A mind racing towards a holiday.
Trip Start
Aug 07, 2007
1
20
109
Trip End
Ongoing
Uijeongbu,
Korea Rep.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
As the cab and its passenger rounded the corner to a familiar street the man in the back seat found his neighbourhood in complete darkness. He wondered what he would do with out the comforts of the light that he has taken for granted all his life.
"Yogi" (Here) he said to the driver and stepped out in to the abyss. As the cab rolled on, the street lit up in a corridor of lights that was a virtual Christmas tree. Out of the cab he headed down his street which was still held prisoner by the darkness. Riding home he realized that he was a poorly prepared camper, one without a flashlight or even candles. He rolled down his street on his long board knowing that the pavement was smooth and free of treacherous bumps. At his apartment he counted the flights of stairs to his floor in complete darkness. Once inside there was minimal light shining through his window from a far off land a few blocks away. He went to his computer and pressed power and was delighted to find that the battery was fully charged. Pearl Jam began to play and Word was opened. He stared at his screen and began to write.
Today I realized that I have nearly stopped looking at humanity and the many races that make it up. I have stopped seeing different races and now see only people. Yes there are the differences of language and custom, but in the end we are all people. I drifted back to a moment I had in the late 90's when a friend and I had just set foot on the roof of a 30 story high rise. It was pissing down rain and our task was to lower our selves in our chairs over the side of the building to cut excess caulking from the windows we had been installing over the summer. As I set foot on the roof I saw that it was covered with rocks of different colours put there to protect the black top from the Sun. Not seeing any two the same I turned to my friend, a man that had given me some skills to stay safe while working in a construction site. I said that someday the planet will have mingled enough so that humanity, like the different rocks, would be a sea of multicoloured people. His response to me was "Fuck Off". Today I thought of my statement and along with a mixing of the races, the rocks were representative of humanity embracing globalization. I hope as we see the evolution of the EU, the looming unification of the Korean Peninsula and of course the Country of Canada and its diverse multiculturalism, we retain the rich history of our world while moving towards a global society; our bridge the internet and our ability to get along with each other.
At 33 my brain has become very concrete. I have lost along the way the fluid intelligence that I see in the children that I work with. Since being here I have slowly started to chip away at the concrete. My goal is to chip and hammer away until I am able to melt the stone and think freely once again. Free form the constrictions of habit and the accepted. By making an attempt at learning a language like none I have ever heard, seen, or spoken before I have begun this assault. By living in a culture outside North America I have dreams of seeing that we as Westerners are not the center of the universe. Our ways are sometimes not the best way, while there are certain things like stopping at a red light, that I must say are safer than screaming along through a colour that means stop. As I struggle to become fluid again I will always welcome the news of snow, family and friends so far away yet, so close.
On the Environment in Korea:
We ordered Chinese tonight to fill our bellies as we gamed. Delivery is brought to you in ceramic plates with the odd disposable. A while later the driver returns to collect the plates and wash them to be reused. What about the gas required getting around to the apartments with full bellies? Not much as the delivery men ride small scooters.
On young children:
They can be nasty to each other. There was a situation today where some very "not nice words" were uttered. They hear it from somewhere and as a teacher one must put on the social worker job description to mediate and resolve conflict.
It's getting cold in my apartment now and I must dive under my blankets and fall asleep into dreams of a warm Taiwan, while I welcome the darkness and the deep sleep it brings.
-Thanks for reading
