Soup-rise

As I mentioned before, I'm back home for a stint over Christmas, and slightly beyond. I've got a job and am working managing a photography studio while I'm home (it's not as glamorous as it might sound), and am taking the day of work wednesday because my Christmas present from my brother is some sort of a surprise. 

I L-O-V-E surprises! Sometimes ... often... more than whatever it actually is. So all I know is i need a swimsuit, towel, and sense of adventure. My brother is a pilot/ likes engines, so I'm lead to the following conclusions:

#1.Parasailing

#2. Scuba diving (he recently got his master divers licence for scuba diving)

#3. Jet ski adventure

#4. Something lame and not nearly as bourgeois like a surfing lesson.
#5. skydiving into the ocean.

sooooo curious to see what it turns out to be!! They even tried to tell me today what it is (I've been told what to bring, that it's been paid for and can't be changed to another day, and that we're meeting at the beach). My family is RADICAL.

On another note, my parents (mostly Mum) are completely bonkers for Christmas tradition, and two of the biggest are baking way too many treats, and buying a new ornament each year to represent the year past. I have two this year; a camera, and a globe! The plan, cheesy as it may sound, is to mark a little 'x' on all 26 or so countries I've been to up to this point on my life and then breeze past it next year! I have this desire to get to 30 countries before I'm 30, so my bike ride through the middle east next year will be perfect as long as I can raise enough money for this amazing event. (http://followthewomen.chipin.com/follow-the-women)


I'd ideally like to donate some of my photography, and have a show while I'm in Australia and donate the proceeds to the event, but it's a lot of organisation which I'm finding a little hard to juggle with a job, family-time, Christmas, and catching up with friends I haven't seen in the last few years, but HAVE to do since I'm really passionate about this cause.

I want to go back to Turkey

Aussie Adjust

I've been back in Australia for 2 days now, and am finding that I have to adjust being back home more than I ever thought I would have to... whoops.

I miss speaking Korean - I've been speaking it daily for the better part of a year now, and I keep wanting to use it in conversation like I'm accustomed to doing; but stop myself a breath before, because I know it'll mean nothing to whom I'm speaking with. I think mostly though, I'm getting accustomed to small talk again - I'm so used to the largeness of Seoul, and the lack of wasting time. Everything there is 'bbali, bbali', which means 'quickly, quickly', so here I am back on the lovely Sunshine Coast, where everything moves at a comfortable and slow sunny day pace, and everyone stops to have a chat to you. I know it sounds like a dream, but it doesn't mean you don't have to adjust to suddenly being back at home with the parentals, and a culture that you haven't lived in for more than 6 years. 

I definitely like who I've become though - traveling has made me more world-conscious, knowledgeable about mostly random and quirky things as well as the odd useful tidbit, and have a gathering of amazing friends stretched all over the world. I am SO stoked to be home for Christmas, and honestly, really happy to have a break from the whole 'figuring out where to sleep' thing I had to do everyday, as well as having a break from sleeping on the floor of my friends kitchen. I don't mind any of that stuff, but it's great to have gone from that, to now stretching out in a queen sized bed, and my white cat following me from room to room and sleeping on the pillow next to me.

In China

This airport in Guangzhou sucks balls yo.

no computers (i have mine), nowhere to charge anything unless you want to over pay for a coffee in the random Blenz here.

Somehow i got bitten by (but in return killed) a persistent little mosquito. The air here has a fun haze.

Word to the wise: never fly China Southern Airlines if you have more than a minute amount of baggage - they jack you up the arse if you have more than 20kgs total baggage - see a previous post. ALL i could bring was my bike and skateboard and my carry-on luggage. Poo. I'll get clothing in a week or so.

Air China + Bike

Frig.

I saved a lot of money taking a dirt cheap ticket from Southern China Air, and now I see how they make all their money - I've been calling them on and off for the past hour or two, and the whole language barrier makes things even more exciting as you can imagine.

Turns out I'm allowed 20kgs for my TOTAL baggage. Shit baller. I'm takin my bike. I might not be able to take much else. Good thing I found out now before I get to the airport, and just assume it's something like 2 bags each at 23kgs, or the beloved 36kgs two bag allowance that just makes thing un-stressful and 'easy packins'.  They (China Southern) charge $30USD PER kilo over the limit. Talk about getting screwed from behind.

Thank God the Korean mail system is so affordable. I can mail 20kgs home for $40USD. Mind you, that does take two months on a ship, but whatever, I am used to not having much with me anyways. 

Anyone else like to try and find fun ways to get away with more? Lucky it's winter here in Korea, cos you can be sure that I will be layering my clothing like I'm heading for the Arctic, rather than the searing heat of Australia!

The one (tiny) plus, is that my bike box can be as large as 2 meters by 1.5meters, so I guess my bag and my bike are going together in one box. whoopee. Awkward baggage, here I come!

Speaking of all of this, I recently discovered something interesting. There's a whole conglomerate of something known as 'third culture kids', which is basically kids who have grown up traveling and don't particularly identify with one particular culture. It's actually defined a little broader than that, saying it's kids who have grown up in a culture that isn't the same as their parents, but I think the definitions lend themselves more to the traveling kid thing. Check it out.

Das racist

I've been absent for good reason; I did a mini tour de Korea; I caught buses to all the towns I spent significant time and had friends who I had to see one last time before leaving Korea. At this point, the count is dismally down to something around 5 days. So I hung out in Jinju, having fun, making new friends (one Korean girl; extremely inebriated I might add; took a strong liking to me and ended up trying to kiss and cuddle me into a corner), playing pool ad sleeping in a country-side looking area in a miniature chateau/ school where my friend works, and getting up at 7:30am after a big night out.

Das Racist

Next was Daegu, and another all nighter; shooting Das Racist, a rap trio out of New York, before finally making it back to my friends house. She had forgotten Yo pay her utilities bill for far too long, and actually had the electricity shut off for the ONE night I was there. Luckily I apparently watched enough MacGyver as a kid, and not only had a flashlight, but strung it from the ceiling. I forgot to mention that since she had no hot water either, earlier in the night to get ready for the show, I had washed my hair myself in a hairdressers shop after explaining as best as I could in Korean my predicament. Luckily they thought it was entertaining and hooked it up for free. Booyah for getting to use the good shampoos and conditioners for free! I also blow dried it since it's freezing outside these days. This was a major gamble, as sometimes I can turn out looking like a healthy blend of Frankenstein an a chia pet after using these contraptions, but luckily I got a fun rocker look. Phew.

The next morning I was up early again after only a few hours sleep, to go visit my friends family that I had lived with on and off during the summer. Petted the rabbit, had the final (for now) chit chats with the fams, and then was off again to go do a photoshoot with Das Racist. Good Lord, I hope they turn out good. Film always gives me a heart attack that way. Also got some in a thrift store on the good old un-heart-attack giving digital. It was fun. It's a little tricky bossing around three New York rappers, but they're all really good fun guys. I got a new fav saying from one of them, just dropping in 'that's so sexual' at random times. Fun!

Das Racist #2

Then I boosted to Daejeon where I've got some superb friends I met through skateboarding; even though I dreadfully suck at said activity. So we got drinks, played pool, and just shivered our way around Daejeon, and then my friend that night gave me his 'room'; sleeping on the floor in the living room or his family house, and he shared his sisters room. I love Korea.

Das Racist performing in Seoul at the Rolling Hall, in Hongdae

Then back up to Seoul for shooting Tecla and Das Racist (DR) again .... the venue caught on fire!

No big deal, they caught it quickly since Tecla was singing and pointing at it saying it was on fire pretty fast. The resulting fire extinguisher fumes were overwhelming, but still the show went on. DR came on after, and are frigging hilarious. They dance around, try to tell the crowd to say it was during their set that the stage caught on fire, and they really just have fun and make it a fun time.

Bought glasses, left with a free dinner

I'm in Daegu, and wanted to buy one last pair of glasses in Korea, since they're SO dirt cheap (we're talking $50 for the whole lot and a 20 min wait.), so I got some fun over-sized tortoise shells frames from a shop, and by the end of the process had a new friend in the owner, who ended up taking me out to dinner with her friend and introducing me to other shop owner friends in the area. FUN!