Riding the white horse: On being foreign in South Korea
KEVIN, my Korean co-teacher, had an idea for our open class. “Let’s make a motivational video,” he suggested. “I’ll ask, ‘Would you like some more?’ you’ll say, ‘Yes, please,’ and after we repeat this a couple times, you’ll stuff your shirt with balloons. When you stand up to clear your tray, you’ll look really fat!” “Really,...
Crafting my first Glimpse narrative and developing a relationship with an editor
Since re-discovering my voice last year, I’ve earned a number of opportunities to grow as a writer and blogger, but the Glimpse Correspondents Program has been (and still is) the best experience yet. I find that narratives are the most challenging form of travel writing to write, but ultimately, they are the most rewarding. It’s...
Notes from the covert world of Korean shamanism
CELINE CROSSED HER LEGS and took a long drag of her cigarette. “The shaman told me my grandmother’s hometown. She pointed to it on a map,” she recounted in her thick French accent. “Later, the adoption agency gave me the exact same information.” A couple other exchange students and I sat on perpendicular wooden benches...
7 ways to learn Korean for free
THIS IS FOR ALL YOU WAEGUKINS out there who’ve accidentally ordered a nose bleed (ko-pi) instead of a coffee (keo-pi), or tried to tell your Korean language partner your cat wanted to eat, but instead said you wanted to eat your cat. 1. Take advantage of online resources. Talk to me in Korean Pros: TTMIK has...
My first blogiversary
Yay! I made it! Today is my first blogiversary. One year ago, in the midst of an unraveling relationship and frustration over my visual artwork, I signed up for a MatadorU writing course, bought this domain, and I decided to write again. My first MatadorU assignment was to write an evergreen article, so I wrote,...
Learning Korean through sketches
My newest article titled, “Learning to read Korean through sketches” was published today on Matador Abroad! I’m a visual learner, and when I began taking Korean classes a year and a half ago, I wanted to incorporate my language learning into a creative project. I began sketching, which is time consuming, but a fun, alternative...
Where to see art in Portland, ME
Photo: Swoon, a well-known contemporary street artist, adhered wheatpaste prints to the exterior of Space Gallery located on Congress St. My newest service article titled, Where to see art in Portland, ME, was published on Matador Trips today. The Portland art scene is rather small, but there’s some innovative, inspiring work to be seen in...
Fall 2012 Glimpse Correspondents Program: the beginning
I was recently chosen as a Fall 2012 Glimpse Correspondent and admitted to the new Glimpse-Matador U Graduate Program to further study the art of travel journalism. I couldn’t be more thrilled to take part in this amazing program, enabling me to work one-on-one with an editor and take my writing in a new direction. ...
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