The Korea I Remember: Part II

This is Part II in a series of photos from Korea. To see the first set, click here.

At the Sunrise Festival in Yeongduk, we all put little papers with wishes written on them into this tree which was later set on fire so that our dreams may go to heaven. My wish actually came true and I'll be writing about it in the next few weeks! To read more about the Sunrise Festival, click here.

I would often go on little photo walks in Jeomchon just to see what I would see. Down the street from my apartment was a bounce house set up for the neighborhood kids and they were all so excited to let me take their photo--especially this one in the middle. Isn't she adorable?! Check out my other photos from my day out by clicking here.

Mungyeong SaeJae is a provincial road and gate system through the mountains near my home. A river runs through the park and on one occasion I happened upon a group of young people splashing in the water. The sun was hitting the water just right and it was photo magic! To read another story about hiking at Mungyeong Sae Jae, click here.

More photos from out and about in Jeomchon. These kids were so cute. I always loved that about Jeomchon and Korea in general--the people were so nice. To read more about the people in Jeomchon, click here.

At the end of the year, my girls school went to the Sae Jae for a sports day where we had all kinds of competitions and they all dressed up. It was so much fun and a really great way to wrap up my year of teaching. Read more about it here.

This is one of the many beautiful water feature/fountains that pour spring water for hikers at Jiksi Temple in Gimcheon. Read more about the temple and see more photos here.

Hiking in Mungyeong Sae Jae is wonderful. This is the last of three provincial gates up through the mountains--a long hike but worth it! To read more about Mungyeong Sae Jae, click here.

 I used to pass by the beautiful green home every Monday and Friday when I walked to my boys high school. One day, I was out taking photos of my city as part of a photographic tour and I decided to peak over the wall and take some photos of my favorite house. To see more of what a provincial Korean mountain town looks like, click here.

The Korea I Remember: Part I

A blogger whom I follow recently started a series of posts on her favorite photos from Korea (she too was a teacher) and it got me thinking about all the photos I love and all the people I miss, so I decided to post one of my own. Here are a few of my memories.

Taken at the city festival. More photos here.

The Sunrise Festival in Yeongduk where Koreans gather every year to watch the sun rise over the Pacific for the first time that year. Read the blog here.

Just some random photos I took of a hogwan I visited in Jeomchon. I really love the black and white startchiness of the photos and how empty the room is. So artsy!

More photos from the Jiksi Temple in Gimcheon here.

This was a traditional play put on at the Mask Dance Festival. I can't remember the whole story about these characters but they are noted people of Korean folk lore. Read the story of my adventure at the Mask Dance Festival in Andong here.

Again, traditional Korean wrestling (similar to sumo) from the mask dance festival.

Part of the Buddha's Birthday Lantern Festival Parade in Seoul. These ajummas (old married women) came out a bit blurry but I still love it. They make me think of evil ghosts (similar to the truth). Read more about the parade here. (This is also the first time I mention Jeremy by name in my blog!)

 

I once had the pleasure of attending a very intimate family gathering in Jeomchon for the Seollal (Lunar New Year) Festival. Families come home and give thanks to their ancestors at an alter filled with food from the harvest. It was really interesting and such a great opportunity! Read more about it here.



 To give my readers and idea of what my little mountain town was like, I posted a blog where I took everyone on a photographic walking tour. This little girl was just one of the many I saw and smiled at along the way. Read the story and see the sights here.

Hear that train whistle blow

The train ride from Ho Chi Mihn City to Hanoi was long (32 hours) but not nearly as long as the alternative: a 40+ hour bus. We were incredibly thankful that we took the train because the scenery was BEAUTIFUL.

Somewhere near Hue.

The only ugly part about riding the train was that people just throw their trash out the window and it remains right where it lands. Some of the most beautiful landscapes were just covered in litter.

We took the hard sleeper 6 berth compartment and opted for the top bunks for extra cash saving. Luckily, we had the whole compartment to ourselves (except for this old woman) on the second day. She was super sweet. She would share her bread and sugary peanut butter with us and we shared what little food we had with her: oreos. It was a fun day. She slept pretty much the whole way so J and I listened to music, took pictures, cuddled, and played cards. Fun, fun, fun!

The rural areas of of the central highlands were really nice too.

I didn't take too many photos of the locals on the train but I did snap off this one of this little guy and his father watching as the train went by. Super cute.

Later that afternoon, on the second day, our compartment filled up with a second old lady and her two daughters with their two whiny children. And they were really rude to us. Normal train protocol is that all beds are folded up and everyone sits on the bottom ones until it's time for bed. But these ladies felt the need to kick us out; they found someone who spoke some English to come tell us their children wanted to sleep and so we needed to leave the bottom beds. It wasn't even dinner time yet! But we were like, "Fine, we were okay with that," but it soon became clear that no naps were on the agenda and they just didn't want to sit with us. How were we to supposed to eat smooshed into the top bed? You can barely roll over up there! It was a big annoyance and a little rude of them. They even made our old-lady friend move to her middle bunk! She was OLD! Ugh. I had to keep reminding myself that these people were not like the rest of the people I've met in Vietnam and that they were an exception. So, Jeremy and I moved our sorry selves to another car and ate dinner in a seat.

Later that night, we crawled into our beds amid the whining and rapid text-messaging of the two inconsiderate women below us and their children. They wouldn't turn off the light, kept opening the door (often leaving it open and letting in cigarette smoke and noise from the tracks), and took no heed to lower their voices all night. But the most perplexing part: from where Jeremy laid in the bunk across from me, he could see the woman in the bottom bunk below me. And what he saw was disgusting. The woman down there had pulled up her shirt and bra over her breast and was letting the little boy who was sleeping with her play with her nipple! And she didn't seem to care that there was a man in the car or that he could she her! I was sooo shocked when Jeremy told me this in the morning. Vietnamese people are generally very modest! It was hard to believe.

The rest of our train adventures were pleasant though (in case you now have an apprehensions regarding the train in Vietnam). On our way to Lao Cai from Hanoi, the locals shared food with us, invited us to take their pictures, talked with us, and even offered Jeremy some of the local fire water!! (Read: crazy rice wine.) He refused and thus made himself look like a sissy amid the ecstatic laughter of the car's passengers. :)

Good times, good times.

Sapa Markets

The streets and markets in Sapa were filled with local tribes people selling necklaces, bracelets, purses, pillowcases, blankets, scarves, belts, clothes, EVERYTHING! And they were pretty persistent too!! It was difficult sometimes to walk down the street without being hassled. But once you get past the sales pitch, you will find the most helpful, beautiful people on earth. I went out one afternoon while Jeremy sat on the computer, leaving all money with him (so I could back up my claim when I said I didn't have any money to buy things) and walked around the town, chatting up the ladies and photographing their endeavors to make money. It was so much fun. This is what travel photography is all about: meeting people and capturing their true beauty.

This lady loved having her baby's photo taken.

I don't think this hat is really traditional but she was beautiful none the less. As soon as I can get access to Photoshop, I'm going to remove that guy in the background.

Cute H'mong ladies in the market.

This girl and her friends walked with Jeremy and I all the way to Cat Cat. I told her we weren't going to buy but she walked and talked anyway. It was really nice to meet a tout that really wanted to talk to you for a change. She taught me some of the local languages which really helped make friends with the tribes people later on.

At one point I almost got hit by a truck on the street (those mini-bus drivers are ferocious!) and I yelled at him for it, probably losing a bit of face because I was talking with some young tribe girls when it happened (you really aren't supposed to show yourself upset about anything) but I easily recovered it but being cheerful and saying he should be more careful (along with a couple Oi Zoi Oi's!).

The Village People

While walking through Sin Chai, we found these SUPER cute little H'mong kids using crooked sticks as stilts. They were so fun to photograph (except when they asked for money).

This little girl was away from the group looking for sticks around someone's house. She was SO happy when she found two that worked!

This kid cracks me up. I love his dirty little shorts, his JOE sweater, the way he slouched, and the defeated little look on his face. Adorable. Taken in Cat Cat.

This funny little kid from Cat Cat was gnawing on a big piece of sugar cane. I can't imagine that's good for his teeth...

While walking in Sin Chai, this old lady came up to us and invited us in to her home for some tea. We though she was being friendly (which I guess she was) but of course, she was also being industrious... She brought us there to sell us some of their handmade goods. But who cares! They were so nice and the hot water was great for such a cold day.

These girls were busy making purses and thought it was hilarious that I had knew some Vietnamese and could count to three in their tribal language (though that's all I knew). I would just say, "Oi zoi oi!" Which means, "Oh my God!" in Vietnamese, and they would just collapse in giggles. We ended up buying two purses from them.

It was really dark and smoky n the house. This was taken without the flash. I still like it though. I like the way they are kind of hidden in the shadows.

It was pretty rural out there. There was some electricity in some homes (we knew which ones they were because there was usually a crowd of 20 kids or more and a blaring TV with cartoons) but most were only illuminated with natural light from open doors or small fires in the middle of the home. We walked away smelling like charcoal but were happy to smell. It was really cool to visit a real H'mong home and commune with the whole family.

If you want to read more about H'mong, I HIGHLY recommend the following book: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. It's a medical/anthropological documentary about a H'mong family from Laos who escaped during the Vietnamese war and resettled in rural California. It's about all the struggles a group of physicians face when their daughter develops severe epilepsy and can't communicate with the parents due to language, culture, religion, and the ins and outs of the American health care system. A FANTASTIC read. Really.

Trekking in Vietnam

After we left Hanoi, Jeremy and I took the train to Sapa, a city in the very north close to China, in order to do some hill tribe trekking. We intended to go all out and walk several days but in the end, it was blister that ruined all the fun. While running in the rain to catch the train, some gravel got in my sandal and started tearing up my wet feet. I really wanted to stop but we would have missed our train so I kept on running. In the end, I found a nice sized patch of skin rubbed off my foot with dirt rubbed in it. Not good, folks. So, as much as we wanted to walk all over the place, we only made it to two villages. But that was enough. We started in Sapa and walked to Cat Cat and then on to Sin Chai.

On our way to Sin Chai, we ran into this elderly couple walking ahead of us. Oh my God, they were sooo cute! The old guy grabbed Jeremy's hand and started leading him up the hill while the old woman tried speaking to him in Vietnamese. It was too funny!!



He would just throw his hands up in the air and cackle really loud! Hahaha. The people in Sin Chai are Black H'mong and are seriously the nicest people. Very sweet.

We saw lots of kids along the way too. This one in the middle was kinda a punk. But a cute one.

And beautiful flowers covered with dew.

One of the loveliest things though was the millions of spider webs with dew stuck on them. They were all over the place. Spiders are not cool but spider webs are and I've never seen them look so beautiful before.

Me in my element.

Sin Chai village.

The terraced rice paddies. I really wish it hadn't been so foggy. There were some beautiful , deep valleys full of terraces that would have made very nice photos.

Jeremy really wanted to keep walking past Sin Chai and go to the next village, Ta Cha. However, we took the wrong train and ended up several kilometers out in the middle of nowhere with LOTS of misty fog. We found a couple huts and asked the natives how far to the next village but they just laughed--hysterically--at us. It seems the village is a lot farther away than we anticipated. In typical boy fashion, Jeremy wanted to continue (despite the warnings that we were on the wrong trail) and find this village anyway. (It's true, men RARELY ask for directions and NEVER believe the advice when they do.) He figured we would find a road sooner or later... lol. I said no way. I didn't want to get lost in the fog so late in the afternoon and eventually I talked some begrudging sense into him. We finally came back into town around 6 pm, two sorry heaps of tiredness. It was exhausting but so much fun.

A Sweet Reunion

The highlight of my trip--all 7 months of it--is nothing more than the sweetest reunion with the sweetest girls I have ever met.

In 2005 I went to Vietnam to teach English for a summer with ELIC and it profoundly impacted the next 3 years of my life. These girls accepted me, loved me and inspired me to do more and live more. I went there thinking I was going to just "teach English" but instead I fell in love with Vietnam.

This photo consists of only 10 of my 15 girls. It was taken near the end of our time together. We went on a photo scavenger hunt and my class won! The prize was ice cream with the all the teachers--on us! It is probably my favorite memory from the whole trip.



And here they are (well, 5 of them anyway), three years later. L-R: Tra, Linh, Yen, Me, Nhung, and Linh. We spent the afternoon at Nhung's house, eating dinner and catching up on old times. But before dinner, we went for a walk in one of the new housing developments in the West Lake District. It's CRAZY nice!! Like a Californian suburb!



This is J and I with Nhung and her grandfather. He was the sweetest old man ever! And though he couldn't speak any English and our Vietnamese is non-existent, he still sat with us and tried to talk with us. And of course, chuckled a bit at Jeremy's lack of hair. hahaha. Even grandpa has more than him!!



Part of the fun was getting starfruit out of the tree in Nhung's backyard. It took a lot of skill, a good arm, a long metal poker, and a big basket. Lots of laughs!! But so worth the effort because fresh starfruit is yummy! Here Yen is cutting some up just before dinner.



Ngoc was in the kitchen helping make french fries and nem (spring rolls), though I can't say she made much progress--they barely left the pot before they hit our mouths!! Such a great cook! In the back is Nhung and her mother, the nem masters of the night!



The night was full of laughs and Jeremy had a good time seeing a REAL Vietnamese home, eating AUTHENTIC nem and experiencing TRUE Vietnamese hospitality. Here Jeremy tells Yen, Linh and Linh a joke while sneaking french fries from Ngoc.

On another night while I was in Hanoi, we met with some students at Pepperoni's to eat pizza and share our memories with... Will Rope! My old Vietnam teammate who is now teaching in Vietnam long term! He's been there July (I think) on a one year contract with ELIC's VTF program. What a treat to not only see my old students but to see them along with a fellow teacher!! It's truly amazing what that first trip to Vietnam did to us, our little team of 6. Will came back to teach for a year, Melia came back to teach for a year and I came back to visit (though seriously considered teaching there for a year at one point too). Needless to say, something special happened three years ago, something that has kept us coming back...



We also had time to visit my old school where the girls were going to college while I taught them. Now they are going to Hanoi University--one of the top schools in Vietnam--in pursuit of the teaching degrees. Some have gone directly to rural classrooms and weren't able to make to to the reunions (busy with work), but these girls sure had fun seeing their old stomping grounds. I think it had been two years since they last visited! Here Linh and Yen are laughing and pointing out that the skirts in the display photos keep getting shorter and shorter! hahaha.

Ngoc, Linh, Tra, and Yen: four of my best friends. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to see them again. When I left Hanoi more than three years ago, I refused to say goodbye through all the tears at the airport, and instead I promised to be back with a "See you later." I honestly didn't know if I would. Every part of me wanted to return but money and time are big hurdles to get over. I didn't know if I even could make it back. But I did. And here we are, us 5 girls, reunited after three years and an ocean between us, gathered in front of the school that brought us together the first time.

Seeing them again has assured me that all the love and friendship I found in Vietnam three years ago was real and that hard work pays off. I fundraised $3,000 in order to make that initial trip happen three years ago, and though surely their language has grown exponentially more without my help, I must say that I did get to play a major role in bringing passion to their lives. And in turn, these girls have brought passion into mine.

I love travel. I love Vietnam. I can't wait for the next trip back.

To see more photos from the reunion, click here.
To see more photos from my first trip to Vietnam, click here.
To see all my photos from Vietnam, click here.