You said that a sunset doesn’t last long here

Yes, you’re right, it’s like our time together
It didn’t last long and felt like a year passed so quickly

But our memories will last long
We will remember the sunset colouring our cheeks
And all the colours we painted each other’s lives with

When I told a friend of mine about Murakami’s quote during the lunch break today, he shared what his another friend had told him about her recent experience with disaster relief activities in Fukushima. The main point was that although volunteers are instrumental for the recovery and rebuilding of communities, in order to re-establish local economies and livelihoods of peoples, government should become the spearhead of fundamental recovery. However, it seems like that the government has failed to build trust with its people.

Frustrated, disappointed, but somehow I saw the gleam of hope at the end of our conversation. We suffer and agonise because we are human beings. But we are not alone. People are hope, after all.

Earlier tonight, I searched on the Internet Murakami’s original quote in Japanese. And it turned out that he wrote these phrases (“This country has everything. You can find whatever you want here. The only thing you can’t find is hope.”) in a novel over ten years ago. In his column he wrote soon after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, however, Murakami talked about “planting the seed of hope”.

“But for all we’ve lost, hope is in fact one thing we Japanese have regained. The great earthquake and tsunami have robbed us of many lives and resources. But we who were so intoxicated with our own prosperity have once again planted the seed of hope. So I choose to believe.”

The column translated in English: “Amid Shortages, a Surplus of Hope“
The article in Japanese: “危機的状況の中の希望“

오렌지라고 해서 달고 시큼한 맛을 기대했는데
맹탕이면 어떡해.

오렌지가 오렌지이길 기대한 것이 잘못이야?

Oranges are expected to have a sweet-sour taste
but what am I supposed to do when it turns out to be bland?

Am I wrong to expect an orange to be as it is?

Yesterday (10 December) was Human Rights Day and what I did to celebrate it was simple: pick up a pen, several sheets of paper and envelopes. I do this – most of the cases are cards nowadays – when I want to give friends congratulations for their birthdays, weddings and babies. But this time the recipients were quite different from the usual. They were, among others, President of Azerbaijan, Vice-President of Yemen and President of Mexico.

For the month of December, Amnesty International runs a campaign, “Write for Rights“. There are 10 persons and organisations for this year’s campaign and you can choose any of them for whom you would like to give support (I couldn’t really decide whom I want to help or not so I wrote for all of them).

While writing the letters, which caused me to be unable to hold a pen in the end because of a pain in my fingers, I came to realise why it is more powerful and impactful to write a letter rather than sending emails. The first impact occurred in myself. Although I only used set mails provided by Amnesty International, writing the messages myself on the paper was a sort of experience of embodiment. It was similar to the process that happened when I was trying to memorize English words back in school days: when I learned new words, I wrote them on the blank sheet of paper numerous times until I felt like it stayed in my head.

Those presidents, ministers or police chiefs to whom I addressed may or may not read my letters. And it’s also totally up to them how to respond  to them, if at all. But what I learned can hope is that these letters show them there are people who are concerned about the cases and matters. And if these people even bother to write letters for those in need, they can’t be simply ignored.

So, add your support. A simple thing can bring a change to a hard thing.

UPDATE: Jabbar Savalan, who had been imprisoned by the Azerbaijani authorities because of calls for protests against the government he posted on Facebook and who is one of those for whom I wrote petition letters, was released on Sunday 26 December 2011.

열거된 작품 가운데 Chronicle of a Blood Merchant가 있어서
‘아~ 이게 바로 그 작품이구나’ 하고 구글검색창에 내가 알고 있던(거라고 생각한) 한글 번역 제목을 쳤다.

“매혈관삼매기”

엉? 기대했던 목록이 안 나온다. 인터넷 서점이나 블로그, 북로그 목록이 나올 줄 알았는데 말이다.

어찌어찌 하다가 곧 진짜 제목을 알게 되었고 내 스스로에게 뿜어버렸다.
『허삼관매혈기』를 어쩌자고 ‘매혈관삼매기’로 기억하고 있었던 거냐고!

근데 이 글을 쓰면서 다시 한 번 구글에 ‘매혈관삼매기’로 검색을 했더니 낮에 봤던 거랑 같은 결과가 나왔다.
맨 위에 나오는 결과가 “구매 게시판 [인터파크] 또! 헌혈하고 받은 문화 상품권으로 … – 뽐뿌“인데 낮에는 클릭하지 않았다가
지금 클릭해보고 또 뿜었다. 한 번 클릭해보시라. 어떤 이가 ‘매혈관삼매기’로 말놀이 한 것을 댓글에 남겼다.
링크 클릭하는 걸 귀찮아 하는 이들을 위해 큰 힌트를 주자면 여기서 ‘삼’은 삼겹살의 삼이다.

『허삼관매혈기』는 『아Q정전』과 함께 오래 전부터 읽고 싶었던 중국 현대 문학 작품인데
오늘 일을 계기로 다음에 한국 가면 구해서 읽어야겠다.

And it takes me onto the path to getting to know myself.

Today I got one step farther from you and
I got one step closer to you.

그 어떤 것보다
누군가를 알아간다는 것은
가장 경이롭고
가장 어려운 일

그리고 그것은 내 자신을 알아가는 것과 맞닿아 있다

오늘 너에게서 한 발짝 멀어졌고
너에게로 한 발짝 다가갔다

Therefore, it becomes a very precious experience when one receives heartfelt advice and comfort from someone else.

타인에게 조언을 하는 것은 쉽지만 위로를 하는 것은 쉽지 않다.

그렇기에 타인으로부터 진심어린 조언과 위로를 동시에 받았을 때 그것은 얼마나 소중한 경험인지.

So, our excitement at the beginning will not last forever but we won’t need to remain sad either.
All we can do is, since time given to us is not infinite, being true to each other when we are together.

Mondo Grosso – 1974-WAY HOME

7월에는 여러 (대부분은 예상치 못했던) 일들이 나에게 일어났다.
8월에는 아무 일도 일어나지 않기를 기대해본다. 비록 무슨 일이 생기면 부딪쳐야 하는 수 밖에 없음을 알지만…

A Song For You

어제 만난 슈팅스타 – 언니네 이발관
Shooting Star I Met Yesterday by Sister’s Barbershop

언제부턴가 때로 터널을 들어가지
그 곳이 더욱 환하기에
내 머리 위로 흐르는 수많은 기억들이
그 곳을 더욱 환하게 해
From some time ago I entre a tunnel from time to time
Because it is brighter there
So many memories in my mind
Make it brighter

나를 봐 이렇게
어제로 달려가고만 싶어
나를 봐 이렇게
나에겐 알 수 없는 것이 너무 많아
Look at me, and as you see
I just want to run to yesterday
Look at me, and as you see
I have too many things unknown to me

언제나처럼 나는 터널을 들어가지
오늘을 살지 못하기에
그 같은 꿈은 이제는 지나온 시간 속에
모두 던져 버리고서
As always, I entre a tunnel
Because I cannot live today
I throw away such a dream
To the past

나를 봐 이렇게
어제로 돌아가고만 싶어
나를 봐 이렇게
나에겐 알 수 없는 것이 너무 많아
Look at me, and as you see
I just want to return to yesterday
Look at me, and as you see
I have too many things unknown to me

그리운 마음이 있어 너를 볼 때면
허전한 마음이 있어 그 곳에 서면
I feel longing when I look at you
I feel empty when I stand there

미래를 보네 볼 수가 없는
보고 싶지만 할 수가 없는 것을
I look into the future that I can’t
Which I want to but I can’t

그리운 마음이 있어 너를 볼 때면
미래를 보네 볼 수가 없는
보고 싶지만 할 수가 없는 걸
I feel longing when I look at you
I look into the future that I can’t
Which I want to but I can’t

Photo by Natalia Figge

Photo by Anjeli Narandran

All of these friends are from work and half of them are ex-colleagues.
이 친구들 모두 회사 친구들이고 이 가운데 절반은 옛 직장 동료들이다.

Saturday evening drinks at Arab Street

Matt who made potato chips poop / 포테이토칩 똥을 싼 맷