A Question of Paternity

Sometimes I swear my father wasn't my biological father...if I didn't look exactly like him, share his general temperament, and inherit the same habit of hoarding old newspapers, I could easily be convinced that I am the progeny of a Korean-Chinese union. Why, you might ask? Aside from my intense love of Korean food (the spicier the better!), it seems that most people I meet are convinced that I'm Korean. A few years ago when I was travelling in China, people often asked me "ni shi hanguo ren, ma?" ('are you Korean?'), but I assume that it was because they were looking for a reason to excuse my exceptionally poor Mandarin; however, here in Turkey, I've met an amazing number of Korean travellers who bypass English completely, and greet me with "an nyoung ha seh yo" (Korean for 'hello'), which inevitably leads to an awkward moment when the well-intentioned Korean is embarrassed, and I have to explain and convince that no I'm not Korean, that neither of my parents are Korean, and yes, I'm sure. In any case, there must be some sort of special relationship between Turkey and Korea because there is an astonishing number of Koreans running around the country.

After having spent the last week or so in the company of other travellers who I've met on the road, today is the first alone day that I've had in awhile. It's been a day of solo hiking in some of the amazing valleys surrounding Goreme, and checking out the cave churches at the UNESCO World Heritage-sponsored Goreme Open Air Museum. Honestly, I'm glad to have spent the day alone; don't get me wrong, the people I've been hanging out with have all been awesome travel buddies and I'm so glad to have spent time with them, but I've had a lot on my mind over the last few days, and so it's nice to have time to sort through my thoughts without feeling like I'm being anti-social, or zoning out of whatever conversation I'm meant to be participating in. Anyhow, after spending the better part of the morning and afternoon hiking through the mostly deserted 'love valley' (apparently 'love' is a euphemism for the giant phallus-shaped rock formations that dot the landscape), and 'rose valley', I'm not sure if I've achieved much in the way of clarity of mind, but regardless, it was a great way to spend the day, as the landscape is unbelievably beautiful (with or without the stone genitalia).

Fairy Chimneys off in the distance, en route to Love Valley (Goreme, Cappadocia, Turkey)

Lastly, this really makes me laugh...