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| | "Some of us laugh, even in our darkest hour. Never leave lonely alone." ~ Ben Harper
Ok, so I am aware that I promised to update after big adventures, and I fully intend to make good on that promise, but all too often I need to be inspired to write down my thoughts, and inspiration is not always conducive to the up-beat adventure of my life blogs that people want to read. I am in the mood to write now though, but I can't promise it will be entertaining. I'll do my best, I'll probably be brief.
Over Christmas break I went to three different countries, Singapore, Malaysia, and Cambodia in that order with Eric, a fellow RA out here in Korea. To start I'll do my best to describe Singapore. There is a scene in the movie the Last Emperor where the young emperor is playing a game where people would push there faces into a hanging sheet and the boy would try to guess who it was. I feel like this is the best way to describe Singapore. At the core of it there is an Asian culture, but basically a big western sheet has been thrown over top so all you can see is a western city with the imprint of an Asian culture.
In Singapore:
-first we went to China town
- we visited a giant statue of a half fish half lion creature called the Merlion (like mermaid, but lion)
- while walking around I saw my first ever Islamic street evangelist, it was kinda cool
-we went on the Ducktour. It was a half boat half car vehicle.
-on the tour we saw the world's largest floating stage, and as always the wold's "-est" anything is really cool.
-we enjoyed the Christmas lights on Orchard St.
-we spent an afternoon at the zoo and watched them feed the white tigers...awesome.
-met up with a past student in Singapore for coffee
- returned to the zoo for the night safari, man, I love animals, they are so cool.
-my first Hard Rock Cafe experience ever was in Singapore
In Malaysia:
Eric and I then went to Malaysia to meet up with a bunch of other staff
for the Boarding Conference. We did not do as much touristy stuff, but
we did have fun hanging out on the beach. I wouldn't say a had a fair
glimpse of Malaysia as far as cultural observations go, so I'll refrain
for the time being.
- I ate poo, literally. Ok, so technically there's a Thai dish called
poo and it's basically just a crab omelet, but I did order it just so I
could say, "I ate poo"
- There may or may not be another body of water that I can say I have
been naked in. At 11am one sunny morning the Straights of Melaka I
graced the water with my, ahem, presence.
- One night we did hit up the night market, and ate dinner there
- don't ask me how I know this, but I am pretty sure our hotel had a gay Indian dance club in it.
- on the last night of the conference we went to this Indian restaurant
where we saw an AMAZING magic show, and by AMAZING, I mean
awful...awfully amazing.
In Cambodia:
We spent our time in Siem Reap while we there, and we met up with a
friend of mine and some of her friends that are working for an
organization called Sustainable Cambodia. It was really stellar to
meet people doing great work in the thick of it as well as seeing the
incredible remains of a gorgeous civilization.
- We saw the ruins Ankor Wat, Ankor Tom
- They set you up with a driver and tour guide (for a fee of course),
and lets just say it was interesting to say the least. At one point we
watched as our taxi driver bribed a police officer to get out of a
ticket, and by the end of the tour I gave up even trying to understand
a word our guide said because his English was so hard to follow.
- we did not feed the wild monkeys at Ankor Wat, that will only encourage them.
- We watched the sunset on Ankor from Bakaeng Mt.
- We went to River of a 1000 Lingas, which was nice just to be out in the woods and hiking again. I miss the woods.
- We went to the Land mine museum. Very somber.
 
So that's my Christmas break in short. It was a great time, and it was really wild all that I saw in just a couple of weeks.
It's interesting to do some reflection on life sometimes, especially after everything I just wrote. Something I have been thinking about a lot lately is roots. The idea of planting roots somewhere and making it my home. Seeing as I moved every couple of years growing up, I don't really have that. By the end of next year I'll have lived in Korea longer than I have lived anywhere in my life. I don't know, it just seems like this place is a bit of stretch to say this is the closest I have ever had to having roots, and I was wondering why. I think it has something to with the fact that it's always changing here. People leave as quickly as the come, and obviously the students always leave and change as well. So the closest thing I have to foundation/roots in my life is constantly shifting. Isn't that the way of it sometimes? I feel like too often there's nothing solid, nothing to reach for, nothing to hold on to. I was recently discussing with a friend my current state in life and as we looked at it, I am really back to ground zero. There's a lot of freedom in that, but there's also a dangerous amount of hopelessness attached. What do you do when God literally cuts all the strings attached to you? Do I fall crumple into a heap like a marionette or do a fly away like a kite? Obviously there are some big changes in my life on the horizon, but I have no idea what they are...I just hope I am ready for it when it hits...then again, maybe it's all just speculation. All that to say- What should I do with my life, I am currently taking suggestions? (We have until next Oct. to figure it out). I don't think I mind putting my heart on my sleeve so much this post because I don't think I have that many readers left anyways, and that's ok.
Thanks for the prayers, Keep it real.
| | | Posted 2/1/2008 11:01 AM - 5 comments
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