here is an email i sent to friends from my trip to korea in april, 2010. korea's life style has changed so much! i really loved being there...feeling good in the place of my roots is a spiritual blessing.
"so austraila was AMAZING. i want to move there. i spent a week in the desert and was so spiritually moved that when i even picture that place in my mind, i'm calm. in fact, i loved the desert so much that i paid out of my nose for a ticket to fly back there after just a few days in melbourne. the yoga workshop i taught went great in melbourne. it's a very special city. syndey is great, too, but wicked expensive. the only down side to my aussie trip was the aboriginal situation. it's really incredible how the indigenous people are treated and how they behave after being treated so badly. i didn't see a single indigenous person in sydney. when i spoke to my many white aussie friends about this, they agree that the situation is "out of sight out of mind". incredible. read more about it here: http://www.generationone.org.
so korea is AMAZING. i want to move here. i can not comprehend how much seoul has changed. even korean and ex-pats say that this city is changing so rapidly that it's head spinning. in a good way. there is SO much opportunity here for everything. i can't believe how much money foreigners make teaching english and working a myriad of neat jobs. i'm staying with my dear friend john lee who makes a living doing voice overs for tv and radio. he works less than 40 hours a month!
"so austraila was AMAZING. i want to move there. i spent a week in the desert and was so spiritually moved that when i even picture that place in my mind, i'm calm. in fact, i loved the desert so much that i paid out of my nose for a ticket to fly back there after just a few days in melbourne. the yoga workshop i taught went great in melbourne. it's a very special city. syndey is great, too, but wicked expensive. the only down side to my aussie trip was the aboriginal situation. it's really incredible how the indigenous people are treated and how they behave after being treated so badly. i didn't see a single indigenous person in sydney. when i spoke to my many white aussie friends about this, they agree that the situation is "out of sight out of mind". incredible. read more about it here: http://www.generationone.org.
so korea is AMAZING. i want to move here. i can not comprehend how much seoul has changed. even korean and ex-pats say that this city is changing so rapidly that it's head spinning. in a good way. there is SO much opportunity here for everything. i can't believe how much money foreigners make teaching english and working a myriad of neat jobs. i'm staying with my dear friend john lee who makes a living doing voice overs for tv and radio. he works less than 40 hours a month!
i've been here for 48 hours & have made friends with both the NPR (she's hmong american) and the ny times (she's korean australian) correspondents in seoul, american yoga teachers, a canadian book publisher, french teachers from belgium and france, an iraqi diplomat who wants to take me salsa dancing, a greek australian social worker, indian restaurant owners and progressive koreans who lived abroad but have returned. i've also met a smart brazilian on a university scholarship, a nigerian who teaches literature at the best university in seoul and a professor of pancha kosha yoga therapy from india. like, he teaches this yoga therapy class as a university course. WOW.
today, i practiced yoga with an english speaking teacher and studied at a yoga sutras practicum with indians, canadians and americans. i'm in heaven! & speaking of which, earlier i went to an english speaking church where my cutie pie cousin is an assistant pastor. happy easter!
every single person i've met (& you know how i do, i've met even more than i listed), LOVES living in korea. the rent is dirt cheap for huge places. the pay is high for foreigners and the cost of living is way lower than chicago. now i understand why there are so many ex-pats. and you don't need to speak much korean to live here. i'm seriously thinking about moving here. really. plus, it's cool talking to people from all over the world in korean. like, seeing indian people talk about yoga in korean is so cute!!!
i leave tomorrow to fulfill my main mission for coming here, to visit my 90+ year old great aunt in mokpo, a southern coastal city. it's yellow dust season now and it covers everyone and everything. i'll use this fine silt of yellow sand blown here from china like a membrane to protect me from the harsh reality that this is probably the last time i'll see her. she's a very, very special woman who has brought so much light to this world. i'd love to tell you about her in person. my heart bursts in this way, too.
next week i'll go to the ancient capital of shilla, the city of gyeoungju, where i'll stay at a buddhist temple for 2 days and practice zen buddhist korean martial arts with monks. we'll wake up at 4AM! dang, those monks get up early. i'm looking forward to it. i'm also looking forward to seeing the cherry blossoms that are in full bloom now. i'll also tour southern coastal islands where "hey nyuh" work - the korean fisher women who hold their breath for 10 minutes & dive in the ocean to catch seafood with their bare hands to kill in front of you to eat fresh. woah!
then, back to seoul for more urban hedonism before i come home. there are art openings and rock shows to catch next weekend with new international friends. so start planning your move to korea with me so we can begin our own movements. yoga. music. acting. art. what the heck?
much love from the not-no-hermit-no-more-kingdom,
m
