Monday, May 29, 2006

Rejected!

Wow, it has been a long time since my last post.
I`m a bit busy lately with (school) work and all so the first thing that has to pay is this :)

Last week I had a pretty bad first time experience: I`ve been rejected.
No..no..exclude love..I`ve already (been) rejected a lot there, but more from a proffesional point of view conecerning my life after university.

I decided to apply for an international internship at Aiesec (www.aiesec.net), to gain some work experience and see something more of Asia. I already had this planned in my mind in January, so you can imagine I was really looking forward to it. But I forgot about the application procedures. In their introduction/information presentation they made it all sound so easy: You apply, we check if you are ok, and you can start searching. But things seemed to be a bit more strict..at least in my case. I had an interview, my first interview ever, and it went pretty good. We had a nice conversation and they got to know me better. It was actually going so smooth, that I didn`t really feel very nervous..I felt at ease. So after the interview I had to wait for the call for if I was selected or not. That call came four days later and sadly..it started with "I`m sorry to inform you that..". She asked if wanted any feedback, and of course I said yes.

So I got to here that I was not motivated enough (why did I apply then?) and that I was not the type of student they were looking for, and that they were looking for somebody who know what he or she wants (got me there; but can`t an internship serve as an orientation?)..and that searching for an internship for me would be a very long..long process that might and up in failure (great..hunderds if not thousands of internships and I don`t fit in any of them? And why not prepared to put in a little effort?)..

So as you might guess I was and still am (a little bit)..sad that I didn`t get selected..or was given the opportunity to. But I still yearn for some travelling (in combination with work-experience). So what now? Aiesec was the most clear-cut option, studying in a foreign country was just to expensive (tuition).

So I`m kept wandering and drifting..where will I end?

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Can't get this pressure point out of my head!

Well..its 4am and I`m still up

So a short story about what I did today.
Today I went to Luxembourg (a small country between France and Belgium and Germany)to pay my last respects to a dear friend of my parents and me, who died last year during my stay in Korea. We went together with a nice group of about 10 people, including of course the wife who lost her husband. It was a beautiful day this saturday and the country itself was again, as always, a very peacefull place. The ashes were burried at a very serene location, and all in all it was a very pleasant experience.

It was like saying farewell to a friend, husband, brother, uncle who is and will be really missed. But life as always moves on.

And so this week is going to be a very nervous week. I`ll be working on my thesis, applying for an international internship and finally booking my flight to the basque country to visit a good friend of mine. Besides this I also really want to start picking up my bike again because I really need to get back into shape. And perhaps I will go to the hair-dressers'..big turning point in life is coming up (hopefully..I prefer change over stagnation)..and a fresh haircut fits perfectly with that.

Greetings

Paul

Saturday, May 06, 2006

A new blog, a new blogger..

hi!

after blogs at msn and myspace I decided to go for this one finally.

Why?

Because I read, see and hear a lot of things around.
A blog would seem to be the perfect place to keep people informed about what I do and how things are going.

Besides this, I also love to write..and hopefully this already reflects in some of the old posts I`ve posted. They are taken from an archive from my msn blog which kind of died in this year.

Hopefully this blog will stay alive for a long, long time.

Greetings

Paul

Friday, May 05, 2006

Archive: October 2005, Stories from Korea III

Arriving at Ulleung-do..

I went to the tourist information boot.
And without saying anything, the girl behind the counter pointed and said something about a sign below the counter: "free english guide". Although that was actually the last thing I wanted...a guide, I decided to wait for the guy since she already called him.

After 30 minutes he arrived, my tour guide for ulleung-do. I kind off forgot his name but I still have his business card somewhere so when I find it I will place it here. He introduced himself in perfect English and told me that he was born in korea, moved to the U.S., and came back to Korea again about 15 years ago. He settled on this island like a kind of tourist guide because it was such a quiet and distant place where living had a different pace than in the heavily overpopulated city of Seoul. He also told me that his house was already distroyed a number of times due to typhoons that hit the island often. His old home was located next to the sea, so as soon as the waves were getting a bit to high he could collect the scraps of his home.

We went out and already found a place to stay relatively quickly, for 30000 won a night I had a room with a view out to the ocean, a beautifull 2 person bed, a television, a shower and a toilet. Of course, it wasn`t the cheapest place, but before I went on my trip I decided that money wouldn`t be a constraint (untill a certain level). I was here to give myself a treat and that was just what I did. Later we had dinner and we decided to meet later that evening to get me a boat-tour of the island and a short walk along the coast.

The boat tour was pretty nice...although very noisy since the speaker on the boat was playing the ullueng-do song,,very, very,very loud. If it wasn`t the speaker annoying me it was the people feeding the sea-gulls chips. All in all it was a noisy tour on a boat cramped with tourists, just the thing I tried to avoid.

I also tried to avoid my tourguide a bit, but this was very difficult. Every person on the island seem to inform him about my position, and being the only non-korean tourist on the island also didn`t really help.
But eventually I gave up the stuburn attitude of: I WANT TO BE MY OWN GUIDE!, and let him guide me for some days of my stay.

The best day I remembered was a trip to a city where he had some children that he was tutoring. The village was a small fishing village with maybe a hunderd inhabitants. We went to a small house were we met one of the mothers of the children. He made sure to show me all the children I tutored (all girls) and I was pretty impressed. He told me that the children of this island had a different attitude than the ones from the city, and were a lot kinder and nicer too. He sent me out with them to give me a tour of the coastline. I got instructions to test their english ability..but like all korean children..it was very hard to get anything out of them (they were shy :)). We climbed some rocks, and again I noticed that they were a lot more agile than a 20 year old dutchmen. While they were jumping (without fear) from rock to rock, I was pretty afraid of slipping and breaking something. They brought me to a large space of relatively flat rock where they started to hunt for small crabs. I joined in the game and was actually enjoying myself. Here I am..on a small island in the middle of the sea..with some korean girls..hunting for small crabs. While playing the game there was actually some non-verbal interaction between me and the girls :)...they were..like most of the people i saw on the island..very beautifull, naturall, free and also very nice. Later we went back to their house and I met his oldest student who was about 16 years old. Her mother was pushing here to speak some english, and finally, after a few minutes..I heard some words..

What did I have for dinner on the island???...well..i`ve had a soup with a whole chicken in it, stuffed with rise. First you ate the chicken, then the rice, and then the soup. It was delicious. But the best thing I had was the squid-bulgogi. It was pretty spicy but the squid...it was heavenly tender and juicy...yumyum..probably the best meal I had ever (sorry mom and dad and microwave)

Other things I did their was climbing the highest top of the island, about 1000 meters. The day I decided to do it it was about 30 degrees celcius with a very high humidity. I made sure to have enough water on me, but if it wasn`t for the old lady sitting halfway up the mountain with some water and tea, I would have never made it. She was very nice and pretty surprised to see a white person climbing a mountain like this on such a warm and humid day. She offered me some more water and wished me good luck to the top. The landscape was just beautifull (as you can see from the pictures), the climb however was hard. When I came to the top my t-shirt was soaked with sweat. I actually took it off on the top and let it dry for a while. I enjoyed the beautifull view ib the top: Green hills whereever you looked and no sound except the a weak wind blowing through the leafs.

After a while I decided to go down and on my way I met some Korean climbers who saw my exhausted face and offered me some chocolates and..you can already guess it...soju. As always they were pretty amazed at the drinking skills of a westerner...hehe. Guus Hiddink got mentioned again and i got another shot of soju. With the sun shining on your head and a pretty high temperature I must say that those two shots hit pretty hard. Stumbling on my way down I again past the place were the old lady was sitting, and this time she offered me some tea and I bought some Pocari Sweat.

I went further down the mountain untill I eventually saw my village again and made a picture of it..
Than I finally came back and it was not long before I got a call from my guide, if I was ready for dinner, I told him that I just climbed the mountain, I called me crazy (in a positive way), and I told him that I was too tired to go out anymore.

In my 6 days of the island I often walked along the western coast line of the island. This was a beautiful path that was partially carved in the rock. So on the left you had a high cliff, and on the right you had the ocean. I often took strolls along it in the night. The only thing you heard then was the sea clutching against the rock and in the far distance you saw the bright lights of the squid boaths. On my way along the coast I came past a small cafe, if you can call it that, and one night I was invited to share a drink with some divers and the owner of the place. Although I couldn`t understand one word of the conversation, I did get that it was about the people off Ulleung-do and the people of the main land. The discussion became intenser and louder with every bottle of soju that they opened. It was pretty fun sitting there, enjoying the drink, and listen to koreans discussing matters you don`t know. Eventually one of the divers wanted a picture off me with his son, as you can see it the gallery. It is just great being invited without any reason by some random koreans to drink soju with them...no stranger in the netherlands would invite me for a free beer..

All in all the days were great on the island and I really enjoyed myself..although a bit of i-house company would have been fun too ;)...but they had to go to other countries...why search for paradise in other countries when Korea has one of its own? Ullueng-do...my paradise island..the place where I want to build a house for my last years :)

Paul

Archive: October 2005, Stories from Korea II

One thing I remembered just a few seconds ago..

a Membership Training of rhe MAY club..
somewhere in the beginning of the semester hasier and me joined the may club on a membership training
Although none of them could speak very good english (except for one girl), it was a great night..
MAY stands for midi association yonsei and is basically about writing or composing your own songs using computer software. They also had some instruments which could be played (bass, guitar, keyboard).

Because we were invited to join their mt we went with them to a place in the north of seoul, i think close to bukhansan national park. Iit was a nice house with a warm wooden floor and enough place for a group of 30 to 40 people. The mt started with some hanging around, playing soccer and preparing the food.

Later in the evening more people started to arrive and the real party started. Groups were divided and guess what..the only two non-koreans in the room ended up in the same team. Although our group, of the four others, was thus a bit handicapt due to the language-barrier, we tried our best during the games. If a team won a game, they got some food, if the lost..the got soju. One of the games was finding words in the newspaper (which we terribly lost :)) and another was passing chips from mouth to mouth..which we won! We were a team with that game and it really went well..I think we stunned to koreans a bit by our speed and accuracy..hehehe

Later in the evening groups started to form where other (drinking) games were played and i tried to join in in the ones I understood..

Around 3am (or earlier) a jamming session started..with a keyboard and our voices. The koreans could sing really beautifully..and I learned a thing or two. This was really a special moment...the club leader played the keyboard in a catchy tune and everybody got a turn in singing a short part of the improvised song..it was brilliant..

Later Hasier and me got hold of the keyboard and started to jam..I played the rythm, he played the solo or melody...I must say..it actually sounded pretty good! Altough I think that the koreans got a bit annoyed of the same tune for about 30 minutes...hehe:)...but we had a great time...

Even later we went to bed...I went into a small room (4x4 meters, even smaller) where already a large number of people were sleeping..maybe about 10..I found a spot and fell asleep quickly..

The end of a great day...

Archive: October 2005, Love is a Rose

Love is a rose
but you better not pick it
It only grows
when it's on the vine.
A handful of thorns
and you'll know you've missed it
You lose your love
when you say the word "mine".
I wanna see what's never been seen,
I wanna live that age old dream.
Come on, lads, we can go together
Let's take the best right now,
Take the best right now.
I wanna go to an old hoe-down
Long ago in a western town.
Pick me up cause my feet are draggin'
Give me a lift and I'll hay your wagon.
Love is a rose
but you better not pick it
It only grows when it's on the vine.
A handful of thorns and
you'll know you've missed it
You lose your love
when you say the word "mine".
Mine, mine.
Love is a rose, love is a rose.
Love is a rose, love is a rose.
Wisdom and a great song from Mr. Young

Archive: October 2005: G-g-g-graduation!

the 14th of october I will get my bachelor-degree!


What to wear...what to wear?

Archive September 2005, Birthday!

You just became 21 years old and finally you can drink legally in the U.S.

but then you wake up late...exactly at the time that your ride to work leaves

then you manage to get on time in the city of your university..and see your last possible way to get on time at the faculty leaves before your nose..

Then your just newly bought mp3-player brakes down and needs a lot of tweeking till it works (hopefully) again

Then you forget the most important thing you need at work: a pen

Then you have the motivation of a turtle to climb the Mt. Everest

While you still have enough work to do..

and then you read that the government is going to punish people who don`t find work quick enough after they finish their study..

ps: Photo`s of my room (wohoo personal stuff!) will be online this weekend, together with pictures of a very small pixie, blurry people, a lot of junk..in short..lowlands!

Archive: September 2005, What must a man do to get some...

Korean food or drinks in this &()*&( Country???!!!

Ow yes..we are so multicultural...the only problem is that the average toko (tropical food store) is filled with everything from indonesia to China..but Korea...I have not seen one item in the neigbourhood...
That`s a lie by the way, I saw one bottle with hangul on it..grrr

So yes, tomorrow I will go to Amsterdam, the city of drugs (or was that Rotterdam..or Heerlen?), to go to a Korean/Japanese shop that sells food/drinks and even a small restaurant where you can get bibimbap or mandu..
Its named Shilla (so it must be korean).

This will be in total, at minimum, a 6 hour train trip...and that all for a bottle of soju..and makoli, and bulgogi..and calbi...

Got a birthday in one week so I`ll better buy something that heals the pain of becoming 21. Why pain? Because time is going to fast! It seemed like yesterday when I was a little kid (2-4 years) and banging my head against hard surfaces out of frustration. And now..besides having brain dammage...I`m getting old! ;)

Wish I was an american, at least I could celebrate that is was finally legal for me to buy and drink alcohol :D

ps: To everyone who actually reads my blogg: Thanks!

Archive: September 2005, Stories from Korea

So it`s two months ago since I left Korea..and still..everywhere I go..stories and memories come in my head about the great times I`ve had there..time to write them down..

At the end of the semester I decided to go traveling in Korea. Most of the people I knew left the country and went to other countries in Asia, but I decided to stay another 2 weeks in Korea to go to more places. I didn`t want to make lightning visits to other Asian countries because it would be a shame only to stay at a place for 3 days and then go on (not to mention expensive). And besides that, I know I will go back to discover the rest of Asia eventually..only death will keep me form doing that in the future :).

So I stayed within Korea and went to the place with the longest travelling distance: The mysterious island of Ulleung-do. First I had to travel about 250 km to the port city of Pohang. I arrived there at about 20:00...and it was getting dark...and I was looking for a motel. I already looked on the internet for a good adress near the sea. But it`s a lot harder to navigate yourself in an unknown city in the dark. So I stepped out of the bus and looked for the first street map that I could find. Trying to determine my position, suddenly an older korean woman (about 55/60) came to me and tried to help me in Korean...well...My korean wasn`t that good (C- as a grade for that :)) and so she brabled a lot to me with me being confused. She wanted to help..I was looking for a bus ride but she told me that there where no busses driving anymore (she spoke a little bit english...very little). Eventually she told me that "My husband speak English, he help"..and she told me to follow her home. So for the first time during my stay in Korea, I would go to an original Korean house! It was more like an appartment but still very "gemutlich" and small. Her husband would arrive at about 21:00pm and it was 20:30. So I got some coffee and dry garlic bread, she was worried about me..and told me to eat..eat!..eat!! drink!
We had a limited conversation where I demonstrated my Korean skills (numbers, kamsahamnida and anjohasejo) and she her English skills. Then her husband came..and as you might understand..he was really surprised (positively) about what his wife brought home. His english appeared to be a little bit limited but good enough to let me make clear what motel I was looking for. He made a phonecall to the motel and told me there were still rooms available. He offered me a ride to the motel (in his KIA) and then offered me dinner (!!!!). So much hospitality, so much help, so nice...you would never NEVER find that in the Netherlands, not anymore. The dinner was great at again the lady told me to eat more, eat more! I told her in Korean that I liked it and thanked her for the food and drinks. I learned that they had a son who lived in America, and that he was a marine in the Korean war. He told me is age and I was amazed..I think i was close to 65 and he looked like 50!

After having a good meal, a good drink and a good talk they dropped me off at my motel and even negotiated the price down for me. For that one evening..I had a Korean mom and dad..if I wanted it or not ;)

The next morning I got up and went to catch the ferry that would take me to Ulleung-do..a 217km long trip..but thats another story..for another time :)

Paul

Archive: September 2005, New Orleans

So you have a hurricane
So there is a lot of damage
So there are many deaths
So the dykes break
So the town gets flooded
So there is no water and electricity
So the people start looting
So the town becomes a war-zone
So people start dying 4 days after the disaster
So this is the richest, the most developed and powerfull nation of the world

We are doomed.

Archive: August 2005, Lowlands!

My first time at this festival up north after going to Pinkpop and Werchter in earlier years..and I had a great time!
The weather was great, the food delicious, the people nice..and the music..the music was fantastic!

Pictures will follow later because I didn`t take my digital camera, but some throw-away sh*t...so those will come online in a few days :)

What did I see:

Friday:Beatsteaks - not very interesting...music you`ve heard a thousand times before :)
Polyphonic Spree - Feel good music, men in dresses..their music should make the sun shining..but instead it started raining a little bit..the only rain for the whole of the festival...a punishment from above? :)

Kaiser Chiefs - Great band with a great performance..be sure to get the song: "Everyday I love you less and less"...:)...the singer was injured to his leg and still performed!

Franz Ferdinand - saw them last year on Werchter when the hype was at its hight..again the show was great..the public was great..the band was tighter than last year

The Prodigy - not really my thing and didn`t like it...

Saturday:Little bit of Zuco 103 - Dutch band with a South American sound...great in the early morning to get awake!

zZz - Again a dutch band with a drummer and a "hammond" orgel (forgot the english word for that instrument)..the music was great and reminded me a bit of The Doors...only shame was that two things came on stage halfway to entertain the public with their "seductive" moves..why?why?!

Death from Above 1979 - A distorted bass and a drummer making the hardest rock `n roll on this festival...great band..great bass player!


Mala Vita - Multicultural band from the Netherlands..party music!


Pixies - Saw them last year on Werchter and didn`t really like hem, their show now was much better and even great! The played some beautiful songs and really seemed to enjoy themselves..:)

Zondag: Millionaire - Belgium rock band with pretty "heavy" music...maybe programmed a little bit to early for my sleepy head but the show was still great!

Quit your dayjob - should I take this seriously? Sweden must be a very boring country when you start making music like this :) ..was good for a smile however. Singer Introducing a song: "This song is about finding money on the street." Only lyrics: "Ooooh I found a dollar!" ..and who can even forget the song: "Sperms are Jerms"

Queens of the Stoneage: Good, strong and tight performance..only a shame that Mark Lanegan wasn`t there..and all those Incubus and Foo Fighter fans standing in front of me and being a very dead audience despite the great music..

Four songs of the Futureheads - Nice songs, Nice band! Performed for a way to small audience!

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - because the Foo Fighters didn`t really attract me (you know what you will get: Rock) I decided to go to Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds...and I will never regret it. A great performance! Beautiful song and a great performance of Nick! Especially the last number: Stagger Lee...he was telling this story with his voice and body...just brilliant!..my absolute highlight of this festival!..

Note: I had the best festival-food in years: especially the everzwijn-hammetjes!..you know..the food that Asterix and Obelix eat after a long day of work! :)

Archive: August 2005, Buenos Hermanos!

"The veteran Cuban singer Ibrahim Ferrer has died in a Havana hospital, aged 78" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4128560.stm).

Well, I guess 78 is a nice age but it still makes me sad. Most of you probably heard his voice without knowing him: He was a member of the Buena Vista Social Club which is one of the most famous Cuban groups ever (and probably also one with the highest average age). I first heard of him on the radio when I was riding my bike in the dutch countryside. That was back in the days when Henk Westbroek still worked for 3FM (and it was still a station with an alternative sound). The song was so playful and alive, had a very good rythm and was even funny. The name of that song was "Buenos Hermanos" and after hearing that song I bought his cd (yes buy!). It`s a great cd where maestro Ibrahim Ferrer was standing in front of a number of great cuban musicians. One thing you hear when you listen to the album is that it was made with lot`s of fun and love for the music (something that in my opinion is essential for good music). He did some succesfull tours around the world and his last one was in Europe (He even played at North Sea Jazz in the Hague this year). He was a great guy and his music made the sun shine. Rest in peace, Ibrahim Ferrer.

Archive: July 2005, We lost the English

because they applied a shoot first (five times in the head) and ask questions later policy..
only a shame that the brazilian tourist could not give any answers to those questions..

Realy feel bad for his family and do not really get why they had to shoot him, in the head, and five times..
I mean, one time in the leg should have been enough to make him immobile..but five times

I know, the bombs in te subway were horrible and should be prevented from happening ever again..
But lets not panic and do such horrible things as this..
Laws are changed overnight decreasing civil liberty and rights..
People are shot 5 times in the head because of suspecious behaviour..
People can be arrested and kept in jail for a long time only on suspisions that they had something to do with a crime..
So in England, when you hate your neighbour, just call the police and say he his behaving very strange lately..especially when he doesn`t have a white skin-color..

Seems that the brazilian tourist got a bit afraid when five (undercover) men started to chase him everywhere..
And his VISA was over date..maybe it was the immigration office..coming to set him out!
No...it was the anti-terrorist group hunting and shooting down every person with strange behaviour..

Governments are enacting harder policy..
It`s only a matter of time before 1984 becomes real and we are watched and controlled in every move we make..
And that all out of fear of the so called terrorists..
And never looking at the reasons ...the source of their anger against the West..
Thinking that force against force is the best answer...

Archive: July 2005, Deadline!

Allmost August! Only one month left of free time!

I have to do something!

Now!

Before my freedom is gone and work starts again!

Lance wins the tour again. Damn you americans stealing our european competitions! (best dutch guy was 30th)
So i`m going to get on my bike again and drive a minimum of 30 km (20 miles) a day....see if I can get a shape again..and beat that Lance when he`s 55 and i`m 35ish!

Owh yes...and don`t forget to buy some tickets for Lowlands where I will see the Queens of the Stoneage, the Foo Fighthers, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Franz Ferdinand, Pixies, Kaiser Chiefs, Death From Above 1979, The Dresden Dolls, Roisin Murphy, Dropkick Murphys...and throw mud or anything else available at Korn, Marilyn Manson, Incubus, 2 Many DJ`S (They replaced an ill David Bowie last year..I could have seen David Bowie but I saw DJs..yuck!)..

I don`t wanna start with my last year of education..i`m 20..I`m so young..I`ll be 21 when I`m finished..what next? Work for the next 45 years? Only the thought makes me wanna do something to myself...

So maybe..back to Korea..?..a trip around the world..or at least some places I really have to visit..? First have to get some money, which requires a job..uch..working..

Grtz

Paul

Archive: July 2005, Culture shock!

Yep..i`m back for two weeks now and already longing to go back..
It`s not that living in the Netherlands is that bad but...

There are so many white people..
Everything seems so small now..
People complain so much..
Television still s*ks..
Getting drunk is much more expensive..
The public fear of terrorism..(but not mine)
The use of knives and forks..
No more free sauce..
No subway..
No Norebangs..

No I-House..

But..I`ve got my guitar back..I`m planning to go to some festivals..(Lowlands, Bluesrock Tegelen, Booch!)..and..of course seeing my family and friends again...I will probably start with my Master (and thus my last year!) in September..

And what to do after that..?
Trip around the world? Starting a rock-band and kick Coldplay of the radio? Become the first dictator of the Netherlands? Go to Hawaii and claim it for the Netherlands?

Who knows..

grtings

Paul

Archive: June 2005, Fading Lights

Another time it might have been so different
oh if only we could do it all agian
but now it`s just another fading memory
out of focus, though the outline still remains

Far away, away, fading distant lights
leaving us all behind, lost in a changing world
and you know that these are the days of our lives
remember.

Like the story that we wish was never ending
We know sometime we must reach the final page
still we carry on just pretending
that there`ll always be one more day to go

Far away, away, fading distant light
leaving us all behind, lost in a changing world
and you know that these are the days of our lives
so remember...

Another chance hello, another goodbye
and so many things we`ll never see again
days of life that seemed so unimportant
they seem to matter but to count much later on

Far away, away, fading distant lights
leaving us all behind, lost in a chaning world
and you know these are the days of our lives
remember