What, like it's hard?

Having never really sang before (apart from being the queen of rocking out in the car, and the star of my 6th grade musical) I came to Bali in January of 2012 on a holiday.

Whilst strolling down the picturesque, quaint Goutama street, I stumbled upon the most brightly colored art shop I'd ever seen.  I stopped, admired, and had a chat with some people that are now some of my close friends (and ended up designing my ROCKSTAR album cover.)  They said they wanted to write songs... I had just written a bunch of songs!!! What, like it's hard?

They stared at me incredulously and I sang them a song that is now known the world over as "the orange peel song", or Charming Start and they immediately got excited! Having loved writing little songs and singing them for my friends over the past month to ward off the chill of Korean winter, additional support from other artists was just what I needed as fertilizer to sprout, and a dream was born.

My contract in Korea was up 2 months later and I was scheduled to start law school in the fall.  I had a few months to kill... Why not come back to Bali and make an album of my little song?  What, like it's hard?

It's been almost a year and a half since that dream was born.  The response has been OVERWHELMING!  So many people helped me along the way, from jamming to contributing to the album, to fundraising!  The album launch was so packed some people stood in the streets for hours!
During this process I've learned more than I could have ever imagined, worked with incredible musicians, written many more songs, made the best friends a girl could ask for, and now live in Bali indefinitely (that's a story for another day though.)

It's been a long road, but one that's definitely worth it (and maybe a little hard ;)

My album, Norma Jean the devilicious sessions  is now available on iTunes, HERE, and check out my facebook for all performances, new songs and musical happenings!

Insignificance is Relative

Don't walk past what you find beautiful,

simply because you fear it's insignificance.  

You are not less of a person

if you are the only one to see the beauty.

Love what you love.

Celebrate what you find enchanting.

There are no right answers to loveliness.

It is enough to love it as it is all alone.

Soho Hobo

Stunning year round.

Pyeongtaek Coffee

Some places are a world

all of there own.

They swallow you up.

A view that puts you at rest.

This is one of those places.

Stunning interior.

A cup of joy.

Sibling chat

Sitting in Soho

listening to bosa nova,

sipping rich espresso,

watching light dance on the water,

laughing with my family -

I feel only happiness

for my abundant hobo life.

The Perfect Place for Love & Naps

I stay all day and into the night

GETTING THERE:

DRIVING:

Prada Hotel

(Soho Cafe Is Across The Street)

389-25 Chilgok-ri, 

Wongok-myeon,  

Anseong,  

Gyeonggi-do,  

Korea

BUS:

From Pyeongtaek.

The 8 will take you directly there.

It's located across from the 

Prada Hotel which is easy to see.

Pyeongtaek coffee

You Can't Touch This

These boys have me wrapped around their little fingers.

 There are a lot of lonely people out there

who feel disconnected,

and lost in the space between 

themselves and other people.

This is a universal experience, 

yet borders seem to magnify it.

For reasons I haven't quite understood,

once you cross a border it's like, 

for many people,

you stop existing.  

You have fallen off the ends of the earth.

The funny part is that in a country the size of the United States,

living outside the country is sometimes closer then living in the country.

For example, 

visiting my family in Seattle

is only a 9-10 hour flight from Korea.

Yet, when I went to college in Nashville 

I was 16-20 hours away from my home in Talkeetna.

Still, folks consider my move to Korea more of a displacement.

I can tell you right now, 

it was not.

That said, 

whether I'm in Alaska, Tennessee or South Korea,

maintaining a connection with my family is my priority.

They are the light of my life and the beat of my heart.

Thankfully, they feel the same way,

and we don't let each other miss out on all the important days.

They set a place for me at Thanksgiving dinner,

and I join them at 8am via Skype.

My brother Skyping me 
from his Russian hospital bed,
even while getting a consult from his Dr
just so I know he's pulling through.

Planning my sister a surprise 30th birthday
and filling it with Skype dates for her with people 

from all over the world who miss her. 

My nephews calling from Russia 
to learn about Korea,
and to just say hello.

We make sure to have smart phones and FaceTime 

and we take each other on virtual tours of places 

the other has never been.

My aunt and cousins calling to chat about their days
and just be a family.

We use text messaging to keep each other posted

with moment to moment photo of our daily delight

and the knowledge that we are loved.

Basically, we always remember 

that the other needs the other

and that is all the heart truly needs.

Socrates Fan Girl

We found him all alone at an open mike many years ago.

He stood up there and he played his guitar 

and he sang his songs with an impressive intensity,

but when he walked off stage shyness enveloped him.

It was a gauntlet thrown at our feat.

Shoes, Rebeqa and I just couldn't resist him.

He was like a shiny new toy.

So, adorable, so talented, so shy.

We.... had... to... press... the... button....

 

So later, as we sat across the room 

from him and his friends at a pizza joint.

We screamed and swooned,

"Oh, it's Ahren."  

"Can you believe it?" 

"Is it really him!"

"Oh, I think he looked at me!"

 

We did it with commitment. 

 We did it relentlessly.

We were horrifyingly annoying.

A few months later,

Shoes tricked him into coming to Thanksgiving dinner.

 We must have done something right, though,

because he didn't run away screaming

when he was greeted in a similar fashion at our home,

"Ahhhh, it's Ahren!!!!" 

"He's at our house!!!"

For reasons we don't really understand,

he chose to keep hanging around,

and we feel so privilaged and lucky.

 

Now he has his very own awesome band

Socrates and the Lava Gods

And they have released their first music video.

Although Shoes, Rebeqa and I were Ahren's first 

screaming, swooning fans.

I know we wont be his last.

You can read Ahren's life blog here:

blogofahrenscholtz.wordpress.com

CHEESE GROMIT!!!!!

First of all, you won't give a crap about this blog 

if you don't live in Korea.

However, if you do live in Korea,
Want to see something awesome? 

CHEESE!!!!!

This is what I look like when I browse the website.

That's right!

A brother and sister team 

have been working hard 

to make all kinds of awesome 

cheeses easily available in Korea.  

Here is the website:
www.wellbeingcheese.com 

Although it is a pretty penny,
it's also cheese lovers dream come true.

Cheat Sheet For Types of Cheese

우유 : Cow
양유 : Sheep

염소유 : Goat

물소유 : Water Buffalo

우유+양유+염소유 : Mixed

Once again, visit

for AMAZING CHEESE!!!

Sadly, there was no cheese eaten in the making of this blog.

UPDATE: Cheese is now everywhere in Korea,
however the blog remains in remembrance of the old days.

A Love Story

The first time I knew love,

was on the tail of a ferry leaving France.

I stood alone and wept silent, painful tears

as chunks of my heart fell out and

mixed with the foam 

the sea and the salt.

It felt as I was being torn from the arms of my mother.

It remains one of the most painful memories of my life,

as it was the first time my heart was broken.

That was when I decided I would do anything,

would give up every part of a normal thing,

to be with my love again.

I was seven,

when I lost my heart to travel.

I'd imagine that this must be how some people feel 

about their children, 

or their husbands,

or their careers.

For me though, my heart skips-a-beat

for foreign sounds,

unknown places,

smells I've never found before.

For the majority of my life 

I've gone from one love to the next.

Chasing the always changing sunsets.

Wrapped in the vines embrace of new jungles.

 Caressed by the winds of many mountain tops.

My heart skipped from one place to another,

avoiding the heartache of loving what I would lose.

That was until I came to Korea.

Now I find myself falling in love again and again.

Each time I turn around I feel like my heart has more room 

for this beautiful, unique world.

It's not that I find it perfect,

but I find it perfect for me.

I accept it's failures,

and my insides go pitter-patter for it's charms.

For better or for worse,

I have fallen deeply, madly, passionately

 in love with this place,

with this Drama.

The Montage Episode

Mail + Scooter = Superhero

Today a little love arrived by scooter.

A late birthday present from Rock'n Rebeqa.

It was filled with delicious delights,

but truth be told,

the post-its sold the show.

Like a montage episode,
the notes remind me of our favorite plot lines
and end of season cliff hangars.
In my mind the scenes of our days on the beach
intercut with snowball fights
and long winters by the fire.

It's the perfect look back
on why my sister has and will always have
a staring role in my Drama.

Let's Get High

Let's do this darn thing.

Sometimes you just gotta fly.

Thanks to a great connection,

thanks to www.couchsurfing.com,

I learned there is a paragliding team 

stationed out of Pyeongtaek headed by

a fellow English speaking foreigner.

So, for my birthday,

I did what many have recommended for years,

I went and jumped off a cliff...

and let myself soar.

It was worth every penny,

even if my feet had never left the ground.

The mountains you go off are stunning.

The people you hang out with are the best kind.

There couldn't have been a better way to celebrate

getting older and living another day.

If you want to give it a try, 

you can find Fly to the Sky here: 

http://www.facebook.com/groups/162715847114410/?fref=ts

ask for Greg Succop.  He will hook you up.

Waiting on the mountain top feels like a friend I've always known.

Craig, our fearless leader.

Life is like paragliding, you've gotta throw yourself into it, never look back and let it take you.

Looking out into the future.  It's an amazing view.

Fashion sense.

Wings and things.

Gear up.

A birds eye view.

An adorable little pest found it's way into the gear.

Looking back on a year well spent, makes me smile.

 Once again, if you wanna give this a try,

you know, with someone who speaks English,

you can contact Craig Succop via  Fly to the Sky 

or also visit this group Paragliding in South Korea.

Reflections On Solitude

 

For many -

Korea is 

backward,

cluttered,

dirty.

They don't understand

that these things 

are not to be pitied.

They are glorious

they are beautiful.

They do not know

what it takes,

to build something

from nothing.

They have not slept 

on the floors.

Nor carried their 

groceries home

on their backs.

They do not know 

what it takes

to stare at the empty land

and see a future

for their children.

It offends me.

To watch hard work mocked.

To hear dignity laughed at.

To see sacrifice reviled.

By those whose

hands and minds are soft

and fragile like snow.

It is an insult

Korea reflects my life
and each insult
is an insult
to me.

It is why

I travel

alone.

I need the space

to love freely

these things

that built me.

Live'n the Rock & Roll lifestyle

Never thought I would be living the Rock & Roll lifestyle.

Nae-nae & Harri-bou living the transit lifestyle

Never went to a big stadium concert.

Didn't follow popular bands.

Couldn't pick a Rolling Stones song out of a line up.

Ok, not that I really had anything against it.
I just didn't have anything in common with it.

Rock & Roll was a noise I was vaguely aware of,
like a distant memory you can't quite put your finger on. 

So, when Rock & Roll knocked at our door - I was leery of the unknown.
 Especially as The Rebeqa become more and more involved in the scene.

Kristin Ward, Gary Westlake, Paul Passereli, Mike McCready, Rebeqa & Andrew McKeag

Like a wary chaperon, I watched.

Watched her laugh, learn and be inspired
by their hard work and dedication.

Watched them help those who can't help themselves.

Watched them love their children and their wives.

Watched them uplift and inspire their fans.

Watched them care for their community.

Watched them protect each other.

Mike McCready, Paul Passereli & Rebeqa Rivers

 Thanks so their kindness, I've been to a big giant stadium concert

Pearl Jam @ Key Arena

and our family has been welcomed "backstage".

Harry Rock'n his LxL t-shirt

and we got to present emerging Seattle artists in Miami & Monaco

La Familia Artists @ Arte Monaco

La Familia Artists @ Aqua Art Miami

and we learned about bands we'd never heard of

Delivering vocal training CD's to my sister.

But to be honest, I'm not really into hanging with Rockstars 

for the music or the backstage passes.

Nope, I'm just here for the Rock & Roll lifestyle of...

 

hard work
lifelong friends
and the love of family.