in Blaine

I checked out of my hotel this morning and walked to the border, which
must have been about a mile from the hotel. The very nice front desk
clerk assured me that I'd have no trouble simply walking down the
freeway to the border. "I see bikers and backpackers doing it all the
time," she said.

Sure enough, I made it to the US Customs area, got in line, and once
again got a weird look from the passport controller. "Walkin' across
America, huh?"

I wasn't surprised to see the long lines of cars on both sides of the
border, but was taken aback by the number of people in the pedestrian
line. I was the only one with a backpack, which made me wonder about
everyone else. Had all these folks been dropped off by loved ones and
left to walk across the border? If not, why were they in the
pedestrian line?

I'm BlackBerrying this from a bench at Blaine marine park, not far
past the border and just off Routes 5 and 548. I'm heading toward a
Unitarian church about a mile or two from where I'm sitting and
enjoying the wind. I intend to walk down to the marina, touch the
water (this adventure isn't over until I touch the Atlantic somewhere
on the east coast), then move on.

Ah, yes, how could I forget? While I was sitting at the Peace Arch
Provincial Park, I was accosted by a group of Korean ladies, ajummas
all, who wanted to know whether they needed their passports to walk on
the grass where the actual Peace Arch stands. I spoke with them
entirely in Korean; all were shocked except for one lady who made my
day by saying, "Ah, I thought you were Korean!" Most Koreans don't
pick up on my Asian-ness at all; they usually just think I'm white. I
always contrast this with my experience in France, where people picked
up very quickly on the fact that, as I've heard, "Vous avez l'air
asiatique."

My other "language moment" came while I was in line at US Customs. A
middle-aged French speaker muttered a complaint to his companion about
the US staffers at the desk: "One guy's doing all the work while the
other two aren't doing anything!" (In truth, the other two staffers
had been working on complicated paperwork for some Asian visitors.)

OK... More news in a bit.

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safe in White Rock

Many thanks to my buddy Nathan for picking me up at Vancouver
International Airport and driving me to the Pacific Inn at White Rock,
BC, which sits barely a mile or two away from the Peace Arch that
marks the US/Canada border. Nathan hooked me up with a fine hotel
room. I cross the border into Blaine, Washington tomorrow morning.
More news once I'm on US soil.

I guess it's safe to say that Nathan's car is the last vehicle I'll be
riding in for the next year or two.

I got hassled a bit at passport control in Vancouver. The customs
agent wanted to know why I was spending only a single night in Canada,
so I had to tell him the whole story of my walk, how I know Nathan,
etc. I also had to go through a full "wanding" at National Airport
this morning, apparently because I had brushed the inside of the
security scanner as I walked through it. No alien anal probing,
fortunately.

Now, I'm reconfiguring my baggage, consolidating everything in a
single backpack, and readying myself for my little adventure.

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Bye-bye, my loving family!

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Safe in O'Hairy

It was a perfect morning for my departure, and I was lucky enough to get an aisle seat with no one else in my row (David, it was a 737-300). The landing at O'Hare went smoothly, and my connecting flight to Vancouver is in three hours. After all the hurrying of the past week, I suddenly find myself relaxed and with nothing to do...except try to master the art of guiding my massive thumbs over this tiny (albeit sexy) BlackBerry keyboard.

Parting from the folks was sweet sorrow today. Mom worries that I'm going to be torn apart by mountain-dwelling werewolves or something. While I take her maternal concern seriously, I also know that one of the overarching themes of this walk is faith, which necessarily includes faith in one's fellow human beings. Assholes may abound, but so do good folks, and I'm counting on them. Ultimately, we all count on each other, no?

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Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

so it begins

Folks, I'm going on a little stroll.


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many thanks to my church and others

Much thanking to do. If I've missed someone in what follows, I apologize.

1. First of all, many thanks to Mr. Park Jin-keol for his kind article in the Joongang Ilbo. Our family had a chance to see the paper and were very pleased with the results. I had thought the article might appear on the front page of the Wednesday religion section, but Mr. Park told us it was on the front front page. Sure enough, there it was.

2. Thanks to two members of the Washington Korean Women's Society (WKWS) who came to my church today to offer their well-wishes. They also very kindly gave me donations to help me out. Thank you, Mrs. LaPlante and Mrs. Harding! Also, special thanks to Mrs. Cheong Burns and the rest of the Burns family for their constant kindness.

3. Thanks to Pastor Henry Kim and his wife, as well as to Assistant Pastor Jeri Fields, for their warm send-off today. I appreciate the kind gesture.



4. A big THANK YOU to my parents, who have put up with me for nearly a month as I've prepped for this adventure. Thanks as well to my brothers: David, Sean, and Mike.



5. A "Thanks in advance!" to my e-friend Steve Honeywell, who has written an article about me and my walk that will appear in an upcoming issue of the DeKalb Daily Chronicle. I've "e-known" Steve since about 1997 back when we were both writing on a site I shall not name. He's a stand-up guy. If the article becomes available online, I'll post a link to it. Might even steal it in its entirety, even though I know that's not legal. (I do that when I know an article will disappear in a short while. If, however, the Chronicle keeps open archives, I might not have to violate copyright.)

6. Many thanks to my friend Nathan Bauman, who has done his best to help out despite having to surmount some major obstacles.

7. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Higdon, for joining us for dinner and for your kind contribution!

8. Thanks to all friends and e-friends and acquaintances who have wished me well and/or given contributions. I deeply appreciate your support.




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"Indy 4": the quick review

I had a chance to see my buddy Mike and his family again today; Mike drove me down to [undisclosed location] and I ate lunch with him, his lovely wife, and their three kids. A good time was had by all. Mike and I then went to "relive our childhoods," as Mike put it: we caught the 3:45PM showing of the newest Indiana Jones flick, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"-- a mouthful of a title.

While I can't say the movie was great, it definitely hit the right tone for the old-time Saturday matinees that both Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have long claimed to love. For me, as someone who grew up with Indiana Jones, the movie was more of a sentimental tribute to past Indy films (it also had references to other Spielberg and Lucas flicks) than a genre-busting innovation. It was, in short, cute.

I was happy to see Karen Allen again in the role of Marion Ravenwood, though Mike remarked afterward that her role seemed largely "ornamental," an observation with which I agreed. One of the best moments in the film involves a blowgun, and the film goes over the top with cartoonish vehicle-related stunts. Spielberg also takes time out to show members of the animal kingdom both staring bemusedly at the antics of those wacky humans and occasionally getting in on the action themselves.

Would I recommend the film? While I doubt I could be prodded to see it a second time in the theaters (it's not exactly a movie that makes you think, nor is it one that blows you away with its witty plot twists or dialogue, nor is it particularly suspenseful), I'd still recommend it as a good way to kill an afternoon.


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a week late

Last Sunday, I spent a wonderful afternoon with my buddies Mike and Dave. I never gave them a public thank-you, so, guys: Thank you. Your friendship means everything to me, and I appreciate both the hospitality and the generosity.


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very little fanfare

This is the Memorial Day weekend, which is a time for us to honor those who have fallen while serving their country with bravery and distinction. The timing might seem strange to some folks, but me, I like the idea of my trek having quiet beginnings and only later blossoming into something bigger.

So enjoy your holiday, America! Ridiculous food and fuel prices might keep you home this year, and if that's the case, feel free to stop on by this humble blog and leave some comments.


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FRIEND ME!

So you're a Facebook addict and you're wondering whether I'm on Facebook. I am, but to be honest, I can't stand Facebook. It's full of useless gadgets that allow you to do meaningless things like "poke" or "bitch slap" or "toss John McCain at" someone. None of these cyber-gestures has any import in reality, and I fail to see the charm of social networking sites. Facebook and its ilk (e.g., MySpace and Korea's CyWorld) are based on the concept of incestuous linkage, and if the word "incestuous" already turns you off, then you know how I feel. There's something vaguely gross about Facebook.

All the same, if you'd like to "friend" me (whatever happened to good old email?), log on to Facebook, then do a search on "kevin kim." When that search turns up over 500 results, scroll to the bottom of the page and narrow your search by typing in this email address:

bighominid [at] gmail [dot] com

That'll take you to me.

After you've "friended" me, why not join one of the groups I created? I made two: (1) Kevin's Walk (whose purpose should be obvious), and (2) Religious Diversity, Interreligious Dialogue, and East/West Philo. Absolutely nothing is happening in either of those groups as of May 24th, but hey-- maybe you'll be the itchy group member who gets things shaking.


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how to look thinner than one really is

Fat people often employ certain tricks to appear slightly thinner on camera than they actually are. While the camera's cruel gaze might add weight to you skinny people, we fatties know that it's all about angle, posture, and breath.

The above photo might seem to present a contrast with the more blubberous photo in the previous post, but no Photoshopping was done. If I appear thinner in the above photo than in the previous post's image, it's because I did three things:

1. I angled my face in a way that made my eyes look bigger and drew my chin away from the camera. I also made sure the shot was from above the waist;

2. I propped both of my arms on doorjambs, which pulled my tee shirt up, thereby straightening the shirt's fabric and-- witness my evil genius-- minimizing the spare tire;

3. I used my soft palate to block breath through my nose (this happens naturally if you snore, but you can also do it on command), closed my mouth, then tried to suck in a breath just before the camera's timer took the shot. What this does is pull your double chin a ways into your head, making it less visible to the camera. The trick is useless when talking to people; you'd have to hold your breath the entire time. But for a quick shot with a digicam, the trick helps in the overall charade.

No Photoshop necessary.

By the way, that photo's going to be the new pic for the sidebar link image I'm currently constructing. Get used to the hairiness.


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front page of the local Joongang Ilbo!

I did a 40-minute interview with Park Jin-keol of the Washington Joongang Ilbo yesterday morning (about 10:20AM to 11AM). The very polite Mr. Park, who is roughly half my size, proved to be more knowledgeable than me about many religion-related topics (not surprising, given my boundless ignorance about most matters); maybe he should do this walk! He was a good sport about my taking his picture; we had a good time both reviewing the salient aspects of my upcoming walk and talking about Korean religion. Our interview was mostly in English, which Mr. Park speaks excellently; I don't trust myself to speak technically about religion with my broken Korean.

I found out today that the article is already out, and I'm apparently on the front page! This would be much more exciting if I actually had a copy of the Joongang in front of me, but I'll obtain one by the end of the day.

Big thanks to my mother, who has many connections within the DC-Metro Korean community, for arranging this interview. It's definitely a leg up, and if it leads some Korean Buddhist temples to open their doors for me, that'll be fantastic. And again, many thanks to Mr. Park for taking the time out to interview someone who hasn't even started his walk yet! Not many media outlets put their faith in mere promises.






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from Mile 8 to Mile 13

The following series of pictures (again, all from the May 15 thirty-miler) takes us from Mile 8, just past the Belle Haven picnic grounds, to the Mile 13 marker at the southern edge of National Airport. Mile 13 marks that day's turn-around point for the 30-mile walk. I say "that day's" because I walked straight through Old Town Alexandria to reach the marker a distance of less than five miles from the Mile 8 to the Mile 13 marker. On the way back home, however, I took the long route through Old Town (you'll see some of that in a subsequent post) and also took a detour to pick up a tent. This extra distance gave me my thirty miles. Were I to walk straight through Old Town again, I'd have to walk to Mile 14 to be sure I got all my miles in.

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