Some things I know

Jessica and Matt

I have been away from my blog so long that Amazon sent me a notice yesterday that they would drop my blog from their "inventory" of blogs available by subscription for the Kindle if I went much longer without writing something. My subscribers expect fresh content they say. Really? Two people are subscribed...my wife and son and they didn't even subscribe on their own...I signed them up. However, it is time to write some stuff I guess.

My wife Carol, son Michael and I just returned from an 10 day trip to Korea. Many of you know that our daughter and son-in-law live there. On the last leg of our journey home from the Augusta airport we were talking about the trip and what we liked about Korea. While we were so glad to have gone, Korea probably would not have otherwise been on our list of most desired world travel destinations. I have never heard anyone say "Hey, guess where we are traveling for vacation? Korea!" We were there for one reason.

We experienced the "out in the country" Korean landscape with flooded rice paddies everywhere. There was also corn and a host of other crops planted on every square inch of available land. Aside from the large Army base and the little "ville" of Anjeong-ri that sits just outside of it, the area where Matt and Jessica live is farmland and some light industry.

To get a taste of the city, you would travel to Pyeongtaek, a few miles to the north. Pyeongtaek Station is where you catch the train that runs to Seoul, about a 50 minute train ride even farther north. Cost of one way ticket...about $3.75 or approx 4300 Won.

Pyeongtaek Station is surrounded by AK Plaza, a modern shopping mall full of stores and full of Korean shoppers.

KoRail is a very modern, well run mass transit system that alleviates the need to get out and about with the less-than-traffic law adhering Korean drivers. Traffic control devices such as red lights, stop signs, speed limit signs, etc. are merely suggestions I guess. Just don't run a red light where there are the very well marked CCTV cameras. Apparently, you will receive a ticket in the mail.

One evening we were returning home from Seoul Station or Yongsan Station and we realized that we had forgotten to previously purchase our return tickets for the train. All the seats had been sold for the last train but we could buy tickets for standing...yeah... for an hour long train ride. No problem, Matt said, we could head for the "party car." The party car has only a few seats in front of video gambling consoles but does have a concession counter where you can purchase chips, candy, sushi, soft and "harder" drinks. Most folks were sitting on the floor of the car pecking away on their smartphones or listening to music. It seems like about 60% of the folks in Korea have earphones in their ears and are holding some sort of electronic device. You don't see many iPhones or iPads...you are in Samsung territory now. One gentleman in particular stood out. He looked like a businessman returning home on Friday evening after a hard week of work. I noticed him as soon as he got on the train. He had evidently gotten into the soju earlier in the day.

Soju is the very popular colorless Korean beverage made from rice that is about 25% alcohol by volume. Soju is usually consumed by the shot and Korean tradition states that you do not fill your own glass. You also do not refill a glass unless it is completely empty but you do fill it as soon as your drinking buddy's glass is empty. In Korea, it is considered rude to not fill someone's glass when empty, regardless of what you are drinking. "Drunk Korean dude on train" (as I called him) must have been some sort of acrobat/ balancing artist because for the life of me, I could not figure out how he was able to stay erect for 50 minutes. He would occasionally do a spontaneous "bend" from the knees or the lower back as the "hinge" would come loose but he was always able to lock back up before hitting the floor. He was my source of entertainment for the train ride.

It will take multiple blogs to describe 10 days in Korea. I will try my best to make my recollections interesting.

The title of this blog is "Some things I know." After 10 days halfway around the world, here are a few things I know.

• You should get out and explore the world if given the chance. This was my second trip to Asia (experienced China and Korea on a business trip in 2005.) People of other cultures are fascinating and strange, friendly and a bit skeptical, and in most ways, just like you and I.

• Just like you and I because I see Moms and Dads, brothers and sisters that love each other and are living life the best way they know how. Doesn't matter if they prefer kimchi and squid or pot roast and potatos, whether they speak English or Korean or "Engrish" or whatever the heck I sounded like trying to say an-nyeong-ha-se-yo (hello) or gam-sa-hap-ni-da (thank you.) 

• The love of family is important beyond words. Those bonds of love that hold us together are stronger than armies, higher than mountains. I wrote in an earlier blog asking the question "where's home?" Home is wherever I can be to love on my family. For the last 10 days, home was in Korea. And it was good to be home.