Annyeonghaseyo to Korea

Tuesday was our last day in South Korea. In the morning we went to the Korean War Memorial. We met with 92 year old retired General Paik Sun Yup, ROK. He shared with us his rememberances and experiences during the Korean War. After his talk he signed copies of his book for us. We also had plenty of time to explore the museum. While the inside of the museum was full of information, the outside was what most captured my attention. There were dozens of military airplanes, ships, and vehicles that you can climb on and in. So I climbed up on top of a Howitzer and walked through a ship and a military transport plane.

That afternoon we were free to do whatever we liked. My original plan was to do some light shopping in Ittewon and meet a group of fellow participants to take a riverboat cruise that evening. A light rain led to a change of plans however. Instead of the cruise we ended up going to a nearby Korean BBQ restaurant and, once the weather cleared,we hit up a nearby convienience store where everyone purchased a " beverage" of their choice and we walked to the Han River bridge overlook where we sat, drank ,and talked. I must thank Fran, Beth, Suzanne, Jessica, Gwynne, and Barbara for making my last night in Seoul memorable. Annyeonghaseyo!

Goyang Foreign Language School

On Monday afternoon we visited Goyang Foreign Language School to get a first hand look at Korean education. Goyang is a high school that attracts students from all over Korea. There is a highly competitive application process to be admitted to the school. Students who are not from nearby areas are housed in school dorms. My escort for the afternoon was the lovely & engaging MiJin.

Goyang has three grade levels- what we would consider 10th, 11th, & 12th grades, but they refer to them as 1st, 2nd, & 3rd grades. MiJin is a second grader. She is studying English and Mandarin at Goyang. She lived in China for four years, so she has a bit of an edge. All of the students have a major and minor (They call them "first major" and "second major"), and either the major or minor MUST be English. Their other language choices are Spanish, Japanese, and Mandarin. Students here study a LOT. Since their college admissions are focused solely on test scores it is critical that they score high. Most of the students here desire to attend one of the SKY universities in Korea. The SKY universities are Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University. They are public univeresities and competition to get into these highly desirable schools is fierce. Third graders are housed separately from the other students and they have no free time. The schools’ hours are from 7am -11pm. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served at school. MiJin does not live on campus and takes the bus home every night, arriving about 11:30. Then she gets up at 5am to start all over again. She says she envies American school kids because they have a choice to do things other than study all the time. The students at Goyang have a high rate of acceptance into the SKY universities, but unfortunately, there is a high rate of suicide amongst teens in Korea due to stress. At the school I teach a lesson on George Washington Carver, and I give the students an activity to do in which they have to determine which products Carver produced using peanuts, soybeans, and sweet potatoes.

The kids really get into it, turning it into a competition. Gwynne then teaches them a lesson on the elements of culture, and afterwards we distribute the little trinkets we brought for them, and our day there is done. This was an enriching experience for me and one I hope to repeat someday.

July 8, Haeinsa

Hae in-sa is a 1200 year old Buddhist temple and monastery located inside Gayasan National Park . It has three gates that symbolize moving from the less sacred to the more sacred. If Buddhism could be defined by one word it would be "mercy". There are over 80,000 Buddhists texts stored here, collected from throughout the world. The books in the temple library are only about three subjects: the life of the Buddha, the teachings of the Buddha, and how to live in a monastery. A series of steep steps lead to the temple reminding you to take your steps carefully in life. On a pavilion are a bell, fish, drum, and gong. These are used to call all the creatures of the earth, air, and water to worship. The sound of the bell is also said to soothe the souls suffering in hell. We get to see the mid- morning ritual with the drum and bell. This is an active temple. Many people come to pray while we are there. Some of us- myself included- walk the meditation maze. I also drank water from their spring. It's really good. For lunch we ate in the monastery cafeteria. You may leave your shoes on but you are not allowed to talk or wear hats, and you are not supposed to leave even a grain of rice on your plate. I'll admit I left three grains of rice and a couple of tiny pieces of seaweed that I couldn't pick up, but I did pick up and eat the bean sprout I dropped on the table, so I think I did okay.

Yongdong Village, July 7

Today we visited a traditional village built on Confucian principles. It has become more commercialized to the regret of some of the traditionalists. Bit this seems to be necessary for the survival of the village. We went to the house of the cheon song (I'm not sure about the spelling of that.) He is a seventeenth generation cheon song. In agricultural societies these were the village elders, but as society has transitioned to a more industrial society their role has become more ceremonial. He doesn't speak English so Dr. Petersen translates our questions.

The cheon song answers questions, expressing his concern over modernization and the delicate balance necessary to maintain Confucian principles while existing in the modern world. He also discusses the growth of the village and how many people are returning to traditional ways and values. We later walked to the village seo dan, or school. Students here would study to take their exams - either military, civil, or technical exams. Technical exams included law, doctor, accountant, translators and scientists. We walked through the village to the house of another chon dong who is not in residence. We had a traditional Korean lunch at a restaurant in the village. The restaurant looks as if its actually part of someone's house. After lunch we're allowed to explore on our own. This village is larger than I expected and very vibrant. The people here are very close to nature. While walking I see students from the nearby school collecting samples from the stream. I think how lucky they are that they can walk right outside the school door and apply what they've learned in science class. There are so many tourists that I wonder if the people here ever get tired of them. The irony is that tourism allows the village to survive. There are people selling handmade goodies and crafts right outside their thatched- roof homes.

July 6, 2012

We started the morning by visiting Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan. Because of Hyundai, Ulsan is one of the most heavily industrialized regions of South Korea. Per capita GNP is twice the national average. The total area is 2,200 acres and it houses the largest Hyundai Plant in the world. Fifty five percent of the cars produced here are exported. Hyundai acquired Kia in 1999, and together they control nearly 80% of the domestic market. We begin with a tour of the museum covering the life and works of the Hyundai founder Chung Ju -Yung and the history of HHI. This shipyard was initiated in 1972, five years after the founding of Hyundai motors. Before Hyundai came here, Ulsan was a fishing village, but the town exploded in growth thanks to Hyundai. The company has built hospitals, schools, hotels, colleges, malls, apartment complexes, and just about anything else you can name. The first ship launched from here in 1974; the 1000th ship launched in 2000. HHI has eleven dry docks, the largest of which can hold a one million ton ship. It is currently the number one ship builder in the world. They have constructed off shore drilling structures for Exxon. HHI now imports construction vehicles to over 120 countries nationwide. Later we took a forty minute winding trip on the bus to Seokguram Grotto. Seokguram Grotto was the last stop on the continental silk road. You cannot enter the grotto itself, but you can walk up to the glass wall and look into it. ( I say "walk" but first you have to hike to the top of the mountain. ) No pictures are allowed inside, unfortunately. It was a grand sight. The Buddha sits surrounded by twelve disciples. It is carved of a solid piece of granite and the grotto was built around it. At a lower temple sits a Sansin or mountain god, the quintessential symbol of Shamanism, symbolizing the connection between Buddhism and Shamanism. Before leaving the complex I had a chance to ring the Buddhist temple bell. Four kilometres down the mountain is the Bulguksa temple. Bulguska has two pagodas.

Most Buddhist temples only had one. Forty steps lead to the temple, symbolizing the forty spiritual steps Buddhists must take in order to reach Nirvana. This golden Buddha sits in between two golden Bodhisattvas. We visited all of the temples on site, and had the opportunity to go inside Supreme Bliss Hall and kneel at the foot of the Buddha. You must take off your shoes and wear socks in the shrine. On the way out of the temple complex we passed through the gate with the four temple guardians- one for each of the four directions.

Gyeongju

Today we visited several sites of the ancient Silla dynasty. To get to the first one was a 3 hour drive from Jongju to Gyeongju. Gyeongju was the capital of the Silla kingdom for over 1000 years. Our first stop was the birth place of the founding king of Silla, Bak Hyeokgeose. There's nothing there now but a field with a monument stone marking the spot. We then went to the Five Tombs Complex . Visitors aren't allowed in the mounds, but Dr. Petersen explained how the temple around the mounds was actually built during the later Joseon period, using Confucian principles. The site also contains a monument house commemorating the first queen of Silla, Alyong. It’s monsoon season in Korea so the rain made today difficult most of our field trips were outside. In between sites we stopped for another traditional Korean lunch. I've decided that my diet while I'm here will basically consist of seaweed soup & kimchi, or cabbage & rice mixed with bean paste.

After lunch we went to the Heavenly Horse Tomb which is a tomb of middle Silla Kingdom. It isn't known who was buried in the tombs, but historians do know that it was pre -Buddhist. We later went to the Gyeongju National Museum, where our charming Korean guide "Cookie" told us all about Silla and the artifacts of the period. We finished up the day at Bunhwangsa where we saw a stone pagoda made to look like brick. It was built in 634 during the Silla dynasty. It's surrounded by hundreds of beautiful paper lanterns on which people have hung blessings.

While there we walked over to the site of a former Hwangnyongsa temple. It once contained a nine story pagoda, but it was burned down during the Mongol invasion.

DMZ visit

Today was our field trip to the DMZ. There is a dress code for visiting the DMZ, and you are required to being your passport. We made several stops along the way to check out sites of historic interest. Sojeong, our Korea Society guide was not allowed to go with us because Koreans must have a special pass to visit the DMZ. Our new guide gave us lots of information on the Korean War and the DMZ during the bus ride. Before being allowed on the tour we had to stop at the Lotte Hotel where our passports were taken up & checked. It operates as a kind of clearinghouse for the DMZ tour company. First we stopped at a Korean War Memorial.

Then we stopped at Reunification Park. We were allowed to take photos at both places. We then visited Imjinak Park before going to lunch. This field trip involved a lot of stopping and starting. Once we arrived at the southern boundary to the DMZ we had to stop while a ROK ( Republic of Korea ) soldier checked our passports. At the entrance to Camp Bonifas a US soldier boarded the bus and checked our passports against a list of names that had been previously provided. We then journeyed to the JSA (Joint Security Administration) visitor's center where we signed a release, were issued a visitor's badge, and watched a brief video on the history of the area. All along the way to the visitor's center, you could see camoflagued foxholes in which soldiers with weapons were just visible. We also learned that all signs on the southern side of the JSA had all official signs in Korean and English, while all official signs on the northern side are in Korean and Chinese. We then were required to change buses before being allowed to go to Freedom House. We were given a military escort for this part of the tour. At Freedom House and the MAC (Military Armistice Command) we had to walk two-by-two and were only allowed to take photos in certain areas. We saw the MDL (Military Demarcation Line) markers and were allowed to take photos of the Panmun-gak Pavilion, which is actually in North Korea. You are not allowed to take any photos of the South Korean side. Inside the MAC we were allowed to take photos with one of the guards. The MDL actually runs right through the middle of the MAC, and I was standing on the North Korea side.

The entire time we were there, there was a North Korean soldier outside at the pavilion facing us. You are not allowed to point at the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) side, and you cannot use 100 mm zoom lens cameras. Later we were able to ask questions of our military escort and I wanted to know if there was always a North Korean soldier outside. The answer was yes. The game of "one up man ship " between the ROK and DPRK around the DMZ fascinated me. We found out that when Freedom House was built it was initially taller than Panmun-gak Pavilion, so the North Koreans added a third story to the Pavilion. When the South Koreans erected a flagpole that was visible to the North Korean side, the DPRK installed a taller one. All in all it was a fascinating experience. For supper I decided to walk to the Popeyes two blocks away. This Popeyes had burgers in their menu. Specifically a shrimp burger and a bulgogi burger. I decided to go with the chicken strips. Unfortunately, they didn't have jambalaya. They did, however, have spicy mashed pumpkin as a side dish.

Yoo’s Family

Our lecture series ended today, with sessions on modern Korea, the Korean education system, and Hallyu, which is Korean pop culture. You should check out K-pop. It's sweeping the world. But I was disturbed at how the K -pop factory creates a homogenized, superficial product by forcing these young people into training facilities where they have exercise and diet regimens and often undergo plastic surgery. Later in the afternoon we went to Yoo’s family and participated in a traditional Korean tea ceremony and dressed up on traditional Korean outfits called Hanbok.

Yoo’s family is a traditional Korean village where people can learn about what life was like in Korea years ago. In a separate section of the complex we learned how to make Korean art calligraphy and how to make kimchi pancakes. Kimchi pancakes are made from fermented lunching, buckwheat flour, onions, chives, and a few other seasonings. They're very savory. I volunteered first. And I must say my pancakes were terrific. I don't know if I'd eat them daily, though.

The National Museum, June 29

Today was the second day of our lecture series at Korea University. We have had lectures on Korean language, art, economics, culture, and North- South relations. We also toured the Korea University campus yesterday. And we have met some high ranking government officials. After today's lectures we went to the National Museum. There are so many stunning artifacts-- which is to be expected from a country as old as Korea. We had a chance to look at some beautiful examples of celadon and white porcelain pottery. My favorite room however was the Buddha exhibit.

There are many different types of Buddhas and every different facial expression or hand gesture has a meaning. The hand gestures are known as mudras. Then there are the Bodhisattvas, who are not Buddhas, but humans who are considered enlightened beings. At night a group of about fourteen of us went our due traditional Korean BBQ. You cook our yourself on a grill built into your table. The owner placed a tray of hot coals inside the table and adds bowls of meat, garlic, lettuce, julienned green onions, and various other items around the grill and you cook it and eat it with your desired accoutrements.

June 27, 2012

Today we took a tour of Seoul. We walked to the Gyeongbokgung Palace and witnessed the changing of the guard. Then we walked around the block to tour the Folk Museum. I, and a group of about ten intrepid explorers, then explored the Bukchong historic district where there remains the largest community of traditional style houses in all of Seoul. Learning to navigate the Korean subway was an experience. And the subways are super clean here. Tonight we had a "getting to know you" dinner with representatives from the Korea Society and students from Korea University. We were served a traditional meal that consisted of several courses-- mostly seafood. I didn't eat a lot.

Welcome to Korea

I arrived late to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York due to weather that kept us in a holding pattern over Washington, D. C. for a while. Bit once I arrived, checked in, and exchanged money I met up with some fellow participants at our departure gate. We were going top be flying on a huge two story jumbo jet ! My first Korean meal took place on Korean Airlines about two hours into the fifteen hour flight. It consisted of biminbob, a traditional Korean vegetable and rice dish, seaweed soup, sectioned oranges and some type of vegetable pickle. The seaweed soup was actually pretty good. It tasted a little like collard greens. Topped it off with a little white wine to help me sleep. Twelve hours is a long time to stay awake on a plane! I wish I'd taken a picture of it. At 5:25 pm local time, 3:25 am central time, we landed at Seoul - Incheon International Airport. Fourteen and a half hours after leaving JFK . This flight was brutal. After an hour long bus ride we arrive at Seoul Garden Hotel. The streets of Seoul are busy. I'm on the 9th floor and I can still hear traffic. Dinner for me was at the McDonald’s across the street (why not? ) where I had something called a "Taste of Australia" burger. Then a quick jaunt to the 7-11 on the corner for bottled water and it was off to bed.

Day before takeoff

Seventeen hours from now I will be on my way to the airport. In New York I meet up with about a dozen other Summer Fellowship participants. Then it's fifteen hours to South Korea. I'm really excited about teaching my lesson to the students there, but also nervous. I don't know how well it will be received. Hopefully internet service well be available at the hotel and I can keep up with the blog. So until then, 작별 인사. (Goodbye)

Friday, June 22

Three days away now. I went to #TuskegeeInstitute today to get some materials for the lesson I'm going to teach on George Washington Carver. Shirley at the museum was so helpful. Its amazing to see all that Carver accomplished in his lifetime. I think the students in the Korean school will really like their gifts.

Countdown to Korea

Only five days away now.  We finally got our in country itinerary yesterday.  My flights are confirmed.  I've made contact with the other participants who will be flying out of JFK.  My packing is done except for electronics and last minute clothing.  All that's left is that I keep my family members up to date on what their responsibilities are while I'm away.  My Korean lessons aren't going as well as I hoped, but my lesson for Korea is planned and I've got all my resources together.  My last day at work is tomorrow, so it's full steam ahead from here on.  My only concern is the long flight.  I've got sleeping pills and a sleep mask.  Please Lord, let that be enough.

December 2, 2011

For my last Costa Rica entry, I thought I would post a little dedication I made to my fellow TITP participants on our last night together. I was deeply affected by this trip and I really wanted them to know how much it-- and they-- meant to me. "When this adventure began I thought I had some idea of what to expect. But this has been so much more than I could have imagined. Over the last 14 days we have learned, laughed, and lived together. I want to thank Toyota and IIE for giving us this incredible opportunity. Thanks to Mike, Karen, and Rhonda for putting up with us. I have learned so much from this,and I have so much to take back with me and I've made some wonderful new friends whom I will miss. I will miss Kim's calm demeanor, Tim's sense of humor, Valerie S. ability to drink the men under the table, Josh's All American boy charm, Paolo's boisterousness, Katie's katieisms, Tammy's laughter and Bhavna's giggle. I'll miss John's intelligence, Jeremiah's laid back California surfer cool, Kelly's dry wit, Tracy's willingness to try anything, Loris' generosity, Erin's smile-- and her eye for cute porters, and Robert's good humor-- but not the bawdy jokes. I'll miss Angela's energy, Sondra's earnestness, Valerie M.'s "earth mama" vibe, Greg's dimples-- and his hot pants, and learning from Chris C., who is the kind of teacher I hope to someday become. I'll miss Kris M.'s intensity, Emily's sweet nature and her eager desire to be the best teacher she can be because we need more teachers like that. I'll miss Ann's friendliness, Chuck's daring, and Susan's caffeine addiction, which rivals my own. To our fantastic guides, you are amazing. Isa, when I grow up I want to be just like you because you know everything. Julio, thanks for your quick smile, unending patience, and delicious chocolate. Eduardo I wont miss you at all because I'm taking you back to Alabama with me. You will totally fit in my luggage. And so here am, nine suspension bridges, five toucans, four rain forests, three snakes, three bats, three handlers, countless insects and one Jason later, I am a better teacher, a better person, and much richer for the experience of having known you all."

Colegio Agropercuario, November 30

Colegio Agropercuario is an Agricultural and Technical high school. This is a six year program that students start in the 7th grade and graduate with a mid level degree in agricultural science, computer science, or ecotourism. Founded by Benedictine monks, in 1962, it is a Catholic public school. There is a aptitude test and interview process for students to come to this school. The student body comes from throughout the country. Students in 11th grade and below live with local families. The technical level students have dorms. 40% of students have scholarships. The school has only accepted women since 2000. The student body has always been small. The school currently has 321 students. Less than 15 students in each of the technical classes. The first three years the students follow a general curriculum, the second three years are spent on their technical specialty. At the school we participate in two activities: hydroponic gardening and paper recycling. We are taken on a tour of the greenhouse where the agricultural science students grow vegetables. And we help some students plant lettuce seedlings. Next we go to the paper recycling shed where we watch a paper making demonstration. We get to help with the straining process. And the students give us bookmarks and paper samples that they made from waste paper and plant fiber.

November 29,2011

Today we went to La Selva biological station where we had a lecture on invasive spguyecies. La Selva is run by the Organization for Tropical Studies, a nonprofit consortium of colleges and research facilities from the USA, Africa, Australia, and Latin America. The headquarters is at Duke University . OTS was founded in 1963. La Selva is on the Caribbean side of the country which is the rainy side. It gets aabout 4 meters of rain per year. La Selva serves as a buffer between the rainforest and human development. It is part of the biological corridor that was created by the park service and stretches for 3000 meters. We had a choice of two volunteer activities at La Selva: remove invasive species or planting native ornamental species. I chose planting. We had to dig up plants from one part of the preserve and transplant them to another part of the preserve. It wasn't easy work. Later on we went on a hike through the rainforest. The suspension bridge we crossed here was a lot shorter than the one at Tirimbina. Our guide, Christian was an absolute rock star. He had no fear, picking up insects and lizards so we could get a better look. And he answered every question,telling us about every plant and the history of La Selva. The most interesting fact I learned today? A leaf cutter colony can be up to five million insects. There is only one queen. Leaf cutters consume more foliage than all other herbivores combined.

The Chocolate Tour (Tirimbina )

On November 27 we travel to Sarapiqui where we will be staying for the next three days in the middle of the rainforest at Selva Verde Lodge. The guides are very specific about NOT stepping off the trails-- especially at night. We have to carry flashlights with us any time we leave our rooms at night. On the 28th we visit Tirimbina Rainforest Preserve. Our guide at Tirimbina is Willy Pineda Lizano and he gives us a lecture on biodiversity and the geography of Costa Rica. We learn that biodiversity exists on every continent except Europe. Costa Rica isn't on the list of the countries with the most biodiversity. That is due to its small size. If you compare species diversity in Costa Rica to other countries per square kilometer Costa Rica is more diverse. Willy explains that in temperate climates you have an abundance of individuals but low diversity of species, but in tropical climates you have a low abundance of individuals but a higher diversity of species. Threats to biodiversity include global warming and climate change,direct persecution such as poaching, deforestation (in Costa Rica for different reasons such as banana plantations, pineapple fields or to secure bank loans, pollution, and habitat loss (thanks to people.) We also learn that Costa Rica has several regions:tropical dry forest which gets only 3-6ft of rain/yr, Central plateau (valley) usually about 68 degrees and containing volcanic soil, cloud forest,and Caribbean lowlands or tropical rainforest which gets 8-12 ft of rain per year. After our biodeiversity lecture we are taken on the chocolate tour. Chocolate plantations, amazingly enough, have to be located in the middle of a rainforest. Our hike to the plantation literally takes us over the river and through the woods. We go over a suspension bridge in two groups because only 15 of us at a time are allowed to cross. The trail is long and very narrow in places. Chocolate comes from the cacao plant. The cacao plant is native to Latin America. It takes five years for the cacao plant to produce fruit. It needs rain, shade, humidity, a latitude of between 25 degrees north to 25 degrees south , and low elevation (less than 800 feet above sea level). Each tree will produce about 60 fruit. Originally people only ate the pulp and threw away the seed. Chocolate was the only caffeinated drink central Americans had because coffee wasn't native to this area. To make chocolate the cacao fruit is gathered, broken open, fermented, dried, and roasted. Beans are dumped in the the fermenting box which is lined with banana leaves where they can attract fruit flies, the flies have yeast on their feet which produces methanol that kills the baby bean and , through a chemical reaction, dries out the inside of the bean. By the fourth day of fermenting the chemical process has caused a reaction so hot it can burn your hands. When the beans are ready -after five days- they are ground with other substances, such as sugar, to make chocolate liquor. Then the chocolate is ready to be turned into the bars and other products we love so much.

La Argentina, redux

Today we split into small groups to travel to the farms for our homestay. From the beginning of this journey this is this is the one activity that caused me some consternation. I had never stayed on a farm before and didn't know what to expect. I'm in love with it from the moment we arrive. I'm paired with Chris, Angela,and Katie. We'll be staying in our own little charming cottage on the property! Our hostess is Adonay Vargas and her family- her husband and her daughter Katherine. Her daughter Kelly lives very close by with her husband and son Christian. The farm is a tilapia farm! They also have chickens and numerous fruit trees. Adonay is also a dentist. Katie, who's learning English, explains that there aren't many dentists around there and people come from miles around for her mom's services . Christian is all boy and all energy. This property is a little boys dream : there is a stream that runs along the back boundary of the property, a soccer field, a swing set, a swimming pull pool (unfilled at the moment) and a barrel zip line. Exploring the tilapia ponds is a blast,except that within 45 minutes of arriving I fell into the mud in between two of the ponds. Domingo nosotros vamos a la iglesia. But before that Angela helped make tortillas for breakfast and I fed the fish in three of the ponds. The fourth pond will not be fed today because they are about to BECOME food. Mid morning we watch as Kelly, her husband, and Christian catch fish. We walked to church, a humble little structure about 20 minutes down the road. The interior of the church was painted a sunny yellow and had a parquet ceiling and beautiful tile floor. The mass is en Espanol and I don't know the language but I do understand the message.

Going Bananas-- November 25, 2011

Today we visited EARTH's banana plantation and processing plant. Fernando was our guide. The blue bags protect the bananas & contain insect repellent. It takes nine months for a banana plant to produce a bunch of bananas. They only produce one bunch in a lifetime, then the tree has to be chopped down. The farm is 500 acres. There is no seed & no pollination. Each plant produces a separate plant on its own to continue the line. Banana paper is made from the stem of the plant. Stalks come from the banana fields w/ color coded ribbons which let the workers knew which field the bananas came from. Once they arrive at the processing plant via the banana train(!) the ends are quickly removed by women moving so fast it looks as if a shower of dust is falling from the plants. They are then separated from the stalk and washed in a vat. They come out of the other side of the vat, and are put on a conveyor belt, where another blur of motion in the shape of a female puts product stickers on them. It has to be mind- numbing work. They are then boxed and shipped throughout the Americas, a process that can take two weeks because they have to be inspected again once they reach their destination country. If one bunch is bad, the entire shipment can be rejected.