I've never been a patient person. I've always wanted results ASAP and would get easily frustrated. I am not saying that I've overcome my impatience. That definitely will not go away ASAP. However, one of the things I've learned from yoga training is that being aware is the key to slowly obtaining results.
By being aware I don't mean that I just acknowledge I'm impatient. By being aware I mean that each time I see myself growing impatient and frustrated, I acknowledge those feelings and think about what it is exactly that is making me feel that way. I think reflecting on those feelings and thinking about the situation prior to those feelings will help me slowly grow less impatient.
I have used this awareness to help me as I'm learning Korean. As I've said before, learning Korean is a hard process. I've been here for 3 months now and I've only recently felt comfortable with going out by myself. I found that when I went around with James, I was never that uncomfortable because he would always translate for me. But when I went out by myself, I would get so frustrated because I couldn't understand anything. So I did the natural thing and tried to avoid it.
But then I learned to be more aware and realized that I was the reason I was frustrated. I was frustrated at myself! I realized that of course I couldn't understand anything! I have barely been in Korea for a few months and I shouldn't expect that I would understand everything. I basically was making myself feel bad because I thought I was good at languages and should be picking it up faster.
Instead, I should practice contentment which translated to feeling happy that I could understand a word or two. And seeing that I could increasingly understand more. This really helped diminish some of my fear. I've been going to places and actually speaking in Korean.
Again, not saying all my fear is eliminated (for example, today I opted to go to a buffet for lunch instead of a place where I actually needed to place my order) but I think I've taken a step in the right direction.
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Saturday, September 17, 2016
Sabbatical Day 129 (9.15.16) - Chuseok
This past week was the Chuseok Holiday in Korea. It is very much like the American Thanksgiving which celebrates the end of the harvest. It also coincides with the full moon and the Mid-Autumn Festival that is celebrated in China and Vietnam. I'm sure it is celebrated in other countries too, but those are the ones I know of.
Anyways, we had Wednesday-Friday off and people typically leave Seoul to go back to their hometowns to visit the graves of their ancestors. We left Seoul to go to the East Coast of Korea to a town called Sokcho. James' aunt and uncle have a time share on this coastal/beach city and it was a very cool experiences. Right next to Sokcho is a national park called Seoraksan. It is a huuuuge park with tons of hiking trails and a Buddhist temple. I haven't been to too many national parks in the US, but this one was waaay different than the American ones I've been to.
1) There was wifi and service (of course)
2) There were great maps which showed information about the trails. The maps included elevation and the estimated amount of time it would take, among other things
3) Along the trail they had numbered markers with phone numbers that you could call in case you were in need of help. Seriously, I think the Koreans are very thoughtful when they plan.
After hiking in the park for a few hours, we went to the timeshare condo which is next to a huge lake. The timeshare was owned by Shinsegae which is one of the top conglomerate companies in Korea. It was very homey but there was only one room with an actual bed. I guess it's more common for people to sleep on sleeping mats! Another thing I liked was that the floors were heated, but they are heated in all buildings!
For dinner we went to a seafood restaurant that even came to pick up the entire gang so no one would have to drive drunk. The first "course" was about 10 small plates with different types of seafood (shrimp, fish, seafood balls, etc.). The second course was at least 6 different types of sashimi. The third course was a stew that was made out of the fish bones. It was so much food I was ready to burst!
The next morning we woke up bright and early to walk around the lake. James' aunt is super active so she was determined to walk around the lake (~7 km). It was luckily flat but took us several hours. Thank goodness we worked up an appetite because we proceeded to go to two different restaurants for "lunch". The first was known for it's naeung myun (cold buckwheat noodles). They came in a spicy sauce and the noodles were nice and chewy. My favorite dish there was actually the mandoo soup. They made rice cakes out of brown rice and the mandoo skin was perfect!
Then we headed to the beach to walk off our first lunch. It was very interesting because there were plenty of Koreans on the beach but only section where all the foreigners happened to be. It was only in that section that there was any skin shown. Everywhere else, the Koreans were very covered up in their rash guards, hats and long sleeves.
For our second lunch we went to a seafood restaurant which specializes in sashimi served in a cold spicy sauce. It was about 3 pm when we arrived and there was an hour wait....freaking crazy! Only James' uncle got the specialty dish and everyone else ordered a variety of other dishes. James had the crab bibimbap and I had the uni bibimbap. I'm still thinking of now because it is so simple, but so delicious. I need to recreate it!
After second lunch, James and I went to the bus station to board our bus back to Seoul. The drive that should have taken 2.5 hours ended up taking closer to 4.5 because of traffic. It still boggles my mind that we drove from coast to coast in such a short time!
Anyways, we had Wednesday-Friday off and people typically leave Seoul to go back to their hometowns to visit the graves of their ancestors. We left Seoul to go to the East Coast of Korea to a town called Sokcho. James' aunt and uncle have a time share on this coastal/beach city and it was a very cool experiences. Right next to Sokcho is a national park called Seoraksan. It is a huuuuge park with tons of hiking trails and a Buddhist temple. I haven't been to too many national parks in the US, but this one was waaay different than the American ones I've been to.
1) There was wifi and service (of course)
2) There were great maps which showed information about the trails. The maps included elevation and the estimated amount of time it would take, among other things
3) Along the trail they had numbered markers with phone numbers that you could call in case you were in need of help. Seriously, I think the Koreans are very thoughtful when they plan.
After hiking in the park for a few hours, we went to the timeshare condo which is next to a huge lake. The timeshare was owned by Shinsegae which is one of the top conglomerate companies in Korea. It was very homey but there was only one room with an actual bed. I guess it's more common for people to sleep on sleeping mats! Another thing I liked was that the floors were heated, but they are heated in all buildings!
For dinner we went to a seafood restaurant that even came to pick up the entire gang so no one would have to drive drunk. The first "course" was about 10 small plates with different types of seafood (shrimp, fish, seafood balls, etc.). The second course was at least 6 different types of sashimi. The third course was a stew that was made out of the fish bones. It was so much food I was ready to burst!
The next morning we woke up bright and early to walk around the lake. James' aunt is super active so she was determined to walk around the lake (~7 km). It was luckily flat but took us several hours. Thank goodness we worked up an appetite because we proceeded to go to two different restaurants for "lunch". The first was known for it's naeung myun (cold buckwheat noodles). They came in a spicy sauce and the noodles were nice and chewy. My favorite dish there was actually the mandoo soup. They made rice cakes out of brown rice and the mandoo skin was perfect!
Then we headed to the beach to walk off our first lunch. It was very interesting because there were plenty of Koreans on the beach but only section where all the foreigners happened to be. It was only in that section that there was any skin shown. Everywhere else, the Koreans were very covered up in their rash guards, hats and long sleeves.
For our second lunch we went to a seafood restaurant which specializes in sashimi served in a cold spicy sauce. It was about 3 pm when we arrived and there was an hour wait....freaking crazy! Only James' uncle got the specialty dish and everyone else ordered a variety of other dishes. James had the crab bibimbap and I had the uni bibimbap. I'm still thinking of now because it is so simple, but so delicious. I need to recreate it!
After second lunch, James and I went to the bus station to board our bus back to Seoul. The drive that should have taken 2.5 hours ended up taking closer to 4.5 because of traffic. It still boggles my mind that we drove from coast to coast in such a short time!
Friday, September 9, 2016
Sabbatical Day 123 (9.9.16) Ahimsa - Non Violence
In yoga teacher training we learned what yoga is and the philosophies behind it. Included in our learnings are what's called yamas and niyamas. Yamas are moral principals or refusals. The first of which is called ahimsa or the practice of non-violence. I want to be able to apply what I learn in training to my own experiences, so here goes:
Non-violence sounds pretty easy, right? But it isn't just about non getting into fights.
Violence can show itself at any point in the day - road rage, in pushing yourself too hard, focusing too much of your energy in one thing, in getting upset at the cashier for being too slow, in becoming frustrated at work.
In our training we have learned to become more aware, more conscious. By practicing non-violence, you see the things that make you upset - acknowledge, then control the feeling.
Non-violence is a struggle for me-especially in daily deeds. I walk to school everyday and get frustrated with the cars that don't stop for me, with the people who cross the street while on their phones. I know I need to acknowledge that feeling of frustration and move past it. I try hard to be empathetic and put myself in their shoes.
What I notice now is that I am more able to acknowledge my feeling when I have a longer interaction with someone and they make me upset. I am also able to be more empathetic. For example I am taking Korean at an academy nearby. They have really good reviewed which is why I chose to attend classes there. However as I attended I learned that they have several administrative misgivings that frustrate me. One of the frustrations is how they administer their monthly culture trip. I went last month and there was very little information provided and no organization. We ended up on a bus for 3 hours and had no idea where we were going or when we were going to be able to eat lunch, among other things. At the time, I hadn't yet started my yoga training but once I did start, I noticed there were more and more frustrations I had with the academy. At the end of my month long class, I decided to provide feedback on my experience as part of acknowledgement of my feelings. I tried very hard to understand why they did not provide any information to the students and not let my emotions come across when providing my feedback.
Non-violence sounds pretty easy, right? But it isn't just about non getting into fights.
Violence can show itself at any point in the day - road rage, in pushing yourself too hard, focusing too much of your energy in one thing, in getting upset at the cashier for being too slow, in becoming frustrated at work.
In our training we have learned to become more aware, more conscious. By practicing non-violence, you see the things that make you upset - acknowledge, then control the feeling.
Non-violence is a struggle for me-especially in daily deeds. I walk to school everyday and get frustrated with the cars that don't stop for me, with the people who cross the street while on their phones. I know I need to acknowledge that feeling of frustration and move past it. I try hard to be empathetic and put myself in their shoes.
What I notice now is that I am more able to acknowledge my feeling when I have a longer interaction with someone and they make me upset. I am also able to be more empathetic. For example I am taking Korean at an academy nearby. They have really good reviewed which is why I chose to attend classes there. However as I attended I learned that they have several administrative misgivings that frustrate me. One of the frustrations is how they administer their monthly culture trip. I went last month and there was very little information provided and no organization. We ended up on a bus for 3 hours and had no idea where we were going or when we were going to be able to eat lunch, among other things. At the time, I hadn't yet started my yoga training but once I did start, I noticed there were more and more frustrations I had with the academy. At the end of my month long class, I decided to provide feedback on my experience as part of acknowledgement of my feelings. I tried very hard to understand why they did not provide any information to the students and not let my emotions come across when providing my feedback.
Friday, September 2, 2016
Sabbatical Day 116 (9.2.16) - Fukuoka:Tokyo::Portland:NYC
James and I found a last minute deal to Fukuoka and visited for 3 days, 2 nights. We never thought to travel there but we are so glad we did. It was the perfect city for a short trip because it was walkable, food was delicious and people were friendly. It was also on the water so it really reminded us of Portland. There also wasn't the foot traffic or sheer volume of people and craziness that characterizes Tokyo.
I did some research prior to the trip by reading blogs and other websites. I found out that Ippudo came from Fukuoka and the region is famous for Hakata style ramen. By the time I finished our itinerary, there were way too many restaurants for the meals we would have there. So we had a choice: cut down on the places we went to, or eat at all of them. We settled for eating at all of them, of course.
On the first day we arrived at around 6 pm and ate two dinners. We shared a bowl of ramen at Ippudo, then hopped over to the Yatai stands. The ramen at Ippudo was delicious-milky broth and the noodles were just right! We were a little overwhelmed by the selection at each stand, but just sat down at one and ordered ramen. After we finished eating, we felt fomo because the other people at our stand were eating grilled mentaiko. So we hopped to another stand and ordered mentaiko and a yakitori combo and they both didn't disappoint. Our only frustration was that they required we each order a dish and a drink and the stands weren't as cheap as we thought they would be. However, the gentleman sitting next to us struck up a conversation with us and pitched in for our bill....so nice!
Our second day was crazy. We woke up early wanting to eat at the fish market before our Asahi brewery tour. The fish market turned out to be further than we anticipated and we ended up being late for the tour! I did get to grab an egg salad sandwich from a convenient store and James got some yummy mini croissants.
The Asahi brewery tour is money. It's an hour tour and the factory is really cool-especially the beer canning room. At the end of the tour, you can taste up to three cups of their beers. These weren't dinky cups either. And it was all free!
For lunch we made it to the fish market only to find that it only opens to the public once a month. We did get to eat sushi which was very cheap and fresh! I also got to have my uni and we sat next to a gentleman who was from Berkeley!
We walked around and found the hipster artsy area of Fukuoka with boutiques and cool shops. Then we decided to search for this tempura joint I found called Tempura no Hirao Tenjin. Thank goodness I can still read hiragana and katakana because we wouldn't have been able to find this place. We ordered a combination platter to share at the vending machine and sat down in the coffee shop bar area. On the counter next to us were four containers - salted yuzu squid, pickled bean sprouts, pickled mustard greens, and pickled radish (all bomb). We saw everyone piling the squid onto their rice bowl but we were skeptical at first. I would have gone back for the side dishes themselves. Then the chefs come by with freshly fried bits and drop off the correct ones onto your plate. It was amazing and only 720 yen. James was so amazed he wanted to order more.
After leaving the tempura restaurant we saw an Ichiran ramen which seemed to be very popular in Fukuoka.....so we went in and ordered a bowl of ramen and a matcha tofu dessert. The restaurant was one counter separated by walls and each person sat at one spot. It was an interesting experience but the ramen didn't impress me much. The matcha tofu, however, did. Warm, sweet tofu with real matcha? What's not to love?
By this time it's pretty late so we decided to go back to the hotel to sleep. But at around 10:30 we were feeling ambitious again and went to get gyoza. I read about a gyoza place that's been around for a while and we got there shortly before they closed. The waitress told us to eat quickly and we definitely did. Their gyoza came out on a hot sizzling platter and both sides of the dumplings were crunchy.
On our last day we only ate once and it was all we needed. On Trip Advisor, Chikae Fukuoka is one of the top rated restaurants. We got there at 10:45 and the restaurant opens at 11. There were already 15 people in line. As soon as it opened we walked in and were seated in a large room with a counter surrounding several fish tanks. There were only two options for lunch - sashimi or soba for 1400 yen each and we ordered one of each. Each meal came out on a platter with 5 main dishes, 2 dipping sauces and a plate of pickled vegetables. Mine had stewed fish, agedashi tofu, sashimi, crab miso, tempura and chawanmushi. James' had soba with two dipping sauces, chicken rice, agedashi, tempura and chawanmushi. We were so full afterwards that we couldn't eat again for 6 hours. And our mind was so blown that the food was so delicious and cheap. This is a must do!!
All in all, we loved Fukuoka! We would go back again to eat and walk around the cool town for sure! On a side note, I am amazed that I still remember how to read Japanese and speak some phrases. At first I was hard on myself for not being able to say more, but seriously, that was 16 years ago!! The brain is an amazing thing....
I did some research prior to the trip by reading blogs and other websites. I found out that Ippudo came from Fukuoka and the region is famous for Hakata style ramen. By the time I finished our itinerary, there were way too many restaurants for the meals we would have there. So we had a choice: cut down on the places we went to, or eat at all of them. We settled for eating at all of them, of course.
On the first day we arrived at around 6 pm and ate two dinners. We shared a bowl of ramen at Ippudo, then hopped over to the Yatai stands. The ramen at Ippudo was delicious-milky broth and the noodles were just right! We were a little overwhelmed by the selection at each stand, but just sat down at one and ordered ramen. After we finished eating, we felt fomo because the other people at our stand were eating grilled mentaiko. So we hopped to another stand and ordered mentaiko and a yakitori combo and they both didn't disappoint. Our only frustration was that they required we each order a dish and a drink and the stands weren't as cheap as we thought they would be. However, the gentleman sitting next to us struck up a conversation with us and pitched in for our bill....so nice!
Our second day was crazy. We woke up early wanting to eat at the fish market before our Asahi brewery tour. The fish market turned out to be further than we anticipated and we ended up being late for the tour! I did get to grab an egg salad sandwich from a convenient store and James got some yummy mini croissants.
The Asahi brewery tour is money. It's an hour tour and the factory is really cool-especially the beer canning room. At the end of the tour, you can taste up to three cups of their beers. These weren't dinky cups either. And it was all free!
For lunch we made it to the fish market only to find that it only opens to the public once a month. We did get to eat sushi which was very cheap and fresh! I also got to have my uni and we sat next to a gentleman who was from Berkeley!
We walked around and found the hipster artsy area of Fukuoka with boutiques and cool shops. Then we decided to search for this tempura joint I found called Tempura no Hirao Tenjin. Thank goodness I can still read hiragana and katakana because we wouldn't have been able to find this place. We ordered a combination platter to share at the vending machine and sat down in the coffee shop bar area. On the counter next to us were four containers - salted yuzu squid, pickled bean sprouts, pickled mustard greens, and pickled radish (all bomb). We saw everyone piling the squid onto their rice bowl but we were skeptical at first. I would have gone back for the side dishes themselves. Then the chefs come by with freshly fried bits and drop off the correct ones onto your plate. It was amazing and only 720 yen. James was so amazed he wanted to order more.
After leaving the tempura restaurant we saw an Ichiran ramen which seemed to be very popular in Fukuoka.....so we went in and ordered a bowl of ramen and a matcha tofu dessert. The restaurant was one counter separated by walls and each person sat at one spot. It was an interesting experience but the ramen didn't impress me much. The matcha tofu, however, did. Warm, sweet tofu with real matcha? What's not to love?
By this time it's pretty late so we decided to go back to the hotel to sleep. But at around 10:30 we were feeling ambitious again and went to get gyoza. I read about a gyoza place that's been around for a while and we got there shortly before they closed. The waitress told us to eat quickly and we definitely did. Their gyoza came out on a hot sizzling platter and both sides of the dumplings were crunchy.
On our last day we only ate once and it was all we needed. On Trip Advisor, Chikae Fukuoka is one of the top rated restaurants. We got there at 10:45 and the restaurant opens at 11. There were already 15 people in line. As soon as it opened we walked in and were seated in a large room with a counter surrounding several fish tanks. There were only two options for lunch - sashimi or soba for 1400 yen each and we ordered one of each. Each meal came out on a platter with 5 main dishes, 2 dipping sauces and a plate of pickled vegetables. Mine had stewed fish, agedashi tofu, sashimi, crab miso, tempura and chawanmushi. James' had soba with two dipping sauces, chicken rice, agedashi, tempura and chawanmushi. We were so full afterwards that we couldn't eat again for 6 hours. And our mind was so blown that the food was so delicious and cheap. This is a must do!!
All in all, we loved Fukuoka! We would go back again to eat and walk around the cool town for sure! On a side note, I am amazed that I still remember how to read Japanese and speak some phrases. At first I was hard on myself for not being able to say more, but seriously, that was 16 years ago!! The brain is an amazing thing....
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