Where? When? How was it? Would you recommend that others do it?
1984-88: Seoul, South Korea
1988-92: Tokyo, Japan
1992-94: Manila, Philippines
Being the son of a foreign service officer with the State Department (who almost became Ambassador to Japan), we got around. I don't really have a clear memory of South Korea -I was maybe two when we got there, and not even six when we moved out.
As for Japan, outside of school, I liked it. My mother is Japanese (as I am sure everyone here knows by now...), and we used to visit her relatives down in Osaka by means of the Shinkansen bullet train (the old blue version). We stayed at the American compound in downtown Tokyo, and visited ancient temples, castles, as well as several resorts. In downtown Tokyo, I always used to enjoy watching noodle-makers make their noodles through a display window through which any pedestrian could peer through and watch them do their magic. I became very well adapted to using mass transit for I used it to get to and from school everyday, and as far as I am aware, there were never any train delays of any sort. The stations and trains were clean and organized, though almost always crowded.
Manila had its own charms, though it was distinctly a third world city -you had kids from the slums pressing their faces and hands against the rolled up car windows as we idled in traffic. It was my first exposure to poverty. We stayed at a gated residential compound called Dasmarinas Village (among other adjacent compounds, like Forbes Park, Fort Bonifacio, and so forth). We had our own chaffeur and maid at our house (who was never shy about changing her clothes in front of me). We went to various sites around the city, like Corregidor Island, where the embattled American and Filipino soldiers made their last stand against the invading Japanese until they were forced to surrender in May 1942. The whole island was sprinkled with remnants of bombed out buildings and batteries, and though the whole island seems alive with ghosts, Malinta Tunnel (the main command post) is said to be especially haunted. If you come to Corregidor, I dare you to camp out at night.
Another place we visited was Baguio, the American colonial summer capital up in the mountains not far from Lingayen Gulf and Mt. Pinatubo. When we went there, it was shortly after the eruption, and the villages we passed through getting there were absolutely devastated, being nearly completely buried by the then dried up lahar (liquified ash). Baguio itself was fun (I rode my first pony!), and we stayed at the main residence, which also happened to be the scene of General Yamash**ta's final surrender to the Americans in 1944. I think it is still owned by the US government.
I also visited Borocay Island (a small island just off the coast of Panay), and back then it was quite rustic. We got there via a small fishing boat, and you stepped off unto the island on a bare wooden plank. There were places we could stay, but I would hardly call them fivestar hotels -in fact, I do not recall ever seeing one. But the beaches were enjoyable, as well as the sandy avenues along which were various food stalls.
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It's a rough overview (I would go more in depth, but there are space limitations, as well as the fact that I am currently at work), but it gives you an idea of what it was like. And yes, I highly recommend staying in a foreign country for a year or more. You hardly give justice to the country you are visiting if you are just going to vacation there for maybe a week or so. To really appreciate it, you have to
live there.
