Archive for the ‘Essays’ Category
Posted by beckert10 on February 3, 2010
(New Readers: Start at Volume I)
By about 10:30 the bar begins to fill up. As patrons file in and gather with their friends I’m reminded of how cliquey the expatriate community is in Korea. Upon my arrival here I expected all foreigners would share instant rapport because of our common experience. Rather, I found many of them went out of their way to avoid looking at me when we passed on the street. Even on a Friday night with the liquor flowing freely, not many stray from their small group of friends. There are two reasons for this. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Essays | Tagged: Asia, Essay, Korea, Travel, Travel Essay | 8 Comments »
Posted by beckert10 on January 27, 2010
The smell on the 63-1 bus is a distinctly Korean blend of booze, garlic breath, fresh ginger and grooming products. I get a text message from Seth asking where I am. As I type my reply the old woman sitting next to me looks on out of the corner of her eye with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. To her, it must be strange enough to witness the advent of hand- held electronics. That a foreigner is using one next to her on the bus in a post Hermit Kingdom Korea must indeed hearken the dawn of a 21st century Bizarro world. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Essays | Tagged: Asia, Essays, Korea, Travel, Travel Essays | 11 Comments »
Posted by beckert10 on January 20, 2010
As the first period bell rings Dave sets down his bible and gathers his textbooks. Joe does a quick hair-check in a small mirror he keeps on his desk. Betty Anne slips the rest of a piece of bread in her mouth and glances around guiltily, as if she doesn’t want anybody to see her eating. Seth picks his head up, looking as if he’s just received bad news. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Essays | Tagged: Asia, Essays, Korea, Travel, Travel Essays | 13 Comments »
Posted by beckert10 on January 13, 2010
“Welcome to Seoul.” announces the flight attendant. As she says these words I momentarily panic. This is the furthest I’ve ever been from home. The unknown is always met with equal parts fear and excitement. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Essays | Tagged: Asia, Essay, Korea, living abroad, Travel, Travel Essay | 8 Comments »
Posted by beckert10 on September 19, 2009
2/2 The Road to Jackson Hole
The roar of the V-8 under my feet feels very American as we climb through the foothills of the Northern Rockies, yellow/green grass, red/pink rock plateaus like specialty cakes crafted by time and erosion, off to the left deeper foothills, browner, dotted with conifers, the path we drive through treeless, only scrubby brush and hearty grasses, a perfect cross between prairie and western plateaus. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Essays | Tagged: Travel, United States | Leave a Comment »
Posted by beckert10 on July 30, 2009
At times life seems no more than a series of undertakings endured only so they can be gloated about after. It was Saturday night and I’d just arrived in Fukuoka, Japan, after a soggy seven hour bus ride. I’d come from Yakoshima, an island off the southern coast, where I’d been stuck in the mountains during a typhoon. After being drenched for three straight days all I wanted was a cold beer and a dry hotel. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Essays | Tagged: Japan, Travel | Leave a Comment »
Posted by beckert10 on July 28, 2009
I’m a day’s walk in any direction from civilization. In South Korea, one of the world’s most densely populated nations, that’s no small feat. I’ve come to (relatively) rural Gangwando province, about a four hour drive east from Seoul, to escape the capital’s über urbanity. The vista I’m currently taking in declares that goal a success. I look out over a seemingly endless stretch of mountains filled with trees just beginning to show autumn colors. There’s not a trace of humanity in any direction. In fact, I haven’t seen another person since setting out on the trail the previous morning. Perhaps that’s why I feel unsettled. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Essays | Tagged: Conservation, Environment, Eremozoic Era, Essay | 2 Comments »
Posted by beckert10 on July 10, 2009
They say the captain always goes down with the ship. But what about the crew…are all those on board bound to this same fate?
From Friday to Sunday a group of us had been holding an extended birthday celebration for a friend in Clarens, a small mountain town in the Free State, South Africa. Sunday morning found me and Pieter sitting at a picnic table outside of the hostel drinking coffee and writing poetry. He worked for Radio Pretoria, a bastion of Apartheid politics. Read: completely racist. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Essays | Tagged: South Africa, Travel Essay | Leave a Comment »
Posted by beckert10 on June 20, 2009
We awake by five most mornings. I typically set my alarm for 5:03 because it somehow seems far less heinous. The general rule of thumb is not to be the last person down to the lobby because not only will the best choice of food be gone, but it inspires disdain from the other crew members who are already loading up the trucks in the bitterly cold Rocky Mountain winter pre-dawn. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Essays | Tagged: Essays, non-fiction | Leave a Comment »
Posted by beckert10 on June 20, 2009
It’s Sunday morning and outside April sun warms the land. I pull the covers over my head like a vampire. Partly it’s guilt. If it was a rainy day at least I’d know everyone was bound indoors. But I know on a day like today people are out, feeling energized by the rays, saying things like, “What a day to be alive! It’s a gift from God!” Fuck them. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Essays | Tagged: Essays, non-fiction | 1 Comment »
