Lee Eun-seo, Hwang Ji-hyun, Kim Kyu-hee
'Traveling'. Don't you get excited when you hear that
word? Imagine immersing yourself in a new country and new region and experiencing
fun episodes and strange places. These types of experiences add quality to your
life, and once you have had one experience, you hunger for more and more. This
is why many people are “hooked” on travel. Some of our EIE teachers are among
the travel addicts! We asked them questions about their travels.
The first professor was David J. Hamilton
Q. Which
country do you come from?
A. I'm from England in the UK.
Q. Have you been anywhere which turned out to be different to how you
imagined? If so, how?
A. I've been to China many times. When I go to
China, I get surprised because it's such a big, different country. Well, it hasn't been totally different from how I imagined it, but I never know what to expect when I go to China. Every time I go to places in China, such as Beijing, Dandong, Shanghai,
or Xian, things are different in every way. It's always a nice surprise. I
think China is good place to travel.
Q. Do you have any funny travel stories?
A. In Bali in Indonesia, I was on a walking
tour around a mountain next to the sea. There were lots of native monkeys, and
they were very familiar with people, not scared of people. There was a sign
saying 'be careful of your glasses', I thought that it was a joke. When I
walked up a path, I suddenly felt something on my back and legs. It was a monkey
who pulled off my glasses and jumped into a tree. I couldn't see anything and I
was puzzled. I looked around and there was an old woman sitting there selling
fruits. She said that if I buy some fruits from her, she would get the monkey
to come down from the tree. First of all I was very thankful to her, but I
realized later that she was tricking people. She trained the monkey to take the
glasses so she could sell the fruits. After that day, I held onto my glasses
for the rest of the trip.
Q. Which is
the worst place you’ve been to and why?
A. There is no worst place, but I had my worst
experience in Indonesia. When I went to Surabaya, I arrived there very late
because of the train. I was alone and didn't have a map, the tourist
information center was closed, and I didn't have enough money. I didn't know
where to go, so I dropped by an expensive hotel and asked them to give some
information about a cheaper hotel. They gave me an address and booked the room
for me. However, when I got there, it was really, really, REALLY horrible.
There were no windows, lots of mosquitoes, the bathroom was very dirty and
there was mold on the wall. But I had no choice, so I had to stay there for a
night. I got up early the next morning and left.
Q. Where is
your favorite place in the world?
A. Although I experienced a bad hotel in
Indonesia, my favorite place in the world is Indonesia because it's a very
diverse place. You can go to big, dirty cities, but you can also go to clean
beaches. Or you can go to jungle, you can go to the countryside of farms, and
there are many different things you can see. Indonesia is cool place.
Q. Do you
have a bucket list? If so what is on it?
A. I want to travel on the Trans Siberian
Railway through Russia because I can move half way around the Earth on that
train. I had planned to do that this summer, but I couldn't because I'm too
busy. In addition, I always wanted to go to Africa when I was young and I still
do now.
Q. What has
travel taught you?
A. Going to different countries gives us new
experiences. We can experience new scenery, people, culture, and food. But I
learned that actually, the world is the same, no matter where you go.
The second professor was Soo Yim.
Q. Which
country do you come from?
A. I come from Toronto, Canada
Q. Have you
had any bad experiences whilst travelling?
A. When I went to Vietnam, I got a bad
stomachache. Perhaps I think Vietnam’s water and other foods do not suit me. I
went to hospital and was laid up all day long. Also I have had lots of experiences
of people stealing my belongings such as my wallet, bag and money.
A. I have traveled a lot of nations, but I
think my favorite place in the world is my parent’s home. When I go to my
parent’s home, I can have time with family and friends. During this time, I
feel happy, cozy and convenient. Except my home, my favorite traveling place is
Uzbekistan. This was the first place I visited in Central Asia. Uzbekistan has
such a rich history, so I could learn new knowledge. Above all, I made friends
who are very friendly and warm-hearted and I stayed in their homes while I
traveled in Uzbekistan. We still contact each other through email.
Q. Do you
have a bucket list? If so what is on it?
A. I had three items on the bucket list in the
past. One was going to North Korea and I have done that. Thus, I have two items
on the bucket list now. These are going to Iceland and visiting the Silk Road.
I want to go there with my future husband. I don’t just want to go sightseeing.
In fact, I really want to share happy emotions with my future husband in
Iceland or on Silk Road.
Q. What has
travel taught you?
A. Travel taught me a lot. I can’t define it
in just one sentence. Through travel, I learn new things, like history,
culture, other people’s thinking and so on. I can save all the things that I
felt, saw, hear and learn through travel in my memory.
The final professor was Greg J. Skwarok.
Q. Which
country do you come from?
A. I come
from Vancouver, Canada.
Q. Have you been anywhere which turned out to be different to how you
imagined? If so, how?
A. The Soviet Union, was the most impressive
place which was totally different from my country, Canada. The Soviet government
controlled almost everyone, especially national tour guides who are required to
promote communism. There are many episodes related to this. While touring in the
city of Kiev, I met wonderful city guide. But after some days, I suddenly heard
the news that she couldn’t join with me anymore because she became sick.
However, I found out that it was because she didn’t behave like a sincere
communist. In another words, she was too open and honest, so she got a warning
from the Soviet government. Most of the bus drivers are also subject to strict
investigation about their travel routes and security.
Q. Do you have any funny travel stories?
A. In almost every country, language
differences cause funny situations. While asking for directions, listening
to local languages, or ordering food in restaurants, quite a lot of funny but stressful situations
have occurred. One of these incidents occurred in France. I went to a
restaurant, which had only one set menu, so I had no choice. Unfortunately, I
ate the head of a goat. It was my first try and it tasted weird and terrible.
Q. Which is
the worst place you’ve been to and why?
A. Dare I say it, my first trip overseas to
Hong Kong was the worst. This is because I got into lots of difficulties due to
a lack of money. I didn’t realize how much things
would cost as this was my first trip. Fortunately, while I was in the South
Pacific, Australia, and New Zealand, I could avoid it with my relatives’ help. They gave me a little bit of financial support. However, it
wasn’t possible in Asia, especially Hong Kong, as
nobody I knew lived there.
A. Sicilia. This is a beautiful island in
Italy and is the place which comes to mind. If you go there, you can see breathtaking
scenery and spend time at beautiful beaches. Although there are many places in
the world where you can enjoy wonderful views, Sicilia is surrounded by
tremendous ancient artifacts and architecture. The long history of Italy has
been well-maintained in the whole region.
Q. Do you
have a bucket list? If so what is on it?
A. Yes, I do. Although I’ve already traveled
to 36 countries, I’d like to travel to 100 countries in my lifetime, as I’m
really enthusiastic about travelling around the world. I want to explore many
countries that I’ve never been to yet such as Norway and Denmark and visit the African
continent. Especially, I’ve put the African continent into the highest
priority. I really look forward to going on safari in southern Africa.
Q. What has
travel taught you?
A. I realized that wealth and money don’t
determine happiness. Some of the Asian countries I visited were poor and have
much lower standards of living, but the people in these countries are much more
satisfied with their lives and happier than in highly-developed countries. From
this experience, I learned that happiness is totally dependent on our minds and
thoughts. If we enjoy our work, love our countries, and try to practice what we
really want to do, we’ll be much happier than now.
Also, traveling to as many
countries as possible gave me a lesson: “respect all kinds of differences.” We
know little about what’s happening in the world. Therefore, we constantly need
to make efforts to know others more and listen to their words carefully. We can
get these experiences through travel because it makes us realize how we can get
along with others who have grown up in different cultures and surroundings.
Our teachers David, Soo, and Greg certainly have had a
lot of travel experiences! As you can see, they all have the travel bug and all
intend to continue their adventures. To finish off, we asked the teachers one
final question, if they had any special advice to EIE students who want to
travel. Both David and Soo recommended home-stay for young students as a good
way to meet local people and save money. Greg recommended traveling with a
partner to save money and share experiences. He also suggested traveling in
winter when everything is cheaper and quieter.