Chill of the torch
I met my friend Gege in Seoul today. I originally met him in Mongolia, where he served as my guide for 3 weeks as we drove around the Mongolia countryside northwest of Ulanbaatar. He is working 6 days a week from 6p to 6a, so we only had a few hours to hang out this afternoon. It was great catching up with him. He moved her from Mongolia a few months ago, and he's currently learning Korean, working 72 hours a week, and taking several hours of class each week at a local university. Every time I think that my situation is bad, I will think of Gege & realize that I haven't learned the definition of hardship or even hard work. Gege - if you read this, I hope that you are successful in your goal of making it to the US. I'll do whatever I can to help you get established - your persistence gives me faith in mankind.
The police & Chinese students were out in mobs today. I saw more Chinese flags today than I saw during my entire week in Shanghai. In total, there were probably about 1000 - 2000 students in the area of Seoul that I was passing through. I made the assumption that the Olympic torch was coming through town in the next few days, since there were mobs of Chinese students who were peacefully demonstrating.
After I parted with Gege, I started to walk back to my hotel. About 2 km into my walk, the street was booming with voices. I increased my pace to see what the commotion was about. As I drew on further, there were a few Olympic floats so I assumed there was a little parade. About 2 minutes later, the yelling turned into a roar. The chanting was laced with so much emotion that I had a feeling shoot towards the end of my limbs. I think that my brain realized that I was in the middle of so many people who were pro-China, and I hold the opinion that Tibet should be its own sovereign nation. Needless to say, I think that I was surprised & fearful of the power that radiated from the crowd.
Before I knew it, there were buses of athletes passing by. About 20 seconds later, I saw the Olympic torch run past in a mob of about 100 runners. I tried to take some photos, but unfortunately I wasn't prepared.
I'm very fortunate to have seen the torch being carried through Seoul, as I doubt that I'll ever see it carried through the streets of Milwaukee. The experience resonates within me; anyone that sees the power & feels the desire of the Chinese people will understand. China will become the world's next superpower. While there will be some transition time, I think about all of the poor decisions that superpowers make; and specifically how the rest of the world must just watch it happen. I think of the US and it's push to start the Iraq war - these types of unsubstantiated decisions & injustices will only feel more bitter when another country commits them.
I met my friend Gege in Seoul today. I originally met him in Mongolia, where he served as my guide for 3 weeks as we drove around the Mongolia countryside northwest of Ulanbaatar. He is working 6 days a week from 6p to 6a, so we only had a few hours to hang out this afternoon. It was great catching up with him. He moved her from Mongolia a few months ago, and he's currently learning Korean, working 72 hours a week, and taking several hours of class each week at a local university. Every time I think that my situation is bad, I will think of Gege & realize that I haven't learned the definition of hardship or even hard work. Gege - if you read this, I hope that you are successful in your goal of making it to the US. I'll do whatever I can to help you get established - your persistence gives me faith in mankind.
The police & Chinese students were out in mobs today. I saw more Chinese flags today than I saw during my entire week in Shanghai. In total, there were probably about 1000 - 2000 students in the area of Seoul that I was passing through. I made the assumption that the Olympic torch was coming through town in the next few days, since there were mobs of Chinese students who were peacefully demonstrating.
After I parted with Gege, I started to walk back to my hotel. About 2 km into my walk, the street was booming with voices. I increased my pace to see what the commotion was about. As I drew on further, there were a few Olympic floats so I assumed there was a little parade. About 2 minutes later, the yelling turned into a roar. The chanting was laced with so much emotion that I had a feeling shoot towards the end of my limbs. I think that my brain realized that I was in the middle of so many people who were pro-China, and I hold the opinion that Tibet should be its own sovereign nation. Needless to say, I think that I was surprised & fearful of the power that radiated from the crowd.
Before I knew it, there were buses of athletes passing by. About 20 seconds later, I saw the Olympic torch run past in a mob of about 100 runners. I tried to take some photos, but unfortunately I wasn't prepared.
I'm very fortunate to have seen the torch being carried through Seoul, as I doubt that I'll ever see it carried through the streets of Milwaukee. The experience resonates within me; anyone that sees the power & feels the desire of the Chinese people will understand. China will become the world's next superpower. While there will be some transition time, I think about all of the poor decisions that superpowers make; and specifically how the rest of the world must just watch it happen. I think of the US and it's push to start the Iraq war - these types of unsubstantiated decisions & injustices will only feel more bitter when another country commits them.
