Sheila Bocchine, Photographer

Sleeping in the Ala Mar by the Sea Motel in Santa Barbara, California. Gary must of woke up early because the door is open.  I also love the occasional sleeping pinhole when I’m super aware of what’s happening and sleep without moving much. Also, I travel in style, notice my pink chucks and my vintage 1970′s purse!

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Suwon, South Korea is pretty amazing. A friend on facebook said my encounters were like living in Mayberry. I believe she cast a Mayberry spell on me, for at first Mayberry it was not, but as my days pass, Mayberry it’s becoming.

I must be on the right path because every time I pose a question (to myself, or out loud), the answer reveals itself moments later.

On Wednesday, I went to pick up my laundry (on Saturday I found a laundromat with an owner that speaks a little English).  The door was open, but the owner was away. On the desk there was a sign with a phone number in big letters.  I can only assume it said, ‘Call me if you need me’.  I pondered what to do next, because I really needed clean panties and bras.  Luckily, neatly folded in the bags I dropped off were my clothes, and hanging above them were my dresses.  I wrote him a note, put it on his desk and left with my things. On my walk home, I was starring into outer space when I noticed a man in a van trying to get my attention. I realized it was the laundromat owner.  He stopped to make sure I had everything! So sweet is he.

On one of my exploration treks I found a flower/plant shop.  Yesterday I returned and purchased 2 potted herbs (lavender and lemon balm) and a pretty green hanging plant. The shop owner was trying to explain something to me, and at first I had no idea what he was saying.  Then through gestures, I realized he was saying water the herbs a lot and the plant once a week. He realized that I understood and he smiled!

Walking home with my plants a guy on a scooter stopped me, asking for directions.  Yes, please laugh and then continue reading! Turns out he’s a college student (I live by a university) looking for the foreigners bar, he wanted to practice his English.  Now stopping me made sense. I knew where it was, haven’t been there and couldn’t really give directions but I could type the name into his ipod touch. We talked for a few minutes and I gave him my email address. Waiting for me at home was a facebook friend request from him!

And… that brings us to today. Across the street from my apartment is a mountain, okay maybe a REALLY big hill.  None of the other teachers knew anything about it.  Walking home with my laundry the other day I saw an opening and people disappearing into the trees. Today I decided to go check it out. At the opening 2 nice ladies said hello, they seemed like they wanted to talk, but I was eager to retreat into nature.

I wasn’t prepared for the hike that lay before me. I was wearing yellow jellies and carrying a purse with a book. I was hoping to find a nice patch of grass to enjoy my book.  I started climbing and climbing and climbing and climbing.  Surrounded by lush green trees, interesting plants and the peaceful sounds of nature was a pleasant change from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Everyone that passed by said ‘hello’ or ‘how are you’ or something in Korean (with a smile on their face). People were walking in both directions. Families walking with their children, held up by a tree love birds were kissing, and old men holding  were holding their walking sticks tightly.

The canopy of trees hid the sky, but occasionally I’d round the corner and see a breathtaking view of Suwon. Miles of high rises and mountains in the background. It was so beautiful. Along the trail were clearings with gardens! Hidden gardens were growing all around.  I can’t wait to find out what’s growing.  The plants were very young and some haven’t even sprouted.  People with baskets and bags were off the trail, and I assume foraging. I would love to know what’s edible!

I kept climbing.  The occurring thought, ‘in what part of the city will I end up’ interrupted my hike a few times, but I kept going. I figured if I didn’t know where I was, I could just hop in a taxi and say Youngtong (that’s the part of Suwon in which I reside).

I finally reached the top. It was all downhill from there. I also stopped seeing people, which was a little strange. The descend was lined with 100′s of rose plants.  I was in awe at how beautiful this part of the trail was. I was skipping in delight, inhaling the delicious rose perfumed air.

I reached a brown wooden gate.  An elderly man was standing off to the side, just standing.  I opened the gate and kept following the path. I reached two more gates. Both locked. I had seen similar gates throughout the trail.  Each gate lead to apartment hi-rises and to required a pass code protected card to enter. I just stood there for a minute, wondering what to do next.  I realized I took a wrong turn somewhere; the well kept roses and no people, should have been a clue.

I decided to retrace my steps and walk back the way I came.  The man next to the brown gate was still standing there.  He said something to me in Korean and I spoke back in English. AND he spoke English. Not a lot, but enough to help me. I asked if there was a way down, and he said yes, but it is very difficult (obviously it was similar to the path I had taken up). He said he would help me and to follow him. So I did. We went back through the wooden gate and he asked me questions along the way. He wanted to know where I was from and what I was doing here. I found out that he grew up in Seoul and retired in Suwon.  We reached the locked gate and he swiped his card. I asked if I could get one of those and he said it was only for the people who lived there.  He also said to ask people where Youngtong was and I would find my way home. I thanked him and kept walking.

WOW!  I want to live where he lives! These hi-rises can’t even be seen from the streets.  The grounds had gorgeous lakes and flowers galore. I didn’t ask anyone for help, I just kept walking. I found a road that looked like it was going down… it was.  Along the sidewalk were paths through more wooded areas and beautiful flower gardens. I got a closer look at the birds I saw while hiking.  Very curious HUGE black and white birds.

I reached a major street and wondered out loud ‘which direction is Youngtong?’  A few feet in front of me a huge sign appeared over the street with arrows pointing to the main part of Suwon, and to Youngtong. After a short walk I recognized the area and made my way home.

A dandelion in Santa Barbara, California, found while Gary and I were bike riding.
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Today I would like to share my thoughts about Korean food: It’s going to take some getting used to. Sorry Korea! It’s so salty and spicy and you eat meat at every meal. AND why oh why are your fruits and veggies so expensive? Thank goodness I like rice, but they even eat rice for breakfast!!!

Okay, it’s not all bad. I’ve had some really interested and delicious foods too. The hardest obstacle is everything is in Korean (duh). One of the other teachers knows a little Korean so he’s a HUGE help when we go out to eat. Nero, another teacher, who doesn’t read any Korean, gave me a tour of restaurants I can eat at without knowing Korean. He showed me all the restaurants with picture menus and places you can order by number (like KFC and McDonalds). The line at McDonalds was at least 50 people long. I have not eaten there.

The interesting thing about Korean dinning is that everyone shares and eats from the same plate with their own chopsticks. In America I feel like everyone is very germ-a-phobic, but here, it’s the complete opposite. (People cough and sneeze on you and in the bathrooms they don’t have paper towels or air blow dyers, no, they have ONE wet towel that everyone uses to dry their hands…)

One night we went to a kimbap restaurant, which is just a really super cheap place that serves mostly Korean sushi and ramen. I wanted something that wasn’t spicy and free from kimchee. The other teachers suggested I try Ramen with bulgogi (their beef). So I went for it. OH MY GOSH! It was spicy, and impossible to eat. They eat ramen with chop sticks! It was the hardest I’ve ever concentrated while eating, I eventually gave up, but not before splashing ramen all over myself. I had a piece of someone’s tuna roll there and it was tasty!

One afternoon the Owner of the school took everyone to a traditional Korean restaurant. We were in our own private dinning room, designed like someone’s home. Dish after dish after dish of Korean delights came to our table. It was the only restaurant I’ve seen salad and the salad dressing was amazing. At least 20 little side dishes of spicy kimchee and roasted anchovies also decorated the table. We had lilac soup, a very interesting pudding like substance that totally tasted like flowers. My favorite dish they brought out was a pickled radish/pork dish. You wrap the pork in the pickled radish. The flavors were amazing. I tried the radish by itself and didn’t like it, but combined with the pork, oh wow!!

Koreans eat out a lot! The kitchens (if you can call them that) are very small. Many of the restaurants have a grill in the center of the table to cook whatever you order. Also, many of the restaurants only serve one thing. We went to a chicken place, and cooked the mixture on our table and made lettuce wraps. I liked that restaurant. We went to another that only served pork, so basically you were cooking bacon, and then putting it in lettuce with rice.

I’ve met some other English teachers and last Saturday about 8 of us went to a restaurant in another part of town. It was a Korean bbq place. We took off our shoes and sat on the floor around rectangle tables with grills in the middle. You helped yourself to whatever meat you wanted to cook. They had regular stuff like beef and pork and the exotic tongue and liver! And to my delight they had octopus and squid! YUM! That’s what I ate! I tried everything (except the exotic) but was sooooo happy with my grilled octopus and squid! AND the side dishes, also help yourself style. They had a tasty soup and some yummy noodle dishes. The greatest part was it was only $7 per person. No matter how much you ate!

Boy teachers and I went to a fried chicken place the other day. They served 3 kinds of fried chicken: regular, sweet and spicy, and garlic. The pungent smell of garlic was to strong for me, so I skipped that variety. The regular was delicious. The sweet and spicy, was, well, on the spicy side! We watched Korean baseball while we ate. They LOVE baseball and soccer over here!

OH! If your order cheese pizza they throw all sorts of vegetables on top like corn.

There’s more, but I’ll share those dishes on another day!

Gary and I were bike riding in gorgeous Santa Barbara and I saw this patch of dandelions in a field. Of course I ran out to pinhole it, thank goodness I did! I love this image.
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I am writing to you from Suwon, South Korea. I’ve been here for a little over a week. It’s pretty fantastic and definitely has promise of great adventure. I don’t know where to start for I don’t want this blog to be pages long.

My journey was long, 24 hours long. From sunny Phoenix to cloudy Portland, Oregon to Tokyo, Japan to Seoul, South Korea. When we landed in Tokyo, men in blue suits and masks entered our plane to check for Swine Flu or SI as it’s known here (swine influenza). They had a body heat video camera and videoed everyone on board. A woman 2 seats in front of me had a fever and a red sticker was put on her chair. So instead of letting us off, we had to sit there for over an hour. More people came on board and they asked the woman endless questions, and were concerned about the people sitting around her as well. We all had to sign a piece of paper with our destination and information in case the woman came down with SI. Over an hour later we were able to run to our next flight.

The Portland to Tokyo leg of the trip was the worst. I was SO TIRED, but could not sleep. A mix of excitement and uncomfortable seats was to blame, so I watched movies. I was ‘Marley and Me’ and ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’. I cried during both of them. I did enjoy having a tv on the seat in front of me with numerous movies to choose from. I watched a few sitcoms and played Bejeweled as well.

In line for the flight from Tokyo to Seoul, I met a really nice girl, Julie. I took my seat next to a French Canadian guy who was traveling throughout South Korea for the next month. We talked a little but were both really tired. I know we both tried sleeping and couldn’t, we should have just talked. They served us Kimbap on the plane. I didn’t like it… it’s Korean sushi. They have tons of Kimbap restaurants in Korea, I had a tuna roll the other night and it was pretty tasty. On the plane, one roll was spicy and one roll was filled with kimchee… Unfortunately, I’m not a fan. I love cabbage, but that is one spicy dish!

Once again I found myself in quarantine in South Korea. We were in a room and each of us had to have our temperature taken.

I had NO IDEA where to go or what to do when I got off the plane. Perhaps if I wasn’t so tired from being awake for almost 24 hours I could have figured it out. Thank goodness for Julie! I saw her waiting for the train to take us to our luggage and she totally helped me out. She’s also an English teacher but had a few months off before her next job and was going to Thailand for vacation! Lucky her! With Julie’s help I got through immigration, customs, found my luggage and even exchanged money. I was looking for my driver holding a sign with my name on it, but he wasn’t there. Julie let me borrow her phone to call Lena, my recruiter. A few minutes later I saw the guy with my name running towards my gate. I got in his van and started the 90 minute journey to my new town. It was raining and I was delirious from no sleep. I tried to look out the window but quickly feel asleep. Next thing I knew we were getting off the highway.

I was engulfed in bright lights, neon signs and hi-rise after hi-rise. I was totally reminded of Times Square in NYC. We pulled into my hotel and it was amazing! It was so gorgeous and the bathroom! Wow! I was hoping my apartment was going to be just like my hotel… There was a computer in my room but I couldn’t figure out how to work the internet. I called the front desk and someone came to my room to fix it. I got online, but realized I was only typing in Korean characters. I pushed buttons until I figured out which one switched the keyboard. It was nice to be able to connect with my family and friends back home.

I set up my pinhole camera to add to my sleeping series and went to sleep. I had to start my new job the very next day!

…come back to read more about my adventure!