As some of you know already,
I’m back in the mother country finally.
but I wasted no time in jumping right back into my old lifestyle,
hitting up gigs in less than 24 hrs after my return.
The first (real) gig since April 2008 was The Horrors at Johnny Brenda’s.
Just a little schedule update:
Currently in Arequipa Peru,
heading to Cañon de Colca via an overnight bus,
11th : molest some condors in one of the deepest canyons in the world , return to Arequipa in the afternoon/evening,
hop on another night bus to an oasis town(Ica) up north,
12th: visit Ica and the oasis nearby,
hop on another night bus to Lima
13th, 14th: Spend the day around Lima sightseeing,
squeeze in last minute shopping craze somewhere
15th early morning(more like 14th night): Hop on a flight and adios South America!
15th early morning-mid-day: 8 Hour layover in Mexico City so recommend me things to do! (and to buy HAHA)
15th late night: arrive in NY, head straight to Philly by train(ahhh)
16th: sleep, post pics, sleep, lose 18908 lbs.
16th: The Horrors at Johnny Brendas (where the hell is Fishtown)
17th: …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead at the church!!! (I am already dying in awe)
and and and
on the 24th Sam Roberts Band is playing at Gramercy Theatre which is right by my alma mater(in NY) so YES! YES! YES!
oh and in between, on that Sunday Im going to an Oxfam event in Central Park so catch me somewhere in between. Yes? and join me at any of these gigs(or all if you love me) and I will pretend I am 17 again and dance my 4 inch heels away. YES! YES! YES!
p.s. I will try to squeeze in a shower or two and maybe a haircut so dont you worry.
I haven´t thought about this for such a long time and don´t exactly know what triggered this awkward memory to surface.
When we were little there were many exciting things to look at in front of school/afterschool activity places. They used to sell snacks, toys, pictures of celebrity, occassionally baby chicks (and ducks once, one of which much to my parents´dismay I had brought home), etc. My mother started to work again around the time I started elementary school/we had moved back to a big city so having nothing to do at home, we just hung out there, not particularly to buy anything but just to look at them.
We were new in the area and it was one of those days that we went into this stationary/toy store. He was looking at one of Dragon Ball-Z figurines that were so popular in those days. I was on the other side, behind a shelf that divided the store into two narrow sections, looking at some¨notebook page supporter¨(a hard piece of thin board to put underneath a paper to write on-so you don´t get the imprints of the previous page) with princess characters.
After a bit of looking, we left the store and came back to the flat. There, pulling it out of his jacket, he showed me the figurine. He said that he had bought it when I had been on the other side with his saved allowance. We played; I with my dolls and He with his figurine and other toys.
A few days later, we were back in the store, doing the same old thing all over again. Back in those days, monotony didn´t bother me at all. Back in the flat, he presented yet another figurine. Then the following time yet another one. I don´t exactly remember how many there were but more or less three I think.
It was another day, the same old routine, the same old looking at random useless things that used to mean so much to little kids back in those days. As we walked out, the lady owner came out the door and called us over. Then she asked him to open his khaki-brown jumper. I can still remember all the details of that jacket.
There it was,
yet another figurine.
I just remember standing there still.
Or did I apologize to the lady? I don´t remember.
I just remember looking at her yelling at him and his looking like a complete stranger. We didn´t say a word on the way back to the flat and never talked about it. I was five then and I guess that´s when it started to change everything.
As a child growing up in a monolingual setting,
I wanted to master as many languages as possible for no particular reason at first.
Maybe it had to do with the fact that all these presidential candidates(back in the 90´s the same 3-4 people kept on running over and over again)
spoke something like five languages and I thought it was a swell skill to have.
Then I started to read Shakespeare in translation and wished to master the language so that I could read it in its original glory.
By the time I was in mid-teen, I wanted to learn more about other cultures and that motivated picking up other languages as well.
Many people assume that I probably grew up in a multicultural/lingual setting but on the contrary, I spent most of my first 12 years in a homogenous country.
It´s only in the last 11 years, I´ve picked up other languages. (h0wever vulgar they might be hahaha)
When I first came to South America almost 2 years ago on a short visit,
I was interested in hearing what this hostel owner had to say about Peru´s history but couldn´t understand many details.
It´s always an amazing experience to converse with the locals to get a better understanding of their culture, seeing it from their pespective.
Despite all that trying, I was quite upset at many people today.
Funny how people can still get to me even after all this traveling.
After fuming at many for being so hostile to me, I sat down to have my usual share of fruit salad parfait,
and this lady in front of me smiled at me and started to talk to me, asking the usual questions and then something a bit unusual: How do you find Bolivians? usually people ask me about how I feel about the city or the country in general.
I was in a brutally honest mood I suppose, so I smirked and told her that many were very nasty. I told her that people seemed friendly amongst one another but towards foreigners(discovering upon conversing with other backpackers) people are quite hostile, and just want to con us as much as possible. The whole ¨innocent country/small town people¨ concept was non-existant.
She sat there with a grim look on her face and as we were sitting in an uncomfortably close distance,
I thought I should have just kept it to myself instead of unloading all this upon this poor stranger who was just trying to be friendly.
After a bit of silence, she started to talk though.
She told me that it´s a shame that I only saw that side of the Bolivians. With the current Evo Morales´faction(finally someone standing against his communist(not to mention racist) regime) people have become embittered and more closed as the things have gotten worse. They have suffered in the hands of Conquistadores and their descendents so now with government telling them, ´more power to the natives,´ everyone is more cautious and guarded against foreigners. People used to share what little they had and be friendly to one another but it´s hard to expect that sort of thing nowadays.
I was surprised to hear this from her as everyone seems to be touting Evo Morales as the national hero, his being the first president of the native origins. She mentioned how many things are worse than what it had been before the regime and now the government leaning dangerously close to communism(Venezuela is one of Bolivia´s biggest allies): Free healthcare for all the nationals are being told on the news when in reality, everyone has to pay to be attended; people are getting locked up for pointing out the wrong; lands are being nationalized and apparently the law regarding presidency term used to be limited to running for every other terms but now there is no limit.
Yet people are failing to acknowledge this dawning idea of communism because the government isn´t saying the word. Government is lending out money to the poor but where does the money come from? From the social security retirement funds which will cause problems indubitably in future.
she told me that she actively tries to participate by spreading words over the internet and in person. She teared up saying that it´s tragic to see her beautiful country getting damaged.
The truth is,
communism, as an idea is a beautiful, noble concept. Everyone is equal, free of class , work according to their ability and receive equal social security system.
I can´t believe that there are still people who believe this will ever work out,
I laugh at all these young people from capitalist countries who idolize communism because they just really don´t get it.
As I have mentioned before, three of my grandparents were from North Korea and my maternal grandparents had to flee down to south during the war.
It sickens me to see their so-called leader living in a grandiose luxury while his people were dying of starvation, even resorting to cannibalism. Children are brainwashed to report their parents if they were to speak badly of their ¨national leader father.¨ Beautiful girls are picked out from the young age to be trained as Kim Jung Il and his close parties´personal entertainment (many ending up being their consorts and mistresses)
So you think North Korea is just a really corrupt example of the commusim? You think people in Cuba are all so satisfied and that´s why they are hungry for tourists´money and it´s always the visitors who end up buying everything and sharing? If everything was working out in order and so swell, why are people wanting more?
because the system doesn´t work, how can you have all this freedom one day and have everything taken away in the name of public good and expect everyone to obey? You really think the person next to you is going to work as hard as you do and eat just as much as you do and be really that equal?
Before you idolize an idealistic system, please see it in a realistic light. Not everyone is as nice as we want them to be.
After having much discussion on Bolivia and communism, she left with her niece(who was told to take notes on communism haha), apologizing for ¨interrupting¨ my eating but I thanked her that people like her make me happy.
On a lighter note, I just came back from a process of devolution,
behold,
a bipedal homo sapien following the footsteps of a quadrupedal dinosaur:
Hello all,
after a few months-long hiatus,
I´m back in Bolivia for a few weeks,
the land of llama steaks and generous donors of my bowel movements.
As with most developing countries, here you can get all kinds of glorious bootleg products.
Sonia earphones? Check.
D & C shirt? Check.
Puna sneakers? Check.
My recent favorite has to be the bootleg DVDs with multiple movies/episodes on them. (take that 1 movie per DVD U.S.A.!)
You will see hundreds of venders everywhere from streets to parks, and there are even people selling them from their portable trays. (still,I must say it doesn´t beat the Chinese lady who sells a shopping cart full of porn DVDs at 2 a.m. in LES bars in NY)
but still, down here,
not only can you get your paws on a fine collection of Mel Gibson movies (classic)- fair enough, I have a box-set of Audrey Hepburn collection back in the states,
but you can also get a super collection of your favorite pig movies.
Not feeling the swine goodness? fret not, we have everything in store for you; what about a good old ape collection?
Not much of an animal lover?
How about a feel good collection of Revolution and Death? (oh hey Tom)
I´m currently in Cochabamba and loving it! I really liked La Paz but CBBA is getting close to becoming my favorite Bolivian city with its (relatively) low altitude.
now let me go have some more quality ¨Krak´s ¨
and a ginormous US$1.10 parfait.
p.s. I´m returning to NY for about 2-3 weeks on the 15th of September. Although I already have 1080980 projects lined up(including new podcast episodes of Audiophile Anonymous), I would love to see you guys, it´s about time!
(holding ¨Rafaela Hau¨´s X-Ray, whoever that is)
I managed to beautifully snap a metacarpal bone and fracture another a few days ago.
I fell down a (embarrassingly short) ladder and for once my non-existing reflex decided to kick in and somehow,
I injured myself in the process.
Initially I thought I have sprained my fingers(I could move them) so I sat there writhing and giggling in pain
while the lodging owner lady sat there with me,
offering her medical wisdom to relieve my pain: massaging her saliva on the back of my hand and advising me to pull my fingers(when I couldn´t, she offered to do it herself but I declined), and crack my knuckles.
I was still in pain when I saw this in the radiography room but I couldn´t miss the photo-op (it´s almost as culturally-confusing as the time I saw an Iranian film dubbed in French)
The general practician-ok, so I know I´m brain-washed/biased by my family of medical professions but I HATE GPs, I have no respect for their ¨broad, general medical knowledge¨-initially missed the clearly broken bone and only saw it when I informed him of the major source of the pain.
anyways,
at this point it´s more of a discomfort/inconvenience( I still have to make 4 stops before staying for the volunteer program) than pain.
Although I was about to scream my head off at the frustrating experience of packing this morning,
I´m still amazed as its my first bone-breaking experience(not counting my nasal septum).
3 weeks left…
The Horrors´ second album is excellent; I prefer it far much more to the first one which I thought was pretty mediocre, to be honest.
the video for the single Sea Within A Sea is visually stunning in its seizure inducing glory! haha. It reminds me of the footages of The Exploding Plastic Inevitable and trippy abstract art exhibitions.
Enjoy:
I´ve been away to the Amazon Basin where it was hot and humid,
Internet was super expensive,
hence the lack of update,
but I´ve arrived to La Paz where the Internet is abundant, relatively fast and cheap.
before I start writing about my repulsive travel,
let me get to this South Korean news that my parents informed me…
but before I go on,
let me remind you about my background:
I was born near Philadelphia, PA USA to Korean parents. Three of my grandparents were from North Korea originally and my aunt was born in North Korea as well and she remembers fleeing during the Korean War. My aunt had been an U.S. citizen for several years before my birth and had invited my mother so my mother had been a legal resident(she´d appreciate me pointing this out as many pregnant Korean women stay illegally to give birth in order to obtain the citizenship for their kids) long before she gave birth to my older brother.
My father was still living in Korea at the time, supporting my grandparents. Thinking that we would be moving to the U.S. permanently in a few years time, my mother went back to Korea a few months after my birth. Our stay turned out longer than we had expected:a few years to several and before we knew it, we were celebrating my 12th birthday in the midst of IMF/Asian financial crisis. Soon after that, my aunt suggested that my brother and I move back to the U.S.A. for better opportunities in terms of education as my parents were starting to struggle. That was 1998.
Ever since the final return, I went back to Korea every summer and sometimes during winter breaks, realizing its rapid change. My last trip(and the longest stay since my departure) was in spring 2007 to study at Yonsei University as an exchange student. My parents finally moved to the U.S. March 2008. Except for my dad´s younger sister, all the other closely-related family members have been living outside of Korea, either in China or in the U.S.A.
I speak, read and write fluent Korean and I imagine that my academic level of Korean would be that of a freshman in college.
so having said that,
I want to clarify that I identify myself as an American because I think the term embraces multi-ethnic backgrounds. I am close to my Korean roots, as my family is still very much Korean.
one thing I hate about Korea´s collectivisitic culture is that people can be irrational about certain issues: Trends spread insanely fast and if you are with us, you are the enemy. The popular opinion is the only one that matters.
I tend to forget that Korea hasn´t achieved the ¨1st world¨status…(when I was little, I learned that it was 1.5 or something like that ¨developed country in process¨..whatever that means) somethings are far more advanced than their western counterparts: I often felt that I was coming back to the past whenever I came back from Korea. Then the Korean politics remind me how far behind they still are: since the 90´s, 3 of the ex-presidents have been involved in (mostly bribery) scandals, 2 of them having served jail sentences.
The last president committed suicide in the midst of a bribery scandal involving his wife and son last Saturday. Even if he didn´t directly receive the money, it´s obviously hard to believe that he was completely unaware of his wife and sons´involvement.
Some of the English articles involving this can be read here: 1, 2
Now,
while I feel bad for the guy for committing suicide,
I don´t support Korean media(giving into public´s pressure) making a martyr figure out of him. I´ve been reading several articles regarding the news in Korean and none of them said anything negative about him. They are digging up his campaign pictures showing how he was the ¨people´s president¨ from a humble background. In fact, the investigation regarding the bribery is closed.
People are pouring into the streets, mourning for his death(in fact the media is using the formal, noble term for the death, instead of calling it what it was: a suicide) demanding respects to be paid, pointing fingers at the current goverment. A news anchor cried during the report, celebrities are tearing up while delivering the news. An eulogy read that we live in a time where a president has to die, and along with his broken body, went away the dreams of democracy. Oh and the entire funeral process was paid with the government fund.
……….
………………
…………………………..
god…
…….
please tell me that my family and I are not the only people who think this whole ordeal is absolutely ridiculous and irrational.
hopefully I have enough will to vent about disgusting repulsive people I´ve been meeting on the road and my experience of accidentally kicking a river dolphin in the head. sorry.
I´ve arrived to Potosi, Bolivia the highest city in the world this morning.
Thankfully, I haven´t projectile-vomited as I did last time around in Peruvian highlands.
Including last night,
I had spent 3 out of last 4 nights on the road(including camping outside 4 ft away from the Ruta 40)
so I took a brief nap when I got to the residencia,
only to be awaken with a bad headache as if someone has put me into a headlock across my temples gahh.
last night´s busride was by far the worst one I´ve taken in South America(it still didn´t beat Indian ones HAHA) where the genius engineer built the door RIGHT IN FRONT of the seat so everytime the bus stopped, I had to pull my legs in real tight to let people pass by,
I´ve just came out a few hours ago,
eating really questionable food from street vendors-unknown liquid for one Boliviano and a small tea-cup plate of potato and roasted meat(I didn´t dare ask what kind of meat it was, I just pray that it was beef)
This has got to be the most questionable food I´ve eaten haha
the ¨washing compartment¨ was a bucket filled with a soapy water from which the lady forked out a plate, wiped it with a towel and served me (really good) meat and potato with hot sauce(omg I love you Bolivia for having something properly hot) then the fellow snackers snickered when they heard me request a fork
sorry, I didn´t realize I was suppose to eat it with my fingers.
it´s been about 2 hours since the consumption and I feel fine so I guess my stomach is tolerating it.
If I feel better tomorrow, I´m heading to one of the silver mines here and after that, who knows.
As some of you already know,
I´ve arrived to Sucre, the constitutional capital of Bolivia yesterday.
The altitude induced headache-from-hell is gone thanks to the relatively low elevation of Sucre-2,750 m (9,022 ft)-and there are tons of things to do, such as trekking through an Inca Trail, rock paintings AND apparently, there´s a dinosaur track nearby which is apparently, the biggest in the world. (Dinosaurs and mummies are two of my favorite dead things haha)
so what am I doing inside, instead??
although Sucre has tons of internet cafes all over the center,
apparently, none has the equipment to burn the DVDs!
my memory cards(4GBs each) had long been full so I needed to find a place to burn the pictures to a DVD before I could do anything and after hours of searching, I succumbed to a photo center where they charged me about 7 hours´ worth of computer time to burn a stupid DVD.
then it took me another hour to find a place with dvd readers on their computers.
it´s taking me forever to upload pics and although some of them need to be edited,
I can´t be bothered because my patience is running low.
these pics are the latest ones I´ve taken from Potosi, during the anniversary march of the schools.
