Frolicking in Nagasaki

I took a lovely trip to Nagasaki last month with my dear friends Sam, Jenn and Liz. We flew into Fukuoka from Seoul, took the high-speed train to Nagasaki and visited the atomic bomb monuments.

Below is a view of our arriving bullet train:


We stayed at a Catholic youth hostel in a tatami room-- it was my first experience sleeping traditional Japanese style! Below, Jenn's yoga-pose aptly captures our exuberance.


This is a view of a building nearby our hostel:


Our accommodations were about two blocks away from Peace Park. Below is a watery reflection of the famous Peace statue, erected 10 years after the atomic bombing. The sculptor, Seibo Kitamura, remarked, "After experiencing that nightmarish war, that blood-curdling carnage, that unendurable horror, who could walk away without praying for peace?"


I saw this sign at the Peace Park and fell in love. That seems telling of my personality-- dozens of inspiring sculptures to look at and I was most enamored with an anti-poop sign.


After strolling about Peace Park, we visited the Atomic Bomb museum. That experience was not what I'd call "fun," in fact it was heartbreaking, but I feel it was important to be there and consider all the innocent civilians of Nagasaki who suffered and lost their lives in the name of war. I left with the question, can nuclear war EVER be justified?! Even 60 years after Japan's surrender, the bombing adversely affects the citizens of Nagasaki. Pictured below are paper cranes from outside the museum.

Here is a view of Liz, Jenn and Sam descending into the museum:


After visiting the Atomic Bomb museum, we definitely needed to step away from the sobering realities of the atomic destruction and do something a little more light-hearted. So we headed to Glover Garden, a large botanical park on a hillside next to Nagasaki harbor. Here is our cute little streetcar-- our main mode of transportation around Nagasaki.



We got off the streetcar and hiked up a huge hill to get to Glover Garden. Here Sam takes a rest from the climb.


My favorite things at Glover Garden were the ponds (filled with koi fish) and roses.



All in all, a fantastic and thought-provoking trip! Enjoy the photos!
~Bexbits

Arne Von Brill

I've got some old Arne Von Brill photos in the stockpile-- time to load 'em up! These are from the March show at Club FF. Enjoy!

A day's adventures!

At the urging of some dear friends, Dan and I started Korean lessons last saturday. We're taking lessons at the Korean Language Education Culture Center (or K.E.C.C.), located in Apgujeong. We took placement tests and fortunately I am no longer considered a "beginner" (yes!!), as I would hope after living in Korea for over a year.

So we frolicked off to Apgujeong for our first lesson. The course is pretty intense-- it's four hours long every Saturday and is conducted entirely in Korean. I think I'm going to like the course-- it's just the fire under my buns that I need to do some language learning.

After the lesson finished (whew!) we met our friends Sam and Jenn for lunch.

Oh, and this guy: his name is Salut. I'm discovering that studying Korean in the park is a magnet for all sorts of interesting Koreans.

Later that evening, I joined Arne Von Brill to do some photography of their recording session in the studio.

Enjoy the photos.

Cheers!

~Bexbits

Arne Von Brill Plays Club Ta

On my quest to seek great photos of Arne Von Brill for their promo materials, I followed the band to Club Ta on August 23rd.




Animal Dads also joined them for a power duo of excellent and eccentric bands.


It was a great show-- the crowd was totally into the music. The guitar player for Animal Dads had a birthday, so we had a celebration with cake on stage!



Enjoy the photos!

Cheers!
~Bexbits

Arne Von Brill Plays Club FB

For the past several shows, I've served as the photographer for Arne Von Brill, one of the up-and-coming eccentric indie-rock groups of Seoul.

I love 'em! Although, what can I say, there could be a small element of bias in my opinion because the rockin' bass player happens to be my fiance!

Anyway, AVB played a great show on August 16 at Club FB. There are a few things you gotta love about these guys, namely:

1. Hilarious facial expressions on the lead singer, Justin.
2. Smokin' hot bass player.
3. And that the drummer, Yun-Hoon, plays like Animal (the muppet character, and I consider that a compliment, haha).

Enjoy the photos.

Cheers!
~Bexbits

A beginning

In this blog, I shall attempt to document my life and experiences as an expat in South Korea, as well as showcase my photography.

I am not a kimcheerleader (though I do enjoy kimchee), nor am I a disillusioned naysayer of all things Korean culture. Instead, I seek the middle way and try to approach the world with an open mind and open heart.

Stay tuned for my musings and photography.

Cheers!
~Bexbits