8 reasons why south korea is my favourite country

#1.  No cops bugging me: Sick and tired in Japan and some European countries that the cops will just stop you for no good reason on the street and ask to see an ID.

#2. No ticket controllers: No need to hide, no need to be paranoid all the time, no need to carry fake ID or run for it when you see them. Because on Seoul’s subways and buses, there are no ticket controllers.
In Seoul, you can just enjoy the ride, without having to think that the police will storm into the train to harass you. You know why people hate cops? Because 70 percent of people are just terrible under pressure! including myself of course. So even if I do have a ticket, I can’t deal with the pressure, of having those guys raiding the train in search of the people that have no tickets. Who (i think) are just normal people like you and me, except that they have no ticket, but for them, are criminal masterminds. And they have to be punished for not being able to afford a train ticket.

But.. wait a minute, we pay taxes every month, shouldn’t that pay for the trains and public transport instead of paying for people to punish you for using it?

#3. Free visa and easy visa run: You know how in most countries after a few months you have to leave the country in order to re-enter to get a new visa and sometimes they don’t let you back in, or you can do it just a finite amount of times. That’s not the case here.

#4. Free shuttle bus, concert tickets, and Korean lessons.

#5. So safe! Unless you had the chance of growing up in a 3rd world country as I did, you probably don’t know what it feels to be mugged at gunpoint, to be afraid you won’t come back home alive, getting beaten up by the police, not being able to trust anyone and always having to watch your back to make sure you’re not being followed.
Well, it’s not pleasant! So I’m very happy that in Korea people don’t have guns, it’s safe to go out at night, there’s not much crime and the police are usually young guys in their 20’s who just finished high-school and present no threat most of the time.

#6. Easily accessible: there are cheap flights and ferries to many countries (and by cheap I mean under 100 dollars)

#7. People: the kindest I’ve met, will expand on some other post, even though my Korean friends say people here are friendly only to foreigners.

#8. Pokemon! Most Korean words sound like Pokemon names. And some people look like Pokemon also. I think.

Whatever 4

Friend 2: And why do you care about the revolution so much?

Bruno: Because I want to have a better life, I don’t want to struggle anymore and I don’t want other people to struggle either.

Friend 2: Struggle is good, it gives you some motivation to start your day. If everything was provided already why would we get up in the morning?

Bruno: Because it’s nice getting up, provided you had enough sleep and a relaxing day ahead of you. If the future looks bleak you don’t feel like getting up, but if there’s an exciting day coming then it’s nice!

Friend 2: So, just relaxing, every day?

Bruno: Yeah, we came to this life to enjoy and have a good time, not to struggle to survive and getting stressed out every day.

Friend 2: And how can you be so sure you know what we came to this life for?

Bruno: Because I know everything, oh, perfect and wonderful Bruno.

Friend 2: Haha, you see, you always tell people what to do, but you don’t know why. 

Bruno: Well, I do my best, and I sincerely want to help people, not imposing my lifestyle on them.

Friend 2: I know, but you have to let them make their own mistakes.

Bruno: I should relax more I know, but I always feel like there’s all this pressure on my shoulders to turn everyone into animal-friendly anarchists.

Friend 2: So, just snap out of it.

Bruno: How to?

Friend 2: Weed.

Bruno: Oh, never thought about it, I’ve been wanted to try that for a while, but haven’t met anyone who does it. I mean where do you even get it? Unless you live in the US or Europe you’re pretty much up for a challenge.

Friend 2: Grow it yourself.

Bruno: Yeah, in my shoes. I mean, how do you even get into that stuff?

Friend 2: Google, how to grow weed.

Bruno: And then what, wait 10 years till it grows?

Friend 2: Pretty much.

Bruno: Any plan B?

Friend 2: Meditation.

Bruno: Yeah, I’m working on that, baby steps though.

Friend 2: So work harder.

Bruno: I should, I mean I will, probably.

Friend 2: Grow a beard.

Bruno: What for?

Friend 2: To relax.

Bruno: I can’t relax, when I grow a beard people expect even more from me. They expect me to be wise and knowledgeable and give them advise.

Friend 2: Well it’s not the beard on the outside that counts, it’s the beard on the inside.

Bruno: That’s fromDexterr.

Friend 2: Whatever

Bruno: !?

  

What do you do?

Friend 2: It’s 4.30, what keeps you up this late?

Bruno: It’s not so late.

Friend 2: You don’t have to work tomorrow?

Bruno: No, I don’t.

Friend 2: BTW, what do you do? Are you working or studying?

Bruno: Is there a third choice?

Friend 2: Traveling?

Bruno: How about a fourth option?

Friend 2: No fourth option.

Bruno: Well if you want to classify 6 billion people you’re gonna need more than 3 categories.

Friend 2: Not really, most of them will fit under those 3.

Bruno: 99% maybe, but how about the rest?

Friend 2: Are you the 1%?

Bruno: Yes, but not that 1% you’re thinking of. I’m the 1% inside the 99%

Friend 2: Maybe I shouldn’t try to classify everyone

Bruno: We all make that mistake, when we meet someone we try to fit it in as many categories as we can, so it can fit a familiar pattern in our minds, we are afraid of the unknown so if we analyze it and label it as something we have seen before we can understand it, kind of.

Friend 2: And now it sounds like you are over analyzing things.

Bruno: Probably.

Friend 2: So, if you don’t work, that means you are rich, you are the evil 1%

Bruno: Rich, really? You saw me eating that bread we found on the street this morning.

Friend 2: I thought you just didn’t like people wasting food so you grabbed it and ate it.

Bruno: Yeah, that too. But you’ve seen me cutting my own hair.

Friend 2: Well, you have your own style.

Bruno: You’ve seen me going all the way to the supermarket just to eat the free food samples.


Friend 2: I thought you just liked to try different things.

Bruno: You’ve seen me sleeping in the park and on the beach.

Friend 2: Nature-lover.

Bruno: You’ve seen me grabbing the coins from the fountain.

Friend 2: Actually I have a picture of that.

Bruno: So, how can you say I’m rich?

Friend 2: Because you go to many countries and only rich people can do that.

Bruno: That’s ridiculous.

Friend 2: Well, that’s what I think and that’s what most people think. 

Bruno: But it’s nonsense. You know I’m not rich and if I were you know what I would do with the money.

Friend 2: Buy a pony?

Bruno: No, I would do the same I’m doing now.

Friend 2: Which is…

Bruno: Surviving.

Friend 2: Fair enough.

Bruno: I can live modestly with around 800 dollars a month, that’s like 10.000 a year, I may live another 60 years, so that makes 600.000. I know it’s stupid that we are the only species that has to pay to live on this planet. But if I were rich I would make sure I have the 600.000 to live the rest of my life on this planet and then just give the rest away, so someone else doesn’t need to worry about surviving anymore and can relax and enjoy the rest of their life.

Friend 2: Who will you give it to?

Bruno: To you.

Friend 2: Cheers.

Bruno: No worries.

 

 

Christians in Korea

After spending some time in Korea, I started to wonder, why are there so many Christians in Korea, how did they get here, when, why.

Yeah, I know this is a delicate subject and people usually get offended but get over it.

I was very surprised when some people I’ve met, instead of asking me: “Do you have a religion?” or “what’s your religion?” they would ask: “Are you a Christian?

Just assuming everyone’s Christian here, or all the foreigners are Christians.

And even though I know it looks very arrogant, I can’t help but laugh when they ask me that question, it’s a reflex-like reaction for me. Same happens in the Philipines.

I was surprised there also because as a westerner I always saw Christians as descendants or somewhat connected or influenced by the Romans or Jews, or at least Caucasians.

So when I see a Korean or Asian person going crazy about Christianity it looks weird, funny.. but weird!

Ok, so I googled and it seemed that the reason was mainly all the missionaries the US sent after the war, to gain full control over South Korea’s society and economy.

And I came across a comment from a Korean guy on a teaching forum that got me thinking, he wrote: “Christians are the retards of Korea, you talk to them and it’s like there’s something missing.”

So I thought about how many times I talked to someone, and there was something off.

Quite a few, not just in Korea.

And I bet they were thinking the same about me, that there was something weird about me.

We are all so similar and yet we find so many reasons to fight about.

If an alien were to visit our planet, do you think they will notice any difference between you and me?

Probably not.

Whatever 3

Friend 2:  What, you don’t like pornhub anymore? Better than those weird 4chan torrents.

Bruno: I don’t care about 4chan, why are we even talking about that?

Friend 2: Why not?

Bruno: That’s not real life, you should get out there and meet some people.

Friend 2: No, you should get out and meet more people.

Bruno: I know enough people already.

Friend 2: No one you can really trust.

Bruno: They are still people.

Friend 2: I’d rather have one close friend than 100 acquaintances.

Bruno: Well you can’t always have everything you want.

Friend 2: Why not?

Bruno: Because it doesn’t work like that.

Friend 2: So, how does it work?

Bruno: Well you get what you get, try to work with it and be happy, without expecting anything else.

Friend 2: That’s a rather conformist attitude.

Bruno: I know, but if we don’t learn to appreciate what we have we will always want more and more and it will never be enough.

Friend 2: You’re saying I shouldn’t be so ambitious?

Bruno: Right, ambition leads to greed, greed leads to hate, hate leads to… suffering.

Friend 2: That’s a line from Yoda.

Bruno: Yeah, I replaced fear with greed.

Friend 2: Clever.

Bruno: I’m also very ambitious.

Friend 2: No, you’re not, you don’t care about anything.

Bruno: I care about some stuff.

Friend 2: Yeah? Like what?

Bruno: Like the animals and stuff.

Friend 2: Yeah, the animals that’s it.

Bruno: Well, it’s something.

Friend 2: Not much though.

Bruno: I care about the revolution.

Friend 2: Still, not much.

Bruno: Whatever.

Friend 2: “Whatever”

Things I feel guilty about

• Taking an airplane, because I know how much pollution it generates.
• Not reading more.
• Eating Nutella, because I know it’s not vegan and some animals had to suffer for me to have it.
• I feel guilty if I take more than a few minutes in the shower because I feel that I waste water, even though probably the water gets somehow recycled and serves the crops or some other purpose.
• Forgetting to take my own bag if I go to the market.
• If I don’t eat at least a few fruits every day or don’t take my vitamins.
• If I don’t give money to the homeless on the street, or don’t give them clothes if I’m wearing too many.
• Flushing after peeing, or using the washing machine when it’s not full of clothes, I feel like I waste water also, and think that somewhere, someone has now water to drink.
• If I spent more than 5 dollars on a meal. Because I know a modest meal is enough for me, and so many people don’t have any money, so I shouldn’t waste mine. If I can have a nice warm meal with 3 dollars there’s no reason to spend more than that.
• If I buy anything that I don’t really need.
• If I forget to say thank you to the bus driver before getting off.
• Watching a fictional movie instead of a documentary, because I feel like I don’t learn anything (I probably do learn some things though).
• Living in Seoul, because I know the air here is very bad and it’s hurting me more than I’m aware of.
• Feeling guilty about feeling guilty.

Whatever 2

Friend 2: Seriously, you are 27 already! You should have achieved some stuff in life, you should know where you are, what you do and what you want to do in the future, you are not 18 anymore.

Bruno: And you are also 27! You should have achieved a state of mind in the one you don’t care about achieving anything anymore. In the one, you are free from your own fears and insecurities. Including the insecurity of not having achieved anything by 27.

Friend 2: No one is free from their own thoughts though, not even me.

Bruno: But some people at least try to break free.

Friend 2: What’s the point of trying?

Bruno: What’s the point of anything? What’s the point of asking ourselves what’s the point of something?

Friend 2: You should at least know what you want to do in to with your life.

Bruno: No one knows what they want to do or what makes them happy, some people think they know and then they do it and it gets boring so they want to do something else instead. But why we have to do something or be something, why can’t be enough that we exist?

Friend 2: Existing is not enough you need to do something else.

Bruno: What if I don’t want to? If I choose just to exist, just to occupy this space I’m sitting at right here and nothing else.

Friend 2: Sitting here is not gonna get you anywhere.

Bruno: That’s the point.

Friend 2: Sitting here is not gonna get you laid.

Bruno: I don’t need that.

Friend 2: Sure you do, all people do.

Bruno: Some people don’t care.

Friend 2: There’s still pornhub though.

Bruno: Whatever.

Friend 2: “Whatever”.

 

Whatever

Bruno: Let’s go on a trip!

 

Friend 2: What, again? A trip of the mind?

Bruno: No, no, this time is for real, let’s go somewhere else, somewhere far away.

 

Friend 2: Like where?

Bruno: Anywhere, doesn’t matter, I feel a bit stuck and it’s time to move forward.

 

Friend 2: But, I have to work.

Bruno: You’ll find a new job later.

 

Friend 2: Later when?

 

Bruno: Later at a subsequent time.

 

Friend 2: What?

Bruno: Later in a few months, or next year, when you run out of money.

 

Friend 2: What about my family and friends?

Bruno: Family will understand, and you’ll make new friends.

 

Friend 2: Family will not understand and I like my friends, I don’t want new friends, I like the ones I have.

Bruno: Oh, come on, look at the horizon, we don’t know what’s out there and that’s exciting, we should find out!

 

Friend 2: How about my girlfriend?

Bruno: She will understand.

 

Friend 2: No, she won’t!

Bruno: Well if you guys are meant to be together, in the end, you will, don’t worry so much now.

 

Friend 2: No way.

Bruno: When was the last time you did something spontaneous? Last time you decided to go on a trip and 2 hours later you were on the road.

 

Friend 2: Ok, let’s say I say yes, where would we go?

 

Bruno: That’s not important, anywhere, it’s about the trip not about the destination. You get to choose, is there somewhere you’ve always wanted to go?

 

Friend 2: Yeah, I’ve always wanted to go to Mongolia.

Bruno: Mongolia it is then!

 

Friend 2: And when are we coming back?

Bruno: Coming what?

 

Friend 2: Coming back.

Bruno: Oh, we’re not.

 

Friend 2: Why not?

Bruno: Because we’ve been here already, it’s time to move forward.

 

Friend 2: And what’s the point of it?

Bruno: No point

Friend 2: Why traveling so much?

Bruno: No reason.

Friend 2: What do we expect to achieve in the end?

Bruno: Nothing.

Friend 2: So, we will just wander around in Mongolia like lost souls, without a goal or an aim.

Bruno: Yeah. Sounds good, don’t you think so?

Friend 2: 26 without a purpose or direction

Bruno: Like that song from Blink.

Friend 2: 27 actually.

Bruno: Whatever.

Friend 2: “Whatever”.

 

SOPA

Everyone’s talking about SOPA now!

Let’s analyze this for 5 minutes.. if I steal your car, then you don’t have a car anymore, if I copy your car, then you still have your car and I have a car also. So how can copy something be made illegal?  It seems we have redefined the word stealing to fit the economic interests of the 1% up there. They used to burn books now they close websites.

If I remember right (that’s how much research I’m putting into this entry) there are something like 200 countries on this planet and 5% of them actually cares about copyright laws, USA, UK, Germany, Japan, Australia, and a handful more, the ones that are wealthy enough that they don’t need to worry about surviving anymore and can worry about making life difficult for those who are still surviving.

So the other 95% of countries on this planet, including the one I grew up in, the one I’m now, the ones I’ve spent most of my life at and the ones most of my friends are at right now, don’t really care about SOPA, or copyright laws because they have enough problems already struggling to pay for rent, food or just make ends meet.

Our rules used to be, don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t kill, and now we have thousands of laws that we can’t even keep track of.

And not even the lawyers can know all the laws because there are just too many, so you will always be breaking some of them without even noticing it. Especially when traveling, most countries have their own idiotic laws that you’ve probably never even heard of and you are breaking right now.

And with this SOPA thing, same as with pretty much everything, in the end, it all comes down to a left vs right debate. Conservative people will say yes to SOPA and progressive people will say no, as usual. But we know progressive liberal freethinkers are usually not the ones in power.

If I’m an artist, I make art because I like it and I want to share it with the world. I don’t do it to make money. I do it because I want to make other people happy, thus making myself happy.

I’m not saying all the musicians should play for free and the painters should paint for free, but these laws only protect the big record labels and Hollywood studios, which have billions already and don’t need to keep leeching from us.

So yeah, copyright whatever, the point I wanted to make in this post was this: shouldn’t we take care of the basic needs of our fellow humans instead of worrying about copyright laws?

Shouldn’t we make sure the basic needs of food, shelter, health, and education are covered for all the people on this planet before worrying about who’s copying some silly song or movie?

Of course, it’s terrible that our freedom gets raped by our governments once again. But we should set up some priorities.

I probably wouldn’t mind that they censor the ways of entertainment, communicating and expressing ourselves if they make sure everyone has food, water, health and happiness on this planet.

Ok, I lie, probably I would mind, just not as much as I do now.

 

about this blog

I’m actually very surprised to see that some days there are like 50 people reading this blog in just one day (mostly Russians for some reason).

I was writing this as a way of letting some things out, things that were inside me and needed to get out somehow, but I never actually thought somebody would read it.

And now people are reacting to it, and sometimes they email me they thoughts and comments, on one hand, its great, it helps me grow, but on the other, I feel so much pressure, because I think “oh, so many people read it so I should try to make some sense”.

I wanted to let things go, so if things are already written here, then there’s more space in my mind for new things to come up.

But I can’t. I really can’t. I can’t inspire anyone, I can’t lead anyone, I can barely take care of myself.

So don’t expect much and you won’t be disappointing.

I got some nice drafts, but most times I don’t know what I’m doing. I want to try to write every day, even if it’s just a bit because I figured if I write every day I’ll eventually get good at it, but sometimes the internet is down, and sometimes I’m not at home.

I’m also confused, insecure and have many doubts, same as everyone.

Sometimes I think I’ve figured out some things but then I forget them.

And I’m actually surprised that there are so many Russians reading this. I want to go to Russia so badly, and I think that will be my next destination for the sole fact that I’ve never been there and I’m curious as to how things are over there.

Russia is the mysterious land for me, especially after I read about the Dylatov pass incident, I still dont know what to make of it.

If for some reason you feel like you want to get to know me more, just keep reading, but don’t expect much because the coming posts may not make much sense to anyone but me.

Don’t take everything too seriously though, sometimes I make things up, some things need to be adapted into a story or a dialogue for them to be easier to read and understand.

and yes, thanks for reading~

Ready to die

I”m ready to die.

It’s hard to say that! Well not really, not for me, but it’s hard to imagine the reaction other people will have when they read those words.

For most people I know, death is still something super taboo. Nobody wants to talk about it.

And the reaction they have in western culture is still quite retarded.

Instead of seeing it as a part of life they see it as a devastating catastrophe and a reason to cry and get depressed about.

In my case, I was already ready to die when I stooped having medical insurance (or resources to pay for medical treatment) back in 2007. And (in my mind) I became a person with nothing to lose.

A person that can take on the world without worrying about its own safety.

And while getting rid of the 2 most popular fears among people (fear of dying or getting sick and fear of having no money or having to live on the streets), I got not much left to worry about.

I’ve already lived with no money, slept in the streets and found my food in the garbage, I’ve already felt cold, rejected and lonely.

And on the other hand, I felt so many nice things sometimes also, I felt loved, felt free, felt happy and in harmony with the universe and with myself.

and I achieved a state of consciousness in the one I can value my life, appreciate it and try to enjoy every day while at the same time,  willing to die or to accept my faith as it is.

I went to all the places I wanted to go and did everything I wanted to do.

So what’s left? either relaxing and enjoying the rest or sacrificing for a cause I consider fair.

It’s illegal for foreigners to engage in any kind of political activity in Korea, so when I was going to the protest most times I knew I could die or get thrown into jail and tortured for life as a political prisoner or something.

But I thought wtf, this is the right thing to do, so bring on the water cannon!

If they kill me, well, they kill a person, but they can’t kill an idea, they cant kill an idea whose time has come 🙂

I was lucky that nothing serious ever happened to me so I can be writing this now.

But I should warn my family and friends that things are about to get serious: global crisis, revolution and maybe even some paranormal stuff.

And I’m not just going to sit at home and ignore it. so you have to be prepared to accept that I’m not gonna be around forever and that the current global issues may require for some of us to make some sacrifices.

Futbol

Today someone asked me if I liked Football and I remember as a youngster when people used to ask me that every day.

As most of you may know already, I happened to have grown up in one one of the countries more obsessed with football: Argentina.

But I’ve always hated it!

I’m a social person though so I wouldn’t say no to a friendly match among good friends, but I despise the commercial aspect of sports.

I despise the fact that some football players from Brazil,  Argentina, etc, make millions of dollars while at the same time, in those same countries people are unemployed and die of starvation every day.

And what I despised even more, is that everyone seems to think that’s ok, because that’s just the way it is. And people, especially poor people, keep supporting those sports, give the few pesos they have to buy a ticket or a t-shirt, so the football clubs can get even more billions that what they already have and poor people sometimes even give their lives to support that sport.

Unless you’ve lived in Latin America, you can’t imagine how much violence sports generate, and again, everyone thinks that’s ok, that’s just how it is. and I always seem to be the only one who’s off for not supporting it.

And again, unless you had grown up in Latin America, you can’t imagine how much peer pressure there is for you to join a local club, cheer for them, fight for them and support them financially.

In my hometown (Rosario) there were 2 local clubs Rosario central and newells old boys.

They are both the same of course, lots of guys running around with a football, the only difference was that their t-shirts were of different colours. One of them was red and the other one was yellow.

And that tiny difference was the only excuse people needed to start a fist fight or draw their guns or knives against the people who for some reason had decided to follow the team that had a different color t-shirt. Even though a player plays one year for a country and the next year for their rival.

And my dad wanted me to follow newells old boys and my mother wanted me to follow Rosario central, and all my friends wanted me to follow their teams, and I was like WTF!?

Everyone will ask (always) “de que cuadro sos?” (what team do you belong to?) and there’s no right answer to that question, well if they are wearing the shirt of that team is easy, you just say you belong to that team.

But if they weren’t wearing anything that gives them away you had to pray you get it right, because if you happen to belong to the opposite team you in for a fight.

And If I say I dont like football, they will say “what, are you gay?” which means you’re also in for a fight because football fans are not usually famous for their progressive sexual ideas.

What is with all this Football business?

 

After 8 PM

Jenny said something very important to me once, she said: “everyone’s nicer to each other after 8 PM”.

If you want to ask someone for a favor or have a serious conversation it’s always better to do it after 8 PM.

But on the other hand, we’re also more emotional and vulnerable, so definitely not a good time for breaking bad news.

And if it’s after 8 PM and if it’s raining even better.

Rain starts: Switch to deep thoughts mode.

So it’s a good time to start asking yourself: What’s the meaning of life? Why do I exist? Are we alone in the universe?

If anyone is ever to find the answer to any of those questions you can be sure it will be on a cold rainy day, sometime after 8 PM.

8 PM: Walking on the beach. Nothing to worry about. Just you, the starts, the moon, the wind, and the sea.

That’s it. No need to worry about the meaning of life. This is it, this is the meaning of life.

Look around. Lay on the sand. Gaze at the stars. Feel the breeze. Swim in the ocean. Take a deep breath. Feel in harmony. Connect with the universe. Feel alive.

And be nice to everyone, because it’s 8 PM already.

 

Poligamy

I met a girl once. And was really really into her, thought of her all the time, tried to see her often, wrote her every day, brought her a gift every time i met her and tried to make every moment we spent together a special one.

Would have done anything for her.

She made me want to be a better person, she inspired me. And every time I was with her I couldn’t help but smile and being nice to everyone.

She made me feel so confident about myself and about what we had, that I told her I didn’t want a relationship based on possessiveness or jealousy, so if she wanted to see other guys I was cool with it.

And that I was with her because I wanted to be with her, without any conditions and without expecting anything from her, In my mind that was the theory for a successful relationship. Being with someone despite the world, accepting them how they are. Instead of being with someone only if… they have sex just with you, only if… they care about you or if… they do this and do that and they are exactly the way you want them to be.

But actually (i realized so very late that) when I said that to her I was unconsciously expecting her to say something like “I don’t need anyone else, I’m happy with you” but of course she didn’t say that she started seeing someone else on the side instead.

And then she told me and said “you said you wouldn’t mind” and I was like f***k, she’s right! I was the one who said it was ok in the first place. But I only said it because I thought she wouldn’t do it and I wanted to look so open minded and self-confident. She wasn’t cheating or doing anything wrong and I had absolutely no reason to get mad at her.

But still, I reacted like I was in a Kevin Smith’s movie, dumped her and never saw her again.

The days after that were just hell, crying, insomnia and my stomach was sick, like that song from The Killers. I’m sure most of you’ve been there before and know that feeling.

So that was when I realized I wasn’t ready for an open relationship yet, I thought I was but wasn’t mature enough yet, not even close.

And I thought f***k, I spend so much time trying to be in control of my emotions, so much time trying to get rid of all the negative feelings, like greed, hatred, anger, jealousy. So much time trying to think and act in the most logical and rational way possible.

This shouldn’t be happening to me, not to me (I thought) I’m stronger than this, I’m better than this.

Polygamy makes sense! for a number of reasons, I know that in theory, so I thought I could handle the practice. Because it was the logical thing to do.

She hadn’t done anything wrong, she only did something that made her feel good, having sex with someone else, getting pleasure, being happy. Sex makes us happy. Affection makes us happy. To all of us. No one can deny that.

So I should have been happy that she was happy and she was doing something that was good for her and should have kept enjoying the good times we were having together, that was the logical thing to do.

But I couldn’t and I had a dilemma, I’d been betrayed by my own beliefs and wasn’t able to walk the talk.

And well… In the end, that girl taught me I was actually much weaker than I thought and not so liberal and open-minded as I wish I was.

I usually act cold, like I don’t need anything or anyone like I don’t care about anything.

But actually, I do.

I do care, I just haven’t learned how to show it yet.

Dinosaurs

Every time look at the horizon on the deserts of Australia, or when I see the vast tropical jungles in SE Asia. I can’t help but see all the dinosaurs roaming around freely like they were still here.

Diplodocus eating from those huge palm trees, plesiosaurus swimming in the sea, the pterosaurs surveying the skies and how our planet was, 160.000.000 years ago.

160.000.000 it’s such a large number that I still can’t really feel comfortable thinking about it.

I can imagine the Aztecs, Egyptians, or Sumerians 2.000 or 10.000 years ago and making a huuuge effort i could imagine the neanderthal, man of java or even the Australopithecus 3.000.000 years ago.

I will live maybe 60 more years, so most times I can’t really wrap my head around the concept that some creatures existed in this same place I’m standing right now but 160.000.000 years ago. It’s just too long ago!

But some other times, I can see them, as if they were still here with us at the same time.

Maybe the only reason why I still see them roaming wildly is because they are not here anymore, so I miss them.

Probably if they were still around I wouldn’t pay much attention to them.

I know it’s the cycle of life and they had to die, but I wish they hadn’t, and I wish they were still here with me now…

Talking to strangers

I wish I had a camera or one of those new phones that can take pictures so I could put pictures or videos on the posts here.

Last time I had a camera it was in 2005, I remember because it was very big! I think Mike gave it to me as a present and I was so very excited about it!!
For like 3 weeks.

But if I had one of those smartphones I would probably be like this people:

I always seem to be the only one who thinks there’s something wrong with those pictures.

We have lost our humanity!!!

I don’t reject technology at all, it makes our lives easier most of the times, but in Korea and Japan, it’s just too much! We have become slaves of the machines we built. But seriously:

Y U NO TALK TO EACH OTHER???

There was a campaign last year in OZ to encourage individuals to be friendly to each other on the trains, it said to start with a simple “how was your day?” and it explained how you could make someone’s day by just showing a bit of interest in their life.

and nononono, I’m not homesick at all, I love Korea, I really do, that’s why I live here, but I do miss a bit the chance of striking conversations on public transport in the UK or Australia without people thinking I’m a creep or I have some ulterior motives.

I think it’s very helpful talking or getting advice from strangers because they don’t know you so well, so they can be more objective than your close friends.

I’ll always remember once I was on a bus on the Scotish countryside, and there was this old man, in his 80’s sitting next to me, so we started chatting, he asked me where are you from, how long have you been here, the usual, and then he asked me: “what do you think of scotish people?” I said “they are so nice to me, I almost can’t believe it” and he asked, “do you know why they’re nice?” I said No.
“Because you’re nice” he replied.

Non-Coffee Shop Friends

In the few months I’ve been in Korea, only managed to make 2 non-coffee shop friends, but today one of them left, Maxi went traveling for a few months, so now only Okkeun’s left. And he will also go traveling next month :((((

A non-coffee shop friend is a friend I can meet outside the coffee shop. Meaning there is no need to meet at a loud and crowded location, like a coffee shop, bar, restaurant.

Non-coffee shop friends are the ones that can come over to my place or I can go to theirs, we can cook together, watch a movie, have a cup of tea, play some games or just talk.

With the coffee shop friends, you always need to spend money, because they don’t hang out at free places, like parks or libraries or each other’s places. So I usually try to avoid them. Not because I’m cheap or anything, but because the less money I spend, the more time I get to live without working and doing things I like, if I go to the coffee shop or dine out every day I’ll probably go bankrupt in a few weeks.
And I don’t even like coffee, why do I have to pay 5 or 7 dollars for something I can get for free at home?

In Europe, Australia and South America 95% of my friends were non-coffee shop friends (maybe not 95%, I just really really like statistics) but in Asia, that percentage drops down to less than 5% of my friends. For example in Japan, I was there for almost 6 months and managed to make only 1 non-coffee shop friend, only one! (referring to the locals, western friends are usually non-coffee shop)

But.. Joint consumption doesn’t bring intimacy… joint creativity does!!

I hate living in the past, but actually I really really miss Argentina, where my friends would come over at least few times a week for a game of Tekken and they’d bring pizza and we would stay up playing until 5 in the morning and then go to sleep all together in some joint mattresses on the floor, maybe 10 people in 3 mattresses, those were good times!

Or in Germany where Patryk or Jurgen would drop by for a cup of tea every time they were around and then went play frisbee in the park, and then cooking everyone together and playing UNO and for a bike ride. Those were awesome times!

In Korea or Japan, is just meeting at the entrance of the subway, walking 10mts and sitting at the coffee shop.. for 2 hours…

 

 

About Couchsurfing 2

One more thing I learned thanks to Couchsurfing was to feel good about giving and receiving.

As I mentioned in a previous post, most people I know are on Couchsurfing, so are most of my best friends.

It didn’t happen from one day to the other, took many years and this is how it started:

Before I joined CS, I always felt ashamed of receiving without giving something in exchange, and I thought the pay it forward concept was not realistic in the materialistic society I was living in.

But while living in Germany, I had the chance to learn how to give, by hosting so many Couchsurfers at my place, I wasn’t getting anything in exchange, and that’s what made me feel good.

When I had to work to get money it felt wrong, like when I used money to buy stuff, I killed the intimacy and the connection between people. If you have money to pay rent, to buy food and buy stuff, you don’t really need anybody or at least that’s how I felt sometimes, because I could just buy anything and had no need for people’s gifts.

But now I know I need the gifts, not because I’m poor but because they make me happy.

One year after that when I started traveling and staying at people’s places I learned how to receive, and yes, at the beginning it felt awkward that they let me stay for free and decided to spend their time with me.

But then I thought, that I also let many people stay with me before and will keep doing it in the future, and I thought how good I felt for doing so.

I understood, that being a guest was also a way to make the host happy.

Because it feels good to give, so in turn, i learned to feel good when receiving also, not because I was getting something for free, but because I was giving someone the chance to feel good and do something nice for me.

Now it’s not awkward anymore and the more I receive, the better I feel, and the more I want to give also.

If I have the chance to pick up the tab I can *finally!* feel happy about it and if I have the chance of helping someone I can do it without giving a rat’s ass about what they could do for me or how could they pay me back.

It also helped me feel at home wherever I am. That way you will never feel homesick because you are at home already.

I realized that this is home, right here, this is real and this is the place to be.

There’s nowhere else than here and now, gotta enjoy it, or at least try to, which is already a lot!

 

personality traits

Have you noticed how, if you speak more than 2 languages, your personality is quite different depending on the language you are using?

And you can find yourself playing a handful of different characters during the day depending on the language.

In my case, my personality will change something like this:

Spanish: even though it’s my native language I found it utterly difficult to express myself in Spanish. So my personality is usually very shy and quiet around other Spanish speakers. I think everything twice before speaking and I’m often misunderstood.
I’ve probably been neglecting it for some reason and usually feels weird, probably thanks to the awkward experiences I had in Spain where I could never fit in anywhere.

Italian: It feels comfortable, Italians feel like family, so the language makes me feel warm and I can easily open up to anyone in Italian, even just 5 minutes after meeting them. While in Spanish it would take me months to open up to someone.
That’s why Italians will usually perceive me as friendly and approachable while Spanish speakers would think I’m shy and reserved.

English: I’ve somehow managed to ignore all the political issues that being an English speaker brings forth and accepted it as the universal language for international communication.
My head and ideas are in English, I think, dream, and can express my ideas clearly without worrying about being misunderstood, that gives me confidence!
So if you met me as an English speaker (and if you’re reading this chances are you had) then you’ve met the real me.

Japanese: Always shy and respectful, listening more than I talk and being careful not to brag and keep modesty and respect as a priority to communicate with anyone in this language.
Can’t challenge anyone’s ideas, can’t open up to anyone, I just listen and agree with everything the other person says.

German: Feels good also, feels familiar, probably also thanks to the legendary times spent in Germany.

Korean: I don’t really speak much of it, and usually don’t understand what people say, but when they talk to me, I think “oh, this sounds so cute” so I’m sure they’re saying something nice to me and that makes me feel good!

Gone traveling

Bruno: I’m going on a trip, would you like to come with me?

You: Where are you going?

Bruno: It’s a trip to a new place, somewhere only I know. But I could show it to you.

You: But I don’t have money, and I need to work.

Bruno: You don’t need money, not much time either, only a few hours.

You: What kind of trip?

Bruno: It’s a trip of self-discovery, a trip of the mind.

You: oh, so it’s not a real trip…

Bruno: Yes it is, it’s a real trip of the imagination.

You: Fake trip.

Bruno: Not fake and not real either, it is what it is.

You: No, I don’t want to go.

Bruno:  Ok, so no trip.

You: Ok, I go.

Bruno: Ok, first things first, find an empty, dark and quiet room to relax your mind, turn off the lights, phone, fire alarm and…

You: Fire alarm? Why do I need to turn off the fire alarm?

Bruno: So we won’t get disturbed in case of a fire or a drill.

You: I’m not gonna turn it off, what are the chances of that happening?

Bruno: Not many, but we can’t take any chances.

You: Oh, it’s like inception

Bruno: Exactly, great movie, right?

You: It was alright..

Living like a boss (At Incheon airport)

In this post, Bruno recalls a dialogue that may or may have not taken place at Incheon Airport in Seoul somewhere around 2.45am.

Bruno: So, what’s up with that security guard?

Old weedy guy: Which security guard?

Bruno: Oh, come on! you live at the airport too, right?

Old weedy guy: No way, what makes you think that?

Bruno: I saw you washing your underwear on the toilet sink this morning.

Old weedy guy: That one wasn’t me.

Bruno: Yes, it was you, and I saw you scavenging leftovers from the fast food restaurants.

Old weedy guy: That one wasn’t me either.

Bruno: Yeah it was, and just now the security guard went crazy because you were molesting the airport staff.

Old weedy guy: Not molesting, just talking and that wasn’t me either.

Bruno: So, you’re in denial.

Old weedy guy: Ok, you got me, I’m going through some rough times and I temporarily happen to be living at the airport, so what? It can happen to anyone.

Bruno: Yeah, it’s actually pretty cool, isn’t it? you get free food, no need to pay rent or spend any money, there’s TV, music, internet, clan toilets, and it’s not cold like outside.

Old weedy guy: I used to have a real job you know, but somewhere along the way I realized i wasn’t meant to follow orders.

Bruno: you mean orders from your boss?

Old weedy guy: Exactly. Why do I have to follow orders? I don’t understand. I don’t want to do that… So I woke up one morning, turned off the alarm and said: “fuck it, I’m moving to Incheon International Airport”. I’m my own boss here, don’t need to take orders from anyone and can do whatever I want.

Bruno: How about that security guard? just now he told you to go away and you left.

Old weedy guy: Yeah, he’s just having a bad day today.

Bruno: “Fuck it, I’m moving to the airport”. You know I really like that phrase, it has a nice ring to it!

Old weedy guy: It does actually.