Thumb-nail sketch of last two days
Two days have passed since I updated; here are the highlights:
Five lectures. Two of which were definite attention-grabbers ("East Asian Security--Korea's Choice" and "The Korean Wave and Cultural Exchange in East Asia") but for me a couple from yesterday were painfully mind-numbing (is that a dichotomy?), especially the last 45 minutes of "Korean Art Through the Ages." Someone alert John Paul Stevens -- that was cruel and unusual. (Truly I wish I wasn't such an ignoramus; many of my colleagues loved the art lecture, yet I couldn't help but wish several times that JAM could take my place).
The East Asian Security lecture largely focused, of course, on the problem of North Korea, but the lecturer approached it from a fascinating angle -- outlining the conflicting motivations of each of the six nations engaged in the multi-party talks. Our professor, who works with the S. Korean government, bluntly said that he doesn't foresee Kim Jung Il giving up his nukes anytime in the near future.
We spent several hours on Tuesday afternoon at the National Museum, which just opened last year and is every bit as impressive and informative as any of the Smithsonian exhibits. Considering that I'm not much of a museum-going kind of guy, I found it quite good.
After the museum we had dinner at an upscale restaurant that was described to me as a "Chinese take on Korean food." Terrific stuff. At some point I hope to assemble a post on the trip's food. After the meal I jumped ship with a small group and we memorably explored a bit of Korean night life.
Yesterday was my version of "hitting the wall" on this trip. I was operating on such low reserves that what was needed was a neon warning message saying: "save-all-work-and-recharge-because-this-system-is-about-to-shut-down." About the only part of the day that I was really able to focus on was the Asian Security lecture, and in all honesty it took all I had to do that. I didn't realize how tired I was until we went to an afternoon performance of Nanta -- an explosive show that both entertains and involves the audience. And yet I sadly kept nodding off; really my energy level at that point was pathetically low. The show was great, if more silly and comedic than I prefer; certainly I'd recommend it anyone who has a chance see it. My fellow teachers LOVED it.
Last night I was going to do some laundry for a couple hours (we have these nifty washer-dryer combos in our rooms) and then do some neat sightseeing with the same group I hung out with the prior night. But I fell asleep soon after coming back to my room and didn't wake until 5AM, some 11 or 12 hours later. There are vague memories floating 'round my brain of people at the door several times trying to rouse me, but I was proverbially dead to the world. Though probably I'd have had a great time exploring, the sleep did me good -- now that I've been up for a couple hours and enjoyed several cups of coffee, I'm ready to rock n roll.
But the downside is that now I'm behind in laundry and will have to offer explanations to my new friends when I see them this morning.
Today's schedule: lectures this morning and a visit to the War Memorial of Korea this afternoon.
Tomorrow we leave our beloved Vabien hotel for a weekend side trip to Gyeongju (map link here). Though I am loathe to check out of Vabien, the itinerary is particularly exciting: ancient Confucian and Buddhist sites, Korean taffy-making, hiking in the mountains, to name but a few planned stops. We'll be in the territory of the ancient Silla, a Korean kingdom that predates the United States by roughly a thousand years.
I'm not sure how this side-trip will affect my blogging. The four+ hour bus ride will give me time to type in Word, but I may not have the same easy Internet access in Gyeongju. So if all communication ceases for a couple days, don't start blaming Kim Jung Il too soon.
Time now for me to hit the shower. Maybe I'll get a chance to upload a few pics before we leave in an hour. It's occurred to me that though I'd rather read narrative than look at pictures, that's likely not true for y'all, and certainly this October when I keep a blog in Japan for my students back home it will probably help keep their interest to include more photos than I have on this trip.
next post
Five lectures. Two of which were definite attention-grabbers ("East Asian Security--Korea's Choice" and "The Korean Wave and Cultural Exchange in East Asia") but for me a couple from yesterday were painfully mind-numbing (is that a dichotomy?), especially the last 45 minutes of "Korean Art Through the Ages." Someone alert John Paul Stevens -- that was cruel and unusual. (Truly I wish I wasn't such an ignoramus; many of my colleagues loved the art lecture, yet I couldn't help but wish several times that JAM could take my place).
The East Asian Security lecture largely focused, of course, on the problem of North Korea, but the lecturer approached it from a fascinating angle -- outlining the conflicting motivations of each of the six nations engaged in the multi-party talks. Our professor, who works with the S. Korean government, bluntly said that he doesn't foresee Kim Jung Il giving up his nukes anytime in the near future.
We spent several hours on Tuesday afternoon at the National Museum, which just opened last year and is every bit as impressive and informative as any of the Smithsonian exhibits. Considering that I'm not much of a museum-going kind of guy, I found it quite good.
After the museum we had dinner at an upscale restaurant that was described to me as a "Chinese take on Korean food." Terrific stuff. At some point I hope to assemble a post on the trip's food. After the meal I jumped ship with a small group and we memorably explored a bit of Korean night life.
Yesterday was my version of "hitting the wall" on this trip. I was operating on such low reserves that what was needed was a neon warning message saying: "save-all-work-and-recharge-because-this-system-is-about-to-shut-down." About the only part of the day that I was really able to focus on was the Asian Security lecture, and in all honesty it took all I had to do that. I didn't realize how tired I was until we went to an afternoon performance of Nanta -- an explosive show that both entertains and involves the audience. And yet I sadly kept nodding off; really my energy level at that point was pathetically low. The show was great, if more silly and comedic than I prefer; certainly I'd recommend it anyone who has a chance see it. My fellow teachers LOVED it.
Last night I was going to do some laundry for a couple hours (we have these nifty washer-dryer combos in our rooms) and then do some neat sightseeing with the same group I hung out with the prior night. But I fell asleep soon after coming back to my room and didn't wake until 5AM, some 11 or 12 hours later. There are vague memories floating 'round my brain of people at the door several times trying to rouse me, but I was proverbially dead to the world. Though probably I'd have had a great time exploring, the sleep did me good -- now that I've been up for a couple hours and enjoyed several cups of coffee, I'm ready to rock n roll.
But the downside is that now I'm behind in laundry and will have to offer explanations to my new friends when I see them this morning.
Today's schedule: lectures this morning and a visit to the War Memorial of Korea this afternoon.
Tomorrow we leave our beloved Vabien hotel for a weekend side trip to Gyeongju (map link here). Though I am loathe to check out of Vabien, the itinerary is particularly exciting: ancient Confucian and Buddhist sites, Korean taffy-making, hiking in the mountains, to name but a few planned stops. We'll be in the territory of the ancient Silla, a Korean kingdom that predates the United States by roughly a thousand years.
I'm not sure how this side-trip will affect my blogging. The four+ hour bus ride will give me time to type in Word, but I may not have the same easy Internet access in Gyeongju. So if all communication ceases for a couple days, don't start blaming Kim Jung Il too soon.
Time now for me to hit the shower. Maybe I'll get a chance to upload a few pics before we leave in an hour. It's occurred to me that though I'd rather read narrative than look at pictures, that's likely not true for y'all, and certainly this October when I keep a blog in Japan for my students back home it will probably help keep their interest to include more photos than I have on this trip.
next post
posted by Cowells at 4:03 PM
<< Home