do you know? your shirt?
do you know what it says?“
she stares.
and giggles
nervously.
she has no idea.
i try one more time,
“my baseball team.”
i make the
universally understood swinging
baseball motion.
“daegu, samsung lions?
same-same…
minnesota twins.”
“ok, teacher.”
is her only response.
she graciously allowed me
a photograph
to document my
disbelief.
korea is truly amazing.
truly amazing
at copying.
i’m pretty sure you doesn’t know it.
but it’s rooting.
for my
home team.
some favorite things
On 07, May 2011 | One Comment | In Uncategorized | By Natalie
dear mom.
somethings i really like to do
with you.
and only you…
like getting up early to
share a cup of tea.
like pulling up our pant-legs
mid-march,
to show
neither of us
wearing socks.
like shopping,
wandering around
and enjoying the beauty
of lovely things.
like red shoes.
stealing…
oh i mean
…
borrowing.
borrowing each others
coveted shoe finds.
like morning walks
through the woods
behind the house of my childhood.
like dreaming about the future
and what it could hold
for both of us.
like telling you all about
the things that
seem to be running around
in my brain.
like riding in your
car
with the top down
and singing along to our
favorite musicals
for all to hear.
so today.
as mother’s day approaches.
i just want to say,
thanks for being my mom.
thanks for choosing to wear
this title:
mother.
you bear it well.
you’ve pursued it beautifully.
i admire that it is but
one of the many titles
you bear
that make up who you are.
so thanks.
because i really enjoy
being your
daughter.
and being the one
who gets to remind you
of this choice you made,
every time
i call you…
like getting up early to
share a cup of tea.
like pulling up our pant-legs
mid-march,
to show
neither of us
wearing socks.
like shopping,
wandering around
and enjoying the beauty
of lovely things.
like red shoes.
stealing…
oh i mean
…
borrowing.
borrowing each others
coveted shoe finds.
like morning walks
through the woods
behind the house of my childhood.
like dreaming about the future
and what it could hold
for both of us.
like telling you all about
the things that
seem to be running around
in my brain.
like riding in your
car
with the top down
and singing along to our
favorite musicals
for all to hear.
so today.
as mother’s day approaches.
i just want to say,
thanks for being my mom.
thanks for choosing to wear
this title:
mother.
you bear it well.
you’ve pursued it beautifully.
i admire that it is but
one of the many titles
you bear
that make up who you are.
so thanks.
because i really enjoy
being your
daughter.
and being the one
who gets to remind you
of this choice you made,
every time
i call you…
“mom”.
love & love.
your daughter,
me.
easter: tradition
On 25, Apr 2011 | One Comment | In Uncategorized | By Natalie
i was on the phone
with my mom
just the other day.
we talked of the upcoming
holiday:
easter.
being far away from
family and friends,
i asked what festivities
would be taking place at home
without me.
the easter egg hunt?
the egg dying?
the visiting easter bunny?
lunch?
brunch?
family photos?
no, she replied.
the usual easter festivities
are on pause
until another year, she said.
because
this year my family finds itself
stationed in various
locations
around the globe.
we are not together.
and so the usual is not
the usual this year.
before i knew what was happening.
i was …. angry.
at my mom.
my mom?
whose children have traveled far
from her by their own accord.
whose children are not filling
her house this holiday.
i was angry at
my mom.
because when you are not home.
you imagine that home still goes on.
in fact, you need it to.
because it is home.
it’s your culture.
it’s your traditions.
it has made you
who you are.
but what i sometimes forget…
is that MY CHOICES
affect the whole.
MY CHOICES,
not to be classified as
good
or
bad.
but just as MY CHOICES.
they affect my mom,
they affect home.
my irrational anger
turned to simple disappointment,
all the while giving me
greater understanding
of myself
of what i want
and what i desire in life.
i realized that i needed
the traditions.
the remembrance of the traditions
when i find myself
a long way from home.
because it is the traditions
that serve as a reminder of
who i am
of who i want to be
and of where i come from.
because sometimes it takes
distance for you
realize that you need
reminders.
reminders
of who you are.
who you want to be.
and where it is you came from.
so, dear friends,
make the traditions.
remind your family, your friends,
your sisters,
your children, your aunties
and cousins.
remind them to mark the days.
because someday
you might find that your little girl
has traveled a long way
from home.
and you might find that you miss her on
the special days.
but you can be sure…
you can be sure that the traditions,
the way you marked the days,
while they might have
seemed foolish,
so much work and effort
at the time.
you can be sure,
that she now holds onto them.
perhaps clings to them
as she is out there
in the world.
as she walks confidently out into
the world,
she holds within her
bits of you
that you gave her
steadily over the years.
she might never acknowledge it.
to you
or even herself.
but it matters.
the traditions,
they matter.
mark the days.
so when distance separates,
you can be reminded.
that is…
if you need a reminder
which, sometimes we do.
this is how my mom celebrated her easter day this year.
with a small red pot of tea, the afternoon sun, along the mississippi river…
this is how i celebrated my easter day this year.
with some friends, a blanket, the afternoon sun, along the river…
happy easter.
stay in touch
