There's a Time for Everything

Shedding of the old, blossoming of the new--a painful law governing everything, and I've just gotten a good reality bite from it last March 27 when the new delegation of ASEAN scholars arrived in Korea.

Last year, the stars were ASEAN 2007. We were given attention overflowing, tours abounding--and to be concisely precise, life was happy. I could hardly ask for more. That was 10 months of living in a fantasy that has an implicit promise to never end. Yet came December 27. Time to go back. I can clearly see the 'fin' slowly being inscribed on my fantasy book. At Incheon, I knew that I'm not in Korea anymore; I have to leave the life, the routine, the friends I've known for 10 months. And I have to endure everyday the struggle of Trying to Remember.

As my favorite verse in the Bible, in Corinthians I, says: There's a time for everything. My time has come to a close and I have to give a chance, or appreciate at the least, the sprouting leaves. In my heart of hearts, however, when I learned that ASEAN 2008 would be flying to Korea, replacing our history, overwriting our footprints, I felt a brief surge of envy that the thought of crashing their plane was deviously possible. Of course this has been resolved almost at the same time I thought of it. I'm going to bomb their plane.

Not! Anyhow, I present to you my juniors. 20 ASEAN scholars, 20 more torch carriers for the future of Asian cooperation, 20 souls that could make an impact in the region, 20 new students who are leaders in the making. I am very proud of you. By the way, the Philippine representative is 6th from the left, rear. Mabuhay!

It would be a disservice if I don't include our batch photo!!! [Okay. I've yet to look for a good one! haha]

Not at All (Kimchi Pot Chronicles #3)

March 31, 2008

Professor Ahn Song Ho (안성호 교수님) will arrive in the Philippines together with his wife, Ms. Sunny. He will stay here for 6 months to conduct a research on federalism and decentralization in the context of South East Asian countries. Prof Ahn is my Professor in East Asian Cooperation class, spring semester, while I was in Dajeon University (대전 대학교) last year.

Today was very eventful. Tanya and Lee, my fellow scholars under the ASEAN exchange student program, went with me to the airport to pick up the guests. Thankfully Tanya has a van with air conditioning working fine. I think the Koreans won't be able to stand the hellish heat, not to mention the smoke and dust, that they'll encounter traversing NAIA to UP Diliman.
We ate in Gerry's Grill for lunch. Of course we offered them Filipino foods like Sinigang (it was blockbuster), Sisig, Chopsuey, ripe mango juice and buko juice in buko fruit. We then reserved a unit in Diliman for them to stay. Then I went to work, taught four Koreans English. Work ended at 11:00pm, Philippine time.

Today reminds me that the ember still lives...the fragments are falling into place. They're not lost nor forgotten. Not at all.

Droppings #1 Love Behind Me

You can only know if you have felt true love towards a person if you don't fall out of love. It's an expensive answer that can only be purchased at the collapse of the love transaction--and by that time you could have already been cheated and unfairly treated. The catch is there is no such thing as a safety net when 'love' went awry. You fall in, you're dead; you fall out, you're dead. 비슷하다!
그럼...I'm writing about the kernel of humanity's corniness because of some past encounter with a love bug. Not so long ago I have felt that I really liked someone--"liked" meaning that I have considered spending my lifetime with that person--until it just faded. (I won't give much details but I'm sure we'll be on the same boat after reading the next paragraph:) Now whenever I think back of how I used to like that organism, I just say to myself: "The heck were you thinking back then~! You damn crazy fella!" with a matching Quiver of Eww and some pore dilating goosebumps. So I guess what I thought was true love wasn't so true after all. True love just exists in hindsight, and if you're lucid enough, one of the few realizations on your deathbed, that you had not fallen out of love.

A Dirty Carnival

You'll never realize the worth of things unless you've lost them. It's a cliche that deserves not to be downplayed. When I was in Korea, I never really watched Korean films and telenovelas (soaps). I could watch them as streaming media or download them thru torrents. I did neither. Anyhow, last night I watched A Dirty Carnival, with subs going well. Leaving my PC turned on for 3 days, I think I totally deserve a fine download!
The story is about a gangster (변부 Byeon Du played by 조인성 Jo In Sung) who tries very hard with his fists and sashimi knife to keep his family alive. He supports his ailing mother and two siblings, both he sends to school. I don't really know about the extent of realism this movie depicts since I really don't know much about gangster culture. But one thing is for sure, there is no part of this movie that's dragging to make you wanna close VLC and chat instead. Every minute is a struggle for the gangster himself--saving his family, his relationship, his dignity. What I liked was that the ending isn't predictable. There were so many possible endings, which I guessed, but didn't really consider would happen. But it did, and it's a very haunting curtain fall for all the characters. A nuclear bomb was dropped and everyone died.
Not!

When I say it's good. It's good.
Overall rating: 9/10.

Kimchi Tidbits Poetries and Sayings #2

A Hope for Joy

There was a boy
Happy, mellow and coy
Running down with
A clattering jingaling jing
Golden bell a sounding.
Under a blue whispy sky
Hearing
Stars smiling and true
Wonderfully twinkl'ng
He hears jingaling jingaling jing.

His feet sweeping
Running a rushing
Down the velvety hill
Blades 'o grass
Whooshing, brushing they sing.
He felt really good
As his feet like the wind
Blowing thru the blades
Longing, rushing to spring.

This boy earnestly awaiting
Season, Spring a coming
Glistening snowing flowing
A drip of hope fulfils
A waiting.
From a branch now
Blooming flowering living.
That boy, oh so
Happy mellow and coy.

-elliot

Unfolding Seasons March 15

It's Spring. Living in a country where there's only summer and summer seasons I never knew what it is like. The winds are different. It's colder, nicer and has a pine flavor to it. But more than that, I knew that the world with all its places and people is not a contrived wonder; I started to know people from 10 different nations, appreciated their differences, and acquired a perspective only one can get from immersing in an international learning ground, which is Daejeon University.

First group picture on the way to Hyehwah Culture Center for the Welcoming Lunch. The first thing I noticed about DJU is how it uses pre-molded slabs of concrete that are piled on top of each other to construct stairs and elevations. Well, that's a mark of engineering parsimony, not to mention ability.

This is Songpyeon. One Korean delicacy that I've learned to appreciate. Do you know it takes a lot of uncooked ground rice to make a small ball like this. And it only takes two or three pieces to appease your revolting tummy.

At the end of the formal opening where we introduced ourselves one by one, we took a formal group picture with the Korean buddies. Each one of us is assigned a Korean guardian angel to look over us until we can get by ourselves in the foreign land, or until they get busy and leave us just like that. Haha. Thankfully, both my buddies for the 1st and 2nd sem are real guardian angels.

Reliving the Moments (Kimchi Pot Chronicles #2)

I always think that the human mind is so frail that keeping a memory with much detail is impossible. You probably know that even if you swear by all the saints that you won't miss, you won't forget, slowly but surely, everything will just float away. The distinct affinity you had with the people, the emotions you've shared, the pictures of places you've been, everything. A memory is but an ember constantly threatened by gusts of change, of laziness, of indifference. I guess we can only handle a handful of memories.

Can you fix this in your mind's eye? The beauty is so elusive that even freezing it in time with my Sony didn't work. It's MT. Geumgang in North Korea btw. ^^; And I'm not going to throw the shoes I wore in hiking this mountain!


Today before I sleep (I slept past 12mn) I tried to relieve everything that has happened. March 14 is the beginning of my start. I tried to reconstruct every dialogue with Tanya in NAIAirport and the mixed emotions while waiting and boarding the plane. It was like self-hypnosis. And I never thought that I'm good at it. I felt a real surge of excitement and wonder while under the state of reliving with my past self answering the questions: "What kind of life would be waiting for me there?" "I'm spending 10 months there. Would I survive? Would I just stay for 1 semester?" "My friends whom I left behind, would we still be us when I get back?". Thinking about those things made my stomach churn back to reality. I'm lying on my bed, March 14, 2008 not 2007.

My feeble attempts to time travel did give me a very cathartic experience. I felt good that I found myself typing this the time I woke up. Tonight, I'll try to continue my journey back.