Goodbye, 2015 [#15]
Hello from Washington, DC!
This is my first time back in the states since moving to Korea in March. The reverse culture shock is pretty interesting. First, I noticed how weird it is to have so much personal space — no one is plowing into me! Then, I was reminded what it's like for strangers to say hi to you on the street or wish you happy holidays. I've also been basking in doing laundry and using the dryer instead of waiting for my clothes to dry on a line. I cannot stop doing laundry because the quick dry function is amazing and I missed it so much.
What I Read
The best time to buy airline tickets. The codependence of the media and Donald Trump. The disconnect between internet fame and financial security. Monogamy is in again. Vice's 'How Scared Should I Be' columns are awesome. We're currently staying on a street famous for being home to a successful DC crack market in the 1980's. Japan apologized to Korea for its wartime sex trafficking but this writer says 'sorry' is not enough.
I was all weepy about the data visualization showing that by my age, 33, I've already spent 95% of the time I get to spend with my parents. But then my thoughtful pal Chris pointed out it's all wrong! Time units with your parents aren't all equal in value. You don't spend time with your loved ones because it's a finite resource, you spend time with them because it's meaningful, and meaning isn't measured in time units.
What I Wrote
Reflections on moving to Seoul and opening a bureau for NPR. Western media need to get serious about chat apps. My annual year-in-review. What's up with the disparity in how foreign press and Korean domestic press are treated?
Recommendations
This Radiolab piece is my recommendation for 'driveway moment' of the year: Pulitzer Prize-winning photog Lyndsey Addario is featured, and it's about the power of images, who gets to see them, who gets to share them ... it gave me chills throughout.
The Argonauts, by Maggie Nelson. This book which defies description. Without giving anything away, there's a powerful part at the end about life and birth and death that I can't stop thinking about.
Identify your "best nine," aka, most popular Instagram images of the year. Mine all have Isa in them. Every single one.
To 2016 and beyond,
Elise