A Friday to Kill

December 27, 2013. Itaewon, South Korea.

It was two days after Christmas and I found myself inside Suji's brunch restaurant in Seoul with a cinnamon roll in one hand, people-watching out the window. Me and Kaley had about 10 hours before we had to be at the airport to pick her family up, but while Kaley had graduate school apps to knock out, this guy had nothing. Except his camera, of course. So I roamed out and about in Itaewon and beyond. 

Just a National Subway Graphic subway crab. Perfectly natural.

Every time I have come out of the subway heading for Suji's, I immediately notice Namsan Tower showing off in the distance. I hadn't actually explored much of Itaewon or the area around the tower, so while K was working, I adventured. I crossed the street and just started walking up. I was choosing random alleys and interesting little diversions on my way up, and the tower was everywhere.

I walked to the highest point I could get, which happened to be a road where a ton of embassy housing was. I found the Ethiopian, Argentinian, and Thai embassies all along one street, and quickly became jealous of what I was sure is their unimpeded, fantastic views of Namsan Tower and Seoul spread out below it. After the embassies and the coffee shops, the city finally tapered off a little and I ran into Namsan Park.

I hiked my way up to an overlook and found the tower waiting there, along with a very bright and hazy Seoul sprawled everywhere around it.

It was a long, productive photowalk, which I hadn't had in a while. Seoul can be really overwhelming and busy and crazy, but it is an amazing place to take your camera and get lost in.

That Christmas Thing

December 24th and 25th, 2013. Cheonan, South Korea.

Yours truly and a Christmas tree!

My final teaching day of the semester was December 23rd, and the next two days were spent in celebration, cooking, and hiking. "And soccer!" says Kaley.

Flowers and a candle.

First up: the food. For Christmas Eve dinner, we cooked up some chicken soup, sweet potatoes with marshmallows (and walnuts on half for my weirdo girlfriend), salmon, potatoes, pomegranates, and a strange mix of bok choy and black-eyed peas (not the music). It was all delicious and scrumptious, etc. My favorite was the sweet potato and marshmallow medley, because that was the most homey thing on the menu.

A lovely chicken, no?

The dinner layout.

In the middle of cooking, we decided to take a break and head outside. In my head, this meant going for a walk. For Kaley, this meant throwing her soccer ball off the 11th floor of her apartment building, then elevatoring down to get it. In between the throwing and the elevatoring, a group of elementary school boys got a hold of the soccer ball, so we wound up playing with them for a while. No pictures, because, well, they were little kids and that's weird.

On Christmas day, we ate leftovers, hiked a nearby mountain, and watched Inception. The hike was nothing big, just enough to make us feel like we were actually working off some of the previous night's dinner. It was a slippery ordeal, as there was still a lot of snow everywhere from the week before. I noticed several Koreans look at my shoes in disgust as they passed, noticing that I wasn't wearing crampons, or any hardcore hiking gear in general. It was a beautiful day, slightly overcast, and what wasn't covered in snow was covered in pine needles.

Crossed over a bridge on the walk home and had to grab a few photos like this:

We arrived back at Kaley's apartment and - no that wasn't a typing error - watched Inception. Not a very Christmasy movie, but a movie that I enjoy and she had never seen.

It was a weird Christmas. Six thousandish miles away and a 14-hour time difference from home will do that, but I woke up nice and early the day after Christmas to video chat with my family and see how my awesome nephew enjoyed his first Christmas (he got a moving dinosaur!). Although the year wasn't without its hiccups, my family is happy and healthy, my nephew is sitting up and smiling, and I can't help but feel fortunate and blessed. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and are keeping your own fortunes and blessings in mind as this new year gets going. All the best... 

My Mamiya

January 6, 2014.

Happy New Year and Merry Christmas and all that. This guy has been a busy little bee: last day of school, Christmas, Korea travel with the girlfriend and her family. Etc. While in Seoul a few days ago, I decided I would get a few rolls of film developed that have just been chilling in my fridge for a bit. Three 120 rolls of Kodak Ektar, mostly photos I took over this past summer or even before I came to Korea, and a bare few from my current city since I decided to bring my Mamiya with me this year. This is the first time I've ever had lab-processed scans from this camera, and I'm really happy with them.

So yes, my blog has been vacant for weeks, missing Christmas and New Year's posts, and now I'm leaving you with film photos from neither holiday. I'll get back to that other stuff. 

Promise.

A statue in Bernheim Forest, Clermont, Kentucky (left). One of the trails on Weolbongsan (월봉산), Cheonan, Korea (right).

Same statue as above. I was a happy camper that day. While it's obvious that someone placed that leaf there, it really wasn't me.