August 13, 2011 [Incheon/Seoul Intl] -Episode One, Part Two-

    I did forget to mention to my nonexistant, invisible audience yesterday, the reason I was at the international terminal at LAX. I am traveling to Kathmandu, Nepal. Why? Well..."I choose to go to Nepal. I choose to go to Nepal in this decade and do the other things (grad school), not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of my energies and skills, because that challenge is one that I am willing to accept." Obviously paraphrased, but significant nonetheless.

    I am travelling to Nepal because I want to, it's really as simple as that. Ever since that first cultural anthropology class (did I mention I'm a novice anthropologist? Fully accredited to boot!) I've always wanted to immerse myself in a foreign culture ( I am from the United States, bugger, I should probably put that in my profile at some point) and I wanted that culture to be on the other side of Earth. (You know, the blue green marble, nice place, Mostly Harmless)

Korea is interesting, at least the airport and Korea Air are. I don't have tome to really get into the country now. Everything feels hyper-westernized. The stewardesses remind me of a nostalgic 1960s flying experience, the advertising is over the top in the airport, gigantic screens chock full of western ideas and influences. Efficiency is everywhere in the airport. From the way planes are boarded and disembarked, the separation of passengers is explicit. One group leaves a different way than how the next group arrives. Departures are isolated from arrivals. It is, in this "scary!" post 9/11 world, a security designer's wet dream. Isolation, impenetrable isolation. The only way you can transfer between the two is with an escort by an authorized person.
     However this is all complete wild speculation by someone sitting in an airport and is no more valid than, say trying to discern the cultural psyche of the average New Yorker by spending 6 hours at JFK. For more information see: http://press.princeton.edu/titles/7929.html

  

    One quick complaint down here at the end. Damn blogspot has everything in Korean! I can't tell what tab does what, where links lead, and I hope at the end of this I don't delete everything I've written...er....typed. Wait...wait! Hope! Google Chrome to the rescue! "This page is in Korean would you like to translate it?" ....Yes!

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....Success!

Look at that ladies and gentleman! Life as it happens! 

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August 11, 2011 [Los Angeles Intl] -Episode One-

    A ha, and here we are. I have a blog. I have joined the many others who partake in this interesting method of telling the world what you want to tell the world! Except....nobody seems to listen, honestly, how do I know that someone will read this? Odds are, no one will. I'm too obscure. In the world wide web I amount to a naught, a zero, a nothing. Which is sort of a relief. No responsibility, no fear! I am a free man!
    Now, down to business. I decided to start this blog after reading, courtesy of Stumble, an article about what it takes to be a good PhD student,....ahem sorry, successful PhD student. This person, who I've never heard of tells me that there are three, THREE!!!!, characteristics of a successful graduate student. Aaannnnnd, they are...in,,,,no partic-ular order.......... Perseverance, Tenacity and Cognacity (maybe). Oh and something about blogs. So.....I decided to start one. And here I am, about to make the jump over the large pond to the west, aka The Pacific Ocean, waiting in an under-construction terminal, aka the Tom Bradley International Terminal, sitting in front of gate 138, aka theawesomegate. Why theawseomegate? Because I get to take a BUS to my PLANE which is a 747-400, SEVEN FOURTY SEVEN-FOUR HUNDRED!
   Did I mention I like planes? and Trains? and (some) Automobiles? Especially planes though....

   Hey, don't look at this blog like I'm crazy, I'm not, I swear. (Mwahh ha ha haha ha!) This is practice for myself. Like I said before...PhD...hopefully.....at least a Masters.

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