Compact Prepack (Part I)

   Checked my FedEx tracking number and all the documents were received on Friday. Now it’s time to just wait for my notification for date to interview Korean Consulate and find out flight date. Pretty anxious to find out what airline I’m travelling on and what their bag check policy is, until then I can’t find out how much bulk goods (clothing, books, etc.) I can bring with me.

   Which is why my current brainstorm is orbiting the planet of Compact Prepack. If I can’t plan out the big stuff I can focus on the little, such as future weekend itineraries (Part I) and data driven hometown relics (Part II).                                                                                          

Oh the Places I'll go, Oh the Multimedia I'll bring!

   Planning out weekend escapades and sightseeing has a double-feature drive in style awesomeness. Not only does it let me discover more about and become further enamored with the potential of Korea but it also helps me pass the time and foster patience instead of constantly checking my gmail for word from my recruiter. Spring has sprung over here and I guess this has had an impact on my current adventure planning. I’ve been scouring blogs and travel books planning out hiking trips. This has always been a pursuit of mine and the beautiful area I grew up in has a lot to do with this.

   The trails behind my house growing up in the foothills of North Bend, WA on Rattlesnake Ridge are home to some of my cherished childhood recollections. Scrambling with my cousin Blake and brother Nichelas through backforest trails intersecting ancient elk runs down to the nearby Rattlesnake Lake to watch the Bald Eagles soaring on the thermals and roosting on large lakeside arbor sentinels is pleasantly branded into the retina of my memories. TV was a societal lure we were not ensnared by back then because our imaginations, giant trees to climb and forts to not only plan but make dominated our daylight pastimes. It was not uncommon for us to be perched at the crown of a 60+ foot evergreen (sometimes during windy days) and I can only imagine the amount of paper spent on designs of forts varying from simple lean-tos to the more extravagant underground tunnel systems with hidden trap door entrances and intricate connected tree forts in the fashion of Ewoks from Star Wars. 

Blanchard Mountain overview with college friends.

  This trend continued in college where Bellingham offered not only amazing alpine hikes up to mountainside glaciers such as the panoramic Skyline Divide but also an outstanding Interurban Trail. Starting within the municipality and following the coast on piers and madrona peppered forests up into the only highlands in Washington were the Cascade Mountain Range touched the beauteous Puget Sound at Blanchard Mountain aka the Oysterdome.

   Those not wishing to go up could stay lower in altitude as the winding road (Chuckanut Drive, one of my favorite vantage filled roadways in all the world) that hugged cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean offered numerous access points to the many parks with their sprawling rocky beaches below. Clayton and Larrabee Parks as well as the less known Teddy Bear Cove were host to numerous guests and offered attractions ranging from seafaring kayakers, people handcasting crab pots from the sandstone terra jutting out into the Sound and the hidden “hippie rock garden” featuring small flower gardens and whimsical rock art. Beware said secluded spot on a bright sunny day as its isolation brought forth many an unclad granola out basking (not criticizing, just the last scenery I myself was not trying to observe on a sunny day). Chuckanut Drive is featured in many a movie and its breath-taking view of the San Juan Islands and Olympic Peninsula is iconic of the Pacific Northwest.

   Looking through many of the images of the landscape of South Korea I feel a deep resonance. The craggy mountain hikes take me back to epic hikes around the Mt. Baker wilderness area and the terraced, shelf-like hillsides of the low-lying agricultural valley are very similar to the view from the Alger lookout that surveyed all the farmland of the Skagit valley. Jack Kerouac once described this valley as the most fertile place in the entire United States. Though I’m no Dharma Bum it’s good to know the freewheeling, live to burn brightly beat was a fan as well.

Can't wait to ascend this rocky path.

   Though I do not know of any similar Thoreaufare in Seoul like the Interurban Trail in Bellingham there will be many an oasis of wilderness for this county raised boy to seek sanctuary from the city bustle. Having been raised in a rural setting in early childhood, suburbs as an adolescent and teen and living in an uber-green college town as a young man I foresee at least a few times where the concrete jungles and bustle of packed in people will cause me a little claustrophobia. Haha, at least I’m prepared!

  The parks throughout Seoul seem indicative of the Korean people love and respect for nature and incorporating it into their cityscapes. Numerous spots such as Namsan Park offer an outlet for those wishing to escape the city in a small forest fortress of solitude. I look forward to visiting them and describing them in detail as well as the introspective reflections I’ll have in this blog in the near future.

   One of the other great opportunities I’ll have to pursue will be visiting the numerous Buddhist temples throughout the capital city I am to be a future resident of. Though I was raised Roman Catholic (my father was brought up in a large traditional Irish Catholic farm family in Eastern WA) I was taught by my Pops to always respect the teachings of other religions. He studied with the Jesuits for some time and always emphasized the strength he was given for not only his own but all religions. I’ve been strongly encouraged to observe the services held within mosques, Buddhist temples and synagogues while I am a young man. My father can truly be commended for nurturing my desire to be a world citizen by helping me to respect the numerous different cultures that I share this Earth with. 

*Part II soon to come!

 

Counting the days…

   It’s crazy to think that there are only two months left until I leave the ‘burbs of Washington and head out to Seoul, South Korea. I will be staying in the Yeungdongpo area of Seoul (I think it’s kind of like a borough) and working for the Sogang University Language Program (SLP). Working from 9am-6pm I start out my mornings working with kindergarten students and finish the day working with elementary students.

   With the time I have left it has been a real blessing to be living at my parents house. I originally moved in here to help save money but have found that quality time spent with them is a reason in and of itself for my current living situation. The feeling of helping with dinner and sometimes micromanagement of my little sisters (they can be a handful sometimes) is that much more gratifying when I think about the fact that I won’t be seeing them in person for at least one year. It completely balances out the fact that I’m sleeping on their couch and the limited bus routes around this area. I’m truly thankful for the lessons of my father in showing me the importance of family against the odds.

   My mother died from AML Leukemia when I was a young child and the bond between him, my little brother Nick and I has only strengthened through the years. Since remarrying (my stepmother Patti) and adopting three little girls (Shirley is the eldest followed by the twins Hannah and Sarah) he has shown me that no matter how non-traditional, love and perseverance through the obstacles of life are the defining aspects of a family. 

   This appreciation of the present moment has extended beyond my family. Time spent with some of my good friends has seemed that much more savored. Though I know I will be making numerous new friends, the ties of friendship nurtured throughout the years are strong with those I have cherished the last 7 years.

  Savoring each moment, whether it be watching a movie at the house. Catching lunch or drinks in Seattle, or even moments of reflection on the bus or train to or fro the city have been an unforseen gift of my decision to live abroad in Korea. Added to the fact that I am continuing the legacy of my father and both grandfathers in visiting Asia during the periods where they were coming into their own as young men only reinforces my feeling that I have made the right decision. It’s currently an odd tetter-totter inside of me between soaking up the present and wishing time would go a little slower, and great anticipation for the adventures and self-growth of the future creating a desire for it to already be May. Probably the best dissonance I’ve experienced in my adult life, haha.

   All in all I feel intensely pleased that already my perspective on the world and my life in general, both my goals and the values I hold to be a priority, are rapidly developing. This development is so enriching and thus begets more of the same establishment of perceived depth. Life is good and with my life I hope to share that sentiment.

The family at my cousin's wedding.