내가 지금 방황하고 있는 까닭은

방정리 하던 중 찾은 글
교회 수련회에서 이렇게 아름다운 글을 받았기에 오랜만에 블로그 업데이트!


내가 지금 방황하고 있는 까닭은 사랑을 하기 시작했기 때문입니다.


내가 지금 해매고 있는 까닭은 진실을 배우기 시작했기 때문입니다.


내가 지금 멀리 떠나고 있는 까닭은 아름다운 순간을 보았기 때문입니다.


지금 집으로 돌아 갈 수 없는 것은 사랑을 알고 진실을 배우고 아름다움은 보았지만 나에게 믿음이 없는 까닭입니다.


나의 작은 집이 방황의길 끝에 있읍니다.
날 위해 노래를 불러줘요 집으로 갈 수 있게 믿음의 빛을 주어요.
개미구멍만 한 내 집이 있기에 나는 지금 방황하고 있어요.


이어령 지음/
지성에서 영성으로 중에서

New York I Love

My first visit to NY wasn't so pleasant - someone broke into our car at night and stole everything, including my #1 possession at the time... my CD player. So why exactly did I fall in love with this city? I don't know. It was like love at first sight.

Because I had landed a summer internship on Wall Street, New York for me was a symbol of my years of hard-working and also of my parents' pride in me. But after a couple of days of carrying the company badge that looked too cool to be true at first, New York became more than the city of finance for me. It created a place of its own in the corner of my heart.

People called me a New Yorker but I never quite figured out what that meant. Yes I lived in New York, I enjoyed the city night life, and explored countless corners with my Nikon camera but I guess 3 months wasn't enough for me to be completely immersed into the city life. Yes, the city life looks so fancy in movies and TV shows like Sex and the City but New York in my heart means more than a closet full of brand-name shoes and fancy Sunday morning brunches (although I do plan on keeping up with this tradition when I finally settle down next month).

New York is extraordinary because you can never stay the same in this city. New York fits me because the life THE CITY closely resembles one of my favorite quotes, and my motto, "When you are finished changing, you are finished" by Benjamin Franklin.  New York is also awesome because you get to create something of your own and call it your HOME.


So there, that's why I'm going on this 7-hour bus ride to find a perfect room where I can dream my dream for the next... who knows how many years. Yes, I might complain about the city and run away to a different city for a couple of days sometime. And I will change for sure during my years as a "New Yorker." But one thing is for sure: I'm following my heart.

New York, New York
August, 2011

Is this fair?

We went around shopping in this street market in India

while this man dragged his disabled body and begged for some change
with what's left of his body.

Is this fair?



I came back from India with mixed emotions. My India trip was more academic and business oriented. India has received tremendous attention from all around the globe as one of the star emerging markets. But the India I had imagined in the classrooms of Georgetown and the India I had sketched out based on the newspaper articles and other reading materials was nothing more than a proof of my ignorance.

I've seen beggers before, those with no legs or arms, dragging their bodies through the crowd of people who seemed so busy to get to their destinations and paid no attention to these people for whom even $1 would mean the world. But living in the US and Korea, and traveling around the European countries, I've never encountered beggers with exposed amputated legs or arms. They were always hidden, as if they were the reasons for "normal" people's disdain... for this man, and for others who came up to us in similar shapes, their amputated legs were the reasons why they had to be out on the street and the sources of their income simultaneously. To some people these amputated legs are what makes them "inferior," what an ignorance.

What makes us better than this man whose soul has escaped from his eyes?

the girls picking the lice out of their mom's hair in front of a luxurious shopping center?

boys knocking on our car window with what seemed to be fake blood running down his face?

To me, nothing. If anything, we owe them.

Hong Kong - The Peak

With a few hours left until my flight to India,
my friend suggested that we go up to The Peak to see the whole city.

Some random stuff I saw on the way to the tram

People waiting for the tram

Such a cute poster

Waiting for our turn. It took FOREVER
well, it felt like it because it was incredibly hot and humid

It's finally here!!!

The tram is finally here!

OK, so I am Asian so I have the right to say this.
Asian people (especially adults) think that cutting is normal. 
All these adults, who are in their 40s and 50s cut the line like there is no tomorrow.
People, it is OK to be patient and wait 10 seconds...seriously

Eh, I thought it was cool and took a picture
But apparently no one appreciates it

Such a steep hill we were climbing.
What if the rope suddenly breaks???...

The view of Hong Kong on the way up to the Peak.
Such a clear blue sky.
The higher you go up on the hill, exponentially more expensive the houses get
because of an incredible view, clean air...

Got off the tram and still had to go up a couple of floors
(THAT ANNOYING ESCALATOR!!!)

HK in the back

With Andrew

These two pictures combined looks kind of cool

Hello Hong Kong!

My great host who managed to feed me and take me to the peak during my 6 hour layover in HK

Apparently the road running to the left of the road in this picture is one of the most expensive streets in the world.
If you own a house in this area, oh man, let's be friends??? hahahaha

Those freaking heart shapes are everywhere in Asia
And wow to that lady's fashion sense
Geez, not everyone can pull that off

Ok... I forget the name of this place but the food is amazing

that I forgot to take a picture when the food was served

After our adventure to the Peak and some delicious Cantonese food,

I was a bit rushed so we took a cab down the hill straight to the bus terminal 

After our adventure to the Peak and some delicious Cantonese food,
I was a bit rushed so we took a cab down the hill straight to the bus terminal 

Some decoration at the HK airport

Hong Kong - Buildings & Streets

Anyone who's walked around any city with me will know that I am a camera freak when it comes to traveling & exploring. I absolutely LOVE observing different buildings/shops/sceneries/street scenes...etc
So here are some shots I took as I was walking around and as I was traveling in a cab.

BUILDINGS

The building is.... PINK!!!!
Notice the laundries being dried outside the windows

Seriously, yay for the natural drier

Almost anywhere you go in HK, you will find some kind of construction/renovation going on.
Buildings in HK don't match the ones standing around them.
It seems like architectures don't really pay attention to matching the styles of the buildings
around the new one they are trying to build.

SHOPPING

If I learned ONE thing about HK, it's that the country is veeeeerrrry shopping-centric

There are shops EVERYWHERE and every tourist spot is

FILLED with (not just restaurants) but SHOPS!

STREET EXPLORATION

In the middle of a road, on the way to eat dumpling soup
For some reason, I just really like this photo

This street somehow reminds me of NY streets near Time Square

Have no clue what street this is supposed to be...
But I can read "books"???

Street market!!

HONG KONG THROUGH MY EYES
(What I noticed in HK)

Mickey D is seriously EVERYWHERE!

HK really is shopping-centric.

OMG Hong Kong has palm trees!!!

????? One thing I noticed about Hong Kong escalators:
(and I still dont know WHY - someone pleasssse explain this to me)
You have to circle around and go to the opposite side to keep going up (or down)
Unlike the Korean and US ones where the escalators going the same direction
are located right next to each other.
One thought I have is that people are forced to look at the shops next to them
as they walk around to the other side.

I really don't get it, can someone PLEASSEEEEE tell me?