Tuttle Archives

Please don't tell the kids at my school, but I won't, according to my handler, be returning there upon the new contract--the school I've been at for four years is losing its Native Speaking English Teacher. I am really unhappy about this, and my feelings will be addressed later.

First of all, this doesn't mean I will leave Korea, or even SMOE--just like I was transferred from Young-il in 2012, I will be transferred from Yangmyung. Even though that's true, I recognize more than ever that my time here is limited. I'm looking around the apartment and thinking about the packing-up.

Anyway, I have had a number of vacations since living in this apartment that I had not archived. What do I mean? In addition to the photos I take and post here, I have also collected as much artwork as I could afford--carvings, pottery, paintings, scrolls, books, fabrics, etc. Maybe I'll be documenting that stuff later, but ...

What I meant was I have a backlog of tickets, flyers, maps, brochures, business cards, clippings and the like that I collect and organize in "clear files". Like these:


Not only are there tickets and the like, but even laundry receipts, restaurant bills and bus fares. Why? Well, good source of info if someone asks, or if I want to go back, and can't remember what things cost there!


As long as I was at it, I thought I might as well take a snap of the various snake oil elixirs (in some cases literally) I have collected on my trips around Asia. Tiger Balm was something I kind of grew up with, but Cobra Oil, Lotus Balm, White Monkey Holding Peach Balm, Siang Pure and Dragon and Tiger White, usually under a dollar, seem like a bargain. And the silver Jarungjit Inhalor works a treat for a stuffy nose!


Mostly, but not always, when I travel, I research things both online and with a dead tree edition, though more and more eschewing the LP guides. Still, I have a collection, or archive: