“Jin Ge has estimated there are at least half million goldfarmers working throughout China in organized game sweatshops, where they work to produce gold/points for market consumption–pimarily for gamers in America.” From YouMeIT via AsiaPundit.
From the monthly archives:
November 2006
The loot, originally uploaded by cathilee.
I spent Sunday afternoon at the annual international bazaar held by SIWA and the diplomatic community - 50 Countries and 5 Senses - and by the end I am sure a lot of people there thought I had lost mine.
I am already looking forward to next year’s event, when I plan to get there early so I can try out the different cuisines offered at the country booths, see some of the entertainment, buy some tickets for the raffle, score some cheese from France, wine and Sambuca from Italy, and maybe a little tea from China for the house.
Of course, I could have done that this year if I hadn’t been blazing through there like some sort of holiday shopping demon. I was just so overwhelmed by all the choices. Neat stuff from 50 different countries (art from Thailand, scarves from Indonesia, candy from Turkey, silk pillows from India) . . and during the last hour they cut prices like crazy.
I’d planned on picking up some Christmas gifts there in time to send back to the States before the holidays (Family, some of the things in the picture are going to look awfully familiar . . .). I was pretty aggressive. Let’s just say my new nickname is “I’ll take two…er, four, OK, fine, six…”
So I hope the next time I see a lot of the women from SIWA they don’t get that look in their eye like, ‘Back away, back away slooowly…’ Either that, or ask me to send their kid to college.
You can click on the picture to see the descriptions of some of what I took home.
I know i shouldn’t go there, but the holiday peppermint mocha is just so delicious!
I am still thinking about doing a temple stay some time during our time here in Korea. Though a Protestant Christian, I’ve always felt drawn to certain practices of Zen meditation and Buddhist teaching.
Interestingly, the New York Times travel section has just discovered this unique (and growing) segment of Korea’s tourist industry—though this may not be everyone’s cup of green tea.
The meditation center on Ganghwa Island, about two hours from Seoul by public transportation, certainly seems like the sort of place that could inspire calm. The grounds are nestled between rice paddies and a leafy forest, and the center’s brightly painted temple sits several stone steps up from a gentle brook and a small pond stocked with lotus flowers and koi. Monks wander silently, occasionally gathering at an outdoor wooden table and offering tea and small snacks to guests.
But be forewarned — the point of the temple stay is not, as the pictures on its Web site might make it seem, to lounge next to a brook nibbling crackers as you consider what it means to reach nirvana. The point is to live like a monk. And monks, it turns out, keep strict schedules, are vegetarian and spend a lot of time silently meditating in positions that can become, quickly and without much warning, incredibly uncomfortable for those unused to them.
I’m really glad to see something so ancient and uniquely Korean as the traditions of Jogye Buddhism getting attention in the Times, which usually seems to write about South Korea only in the context to its proximity to Kim Jong Il, or, conversely, as the futuristic, hallyu -having, video-gaming, wired mecca of the universe.
But as for me and getting up to meditate at 3:30 in the morning? Hmmm . . .well . . still thinking…
*Picture ripped from the slideshow here.
(H/t: Marmot’s Hole.)
