Saturday, October 4, 2008

No strings attached?


Despite dreading the High Holy days for the last few weeks, fearing that I would feel terribly homesick, just before Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) entered I found myself unexpectantly excited. We decided to video Skype Ayalah's savta (grandma) in Israel so that she could see her granddaughter dressed up for synagogue. Hundreds of years ago, before even the telegraph was invented, Skype might have been considered to be witchcraft. But, despite all the modernity around us today that we take for granted, the Internet really is a miracle. Chatting with loved ones, hearing and seeing them in real time despite being separated by thousands and thousands of miles... And, yet, as we ended our video chat our excitement had morphed into sadness for we had been visually reminded that we were not REALLY with our family for the holiday. And, at the same time, we were not really in Korea either.

Skype. AIM. The Internet. Cell phones. This very blog. All of these mediums allow us to extend our hand beyond that which is immediately before us. If not for the Internet, Nir would never have learned about his graduate program here and I would be unemployed. We'd be living totally different lives, probably buying a house in Kansas and settling down. Technology makes the world smaller and more connected and this is truly amazing, but at what point does all this modernity -

*buying goods and services online instead of in local shops;
*chatting online with friends thousands of miles away but not conversing with our neighbors;
*and don't even get me started on emails where we spend hours every week trying to stay on top of our virtual inbox!

- At what point does all of this prevent us from living our lives in the here and now? At what point do these "wireless" technologies tie us up from simply living?

So, my New Years resolution (one of many!) is not so extreme as to go without my laptop or cell, but to make a special effort to try and experience the real Korea as much as possible whenever I can. For this reason, I have penned this blog old-school style on a napkin in a Korean coffee house, an hour from our home, from our computers and from other English speakers. As I sip my tea now Ayalah naps beside me and Nir is playing chess closeby. Some business matriarchs are in front of me, behind me sit love birds and a few Korean students studying - all of them friendly and trying to connect to me despite the language barrier. Koreans are the most friendly strangers I have ever known.

And even though at this moment I cannot reach them electronically, I am thinking of my family and friends the traditional way, and I am wishing them all a Shanah Tovah (Good Year). May you be inscribed in the Book of Life. May your year be filled with great health, much happiness, love and success and countless 'full of life' moments in the here and now.

2 comments:

Luke Hendricks said...

I think your resolution is one we could all benefit from making. Technology is amazing in many ways, but I agree that we should all take more time to interact with the people around us. If we become too reliant on the conveniences that technology allows, we will end up forgetting how to do things on our own.

PS. Shana tova umetukah. (I hope that's right, I read it while reading about Rosh Hashanah on Wikipedia. :) ) Say hi to Nir and Ayalah from Beth and I!

Alex said...

I found your blog through the comment you left on Sandra's blog, Here in Korea. It's nice to read about another Jew in Korea! I was wondering where you found a synagogue? I'd love to go to services...