Back in Japan-- Kozo's view

I'm not done with Korea yet, but I figured that since my timeline is all kinds of screwed up, I might as well post a slideshow of the photos my host father took in Japan. Check out the captions for my running commentary!

Sorry Mom and Dad (NSFW)

After finishing camp and meeting the governor at a dinner, all of the teachers took a trip to Jeju Island. It was a really beautiful place that I hope I can come back to at some point. Honestly, my time on Jeju Island was strictly controlled and somewhat sanitized -- a twenty minute stop at some beach, a forty minute bus ride, a thirty minute stop at a park, and so on. All day. All tourist spots. I do have photos of these places, most of which I don't remember that well, and I'll get to posting them later. Forgive me if I sound ungrateful; going to the island was a great experience. But after working 10 days straight from 9 in the morning to 9 at night, I wanted to spend my time in Jeju peacefully, taking my time to see the sights I wanted and straying from the group of 70-something teachers to meet other people.

For the most part, this didn't happen.

Luckily, nights were free, and I vowed to myself that I would go to the place I've wanted to go ever since I looked up Jeju Island on Wikipedia.

I was going to Jeju Love Land.

Proceed only if you are 18+!

Danse de caractère

Over the summer, I've been working on contributions for Arabesque, a zine focusing on the idea of otome, which is Japanese for maiden. The zine is finally finished and is taking pre-orders!



More details and pre-order information here!

I contributed some photos and reflections about my time in Korea and wrote a blurb about the souvenirs from Japan that meant the most to me. The zine contains a little of everything: fashion, photography, comics, academic articles, translations of Japanese stories, travel reflections, and cooking tips. I hope you pre-order a copy so we can make another issue! I, personally, had a great time, and I want to see it keep going! Everyone involved is extremely talented, and I was so privileged to work with them.

Big Bang Class

It wasn't the landscape of Korea that made me love it. Rather, it was the handful of kids in my homeroom class.

Swear I'm Not Dead...Promise

I'll be back with at least one update tonight. Until then:



Now imagine a group of 12-year-old girls singing and dancing to that song.

That was my homeroom. I'll introduce you to them soon.

Continental Drift

So I'm going to be boarding my flight back home in about an hour or so.

The whole experience seems a little unreal. After all, in a month, I've come to Korea, taught elementary school students, was quarantined by the Korean government, and visited some of the country's most rural, urban, and exotic places. And then I went back to Japan, met up with my host family and a good friend, and visited a couple new places.

So many new experiences. Not all of them were fun, but none of them were bad. If anything, I've learned so much about myself in the small space I've had to think.

I wish there was more time to see more, meet more people, go out more, shop more, write more, take more pictures. My month of experiences is full, but woefully inadequate.

A week back at home is fine. Then, give me a plane ticket back, and let me plan the trip. Let me bring my people and adventure around. Oh, I can only dream!

Tadaima

I wanted to write a post a couple days ago, but I haven't had time to do much of anything.

Do I have to say how much I love being back in Nagoya? Honestly, this feels just as much a home to me as St. Louis. I haven't traveled here, I've lived in this city, studied here, had fun here, and was challenged more than I ever have been anywhere else.

The subways smell familiar. I feel comfortable in the crowds here, not crowded. For the past three days I've spoken nothing but Japanese, and even though it's been difficult, I haven't really noticed myself struggling to understand.

I wish I had more time here with my host family, with my friends, and with the city. I want to see it at night, in the early morning, go shopping, and walk around its streets all day.

I love Nagoya more than I ever expected to. It's so passed over; most people in America don't even know it exists. Yet there's a certain charm here and also in St. Louis. It's a city you want to live in, not visit. It becomes more beautiful and interesting the more time you spend, slowly unfolding its beauty like a flower in bloom.

I'm a bit homesick in a way that's difficult to describe. I don't want to leave here; the thought of it makes me a little sick to my stomach. What if I never come back? What if something happens to my host family while I'm gone? And the biggest worry: when am I ever going to be able to bring my mother here with me? I want her to see this place that I've come to love so much. It's the one thing I'd love to give to her after she's sacrificed so much for me.

Nonetheless, I leave for Korea tomorrow. A night in Seoul, and then I'm back home and free to recount all of the stories I have piled up to tell you.

I Could Be a Contender...

Expect a full post later on tonight, but look:

How to Fight With Your Host Family

I'm a published writer!

When in Doubt, Dance.

I have great story about Tuesday to tell, but it's going to have to come later. It was just so strange, so epic of a day that I want to recount it for you with all of the details and pictures that a day like that should have. You know, those great days that come out of nowhere because the people you meet are so incredibly interesting? That's why I love traveling, not because of the great scenery. Although I have photos of that, too.

So far I'm really loving it here at Damyang. It's certainly not a big, cosmopolitan city with lots of things to do and places to see, but there's actually buildings, bars, cafes, grocery stores, cars, and people. If I venture out of the college, I pass a bamboo forest, walk down a bridge, and go past little stalls serving street food such as fried fish, barbequed chicken, and fried green tea pancakes that taste like funnel cake and are filled with melted brown sugar, honey and finely chopped nuts.

My camp is amazing, filled with such a great mix of energetic and laid back individuals. And I absolutely love my co-teacher, Ja In, who speaks great English and has been a very good friend and co-worker to me. On the first day we met, she offered to take me to Gwangju to shop, but we weren't allowed to leave until the principal arrived at camp. We missed our chance to go, but she bought me ice cream and chips at lunch that day. Later on, we went with Jessica, another co-teacher, and other native English teachers to a hof, which is what they call bars. We all had a bottle of beer and ate fried shrimp, melon, and fried pork.

The day I learned the Korean words for "beautiful" and "beer."

This post was written on Aug. 7th, and edited over a month later. I'm so sorry for the wait.


Life in Korea changed immensely for the better when we left Wando. In fact, the day we left Wando was one of those wonderful days that starts good (we're leaving Quarantine Island forever!) and ends epically.

This Quarantine is Over

If you would have asked me ahead of time what quarantine was like, my answer definitely would not have been middle school. And yet, somehow, that's almost exactly what this feels like.

Don't get me wrong, the other teachers are all very nice. But there have been some things happening lately that I really hoped I would have left behind in the U.S.

200 Pounds Beauty

On Wednesday night, I watched the Korean film 200 Pounds Beauty, a movie about a 200-pound girl with an ugly face. Hanna works as a phone sex operator and is the singing voice of Ammy, a mean, manipulative pop star. After a hurtful prank causes Hanna to lose face in front of Ammy's attractive manager, Hanna blackmails one of her phone sex clients into giving her total plastic surgery. She goes into seclusion for a year and works off literally half of her body weight (there are scenes with a newly beautiful Hanna jumping around the house in one of her legs of her old jeans). Her face is completely reconstructed.

I'd like a double cheeseburger with bacon and mayonaise, fries, a side of mayonaise, and a Diet Coke.

We're finally getting a little information about our situation.

Basically, we are going to have at least one of the camps, most likely the elementary one. Afterwards, the touring will proceed as usual and I will be able to visit my host family as scheduled. Of course, this is all subject to change.

This week has passed by so slowly, with only the internet and hiking as things to occupy my time. We're hopefully visiting a city at the beginning of next week, and our quarantine ends tomorrow. I wish they would let us take a cab to a city or something, but one of the Korean staff members here found out about some Wando residents protesting our presence. I doubt anything is in the cards until Tuesday.

I am so sick of the food here. I'm sure Korean food is great, but this cafeteria food is driving me nuts. All I can think about is eating a big cheeseburger, some fajitas, thick slabs of cheese and salami, or some pasta. I think my trip to Nagoya will definitely involve a visit to Mos Burger for two teriyaki chicken sandwhiches, fries with mayonaise, and melon soda. Toward the end of my stay in Japan, a friend and I would eat lunch there once a week and get donuts afterwards. Somehow, despite the globs of mayonaise, I still kept losing weight. Hooray for an active Asian lifestyle, right?

I'm sorry this post is so boring; but I feel as though this week has been boring. I'll be posting a review of the movie 200 Pounds Beauty tomorrow; that's about as near Korean culture as I've come this past week.

In the meantime, how about an adorable Chinese song?

No News is Good News.

So I was pretty lazy today and didn't do much but sleep and go on the Internet. It's raining super hard here, so I didn't get to go hiking or anything fun.

I did learn two things that really made me happy, though.

1. An editor from Matador Abroad, an online travel magazine with really great articles, contacted me to let me know that she wants to publish the article I wrote. I'm officially a paid travel writer, guys! It's a small start, but a good one, and I'm ecstatic. Of course, when it's finished, I'll be sure to link it here.

2. I've lost ten pounds since I've come to Korea about a week ago. I was really surprised, but I guess I shouldn't be. I lost 15 pounds in Japan (most within the first month), and gained about 25 on my return because I didn't really take care of my body. This time, I'm really going to work hard to maintain a healthy weight that I'm comfortable with.

On the downside, something is wrong with my camera. Everything looks fine, but when it takes pictures everything is all white. I'm really worried I'll have to buy another camera (probably a less expensive one that isn't as nice). Ugh. I have horrible luck with technology.

Here by the sea and sand, nothing ever goes as planned.

Here's an update on our status.

• Last night I got my swine flu test results back, and I am negative. Unfortunately, the other two who were tested were positive.
  
• Today a group of workers were dispatched to clean all of our rooms and wipe down any visible mold with bleach, which should help a lot.
  
• Construction on the building has stopped, and all the trash in the back should be gone by tomorrow.
  
• We are all starting Tamiflu tonight. Tamiflu won't prevent swine flu, but for those who have it and haven't shown symptoms, it will help fight the virus quicker. Most of us have decided to take Tamiflu, and we all will be tested for swine flu in five days. Those who pass the test will be able to move on! This is incredibly exciting to us, because we thought we could be quarantined indefinitely until seven days after the last confirmed case of swine flu.
  
• After the quarantine, we will be given the choice to go back home early. Our first camp is cancelled, our second is probably cancelled, and after the quarantine our group will be touring Korea for a period of time. Which sounds great, except if someone starts showing signs of swine flu again, rumor has it we may have to start over.
  
• We will be getting compensated for the first camp, and our two representatives are working to make sure we get compensation for the second as well.
  
• We have contacted the U.S. Embassy and have someone working on our case. She's making sure most of our requests are met and has been sending daily updates.

I Was Cured, All Right

Right now I feel like a mixture of this:



And this:

Swine 09, What a Fine Time

I'm about to go gonzo journalist all up in this.

So you know how I was joking about swine flu?


Guess what? Three of us have tested positive for it. The announcement was given today, after a talent show and pizza dinner amongst all of the teachers. As you can imagine, the atmosphere in the room went from positive to almost completely downcast. About the only thing that has remained the same is my fellow teachers' solidarity. Everyone is concerned about everyone who is sick, saddened that we probably will not be able to teach the first camp, and a little pissed off at the lack of answers we have been getting. I cannot fault the Korean staff or the American head teachers; all have been great advocates for us. But we've been stuck quarantined on an island in a moldy building going through construction with only each other for company. Some of us have mold allergies or sicknesses agitated by the poor state of the facilities here, so another week of quarantine here is an absolutely foul idea, in my mind.

Sick of Being Sick

I should have brought more cold medicine. At least, I think it's a cold. Maybe I'm allergic to the mold in the building, like a couple other girls are, but I've never been allergic to anything. Either way, I feel a bit better today than I did yesterday, although I feel worse now than I did in the morning (maybe it's something in the air at night that's making me have a hard time breathing). It's no fun being sick; I felt extremely homesick and irritable yesterday. Now I'm just trying to take it in stride and have fun. Being miserable isn't going to make it go away quicker.

Either way, people here have been so nice about it. I've been sneezing, coughing, and blowing my nose constantly, but so many people have offered me medicine, vitamins, cough drops, or even just pleasant conversation.

The past two days have been teaching orientations, which are informative for me and boring for you. Well, boring for me, as well.

On Wednesday, a Korean woman came in to teach us how to sing traditional Korean songs and use the janggu, a traditional drum. We learned how to sing Arirang, a song about a woman scorned by her lover. Unfortunately, I grossly misinterpreted the English lyrics the woman put up. "This is not a children's song," she said, and everyone laughed. Somehow I felt this must mean that the lover's feet had hurt because he was exhausted through other forms of exercise. Maybe it's just me; judge for yourself:

Arirang, Arirang, Arariyo...
Crossing over Arirang Pass.
My lover who abandoned me here
Will not walk even four kilometers before his feet hurt

I want my mom, a Disney movie, and a cup of chicken soup.

Swine Flu update, part 3: I don't have it.

However, I do feel crappy today and will save a full update with pictures until later tomorrow. Stuffy/runny nose, congested, headache. I took some sinus pills and will be going to bed early tonight. Hopefully that does the trick, because I need to stay healthy.

Today was by no means a bad day, but I'm getting cabin fever from being shut in a wet, moldy building all day (maybe this is all allergy related?), and...

Scratch that. Karaoke in 30 minutes. Perhaps I'll shower and stay up a little later.

I am going to learn this dance:



Be scared.

Wando Camp: Where Moths Go to Die

Today was the first day of orientation, proceeded (of course) by the second round of swine flu check-ups. We stood in line again to have our temperature taken, and I was slightly bothered that one of the nurses was sitting down at the table, texting with her mask off while the other was working. When she was finished, of course she put the mask back on.

"Temperature is 36.7 degrees."

"Okay."

"Sore throat? Muscle ache?"

"No."

"Runny nose?"

"I feel great."

Afterwards, we sat and learned a bit about how the camps work, received our teaching materials, and got a lesson in Korean culture by Suk Su "Steve" Kim, a charming man who spoke poorly of his English, even though he wildly succeeded in being quite funny (sometimes even when we wasn't trying). After a while, I stopped taking notes from the powerpoint presentation, and started writing down quotes.

On kimchi:
"No one in South Korea has died of swine flu...because of kimchi."

On democracy in South Korea:
"Too much democratic now. That's my opinion."

On Confucius:
"I read his book. Not his book, his disciples' books. Many times. Very useful."

On Buddhism:
"Two kinds of sects. Not sex, sects."

On the benefits of chopsticks:
"So if you want plastic surgery, I can recommend some doctors. Koreans have good hands because of chopsticks."

Quarantined

Compared to the hell I went through getting to Japan (a missed international flight, homesickness, and extreme culture shock), the transition in Korea has been pretty smooth. Although this didn't exactly help keep the nostalgia train from pulling in:



An entire album of the themes from Hayao Miyazaki's movies set to techno beats. No matter how happy and uplifting, Miyazaki's films never fail to make me bawl; something about the quiet, subtle way he portrays characters and relationships really touches me. The version of the Castle in the Sky theme was especially good. Besides that, there were albums by Gackt, X-Japan, Utada Hikaru, and Rain, and I watched Dragonball: Evolution. It was lucky I had a lot of bad entertainment to occupy my time, because I couldn't sleep during the entire 12 hour flight.

Breakfast of Champions

Before dropping off my boyfriend at the airport, we headed to Goody Goody diner in St. Louis to experience one of America's true wonders:


Fried chicken and Belgian waffles.

Needless to say, it was an amazing combination. The chicken was tender and juicy with a slightly spicy breading, and the Belgian Waffle was sweet, airy, and buttery. I'm going to miss soul food in Korea.

I'll make it rain...ism.

Today was the day of shopping before the trip, which is always the worst. Don't get me wrong, I love shopping. But I prefer to do it for things I don't need, unfortunately. Things I need to survive in Korea (or at least to survive with working electronics) are no fun to buy at all, and they're so expensive. Electric power adaptors, voltage converters, lithium batteries, a new pair of plain flats, an SD card reader, and about $100 gone all before I've left the country. Ouch.

Hopefully I'll be ready to leave for Korea by Saturday morning, but there's still so much more to do.

And when I want to go home, I'm going mobile...

It's always so scary for me to begin something, whether it's a new notebook, a new news story, a new blog, or a new adventure abroad. My name is Valerie Insinna, and I'm a 21 year old college student studying print journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia.


Deep down, I'm a homebody -- I love my family, my friends, familiar things, affection, and sometimes complete solitude and comfort. Despite my own nature, my two biggest passions are things that inescapably push me out of my comfort zone: journalism and travel. I love adventures and become bored easily. So I do things like going to Nagoya, Japan for a semester or write news stories at the state capitol. Inevitably, I doubt myself beforehand and dread the possibility of failure. And somehow, I realize how happy I am to travel and write, and I know I could never be as content otherwise.

What is Going Mobile?

Most simply, it is the title my travel blog, in which I'll post photos and write about my experiences abroad.

More accurately, it ties into who I am as a person and who I'd like to be as a traveler.