365 days later....

It has come to my attention that I have been away from US soil for one year officially. With the dawn of this anniversary I would like to renew my sense of wonder with my surroundings. I did "wondering observations" when I first got here. I'm going to try and do a better job of keeping it up this time.

My first theme is my favorite common images:
1. Bikes are everywhere. It is very common to see people of all ages in all kinds of dress going down the sidewalk. Most bikes have baskets and racks on the back which carry anything from groceries to babies to women in skirts riding sidesaddle. My favorite is to see two high school aged boys, both tall and lanky, one riding a severely undersized bike while the other stands on the rack behind him. It's even better when one is hold an umbrella as they ride by.

2. The Korean squat. Male, female, young and old utilize this position when out and about. It's basically a catcher's stance, but the feet are flat on the ground, knees are at your shoulders and your butt is hovering no more then an inch from the ground. It is particularly wonderful when you happen upon a business man in a sparkling pink tie out on a smoke break just chilling like this.