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Eri's Exploits01 novembre I hate Stephen HarperI hate Stephen Harper with the firey passion of a thousand suns. Before, I just thought he was an idiot and a jackass, but now I'm beginning to suspect that he's GWB's right-wing puppet; hell-bent on making our country into America Junior.
There is a Canadian man on death row in America, and the Tories are refusing to appeal on his behalf. NEWS FLASH, Mr. Harper: CANADA DOES NOT SUPPORT THE DEATH PENALTY. We don't support it because the majority of Canadians believe it's wrong; that a decision involving a life is too big to be made by the state. And they're right.
And let's not forget Omar Khadr; the 16-year-old Canadian boy being held in Guantanamo Bay. It's disgusting enough that "democratic" Americans allow systematic human-rights abuses to happen in their prisons; but the fact that the Canadian government doesn't care if they do it to Canadians is even more abhorrent.
My advice is: don't go to America. Just stay out of there. If you go, and if you get into trouble, you'll get no help from your government. 04 agosto VACATION!I'm just finishing a week of paid holidays (the best kind!). Ryan and I originally planned to go to Beijing, but that didn't pan out. So we decided to go to Jeju Do for 5 days instead. Jeju is gorgeous. We took a train from Seoul (which is in the northern part of South Korea) all the way south to Mokpo, which took 3 hours, then a ferry south to Jeju (5 hours). Here's a map. By the way, the "do" part is just Korea for island, and the map spells it "Cheju" because J and Ch are the same letter in Korean, the sound is somewhere in between. (It's the same with R and L)
Traveling there took the best part of a day each way, but it was worth it. I got to see the Korean countryside from the train. Korea is beautiful once you get out of the city. It's all mountains, but they're old mountains, and covered with thick, incredibly lush forest. The valleys in between have towns, rivers, and rice paddys. The ferry was equally great. I've discovered I can stare at the ocean for hours without becoming bored. On the way there, a giant church group in indentical pink T-shirts was on the ferry with us. They witnessed to us twice, and at one point a large group of them made a circle around us and sang a "God Bless You" song. It was a little awkward.
Jeju is a volcanic island (don't worry, Mom, the volcano has been dormant for a very, very long time), and it's so far south that it's sub-tropical. The whole thing is made out of that bubbly volcanic rock called pumice (I knew Rocks For Jocks would come in handy sometime!) The weather was hot, but not humid, and very sunny. And there are palm trees! PALM TREES!
On the first day we went to the beach, and it was surprisingly deserted. I swam in the ocean! I've never done that before. Then we went to Youngdoam Rock, which looks a lot like a dragon coming out of the ocean onto the land. There's a fairly interesting legend about the mountain gods turning the dragon into stone to punish it for trying to get to them. We also checked out some bridges and rivers.
On Day 2 we went to a gorgeous Buddhist temple near the top of Mount Hallasan, which is the tallest mountain in SK. For me, this was the highlight of the trip. At the entrance, there were long, wide paths with Buddha statues every 5 feet or so on either side. Inside there were more statues and fountains and temples. At the back, after climbing a set of stairs that felt never-ending, were 3 temples for the mountain god. I've never been anywhere that feels more peaceful than a Buddhist temple.
We also went to a little museum dedicated to a war for Jeju between Mongolia and Korea. It happened in the 1300's, and Korea lost. The Korean soldiers were very brave, and they all died in the battle, then Mongolians enslaved the Koreans until some big-shot general made them leave again. It's really interesting to be in a place with that kind of history. The Korean sense of national identity is rather odd though. Why would anyone build a memorial for a battle lost 700 years ago?
On Day 3 we went on submarine tour! This was Ryan's favorite part, and definately a close second for me. We saw schools of fish and coral reefs; it was SO COOL. We went to another beach, which had nicer sand and better waves, but was very crowded.
Then we went to Cheonejeyeon Falls, which might be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. They were in a very heavily forested valley. I've never even imagined forests could be this thick. If you went 10 feet off the path you wouldn't be able to see it anymore. We hiked down the valley to see the third waterfall. It was breathtaking; and so was the hike back up. It made the climb to the mountain gods' temples seem like a Sunday stroll. There must have been 500 steps, but it felt like million.
Jeju was awesome. I got a good tan, and Ryan got freckles (but no sunburn!) The people there are exceptionally friendly and helpful, and the whole vacation went off without a hitch. There are very few foreigners there, which surprised me. Almost everyone was Korean, and we got quite a few stares, but other than that, I can't complain about a thing.
We took a million pictures; I'll upload the best ones as soon as I get the chance. Stay tuned! 01 luglio O Canada!Happy Canada Day everybody! I miss it there... and I hope you all realise how very lucky we are to live in such a great country. I didn't, until I came here. To celebrate THE BEST DAMN COUNTRY EVER, I have compiled a list of some of my favorite things about Canada.
10. People speak English. Seriously, speaking the same language as everyone else comes in handy A LOT.
9. Ethnic diversity. When everybody's the same, it's really boring. And when you don't look like them, you're the novelty people just can't stop staring at. It's not that the Koreans are rude to me; that rarely happens. But it's still uncomfortable. (I'm sure I'm not saying anything that visible minorities in Canada don't already know though)
8. The Queen. I like the Queen. She seems like a nice lady, and she always has such pretty hats. More importantly, I feel very privileged to be a citizen of the Commonwealth. Aside from the work/travel visa benefits, if the country you're in doesn't have a Canadian embassy or consulate, the Brittish one will take care of you. And, as a Commonwealth citizen, other Commonwealth countries have to grant you political asylum or refugee status. It makes me feel safe.
7. Proper toilets. In Korea, most public bathrooms have a porcelain hole in the floor. You squat over it, do your thing, then go get a pail of water to wash it down the drain. Even if you get lucky, and there are real toilets, men and women often use the same one. There are stalls, but it's still awkward to walk into the washroom and see a man at a urinal. Needless to say, I've gotten pretty good at waiting until I get home!
6. Superfluous letters. I know it's dorky, (then again, dorkiness shouldn't really surprise any of you) but I LOVE Canadian spelling, and slang. I feel HONOURED to be raised in a Canadian NEIGHBOURHOOD. I also love toques, double-doubles, chesterfields, sneakers, and loonies (I get raised eyebrows if I use any of these words with an American or Brit). And REALISE is much nicer that realize; don't use a ZED if you can help it! EH!
5. Other countries love us. I've never had anything but a positive response when I say I'm Canadian. People shake my hand, and tell me Canada is beautiful, Canada is wonderful, they want to visit Canada, they want to live in Canada. Once, I told a strange girl in a bar that I'm Canadian, and she grabbed me in a giant bear hug. Evidently she'd spent some time in Canada and had found Canadians to be polite and helpful... which brings me to...
4. Canadians are so polite! Definately more polite in general than alot of other nationalities I've run into! I went to a Canada Day party in a club last night. It was great. They had Canadian guys in bands playing tunes in front of a big Canada flag... good tunes too. It was folksy, and one band even had a fiddle and an accordian! Anyway, the place was packed; wall-to-wall Canadians. Normally in a club like that, you get shoved around alot. But not last night! Everybody was saying "excuse me", "I'm sorry", "please", "thank-you", "no worries buddy", "cheers", (and best of all!) "Happy Canada Day!"
3. Freedom of Expression. They have that right here too, technically speaking at least. But it seems that people practice self-censorship. I don't know if it's out of fear, or just out of habit, but Koreans seem hesitant to say anything negative about Korea, and it certainly isn't done in the media. It is a beautiful thing to be able to say, absolutely without fear and to whomever you please, exactly what you feel needs fixing. I put the right to peaceful prostest in this category as well.
2. Social diversity. In Korea, everybody tries to be the same. More specifically, everybody tries to be better, to be more Korean than the next guy or gal. Everybody has black hair; rarely permed, never dyed. Everybody wears the same style of clothes. Everybody likes pop music. Almost all the cars are black, white, or grey. Everybody thinks soccer is the only sport worth watching. Everybody's afraid to be different.
1. Poutine, maple syrup, Molson Canadian, deer sausage, Tim Horton's...I would pay $10 Canadian dollars for an extra large with two sugar. Koreans do not understand how to make coffee.
Wow, I kinda feel like getting the Maple Leaf tattooed on my ankle. Too bad tattoos are illegal in Korea (see #2). In conclusion, do a homesick Canadian girl a favour. Go to the fireworks. Sing O Canada at the top of your lungs, and sing it proudly, because there's nowhere better. Then go have a Molson, and think of me.
14 giugno A Rant"I can't believe the news today
Oh, I can't close my eyes and make it go away..." (U2, "Sunday Bloody Sunday")
I am SO ANGRY at the Pope. The Vatican has encouraged all Catholics to stop donating to Amnesty International because of Amnesty's stance on abortion. This covers NGO's and Catholic groups concerned with social justice, as well as parishes and individuals. What sparked the request is "Amnesty's call to give women access to abortion whenever lives or human rights are at risk" (BBC).
Evidently the Vatican feels that women do not have the right to control their own reproduction, even when their lives are at risk because of the pregnancy, or in cases of rape or incest. This in itself doesn't shock me, given the conservative and outdated views the Vatican holds on every conceivable topic. The Vatican is a sexist organisation that often seems dedicated to the oppression of women. They hide it under the guise of doctrine, and justify it with a few convienent passages (most of which are in the Old Testament; which they feel free to either ignore or declare The Word Inerrant, depending on whether or not suits them.)
Anyway, as much as I love pointing out the theological inconsistancies, that isn't the point this time. The point is that Amnesty International is a GOOD organisation. They are dedicated to finding, drawing attention to, and protesting human rights abuses wherever they occur. They don't do it under a specific religious or moral system; they do it because it's THE RIGHT THING to do.
The Vatican should realise that the people who work for good in the world, the people who strive for the advancement of mankind, the people who feel that we ought to measure ourselves by how we treat the weakest and most oppressed, are on the same team. Amnesty International is a group of such people. So are Christians.
Whether we support The Right to Choose or The Right to Life isn't the point. The point is that there are alot of people out there who endure abuses of basic human rights every day. Amnesty is dedicated to putting an end to those abuses. So are Christians. People who care about such things oughn't waste time and energy bickering with each other. They ought to support each other and recognise that they work for the same goals in different ways. They ought to put petty differences aside until the underlying issues have been dealt with.
In this case, the underlying issues are poverty, abuse, and inequality. Amnesty's call for safe abortions is based on the fact that rape and incest are sad facts of life for alot of women. If rape and incest were nonexistant (which both groups want) this would not even be an issue. As people of conscience, we should work together to solve the larger issues, and only then focus on settling smaller differences. This pettiness is only playing into the plans of those who would continue to oppress. When people on the same side fight each other, the only winners are on the other side.
Furthermore, almost 70,000 women each year die from unsafe abortions. The Catholic stance on abortion is based on the sanctity of life. I submit that the lives of those 70,000 women count.
I just hope that Catholics examine their own consciences before they obey the Pope.
For the whole story, here's the link (courtesy of the BBC, my favorite source for information outside Korea):
I think my Grandad would say that the Devil works hard to make situations like this, because he's already got everyone who doesn't care. (I know you're reading this, Grandad and Nana. What do you think?) That goes for everyone; leave your comments if you have them!
"He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" 06 maggio Update!Wow, I haven't done this in a long time. I knew it's been awhile and I really ought to update; but since February!?!? To anyone who's been checking, I'm very sorry. I've been doing a lot, but nothing that seems interesting enough to bother blogging.
Yesterday, Ryan and I went to the Korean Folk Village. I posted some pictures we took; it's mostly scenery, there's very few of us. Despite the crowds, it was really neat. It's a giant park on 243 acres, which is a huge amount of space to have in the city, and it's got over 200 houses that Korean people of different social classes used to live in during different parts of history. It reminded me of those places at home that show what pioneers used to live like. There were Koreans dressed in period clothing cooking, gardening, doing blacksmith stuff and weaving cotton, and little gardens just like they used to have. There were even chickens and gaots in the pens of the farm houses. It was really cool to see.
It also had a World Folk Museum, which had the artifacts and traditional dress of cultures all around the world, including Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, China, Japan, Afganistan, Iraq, North and South America, northern and southern Africa (which the labelled "unlettered cultures", which is odd, to my knowledge alot of these Aboriginal cultures had no written language). That was pretty cool too. We also saw a bunch of drummers doing a traditional musical performance and dance.
There was a sculpture garden too. The garden part was really nice, trees and flowers and bushes; but I could have done without the sculptures. They were abstract; you know, the kind where they arrange a bunch of stone rectangles at random and then put up a plaque claiming that it represents the history and future of the advancement of mankind. (I'm not even lying, that was really one of the works of "art") The place had an amusement park with rides too, which is what made it so crowded.
There was a Buddhist Temple too, which was definitely the highlight for me. We had to climb up the hill a ways, and there was no-one around there, because everyone was at the amusement park I assume. The buildings were beautiful, and I have never been anywhere that felt that peaceful. The temple was that the far end of this courtyard, and we could see a huge, beautiful golden Buddha behind the altar. There were a bunch of candles buring, and smaller golden Buddahs on either side. There was a monk in there meditating, or taking care of the altar, so we didn't go in. It seemed wrong to disturb him. It was the also the sort of place that it seemed wrong to take a picture of, but I wish I had one so you could see it.
Well, that's all for the Folk Village, I'll really try to update again soon to tell y'all what else I've been up to lately. |
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