The Ddongchim: Korea’s obsession with anuses
As I walked inside IBK Bank one day, I didn’t know whether to run away or burst out laughing as one of the employees, an ajeosshi (middle aged man) with a beer belly, casually grabbed a pen from his...
View ArticlePostcards: the Chinese calligrapher
August 24, 2011 On a bright summer morning in Beijing, the calligrapher skillfully ran his brush along the smooth, gray stone of the Summer Palace’s pavilion, making curvaceous strokes with lines as...
View ArticleNotes from the covert world of Korean shamanism
CELINE CROSSED HER LEGS and took a long drag of her cigarette. “The shaman told me my grandmother’s hometown. She pointed to it on a map,” she recounted in her thick French accent. “Later, the adoption...
View ArticleAre you Russian? an interview about causasian female stereotypes and...
IN KOREA, THE WORDS “RUSSIAN” AND “PROSTITUTE” GO HAND IN HAND, a stereotype that has evolved from a recent period of time where droves of Russian women apparently came to Korea on “entertainment”...
View ArticleSolo Daecheop: a flash-mob style blind date for the singles in Seoul
In South Korea, Christmas is a romantic holiday, rather than a family or religious celebration. Couples spend the day flaunting their status in matching sweaters and reindeer horn headbands, making...
View ArticleGay in Korea: an interview with an American expat living in Seoul
My Korean co-teacher once told me that she had never met a gay person. “You probably have without realizing it,” I responded. She didn’t seem convinced. The gay scene is still quite hidden in Korea,...
View ArticlePrayers and fortune telling at a Taoist temple
“Before we eat dinner at the night market, we’re going to pray,” Olivia’s mom said as we stopped in front of a Taoist temple in Taichung. My Taiwanese friend Olivia turned to me, “We’re only doing this...
View ArticleStaying with nomadic Mongolian families: part II
Day 2: The clouds hung heavy in the sky; it was about to rain. The second family greeted me outside and ushered me into their ger–a round felt tent traditionally used by nomads. The mother, Amar,...
View ArticleStaying with nomadic Mongolian families: part III
Day 3: I arrived at the third family’s home, where I met my host mother and her two grown daughters. One of the daughters and I walked towards the forest to collect kindling for the wood stove. As I...
View Articlea lesson about pants
As I was sitting across from José, devouring a Mediterranean-style crepe, I shifted in my seat and felt a thin layer of sweat underneath my bare thighs. I was wearing a dress, and the air conditioner...
View ArticleLa Boquilla Tour
Even though I’ve hit the ten month mark in Colombia, I’ve failed to really show you how wonderful my Peace Corps site is. Now is your chance to glimpse some important places in La Boquilla through the...
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