And it begins…Singapore for a day.

 

   I started my journey on Sunday.  And what an epic one it was.  I flew from Toronto to Atlanta, Georgia where I have about 3 hours to wait.  Normally I wouldn’t mind that, however when I was dropped off at the airport in Toronto I left my laptop, that was snuggly packed into a wonderful waterproof bag.  I did however have my iPod touch which I could use to Skype Young-tech and the fam.  Planning to spend the vast majority of my travelling days relaxing, writing, and soaking up the local food, drink, and people, a laptop was quite the essential travel companion for me, so I decided to dedicate some of my day in Singapore shopping for a laptop. 

   So of course just one day in Singapore sounds silly, but it wasn’t in my plan it is simply a stop-over on my way to Bali…a 17 hour one.  From Atlanta I arrived in Tokyo, waited two hours for my next flight to Singapore and then arrived in Singapore around midnight.  Arriving at that time meant that I couldn’t get into the city via public transit, only expensive taxis, and also meant that nothing would be open.  I sat in a cafe in the airport with Wei Leng, a wonderful woman from Malaysia whom I met at the Tokyo airport waiting for the same flight, talking about everything and anything until 8am.  We parted ways, Wei Leng to her flight to Malaysia, me to the public transit system for Singapore’s centre. 

   First thing to note is that everyone in Singapore speaks English, at varied levels and coherent accents, but nonetheless they all speak English.  The second thing to note is that everyone is so helpful.  If they can see that you’re a tourist, for example a skinny white girl with a sixty litre backpack on her back and a travel book in her hand, then they are more than happy to help and often approached said skinny white girl to offer their guidance.  The third and most lovely (to me) is that they have food from every country in the world, including Korean food…and GOOD Korean food.

   Once I arrived in the city centre I just started walking in the direction of a “digital mall” that was listed in my travel guide.  I literally went to at least 20 different computer shops in this one building (I know you’re jealous dad), and I didn’t even get to the third or fourth floors!  Finally about an hour and a half later I left the iDigital Mall with laptop in hand.  Now I could do one of my favourite things to do when travelling…eat. 

   I headed for the Esplanade, which I figured would be a beautiful location for walking, taking pictures, and of course eating.  On the way I passed some of the most interesting architecture I have seen, lush vegetation filling any space possible, and a wonderful mixture of old and new of both buildings and vegetation.  The river leading to the ocean was in fact beautiful.  It was bordered on one side by restaurants and the other side, both modern and historical architecture.

     

      Walking down the Esplanade on the restaurant side is a test in both patience and graciousness.  People stopping you, interrupting conversations, making puppy dog eyes, and saying whatever they can to get you to eat at their restaurant.  I have no problem with this in terms of comfort, I understand why they are doing it and it’s ok with me, but it is a challenge for me to maintain a cheery and polite attitude, and ultimately exhausts me.  I did however successfully walk to the end of the restaurants without being guilted into one, thereby being able to make a fabulous decision after having seen all the options.  I think I already blew the surprise of where I chose to eat, even if I hadn’t I think most people could guess quite accurately…so yes, I chose the Korean restaurant with the Korean chef, Mrs. Kim, a sweet little Ajumma who taught all of the waiters how to say the basics in Korean.

IT WAS DELICIOUS.  I felt like I was eating in Korea in terms of the deliciousness factor.  The scenery factor though, not so much!  I sat at a table facing the water with a fabulous view of the Asian Museum across the river and the interesting casino (still deciding if I like the architecture or if it’s just too much).

After a very relaxed lunch, reading my book by the river, and eating as much kimchi as i could fit into my tummy, I walked back to the subway and head for the airport.

My word for Singapore: nourishment…of the food variety.

Technorati Tags: Singapore,nourishment,Korean food,Southeast Asia,architecture

Why I love Toronto or 13 Reasons Toronto Makes Me Smile.

I have come to Canada for a quick visit after 19 months in South Korea.  I'm only here for 3 weeks, visiting with family and friends, renewing my passport, sorting out finances, and generally preparing for my 6 month solo backpacking trip in Southeast Asia.  Last week I went to Toronto for the day to catch up with Sarah, Jinu, and Mary.  While waiting for Sarah and Jinu I had the chance to stroll around the city and soak it all in.  I realized that whenever I stick around Canada for an extended length of time again (sorry mum), I'd love to live in Toronto.

1.  Buildings that touch the clouds AND reflect them.

2.  Interesting artwork dots the streets.

3.  Very Canadian-esque named pubs, proudly displaying our flag and giant moose heads.

4.  Street cleaners doing donuts...just because they can.

5.  The old with the new.

6.  Mini lakes surrounded by trees in the middle of the city.

7.  British inspired pubs...telephone booths and all.

8.  Opportunities for self portraits literally everywhere.

9.  Cute scooters outside of every office building.

10.  Pocket parks dotted throughout the city.

11.  Delicious street meat on every corner.

12.  KOREA TOWN!!!  Korean food, Korean people, Korean everything!

13.  Reunions with old friends (and sweet sweet little ones) over delicious food and drinks.

Self-Kindness Sundays: Week 8 of 20

I'm back!

I was hoping to be able to say I'm back, rejuvenated, relaxed, and ready to conquer all...however I am still exhausted.  I had an excellent week off.  The perfect mix of relaxation and fun.  The first week back to work was stressful, hectic, and a little crazy, therefore I am once again exhausted.  

This weekend I wanted to try to alleviate some of that stress and exhaustion so I decided to take a Meaggy weekend.  I could have gone to Seoul to visit friends, partied all night in Daejeon, gone hiking in 40 degree weather, but I decided to just take it easy, spend the weekend completely alone, try to remove things from my massive and continually growing to do list, and rejuvenate again.  

So here I am.  I'm sitting in a coffee shop in downtown Daejeon.  On the second floor, offering views of people bustling around below, with a floor to ceiling window.  I've just had a waffle for lunch with fruit and gelato.  I plan to spend my day like this.  Cafe jumping.  Escaping the heinous humidity that the Korean summer brings.  Reading, writing, taking photos, and applying to grad schools.  

This weekend brought something I love about myself to the forefront.  I love that I am a strong, independent young woman.

This is not something I have always considered myself.  Perhaps because I wasn't always independent, I don't know, but I do know one reason for me not considering this a quality I possessed...people have always labelled me as dependent.  I can definitely see why people would see me as such.  

The thing I have realized is that so many things that shouldn't be viewed as negative qualities in people often are.  Think about the word selfish.  Being concerned solely with yourself without regard for others.  This of course sounds negative and is in many cases, but why does putting your own wellbeing first label you as selfish in a negative way.  When I decided to leave Canada and live in South Korea for a year of course my family wasn't overjoyed at the idea.  My family said they needed me, my support, my presence.  I said I needed to get away for a while for my own survival.  Does this make me selfish?  I mean I was concerned mostly with myself, and of course I considered my family's wishes, but I left anyway.  So by definition people would likely call me selfish (and have done so), but when does an individuals needs come into play in this equation?

My point in saying that is that people perceive certain qualities as negative, when they ought to be analyzed more thoroughly.  This brought me to understand why people might see me as dependent (yet again another negative quality).  I am very expressive of my emotions.  I tell people when they have hurt me.  I show that I'm angry, sad, stressed, happy, excited.  I am open about all of my emotions.  I'm an open book.  I wear my heart on my sleeve.  I like to talk to friends and family about my problems.  I cry on shoulders.  I vent.  And because of all of these things I am seen as weak and dependent on others for emotional support.  

I feel as though showing my emotions, expressing myself, and being an open book makes me courageous as opposed to weak.  I consider those who never let others in to be more weak than the former.  They pretend to be something other then themselves to mask pain, hide emotions.  They never ask for help, but rather suffer in silence.  They consider themselves strong and independent for this.  I'm not about to say that's not true, as there certainly can be strength found in those qualities, but I certainly can't understand why those people see a person with the courage to put it all out there as weak.  

The bottom line is that, yes, I like to have people in my life to lean on or cry on when I'm sad or angry, however there have been many instances where that hasn't been the case, and I'm still here right?  I'm still alive and kicking.  I didn't spontaneously combust from dealing with my emotions on my own.  I am perfectly capable of dealing with my emotions without help from others, it just so happens that I am strong enough to admit that if I have the option to have a shoulder from a loved one then I'll take it.  

So everyone, I am strong.  Strong and courageous.  I am independent.  And I love those qualities about myself.  Whether other people see me as those things or not, I know I am, and I love it!

Byeonsanbando Revisited: A Letter to Nanny

Last August I visited 변산반도 (Byeonsanbando National Park) with Ben, Mary, and Myles. It was an epic adventure and one that remains one of the fondest memories I have in Korea (the blog post is incomplete...I'm a procrastinator). Since I have such wonderful memories of it I wanted to revisit it this summer for my birthday. My birthday weekend had a heinous forecast consisting of torrential downpour and huge storm, so against my "fuck it let's do it anyway" attitude, I cancelled it. Clearly it didn't rain for more than 2 hours all weekend and it was quite beautiful. Leaving that frustration behind, despite more warnings of rain and thunderstorms some friends and I decided to take the plunge and head there this past weekend.

Megan, Kevin, Yonghoo, and I head out Saturday afternoon by bus for 부안 (Buan), where we caught another bus straight to 격포비치 (Gyeokpo Beach). On our way home on the bus I wrote my monthly letter to my Grandma (Nanny), that sums up the weekend quite nicely so I thought I'd just share that. So here it is:

Nanny,

We are driving past bright green rice fields set against a backdrop of layers upon layers of mountains. The sky is a bright blue interrupted by fluffy white clouds constantly changing shape and moving ever so slowly across the stunning blue canvas. It is almost as if the clouds are admiring the beautiful scenery below, and the mountains reaching up to touch the sky.

I am on a bus heading from 격포비치(Gyeokpo Beach) to 대전(Daejeon-where I live). I have spent the weekend with some wonderful friends playing on the beach and swimming in the ocean. We cooked and ate as many shell fish as our tummies could handle at a restaurant on the beach.

We licked up ice cream as quickly as possible so as to not lose it to the heat. We lit fireworks and drank beers on the beach, enjoying each others company under the night sky. When it began to rain we sought refuge in a 노래방 (singing room). Singing song after song, as loud as possible, until we could no longer muster a sound, well a nice sound anyway.

The next morning after waking up Kevin, and Yonghoo, my friend Megan and I headed for the beach telling the boys to meet us there when they were ready. We swam, etched our names in the sand, and created models of each other from shells, seaweed, and anything else we could find along the shore.

When the boys finally met up with us, they added their names to ours, and made models of each other. We then headed for lunch, 갈국수 (kalguksu-noodles, vegetables, and seafood). Obviously in need of desert we had 팥빙수 (patbingsu-shaved ice, condensed milk, fruit, fruit syrup, ice cream, rice cakes, and beans). It was my first time eating patbingsu, but it shall not be the last, although it sounds like an unlikely mix for a delicious treat, it is delicious and perfectly refreshing on a hot summer day.

We walked through the water and enjoyed the amazing weather for a bit longer, where I burned my legs really badly. Then got on a bus to head home. And here we are on the bus together. You are here with me, enjoying the view.

Love you always,
Meagan MacAshPash

Yonghoo proudly displaying his cooking skills.

Kevin disgusted by some of the shellfish.

Gorgeous sunset.

Sparklers!!!

Kevin getting a little too excited with fireworks in his hand.

Noraebang!!! (karaoke)

Strike a pose...clearly Madonna.

Kev on one of his intense solos.

I made Megan as yellow as I could.

And she made me as white as she could.

Practicing our yoga poses.

Yonghoo made Kevin's model well endowed...yet to be verified.

Patbingsu!