Charpie's Travels

There are days in Korea when I wake up with one person heavily on my mind. The particular individual varies, but it's always someone from the states. I do whatever it is I need to do throughout the morning, but my mind is far from Korea. Today was Jelani's day.  It's been 11 months and a couple days. He never got to meet his baby boy. His little girl changed so much even before I moved to Seoul. It's been nearly a year, and somehow still no one seems to know what happened.  It's weird to think or say any of this, because in a way, that feels like a different lifetime. Even so, it's a lifetime that occupies much of my thoughts. 

Some photos from that place I call home... MPLS

I am not in South Korea today.  'Tis true. The original plan was to be there by now. I am, however, still in English-speaking, hotdish-eating Minnesoh-tah. Hopefully we'll hear back about a visa later this week. I'm very excited to go, but I'm also not complaining about the delay. It means I have a few more days with family and friends here. It means I'll be able to see a good friend who was supposed to come to MN the day I was supposed to arrive in Korea. It means I'm home for Thanksgiving Day (we celebrated early, so I have two Thanksgivings this year).  Someday I'll make it to Korea. Stay tuned....

Fact #25 American chains in South Korea include McDonald's, Wendy's, Hard Rock Cafe, and Planet Hollywood.

I recently drove to Texas to see family. I don't know what y'all do during 32 hours of driving, but I decided to watch license plates. Here, in the order they were first sighted, are the plates I spotted on my drive. Minnesota Alaska Illinois Iowa Washington Maine Oklahoma Nebraska South Dakota Ontario Kansas Colorado Missouri Utah Wisconsin Indiana Michigan Tennessee Texas Ohio California Louisiana Kentucky Arizona Georgia New Mexico Alabama Florida Denmark Massachusetts New York Mexico City New Jersey Wyoming Hawaii ("They're lost," says my perceptive uncle) Oregon That makes 33 states and places from three other countries (...though David thinks Denmark shouldn't count since you can buy fake plates like that).

Fact #13 South Koreans, on average, are shorter than Americans. The difference isn't much, though, if these stats are accurate. North Koreans are significantly shorter than South Koreans.  Average male height: US -  176.3 cm (5' 9.4") South Korea -  174.5 cm (5' 8.7") North Korea - 165.6 cm ( 5' 5.2") Average female height: US -  162.2 cm (5' 3.8") South Korea -  161.3 cm (5' 3.5") North Korea -  154.9 cm (5' 1") (...according to  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_height )