Sweet home

My penultimate day in Korea: seeing my dyeing teacher for two meals, splurging on an indigo and persimmon dyed dress, and having one last lesson at the mounting studio. This is glue from the bag; easier than making your own (fermenting flour for two months, changing out the water, cooking it, etc.).

This is the already fermented version that was dried and stored. Mr. Doh was showing me how to soak and cook it, even though we rushed the soaking bit because of time limitations.

I was so caught up in a last-minute application that the recent stress about a Better Left Unblogged Situation that was going on for the last few weeks was shoved aside. I also shipped a ton of boxes. I love how easy it is to do that: all the permanent markers, tape, scissors, and bubble wrap provided as a complimentary service. Plus the guy who you can pay to build you perfect custom boxes for things like papermaking tools and kimchi (I sent the former, the woman in line after me sent the latter).

I only slept for the first 20 minutes of the 13-hour flight. Instead of writing an article that is due entirely too soon, I watched four movies and several TV shows and had my first snacks in a long time (bought two bags of potato chips at the airport). This was an interesting lesson in nutrition: for the last three months, I have not snacked at all. VERY unusual, as I usually eat all day. But the kind of food that Koreans eat, plus the importance they place on eating on time every meal, made for a different experience for me. I'm sure it also helped that I was overly booked and that it is considered weird and rude to walk while standing up/walking/commuting. I know I'll go back to my old habits but it was quite a revelation to see that three meals a day and nothing else is completely possible and not uncomfortable.

The lined paper at left dried too quickly (the board was next to a heater and a fan). I learned two ways of doing this and had long conversations with Mr. Doh about all kinds of things. It's a shame that I didn't have enough time to learn more from him but I am also very happy to be back home. Had a family reunion immediately after I arrived yesterday, and plan to rest for a few days before a quick photo shoot next week and then another flight (but short!) back to Ohio to teach. The jet lag battle has already begun.