Taipei Getaway

When my coteacher told me last week that I had off May 23-May 28th last week, I was so excited.  I jumped on my trusted flight search site, looked for the cheapest flights, and found ones for Taipei, Taiwan were super cheap.  Done!  After booking my hostel and finding out where swing dancing was in the city, I didn't really bother with more.  It wasn't until Tuesday night that I finally sat down and made a list of things I wanted to see and do.  Completely different from how I normally do things!  Rather thrilling and exciting honestly!
After I landed, I got directions for which bus to take and was on my way to Taipei!  I felt incredibly awesome to be honest, as buses terrify me, and I can't read or speak a lick of Chinese.  Yeah, strange, I know.  The bus driver was incredibly nice and came to get me when we reached the stop I needed though.  I was able to find the MTR, which is the local subway system, and reach my hostel around 10pm.  (The entrance to the hostel is literally just a door between two stores.  It was deceptively hard to find at first!)  I immediately learned that the woman working the desk had chosen Rita as her English name!  How crazy is that!  I also learned tonight that her favorite dog is the corgi!!!  (for those of you who don't know, that's mine too!)  I spent the evening talking with some of the other guests, and it felt really awesome.  Last night I meet, two Taiwanese women working at the hostel who can both speak English, an American, a Korean who speak a tiny bit of English and fair amount of Chinese, a Japanese who speak Chinese and English, and a Chinese who speaks English.  Wow!  Man, I am slacking!  I gotta get my learning on and pick up at least one language!!!  (I think that will be my intellectual goal for the remainder of the year.)  I knew this place was really going to be awesome though when, after dropping my things off and settling in on the couch, Rita 1 (the hostel Rita.  I am Rita 2.) walked in saying, "Girl time!" while carrying two different nail polishes.  xD  Oh yeah, I love this place!  After hanging out for a little while and speaking with one of the women on places to visit, I crawled into bed and gratefully drifted off to sleep.
Today I headed out to explore the city.  Starting with Longshan Temple across the city, I slowly began to explore the lower corner of Taipei.  The temple was beautiful, intricately detailed and heavily populated with believers coming to worship.  Though not very big, definitely a must-see of the city!  I decided I wanted to try and see the river, so being the crazy foreigner that I am, I began to walk towards the water front!  Keep in mind, I'm one of maybe 5 white Europeans I've seen all day, and a female, walking alone in a part of Taipei I bet no foreigners ever go to.  It was around this time that I began to notice the stares that wouldn't end until I returned to my hostel this evening.  Sadly I couldn't figure out how to reach the river, and I was beginning to feel nervous being so far out honestly after a while.  So, I found a little place on the side of the street for lunch, got this strange, yet deliciously warm, sandwich thing (I was craving street food, what can I say!) before meandering back to the subway.  I explored Chian Kia Sheck Memorial Hall and sat in the shade of a small park nearby sketching one of the pretty trees.  (By the way, London isn't the only city with soldiers who stand still!  There were two soldiers at the entrance to the main building.  They were so still, I couldn't even tell if they were real at first- dead serious!  Even their eyes didn't move from what I could tell!  As I was leaving, I saw a man walk over, remove the rope blocking one of the soldiers off, and pull his uniform straight for him.  It was the most bizarre thing I've ever seen.)
Seeing as how it was crazy hot, I went back to the hostel for a break.  I was invited by Kang to join her and Akira for dinner and shopping at 6pm.  What the hey, why not?!  Since there was still 2 hours, I hopped on a bus and explored an old soldier village near Taipei Building 101.  It was delightfully pretty there.  Surrounding the area are modern buildings, with the 101 building looming just a block away, creating this really neat contrast between city and country.  The area wasn't very big, you could walk through and around the whole place in less then 10 minutes probably.  It's replicated to look like an old soldiers village, just scaled down I think.  There were buildings, most of them empty though and only for appearance.  There was wonderfully grassy areas, big looming trees, and really pretty flowers surrounding the buildings, each with its own brightly colored door.  :)  I even saw not one, but three Taiwanese woman all dressed up in gowns getting professional photo shoots done too.  It was kinda cool.  I've now seen wedding or engagement photo shoots in Angkor Wat, Cambodia; Hoi An, Vietnam; and Taipei, Taiwan!  xD  Something rather awesome about that!  I tried to check out the 101 building, but the wait was 40 minutes, and I wanted to get back and take a shower before dinner.  So I have left that for another day instead.
On my way back to the hostel, I found a butterfly on the sidewalk.  I thought it might be dead at first, but it turned out to be alive and merely needed a little help.  I took it to the side, where it could be protected from the wind a little, and passerby's shoes.  It struggled for a few, crawled around on my hand before gaining enough strength to fly away.  I don't now what it is about butterflies, but they seem to like me.  ^.^
A mini self photo shoot, bus, and shower later, I joined Kang (a Korean woman visiting Taipei) and Akira (a Japanese guy studying Chinese here) for dinner at the local night market.  (Though I didn't know we were going there at first.  I didn't know what we were doing or where we going at all I must admit)  It was really funny watching them speak to each other.  They communicated through Chinese, seemed to argue every 5 minutes, and would occasionally remember I was there.  I didn't mind, and just enjoyed the company.  We idly walked the small night market nearby.  I stood as they argued for about 3 minutes over whether to eat at one open aired buffet style restaurant.  Something about traveling reduces my irritation level to near 0, so I found it entirely amusing.  We finally decided to eat there, and it was good.  On our walk back, I got some fresh squeezed orange juice (literally, I watched them grab oranges, cut them in half, squeeze the orange juice out and pour the juice in a cup!) and Kang got some fresh fruit.  We all shared the fruit, so it was a yummy way to end the evening!
Tomorrow, I think I'll go to the Taipai 101 building and then explore the fisherman's wharf.  In the evening, swing dancing!  :D 
Fantastico!  Me gusta bailar! 
(Some Chinese girl just walked behind me and showed me on skype to her Mom.  Weird . . . and slightly funny . . . I think she's only late teens, wayyyyy early 20's at best.)
Alright, I'm out.  After walking for nearly 10 hours today, I need some rest!
Peace, Love, and Traveling,
Rita

Late night writings

Sweet honest girl,
Learn to play the game.
Sweet honest girl,
You'll never be the same.

Naive blue eyes,
See the world all wrong.
Naive blue eyes,
Unsure where you belong.

Kind gentle one,
You don't understand.
Kind gentle one,
This is no dreamland.

Jaded girl, wise;
Let me in your heart.
Jaded girl, wise;
I'll be your fresh start.
---
Wary rabbit,
Always on my mind.
Wary rabbit,
It's you I long to find.

Woman misused,
Don't run in fear.
Woman misused,
Come close to me, near.

Long-distance friend,
Missing you always.
Long-distance friend,
My heart never strays.

Graceful, confused;
Let us meet tonight.
Graceful, confused;
In dreams, we hold tight.

------
Texted someone, and something they said inspired me.  I haven't written a poem in years, but this just kinda came to me.  I'm not very good with poems, but this seemed to flow.  So I didn't fight it.
I realized tonight that when you find someone you don't mind waiting for, you know you've found someone worth waiting for.
-----
Life in Korea has been good this semester.  Daily life is going well, I'm having troubles with my co-teacher, but that's normal at this point.  Bible study has ended, but my group continues to meet up anyways.  Having some troubles with a friend, but hopefully we'll pull through and salvage our friendship somehow.  A friend from back in the states may be coming to visit, and I'm really hoping he decides to!  It would be awesome to have a friend come here!!!  Uhm, let's see, what else . . .  Oh!  I went swing dancing both Wednesday and Friday this week!  It was great!  I danced almost the entire time both nights!  Though I found out from a guy friend that it's probably because the guys all find me attractive or something based on the shirts I wear.  They're normal western shirts, but no one shows anything below their collar bones here really, or shoulders for that matter.  And I do, so my normal shirts back home are a little scandalous maybe here.  :/  Oh well. 
I think the best way to understand the clash of Western vs. Easter culture is by describing a comic he told me about:
On the left side of the panel is a Korean woman. She is dressed in a high cut shirt, short mini skirt and heals.  On the right is a Western/American woman wearing jeans and a tank top.  A thought bubble coming from both of them, meets at the top of the panel and says "Whore".
In the west, it's okay to show upper torso skin, cleavage and bra straps.  In the east, it's okay to show leg, butt and even panties.  Just differences in culture.
I think it's interesting honestly, wonder how the differences came about.
Alright, bed time over here.  Hope everyone is doing well.
Love you,
Rita

Busan? Pusan? Who cares, it's a beach!

Last week was very stressful for me.  I don't know if my hormones decided to just mess with me for the fun of it, or what, but by Friday afternoon, I was ready to pop.  Thank goodness I had plans to go down south with my friend Sam for the weekend!  One city that my friends and I had all wanted to go was a beach town called Busan (or Pusan, depending upon where you look).  Since my one friends folks are in town for three weeks, she told us she planned to go down with them.  So Sam and I decided we'll go by ourselves, no biggy.  (Later we found out that she had decided to go down the same weekend as us!  At first we thought this was great news, but later found the opposite to be true sadly.)  Sam and I meet up, grabbed some food, and took the slightly slower train down to Busan.  While it was only 5 hours, the ride felt like it took forever, mostly because we would stop every 30 min or so and people stood in the aisle.  Poor Sam kept getting hit with bags since she was in the aisle seat.  We finally dragged our very tired bodies off the train around 11pm, found a taxi, then walked from the subway stop to our hostel.  After 12 failed attempts at contacting our friend to get our room key, she finally woke up enough to hand us our key.  Not gonna lie, we were kinda freaking out.
Despite sleeping in till 9am, we both felt really tired and I know I was incapable of a real conversation until Sam got some tea in me.  We (sort of, but not really) made lunch plan with our friend and her folks before we went off to a water temple.  It was pretty, but most temples look the same after a while, so didn't spend long walking around there.  There was a pretty area where you could sit on rocks and overlook the ocean right next to the temple though.  So we hung out there for a while, Sam just relaxing and me drawing.  A taxi brought us back to town where we had Mexican with our friend and her folks, which was fine.  They went off to a soccer game while we went to the beach!
Ahhhh, the beach.  I never imagined that I would miss something I felt so ambivalent towards growing up.  There's something calming, soothing and reminiscent of home about a beach now.  We just chilled on the steps, taking pictures, people watching, and talking.  We walked around, watched an amature dance competition, then walked around a park area.  We saw a mermaid statue and lighthouse!  :)  There was also a fun suspended bridge on the walk, I wish the whole thing was made that way!  We found a cafe afterwards and (accidentally!) listened in on a conversation next to us, talking about their conversation on Kakao.  Now before you judge us, we live in Seoul, where we never hear English.  When we do, we both still whip around and look for the person speaking in English.  It's so rare, that we are caught off guard understanding others.  So when this guy was speaking in Englilsh Right Next To Us, we couldn't help but listen!  Yeah, I know, weak defense.  Whatever.  :P  Afterwards we read on the beach before meeting up with our friend and her folks.  We walked around one of the largest department stores in the world, enjoyed grass on the roof (no seriously, the roof was covered in grass!  I did cartwheels!), before parting ways to find dinner.  (I'm sorry to say, after parting ways, Sam and I were feeling all the more frustrated with our friend than ever.  I won't go into all of the details, but basically she has stopped communicating with us, making planning very difficult to do.) 
After a delicious meal at Outback, we grabbed tea and basically sat in the common room at the hostel to read for a while.  We tried to wake up for the sunrise, but we either missed it or couldn't see it because of the hill.  We weren't sure, but neither of us were pleased.  We made the hour ride back to the KTX station, walked around an outside market with our friend and her folks, and then grabbed lunch before going home.  I discovered that trains put me to sleep really fast!
All in all, it wasn't a bad trip.  Just not as smooth or enjoyable as I was hoping.
Sam and I are planning a trip to Puerto Princesa, Philippines in late June, and we're both really excited!  We're also looking in going to the World Expo/World Fair in Yeosu, Ulsan and then Jeju before I leave in August.  See my lovely maps?  Red stars are places I've been, blue are ones that I plan on going to within the next year or so.  :) 

Gotta stay positive, life isn't always going to be sunshine and cotton candy you know. 
Love,
Rita

Fragile Beauty

Last Friday, my good friend Tiffany and I meet up to board our 11pm bus.  We were on weekend adventure going to Gyeongju in an attempt to see the elusive and quickly fading cherry blossoms.  Our guide, Warren, was a happy-go-lucky, ever cheerful and energetic, and joyful Korean.  Understanding him was hard at times, but highly entertaining when all else failed.  :)
After sitting on our bus for about 4 hours, talking for about 2 of those, we pulled into our folk village accommodations at roughly 3:30am.  Tired and sore, our group of 45 people stumbled through the darkness to our rooms, piled in, and collapsed onto our floor mats.  When 8am rolled around, we awoke to a beautiful spring day!  Temperatures were at roughly 60 degrees Fahrenheit, the sky was blue, the air was clear, and cherry blossoms were blooming.  Tiffany and I decided that instead of hiking the mountain nearby, we would opt to take bikes and ride around the town all day.  It was perfect, because it meant that we didn't have to wait on anyone, change our plans, or be crowded by a large group.  Beginning with a cherry blossom lined street, we pulled our big cameras and began to take photos.  It was breath taking honestly.  Imagine huge trees, full of little white flowers, creating a beautiful canopy over a small street.  When the wind blew, petals would fall like snow and rain down on you.  It was blissful, calming, and exactly what we had been hoping for!
We biked around two different streets lined with cherry blossoms, and spent nearly two hours there.  We decided that we should get lunch soon though, so we thought we'd pick up a few things at a small grocery store and have a picnic in a park.  Biking along the main road, we passed many restaurants, but no stores.  As we then turned onto side streets, we eventually realized that we weren't going to find a grocery store.  About 30 minutes later, we found a market!  It was nearly 1 by this time, so we were starving.  After we finished, about 30 seconds down the road, we found a Paris Baguette. >.<  Fail.
Either way, we enjoyed our picnic in the park.  When I say park, I really mean grassy area that had big hills which were tombs for former royalty.  Kinda strange, but oddly peaceful.  Then we biked across town and out to a giant park.  It was awesome, though highly crowded.  The oldest astronomy tower in Southeast Asia is here, along with a field of rape flowers (canola flowers) and a small forest of cherry blossom trees.  The flowers were BEAUTIFUL!  I've never been in a field of flowers before; it had always been a dream of mine.  Imagine being able to walk out into the midst of yellow flowers calf high, sit down, and surround yourself with their beauty.  In the background are big trees covered with cherry blossoms, and the calming sound of little bees buzzing around.  As strange as it sounds, I was really happy that I could enjoy it with my friend and not a boy.  Now, not matter what happens in life, that moment and experience can ever be dampened.  If it was with a boy, then there's a chance that memory would have been stained by a break-up, fight, etc.  We biked up and around the forest, enjoying some challenging mini-hills.  We found our way to a lake where we chilled out and just sat talking for a while.  There was this one moment when a strong breeze came across the park.  It hit the cherry blossom tree nearby and the flowers started falling so thickly that it looked like this massive wall.  It was downright one of the most beautiful things I've seen in Korea.  Nothing compares to the beauty and calm that I feel to sitting under a big tree, talking with a dear friend, and enjoying nature's beauty. 
Sadly, in the shade of the tree, and without our jackets, we got cold faster than we were hoping/planning.  We walked around the small lake before trying to decide what to do.  It was only about 5pm, and we had another 3 hours to kill.  Only problem was that we had seen everything already.  We debated going out to the tourist area, but changed our minds quickly when we found out it was nearly an hour bike ride away!  We decided to chill out a mall, out of the heat and sun!  Of course, we had no luck finding the mall, because the mall was not your typical mall (think less big building, and more a string of shops outside next to each other).  Then, miraculously, by sheer accident, we found it.  We pulled into a Pizza Hut, were shown our booth, and collapsed.  For about 2 hours.
We were sunburned (pretty bad), exhausted from the heat, dehydrated, and just plain tired.  We managed to rouse ourselves enough to go back to the bus in time for our transport to the pension. 
Sunday morning there was a sunrise walk we could have done, but when our alarm rang at 4:30am, we both said no-way before collapsing back into a stupor.  Since we were slow moving in the morning, we left after the 9am walk to the temple and had to find our own way.  That was okay with us, because the area in front of the temple was a small park/forest of cherry blossoms!  :D  Why yes, we were in heaven, again!  We pulled ourselves away long enough to see the temple in about 15 minutes before walking back to the park.  After the temple, we drove up to a place called the grotto.  As we were both pretty low on cash, we just sat outside of the entrance and talked about future travel plans before leaving Korea.  Around 12:30, we headed out to our last stop before our long drive to Seoul.  Since almost half the tour group piled into this tiny restaurant for lunch while the other half hiked for a short bit, it took almost an hour to order and receive our food.  Tiffany and I are used to a very specific lunch schedule at school, and having to wait until nearly 1:45/2 was taking its toll on us.  She felt nauseas, and I had a massive headache.  When our food did come, we wolfed it down in under 2 minutes. 
Around 2:30, all 45 of us climbed back on to our bus and began the long journey back to Seoul.  While it only took 4 hours to get to Gyeongju, it always takes nearly double the time to return.  You may be asking why.  The reason is that nearly 25 million people live in Seoul, or around the city proper.  Imagine Labor Day weekend, or Thanksgiving Sunday traffic, but every weekend.  It's horrible.
We didn't arrive until nearly 9:30, by which time Tiffany and I had HAD it with the bus.  I made it home around 10:15ish.  I was tired, hungry (since we didn't stop for dinner), and sunburned.  Never a good combo.
Overall, the weekend was amazing though.  Truly wonderful and perfect.  I'd do it again, only this time with the KTX.  :)
Love,
Rita

The Road Not Taken

Last night over a plate of fried chicken, I enjoyed a long conversation with one of my closest friends here in Korea about life.  Through the cigarette smoke and sound of k-pop in the background, we shared our plans for the future and philosophy on life.
My interest in joining the Peace Corps had been reignited by this woman and I revealed my long term plans to her.  While others I'm sure would laugh or say my dreams are impossible, she didn't.  I shared that after my time in China, I want to go home for 6 months before joining the Peace Corps working in either Cambodia or Africa.  After that, I'd pursue my masters in the US before venturing back out to work/live in either Cambodia or Africa (choosing the one I wasn't placed at with the P.C.).  I'd then end by living in Europe for a year or two.  She confirmed that by that time, I'd be about 30, to which I laughed and said "yup".  She laughed saying she didn't have that kind of time, but was honest saying that she still felt called to live in the world, especially Africa.  For her, she's returning to Canada to only save money, not to resume her previous life.  We agreed that life is better lived alone of the world than married and never of the world.  A half life at home is a fate worse then death, though we do both long to share our adventures with a husband and family.  A mediocre life in the West or an adventure filled life out there, in the wide unknown world?  Which would you want?  In the past three months, I've traveled to two countries, and begun planning my move to a third country.  I would rather experience this over a regular teaching job any day. 
As our conversation progressed, I confided in my friend how out of place I felt in the beginning.  I would look at all my friends back home, seeing them follow the traditional path of school, job family, etc.  While here I am, off in the dense woods where there is no path, searching with binoculars just to find some high ground.  She laughed and said she felt the same way.  I said I wouldn't change this for the world though, and she agreed whole-heartedly.  Even with the first six months feeling like a living hell with my depression sometimes, she said "Well, no.  That's why we're here right?"  I love how well she gets it.
Despite our desire to find love, we both agreed that we'd rather end up a single mother adopting from Africa then married and tethered to somewhere that makes us unhappy.  Just makes me wonder what causes some people to long to spend years from their home country, while others are so happy to stay put?  Where do the differences come from?  Is there some sort of genetic predisposition that sets people like my friends and I apart?  A gene that creates this need, longing, desire, to roam the world?  Is it an environmental thing?  Something our parents instilled in us?  Is it a cultural thing?  Though this I doubt, as my two closest friends here, who both want to live of the world, are from Canada and South Africa, while I'm from the US.  I'm just curious as to where it comes from.  I once dated a man, and as much as I loved him with all my heart, there was always a few things we could never agree on.  One was his lack of a desire to leave his hometown.  I simply was never able to wrap my mind around this fact.  How could someone not want to travel, see the world?  At the time, living abroad had never entered my mind beyond college though.  My mind had not considered this idea yet.  It wasn't something I knew I could even do until I saw a girl I was friends with do it herself here in Korea for 2 years.  All the sudden, my mind had stretched to a new level.  I could live abroad for a year, and be payed to do it!  Then, my mind was stretched again- what if I continued living abroad, joining organizations or companies I support, to work for them for a year or two?  Once I asked myself this question, pondered the possibilities, realized that I could, in fact, do it and had the strength for it, I changed forever.

"Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions."
~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Before I knew it, I was looking at teaching in China, volunteering in India, living/volunteering in Cambodia, teaching in Africa and Europe over the span of 4 years.  Staying in the US, when chances and opportunities lingered in front of me like unanswered prayers to become the strong, independent, secure, brave and beautiful woman I always longed to be: how could I ever, in a million years, consider passing them up without at least trying for them?  I feel like I was made of a different cloth than most.  Maybe that sounds like I'm bragging or have a big head, but I swear I don't.  (ask anyone who's known me for a few years, and they'll tell you how quiet I am about things I do and don't talk about myself much).  I just feel different from most of my friends.  yes, they want to travel, but very few I know actually long to live overseas.  If they do, less than half pursue the opportunities that are there to do so.  (In fact, only two of my friends from before Korea have pursued jobs overseas)  I don't blame them- it can be damn hard living overseas.  You're lonely, it hurts, you miss birthdays, events and spend holidays alone half the time.  You will cry your heart out at least once, no matter who you are.  I don't want to just live overseas though, I want to give back.  I can't wait for next year, when I'll get to spread the bible in China!  And then the thought of volunteering at Mother Teresa's House for the dying in Calcutta India is both amazing and terrifying to me that I can't wait to jump in!  And then dedicating myself for two years to teaching students and developing communities somewhere in Cambodia or Africa?  I could die from joy and happiness at the thought!  On the outside at first, I appear shy, sarcastic, and serious.  But ask those who've known me for a long time and they'll tell you that I act like a mother to most, and have a very soft heart.  I was made to love.  And if loving the world means serving the world until I die, then I would do so happily.  Life is about more than money, security and comfort of the known.  Sometimes it's about change,  fear, leaps of faith, trying and failing and just living.
I do want to say though, that while I feel one is wrong for me, that doesn't mean that it's wrong for everyone.  There are people who need to stay home, develop the home country and live there.  Someone has to keep the porch light burning for those of us who leave for distant lands, that way we can remember how to get home.  It's not that it's the wrong path for everyone, just the wrong path for me.
Sometimes I really miss friends back home, and long to join them having fun or going on their adventures.  The sadness eats at me, and I usually struggle with doubts of being forgotten at least once a week honestly.  But I am learning how to battle the demons within, conquer my doubts and find happiness in the life I've created for myself.  The secret, I've realized is allowing Korea to become my new home and creating a life for myself here.  I have to stop thinking that it's a temporary thing.  Once I did this, filled my schedule with things to do, I immediately noticed a difference.  I began to feel different.  My happiness increased, and my depression decreased.  I found myself smiling more and frowning less, my heart started shining more frequently and sinking in sadness less.  It's taken me longer than most folks (no surprise there as I have always been a late bloomer), but I did it.  It took me leaving the US, finding a route through the dense forest, and climbing a crazy mountain before I got to a clearing at the top that  I realized I wasn't alone.  But I'm doing it.  And I'm doing it with girls who were cut from the same cloth as me.
What kind of cloth are you made from?
The Tortoise,
Rita

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Weekend Runaway

Friday afternoon, had you been watching Deok Won Girls High School at 4pm on the dot, you would have seen a short girl in a bright red coat sneaking out of school. I had a flight to catch, and little time to get there. I was off to Phnom Penh, Cambodia for the scene's first ever swing exchange, along with my first ever international swing exchange. Let me say first, that I am my own worst enemy. I was so focused on the little time that I had that I got on the train heading in the wrong direction! >.< My flight was due to take off at 6:20, which meant I had no time to lose. I arrived at the airport at 5:20 to the sound of an announcer calling for those on flight KE 689 to Phnom Penh needing to board immediately. Though confused, I just assumed something strange had happened and they'd moved up the flight time or something. As you can imagine, I was freaking out! I hadn't gotten my ticket, gone through security, or walked across the rather massive airport that Incheon is! I ran to the counter and told the lady my destination trying to not yell in my panic. She laughed and explained that the call was only for those wanting to pick their seats, that's all. I still had plenty of time, as boarding didn't begin till 6, I just couldn't choose where I wanted to sit. I breathed a huge sigh of relief!!! After changing my money over and waiting to get through the ridiculous line, I make it to my plane while they are boarding. The doors close behind me after about 5 minutes, and I laugh in joy knowing that I made it! I was off to one of my two favorite countries in the whole world, to do one of my favorite things in the whole world- dance. What more could a girl ask for?!
I was the very last person to register for CLX (Cambodia Lindy Exchange), along with the last to show up. I walked into the Chinese House (a restaurant with a dance floor) at 10:30pm, threw off my jacket and dove right into what I knew was going to be the most amazing swing dancing event since moving to Korea! I danced my little heart out on that sticky crowded floor until 1am when the music had to end, sharing in laughs, awesome swing dances, and crazy modern dances with people from literally all over the world- Vietnam, Switzerland, England, Japan, Korea, Cambodia, China, Thailand, Mayalysia, Luxemburg, the US, Canada, France, Germany, and more. That night was better than almost every night I've had here. (the main reason is because they were foreigners who I could talk to and were creative! Korea, I love you, but stop trying to be perfect and get creative with your dances!)
Saturday morning I woke up after about 5 hours of sleep, walk to the pool side restaurant for breakfast, and take a look around at what was to be my home for the weekend. The Plantation Resort and Spa is beautiful, an intricate maze that seculdes its' guests from the outside world, providing comfort and beauty in one. I began chit-chatting with a really cool Canadian girl who was moving back home from Vietnam after a little while too. She invited me to join her at the pool, which I was more than happy to accept, as it was quickly getting warm out! Half of the CLX crew went sight-seeing, but the rest of us stayed to enjoy the glorious warm water, talk with folks from all over (or catch up as most of them knew each other already. The Asia swing scene is small for expats). We enjoyed the delicious free brunch, and simply took in the beautiful day. It was really nice sitting doing nothing, when for the past two weeks I had been non-stop going from 6:30am until usually 11:30pm. The rest was dearly welcomed! While the lindy bomb (a bunch of dancers who show up at a predecided location for a surprise dance attack in a city) was cancelled due to questionable weather, we didn't mind.
As time rolled close, we all got dressed and boarded our bus to the docks where we had a private boat waiting for us. With delicious Cambodian food provided by our hosts (who were amazing!), we launched onto the Mekong Delta and blues/lindy hopped to a live band. Talk about amazing! I got to meet and talk with even more folks from all over, learning about so many other countries and people, enjoying the live music and setting sun around us. As we turned around and began making our way back, the few buildings that Phnom Penh has began to light up. Oh yes, it was awesome! After grabbing a quick bite with some folks, I got changed and headed to the dance.

 *disclaimer* All photos taken by Tram Greenfirefly


I'm in this photo, I swear!  Can you spot me?

   For my non-dancer friends, Saturday night is always the night for dancing. Everyone dresses up, there are usually decorations (if there's a theme, then folks may dress according to that as well), a professional photographer for nice photos, along with a live band. CLX had all of this on their first event, and it was great!


I was unhappy with the group photo I took, so I decided to take a solo one.  I like it more.  :)



I got my picture taken as you can see, and despite the overly slippery floor, did my best to enjoy. (I loved my stockings!) Surprinsgly, this wasn't my favorite dance. The slippery floor changed my dancing and caused me to feel nervousness and hesitation. It happens sometimes sadly, and I think I was also becoming overwhelmed by all of the people constantly as well honestly. I spent a majority of time watching folks dance then I did dancing this time around, but did get asked to dance by my favorites which made me happy. (it's always nice when people seek you out, you know?) ;)


I'm in this too, but my back is to the camera.  :(

 After the dance, a few folks headed to late night. It started at a later time then folks are used to (2am instead of 1am), so not many were there. I went for about 2 hours though, talking with a nice Canadian guy and dancing barefoot in the penthouse to great blues songs I haven't heard in months. That night I really began to develop some friendships that I hope will last like some of my others have. :)
Sunday I woke up after 6 hours of sleep before heading to the brunch dance at the FCC. It was a great little restaurant that had a perfect space for eating and dancing. The live band was phenomenal, playing and singing live English and French songs to us for almost 4 hours. The covering provided the perfect relief from the sun and the river side breeze kept us cool (or me at least, since I'm used to the heat. Other folks found it hot, but I thought it was perfect! Lol!) Even on the last day, I was meeting people. This was the day I meet one of my favorite dancers from the weekend (shout out to Michel! Ladies, dance with this guy, he's A-mazing!) and enjoyed even more with my remaining favorites (Jerry, Eric, Fred, Martin, Jean, and Michael). Awesome awesome dance. I took tons of photos of this one too, as it was the one and only dance that took place in the daytime. Personally I hate the way photos look in the evening time when I take them, so I hadn't taken as many as I usually do. This is where I had my favorite conversation with a lead too. He wandered by my table, and since there were only 3 or us taking photos with more professional cameras, recognized me. He asked if he could look at my photos. I said sure, but warned that I hadn't taken many. After turning my camera on, he looked at me confused and said there were nearly 300 photos on my camera. I laughed and said yes, but I've taken way more before. It was funny. (After coming back, I felt like I hadn't taken nearly enough still by the way. Funny no?) When the dance ended almost an hour after it was supposed to (the band was so freakin' awesome to keep playing for us!), I went to an ice cream shop and enjoyed some delicious cool treats with a few other folks. Back at our hotel, I was convinced to change into my bathing suit and join the others in the pool. Soooo worth carrying wet clothes by the way! All of the CLX crew just chilled for the next hour or two, soaking in the sun and perfect combination of hot, humid evening air with warm pool water.
That night was the last night, and the small exchange had begun to dwindle with folks leaving for work, continuing their travels by going to Siem Reap, or whatnot. After grabbing some dinner with a few folks from the Vietnam scene, I hopped in a tuk-tuk and got my little butt dancing for 2 more hours before I had to leave. Man, I really didn't want to leave! The dancers, music, and country were all so amazing and wonderful. As I announced on facebook, I really was loath to say goodbye. After some fantastic dances with some of the best dancers I've meet (personality and skill wise), I said farewell far to quickly to not enough of them before running down to my cab. (There was confusion over my taxi, so I didn't get to say goodbye to a lot of folks actually, and I really regret not making the taxi wait instead.) :(
At the Phnom Penh airport, I saw that our flight was delayed by 20 minutes. That could very well mean we land 20 minutes late, which would put me in Seoul at 6:50am and not 6:30am. That was nearly my whole window I had given myself to make it through customs and the walk through the airport, on top of the hour I needed for the ride to school. Remarkably, after my intial concern, I felt calm and unconcerned about it. I somehow didn't feel fear. To my delight, the flight somehow landed at 6:15, earlier then if we had left on time! In my red-eye flight, swing dance weekend induced sleep coma, I mistakenly transfered trains going the wrong way halfway through though! Lol, I thought it was hilarious, and thanked God that my school always has a morning meeting that runs way late on Mondays. I just slipped in the back and no-one noticed, so yay! The weekend was all-around amazing honestly. There were a few stiff or frustrating parts with one individual who insisted on acting like an ass, but I choose to ignore him and enjoy myself. I was happy to see his back as he left early Sunday afternoon honestly, and enjoy the rest of the event all by myself. Thanks Robyn for allowing your first swing event to be mine too, I couldn't have asked for a greater place to make my appearance to the international scene!
Dancing to my own tune,
Rita

 P.S.- I'm pretty sure I was one of the youngest, if not the youngest, dancers there. I felt so proud of that silly little fact honestly. I'm doing so much, so young, and no one can take that away from me. It will always be mine. And no matter what other people may say to me, how they make try to make me feel, or the way they may act towards me, I know that I have the best friends a girl could ask for supporting me every step of the way.
 P.P.S.- I left Seoul with straight hair. After only 30 minutes of being in Cambodia, it turned curly. It was curly all weekend and when I landed Monday, because of sleeping on it and brushing it out, it turned wavy. And now, it's straight again. Pretty crazy if you ask me!

"Every time I hear you say hello, all I see is yellow"

After arriving back in Hanoi, our group of 15 split up and went out into that crazy capital city to find food. We were taking an overnight train to get to Hue (pronounced hway) that night, and they didn't provide dinner. I went out with the young British couple and the solo british girl (all of who I would later give up trying to hang out with, as I didn't click with any of them!). Basically, we all grabbed various types of food and/or alcohol for the long 8 hour ride. I grabbed Vietnemese version of ramen, lol! Now, I've never been on an overnight train. The longest was one hour when I was little, just for fun. So this was really new for me. I bunked with the older british couple and the Iranian woman living in Australia. They were all really cool, and I liked hanging with them. We called it a night before all the others I think, going to bed around 10ish. (I didn't have jet lag, but I wasn't sleeping well, so I was really tired most days) Before bed, I went to the bathroom like most everyone in the world does. That bathroom was the grossest thing I have ever smelled. Period. I wanted to gag, and I have a pretty high smell tolerance honestly. Just, gross. After that, I was ready to go to sleep. Climbing up to the top bunk was fun though, being only 5'3, lol! Think: rock climbing. What can I use to pull/push off of to get up? Heh. Anyways, I slept great till about 4am, when the advertisment sign in the room turned on! >.< You have GOT to be kidding me! Needless to say, I didn't sleep any more. Around 8am, we pull in to Hue train station for a full 5 minutes before the train pulled away again. Made our way to the hotel, where I had a beautiful room all to myself!!! It was the nicest hotel the whole trip, and even though it was only for 1 night, I was in bliss. Oh yes, happy me! I went and grabbed breakfest with the three younger british folks, walking around before coming back and trying to check out the pool. It was freezing, so that was a no-go. We went out to lunch at a Buddhist monestary though, so that's okay. The food was amazingly delicious, and I didn't walk away hungry! It was all vegetarian and glutton-free friendly, which was pretty amazing. We then spent the afternoon walking around old tombs and former palaces. Our guide was amazing, telling us her personal story from during the Vietnam war, things he had seen and events he had experienced. He was lively, amazing and just the best guide I have ever had anywhere. That night, I wandered by myself. I had dinner in this great litle restaurant overlooking the street from the second floor. Yummy nummy food! Then I meandered down to the river side to check out the bridge, nicknamed the rainbow bridge. At night, it lights up various colors. It was pretty, and the riverside walk area was full of folks. I stumbled upon a local market too, which made me really happy. There were stall after stall of toys, clothes, shoes, scarves, trinkets, and art work. Why yes, I was very happy! After returning to my hotel, I layed in bed and just watched tv. It was delicious! Don't ask me why, but I now equate watching tv with vacation. (I watch online shows or movies, but not regularly or often.) Yeah, I'm weird. The next morning, we boarded a small bus and began the four hour drive to Hoi An, the beautiful river/ocean side city you have all seen so many pictures of. It's the gorgeous town where all the buildings are painted yellow? Yeah, that one. During our drive, we had to make our way up, over and then down some mountains. I don't know about you, but I LOVE mountains. Like Woah crazy love! So I sat in my single seat, listened to my podcast book and just enjoyed the drive. We stopped at the top for a bathroom break, where the Vietnemese woman were so anxious to sell to us, that they practically came on our bus to start selling stuff before we got off! Crazy? Just a bit. I ignored them as politely as I could (Warning: Do not engage at all costs! Avoid partaking in verbal communications! They will latch you in this way!) and just walked around taking pictures. Walked up to some old American bunkers, ohing and ahing in my dorky way at the history in front of me. After another 2 hours on the bus, we finally arrived at our destination. This time I was rooming with the Iranian woman living in Australia. She was nice, though took for-freakin'-ever in the shower. Our whole group went out for lunch, which was really nice. I then walked around with the solo british girl, which was nice. We got along okay, but not great. We explored this gorgeous little town together. Almost all of the buildings are painted this beautiful yellow, with flowers and plants overhanging the porches. The streets were alive with motorbikes and women trying to sell fruit to the tourists. The river bordered the town, and the beach meet it as well on the end. People were friendly, and everything was done by bargaining. The better you could bargain, the different bag you would get (quite tricky of them, as this would then tell other vendors what kind of buyer you are!) It was a really lovely little town, though limited to mostly tailoring shops for clothes and shoes. After walking around and getting lost (whoops, my bad!), we enjoyed a swim in the pool. Touch cold, but we pushed through and both did laps. I had been missing swimming more then I knew honestly, and really loved that! I went back the third day after that while staying in Hoi An just to enjoy the swimming pool. Dinner was at a little local place, where I enjoyed some fun conversations with the Aussies. They were a riot, and I really liked Maria! Probably old enough to be my mom, but her and the other three were just down right cool and fun. They got my sarcasm and knew my quietness didn't mean I wasn't interested in the conversation. Sadly, I think my dinner didn't agree with me, as the next day I wasn't feeling well. See, I had decided to go on a bike ride with the Aussies in the morning. It was nice, though a bit disappointing, as we spent more time biking somewhere then actually being there. After returning, I walked around for a bit, but my stomach began to hurt progressively worse. Around 4:30, I managed to return to my room where I changed into pj's and just layed in bed. I slept from about 5pm to 8am! I don't know what hit me, or why, but oie it hurt and man it knocked me out. My last day I was determined to see more of the town, so I grabbed my good camera and simply walked. The town was quiet for once, with no motor bikes honking or crowding the streets at 9am, no street vendors and shop owners asking me to buy something yet. It was still sleepy and quiet. I loved it. I got to watch it wake up, and just walked everywhere one block at a time. Almost the whole town is dedicated to custom tailoring, so shop after shop were full of fabrics and sample clothes. Some stores were dedicated to shoes and making shoes, other's to hats and handbags. It was a delight to the eyes, full of colors, designs, and shapes, with delightful sunshine lighting the way. Right to sunburn for me. >.< Whoops? I even bought sunscreen in the US, since Korea doesn't sell it, just for Vietnam! Oh well, my shoulders are almost all back to normal now. That afternoon I went for my swim, read my book, and just took in the gorgeous day. Some of us gathered for the final night in Hoi An at a local place to have dinner together. It was a great way to end our three days here. The next day we were due to fly to Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon for 2 days! More on this later. Love and all that jazz, Rita