Tag: strawberries

State of New York, City of New York

Recently, I was talking about how I hadn’t updated my travel blog in a while, as I hadn’t been traveling so much. I then discussed how that shouldn’t prevent me from updating my blog with observations from my usual surroundings and everyday existence.

After I expressed this, I did travel somewhere, and while I was away, I kept thinking about how the new scenery differs from what I have grown used to in my regular life.

This thought is probably one of the most common themes in travel, comparing new things you encounter to what you are familiar with — whether it’s convenience stores, pizza, train stations, electrical outlets or squirrels.

When I went on this particular trip, I thought of how things look different in rural New York State as opposed to urban New York City.

For instance:

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A dirt road in the country.

IMG_0715[1]A paved road in the city.

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Gardening with a lot of space.

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Gardening with a little space. IMG_0703[1]Country cat.

IMG_0667[1]City kitty.

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Getting fresh strawberries from the farm.

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Getting fresh strawberries from the store. IMG_0699[1]Rural basketball hoop.

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Urban basketball hoop.

IMG_0712[1]Back view in the country.

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Back view in the city.IMG_0710[1]

(Delaware) River in New York State.

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(East) River in the New York City.

IMG_0696[1]Sunset over the hills.

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Sunset Park at sundown.

Of course these photos are only a visual gloss-over of what they represent, and showing single shots does not account for the complex life that surrounds them in actuality. Nevertheless, from such photos, we can see that different versions of the same species, berries or times of day can look starkly dissimilar depending on their placement in New York State or City.

Strawberry Land

It has been strawberry season in South Korea for a few months now. I have enjoyed these little bursts of sugar and vitamins for the duration of time they’ve been out, conveniently packaged and ready for washing.

But this weekend, enjoying these little red fruits was especially indulgent.

I was fortunate enough to explore the behind-the-scenes action of a Korean strawberry farm. In Korea, the fruits and vegetables have a bit of a different season than what I’m used to, as many of the crops are set up to grow in these white covered domes around the countryside.

While in one of these domes, I had a lot of fun picking the strawberries, as well as partaking in on-the-spot taste testing. It was a crisp day on the outside, but inside, the farmers are able to simulate a rather warm and humid ecosystem.

Once the strawberries are taken from their source, it is time to sort and package them. I got to go into this behind the scenes action as well, where we put stickers on lids and covered boxes of presentable strawberries to be sent off to a popular supermarket.

These large strawberries were considered to be the most attractive, as they are later shipped to the more expensive consumer havens, while the smaller, less fully-formed specimens are packaged separately and sent to usual markets. However, they taste the same.

I sure love working at the strawberry farm for a few hours!