tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30544984.post115318333634801518..comments2024-03-08T03:24:19.823-05:00Comments on Where The Hell Am I?: Rain, Mint and FloodingReginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09024832959937205245noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30544984.post-1153268144447068552006-07-18T20:15:00.000-04:002006-07-18T20:15:00.000-04:00I've visited! Okay, it was on the USO DMZ tour, s...I've visited! <BR/><BR/>Okay, it was on the USO DMZ tour, so it’s not like I got to fly into Pyongyang from China. It was so surreal being at the Joint Security Area (JSA) at Panmunjom. You have the tall six foot tall South Korea guards with shades staring down their North Korean counterparts. It’s just bizarre all around.<BR/><BR/>Stepping over “the line” and being told “you’re now in North Korea” was weird. I’d love to go to Pyongyang, but under the current circumstances I don’t think any American civilian would get approval to go. Plus, it’s not like going to Thailand. It’s expensive and you have a “guide” the whole time. <BR/><BR/>It’s a fascinating stand-off with some interesting characters.<BR/><BR/>What’s really weird is being in Vladivostok, Russia and wondering when I encountered a Korean whether they were South Korean or North Korean (of course, they could also be a Russian or Chinese born Korean who has never been to either of the two Koreas). Too bad my language skills are limited. I went only knowing how to say 안녕하십니까, 대한민국 사람? (“Hello, South Korean person?”) And that’s definitely pidgin Korean how I wrote it. I know how to speak it a bit better, but I still don’t know what North Koreans use to identify themselves from South Koreans or if they make a distinction as they might be taught to call themselves simply Koreans, 한국 사람, Korean person, the way most South Koreans do. <BR/><BR/>The thing that’s really sad is that if they do get from North to South they won’t admit to people here in South Korea that they’re from North Korea.Reginahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09024832959937205245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30544984.post-1153246487281157352006-07-18T14:14:00.000-04:002006-07-18T14:14:00.000-04:00Interesting blog yourself!Thanks for the visit and...Interesting blog yourself!<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the visit and comment on mine. And yes, the news sucks! I only have the world’s worst television programming to entertain me - AFN (Armed Forces Network)<BR/><BR/>Korea is a place I've always wanted to visit. North Korea also, and with this current President who knows, I might even be working there one day.<BR/><BR/>JohnAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13441809988487585009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30544984.post-1153229120742590812006-07-18T09:25:00.000-04:002006-07-18T09:25:00.000-04:00Hehehehe...Well, I've been reading blogs from back...Hehehehe...<BR/><BR/>Well, I've been reading blogs from back home and almost EVERYONE is whining about the heat, so I guess I posted this at the right time! Pass it on!Reginahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09024832959937205245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30544984.post-1153228732986866762006-07-18T09:18:00.000-04:002006-07-18T09:18:00.000-04:00I don't have cable, so any news I get via TV (asid...I don't have cable, so any news I get via TV (aside from the BBC, which airs past my bedtime on PBS) is network news. I can't even watch it because it pisses me off so. But somebody must be watching it...else why is it still on?<BR/><BR/>Thank God for the Internet...and for living in a college town with access to a variety of international papers.<BR/><BR/>Re mint in the summer: Good suggestion. I wish I had some Dr. Bronner's peppermint on me right now. Oh well...I've got some unscented shower gel and body oil and I think I'll go make me a peppermint version with my peppermint EO.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com