It looks to be increasingly frustrating to post pictures directly to blogger, so I am going to be leveraging my flickr account more consistently. I've been posting pictures there, so please do click the link on the sidebar and have a look. Or here is the direct link http://www.flickr.com/photos/63822924@N00/
I've put some of the photo's up in a way where only friends and family can view them. I guess that means you'll have to sign up to flickr for an account. If you do that, just drop me a comment or email me at elrohil@hotmail.com and I'll set things up so you can view the pictures.
Once more into the breach,
Ben
Musings on philosophy, politics, photography, and gastronomy.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Korea Photos 2
Here are more pictures from my Korean travels. I would upload more at a time, but blogger.com's photo features are slightly annoying. I could use Flickr, but I would have to pay to have a higher uploading bandwidth. Since I'm a miser, I'll just do it this way.
On our first Sunday in Korea we went to the English Lutheran church. Afterwards we met our friend Soyon in Itaewan, and then went to Insadong, a traditional arts district in Korea. We went to a very nice tea house, had rice cakes, tea, and a nice long chat. While we were there, there was also a marching procession of traditionally dressed Koreans. Lamentably my photographs of that event suffer from my lack of action photography experience. But never mind. As always, click on the pictures for the full size images.
On our first Sunday in Korea we went to the English Lutheran church. Afterwards we met our friend Soyon in Itaewan, and then went to Insadong, a traditional arts district in Korea. We went to a very nice tea house, had rice cakes, tea, and a nice long chat. While we were there, there was also a marching procession of traditionally dressed Koreans. Lamentably my photographs of that event suffer from my lack of action photography experience. But never mind. As always, click on the pictures for the full size images.
Vendor in Thought
Ahreum and Soyon
Soyon and I
On Monday we went to the Gwanghamun area in the central city of Seoul. We met one of Ahreum's friends who works for Citibank's law department. Afterwards we walked down the newly finished Cheongecheon urban stream. I am really quite impressed with this stream, and it adds a real special something to a city which is otherwise grey, uniform, and architecturally uninspired.
Later that week we met Ahreum's close friend Jinhee. We met her last year in a large group, so I was happy to get to know her better this year. She's actually quite shy at first, but really very friendly.
Jinhee tried on Ahreum's sunglasses. She says this picture doesn't represent her, which is true. But she does look very cool and slightly intimidating.
The next week on Monday, we went to the National arboretum north of Seoul. It was quite a trip by subway and bus to get there, but well worth while. The grounds were expansive and beautiful. We thought we had seen just about everything, and then realized we missed very expansive trails on the northern side of the arboretum. Still, we got about 4 hours of good walking in.
More to come.
Once more into the breach,
Ben
Korea Photos 1
Now is the time for some photo blogging. I'll be sparse with the commentary and generally let the pictures speak for themselves.
Ahreum and I went to visit Jungmo shrine and Changgyeong Palace
Ahreum and I met our old Exeter friend Jaeoh. We drove to the sea, and had dinner at a French style restaurant. The food was very good, but I'm not sure if it was French. A wonderful day.
JaeOh and Ahreum
Ben, crassly posing
That same evening we went to Gangnam and met Ahreum's graduate school coursemate Seoggi. I met him last year as well. A very friendly fellow.
Seoggi
More to come.
Once more into the breach,
Ben
I have returned from Abaddon's depths
Sure has been awhile since I’ve posted. Some blogers start saying that if they haven’t posted in a few days. Since my posting is already so sporadic, a little break like that is entirely meaningless. However, two months is another matter. The truth is I was rushing around frantically while I was in Korea, and now that I’m back in Exeter life has been manically busy.
Korea was charming. I met many of Ahreum’s friends again and old Korean aquaintances. Most importantly I was introduced to her Grandmother and uncles. I've never felt so ashamed of being a monoglot, yet at the same time her whole family treats me with real warmth. I think of so many friends of mine who are Korean and seeing westerners, or westerners seeing Koreans, and they constantly worry that the Korean family will a) find out and reject the western partner or b) wonder how they will keep going now that their family has already discovered and condemned said partner. I can imagine that Ahreum's family first imagined me with some trepidation, but they have never shown any of that. They are still potential inlaws, and there are things that will invariably bug me, but at least I don't have to deal with this. Fortunate indeed.
While I was in Korea I also mangaged to write a rough draft of a PhD chapter. It was wonderful being able to spend so much time with Ahreum largely away from the other concerns I normally have. Some of the side advantages included regular and generous portions of Korean food, which I have quite a hankering for.
Unlike last time, I had a bit of leisure time on my own. For one week Ahreum worked in a translating job, and I had to make my own way about Seoul. Not a problem. My sense of direction is quite good, so I never worried about getting lost. And this year I finally developed a sense of geography in Seoul, so it will be hard for me to get lost. So while I was on my own, I got sat down in cafes around Seoul, brought out my Locke notes and my text of the Essay Concerning Human Understanding, and got cracking on an extended analysis of Chapter 21, on Power. The manuscript (in the true sense of the word) is about 40 pages of paper slashed with blue ink. It is now being electronically transcribed. Of course I’m not nearly done with the chapter. It needs better connection with secondary debates on the subject of Lockean will, but I am quite sure I have a solid, original, and instrumental interpretation which will stand on its own and prove essential for the rest of my Locke chapters.
But this is not the only work related news to deliver. I have now, happily, delivered four lectures at the University of Bristol in their politics department (top flight, ranked 5 in the UK). I have 6 more to go. I am helping them in their hour of need since one of their political theorists is on research leave and the other is overworked having become head of department. Indeed, I was headhunted for this post on the recommendation of a former lecturer in our department, Nathan Widder. The reason is pretty clear. The course is on Locke and Rousseau, social contract thinking, and themes of democracy and authority. As it happens, my PhD is also on Locke and Rousseau. What a perfect fit.
And because I am freshly researching this material concurrently to my lecturing on it, I have an unparalleled opportunity to connect my research with my teaching. That sounds quite fine to me.
This does not mean that I have time to sit back and gloat. On the contrary, I have been busier than ever before keeping up with the Bristol lectures, working on my PhD, and teaching in Exeter. I have given a lecture on Book I of Plato's republic, and given a short paper on Plotinus and the ontology of virtue and evil. What fun.
At the beginning of October, my parents came to visit me. We had a wonderful 1 ½ weeks, a good chunk of that spent travelling in Wales. We also saw the alleged birthplace of King Arthur in Cornwall. Unfortunately I still had to bear down on work while they were here but that gave them the chance to explore the Westcountry quite a bit more than they had before. Mom and Dad are now safe and sound back in the USA, and it sounds like Dad is ready to come back right away. I think they like England far too much; they are prejudiced against the rest of Europe by the sole fact that I am here. They should go to Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, Austria, or Switzerland before coming to England again. I might be able to go there for a little while and then they would be able to see more of Europe than this single island. This is the only sensible course.
What has really kept me grounded, enlivened, and encouraged in all of this hectic running about is being with Ahreum. Unfortunately she is not right here, but I do have the blessing of being able to talk with her every day. This really brings my days and my nights together and helps me stay focused on my work. She is such a sweet lady to say good morning to and good night. Even with the distance, I count this a charmed life.
I do have Korea pictures nearly finished and ready for posting. The editing takes more time when I can’t devote several afternoons to nothing else. There are also Wales pictures coming up.
Once more into the breach,
Ben
Korea was charming. I met many of Ahreum’s friends again and old Korean aquaintances. Most importantly I was introduced to her Grandmother and uncles. I've never felt so ashamed of being a monoglot, yet at the same time her whole family treats me with real warmth. I think of so many friends of mine who are Korean and seeing westerners, or westerners seeing Koreans, and they constantly worry that the Korean family will a) find out and reject the western partner or b) wonder how they will keep going now that their family has already discovered and condemned said partner. I can imagine that Ahreum's family first imagined me with some trepidation, but they have never shown any of that. They are still potential inlaws, and there are things that will invariably bug me, but at least I don't have to deal with this. Fortunate indeed.
While I was in Korea I also mangaged to write a rough draft of a PhD chapter. It was wonderful being able to spend so much time with Ahreum largely away from the other concerns I normally have. Some of the side advantages included regular and generous portions of Korean food, which I have quite a hankering for.
Unlike last time, I had a bit of leisure time on my own. For one week Ahreum worked in a translating job, and I had to make my own way about Seoul. Not a problem. My sense of direction is quite good, so I never worried about getting lost. And this year I finally developed a sense of geography in Seoul, so it will be hard for me to get lost. So while I was on my own, I got sat down in cafes around Seoul, brought out my Locke notes and my text of the Essay Concerning Human Understanding, and got cracking on an extended analysis of Chapter 21, on Power. The manuscript (in the true sense of the word) is about 40 pages of paper slashed with blue ink. It is now being electronically transcribed. Of course I’m not nearly done with the chapter. It needs better connection with secondary debates on the subject of Lockean will, but I am quite sure I have a solid, original, and instrumental interpretation which will stand on its own and prove essential for the rest of my Locke chapters.
But this is not the only work related news to deliver. I have now, happily, delivered four lectures at the University of Bristol in their politics department (top flight, ranked 5 in the UK). I have 6 more to go. I am helping them in their hour of need since one of their political theorists is on research leave and the other is overworked having become head of department. Indeed, I was headhunted for this post on the recommendation of a former lecturer in our department, Nathan Widder. The reason is pretty clear. The course is on Locke and Rousseau, social contract thinking, and themes of democracy and authority. As it happens, my PhD is also on Locke and Rousseau. What a perfect fit.
And because I am freshly researching this material concurrently to my lecturing on it, I have an unparalleled opportunity to connect my research with my teaching. That sounds quite fine to me.
This does not mean that I have time to sit back and gloat. On the contrary, I have been busier than ever before keeping up with the Bristol lectures, working on my PhD, and teaching in Exeter. I have given a lecture on Book I of Plato's republic, and given a short paper on Plotinus and the ontology of virtue and evil. What fun.
At the beginning of October, my parents came to visit me. We had a wonderful 1 ½ weeks, a good chunk of that spent travelling in Wales. We also saw the alleged birthplace of King Arthur in Cornwall. Unfortunately I still had to bear down on work while they were here but that gave them the chance to explore the Westcountry quite a bit more than they had before. Mom and Dad are now safe and sound back in the USA, and it sounds like Dad is ready to come back right away. I think they like England far too much; they are prejudiced against the rest of Europe by the sole fact that I am here. They should go to Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, Austria, or Switzerland before coming to England again. I might be able to go there for a little while and then they would be able to see more of Europe than this single island. This is the only sensible course.
What has really kept me grounded, enlivened, and encouraged in all of this hectic running about is being with Ahreum. Unfortunately she is not right here, but I do have the blessing of being able to talk with her every day. This really brings my days and my nights together and helps me stay focused on my work. She is such a sweet lady to say good morning to and good night. Even with the distance, I count this a charmed life.
I do have Korea pictures nearly finished and ready for posting. The editing takes more time when I can’t devote several afternoons to nothing else. There are also Wales pictures coming up.
Once more into the breach,
Ben
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