The End of the Adventure (6/24)

Assembling to roll out... for the last time!

From my notes:

Leaving day! Bussed to the airport without a hitch, although I didn't catch the part where Dr. Yi left-- she didn't say bye! There was a huge line to check in, which then took a long time too, including an extra wait for Jack and I for some unannounced reason for our boarding passes. Jack wanted window and didn't get it, so I traded him cause I'm kind like that. Security searched my souvenirs twice, and confiscated my bike chain [that I'd found at the art district in Beijing].

Saying goodbye to Seoul/Incheon!

I spent a good portion of the flight back to the States watching movies, a few of which were Korean, trying to soak up every last bit of the culture I could. The trip back didn't feel quite as magical as the trip there, and I definitely didn't have as interesting a project to occupy myself (I wasn't able to prepare a bunch of readings or anything of the sort, like I had for my first flight). I did do a lot of reflecting, thinking, and writing. I think my mind may have traveled even more than my body did! Here's another excerpt from my notes:

CRESTING THE PARABOLA CROSSING INTO CANADIA
FLYING FROM MYSELF YEAH I'M
FLYING BACK FROM ASIA
TRAVEL ISN'T DISTANCE TIME OR MONEY
TRAVEL IS FEAR, LOSS, DIFFERENCE, RUNNING 

The Me I was before is gone,
I left it there with you so long
Ago and I know the me I've been
could never make it through security
So brace yourself for change lover cause
nothing else exists,
Help me find myself and see what's left 

I'm soaring while I'm sitting cause my body isn't me
Neither is my past my pad my pennies my future
Who I am isn't a question, it's a lifetime 

Becoming--> being
Superficial-->substantial 

Cersting the parbola
Crossing to Canadia
Flying from myself, yeah
I'm flying back from Asia 

My last sight of Asia!

Studying abroad was definitely one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life. The breadth and depth of the exposure is completely unparalleled; the access and immersion were both irreplicatable. How could I go to so many places, do so many things, meet so many people, and be given so much context and history in any other context? I spent so much of my time flying back thinking about how thankful I was for the experience, and for everyone who had helped me along the way. I found myself committing to being different, to internalizing the experience, to learning and growing from it, but I knew to a degree that commitment was superfluous-- the changes had already happened, I was just figuring them out as I went along.

Flying over the Canadian tundra, if I recall correctly

The sun rises on my second day in the air

After landing, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways without much ceremony. The magic was definitely over, and we all seemed a little shell-shocked as we wandered back towards our lives. And that is how my study abroad experience came to a close.

Even though we'd said our goodbyes, we weren't done with the academic side of things. The final for Dr. Tessman's class was a take-home essay he gave to us after we'd returned, so we wouldn't have to split our energies between it and our travels. The prompt was about the three most pressing threats to East Asian security. Because Tessman's was but one half of our education abroad, I decided to weave in Buddhist theory from Dr. Yi's portion of the trip as well, because that had been such a significant focus for us throughout our travels (particularly in Korea), because I'd taken such a liking to it, and because I wanted to prove that I'd been paying attention. It was a far better idea in concept than in practice, and kind of lead to a mess of a paper, but hey! I passed the class! Yay, me! And here's a link to the paper, if you'd like to check it out!

Korea, Take III: Hello to Seoul! (6/21)

 It was pouring like crazy at the airport, but thankfully our flights, although a tad turbulent, were neither cancelled nor delayed. Soon, we were back in Korea, and boy was it nice to see open space again! Japan is so thoroughly developed that it began to feel a bit claustrophobic, but the first five minutes on the road from the airport to Seoul were just the tonic I needed.

Rainy day for travel

First sights of Korea-- open space!!!

Never saw anything like this in Japan-- everything seemed occupied, developed

Downtown Seoul, outside our hotel

Hello To Japan! (6/16)

GLOBIS in Asia prepares to depart Yeungnam for Japan!

Straight from my journal:

In Japan! Flight went flawlessly--I guess I'm getting used to this whole Asian travel thing. We weren't locked out of the Daegu airport this time around, despite leaving more on-time than last time around--less people, less partying the night before, more professors involved. Our last flight from Daegu seemed to come quickly. They were out of bananas, thus ruining my breakfast plans. Curses!

Back in Seoul/Incheon

The layover in Seoul/Incheon flew by! I spent most of it stretching, which felt great. The fact that soccer was on TV helped a whole lot! I got to watch a good chunk of Love Fiction [a Korean rom-com]-- very fascinating film, definitely deserving of dissection later. The number of Koreans has been thinning out understandably; now, i feel flung into the unknown again. Japan is definitely noticeably different than Korea, but less shockingly so than China was, I think. Perhaps having two different Asian Tigers under my belt better prepared me for this third. The weather is humid and overcast; it should be this way for most of our stay, as a typhoon is on its way. I'm exited to cross that off my list of things to experience!

Winding Down Class, Hiking Up Mountains (6/14)

On what would be our second to last day of class at Yeungnam University, we discussed the institutional architecture of the East Asian region. We ran through the alphabet soup of major regional institutions, including ASEAN, APEC, the East Asian Summit, TPP, and SCO. Different countries play different roles in each of these diverse institutions, but through discussion we established some characteristics for different actors. The US wants involvement. China wants a regional block. Japan wants to stay "head goose" economically, equal with China and the US. Korea is somewhat of a go-between/glue for the US, as defense, and China, as the new giant. ASEAN, made up of the littler states in the region, is hedging-- they prefer a mesh of institutions or anything that will prevent them from being squished by the bigger players.

After class, we went on another field trip, this time to Hapcheon, a heretofore unexplored region not far from Yeungnam. Our first visit was an incredible organic bed and breakfast beside a massive man-made lake. The bed and breakfast belonged to a friend Dr. Yi had made at the Yeungnam dining hall a few days prior-- this was a very special visit for us!

Field Trip! POSCO, Seokguram, and Cheonmachong! (6/12)

Aboard another shockingly fancy bus

Today was a day of much traveling and sight-seeing, but unfortunately not many pictures! Whether for the sake of NATIONAL SECURITY at POSCO or simply out of awe and respect at Seokguram, my camera stayed inactive during much of this day's adventures. I'll supplement the few pictures I took with what I can find on the 'nets to try to give you an idea of what all we witnessed while bopping around the greater Daegu area.

The view from the parking lot-- before they confiscated my camera!

Our first stop was the legendary POSCO steel mill. One of the largest in the world, and with one of the most interesting histories, POSCO bears considerable significance. Basically, in the 70s, during a period of economic restructuring, Korea's president decided to build the best steel mill in the world. Korea didn't have a steel industry at the time, so such an undertaking was met with much skepticism both domestically and internationally, but Korea's commitment was so strong that it actually pulled it off, much to the benefit of Korea's economy as a whole. This is a prime example of what's known as import substitution industrialization, which has proven to be one of the most effective methods of industrialization in the modern era. By selling domestically-produced steel under the cost of foreign competitors, POSCO not only grew and profited as a company, but it also helped other businesses and industries in Korea grow and develop. POSCO was a key player at the heart of Korea's rapid rise to become the economic powerhouse it is today.

ART!!! (6/3)

Art and nature reclaiming the 798 factory

M I K E ,   O U R   S T A T E - A P P O I N T E D   tour guide, ended up saving the best for last. Our week in Beijing had come to a close, leaving only half a day before our flight back to Korea, to begin the next leg of the studying part of our time abroad. We spent that half a day in the incredible 798 Art District, a converted 50s factory turned art space, and boy did I love it! I'd never seen such a place in my life-- so much art of so many kinds over such a large area-- it was like a dream come true!

Mike explained briefly that the 798 factory district was built in the 50s in cooperation with German engineers. At one point, he claimed, most electrical appliances in the country were produced there. The factories were secretly converted to weapons production later in their history before being put out of business in the 90s like much of the rest of Beijing's heavy industry. The government had wanted to convert the space into housing, but a community of artists slowly began to take root and blossom, setting the foundation for what the district is today-- a haven for modern Chinese art, filled with galleries, studios, and venues of all sorts.

798 is better described through pictures than words. I have enough images I want to share that my typical layout simply won't do, so I've embedded a gallery of my favorites below. You can also click through them at your own pace on  Google+ here.



A F T E R   7 9 8 ,   W E   were off to the airport, onto a plane, and out of Beijing! Most of us made it through customs just fine, for which I was very thankful-- I'd picked up a few strange souvenirs at 798 that I was thankful not to have to try to explain to anyone in airport security. Our plane was delayed by the famous Beijing smog that had been absent at our arrival, but otherwise it was nothing but smooth skies back to Korea! Our destination was Daegu, where we'd be staying and studying at Yeungnam University for the next two weeks.

Destination: Beijing! (5/30)

Bright and early at Daegu's airport!

T H E   M O R N I N G   T H A T   welcomed us as we stepped out of our beloved Hongbeopsa Temple was eerily silent and still. If the previous day had been one last hug from the little world that had cared for us for the last week and a half, then this was surely the release at the end of the embrace. With goodbyes and best wishes, we began our journey to Beijing.

One last taste of Korean culture before our departure

Although our bus left the temple a tad late (because for some reason we held off cleaning up after ourselves until the morning of our departure!), we were ready and waiting at Daegu's airport before it opened. I didn't realize that airports close, but I suppose that tells you something about the size of the airport! It was just a short jaunt from Daegu to good 'ole Incheon, where a layover made time for us to steal some sight-seeing and nap-taking before leaving the country.

Time Travel! (5.17/5.18)

Flightpath: Georgia > Canada > Alaska > Syberia!!! > China > Korea!

I  H A D a pretty good idea that this trip was going to be a Trip months before I set foot in Hartsfield-Jackson, but the gravity of the situation didn't sink in until I felt my stomach drop as my 777 beat gravity and bid adieu to American soil. (I don't know if that feeling will ever grow old-- it's easily the best part of flying; that visceral point of no return)
I could tell I was in for a slew of surprises when something as simple as flying blew my mind, but the surprises certainly didn't stop there. It seemed like every aspect of the flight was foreign, ranging from the superficial-- the language, look, and uniform of the stewardesses (who really are as attractive as the Korean Air adverts make them out to be), to the surreal-- the fact that the sun stayed stubbornly still in the sky as we flew against time and daylight; the way that time turned to putty and folded around the plane as it flew. My excitement, the novelty, and the absurdity of the flight conspired to give it an other-worldly aura which simply reinforced the voyage's allure.

Around 11 hrs in, insanity began to take over-- note Aveek's fingers in the row behind me: I think they're trying to crawl into his nose. Absurd.

I'm sure the ceaseless sun had something to do with it, but for some confluence of reasons I was ridiculously productive on the plane. That too seemed to separate my time in the air from reality-- I never got bored; I never got tired; I never wondered what time it was or how much longer was left before arrival. My mind was going about as fast as my flight (approximately 565 mph, to be precise)-- I tore through a slew of dense articles on Orientalism (by the likes of Said, Menon, Prakash, and Ning), a few movies (Haywire, Coriolanus, and Dangerous Method), and a ton of classical composers (Saint-Saens, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Copland, Liszt, and Mozart).

My true focus was the articles-- I thought it would be intellectually negligent of me to go to Asia as an ignorant Westerner and NOT expose myself to the influential and controversial scholarship that spun from Said. To summarize, Said and the scholars who follow him are interested in the shortcomings of “Western” conceptions of the “East” as the Other, specifically revealing how biased assumptions can pridefully be mistaken for understanding. The name of this blog is a nod to the problematic conception of "The Orient" as an essentialized and generalized amalgam; one goal of mine for this trip was to test Said's theory and see first-hand just how true or false "Western" claims about "the East" are. I figured the flight was the perfect time to crack into the canon, so I did! And I loved it!

(The movies and music were just icing on the cake between articles, to give me time to reflect and make sure I didn't melt my brain too thoroughly, although they all were valuable in and of themselves. Particularly Coriolanus-- a rather tenuous film due to the original Shakespearean dialogue, but an interesting and apropos rendition nonetheless. Check it out!)

A view of Syberia from the plane-- purely breathtaking.