trip of a lifetime plan

in early july, i'll be setting out on the trip of a lifetime with my travel partner brenna. we've already had several eye-opening trips together, but this one will be completely different.

we've been in romania, bulgaria, turkey, japan, korea, thailand, and burma together as travelers.

our other trips together have been limited by time, since we'd both had jobs and obligations.

our other trips had clear beginnings and ends, since we'd be expected to show up for work upon returning.

our other trips were less than a month each, so we didn't have much time to stay longer in locations that we liked.

the next trip that we embark on will be totally different than the others, since neither of us have jobs to return to or plane tickets home. since neither of us have any obligations bringing us back to any point in the world at any given time in the near future. since neither of us want nor need to be at a certain point by a certain date, we are free to start working at a hostel in a city we fancy, or start volunteering somewhere for a while if we want to. this trip is truly the most free either of us have ever been, and that is why we can call it the trip of a lifetime.

also we're going to central and south america, where neither of us have ever been.

i have been actively exploring the shape and quality of my wanderlust since 2006, and only now will i really see the extent of my true capacity to travel and live. and what better way to do that than with my best friend.

it's time to travel.

turning tokyo ( going to 東京)

7 months ago I visited Tokyo for the first time with my good friend. We got lost, ate ramyun, and were often confused by Japanese signs. We even rode the subway all the way to the airport by accident on our second day. We also took lots of photos like this:




Tomorrow, I leave for my second visit to Tokyo. This time, I'm going with someone I love. That someone also speaks Japanese. I can't wait!!!

I am so glad that even though this is only a 3-day trip, I can still feel the rush of travel whirring though me as I start to pack. Lots of cherry blossom videos coming up, just for you.

Siyonara!

10 Side-Effects of Teaching English in Korea

10. accept and eat sweaty candies from children's hands
9. learn how to make a ten minute activity last one hour
8. watch your sentences in english become some kind of korean sentence
7. learn all sorts of swear words you would think only drunk ajusshi's would use
6. speak slowly and enunciate to the point that your family asks you why you sound the way you do
5. watch all idiomatic speech disappear from your vocabulary
4. ... along with all words of 3 or more syllables
3. develop an in-depth knowledge of starcraft terminology ("head shot")
2. experience dong-jib, and then never ever forget it
1. end up staying for 2 or 3 years more than you intended

The Best Camera

What camera do you use?

Do you love it?

Though I'm not big into brand loyalty, I love my Canon ELPH 300 hs. It's so light and portable, I can carry it with me everywhere I go so I'm ready anytime something video worthy happens - which can happen anywhere and anytime. Many of the best videos I've seen (and videos I've made) are spontaneous and stumble-upon kind of situations. All the HD videos I post on my Youtube account are recorded with this magnificent little camera.

This camera was with me on my recent travels through Southeast Asia. I recorded lots of travel vlogs with it, and I was satisfied with the quality of the videos. However, looking through my pictures, without perfect lighting some photos aren't as clear and as crisp as I want them to be. I've started printing out photos to display as travel memories, but I can only print photos from this camera to about 8" × 12" (about the same as an A4 paper) before losing significant quality.

Photos help us remember places and people, and we should be able to preserve our memories in the best and clearest way we can. For this reason, I would love to hear some recommendations for a new and better camera from you, my readers. I still want something light and I'd prefer a camera that is not as conspicuous as a DSLR. I appreciate your help! Happy snapping!

Kerri's Seoul

My best friend and lifelong travel partner Brenna recently offered me a chance to post as a guest blogger on her blog This Battered Suitcase. Her blog is a haven for travelers, wanderlusters, photo feinds and lovers of life.

My blog post features recommended spots to visit in Seoul "off the beaten path". You can read my article here.

10 Best Souvenirs from Korea

Here expatkerri has gathered for you the ten oddest and most interesting gifts to give as souvenirs from South Korea. We guarantee all of these gifts will be good conversation starters.





1. CRAZY SOCKS - Ramyun noodles, swear words, K-pop stars, bunnies with fuzzy ears, drunk cartoons, poetry, soju bottles... the possibilities are nearly endless with these socks. Best of all they are available everywhere and are usually only 1000 won for a pair.




2. COUPLE PHONE CHARMS - For couples, nothing is more Korean than matching everything. You can go all out and buy matching couple t-shirts, but it's cheaper to buy your friends in relationships couple cell phone charms.




3. DRIED SQUID - A very popular snack during festivals and at the movies, the potent squid is usually sold with dipping sauce. You can buy it in most food marts for under 2000 won. Make sure you instruct your friends to bring the squid in their bags next time they go to the movies.




4. SCRUBBING CLOTHS - Since your friends aren't in Korea to experience the full extent of the Korean sauna, give them a little taste of it by giving them a scrubby cloth. The cloths are available everywhere and cost just 500 won. Make sure you instruct your friend to scrub their skin to the point where the dead skin comes off like eraser bits.




5. PACKAGED KIMCHI - "The World's Healthiest Food". The fried kimchi tastes best, and it's packaged so you can throw it in your bag without making all your luggage smell like fermented cabbage. Remember to say "kimchi" when having your photo taken too.




6. CRAZY ENGLISH T-SHIRTS - Anything goes when you're shopping for t-shirts in Korea. Browse among the mildly offensive to the completely indecipherable.




7. IPHONE BUNNY CASE - If there was an award for putting cuteness over all else including functionality, Korean girls would win first prize hands down. These absurd phone cases nearly double the width of the phone, conspicuously showing off the fact that your phone is cuter than everyone else's. Who wouldn't want to share that glory with their friends back home?




8. BB CREAM - For the women on your list, why not buy them a tube of "the Korean beauty secret". It is both a moisturizer and a liquid foundation, and as such it is supposed to save time in the morning. Plus it is meant to prevent wrinkles and help clear up breakouts. Win win!




9. ANIMAL HATS - Though they might look like they're made for children, motorcycle-riding delivery men also wear these ridiculous hats. I've never seen them in any other country.




10. METAL CHOPSTICKS - To my knowledge, Korea is the only country in all of Asia to use metal chopsticks. They're reusable, sterile, and hard to get used to at first. Buy some for your friends and have a contest using the chopsticks to pick up M&Ms.


All photos by expatkerri except "FU socks": used with permission from http://johannemiller.com/

Going Viral

I recently posted this video to YouTube.

It went viral. We hit 1,000,000 views on Monday.

In honour of the milestone of my first video to hit a million views, Raines and I made a music video composed of remixes of the original Korean whines from the first video.

The song is available to download for free here (just click Download, then click OK)

It is a little dream of mine to have this song playing on millions of ipods worldwide, and for one of you to be stopped and asked what you're listening to.