my movie

This past week, I learned how to walk slowly.

I walk kinda fast when I want to go somewhere, or even when I'm just wandering. Since I'm alone, I completely forgot that the journey is as important (if not more) than the destination. So I rushed and rushed and rushed. Don't we all?

Then I was reminded that I was traveling for the sake of traveling and not for the sake of getting to each destination. So, I slowed down. Now I remember what's so special about being in between point A and point B.

You know in 500 Days of Summer when Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in the happy stage of his relationship and he goes out through the park, dressed all snazzy? Everyone is happy to see him and people start dancing and the whole world is revolving around him. Or in Enchanted, when Giselle takes the main character guy (forgot his name) through the park and starts singing and everyone starts singing along and dancing around them... that's what it feels like! When I walk really, really slowly from place to place I feel like everything is about me. Little kids in strollers (or prams, as the Australians call 'em) stare up at me, I have time to say hi and smile to strangers, I notice all these cool looking things I would never have noticed normally, and it feels like the world is practically begging for my attention. At one point, a ginormous cockatoo even landed on my head! Okay, to be honest it was kind of gross and I hate birds but still, walking slowly makes me feel like the whole world is ALL ABOUT ME! Walking around is SO much more enlightening when you take it easy and radiate happiness to people as you move along. I feel like the main character of a really happy movie. I pretty much look like Joseph Gordon-Levitt's better looking brother anyway.

Vision

Traveling around the world has allowed me to see more than I can possibly recollect and I feel like my vision has been upgraded. My eyesight isn't any better, but the quality of what registers seems to be completely different and I feel like I see more fully. Never before have I felt that my various Canon Powershots have fallen short of what I wish to accomplish with my pictures, but now I constantly feel the need for equipment that can capture everything I notice. I think I need one of those IMAX 3D cameras. And it really pisses me off that all the Asian tourists have such baller cameras but half of them can't take pictures for shizz. I should steal one.

I've been given so much time alone lately to do little more than think about my life and it really blows me away how crazy the things I've seen really are. Frozen waterfalls, stretches of desert, ocean all around you as far as the eye can see... I've really seen some amazing things, and it's not just the quantity of images that has increased. The quality has changed too. I guess it can be argued that it's not really vision, but what's changing is all in my interpretation of what I see. Still, it's the way the images I see are taken in and to me it's still my vision thats changing. Vision is just our perception of light anyway... so if my "perception" is changing than my vision is changing, right? It's kind of embarrassing that I'm so easily impressed (I've caught people staring at me because I'd just be sitting there taking pictures of such mundane things for a long time) and I often feel childish but I think it's a good thing most of the time. Well, even if it isn't... I'm happy to be amused by stupid things. At least I'm not bored.

mah puppiez

I couldn't sleep last night. I went to bed around 12:30 but I was awake, tossing and turning, until a little past 4. What could possibly be on my mind for that long, causing me to lose precious sleep?

My rovery dogs! My current dog, Mimi, is not that nice to people. She's not extremely playful or even that cute. But I miss her so much. And honestly, I kind of like the fact that she only loves a few people. She loves my dad most, then me second most... and after that she doesn't really love anyone else. She doesn't jump up to greet my sister or brother or mom. Just me and my dad. Maybe Matt, now that he lives in my house, and maybe my Halabuji... but I'm not even too sure about them. I kind of like that her love isn't cheap and she's only loyal to few.

And once upon a time Mimi got knocked up by the dog across the block. I forget what breed he was but Mimi had some damn cute puppies. And since Mimi isn't that hot of a dog, I figure he must've been like the Brad Pitt of gangajis. Anyways, back to the puppies. I think there were four. And Mimi was such a good mama-dog, and we'd play with her little munchkin puppies that couldn't even walk. And then they grew bigger and smarter and were SO playful. The puppies actually loved everyone and were pretty smart and I remember teaching one of them (the one we kept, Coco) how to sit and shake in just a couple weeks. Freaking awesome puppy. I think we named Coco after her fur color, although she did have some caramel streaks as well. There was also Pico, who we gave to Yoontae and his family but they gave him to a mushroom farmer. And Boots, who we gave to my dad's boss Pat but she ended up living with us again until we gave her and Coco away. I think Pat wasn't allowed to keep dogs or something, but she really loved Boots and cried when they parted... So sads. And I don't even remember the fourth one. I guess he/she was the unloved one. Poor thing. Ugh, all the puppies were so cute and I don't even know what happened to them. Who did we give them away to? Will I ever see them again? Do they remember me? These questions haunted me last night and prevented me from resting!

I also started thinking about all the dogs I've met around the world. Chapchae the skinny little puppy (I named him) in Haiti, Ayshee (cutest misbehaving beagle puppy ever) in France, Chinga (the rapelling dog) in Costa Rica, Mystery Genius Dog (that led horses and attacked other dogs on command) in Argentina. They were all really cool but I just want Mimi and her puppies. I didn't know I ruved them so much until last night. Ugh.

puppiez, i miss youzz

My New Famiry

Brisbane is a city in Queensland, Australia. Most of you probably didn't know that. I know I sure didn't... just a few weeks ago. All the residents I met said it was boring or that there was "not much to do." True, it was small, there weren't a lot of tourist attractions, and there 's nothing that special that I hadn't seen somewhere else in the world. Being there alone might be boring for most people. Even their ferris wheel, the Brisbane Eye, sucked compared to the London Eye. So why even bother mentioning this seemingly mediocre Australian city? Because it's awesome! Here's why.

Brisbane is home to the Brisbane KSDA Church that came up in my online searches for a local church. When I visited, I was offered a home to stay at by some of the members. So, I joined the Chae family. A family of four plus John, who recently came from Korea to work here in Australia, they treated me like a celebrity. I got to crash a wedding with them (I did the crashing, they were actually supposed to go) and I felt so loved by them. It meant so much to me to be taken care of so well, especially since I haven't seen my own family in forever and I had been a bit lonely lately. Umma Chae cooked delicious food for me, Appa Chae spoke rarely but always spouted words of wisdom, Harry (son, my age) told me awesome stories of his life (seriously, you could make a movie out of it), Julie (daughter, my brother's age) played piano for me whenever I asked and provided fun conversation, and John always talked to me and forced me to practice Korean... everyone was so awesome. Their family also seemed so similar to mine... Umma Chae's favorite perfume is even the same as my Umma's (Clinique Happy, it's not weird for guys to know this stuff, right?). I stayed with them for a few nights and when I left, Umma Chae made me dakdoritang and it was HEAVENLY. So mehwuh and dericious. Thank you, Chae family, for making Brisbane one of the most memorable cities of Brandon's World Travels '09-'10. You guys should get an award.

I really owe this family more than I'll probably ever be able to repay them for, but it just goes to say how awesome some people in this world can be. They were my saving grace when I was starting to really miss home. And I've been REALLY starting to miss home (this hasn't hindered my ability to have a good time traveling, don't worry). I MISS YOU US OF A.

If you're reading this, I probably care about you and miss you a ROT (if you understood that, thats pretty much a guarantee you fall in this category). Hopefully, you care about me and miss me dearly as well.

And if you're just a creeper who's stalking my life, that's cool too.

blah blah blah

This is my favorite HSBC ad. Every time I took an EasyJet flight in Europe (and Morocco), I would see this ad and, as I left Morocco, I realized that it summed up a very important lesson in traveling.

Traveling is important because you get to see the world, and seeing the world is important because it helps you realize that different is not necessarily bad. Spain, for example, came as an offensive shock to me because of the seemingly racist comments we got from everyone, including children, but we learned (slowly) that the Spanish meant no harm (most of the time). People do value things differently all around the world, and traveling allows you to break away from priorities that have been enforced by your culture and surroundings. That way, it's YOU who decides what's important to you.

Sometimes it can be difficult to suddenly jump into a place that radically different from what you're used to. Not only is it hard to force yourself out of your comfort zone, but there's always the issue of time and money. If you can work up the courage, time, and money, though, it makes you more appreciative and open towards people. And, in my opinion, this allows you to love life more fully.