Edvenchers

Jeju Trip (Day 1)

2008-07-14T20:11:00.001-07:00

I have a college buddy, Jeff, who decided to take a break from his lucrative yet workaholic life in the realestate world to teach English on Jeju Island. I arranged to take my first trip to Jeju and to meet him during my stay. For some reason Jeff never responded to my last few emails, so I wasn't sure if I'd see him in Jeju.

The night before the trip I went to bed later than I wanted so I only got 3 hours of sleep before heading to the airport. It's a 1 hour flight from Seoul. I arrived in Jeju around 9:30am, sleepy and looking for some strong coffee. I took a bus to the center of Jeju City and began walking around in search of coffee. It was sprinkling rain a little. I found my coffee and then headed toward Jungmun Beach (중문 해수욕장). Jungmun Beach is a popular tourist beach with waves big enough for surfing.

By the time I got the the area, it started raining heavily. Even with an umbrella, my pants below my knees and socks were soaked with rain water. Fortunately I picked up a brochure from the airport for a Gecko's Pub that was recently built in the area. I hopped into a cab and made my way there.

Once inside the bar I changed my socks but decided to leave my pants on to air dry. I ordered a beer and entertained myself with free pool as the rain continued to pour.

The bar was virtually empty at 2pm. I drank for about an hour when Jeff called. He and some coworkers drove out to meet me. We ordered some food and some more drinks. By 6pm or so we headed back to Jeff's two bedroom beach house.

This is a picture of the kitchen.

This is a picture of the dining room side of the main room.

This is a picture of the living room side of the main room.

The back porch is huge and has a space on the end for a hot tub which should be installed before too long. It's a perfect place for a barbeque.

After returning from having lunch and drinks together, we watched a little tv and relaxed before heading to Jeju City for some evening entertainment. We started with Chuncheon Talkgalbi (춘천딹갈비) for dinner and then made our way to two bars where westerners like to hang out.

It turned out to be a late night. I excused myself from the drinking at around 3am so I could get some sleep at a nearby motel. Unfortunately for me, I woke up the next morning with a hangover and was completely unfit for climbing Hala Mountain (한라산), the huge volcano in the center of the island. Climbing it was one of my main goals for going to Jeju. So I was disappointed. In retrospect, it was nice to see an old college buddy and catch up. Hala Mountain isn't going anywhere.

Busan Trip (Day 2)

2008-07-13T23:20:00.000-07:00

My second day in Busan was as good as the first with the addition of sunny weather for the most part of the day. I wanted to take advantage of the clear skies for photography, so I headed back toward the APEC house to retrace my steps from the previous day.

My Korean friends living in Busan told me that these are the most expensive apartments in Busan. There's no doubt why. They are new, overlook Haeundae Beach, overlook the bay, and Gwangan Bridge.

I added the top picture to show how the apartments are located in respect to Gwangan Bridge. The lower picture is a close up of the 7,420 meter bridge, longest bridge in Korea.

This is the road that takes you to the APEC House. In this photo, I'm looking back down the road from where I came. Hear are some seagulls resting on a lamp pole. As you can see from the coloration of the road, this is a dangerous lamp to walk under.

Here is an interesting looking tree growing outside of the APEC House.

Here is a shot of the APEC House from an observation platform.

Looking the other way, you can see most of Hauendae Beach.

I found my way back to the beach for sunset. I met some young Korean high school boys while I was sitting there, so I got another chance to practice Korean. I could understand about 20% of what they said because they were speaking really fast and using words I don't know. It was a good chance for practice anyways.

I knew Busan would be a great place to have seafood, so I jumped into a taxi and said I want to eat Jogae-guwee (조개구이). He took me for a 10 minute ride to a great restaurant. This is a blurry photo, but you can get the idea. Basically, you cook shells over charcoal until they are ready to eat.

Busan Trip (Day 1)

2008-07-07T19:28:00.000-07:00

I went to Busan in a solo trip over the weekend and had a really good time. I left Seoul Station via KTX high speed train at 7:30am and arrived in Busan at 10:15am. My seat was comfortable but wasn't great for sleeping which I really needed. I didn't go right to bed after work on the 4th because I wanted to have a beer and light fireworks to celebrate American Independence Day and my brother's wedding anniversary. So I was operating on about 3 hours of sleep.

Right outside Busan Station is a Starbucks and in front of Starbucks is a bus to Haeundae Beach, which was my ultimate destination. So I drank 8 shots of espresso and started for the beach.

The weather was a little cloudy. I stood near the middle of the beach faced left and took this photo. I think it is pretty cool that you can see the clouds engulf the peninsula.

Here is the view looking to the right.

I laid out in the sun on my back for just under 40 minutes, but I got a really small sun burn anyway. I didn't use any sunblock, but I really didn't think I'd need any for such a short period of time in the sun on a cloudy day. After about 15 minutes of laying on my stomach I went into the water. I was only in the water for about 5 minutes. It was so cold that I felt dizzy and short of beath. I didn't bother to go back into the water again.

I brought some books to study while on my trip. One was Principles of Language Learning And Teaching, by H. Douglas Brown, and the other was Korean For Foreigners (Intermediate 2), by GANADA Korean Language Institute. While I was sitting on a bench studying Korean, I met these two Korean girls. The one on my right side is Min-ji (민지) an architectual design student, and the other is Hye-lim (혜림) a fashion design student. We talked a bit about my thoughts on Korean architect. I suggested we take a walk to examine the local designs. On our way around, we took a walk around the APEC house. APEC house is a place on a peninsula where the leaders of several nations came for a conference in 2005. The picture above is of us standing in front of a light house in that area.

This is a random couple enjoying a romantic moment in the fog.

I really love the shape of the Korean pine tree you can see in the foreground. The wooden walkway takes you all the way around the peninsula, with many great views to photograph.

Here is Hye-lim again.

Here is Min-ji again.

At the end of our walk, I bought the girls some coffee. Except for our talk about architecture, we spoke Korean the entire time. So this was excellent practice for me. Two cups of coffee is a small price to pay for attractive girls to practice conversation with.

At the end of the evening, I sat down on the beach to do some people watching. I was told that if the weather stays nice, people will be on the beach all night. I wanted to wake up and enjoy a full day, so I didn't stay too long. I found a really dingy motel to stay at for $50. I don't have any photos of it, but I do have photos of my second night's motel which was 1000 times better for the same price. I'll post those photos later.

Hike up Namsan

2008-06-01T20:19:00.000-07:00

In late April I went for a hike up Namsan, a small foothill in the center of Seoul. You can take a tram up to the top where Namsan tower is. I did this with my parents in September 2007. This time I walked from Itaewon station to the Hilton Hotel, where across the street is a flower park and an entrance to the footpath to Namsan.

From the flower park, you can walk up a trail until you reach this road that goes the rest of the way to the top. You don't need to walk on the trail at all. You can start at the bottom of the road and follow it to the top. Pedestrians share the road with tour buses.

This particular day was beautiful because the flower pedals on the trees were blowing in the wind as they fell to the ground. I especially enjoy such moments as they only happen briefly.

From a small lookout platform I took a photo of the city smog and of Namsan Tower. The top of Namsan Tower is a 360 degree observatory.

Ancient Koreans used these chambers to send smoke signals for communication.

On my way back down through the flower park I took some more photos. I liked how these came out.

Let's Visit Seoul!

2008-05-21T01:17:00.001-07:00

I'm in the process of creating a new blog called Let's Visit Seoul! I want to make it into a place where people planning to visit Seoul, or are living here, can find interesting things to do and get some good tips.

I know there are tourist websites made by the Korean government which will have much more information than I care to research and provide, however I don't think having the most information is necessarily the best.

Also, the information and tips I give will reflect the interests and experiences I most enjoy. So basically, Let's Visit Seoul! will have my personality.

I'm going to get a good deal of knowledge about Seoul by putting this website together. So for me, this is going to be a fun project.

Friend gets ticket for spitting

2008-05-19T03:43:00.001-07:00

So my buddy, who is new to Korea, was in Itaewon on Saturday night. He spit on the ground while walking past the police department. Then a police officer grabbed him and told him he was getting a ticket for spitting. So my friend told the Korean officer that his name was "Ralph Waldo Emerson" and that he was from "Pizza School", a local pizza restaurant. The officer told my friend that he was going to receive a warning and then was let go. I guess the information gathering done by the officer was just a formality.

I was shocked to hear that it is illegal to spit in Korea because it seems like spitting is a national pastime here. I haven't gone a single day in Korea without seeing someone spit or stepping over spit on the streets or in the subway stations. I've been in Korea for about 20 months and have never heard of the law.

I posted about this on www.daveseslcafe.com and a few people have flamed me for being so shocked. Here is a link to the thread if you care to read it. I'm just surprised that there is a law against spitting considering how many people do it. I think the people flaming me over there make it sound like they knew that spitting in Korea was a crime. I'm going to post some questions to them to see if they really did know that.

Anyways, here are some photos of the ticket that I promised to post. The fine is 30,000 won ($30).

New Korean Books

2008-05-12T23:45:00.000-07:00

I bought the next book in the Ga Na Da Korean textbook series I've been using. I'm almost finished with the workbook of the last textbook in this series. I don't think I've really learned all that is in the two "Elementary" level books, but it is time to move on to the next level. I feel that moving to the next level will force me to be exposed to new grammar forms which, in the long run, seems to be a good strategy.

In order to strengthen the material that I've learned over the past year, I have bought some lower level textbooks to practice in. I'm still not 100% confident about things that are taught in lower levels, so I think doing exercises that are a little easy for me will give me the confidence I am looking for.

I've been watching Korean TV for about two weeks. This is helping with my confidence as well. I can understand a lot of what is being said at times.

So despite the frustration I've experienced during nearly every step of the learning process, I am making progress.

New Korean Friends

2008-04-24T08:22:00.000-07:00

I made some new Korean friends last Sunday while juggling at the park. Two girls were watching me juggle for a while and then began talking to me on my break. They happened to be at the park to watch a traditional Korean music performance. I love that kind of music so we decided to watch it together.

One thing led to another and we had dinner together after the show. While having coffee we decided to meet for a language exchange. So on Wednesday we met for about 3 hours and practiced English and Korean.

These girls are really cool so it makes for an interesting time when we are together. We are going to meet again for a mountain climb and study session at the top of the mountain on Sunday.

I'm sure my speaking ability will improve a lot by hanging out with them, so I'm really happy about it. It's really my first attempt to make Korean friends for the sole purpose of speaking Korean with them. I've been waiting for my Korean to be at a level which would make this possible for me without giving me stress. I don't think I would be so interested in these girls if they weren't fun to be around.

Spring in Korea

2008-04-18T19:21:00.000-07:00

There is a park nearby my home that has a large lake in the middle. Inside the lake is the outdoor portion of an amusement park. A walking/jogging trail goes all around the lake (2563km) and a footpath is higher on street level. I've been taking my bike to the park and getting some running in.

On my first visit to the park I took this photo. That was about 3 weeks ago. The photo below was taken about 10 days ago.

Quite a difference! I think I happened to visit the park at the peak of the trees blooming. If not the day I went, it was the day before.

Standing from the same position and looking to the right side of the lake. The old boat there is just for decorations.

A view of the outdoor portion of Lotte World amusement park. There is a huge indoor facility that goes with it.

I liked the contrast of the white and yellow colors.

The two photos above are the last from my visit to the park 10 days ago. Below are photos from my visit two days ago. The beautiful white trees have turned green already and now the flowers around them are beginning to bloom. I believe the main flower you see in Korea is the Azalea. They are literally everywhere. The colors are pink, red, and purple.

I took this photo to give you a sense of how many flowers will be in bloom at one time. These flowers haven't peaked yet, so I've got to return with my camera over the next few days.

The amount of flowers in bloom reminds me of spring in Oregon. However, I think there is a greater variety of flowers in Oregon.

Korean Language Slump

2008-04-15T06:45:00.000-07:00

I'm totally feeling a slump in my Korean learning. There is a huge gap between the Korean I learn in my books and the Korean that is used by Koreans.

If all I had to do was read and write in order to communicate, I'd probably feel a little better. My Korean skills are heavily skewed toward reading and writing.

I have zero confidence in my speaking abilities, and I get too easily frustrated in speaking situations.

I can't understand what people say to me even though I should because I know the meanings of the words. I think some people are naturally good at hearing foreign languages. I think I'm not one of them.

Next week will mark 1 year 7 months since I first moved to Korea. I've spent 2 months away from Korea on trips during that time. I've been studying Korean for nearly a year and I had really hoped my speaking ability would be better by now. In fact, I think I've gotten worse at speaking Korean in the last few months.

I'm considering going back to the Korean language academy in Gangam, but I haven't decided yet. I would really like a chance to speak the Korean I know in a comfortable environment.

I'll think about it whilst sipping a glass or two of Makoli.

Portland, Oregon

2008-04-09T19:16:00.001-07:00

In February of this year I went back to Oregon to take care of a criminal background check for my new job. During that trip I took an afternoon to walk around the city of Portland, Oregon.

Portland is fairly clean, has some old buildings (the kind with character), medium sized skyline, and in general, is pretty cool. I thought this was an interesting combination of building designs to be next to each other.

Powell's Books is a landmark store in Portland. It's a huge used books bookstore. It is really easy to navigate though, because the store is divided into color sections depending on the subject. I bought a ton of books while here including the book "The Death And Life Of Great American Cities" by Jane Jacobs.

These elephants were situated in one of the parks sprinkled throughout the downtown area.

Portland has a China town complete with entrance gate and guardians. If you get this far, you are only moments away from a visit to the Portland Classical Chinese Garden. I recommend it. (photographs)

This was a nice looking mural I found on my way to one of the many bridges in Portland.

From the bridge, I took a photo looking across the river. The two towers you can see are the tops of the convention center.

I turned to my left for this photo. You can see another three bridges. I saw a poster in Powell's Books with all of the bridges on it. There are 10 bridges that span the Willamette River around the city's center.

This is the Pioneer Courthouse, located in Pioneer Courthouse Square Plaza. I was at the plaza for the 2005-2006 new year celebration.

Finally, here is another interesting shot of the cityscape.

On my next visit to Portland, I'd like to take a tour of the Shanghai Tunnels also known as The Portland Underground. Portland had the reputation for being the most dangerous port on the west coast in the late 1800's and early 1900's because of the chance you could be kidnapped and forced to work on a sailing ship.

Fukuoka Festival

2008-04-05T17:56:00.000-07:00

The Hakata Dontaku is a Japanese festival held in Fukuoka, Japan every year in May. It has the largest attendance of any Japanese festival. This festival coincides with the Korean national holiday Children's Day, so I am thinking about going back for a few days to enjoy this event. I am particularly interested in hearing the traditional music and dance performances.

For example, play this fantastic video compilation of the event and crank up the volume. The music on this video, recorded from the event is wicked cool!

By the way, the way the girl on the left and the boy on the right are dressed is called Ganguro and is common to see among youth in everyday life in Japan.

Fukuoka Visa Run (Part 5)

2008-04-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

I left Ohori Koen Park and returned to my hosts apartment. I met her new roommate and drank a couple of beers with him before dashing out the door to meet my friend from the consulate. We had arranged to meet at 9:30pm at Exit 1 of the Tenjin Station. It was 9:15pm and I was almost 3 miles away. I decided to save the $16 taxi cab fare and jogged the distance in my hiking boots. Bad idea. I got to the exit at 9:42pm, 3 minutes before the agreed cut off point, where we would not wait for the other person to show up. I looked around and could not find my friend. I found out at the airport the next day that she was at a different Exit 1. Apparently there are two Exit 1's in Tenjin Station.

So anyway, I decided to fly solo and find a recommended bar. I walked around for about 45 minutes before giving up. My feet and legs were tired from the 3 mile jog and subsequent 3 mile search for a bar that was recommended. I considered going back to the apartment since it was already nearing 11pm.

Then I remembered being recommended to eat Fukuoka ramen noodles. Apparently Fukuoka ramen noodles are special since they are cooked with pork. Different areas of Japan cook ramen in different ways, so this was my chance. Off I went in search of a ramen tent.

I walked into the first tent I found. There were two Japanese men eating ramen and one woman and one man cooking. I ordered ramen and a glass of sake. The sake was poured into a glass that was setting in a box. Sorry no picture of that. They poured so much into the glass that it overflowed into the box. There must be a reason for this, but I decided I shouldn't drink what spilled into the box. By the time I had finished my ramen, the two men had gone, I had finished another glass of sake, and a bunch of fresh Japanese people entered the tent. One of which spoke good English. She was a lady my age and was having fun teaching me about the food and drinks available in the tent.

The lady on my right is the one who was teaching me about Japanese food and drink. I wound up having two more drinks with her of something called Show-Chu, a form of distilled hard alcohol made in Japan.

After a while my new Japanese friend invited me to go to another bar with her to try more food and drinks. We wound up staying out until 3:30am-ish. I paid for the expensive taxi ride back to the apartment and crashed. By 9:00am I was up and showering so I could pick up my visa and be at the airport for a 6:45pm flight. Too bad I didn't see that the flight wasn't until 8:50pm. I arrived at the airport around 4:30pm and spent a few hours just waiting.

Fortunately I did some last minute shopping at Tenjin Station underground mall before going to the airport. I was looking for some traditional Japanese crafts and found a great shop there for such things.

I passed through a plaza while shopping and took this photo of some daisies.

I also came across a person dressed in a wicked traditional outfit. He/she was just standing there all afternoon.

So that's all I have to share about my Fukuoka Visa Run. I've since learned that there is a huge festival there in May and am considering going back. It is the largest festival in Japan with parades in the streets and performances all week long. I happen to have a three day weekend during the festival.

Insadong again

2008-03-31T22:51:00.000-07:00

The very next day after I visited Insadong, I went back in order to exchange a t-shirt I bought for a bigger size. This time I brought my new friend and co-worker Garrett with me. I've been trying to help Garrett get acquainted to his new life in Korea. It's been a lot of fun to play host.

One of the traditional Korean crafts you can find in Insadong are these products made out of paper. This particular store sells lamps like I bought last week, end tables like the ones in this photo, and clothes dressers. They are covered with a protectant that allows you to wipe them clean with a damp towel. Pretty cool, but expensive for the larger items.

I showed this photo to one of my students. She said the big face looks scary. I think it looks happy. Definitely on my "cool" list. It's about 18" tall and 12" wide. It's pretty heavy too, being made of solid wood. It's not a traditional Korean mask either, but I think it was made by a Korean artist.

This is one of the many crafts people who are busy creating their goods while selling them. This man was selling the image of the goblin faces, various carvings, and some nice looking pencil holders. The face is called Dokkaebi (도깨비) and when the image is hung in a house, the goblin creature protects the home.

This is a metal statue of a dragon that I thought was interesting. It's about 3 feet (1 meter) tall. I asked how much... $1500. I don't really have room for that thing in my apartment, but it would be really cool to have.

I don't recall seeing this the day before. Probably because it was raining then.

After returning from Insadong, we walked around town to find a good restaurant. We passed by this one that was closed on Sundays. As far as personality goes, this restaurant looks promising. Restaurants and bars with personality are few and far between in Korea.

We decided to eat Sam Gyeop Sal (삼겹살), a barbecued pork meal that is really common. I took this photo to document Garrett's sweating face as he muscled down some really hot peppers. We stayed out longer than is smart to do on a Sunday night which made Monday an extra long day.

Jeju Fire Festival

2008-03-29T20:12:00.000-07:00

Definitely on my list of things to do in Korea is to go to the Jeju Fire Festival. I found some information about this event here and here. You can find out more about it on the Tour2Korea.com website too. The event was held in February of 2008 and is annual. I suppose it will be in February every year.

Here are a couple of short video clips I found on the Internet.

Fukuoka Visa Run Part (Part 4)

2008-03-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

In this post I will show some pictures from Ohori Koen Park in Fukuoka. It is a lake with a large pathway around it for people to run, jog, or walk. Of course it has benches for people to relax on as well. You can even rent small boats to paddle or peddle around in. One particularly neat thing are the three little islands that connect with little bridges for people to cross the middle.

In this photo you can see the willow trees that line the edge of the lake. I especially like willows. They use them along the river parks in Korea. I think they give the landscape a soft and relaxing look.

You can also see a pathway just on the edge of the lake for people to stroll casually. A little further back is the really wide path for people intending to exercise. My host told me but I forgot the distance around the lake. It must be nearly 1.5 miles (2.4 km).

Here is another cool feature of the lake. It's a small island with what looks like a dead tree on it. The tree is full of black birds. It looks like it may have been intended as a bird sanctuary.

This little hut extends from the islands in the middle of the lake. As seen through the trees with the city skyline behind it.

As seen from the entrance.

My last photo is of the the bridge that takes you from the islands back to the outer edge of the park.

I think visiting this park is a great way to enjoy some peace on a trip through Fukuoka. I'm really lucky that my Couchsurfing.com host lived just 3 minutes from it's edge. Thanks Mies!

Insadong 'City Art'

2008-03-29T04:26:00.000-07:00

Here is a set of Jangseung (장승) displayed near the entrance of Insadong which is a famous area of Seoul for its art culture.

This is what is posted on Wikipedia about Jangseung:

A jangseung or village guardian is a Korean totem pole usually made of wood. Jangseungs were traditionally placed at the edges of villages to mark for village boundaries and frighten away demons. They were also worshipped as village tutelary deities.

When you come to Insadong you can find antiques, traditional art objects, and some modern art objects. You might think that every other young Korean you see has an expensive camera hanging from their neck, but you would be wrong. It's actually every fourth or fifth. :-)

Basically, it's an art area. I've bought some REALLY cool stuff here.

This piece of 'city art' is just across the road from the totems. It's a big paint brush with a stroke of paint. In fact, the name of the sculpture is "With A Stroke". The paint is actually a pool of water that comes bubbling up from the starting point of the paint and drains under the brush. When I took this photo, it was raining. So, the whole base looks glossy, but I think only the paint was intended to appear glossy. Either way, the water flowing around the brush stroke gives the sculpture a nice animation. On the other side of the brush handle was a thermometer built into the handle.

This is the coolest city art I've ever seen.

This piece is located along the busy street of Insadong.

Fukuoka Visa Run (Part 3)

2008-03-28T19:58:00.001-07:00

In this post about Fukuoka I will show some photos of the Architecture I saw.

I have recently become interested in the architecture of Korea, of which I will make posts about later on. Naturally this interest spilled over into my trip to Fukuoka.

This first photo is of the gate outside of the Korean consulate in Fukuoka. I like the yin-yang design in the wall. The yin-yang is also a part of the Korean flag.

This is a photo of the Korean consulate from inside the gate. I couldn't get all of the building in the photo, but you can get an idea of what the design was like from these photos. I thought the building was pretty cool.

I don't know the name of this building, which is just down the street from the Korean consulate. It is supposed to look like a ship. The dome looking thing on the side is a large hall used for events. At the time I walked by, it was set up for a wedding.

Here is a closer image from the side as I approached the beach.

Here is how the building looks while standing on the beach. The beach and general area of Fukuoka, I was told, is land reclaimed from the sea.

I really like this photo. If you look down the beach, you can see the Fukuoka tower. The beach is picture perfect. So clean and smooth, like every place in Fukuoka. It really seems the Japanese take a lot of pride in the cleanliness and orderliness of the country.

This is a good example of the basic city architecture. The buildings were mostly brown, beige, or gray colored. Most had outdoor stair wells. There were simple, clean, and had very few signs on them. If there was a sign, it usually blended or added some kind of style to the scenery.

I thought this office building looked interesting.

This one too.

I found an interesting looking church across from the moat of the ruins of an ruined castle. The ruins were really boring because the only thing left of the castle were the giant walls. There was some excavation going on and a sign in English saying they were going to try to restore parts.

A close up of the church.

Overall, the city was much cleaner than anything you can find in Korea. I like Korea, but the people here don't keep it clean. People piss, puke, and spit all over the place. Trashcans are meaningless to many, and signs have taken over some city areas like the creature from the movie "The Blob".

Fukuoka was much more expensive than Korea, and Korea has better food. So I think Japan remains a nice place to vacation and Korea a nice place to save money.

Fukuoka Visa Run (Part 2)

2008-03-28T19:15:00.000-07:00

In this post I will show some of the Art I came across in Fukuoka.

I have a new interest in what I call "city art", the artwork that you come across in cities. There is probably an official name of that style of art, but I haven't learned it yet. I have been taking a few photographs of this sort of art in Seoul and will eventually upload the photos I take.

This first photo is from the area outside of the Fukuoka Dome, where baseball games are played. It is also close to the Hardrock Cafe.

I found this in the city center. There is another matching "pissing boy fountian" on the other side. In Korea, they don't make fountains like this because you can see people pissing on the side of the street on any given night. ;-)

This thing was on display in the Fukuoka airport. It is carried on a large rack in a street parade by a bunch of men and while 3 men sit near the edge of the front of the rack. I know this because there are two pictures of it being used on display as well. I couldn't figure out what the celebration it is used for is about.

On one side is a red figure and on the other is a blue figure.

Fukuoka Visa Run (Part 1)

2008-03-25T20:32:00.000-07:00

I visited Fukuoka, Japan from Saturday March 22 - Tuesday 25, 2008 in order to get an E-2 work visa for my English teaching job with Hyunjae Academy. These are my photos and memories from that trip.

I am a new member of an internet community of people who offer couch/floor space to other members of the community while they are travelling. The service is aptly named "Couch Surfing" I used this service to locate a Dutch woman named Mies Heerma who had lived in Japan for 9 years and was a very experienced couch surfer.

When you land at Fukuoka Int. Airport, you must take a short, free shuttle bus to the domestic terminal where you can get on the subway. From there it is a short 10 minute subway ride to the center of the city at Tenjin Station.

Mies met me at the station and took me for a bite to eat and some drinks over a very nice conversation.

The next day, Mies took me to a shrine located about 5 walking minutes from her apartment. You can see a modern building above the trees in the background. Mies said this is a new building that she thinks spoils the view of the shrine. I agree.

We approached the building, but did not go inside because there was some kind of ceremony happening. Instead, we paid 50 cents each to buy a fortune, written in English too, and tied it to the wooden rack.

There are two of these creatures in front of the entrance to the temple. One on each side of the gate pictured below.

I saw this kind of gate in a few places in Fukuoka. I think they were all in front of some kind of shrine or temple.

I spent all day at a tattoo shop on Sunday. The shop is named Art Magic Tattoo Studio. It is located 2 minutes down the street from the Apple Computer Store.

I knew there were some tattoo shops in Fukuoka from an internet search I did. I didn't know where they were or how to find them. I found this shop by accident. I was merely walking toward downtown on a road that goes from Mies' apartment. I didn't waste a second and walked right in.

It was a really cool experience overall despite the fact that the two guys working there new only a few words of English and myself not knowing any Japanese.

I had been thinking about getting this tattoo since my last tattoo of a dragon on my left shin in April of 2005. For this tattoo I knew I wanted a tribal flower design, but was unsure of where I would put it.

I entered the shop at about 1pm. I flipped through a big book about flowers the artist had in the shop. I found a few pictures of lilies and decided that was the kind of flower I wanted. It took me about 45 minutes to decide on what kind of style (tribal) and what thing (lilies) I would get. The artist asked me to come back at 2:30pm so he could create the design. So I walked to the nearby McDonald's and got some lunch.

I went back at 2:30pm and had to wait a little longer for the artist to finish. By that time his partner or boss arrived and was offering advice throughout the process. The artist showed me the design of the big flower on my chest and I liked it. I asked him to enlarge the image a little and he did that for me. Then he began to prepare to put the big flower on my chest. He told me the two small flowers would be designed after the first has been put on my chest.

I got on the work bench at 3:30pm. The artist did not finish until 10:30pm. He took two short 10-15 minute breaks (to rest) and one 45 minute break (to draw the small flowers). That's about 6 hours of tattooing! The chest hurt the most because of the softer skin.

I'm really happy with the end result. Several things made this a good experience. I've had 3 years to think about this tattoo so I knew what I wanted to do, I found an artist who displayed the highest professionalism, and I got an original design of which I was consulted about by the artist. These kinds of interactions between the artist and myself make up the core of what I believe makes the tattooing industry loved by so many people.

There were signs in Japanese, English, and Korean. I assume that English speaking people and Koreans make up the bulk of visitors to Fukuoka.

After my tattoo I went for a beer and some food. These are the pizza salads I ordered. They cost $5.50 each. They were delicious, but very small.

Food and everything in general was very expensive. It cost $5.50 just to get into a taxi. I took a taxi home on my last night. It was maybe 3 miles. I paid over $16. Ouch!

I bumped into a girl I knew from teaching in Daechi. We met by accident in Daechi at a Starbucks. I hadn't seen her in a few months. She finished her last contract and went back home. I finished my contract and traveled.

Anyways, we were both applying for our new visa at the same time. So we decided to go to the Fukuoka Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. That was a cool surprise. Small world, huh?

Fukuoka Visa Run

2008-03-21T20:13:00.000-07:00

I am going to Fukuoka, Japan for my new work visa this weekend. I'm heading out today and will arrive there around 7pm. I have arranged to "surf" my first couch while there. I'll save some money on a hotel, but the more important thing is to meet people who are already living there. I'm sure I'll get a ton of advice on what to do or see while I am there. I will come back to Korea on Tuesday evening.

오늘부터 화요일까지 일본에 간다. 일 비자 때문에 가야 한다. 그 동안 재미있게 보냈으면 좋겠다. 또 날씨가 좋았으면 좋겠다.

한국말을 아직 잘 못합니다

2008-03-17T21:49:00.000-07:00

열심히 공부했지만 한국말을 잘 못합니다. 공부한지 10개 월 됐습니다. 한국에 온지 18개 월 됐습니다. 제 생각에는 1년 동안 더 공부하면 잘 해질 겁니다.

지난 주에 한국 술 친구를 사귀었는데 주마다 한번 만나고 술을 마실 겁니다. 그때 한국말 연습을 많이 할 수 있을 겁니다.

지금부터 가끔 한국말로 쓸 겁니다.

~김아싸!

김아싸! (My Korean name)

2008-03-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

A guy I bumped into in Itaewon named Simon happened to be a graphic artist. We chatted a bit and decided to drink together. He was only passing through Korea to see his mother, so it was a brief friendship. Nonetheless, he thanked me for showing him around by creating this image with part of my Korean name on it.

Actually the word on the image in English means 'Yeah!'. It's used in the same way by adults and kids when something good has just happened. In English letters you would pronounce it 'Ah-Ssah!'. The double s is just a longer s sound.

Well, my Korean name is Kim Ah-Ssah(!). Kim (김) is the most common Korean family name followed by Lee (이) and Park (박).

So I've combined the most common family name with the most common 'fun word' in the Korean language. You can imagine the reactions I get when I tell Koreans my Korean name. Some people don't like it, but most chuckle pretty hard.

I got the name from a student of mine. I had a hat made with the work 'Ah-Ssah!' written in Korea like this 아싸! on it. It always gets reactions as I walk through the city.

So anyway, I was in class one day with the hat on. It was the first class of the term, so the students hadn't met me before. At the end of class with nothing left to teach, I suggested we have a quiz. After a few moans, a student suggested we have a quiz about my name. I agreed that was a good idea. So someone shouted 'Eddie' which is correct, but I said it was incorrect. Another said 'Eduard' which is correct, but I said incorrect. Another said 'Joseph', which is my middle name and I said incorrect. Now the students are getting confused. I had just written my complete name on the board during my introduction. Then finally, one student said 'your name is Kim Ah-Ssah!'. The class erupted in laughter and from then on, I've called myself by that name in Korean.

Bukhansan Mountain

2008-03-16T18:47:00.000-07:00

Back in October 2007, before it got too cold, I went to Bukhansan Mountain with my Korean friend Seijoeng. Mountain climbing is a serious pastime here. The demographic is middle aged mostly. Many Koreans like to bring rice wine with them to drink at the top along with their snacks which often include dried squid (think beef jerky).

On our way up we were asked to take a photo for this group of men. I snuck a photo for myself as well.

This a what you see when going up the mountain in the late afternoon, as we did. Scores of people focused on coming down.

There are two paths we had a choice between as we went up. One went up to the top of Bukhansan and the other went to a shorter peak. We chose the shorter peak because it was already late and my friend was extremely winded. This is the portion of the trail just before you hit the lower peak that we chose to climb.

The view is really interesting. Here is a Korean man taking in the sight near the top.

Finally, at the top Koreans chatted and took photos.

Here are two photos of the same view, one wide and one zoomed in. I read that something like 75% of the Korean landscape is mountains. Space is limited so Koreans build things vertically rather than horizontally. They use all of the available space right up to the sides of the next mountain. I think that is cool.

Looking in another direction.

Seijeong and I at the top.

Bukhansan at sunset.

A great thing about going later in the afternoon was the chance to take photos of the mountain as the sun went down. We had actually decided to leave the peak before the sun went down, so I was thinking I would not get the chance to take such photos. But, as we came down a few minutes, an opening along the trail offered the view you see in this photo.

I enjoyed the trip thoroughly and intend to climb all the local mountains and eventually hit mountains across the country.

1st Korean Art Purchases

2008-03-16T18:12:00.000-07:00

I purchased 3 paintings and two rice paper lamps yesterday. These are my first personal Korean art purchases. I bought my sister in law a rice paper lamp last year.

I had seen these three paintings in a store in Itaewon for at least one year. I have asked the owner to take them down from the wall for me to inspect on two occasions and have gone in to look at them on two other occassions. So I finally decided that if they were still on the wall, I would offer to pay for them at a discount.

The name of this store in Iteawon is Mont Blanc and they sell all kinds of jewerly, cereamic, and souvenirs.

This first painting is of a dragon and has an interesting hole in the middle.

This painting is of a tiger. I love how the tiger's wild eyes are staring at the bird in the tree.

This painting is neat because of the large metal protrusion of the dragon face. All of the art is by the same artist.

After buying this artwork and feeling good about it, I went to another store in Yongsan that sells hand crafted paper lamps. The one in this picture is the smaller of the two and I took it from the set that were on display. The other one I bought I had to put an order for because I wanted to combine a lamp design with a lamp shade color from different lamps that were on display. I should be able to pick those up in a week. These are cool because you can change 3 levels of brightness simply by touching the metal knob at the base.

I'm off to Japan this weekend. I'm hoping I can find some art from Japan to bring back with me.

Mom & Dad Visit Korea (Part 7)

2008-03-13T21:21:00.000-07:00

Here it is, the final installment of posts about my parents' visit to Korea way back in September 2007. :-)

This post covers our trip to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) area that is heavily guarded by both the North Koreans and South Koreans. I think the DMZ trip and the Chongdong Theater performance I saw with my parents were the coolest things I did in Korea during my first year. I can summarize the DMZ trip in two words, 'intense' and 'surreal'.

There was never any official declaration of peace after the Korean War, so technically the two countries are still at war. The specific area we visited was called the Joint Security Area (JSA). It is where the North and South have meetings.

This is a picture of a map of the JSA that was in the briefing room where we were told how to behave while on the site. The red buildings are North Korean, the blue buildings are South Korean except for the blue buildings in the middle. I think these are the meeting places for both countries, so are shared. Interestingly, the North allows people to tour the JSA. In fact, a Russian man defected during a tour during the Cold War. There was a gunfight and a few soldiers died, but the Russian was able to survive.

This is a picture of the briefing room. We had around 90 people in the tour group. From what I heard the two military tour guides say, it was a large group.

This is a picture of the inside of the middle blue building. The table there is on the border between the North and South. The military man on the left is our tour guide. He is telling us to not touch the other guards, that they are there for our protection.

I love this picture. This is surreal. The guide told us we could take pictures of whatever we wanted as long as we didn't touch or step too close in front of the guards. I don't know this lady who is posing for a picture.

On one end of the small building was this guard. The door to his side goes into a small room which I think was for the translators. The door behind him goes out to the North Korean side of the border. We were told that the paint on the wall which has been rubbed off is a result of a new safety procedure.

Apparently, one guard was preparing the building for a tour by locking the door on the North Korean side when the North Korean soldiers suddenly opened the door and tried to pull the South Korean soldier to their side. If this had happened, the North could easily have said the South Korean defected and never be heard from again. So, these days one person locks the door while a second person holds the belt of the person locking the door with one had and holds the white area of the wall with the other hand to prevent being abducted by the North Koreans. This is intense.

From inside, I took some pictures looking outside. This is a South Korean guard standing halfway behind the corner of one of the blue buildings. The guards stand that way in case a gun fight breaks out. If that happens, they can easily take cover behind the wall. The guards must be at least 5'11" (180 cm) tall, have a clean criminal record, and have the highest scores on exams. They are all highly trained in small arms combat.

Do you want to know what a North Korean soldier looks like? You're looking at one here. Outside the building we were in were three North Korean soldiers. Two were facing each other between the buildings along the border line (a raised cememt block you can see in other photos). The other was wandering around a bit.

It was explained to us that the guards wear Ray-Ban sunglasses and use a Taekwondo semi-ready fighting stance to intimidate the North Koreans. Intense?

Here you can see a North Korean soldier and a South Korean soldier standing virtually back-to-back. Surreal?

When we were done inside, the other half of the group went inside and we came outside to stand on some steps to take photos and learn more about the JSA. We were instructed to not point or make gestures, and to not come off the steps. Sure enough, one tourist managed to do both. Another tourist also made a gesture. The tour guide firmly reminded the two of the rules after each little incident. It made me consider that if there was some sort of gunfight while we were there, we would all die because these tourists couldn't follow simple instructions designed for the group's safety.

The big building on the other side of the blue buildings is the North Korean headquarters. We are standing on the steps of the South Korean headquarters.

Later in the tour we went to an observatory. Here is mom and dad being playful and taking a photo of themselves behind the 'No Photo Line' which is there to prevent people from spying on the South Korean troops that were literally in bunkers below us.

This is the North Korean flag. Apparently the North made the largest flag on the largest flag pole ever made in an attempt to show their superiority.

This is the 'bridge of no return' where, after the Korean War, prisoners from both sides were allowed to go back to their homes but they were not allowed to return afterwards.

This is a memorial of an incident I think is called 'the axe murders'. There was a big tree that was blocking the South Koreans from observing the activities in one the North Korea guard houses, so some American soldiers went down there to cut the tree down. North Korean soldiers intervened, a fight broke out, and in the end at least two Americans were axed to death by North Koreans who outnumbered the Americans.

This caused Washington DC leaders to consider going to war with the North. Ultimately Washington decided to run operation 'Paul Bunyan', the largest military backed tree trimming operation in the history of the world. Several battle ready ships and aircraft carriers were positioned off the coast of North Korea, attack helicopters and speacial forces battalions were deployed to the JSA while 'that damned tree', as it was referred to in Washington, was cut down. Military personel who were listening to the radio communications of the North Koreans reported that the North Koreans were shitting their pants.

Dad can sleep anywhere.

After the long day at the DMZ dad and I enjoyed Chuncheon Talkgalbi and soju.

I highly recommend this tour which is offered through the USO for about $50.

Mom & Dad Visit Korea (Part 6)

2008-03-02T16:48:00.001-08:00

Wednesday of my parents' visit was a really full day. We started out by going to the Korean Rodeo Drive. Except for stopping to take a couple of pictures, we didn't do anything there but walk around. I was expecting to see really expensive looking buildings filled with expensive looking goods. The streets and shops looked very much like any other streets and shops in Korea.

After Rodeo Drive, we went to Insadong. Insadong is famous for being the art district in Seoul. There are a lot of art supply shops, antique shops, and traditional Korean craft shops. The walking sreet is usually packed with people all year round.

My mom found some beautiful jewelry at this store. She bought a necklace with wild Korean flowers embedded in it. She bought matching earings, of course.

There are strict rules for signage in Insadong. This sign is the word 'Starbucks' written in Korean to help keep Insadong's Korean traditional appeal.

After Insadong, we went to the Dongdaemun night market. The shops open after 6pm and don't close until 3am. The area consists of a bunch of buildings packed with merchandise. Outdoors, the sidewalks are filled with people shopping along the streets and enjoying the performances that take place on stages built along the buildings.

After Dongdaemun market, we went to Namsan Tower in Itaewon. This tower sits atop a big hill that allows one to see all of Seoul. We went at night, but I think it would have been better to go a little while before sunset. It would have been nice to see Seoul in daylight as well as at night.

There was a 'junk art' exhibit going on at the tower. I took a photo of mom and dad next to a pig sculpture and another of mom next to a bench sculpture.

This was an eventful day for sure. I was tired and a little worried that I would not have the energy to enjoy the next days visit to the DMZ. However, the DMZ turned out to be quite an intense experience and I did not have a problem keeping my energy up. My next post about this visit will be about the DMZ.

National Treasure #1 Burns

2008-02-24T12:08:00.000-08:00

A sad thing happened in Seoul, Korea recently when Namdaemun Gate burned down as a result of arson. The arsonist was a homeless man who apparently set the fire on purpose. From what I've gathered in news reports, several homeless people had taken refuge in the gate's top floor at night for many months. Despite security gaurds being employed at the gate, the homeless were not prevented from breaking in.

Here is the gate as it was prior to the fire.

This gate was a place where, everyday, ceremonies were conducted. I was able to see one of them when I was touring the Namdaemun Market area.

The gate is positioned inside a large turnabout where thousands of people see it daily by driving or walking by it. I think it will be rebuilt in the same location, but it will never be the same.

One cameraman took photos of the crowds that gathered to see their National Treasure #1 burn down.

Amazing 3 months

2008-02-22T20:21:00.000-08:00

The last 3 months have been amazing for me. I visited Stockholm, Sweden for a few days before and after staying 2.5 weeks with my brother's family and our parents in southern Sweden over the December holidays. After Sweden, I stayed four nights in Amsterdam which was really fun and beautiful. Amsterdam is a gem. After Amsterdam, I studied Korean at a Korean university for a month. I found a great job, signed a contract, and flew back to Oregon where I am now in order to complete a criminal background check for my new job.

I will be in Oregon for about 21 days total. I have 3 days left before I head back to Korea. I've already travelled to Portland twice, the Oregon coast, and juggled with the Portland Jugglers for my first time ever and with the OSU Jugglers. I will head to Eugene on Monday to juggle with the University of Oregon Juggling Club. I've eaten a ton of delicious American cuisine and drank a fair amount of microbrews.

I really miss Oregon and am entertaining the thought of settling down in Portland when my travels are complete. But for now, this long visit has filled me up with enough memories (and supplies) to carry me another year in Korea.

I'm really looking forward to getting back to Korea to start my new job, move into my new apartment, continue learning Korean, being a member of the Korean juggling community, and so much more.

M.I.A. Report

2008-01-20T23:43:00.000-08:00

So it has been a while since I posted last. I was away from my computer for about 28 days while I was traveling in Sweden and Amsterdam. More recently I've been busy adjusting to my new schedule as a full time Korean language student.

Posting is important, but I get busy like most people and priorities change. I've been dividing my time among :

1) Studying Korean

I study Korean at Yonsei University from 9am to 1pm Mon-Fri. I have been trying to spend 3 hours in the evening doing homework or going on dates with Korean girls to practice speaking. I know I will improve greatly during the next 6 months, but not without a lot of hard work.

2) Following world events and American politics online and in books.

The internet has recently become a place where I can learn more about American and world affairs.

My favorite place to go is Democracy Now! where I can watch an hour long news report streaming on my computer. DN! is a progressive and independent news organization completely funded by viewers and free from corporate control.

I also really love to watch The Bill Moyers Journal online, hosted by PBS. One of my great teachers, Dr. John King, introduced me to Moyers through a special on Joseph Cambell. Moyers has been around a long time and is a respectable voice for progressive ideas.

I'm probably spending 2.5 hours a day watching online news reports like these or reading online journals on the same topics. I have increasingly become concerned that in order to live a responsible life, you must participate in democracy. This means you must commit enough time watching, listening, and thinking about current and historical events that effect our lives and future lives.

Things I read online:

Z Magazine

The Nation

PolitiFact

FactCheck.org

3) Barely.... juggling.

I have been working on some skills for a performance I am developing, but I have not committed myself to practice daily for 2 hours like I have in the past. I think a more realistic practice schedule for me these days is 1 hour or so 3-4 times per week. I'm not so interested in pushing the envelope of my skills like I had in the past. These days I'm comfortable juggling for the fun of it and more so for developing the performance idea I have. I plan to only use *easy* tricks in my performance thereby making it more accessible to my abilities and more likely that I will follow through with it.

Changes

2007-12-03T17:57:00.000-08:00

I finished my first year-long English teaching contract in Korea on November 30. I had been in Korea for 2 months before signing the contract, so I've been in Korea for just over 14 months now (437 days at the time of this post).

I had expected to sign a new contract with the same company (DYB Choisun, 최선어학관), but for reasons I have never been told, the owner of the school did not want me to come back for another year. This came as a surprise to me and my coworkers. Particularily since I had approached the subject of resigning 4 months before the end of my contract and eventually had been told by the owner I could sign a new contract 3 weeks before I was finally told I would not be able to do so. Could this be attributed to the non-confrontational style of interaction the East is known for? Maybe the owner was trying to "save face" by lying to me? I was curious to find out, but the owner Song Oh-Hyeon (송오현) refused to meet with me.

Nevertheless, I found myself with just 3 weeks to make new plans.

I had planned on taking a few weeks off to visit my brother and parents in Sweden over the Christmas holidays and then returning for the second contract. Now I had to worry about finding another job. There are only two other companies that I know of in Korea that pay as well as the company I had been working for and one of them has a higher standard for teachers' credentials than I could pass. The company that I had a chance to work for and therefore continue to maintain my current level of income and workload didn't respond promptly to my inquiries. So I found myself examining other options.

I decided that I will still visit Sweden as planned. I will leave in just two days. I'll be there for 3 weeks and then spend 4 nights in Amsterdam for the new year celebration. This is a well deserved break from Korea. Europe is so different different from Korea and I'm really excited to go.

I researched my options a bit and decided that I will not return to teaching/working right away. Instead I will attend Yonsei University in Seoul to be a fulltime Korean language student. I have since applied, been accepted, and paid tuition for the first 10 week course that will begin on January 10. There is a placement test on January 7. Regardless of the level I enter in, I will have 4 hours of class M-F 9am-1pm. I will also try to spend 4 hours doing homework and try to watch Korean television dramas as a way to get listening practice and hear how Korean is spoken in the context of real-ish situations.

I've studied Korean for 7 months, basically on my own or with Korean language exchange partner every day for an average 1.5 hours each day. I'm definitely learning grammar and vocabulary words because I am pretty confident with my reading and writing ability. My difficulty is in listening and speaking. I don't get much practice doing those. Mostly it's because I'm too shy/embarrassed to speak to Koreans. I don't have any confidence in my pronunciation or in my ability to say something that a Korean would say. I don't know if what I want to say is common or not. I have begun to increase my practice of saying the things I read out loud in order to give my tongue practice pronouncing sentences. I've also been watching more Korean television dramas to work on listening and to learn Korean phrases in the context of situations.

I'm confident that by totally immersing myself into the Korean language without worrying about work, I will be able to increase my language ability enormously over the next 6 months of classes.

At the moment, I am considering traveling around Korea after the second semester ends in June. At that time, I *should* be fluent enough to handle myself in most situations I could encounter on such a trip. The weather will be warm and I'll have a whole country to explore until my money runs out and it's time to go back to work.

Pepero Day (빼빼로 Day)

2007-11-10T19:14:00.000-08:00

The Korean mega company Lotte are marketing geniuses. They make a chocolate covered cookie snack in the shape of a stick called Pepero (빼빼로). The company created a day to celebrate the snack. It's called Pepero Day and falls on 11/11 (November 11) every year. The snack is in the shape of a straight line, it's name in Korean has a lot of straight lines, and the date of the celebration has straight lines (11/11).

As you can see below, the local convenience stores and supermarkets set up displays for the Pepero products. Some are wrapped in hearts and pretty bows, presumably so one can give them to their sweethearts. It's not just for lovers though. Friends give away boxes to their friends and students give boxes to their teachers.

You see the two boxes in the top photo? I just bought them... time to eat! Happy Pepero Day!

Subway sleepers

2007-11-08T19:20:00.000-08:00

In every train car on the subway there is at least one person who is sleeping. It's actually pretty comical to watch them. Usually they sit up and let their head roll forward. Sometimes they fight the head roll and do a continuous head-nod as they fall asleep and awaken over and over again. The funniest ones fall asleep and tilt to the side so that they are sleeping on the ungrateful person next to them.

The picture below is of a man in a deep sleep. When I first noticed, the dribble of spit on his lip was like a raindrop. I immediately pulled out my camera, aimed, and snapped the picture. To my delight I caught the dribble when it was a couple inches long! Unfortunately, the train was at a stop and began moving at the same time I took the photo, so it is a little blurry.

Triple Parking

2007-11-08T19:10:00.000-08:00

In the older apartment complexes in Korea, parking garages are not common. In order accomodate the number of vehicles residents own, the apartment complexes hire parking staff whose job it is to shuffle cars around. People leave their cars in neutral so the parking staff can push them out of the way as people head to work in the morning. As a courtesy to others, most people display their cell phone numbers in the windshield of their car so they can be contacted if their is an emergency.

Mom & Dad Visit Korea! (Part 5)

2007-11-07T13:26:00.000-08:00

The Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) celebration is three days long, however the middle day is the official day of celebration. It's typical for most of the population to travel to their grandparents' homes to eat traditional food, play games, talk, and get money! The get money part is a little different than the American Thanksgiving. Here in Korea, children participate in a bowing ceremony where they honor their elders in the family. In return for this, the elders give money to the children. Not every family does this during Chuseok. This is mainly done during the Seolnal (Lunar New Year) celebration. My students told me they get money because they don't see their grandparents or extended family very often.

On to the details of my parents' visit! On this day, we did a lot. We started out at the COEX Aquarium, then went to City Hall to watch the public celebration, and finally went to Jeongdong Theater to watch performances of traditional Korean music and dance.

A two-headed turtle.

A pig-nosed turtle.

Deadly and dead-ugly stonefish.

Jellyfish.

At the end of our time at the acquarium, we watched a special Chuseok performance in the shark tank. In this photo, two men are playing a traditional Korean game.

This photo was during the celebration at City Hall. These musicians are really loud. This style of music is closely tied to the farming culture here. I made a video of this performance which you can watch below. It's about 15 minutes.

Mom and me.

Kite flying was a popular activity today.

City Hall.

Father and daughter playing with a hoop. Notice she is wearing the traditional dress.

Dad made another friend. It was really fun to see people approach dad. It's just so common in Korea for Korean men to talk to foreigners because they want to practice their English. I'm glad dad got to experience that too!

We left City Hall early so we could head to Jeongdong Theater. When we arrived, the staff were playing another traditional game with the guests. I didn't figure this one out, but it involves throwing the four red things and then determining winners by how they land.

Outside the theater were some instruments set up for guests to look at. This drum was more than 6 feet high.

These are photos from inside the theater. The ambiance was very cozy and warm. This was the highlight of an entire year of living in this country. I was totally blown away by the music, and I plan to go back.

Mom & Dad Visit Korea! (Part 4)

2007-10-28T00:08:00.000-07:00

This is the entrance to the Korean War Museum. The area outside of the building has airplanes, tanks, and artillery guns on display as well as sculpture commemorating the people who fought and died. My favorite sculpture is the one below. There are soldiers boldly advancing in front of weak and defenseless civilians.

The two soldiers above are embracing each other over the crack in the dome which represents the division of the country.

After the Korean War Museum, we visited one more palace. This happens to be the only photo worthy of posting. It's of the royal throne.

The highlight of the tour for me was seeing the Korean woman wearing the traditional dress. It's always nice to see people preserving and honoring their heritage.

By the time we had finished the tour we were all exhausted from the walking and warm weather. On just the 3rd day of their visit, we had done quite a lot of sightseeing.

The day after this was the day of Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) and we did even more fun things including going to an aquarium, watching the celebration at City Hall, and watching a fantastic traditional Korean music performance.

You've got to find what you love.

2007-10-22T18:08:00.000-07:00

Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computers and Pixar Studios, talks about never graduating college, being fired from his own company, and turning it all around. He says you've got to find what you love. You will know when you've found it. To do that, you must search for it now by following your interests wherever they lead. You can connect the dots of your life looking backward in hindsight, so just follow your heart. Life is short, live your own life. Stay hungry, stay foolish.

Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

2007-10-16T08:40:00.000-07:00

This introduction is quoted from Google Video. This video is 1:25:21 in length. It's really worth watching.

Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, who is dying from pancreatic cancer, gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving talk, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals.

Mom & Dad Visit Korea! (Part 3)

2007-10-13T22:44:00.000-07:00

On Monday, the third day of my parents' visit, we went on the Seoul City Bus Tour. We did a lot of walking and were able to visit a couple of the palaces and go to the Korean War Museum.

I don't know the story behind this statue, but it looks interesting. We saw this as we were walking from the subway station to the bus tour departure point.

Across the street from the departure point, we saw this building that houses something of historical significance. I just wanted to photograph it because of the beautiful painting the structure has on it. This style of building and painting is from Korea's past.

Inside of the first palace we visited was this large statue of a man sitting. Dad and I posed for a picture.

This time mom and I stopped for a picture.

Dad said this place in the photo above resembles the typical kung-fu fight scene from the movies.

The woman in these photos was roaming the palace with 3 photographers. She is wearing a traditional Korean dress. Koreans wear these during certain celebrations. Today happened to be part of the 3 day celebration of Chuseok (Thanksgiving) which is one of the times people wear them. Mostly you will see children wearing them as I think most adults probably don't think it's "cool" anymore.

The people in these photos are playing traditional Korean games. I think the goal of the see-saw looking thing is simply to see how high you can help the other person jump. The goal with the sticks is to throw them into the little metal cylinder.

After this palace, we went to another palace and to the Korean War Museum. I'll cover that in Part 4.

Mom & Dad Visit Korea! (Part 2)

2007-10-09T18:58:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, I took my parents to Songtan, where Osan Airbase is. My mother had been shopping there 17 years ago and wanted to see how the area had changed. Dad had been there during his military service about as long ago.

Mom said the main street in Songtan was a dirt road with open sewage drains when she was there last. She recalls that the stores would pile products on tables or in bins for shoppers to dig through while searching for a bargain. She said it was a real adventure back then.

These days, things have changed. The main street is paved with stones, there are benches to sit on, McDonalds, KFC, and generally is designed like the European "walking streets" mom has seen in Sweden in recent trips.

This is a photo of the front gate of Osan Airbase. Dad says it has been rebuilt. There's not doubt that the military has invested in the development of the area since the military personel and families depend on the area for nightlife and shopping.

This is the next gate you will see coming out of the military base. The name of this area is now called the Shinjang Shopping Mall.

Here is the Daehung Hotel. Mom says this is where we stayed when we visited dad while he was in service. It's located just around the corner from the main gate of Osan Airbase.

Here is a long view of the shopping mall. As you can see, it's designed for pedestrian traffic.

Yes, that is a real dog in that man's pocket.

I took mom and dad to eat a Korean barbeque dinner. This is a meal that is grilled in front of you while you eat. We ate the beef version. It's a little more expensive, but a lot more tastier!

Here is a picture of what dad put together. They way you eat this meal is you simply eat the meat off of the grill as it cooks or fill a piece of lettuce with stuff from the table and eat it whole. Looks like dad has combined beef, rice, kimchi, and probably a piece of grilled garlic at the bottom. Delicious!

I wish I had taken a picture... but I didn't when I had the chance. While we were eating, a really drunk middle-aged Korean man came to our table to say hello. It's really common in Korea for people to approach you and ask you the same questions like: Where are you from? Do you like kimchi? What is your job? Etc. It can be annoying because it usually seems like they just want to practice speaking English and don't really respect your privacy. Anyway, on our way out of the restaurant, I saw this particular Korean man hiding behind a parked car vomitting his dinner.

Cheers!

Mom & Dad Visit Korea! (Part 1)

2007-10-07T21:35:00.000-07:00

From September 21 to September 29, 2007, my mom and dad visited me in Seoul. This week was the week of the 3 day Korean holiday Chuseok (추석) which is the annual harvest festival like Thanksgiving in America.

My parents arrived to the bus station near my home at 8:30pm after a day-long journey from Texas. We said hello and took a taxi to my home. We quickly went to bed since I had to be up early for work on Saturday.

I only taught one class on Saturday, so I was home by 11am. After I arrived home, we went to Itaewon. Itaewon is a "special tourism zone", which basically means everybody speaks English, there are lots of Western restaurants, and lots of shopping available.

Itaewon is an easy place to get to, so we didn't have to worry about buying anything on this day. Mom is just looking...

As we were walking around, we came across a giant pig. Since mom has a pig collection at home, we took this lovely photo.

Later that evening, we headed to a theater show called NANTA. On the way, we had a little trouble finding the theater. I'm proud to say that I was able to ask for directions and receive them while speaking only Korean! It really felt good to be able to speak Korean when I needed it.

Here is how the show is advertised:

Since first presented on stage in 1997, Nanta has been the must-see performance in Korea. 'NANTA' figuratively refers to reckless punching as in a slugfest at a boxing match. 'NANTA' is a non-verbal performance of reckless rhythms that dramatize customary Korean percussion in a strikingly comedic stage show.

Integrating uniquely Korean traditional drumbeats with a western performance style, NANTA storms on stage into a huge kitchen where four capricious cooks are preparing a wedding banquet. While cooking, they turn all kinds of kitchen items - pots, pans, dishes, knives, chopping board, water bottles, even brooms and each other- into percussion instruments.

It was a fun show. Dad was invited up on stage and added to the laughs while he and another stranger were unwittingly married in front of the audience.

사랑의 매 (Love's Stick)

2007-09-17T18:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some more photos of "love sticks" for you. I've been teaching at new schools for new teachers, so I had to add some photos to the collection.

I even came up with a funny theory for my students. I told them I think the Korean teachers don't go home after school at night. Instead they go out hunting and killing people becuase they are really ninjas. That usually gets a few good laughs.

This stick is a really hard piece of wood. Probably the hardest stick I've seen.

This is the second orange bat I've seen. Never seen them used, so I wonder if they are for hitting the hands, typical punishment style, or some other use.

I've seen one other stick like this one. This is actually 3 flexible rulers taped together with a strong tape. Notice the pig and flower on the end? I wonder if that is supposed to take the sting off of the hits...

These are the largest sticks I've seen. Both belong to the same teacher. I can't imagine how the one on the right is used.

Here you have a drumstick. Students told me this one really hurts.

Here is some kind of flexible stick with tape. The flexible sticks probably give a little more sting than the stiff ones.

This one looks like an old Kendo stick, something used in martial arts... ninjas?

The other orange bat and a stick I think was made for punishing children.

It has hearts on it. How cute!

Namdaemun Gate

2007-09-09T02:51:00.000-07:00

Next to Namdaemun Market is Namdaemun Gate. It was the main gate for entrance into Seoul a long time ago. It was built in 1398 and rebuilt in 1448. It has been designated a National Treasure of Korea. There are at least two of these that I know of. The other one is Dongdaemun Gate. On my visit to Namdaemun Market, I spent a little while checking out the gate. The picture above is what the gate looks like from a distance.

As I was crossing the street to get a closer look, some men were reenacting some changing of the guard ceremony. The ceremony seemed to be about the guys in brown passing a wooden medallion. Maybe it signifies the key to the gate...?

Inside the gate were a blue and a green dragon painted on the ceiling.

Namdaemun Market

2007-09-02T06:33:00.000-07:00

Here is one of the gates into the Namdaemun Market (남대문 시장). This market is near City Hall in Seoul. I went to this market 17 years ago with my mother and brother. It was interesting going back. I don't have a lot of memories of the first visit, but the place did seem familiar to me.

This is the kind of market where products are piled on top of products or displayed on crammed wall spaces. I saw a lot of junk, but I'm sure there are some great deals waiting to be discovered. I only spent 45 minutes or so exploring the area, so not enough time to take it all in.

There are a series of building that are connect by these walkways. Each building has 4 floors of shopping. Most of what I saw inside was household dishwares and stuff like that. One floor housed a florist shop that smelled wonderful. It was inside the buildings that I used a little of the Korean language to ask where the bathroom was located.

From one of the walkways, I took this photo of a military surplus style clothing vendor. When I get some time to go back, I'll take a closer look at what they are selling.

Here, I've pointed the camera in the other direction. This is one of the intersections of the market. You can see someone has utilized the space right in the middle for selling products.

I noticed that some shops where closing around 4pm and others were just setting up for the evening shoppers. Another thing I'd like to do is spend some time at this market after dark. I think I'll wait until I've learned a little bit more Korean before I do that.

LG Twins

2007-08-18T22:49:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, I went to an LG Twins baseball game at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul. There weren't very many people there but those who were had a good time.

Of course, I was interested in the cheerleaders. Next time I'll get a seat closer and in better vew of them so I can get some better photos. It was interesting to see the male cheerleader. He was the lead cheerleader. With hand signals and whistle blowing, he was able to lead the crowd in organized cheers. You just don't see that in America. Male cheerleaders in America wear costumes. Anyways, this guy was pumped up the whole game and the crowd responded well to his cheering comands.

I didn't get the impression that this guy was on the cheerleading payroll.

Here is a video of how pumped the crowd was. Remember, this is a regular season game in August. I think Koreans are more into group activities like cheering than Americans are.

On the way out, I took some photos of the area. This is the Olympic stadium from the 1988 Olympic Games.

This is a photo of the apartments still under construction nearby. It still amazes me how many of these aparmtent clusters exist and how fast they build them.

한국 친구들 잦아요

2007-08-18T22:28:00.000-07:00

Like the title of the post says: I'm looking for Korean friends.

More specifically, I'm looking for Korean friends who don't speak much English. I'm at the point in my studies that I think the best thing to do is find some people to speak with. I am having a hard time using Korean with Koreans who speak English well. When I meet Koreans who don't speak English at all, I'm forced to speak Korean. I like that. So my goal is to start expanding the network of Korean friends that fit this category.

Skarirang!

2007-08-16T07:42:00.001-07:00

I just love ska music. The horns, the energy, and the often accompanying positive message in the lyrics.

There is a traditional song in Korea called Arirang (아리랑). A Korean ska band caled Kingston Rudieska (킹스턴 루디스카) and a guest singer named Jang-goon (장군) teamed up to sing a ska version of this traditional song.

I am in love with this song, and I've been trying to find a CD of this bands music at every music shop I come accross. I just can't find it. So for now, I'm limited to watching videos like this one... enjoy!

If you like it, you can watch more videos like this one here.

Lost in translation

2007-08-16T07:09:00.000-07:00

Some people notice it, others don't. The fact is, you will rarely, if at all, see a Korean wearing a shirt with Korean writing on it. 99% of all t-shirts worn by Koreans have English writing on them. I find this to be extremely strange. There is no other language, just English.

A Korean friend of mine told me that it would be strange for Koreans to write Korean on their shirts... I'm still confused as to why they think it is strange to write their native language on their own t-shirts.

Another thing you will notice if you look closely at the t-shirts with English writing on them, is that many of them display strange combinations of words. I've kept my eye out recently, so I can photograph them when I see them. I have two examples for you today.

"It is free more c graph"... I don't know what to say. The picture speaks for itself.

"Together is the Happy"... diddo.

Korean Riots

2007-08-12T19:32:00.000-07:00

Here is a one of several videos on the net of Korean riots. The last clip on this video is only 4 years old. You never know who instigated the violence from these videos and I certainly don't know the history behind the protests.

What you can see in these videos are men hurting other men. The violence, in general, is disturbing but I think the attacks on the people sitting with their clothes off or who are clearly unable to defend themselves is sickening.

Korean riot police are usually doing their government mandated 2-year service in the military or police. So you have to understand that is why many of them are there in the first place.

I am reminded of Stanley Milgram's book "Obedience to Authority" where he showed that the average American is willing to inflict pain and risk death to another person as long as they can defer personal responsitibility in service to a higher authority.

By the end of the video I had a glimpse of what pre-gun era battles looked like.... Lots of men screaming and yelling, hand to hand combat, and chaos. I hope to never experience that first hand. I'm left wondering what situations I'd be willing to use violence.

Korean cicadas (매미)

2007-08-12T02:48:00.000-07:00

Korean cicadas (매미) are really loud. You rarely ever see them flying around, but you can always hear them making noise 24 hours a day. This video is just to demonstrate the noise that the cicadas make. Listen how quiet it becomes after the shrill sound fades.

I've really come to hate these bugs. I don't know much about them except they don't make noise when it's pouring down rain, so I like it when it rains.

Korean Rock Paper Scissors

2007-07-30T05:23:00.000-07:00

Koreans of all ages play Rock Paper Scissors. They used the words Kawee Bawee Po (가외 바외 보). This clip is from a bar when some adult Koreans began playing as a drinking game. I couldn't resist recording it. The thing that made me laugh was the woman said "Ah-ssah!" (아싸!). That's the English equivalent of "Hell Yeah!", so I think she won that round.

Chinese Kung Fu Demo

2007-07-30T05:06:00.000-07:00

I posted this before, but deleted it because there were problems with the Google video embed. So here are the links to the videos I made of a Kung Fu Demonstration in Suwon that I happened to see outstide a department store.

Introduction Of Artists 3:43

Simulated Weapons Battle 1:06

Individual Weapons 4:03

One Guy No Weapons 1:59

Various Guys No Weapons 3:09

Head And Neck Strength 2:55

My favorites are the "Simulated Weapons Battle" and "Head And Neck Strength".

Pencil Cases

2007-07-28T03:58:00.000-07:00

I don't remember pencil cases being important when I was in grade school, and I don't know if they are important in the US now. All Korean students have a pencil case. It's kinda funny because half of them don't have any paper with them to write on, but they have a bunch of writing utensils. Some of the cases are what you might expect and others are out-of-the-ordinary. Here are some photos I've taken recently:

나는 한국말을 공부해요

2007-07-24T06:28:00.000-07:00

나는 한국말을 공부해요. 매일 스타벅스에서 2시간 공부해요. 보통 혼자 공부해요. 가끔 한국친구하고 공부해요.

I think text I wrote says:

I am studying Korean. Every day, I study at Starbuck's for 2 hours. Usually, I study alone. Sometimes, I study with a Korean friend.

If I ever study Spanish again, I will kick it's ass. Korean is a bitch.

Love Sticks

2007-07-21T05:11:00.000-07:00

In Korea, it is illegal for a teacher to hit their students. However, hitting is standard practice here and can be witnessed daily despite its illegality. Also, Korean mothers, for the most part, don't care. I don't have the balls to ask a Korean teacher to let me film them hitting their students. I don't think they would let me anyway.

In lieu of the video, I bring you my collection of photographs of the sticks teachers use to punish their students' misbehavior, poor test results, and lack of completed homework assignments. The more recent photos have my cell phone in there to give you a sense of the size of the sticks used. Keep in mind that the sticks are used to hit the kids' hands on the palms. I've seen as few as 5 whacks to the hands and heard 10 from down the hall. Enjoy.

Maybe my favorite stick of all, the "Love Stick". There's a movie about the 1970's called "Dazed and Confused". In it, a class of high school seniors terrorizes incoming freshmen by running them down and spanking them with large wooden paddles that have been personalized with messages for the hunted freshmen. One of the really bad seniors in the film played by Ben Affleck had "FAH-Q" written on his. Everytime I look at the photo above, the image of Affleck's character enters my mind. Below is an image from the sitcom "Family Guy" when they spoofed the movie.

I've had a lot of fun with the stick above. It kind of looks like a magic wand from the movie "Harry Potter". So when I first saw it, I pretended it was a wand and began shouting lines from the movie. The kids really enjoy it when I either make fun of their teacher's sticks or hide them.

This white stick is the piece of plastic that holds together your office report in protective plastic sleeves. This particular teacher was new and possibly has not had the time to find a propper stick.

Above is what appeared to me to be a ruler covered in a green duct-tape. After inspecting it, I think it is a hard piece of rubber because it has some flexibility. No doubt the flexibility gives it a little more sting when it makes contact with the skin.

Interestingly enough, this one is actually a stick.

Strange Learning Style

2007-07-17T22:24:00.000-07:00

One of my students who happened to be sitting at the desk across from me was using a strange method for memorizing English sentences. She would write the phrases over and over again. That's not the strange part. The strange thing is that she would use the same general area of the notebook to write, so after a few minutes, none of what she wrote was legible. You can see the result in the photo above. I suppose she learns kinestheticly through the repeated movement of her hand. You can also see in the photo where she has circled several phrases multiple times. I think this strategy is similar to the first in that it is very kinesthetic.

Another Example: Pen Fad

2007-07-17T22:20:00.000-07:00

This is similar to the pen I showed you a few days ago except the extra shirt clips wrap around the pen.

Korean Garbage

2007-07-14T18:47:00.000-07:00

Korea has an interesting way of dealing with garbage. They like to seperate food waste from recycle-able items and from general garbage. To do this, they have special trash cans devoted to food waste. The trashcan witht the orange lid below is one of these. On hot days, the odor from these can be bad if the can is not sealed well.

Another tool used by Korea are the green mesh bags in the photo below. These are for recycle-able items. These and the food wast trashcans and mesh bags are typically located outside of apartment buildings. The bags pictured below are next to the park near my home.

The park near my home is really great. There are a lot of benches and shade for people to relax in. A lot of people use the park. In Korea, it's quite ordinary to find a lot of smokers and a lot of people drinking beer and liquer at all times of the day. In the US, you would be frowned on for smoking near kids playing and given a fine for drinking in public.

The lack of real trashcans in the park and generally all around Seoul means there is a lot of trash to be cleaned up every morning. The trash you see in these photos is from one day and night of people using the park.

At least if it is going to be acceptable for people to make a mess of the park, you've got to give credit to the Koreans for hiring street cleaners to make things look nice again. I typically see 2-3 street cleaners in a day such as the man in the photo below. This park is usually spotless when the cleaners are done with it in the early morning hours.

The man sleeping on the large bench is a regular sight at parks. Even though it is around 10am in this photo, the man could very well be drunk or sleeping off a hangover.

Starbucks

2007-07-13T22:52:00.000-07:00

I never went to Starbucks for coffee back in the United States. It was simply too expensive. After a couple months of drinking Korean instant coffee, I decided to take a trip to one of the several Starbucks coffee shops here.

I'm sure glad I did. I've found an excellent place to slam down a double espresso and study the Korean language. I never really know what people around me are saying, so I'm never really distracted by anyone's conversations the way I would if people were speaking English. Also, Starbucks has been playing a lot of Bob Marley music recently which I absolutely love.

The photos below are of the Starbucks closest to my home and is where I typically go and study for about 2 hours a day.

Korean Bob Ross Pt. 2

2007-07-13T17:28:00.001-07:00

I was walking to Yeouido Park in Seoul, South Korea and saw this guy drawing on a chalk board and talking into a microphone. He reminded me of Bob Ross. I posted about this a while back. Just getting around to putting the video online.

Pen Beats

2007-07-13T17:23:00.000-07:00

This is a video (link) of one of my Korean middle school students demonstrating pen beats to me. Pen beats are a big fad here at the moment. It was beat box before pen beats.

Korean Student Fads

2007-07-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

Korean kids are like any country's kids. They all have fads. I'll make posts about the fads that I see in the classroom.

The photo above is of a mechanical pencil that has 7 additional clips attached to it. I've only seen a handful of these floating around, so maybe it doesn't qualify as a bonified fad.

Pens and pencils are the source of a lot of the kids' attention during class. For instance, I've seen a lot of "pen spinning". Pen spinning is a form of manipulation where the goal is to make a pen do different tricks by using your hand, primarily the fingers. It is truly amazing what a 13 year old kid can do with a pen when they are board.

Recently, pens have been used for something called "pen beats". Essentially, the kids use the pens to tap rhythms onto the desk or nearby metal desk/chair legs. The pen is either tapped or slapped while the palm of the hand is bouncing off of the desk to create a bass sound. Some of the kids have memorized long chains of numbers like 1-2-2-2-1-0 that represent the types of tap they are supposed to do to create interesting beats. There are moments when the sounds emenating from these distractions actually sound like beats. Everything else sounds like garbage.

Before pen beats was popular, half of my class would be beat-boxing while I would be trying to teach. None of the kids got it right. It was just a lot of strange noises coming from the mouths of my students.

I've challenged my students to do pen beats and beat-box simultaneously, but none of them have accepted.

3 Years

2007-07-08T17:01:00.000-07:00

3 years in Corvallis --> 3 years in Korea

Recently, I've been considering the possibility of staying in Korea for 3 years in a row. Until recently, I'd planned on staying for 2 years, then leaving for 1 year, and returning for 1 more year. The reason for leaving in the first year is for my Do What You Love - World Tour. The reason for returning and leaving again is to save money for and go on my Do What You Love - North American Tour.

I suppose the main factor for staying for 3 years in a row will be how comfortable I feel at the end of year 2. By comfortable, I mean mastering the Korean language, continuing to find time and space for juggling and people to juggle with.

I was in Corvallis for 3 years. It was a rather fun and successful experience for me as I was able to have positive work experiences, academic experiences, volunteer experiences, and friendships.

Looking into the future, I want to continue to be successful. It would be ideal to always have bigger and more exciting successful experiences. That being said, I think that 3 years in a row in Korea would allow me to master the language, develop as a juggler, and save the money neccessary for 2 years worth of touring.

As I write this I'm really surprised by the long term nature of my touring goals... putting in 3 years of work in a foriegn country for 2 years of travel. I don't think I would have the confidence to plan such long term goals without the experience of success in Corvallis.

The Men's Room

2007-07-06T18:13:00.000-07:00

In general, Korea has many more public restrooms than the USA. Virtually every other building has a public restroom in it in Korea.

One interesting thing you will notice about restrooms here is that people smoke cigarettes in them. Another interesting thing you will notice is the horrendous smell. Also, that most men's rooms have urinals that are visible to people as they walk by.

The photo below is a great example of that. In the USA, there would be some kind of wall or false wall blocking the view of the urinal and of the person standing there using the urinal.

The next three photos are of restrooms that have doors. This is a step up from the doorless type above, however it is a small step. These restrooms are in the buildings where I work.

Many times I will be using the urinal and a middle school student will come in and leave the door wide open, leaving me feeling a little uncomfortable. I just find it strange to be using the restroom in public. At that point you could say I am using a urinal in public.

Part of the strangeness is that people consistently neglect to shut the door while someone is using the urinal. So, there must be some cultural thing that makes it okay for men to urinate in the view of the public.

Sporadic Posting

2007-07-05T21:26:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted as often to this blog as I have to my other blog I Can't Stop Juggling since I've been in Korea. I think laziness is my only reason for it. I've decided that I need to post more frequently here. So I will give it my best shot to post at least twice a week.

My friend Stephanie has inspired me to be more active in this blog becuase she is doing an internship in Africa and has her own blog Steph's Travels In Africa. Just two weeks and she is having a fantastic adventure.

I think posting here will give me something constructive to do and this blog will serve as a real scrapbook for my experiences that I can browse and relive down the road.

So, if you are one of the few people who still check this blog for updates... I promise to post more often!

Joong-Gang Park

2007-06-17T06:37:00.000-07:00

There is a really big park near my workplace in Bundang. I occasionally leave for work early so I can spend some time there. The photos here are from two seperate trips. The first set is from late April. The second set is from late May.

Below is the second set of photos.

On this visit to the park, I took a walk up the small mountain/large hill to see more of the park. When I reached the top, I was surpised to find an outdoor gym. Or was I baffled?

Twilight Zone

2007-06-16T04:59:00.000-07:00

Recently, I've felt like I'm in The Twilight Zone. Every week here in Korea is flying by. I see my students once per week for 50 minutes. Every time I see them, I think, didn't I just see you? Has it been a week already?

The perception of time passing is interesting. When you are miserable, time drags. When you are happy or you are busy/in a routine, time flies.

The third condition, you are busy/in a routine, is what I think is happening with me. My week is packed with activities on such a tight schedule that everything is happening in a blur. I certainly don't want the opposite, life to drag, but I've got to get things into perspective. I've got to see through the blur.

In about 4-5 weeks, my school will go into the summer intensive schedule, which means a 4 day work week instead of a 6 day work week. Although it also means 10 classroom hours per day. If the schedule is arranged like it was in winter intensive, then we will get 3 days off in a row. That would be nice. I would be able to travel a bit in Korea, which is something I've not done yet.

Korean Language Class 1B

2007-06-11T16:35:00.000-07:00

After 1 week and 1 day of my second month of Korean classes, I have discovered why it is so difficult for me to do well in class.

The class materials are presented like this in class:

Teacher introduces new grammar speaking in Korean, not English
Students expected to understand and apply grammar in class through speaking drills
Homework is a review of grammar lesson through reading and writing drills

The big problem for me is that I don't seem to be able to understand the grammar lessons until after I have had time to practice reading and writing it a lot. So when it comes time to speak using the new grammar, I become extremely frustrated. My failure rate is signficantly higher than my success rate when it comes to speaking in class.

A better sequence for me would be:

Students expected to apply yesterday's grammar lesson in class through speaking exercises.
Teacher introduces new grammar.
Homework is a review of new grammar through reading, writing, and speaking drills.

I think that my learning style is geared toward reading and writing first and speaking second. I can see how a teacher who thinks that speaking is the best way to learn a language would organize her class as it is now. However, I would argue that for me, I believe my speaking would improve a great deal from a heavy amount of reading and writing.

These are new insights for me about how I learn a language. I will try to come up with some strategies for using my strengths.

Korean friends

2007-06-10T16:19:00.000-07:00

Left to Right: Seong-Mi, Min-Jeong, Min-Yeong

Seong-Mi and I met back around October 2006 while a friend and I were juggling. She contacted me a couple months ago to do a language exchange. Eventually she introduced me to her friends and this photo is from a night that we went out together for drinks.

Many Koreans speak a little English. A few, like Seong-Mi, speak enough to make hanging out entertaining. The language exchange is a common way to meet people here. Especially girls.

Yeouido Park

2007-06-10T16:02:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of Yeouido Park from one end of the rectangle shaped recreation area. Many people come here to roller blade, ride bikes, play basketball, or sit in the shade. I come here to juggle on most Sundays. There is a small group of jugglers, high school aged, that meet here fairly regularly.

This location is also used by large organisations for festivals and protests. I was here just as one protest by the garbage truck union was about to begin. They all had black S.W.A.T. Team looking uniforms, red bandanas, and flags. There were thousands of union members present and the subway exit was pouring them out into the street. It appeared to be extremely organized.

A few of the roller bladers like to get up to speed and slide on the edge of the steps at this end of the park. You can see the roller blades are missing wheels in the center, allowing them to slide 5-10 feet.

Korean Class: Round 2

2007-05-30T07:32:00.000-07:00

I will head back to the Korean Language Academy to finish level 1 next Monday. I've spent the last month studying the material presented to me in April. I have definitely learned a good deal of the vocabulary in the textbook and am beginning to feel more comfortable with some of the grammar.

I don't plan on taking a class again until October after my parents have visited. That will give me 3 months to let the new material sink in and for me to study on my own a bit.

Slowly, I am learning to speak Korean.

The park nearby

2007-05-04T07:05:00.000-07:00

My apartment is in the grey building on the left. This park is where I go on the nice afternoons to juggle. I like to juggle in the shade that you see in the picture.

Looking the other way, you can see the playground, the trees and some benches that many people frequently use. I feel very lucky to have a home next to this.

Bibim Mandu

2007-05-04T06:58:00.000-07:00

I tried this tasty dish last week. It's mandu that's deep fried and served in a spicy sauce with schredded carrots and lettuce. Mandu is a dumpling stuffed with either kimchi or meat, and spices. This was good.

Korean Bob Ross

2007-05-04T06:46:00.000-07:00

Do you remember Bob Ross (wikipedia link)? He had a television show where he taught viewers how to paint.

I ran across a Korean man who reminded me of Bob Ross. Here's his picture:

I took some video also, but haven't uploaded it to Google yet. Once I do, you'll be able to hear Bob Ross in his voice.

Suwon

2007-04-30T05:08:00.000-07:00

I work in Suwon on Mondays and Fridays. Right outside my workplace is this very interesting plaza.

Here is a view of the columns that create a pathway toward the bridge and surround a pyramid thing. Each of the columns has a bird perched on it.

Here is a close-up shot of the pyramid and you can see the bridge behind it. It's an overpass for people.

As you walk over the bridge, you come upon a giant sundial.

Looking back at dusk. You can see the tower-like structures. The whole thing has a little "fortress" design mixed in with a lot of ancient symbolism. Suwon has a couple of fortresses, so I understand that. But I don't understand the pyramid, columns with birds, or the giant sundial.

I checked and the sundial was accurate.

Neighborhood Street

2007-04-30T05:01:00.000-07:00

This is a photo I took a couple weeks ago. A mother is walking her child home from school. The roads are really narrow but there still seems to be enough room for people and cars to get about.

Rice Drink & Stuffed Pig Intestine

2007-04-30T04:49:00.000-07:00

This is a beverage made with rice. It's moderately sweet, and surprise, it tastes like rice. Also, it has rice in the can for you to drink. I'll drink one once in a while. Where else in the world can you buy this?

I think this is called "soon-day". On the left side is pig intestine stuffed with noodles. The texture of the noodles is a bit sticky. Not a lot of flaver in them. On the right side is pig intestine stuffed with what tasted like herbs and spices. There might have been some finely ground meat in there, however, I can't say for sure. I think I paid about $2 for this package which I bought from a truck parked outside my apartment.

Stony Skunk: Korean Reggae

2007-04-26T19:21:00.000-07:00

I bought my first Korean music album recently. The album art is pictured above. This is a duo reggae group. I think they are the first Korean reggae group ever. What prompted me to buy this is hearing a reggae song on the radio one night in a taxi cab. I asked some students if they knew about reggae and one of them suggested Stony Skunk.

I've always liked reggae a lot, and this album has some really good music.

A drop-out or an opt-out?

2007-04-26T18:30:00.000-07:00

I like the word "opt-out" better than "drop-out". Drop-out has a sense of giving up while opt-out has a sense of intention. Why does it matter? I decided to not attend the last three days of my Korean language classes.

It was just too frustrating to go in there every day and struggle to understand what the teacher was talking about. I've never believed that total immersion is the best way to study a language. Not at the beginning of learning anyway. After you've achieved a broad vocabulary and reaching a general understanding of basic grammar structures is when I would agree with total immersion. I think for myself, I didn't have enough time to commit to studying to keep up with the pace in addition to the total immersion aspect.

I haven't stopped learning Korean. For the last three days, I've woken up at the same time and headed over to the coffee shop for two hours. I've been working on creating flash cards with the vocabulary words used in the textbook. I'm about half way done with those. After I finish the memory cards, I'll start putting together practice sheets for using the different grammar structures. I want to start creating sentences with my vocabulary words and I want to get practice in reading out loud.

The Korean classes are offered on a month-to-month basis. So I plan on taking one month off to study what I was taught in April, then return in June to finish the level.

South Korean Grand Opening

2007-04-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

South Koreans like to have women dance in front of their store all day when they have their grand opening. I'm not opposed, but does seem a bit strange. I've asked a few Korean women here and they think it's a little odd but the men like it.

In the picture above, a pretty girl is dancing and speaking into a wireless microphone, I assume promoting the new store. Next to her is a man on stilts who is dressed like Jim Carey from the movie "The Mask".

Below is a video I took in Suwon before work. Different place, but same idea. These girls would dance a little then do some promoting and back to dancing again. Interesting? I think so.

April Flowers

2007-04-21T03:06:00.000-07:00

There's not much grass in Seoul, so now that the trees are blooming I've taken notice. The lack of greenery is particularly saddening during the winter. These photos are about 2 weeks old now, so many trees are showing green leaves.

Korea has vendors like this one all over the place. They just park their truck and set up shop along the roadsides. You'll find snack food, fruit, clothing, hand bags, furniture.... lots of stuff.

Korean class is Hell

2007-04-20T07:19:00.000-07:00

I've contemplated dropping out of my Korean classes. I get so frustrated while I'm there that it makes the experience suck. The teacher uses 0% English during class. That may be okay for people who have support outside of class in the form of a tutor or who have a lot of time to think about the lessons.

I get up at 8:30am and check emails or cram some studying in before heading out the door at 9:15am so I can get to class at 10am. Then for two hours, I try to understand what is going on in class, but I get really angry and want to leave because I don't understand anything and can't ask any questions. Then I leave at 12pm and get home by 12:30pm for lunch until 1pm. Then I juggle for 2 hours until 3pm. After that, I go to work and don't get home until 11:15pm or so.

I shower, go to bed, and the cycle continues. No time to let the lessons sink in or practice during the weekdays. I've got 5 more days of class paid for, so I'm going to finish those and figure out if I'll continue next month.

Class & Camera

2007-04-07T23:45:00.000-07:00

I am so happy I made the decision to take Korean language classes. Only two days of class and I'm learning a lot. It's all basic stuff, of course, but it makes me feel like I will be able to meet my goal of broadening my experience here.

Another thing to post about today is that I have acquired a new camera. The cherry blossoms are here and I will be spending next Sunday photographing them.

Korean Language Classes

2007-03-16T01:50:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally did it. I signed up for Korean language lessons. They will begin when I return from my vacation to Oregon on April 3. The cost is about $8 per hour. That's about average for classes like this around here.

I had to take a placement test, which was a joke. The material was too advanced for me. I can read the Korean alphabet, recognize a few common words, read the menu and get around on the subway just fine. I can say a few useful phrases as well. Other foreigners tell me my language skills are good for the amount of time I've been here.

With these classes, I'm sure I will learn much quicker. I've been using a book I bought on my own and have had trouble understanding the grammar. I'm definitely ready to commit some time to learn.

I hope to have a solid foundation of conversational Korean skills by the end of my 2nd year here. There are so many people and experiences that are waiting to be discovered through the use of the Korean language.

Cow Neck

2007-03-06T02:16:00.000-08:00

I haven't really been consistent with my posts on this blog. I like to tell stories with my pictures, so not having a camera makes it less interesting for me. I had to share this with you...

The other day, my Western friends and I went to a restaurant. I was the only one eating, the other guys were just drinking and talking. So my friend ordered me a serving of cow neck.

Picture vertebrae bones, about 4" of them in a bowl of boiling and spicey soup. I had to scrape off the meat, about 2 oz of it, and remove the bone to eat the soup. In all honesty, it tasted good. It was a little strange picking meat from neck bones, but not too strange.

Anyway, thought I'd share that with the world in case you ever have a chance to eat it.

Characters

2007-02-22T01:25:00.000-08:00

One thing I have noticed about the westerners I've met in Korea is that they are all very interesting, strange, eccentric, crazy, and over-the-top people. I'll admit, I could put myself into that category even without the benefit of having another's perspective of myself.

I'm not sure why this is the case. Does Korea attract these types of individuals or do people's personalities just seem to be magnified when they are in a foreign culture? In any case, the mix of personalities here makes for a very interesting experience.

Qatif Job Opportunities

2007-02-21T18:35:00.000-08:00

My buddy Ali Alkhatam just emailed me with news that he had found an employer in Qatif who would be interested in having me as an English teacher. I still have 9 months of time left on my contract here in Korea, but it's not too soon to start planning for 2008.

Currently, I'm making good money, enjoying the food, learning to speak Korean, and doing a lot of juggling, so I'm really happy where I am.

I still plan on being in Korea for a second year, but it's nice to have the option of going somewhere else. I suppose if the money and working conditions are similar to Korea, I could decide to go there for a year.

Ultimately, my big goal is to do my Do What You Love World Tour in 2009. So any plans that I make will have to keep this in view.

Do What You Love - World Tour

2007-02-10T22:47:00.000-08:00

This post was originally posted on my juggling blog, but I thought it should be posted here as well.

I've decided to start planning a worldwide trip that will begin January 1, 2009 and last 1 year. I intend on going to as many juggling festivals around the world as is humanly possible.

I did some research and estimated that I could have gone to 47 different juggling festivals in places as far apart as Japan, Australia, Peru, Brazil and the UK in the 2006 calendar year.

What could such a trip cost? I have no clue at the moment. I am vaguely aware of special deals you can arrange with airlines to take you a certain number of miles regardless of the number of flights. Also, I intend on living as meekly as possible. I will do my best to network with jugglers along the route so I can either share hotel space or use free couch space.

In any case, I can afford to pay a great deal since I am making an incredible amount of money teaching English in South Korea.

I've dreamt about doing something like this for nearly 3 years since I began juggling. The way I look at it is this... suppose a doctor tells me tomorrow that I will have just 6 months to live in perfect health. What would I do? The answer to that question for me is at the root of taking this trip.

December Vacation Plans

2007-02-06T16:42:00.000-08:00

I'm very happy that I will be able to take about 4 weeks off of work (unpaid) in December at the end of my contract before starting another 1-year contract. I'm going to do some much anticipated travelling.

I have entertained two ideas so far:

1) Travel around Europe and visit as many juggling festivals as possilbe. (Juggling is a hobby and a passion for me. See my website: I Can't Stop Juggling...)

This is a fantastic idea except that Europe is cold during December and there are virtually no juggling festivals worldwide during December. I did research using an website that announces and records all juggling festivals worldwide here. Just 1% of all juggling festivals are in the month of December from 2000-2006. So, cold weather and a lack of juggling festivals makes this idea not so good.

2) Travel around the Southern Hemisphere.

This is a fantastic idea too. I'm certain to not find any juggling festivals, but I am guarunteed to find warm weather and I can juggle outdoors wherever I go. So, right now, this is looking like something I will do further planning/research on.

Trip to Bangkok?

2007-02-06T05:18:00.000-08:00

I will be having an unexpected 4 day vacation soon. I get February 16-19 off of work for the lunar new year. It's one of the two most important holidays in Korea. It's a surprise that I get 4 days. I was expecting 3 days.

I'm thinking about going to Bangkok, but I'm not sure if I will. I have to decide if I want to spend the money. It's about $645 for the plane ticket and $15 per night for a hotel. I can get a luxury hotel for $30 a night. I'll decide in a day or two. If I were to take this trip from the United States, it would cost me around $2,800.

Korean Language Classes

2007-02-06T05:03:00.000-08:00

I've been in Korea for just over 4 months and I am slowly learning to speak Korean. I can read the alphabet, so that means I can identify certain words I see a lot and I can attempt to pronounce written words.

I really don't know enough to feel like I can communicate. I can say please, thank you, how much is that, count money, and identify foods on a menu. I'm happy to have the knowledge that I have, but I have a long way to go before I'll be satisfied.

I considered taking classes that start in March, but they are super expensive. Eight weeks for $1300.

I have a tutor that I see once per week for free, so I think I'll wait another three months to see if spending money on classes is a good idea.

The Death of The Internet?

2007-02-02T16:46:00.000-08:00

Here is another video that talks about how the internet might change for the worse:

Family Visit To-Do List

2007-01-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

My parents are planning on visiting me in September during the Korean national holiday called Chusoek. It's Korea's Thanksgiving. I'll be taking some time off work to spend the week with them.

I'm really glad they are coming to visit me. I feel really motivated to experience as much of Korea as I can before they get here so that I can be a great host. Toward that goal, I will keep a list of things to do with them when they get here. I'll also indicate if I have done them myself (Y) or not (N).

FOOD TO EAT

1. Live squid. (N)
2. Pig intestine. (N)
3. Larvae. (N)
4. Rice cake - many kinds. (Y)
5. Kimchi - many kinds. (Y)
6. Korean pourage. (Y)
7. Many other traditional Korean dishes. (Y)

ALCOHOL TO DRINK

1. Soju - Korean hard alcohol. (Y)
2. Mahkahlee - rice wine. (Y)
3. Cass - Korean macro lager. (Y)

SHOPPING LOCATIONS

1. Itaewon Tourist District. (Y)
2. Yongsan megamall. (Y)
3. Dongdaemoon Market. (N)
4. Apgujong - Rodeo Drive. (N)
5. Insadong - art district. (Y)

TOURIST STUFF

1. Seoul Tower. (N)
2. River Walk. (N)
3. Traditional Korean Village. (N)
4. Museum. (N)

SPECIAL CULTURAL ARTS

1. Traditional Krean theatre. (N)
2. Traditional Korean folk music. (Y)

SIDE TRIPS

1. Busan. (N)
2. DMZ. (N)

Save The Internet

2007-01-25T13:56:00.000-08:00

There is a grassroots movement taking place in support of something called Net Neutrality. Here is the beginning of an article about this:

During the last 15 years, the Internet has become the purest forum for free expression for all of humanity with a likeness never seen before. Sadly, the freedom of the Internet is under fire — and under the media radar — courtesy of America’s telecom and data companies that are attempting to end network neutrality.

I suggest reading the very short article in full. Also, the video below will give you a good summary of the issue we are faced with.

The video comes from the website www.savetheinternet.com. If you are concerned about this issue, you can visit the website and sign a petition that will go directly to your Senator.

I suggest reading the FAQs page they provide to learn more of the simple details of what is happening. One such detail is:

What is this about?

This is about Internet freedom. "Network Neutrality" -- the First Amendment of the Internet -- ensures that the public can view the smallest blog just as easily as the largest corporate Web site by preventing Internet companies like AT&T from rigging the playing field for only the highest-paying sites.

But Internet providers like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast are spending millions of dollars lobbying Congress to gut Net Neutrality. If Congress doesn't take action now to implement meaningful Net Neutrality provisions, the future of the Internet is at risk.

What does this mean to you? If Net Neutrality dissapears, so will our ability to have a free voice... the way that personal websites and blogs give us. Please go the the www.savetheinternet.com website and sign the petition. Then email your friends and blog about it.

Rethinking Camera Options

2007-01-19T03:39:00.000-08:00

This afternoon I ordered the Cannon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital Camera, then moments later, I cancelled the order. I'm going to keep looking for other options. I realized that I really want to take good quality video with my camera in addition to the photos I take. The PowerShot SD700 is topnotch when it comes to photos, but there is an 8 minute limit to videos and the size is a whopping 1GB for the entire 8 minutes.

Lucky for me I found a forum for asking questions like, "What cameras under $400, and what cameras $400-$600 have the best video capabilities?" The forum is at the Digital Camera Resource Page. I think a little patience and more research will go a long way in my long-term camera using happiness.

Visa Trip: Osaka, Japan

2007-01-17T23:51:00.000-08:00

As a part of my contract with the Do Your Best Language Institute, I was sent to Osaka, Japan for a work visa. You cannot get a visa in Korea, so all English institutes will pay for your trip to Japan or another nearby country to obtain one. I went with one of my coworkers, but wound up hanging out with another girl I met at the Korean Embessy.

Size Does Matter

This is a photo of Margo and I after getting to Osaka and submitting our paperwork. I met Margo at the Embassy and we wanted to get some coffee. She bought the super large and I bought the regular.

Japan likes street lights as much as Korea does. The only difference is I can pronounce the words on signs in Korea and even understand some of them. This is the downtown area of Osaka. There are lots of places to eat and drink. The area is pretty big and well developed. There's even a slight theme park feeling you get by walking around.

Before leaving Korea, I asked my coworkers who had lived in Japan what I should do or eat. They suggested sushi, and I'm happy they did. I remember going to a restaurant like this when I was with my family visiting Japan when I was a kid. The way it works is you just grab a plate of whatever looks good as it revolves around the conveyer belt. The sushi never runs out since the chefs are replacing every plate you take off. This sushi place charged by the plate. The place I went to for lunch the next day was all you can eat. I ate 13 plates at the all you can eat place. The two Japanese teenagers next to me ate 24 each!

Margo and I went out for drinks and found this small but friendly bar to start out the evening. We tried Sake while we were there. I didn't think it was all that good, but maybe I didn't drink the right kind or drink it in the right way. After this bar we hopped around to two other bars, I think. The mix of whiskey, Sake, and Guiness clouded my memory.

Japan was all around cool. For being there only one night, a Monday night, that's the kind of impression that will bring me back. I had to photograph one of the several light posts that look like long robots holding the lamps. Each one is positioned slightly different from the others. Artsy things like this and the generally crazy style of dress that the youth have, led me to believe that the Japanese people have more personality than Korean people. I know that's a broad statement, but the differences are glaring even for the casual observer.

This is the covered market in Osaka. It's not like the markets in Korea where raw fish, dog, pig, and other creatures are being sold next to underwear, socks, and body cleansing products. This place was upscale and any woman's dream when it comes to having boots made. It's about a mile long and it all looks like what you see in this photo.

I think I'd like to go back to Osaka again for another visa run, but next time I'll go on the weekend and spend more days checking things out. A summer trip would be cool because everything is better during the summer.

I lost my camera

2007-01-17T23:31:00.000-08:00

I have no clue where I left my camera on Friday night when I went to the club with some friends. I'm more saddened by the fact that I had photographs from New Year's celebration in Seoul and photographs of students falling asleep in class than I am saddened by the loss of the camera.

It was my first digital camera and I took a lot of really great photos with it, but I was wanting to get a new one. So this is an opportunity for me to get that new camera before the spring flowers in Korea appear.

This is the PowerShot SD700 IS Digital Camera. This is what I am planning on buying. I'm basing my decision on some research I've done using a website called www.dpreview.com. Here is the link to the actual review. The reviewer, in a recent review of the 2007 model of this camera, claimed that this was his favorite in 2006. So, based on the features I want and this guys advice, I am going to buy the 2006 model.

3 Weeks of Updates: Summary

2007-01-08T03:50:00.000-08:00

Presently, I'm pretty tired from a tough work schedule. I get to work at 7:30am and leave at 7:30pm. I'm in bed by 10pm and up again at 6:30am.

Since my last post: I've gone to Osaka, Japan for my work visa; celebrated Christmas by teaching the most unfortunate children who were made to go to school on Christmas; moved into the apartment I will live in for a year; found a store that sells Guiness Draught, Hoegarden, Red Rock beer; celebrated the new year at City Hall in Seoul; started working a tough schedule; got paid a lot of money; started seeing a Korean teacher for private lessons; got sick for two weeks; begun planning for my family to visit me; got internet hooked up; and some other things.

I have a ton of photos that I want to post. I plan on taking care of some posts this Saturday.

Close Encounter

2006-12-15T20:46:00.000-08:00

I went out for dinner the other night and needed to use the restroom. This is a photo of what was available for use. This was the first time I used a squatter. I only needed to do a #1, so it was just a "close encounter". It was really dirty in the restroom and I couldn't locate the flusher.

Stinky Clothes

2006-12-15T20:30:00.000-08:00

I went into this restaurant to get a beer. All I wanted was a beer; I had eaten some street food just before. In Korea, people don't just order drinks, they buy food. There are some "drinking bars" but not many. So I felt obliged to order something. I walked over to look at what this lady was cooking. I hadn't tried this Korean/Japanese food yet, so asked for a plate of what she was making.

This is what was brought to me. The large yellowish stuff was egg and squid. I almost vomitted when I ate it. The rest was just okay. I will never eat any of it again if I can control it. It was too greasy.

I left feeling like I had eaten too much food, too much grease, too much squid, and not enough beer. I also smelled like funk.