Noteworthy
I’m home safely and soundly and Portland has never looked greener. It was beautifully overcast today, warm enough for a light jacket and flip-flops and I walked to retrieve Iggy from puggy play-date bliss the boarders, and walked back grinning widely about being back in my favorite of all cities after a truly incredible trip.
Here are some of my notes I made about said incredible trip, scrawled messily during the eleven-hour flight home from Japan to PDX yesterday/today/I have no idea when. There are also pictures. Because I think I took five million. The Flickr set from China and Korea is here, and will no doubt be growing exponentially in upcoming days/weeks.
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I read both books I brought on the trip with me (Treasure Island & How We Are Hungry), and another book I had no idea even existed until this weekend (Bryson’s Notes From A Small Island). This was a first for me, as I typically pack enough books to start my own book mobile in whatever city I’m visiting, and typically never crack the spine of any of them. All three books were first-time reads for me, and I really enjoyed the old-fashioned and yet playful sea-faring feel of Treasure Island, and the punch-you-in-the-face with honesty and melancholy set of short stories courtesy of Eggers. Bryson’s book (my first ever full read of one of his) has only added endless fuel to the already raging fire that is my desire to visit England. He’s hilarious and witty and I’m now resolved to actually read A Walk in the Woods, A Short History of Nearly Everything and Made In America, all of which I currently own.
(The view from Mt. Seorak, South Korea.)
Fruit leather makes a great addition to your carry-on, especially when you feel peckish when faced with a ballooning breakfast buffet at 7am and so only eat three pieces of pineapple and two pieces of watermelon (and a glass of orange juice), before embarking on twenty-four hours of straight travel.
People will create the most creative, contorted ways to sleep aboard airplanes, buses and in airport terminals. It’s fascinating to me.
I found my favorite notebook/miscellaneous (lovely!) ephemera shop in the Insadong District in Seoul. It’s called I Think So.
(Will & T on a bus with ocean views.)
People who have the option of reclining in a seat near an open window and directly in front of your selected window seat, but instead choose to recline in the aisle seat not directly in front of your selected window seat make me want to hug them.
Hiking The (Ridiculously Steep, Ridiculously Beautiful) Great Wall reminded me that no matter how tired I am, and how much my legs are screaming at me to stop, I can always keep going farther, and most likely (and especially where The Great Wall of China is concerned)? It will be worth it.
Will (my brother-in-law) has an uncanny ability to lift people’s spirits by just being present and being himself. During one particularly cold and windy (I have never felt real wind until visiting Yangyang, South Korea) walk home, he tirelessly and cheerfully kept me talking, to distract both my sister and I from the fact that we were both freezing and annoyed and quite possibly about to scream unmentionable things at an element that is probably more than a tad indifferent to how freezing and annoying it is.
(Friends, coworkers, tour guides.)
Watching the sun set from 37,000 feet in the air, the way it turns the west-most clouds hues of faint pinks, oranges and purples, is undeniably beautiful. It also made me wish the Care Bears were real, so I could borrow one of their cloud cars to get a front-row view.
Realizing that the “foreign” section of a bookstore is the only place you’re going to find books in South Korea you can read is both startling and amusing.
(Will at Mt. Seorak.)
Spending nearly a full two weeks without seeing another Caucasian person beyond my sister or my own face in the mirror is also both startling (for the first few days, after which time you quickly become accustomed to being the subject of much staring) and amusing. I resolved to smile at every Chinese or Korean person I noticed staring at me while I was abroad, and in turn was the recipient of more smiles than ever before, and admittedly some puzzled, not-so-friendly looks as well.
(Twilight at Daepoe Harbor, South Korea.)
I’m pretty sure eating the amount and quality (think: amazing) of Asian food I did in Asia has ruined me for ever being able to eat (non-home-cooked) Asian food in the U.S. ever again. I was literally blown away by the style and taste of the food I ate while I was in both China and South Korea. There was very little I didn’t like, and very little that wasn’t fresh and/or cooked right in front of me.
Every flight needs at least one little kid enthusiastically peering over the back of his seat like a fearless explorer.
(Will & T at the Sokcho Lighthouse.)
The sister relationship is one as complex and dynamic as it is incredible. I’m so thankful that Theresa is my sister, and my friend. I’m thankful too for openness and grace and forgiveness, and the ability to laugh and cry and talk for hours about everything and nothing.
This trip was beyond blessed, and I felt so provided for and looked after, and it was delightful! (And, yes, I totally just used “delightful” in a sentence non-ironically) to get to spend so much quality time with people I love so much. It was also fun to share the trip with you guys as I went along, and to get hosed in Scrabble from another continent.
(Theresa, winter sunbathing.)
I loved Beijing. From the huge buildings to my generous and hilarious coworkers, to the way the city seems to dance with an electric energy at night, to The Great Wall and the endless walking, and the way taxi drivers can bob and weave in and out of traffic the way I’ve only seen in (Russia, and) action movies starring Nicolas Cage. I was smitten 100% of the time I was there, and while I had no idea where we were going half of the time, or what we might do next, I’m pretty sure I never stopped smiling for less than a few minutes at a time. My Chinese co-worker (and tireless guide) looked at me at one point, she herself smiling and said, “You smile a lot. You are very happy?”
Yes. I really am.
That last bit made me cry. Happy cry because I love you and I’m happy that you’re happy.
(That’s a lot of happy in one sentence.)
Love you! Can’t wait to talk to you. :)
I just want to give you the biggest hug right now. I’m so glad you had an amazing time and got to see your sister. The trip sounds like it was just perfect. Glad you’re home safe and I can’t wait to see you in oh 6 months or so. xo
You being happy? Is the best thing I’ve heard in a long, long time. It makes ME happy!
I’m so glad you had a great trip and are smiling. I can’t wait to hear more about it.
100% what angella said. because i just couldn’t have said it any better. <3 <3
Being happy is wonderful and I am so very happy that this trip was so wonderful for you. (I swear I learn more adjectives than ‘happy’ and ‘wonderful’ next time.) It sounded like it was just what you needed.
So glad you’re finding your happy.
YAY! So glad you had a delightful time but also so glad you are back!!!
Nice post Kerr. Forever remember the clams of Daepoe harbor. :)
YAY! I am so happy that you are happy and had a fabulous time! The photos are amazing!
Thank you for sharing with us! I loved all your tweets!
I am so glad you had fun, dear, and thank you for taking us all “with” you!
Love the photos!
I loved Notes From A Small Island but couldn’t finish A Short History or Made in America.
I’m not sure how the will sound typed out…but reading this post was like seeing you smile. You could just tell how happy you are right now.
I love that.
What Isabel said. No, really, I was thinking the exact same thing. It as if I can see you lighting up, all the way from here.
Just reading this makes me happy! I’m so glad you had a perfect trip.
I love this post. And you. And the fact that YOU’RE HOME! Tomorrow we shall drink to your (and my eventual) happiness. xoxo
I really like this post and your photos. Welcome back!
(I also would have wanted to hug the person who decided to NOT recline right into me.)
This all sounds too good to be true! I’m so glad that you had such a wonderful time, and I love every picture, every note, and every tiny story. I hope there are lots more.
(Also – um, Beijing? Maybe the best place on earth? And I let out a squeal when I read the word “Insadong” on Twitter! Love, love, LOVE!)
Neat recap! I love the Care Bears reference. Also, I had totally forgotten about the “foreign” section being the English language section when abroad. It was *such* a big deal when I lived in Japan to go into the city and browse the big book shop. Of course the foreign section was like three small shelves that contained mostly books about Japan and a few Victorian classics.
I’m glad you’re happy!
You’re making the whole world happy. I love that.
There is nothing better than being so happy that other people point it out to you. It’s a little reminder that the outside matches the inside.
And winter sunbathing looks like the most relaxing thing ever.
Finally catching up on my post-baby blog backlog, and I love this post. I bet you are a wonderful traveling companion :)