Day 165: Beach Bums

Today was such a great day!

We all woke up fairly early, beacuase it's damn hard to sleep in a tent when the sun comes up, and it gets really hot early. By 9am it was already close to 30 C outside and I also recall, at around 5am or so when I went pee, that nearby there are a lot of...roosters?? haha! Okay... Not the sound you'd expect to hear around here!

We made a really yummy breakfast, and then headed down to the beach for the day. We then proceeded to spend *the entire day* down at the beach! Myeongsa isn't the nicest beach I've seen, but it's not crazy crowded like most beaches are in Korea, and is really pretty. The weather was HOT HOT HOT today and I absolutely loved it! The rainy season has ended in Korea and now it's nothing but clear blue skies and SOARING temperatures! They're expecting the hottest summer in over 50 years in Korea and I believe it! It had to have been close to 40 C today... We alternated between swimming and sun-bathing and it was great just to relax all day and read my book. We only got up when we wanted to swim, or wanted a snack or drink, and it was awesome!

The only downside with all this was that Brian and Pauline ended up getting quite the nasty sunburn! We made some pasta diner back at camp and then went back down to The Strip for beers. We all got drinks and then watched a most breathtaking sunset over the offshore islands in the distance. Crimson and gold and orange and magenta and danced and flowed across the horizon and we all just sat in peace and awe. After the sun went down we went to a local store and hung out on their patio tables all night long. We drank our beer and played Scrabble and Crib while enjoying the warm ocean breezes. Man, life as a beach bum rocks!!

Day 164: Trains, Ferries & Automobiles

Today was Total Transportation Day!

I woke up at the oh-so lovely hour of 5-fricken-AM (yeah, I'm not much of a morning person!) and got all my gear together and went and met up with Brian. We caught the bus to Seoul Station and then strolled into the KTX Train Terminal to buy tickets for the high-speed train to Busan. Our plan was to get onboard the 8am train but it was completely sold-out! We instead bought tickets for the 9am train and went and had some coffee and breakfast to kill time.

Soon it was time to board the train and we were totally excited for the trip! Boarding the KTX feels like you're boarding a plane! The train terminal has very airport-terminal kinda feel to it and it was all hustle and bustle this Monday morning. We got on board the train and a few minutes later we were pulling out of Seoul. This is the second time I've ridden the KTX (the first time was back in May when me and the gang went to the Green Tea Festival/Temple Stay) and it was just as enjoyable and comfortable this time. The train ride, even while flying through the countryside at 300 km/hour, is as smooth as silk. You never feel any push or lurch when the train is accelerating or slowing down. Train travel is such a romantic way to travel. Watching the lush green hills and rice paddies roll on by, flying through town after town, soaring across rivers and through tunnels, onwards sailing towards your destination afar. I love it.

In just three short relaxing hours, we crossed the entire country of Korea and arrived in Busan. Busan is Korea's second largest city ('only' 4 million peole live here) and is the nation's largest port. Busan has a very lovely location, nestled between its jagged harbour and the dramatic green hills that hug the urban sea. It has a flavour and atmosphere very different from Seoul, and is a gateway to many other places in Korea, including where we were going. on this trip - Geojedo Island.

We took a cab to the ferry terminal and bought tickets for the next ferry to Geojedo. We had time to kill and were starved so we had some lunch at the cafe in the terminal. I don't think many foreigners roll through here often because the staff there seemed pretty excited to serve two weguks from the city! It was then time to board the boat - the Democracy 1 - our link to the island. Brian and I only had very basic directions from Pauline on how to get to the island and so far we hadn't had any problems. Because they were already on the island, we had to give them a ring when we got onto the island to get further directions. It was a pleasant 50-minute ride on the boat through Busan's busy harbour and then out into the open ocean - Korea's South Sea.

We sailed into Janseungpo and I could tell already that this island was spectacularly beautiful! It was peaceful and quiet and had a beautiful, dramatic coastline - soaring cliffs and towering green mountains! Wow! Geojedo is the second-largest island in Korea (after Jeju) and is still fairly pristine because of its remote location. We rang Pauline on her cell (yes, cell phones work *everywhere* in Korea) and she gave us another long list of directions on how to find them! Turns out they were camping on Myeongsa Beach - the last beach to be found at the very bottom of the island.

We caght a local bus, one that only travels a couple times a day, and cruised on down the coastal road that hugs the breathtaking shoreline of Geojedo. We passed through many a fishing village on the way down the island. The waters of the sea were pure blue and it was great to be out in the forests of the island. About half way down the island the bus stops running at the coastal resort village of Hakdong, and so we had to catch a cab from there. We had a hard time finding a taxi in this village but eventually we did and rode on down to Myeongsa. We finally arrived at Myeongsa Beach at around 4pm - wow - ten hours of travelling today!! Bus, train, taxi, ferry, bus, taxi... It doesn't get much more remote than this in Korea!

And it was well-worth the journey! Myeongsa was quiet and splendidly devoid of crowds. A good-sized crescent beach in a small harbour surrounded by massive green forested mountains - the perfect place to spend a couple days camping! We met Pauline and then were introduced to Nick and Angele - a really nice couple from Canada who have just returned to Korea for another teaching contract. The three of them led us down the strip of stores and restaurants located just off the beach to our camp site - a rather remote location in itself! There are no formal campgrounds in this part of the island - so we made our own! Up top a rather steep and high ridge over-looking the bay they had found a clearing in the forest - the perfect place to set up camp - away from the beach-goers.

We set up our tent and then we all made some dinner. The stores below provided us with some basic groceries for our meals so we didn't have to hike in food from afar - very convenient. We then went and bought some beer and hung out on the beach for the night. We laid in the sand and talked into the wee hours of the morning, enjoying the solitude and feeling quite small in the world under a quilt of starry night. So beautiful! A warm breeze blew in from off the water and it totally felt like paradise! Ahhhh... now *this* is an ideal vacation!

Day 163: On The Web

I've decided that for my summer vacation I'm going to join Pauline and a couple of her friends on a camping trip in the south of Korea! Brian, who works at Poly Juyeop, is going to come along as well and the two of us are going to meet Pauline & Co. down there. The three of them left yesterday morning and so Brian and I will make our way down tomorrow AM.

One things though - neither Brian nor I own any camping equipment!! That could pose to be a *slight* problem if we're going camping! hehe! I know that Namdaemun Market has a street full of stores that sell camping gear so we decided to make our way there and do a little shopping. We caught the bus and in no time flat were at Namdaemun. We browsed through a couple of stores and were pleasantly surprised to find everything at a realy cheap price! He had bought a tent already, so we each bought a sleeping bag and mat, cooking gear, and a propane gas stove. We got it all for a good deal and were quite pleased with ourselves. It's gonna be a really fun trip!! I haven't gone camping yet in Korea and am looking forward to escaping the city for a while and enjoying some of Korea's beautiful scenery. After shopping we headed back to Ilsan, had some Korean dinner, and then went home to bed. It's going to be an EARLY RISE tomorrow (5am!) and so we should try and get some sleep.

On a different topic, if anyone's curious, you can now watch me and Steve's performance on The Contenders on the web! It's really easy and I'm sure you're just *dying* to see it! hehe! Just follow these fun and friendly instructions and you'll have no problem at all!

1) Go to http://www.arirang.co.kr/english/programs/contenders/vod.asp

2) Our show is Episode 124 - choose whether you want low or high.

3) It'll then ask you to register before you're allowed to view it. Don't worry about this, just enter whatever name and email address you feel like (you can even make it up, I think!)

4) Now you can watch us on the show! Horray for the internet!

I'd love to hear what you think about our performance on the show! Watch it and then please let me know what you think! And be sure to let me know if you have any problems downloading our episode - it should prove to be easy-breezy! :-)

Day 162: Chungju

Ahhhh...the first day of a 9-day *paid* holiday! Sweet!!

I had made plans to take a bus down to the city of Chungju to hang out with my buddy Luke for the day, and so I had to wake up at a half-decent hour, even though I totally felt lazy and wanted to sleep in til like noon! I caught the subway and had a looooong ride to Express Bus Station which is in Seoul on the south side of the Han. I found the bus terminal a-okay and bought a ticket to Chungju. What a deal - 125 km. ride and it only costs 6000 Won! My bus was even leaving in 15 minutes so I didn't have to wait around long. It was a madhouse at the bus terminal though. Today is the first day of summer holiday here in Korea and it seems like *everyone* wants to get out of the big city.

The bus ride ride to Chungju was cool and comfortable - thank god for AC! It was only an hour and a half ride and I was so very thankful that there's bus lanes on the highway! Traffic was way backed up and in the first half hour on the bus I saw four car accidents on the highway! What the hell! Slow down everybody! Koreans can be pretty crazy drivers and I know that during holiday times everyon'es just so anxious to try and get ahead of the pack.

I stepped off the bus in Chungju and was welcomed by a wave of disgusting humidity! Holy fuck! Seoul is humid but I soon learned from Luke that Chungju is officiall the humidest (not a word, I know) city in Korea because of its central location - not near the ocean and totally boxed in my hills that trap the hot air. Lovely! Luke toured me around the neighbourhood a bit and it was interesting to see what Chungju looked like. For those of you who remember, this is the city that my old bastard boss Steven wanted me to live in after I first lost my job. Looking around at the place, I'm damn glad that I didn't take it! Not that Chungju is necessarily a *bad* place tro live, I just know that I'd be bored stiff and that I'd be much happier in Ilsan (which I am!)

Luke's friends Ryan, Juanita, and Jeff later rolled into town and the five of us went and saw Fahrenheit 9/11! *WHAT A GREAT FILM!* It should come as no surprise at all that I loved the movie and was thrilled to see many of my own opinions/criticisms regarding President Bush and the War In Iraq put so succintly and eloquently and vividly shocking into a 2-hour film. For those of you who haven't seen it, GO! Every single American, in fact, really needs to see this film. Yes, Michael Moore is biased, but he doesn't pretend to be. I think that there's a lot of information in this movie that many Americans aren't fully aware of, and with this being an election year, eligible voters should try and become as educated and involved as they can. There were many saddening moments for me in the film, particularly with the interviews with the families who've lost sons and daughters in the war, as well as the horrifyingly graffic images of war-torn Baghdad. Wow. I'm still reeling from it all...

After the movie we went to Luke's broom closet of an apartment to hang out for a bit, and then Ryan, Jeff, and Juanita headed out back to Ryan's town. I stayed in town a bit longer and had dinner with Luke. We went to Pizza Hut and had a great time just relaxing and chilling. Turns out my buddy Luke has a lot in common with me, ranging from leftist political leanings to a love of Coldplay and other Brit rocks bands! Hooray for good friends! I then got back on teh bus and made my way home. It was a really nice bus ride actually, just watching the dark countryside flow by with great tunes on my head phones. I love being so mobile here in Korea. It took almost 3 hours to get home but it was a fun day for sure.

Day 161: Kids Are Kids

In the last five months of teaching I've had the opportunity to get a really detailed look into what Korean kids are like, and be able to compare them to Canadian kids.  There are a tremendous amount of cultural differences between the two groups of kids, and I've had to adjust my teaching style/approach to learning because of this.  I could make an eighty-page list on all the differences - some being quite subtle, some incredibly profound - between Korean and Canadian children but I won't get into that now.  Today was a day when it was really proven to me that at the end of the day, kids are still just kids, and often aren't all that different, really.

Today was the dreaded Test Day for all my older kids, and just like Canadian kids, they HATE this day and get so stressed out about it!  The pressure to do well in school is a thousand-fold for Korean kids than what it is for Canadian kids, but it was interesting to see them try and cram for it just like kids back home would do.  The same jitters, the same sweaty palms, the same moaning to the teacher as soon as I handed out the exam booklets.  Korean kids learn in a lot of different ways from Western kids (example: memorization of facts vs. understanding of concepts) but when it comes to disliking tests, they're all the same.

The other example that made me laugh out loud actually occurred just before exam time began.  About 15 minutes before the afternoon classes started today, the power went off on our floor.  The school was plunged into relative darkness and the temperature began climbing immediately without the powers of air conditioning to keep us cool.  Apparently this was caused by an over-usage of power by our school, but it was how the kids reacted to it that made me smile.  As soon as the lights went off they all became excited over the fact that maybe their exams would be cancelled (this would be a student's dream come true, to have their exam cancelled just 15 minutes before test time because of a power failure!) and started to get very excited.  Then they all began running around the school hallways, 'oooohhhhhing' as they pretended to be ghosts!  They made the same silly haunted house sounds that we all used to make as kids in school when the power went off!  This is one cultural icon that I honestly didn't think would transpire over here but sure enough, when it comes to power outages and haunted houses, kids will be kids! 

The power inevitably did come back on in time for all the classes to write their exams, and it was such a slack day for me.  Basically all I did was baby-sit my kids as they wrote their exams, and it was such a nice way to end my week and begin my vacation!  After the tests I said goodbye to all my students and even though our break is only a week long it seems like it'll be a long time before I see them again.  I'm looking forward to the break anyway and plan on enjoying my mini holiday here in Korea!

Day 160: Field Trip

I had a really easy morning today!  I only had one class to teach because this morning all the pre-schoolers got to go on a field trip!  There's five classes of pre-schoolers at POLY and we were all going on a tour of a fire station in nearby Hwajeong!  COOL!  Field trips were always the best when you were in school, and now that I'm a teacher, I have to say that they haven't lost their lustre!  There's something just really exciting about being able to go somewhere together as a class, and maybe it's just the fact that you're missing regular classes!  haha!

Each class has their own giant van to drive them around and so me and all my Parrots (each of the pre-school classes are named after a bird!) climbed on into the van and drove to Hwajeong.  We watched Lilo & Stitch along the way and same more kids songs.  Good times!  When we got to the fire station the kids' level of hyperness reached into the stratosphere and it was quite the effort for all us teachers to keep them together!
We all sat down in this one room and watched one of the firefighters show the kids all the different equipment they use.  The demonstration was all in Korean so I didn't understand a word they said, but it was cute just to see all their eyes light up at seeing all the cool firefighting gear. 

We then watched this fire safety video that was absolutely hysterical, but I don't think it was meant to be funny!  It had this Korean anime fairy character flittering around an apartment building watching as the silly Koreans in the video set their house on fire cause they were stupid enough to leave the iron on and then leave the room!  This giant scary evil fire monster then jumped out and burned everything (again, all anime) but it made all the kids scared and they jumped every time they saw the fire monster!  There was another scene in the video where some kids playing with dynamite (what the fuck?  where'd they get that from?) accidentally burn down a whole apartment block!  Too funny!

My afternoon turned out to be a fairly non-teaching day as well.  We're starting level tests today and it's a pretty important exam for all the kids to take so for most of the day I was just supervising my classes as they wrote the test.  What an easy-breezy day for me!!  (and I've got all my report cards done, finally!!)  Summer break is almost here - I can taste it already!  :-)

Day 159: The USO

I got up at the crack of dawn this morning after sleeping on Michael's couch all so that I could endulge in a little special breakfast.  Now what on Earth can you imagine that would be enough for me to want to go to such lengths all for just one measely meal of the day?

WESTERN-STYLE BREAKFAST!!!

OMG!  Michael told me that the USO has a cafe that serves up Western-style breakfast for Western-prices and I was already salvitating at the chance to get in on that action!  Since I've arrived in Korea I've been CRAVING, in ways that you can't even imagine, omelettes, hashbrowns, pancakes, french toast, and all those other goodies.  I used to LOVE going out for brunch on the weekends with all my pals back in Vancouver and this is the kind of food that you just can't find in Korea - anywhere!  I was totally stoked for this breakfast!!

Now this is where I become highly hypocritical and I'll be the first to admit it.  I may be uber-critical of the American military, but I'll become a dancing, drooling, fool just to be able to eat at their USO cafe.  The USO (I don't even know what it stands for) provides many kinds of services for the Armed Forces here in Korea, mainly in the form of cultural tours and organized events, but their Western-style cafe is just one of their other features.  And surprisingly this is something that is open to everyone - not just military folk. 

We headed down to the USO office and us three weguk boys were thrilled to have the breakfast!!!  I had a cheese omelette with juice and toast and it only cost me three bucks!  AND IT WAS SO YUMMY!!!  In all honesty, the omelette itself wasn't even that spectacular, but just the fact that I had been without it for so long made it taste that much better!  We all wolfed down our breakfast and sighed in great pleasure after it was all done.

And not only that, I even got to go into their little store at the USO and buy a Snapple Iced Tea and three ENGLISH magazines!!!  I'm a mag addict and have also been in English-magazine withdrawal since arriving in Korea!  I bought myself a Vanity Fair and Details magazine, and those combined with the latest GQ that Chris had brought me from the States, and I was happier than a pig in shit!  I had a full happy tummy and plenty of English reading material!  God bless the USO!  And yes, once again, I'll admit how dumb I sound for being so happy to be able to buy such things, courtesy of the American military, when two minutes later I'll be criticizing their practices around the world.  (Sometimes I just can't help myself.)  But can you blame a brother?  ;-)

I went back to work and bragged to all of my co-workers about my morning.  They were all super jealous over the breakfast that I had, and everyone fawned over me because of the magazines!  I was certainly a popular fellow at POLY this morning!  Hehe!  It's funny how happy one can become by just the simplest things!

Day 158: Family Matters

After work today I headed straight for the subway and rode the train to Insadong to meet up with some friends for dinner.  Michael's brother Chris was in town visiting from Iowa and Mikey was having a little dinner with him, Eric, and myself.  We all met up in Insadong and then went and had a delicious chicken dinner at a Korean restaurant.  I don't remember what the dish was called, but it's a special dish that Koreans traditionally have on the first day of summer, which is today, July 20th. 

It was really cool to chat up Chris and hear all about his first impressions of Korea.  Korea is almost always a bit of a shock for those new to Asia, or those new to anything outside North America, really!  To hear about all the things that a weguk who's Fresh Off The Boat notices first is always fascinating, and it's cool to be able to compare it all to your own first impressions when you arrive.  The size of the city, the endless rows of high-rise apartments, the crowds, the traffic, the dirtiness, the Korean language and writing...those are most commonly the first things someone who's new notices.  Chris is in town for a week or so before him and Michael fly off to Cambodia to check out the sites there.  It's gonna be a great trip for both those boys.

It totally made me wish that I had some of my family come visit!  I'm such a long ways from home and I would absolutely love to have my parents or sister in town and be able to show them around and introduce them to life here in Asia.  I know that it would be a HUGE SHOCK to their system but that it would also be a really educational, eye-opening experience for them.  It would give them an appreciation for all the challenges that I deal with here, and it would also allow me the chance to show off all the wonderful things that Korea has to offer.  I know that a lot of the times they'd be overwhelmed, mostly with the crowds, the heat, and the traffic, but I think it would be a great visit nonetheless.  Too bad that it costs a fortune to fly to Korea from North America!  Even for my sister, who's already much closer by living in Vancouver, it would still cost a lot of money for her to visit.  I wish that I was rich and could fly them all over and give them a fabulous tour.  Plus the fact that by the time I come home it will have been two full years since I had seen my family last really makes me wish that we had the means to visit.  Even just one visit between now and then would be nice to have some family time together.  Ahhh well, looks like we'll just have to stick with the ol' blog and phone to stay in touch!

After dinner we were all feeling kinda mellow so instead of going out for drinks or whatever we decided to take Chris to our favourite board game cafe to play Risk.  Yeah yeah yeah, we've been over the whole Geek thing already - enough with that!  ;-)  We ordered pizza and played Risk for a while and had a really good time.  After that I went and crashed at Michael's so that I could have breakfast with them the next day before heading off to work.  It was going to be a special breakfast and I was quite excited about it.  Excited enough that I was willing to sleep on a couch and then wake up at 6:30am all to have this breakfast...  And what breakfast would that be?  You'll have to read about it tomorrow!  hehe! 

 

Day 157: The Adventures of Dmitri

I have a room-mate, and his name is Dmitri.  Now he's not another foreign English Teacher, he's a beautiful little maroon Samurai fighting fish.  He was originally Brad's pet (and then Steve's for a while) but I inherited/adopted little Dmitri when I took over Brad's apartment.  He's been great company and the ideal room-mate.  He's a great listener, doesn't make much mess, doesn't give me any attitude or lip, puts up with my really bad singing as I get dressed in the morning, and is always so happy when I feed him.  (If only all roomies were like this!)

I've always liked fish actually, and I've enjoyed having him in the apartment with me.  I think he's kinda mad at me though right now, and that *may* have to do with the fact that I almost killed him tonight...  Oops!  ;-)

I had to clean his bowl and in order to do that I had to remove him and put him in a small cup of water while I cleaned out his little round home.  Not wanting to refill his bowl with gross Seoul water, I had bought a big jug of spring water to give to him once it was all cleaned out.  The problem was that it was way too cold to put him back in yet (the jug was in the fridge) so I had to make him wait a while in that little cup while the water returned to room temperature.

Well Dmitri, like his owner, doesn't have much patience and hates to wait.  I was on the computer when I heard this little *bloop* noise....  Not thinking it was anything, I continued with my email until I realized, "OMG!  What if that noise was Dmitri!!!"  I ran to the kitchen and his little cup was empty!  Where was Dmitri???

I looked down in horror into my kitchen sink and saw my little friend - swimming in a disgusting fesspool of bacteria water in a kitchen pot, leftover from my pasta sauce that I had made three days earlier!  Oh Dear God - Poor Dmitri!!!  I scooped out my little purple companion, scolded him gently, and placed him back in the cup.  I guess the sneaky little bastard decided to show me up by giving me a scare!  Cheeky bugger!

A few minutes later I had him back in his clean home, and he swam around in happy circles.  But he hasn't looked me in the eye since that day though, and gives me the silent treatment every time I try to talk to him.  I keep telling him that if this relationship of ours is going to work, it takes a lot of open, honest communication, but he's a stubborn prick and won't open up at all. 

*sigh* 

Does anyone know how to help make a feisty fighting fish forgive you?

Day 156: Dirty or Dirrty?

OMG, today had to have been one of the best days I've ever had!!!  :-)

We slept in quite late today, and then changed right back into our suits to go and have a day full of good ol' fashioned fun in the mud!  They had all the same activities set up today as there was yesterday, only today the weather was even nicer!  It was warm and sunny and there were actually blue skies all day today - something that I haven't seen in ages it seems!

We made a b-line to the mud pit, and this is where things got *real dirty*, or maybe I should say Dirrty?  Once again we shyly stepped into the pit and waited to see how long it would be before we got attacked by the muddy geurilla warriors that inhabit the mud pit!  Michael and Eric got picked off first, while I just stood off to the side laughing my head off at them!  My peaceful cleanliness did not last long though...

I was just standing there when this girl in a bikini came up to me (and she couldn't have been more than 5'5" in height) and said "Hey you!  You're way too clean to be in here!"  She then proceeded to PICK ME UP, throw me over her shoulders, and then slammed me into the mud, throwing herself on top of me!  Oh my!  She pinned me down while she threw mud all over me, and then all of her friends and everyone else in the ring ran up and before I knew it tsunamis of mud were washing over my body, trapped under this firey muddy pixie!  Woohoo!!
The next hour or so was like a scene out of a naughty music/soft-porn movie!  Guys and girls wearing only their bathing suits tackled each other in a no holds barred/winner takes all wrestling match!  I spent more time rolling around in the mud with bikini-clad girls and board-short guys, none of whom I had ever met before, grabbing and groping and trying desperately to stay on top of the seething mass of muddy human flesh that seethed and writhed every which way, than I can even describe!!  It was like Christina Aguilera's "Dirrty" video come to life!  (aka: My Dream Come True!)  ;-)

After our mud wrestling matches, in which I lost horribly each and every time, we decided to spend the rest of the day on the beach.  The summer heat was glorious and this was the nicest beach I've seen yet in Korea.  Clean, smooth, soft white sand.  And the waters were SO WARM!  We spent a good three hours or more swimming and playing and horsing around in the waves of the Yellow Sea and I don't think I've ever had that much fun in the ocean before!  It was awesome!  The afternoon just flew by and we didn't want to leave - this was true summer paradise!  Unfortunately, if we wanted to get home at a half-decent hour, we had to hit the road...

And it's a good thing we did cause even with our semi-early departure it took *forever* to get home!  The drive from Boryeong to Seoul, when there's no traffic, is only 2.5 hours long.  Today it took us SIX HOURS to get home!  Ugh!!!  We even got off the main freeway (which was more like a parking lot) and took smaller secondary highways to get away from the crowds, but it still took a long time to get home.  Ahhh well, that's the reality of living in a crowded country!  We got home around 10pm or so and I then had to subway it all the way back home to Ilsan.  I went to sleep that night still feeling like I was bobbing in the waves.  What a wonderful day - if only every day was a Mud Festival Day!  :-)

Day 155: All About Mud

This was one of my best weekends ever here in Korea!!!

Michael, Eric, and I decided to take a road trip down to a small city called Boryeong to check out its annual Mud Festival!  That's right, you heard it - an entire festival devoted to the joys of mud!  Now how cool is *that!*

We left Seoul around 10am and hit the highway that led south down to the Central-West Coast where Boryeong is.  As usual, with it being a festival weekend, traffic was quite bad trying to get out of the city.  For a good hour or more we just crawled along at 10 km/hr. stuck in a giant freeway of clogged traffic.  Traffic finally got moving about half way into our journey.  We decided to stop at this small town for lunch along the way, and also to buy a car stereo!  Michael's tape player had broken on our last rafting trip and the three of us were going stir crazy without any music to bop along to on our trip.  We picked up a cheap CD player, had it installed in less than half an hour, and then were back on the road with tunes cranked the rest of the way!

It was late afternoon by the time we arrived in Boryeong but things were still a hoppin'!  There were crowds all over the beach and plenty of muddy passerby!  Oooh this looks like it's going to be a fun weekend!  We found a fairly inexpensive motel to stay at near the beach, (with a *round bed!*) got changed into our suits, and then made our way over to the beach.  It was quite the spectacle when we arrived!!

The Boryeong Mud Festival really is just that - a festival that's all about mud-filled activities and fun stuff to do all involving mud.  There was mud-wrestling, mud slides, mud volleyball, mud soccer, mud face-painting and body art, mud facials, mud massages...  You name it, if it can have mud in the middle then it was going on!  Apparently in this part of Korea the mud has a lot of healing minerals in it or something (there's also a whole line of cosmetics in Korea that's made with this town's mud) and so the town has just turned it into an annual party.  At least 80% of the people at this festival were foreigners and it was so cool to see hundreds and hundreds of whiteys running around screaming covered in mud!

The most fun is your first 'Mud Initiation!'  Us three boys had shyly stepped into the big mud pit (surrounded by a giant inner tube lining that could bounce off of) and were a little reluctant at first as to how to 'get dirty'.  Fortunately, the other 30 or so people in the ring made that decision for us!  We were tackled and dragged into the centre of the ring only to have every single person in the ring run up and throw and kick mud all over us!  In only five short wonderfully frantic seconds, where you're screaming like a 7-year old girl who's just stepped on a piece of seaweed, while laughing uncontrollably, you become absolutely covered in mud, from head to toe.  Literally your *entire body* (including my precious hair!) becomes caked in mud!  AWESOME!!!

Luckily Boryeong is located right next to Daechon Beach, easily one of Korea's most beautiful beaches.  You can get all dirty and muddy and then run across the soft white sand into the ocean to clean off, only to start all over again!  The festival has a real party atmosphere with everyone drinking and running around chasing each other half-naked.  And I ran into so many friends!  I ran into Joanne, Ailish, and even four of my POLY coworkers!  It seems like every foreigner in Korea was here at the Mud Festival!

That night was really fun too.  They had free rock and pop concerts at a giant stage set-up right on the beach, and then a spectacular fireworks and laser show!  After that it was one ginormous beach party all night long!  The three of us stayed up til like 3am just hanging out at the beach having way too many beers and watching all the antics around us!  There was drunken wrestling matches on the beach, bongo drum jam sessions/sing-a-longs, chicks running around in bikinis giggling Valley-girl giggles, and the proverbial jock guys skinny-dipping in the sea.  Wow!  Where am I?  Korea or 'The MTV American Spring Break in Cancun'???  :-)  It was an amazing night just to hang out and take it all in.  A warm breeze blew softly through the air and it was so nice just to be outside in the fresh ocean air.  Ahhhh...this is the life! 

Day 154: Screaming At The TV

Thank God it's Friday!!!  It's been a good week at work, but I'm still getting adjusted to the very long hours.  On M-W-F I work from 9am-7:30pm and on T-Th I work from 9am-6:40pm.  Whew that's a lot of hours!  However, the job is fun and the school is good and the pay is great so I'm not complaining at all.  It just takes a little while to get used to working such long days....

On top of that, I've been so bogged down with report cards lately!  Once a month we have to write report cards for all of our students and it's quite a lot of work.  Altogether I have about 100 students that I'm responsible for and let me tell ya that's a lot of fuckin' report cards to write up!  It's kinda funny, I actually feel like a *real* teacher now with this new job.  Proper curriculam and organized teaching and report cards and everything!  Wow!  And the fact that I don't even have a teaching degree kinda makes me laugh, I'm just a 'teacher-come-lately' here in Korea.  It's pretty cool though - I really do enjoy the profession.

Tonight after work was The Viewing Party - Take 2! and I had my fingers crossed that Steve and I were going to be on air!  Most of my friends who came out for the party last week unfortunately couldn't make it out this week so it was a much smaller get-together.  Plus Rick & Tracey had moved back to Canada so there goes my orginal venue!  Kelsey has the channel so I went and watched the show with her, Peter, and Rochel (all Poly teachers!) and it was a blast!

When the show came on and we saw Steve and I walk out onto stage we all just *SCREAMED* out in excitement at the TV!  haha!!  It was so funny and so weird and so surreal to see myself on television!  Of course everyone always hates how they look and sound on camera so I was totally self-conscious but all my buds said I looked good and was well-composed.  Again, none of them knew if we were going to win or lose so it was exciting to watch it all play out.  We all erupted in cheers again when we won the show and then I had to explain to them that this would be the one and only time I'd be on the show because of the situation with Steve.  (and it's too bad that Stevie never got the chance to see himself on TV either.)  Everyone was super-impressed that we had won and so now I've got a rep as a pretty darn smart boy with game show winning credentials behind my name now!  hehe!

(Let's hope it all doesn't go to my already big fat head!)  ;-)

Day 153: Paradise Delayed

So I was seconds away from buying myself a plane ticket to the Philippines today!

Summer Break is at the end of this month and I was thinking that it would be really cool to go somewhere for it.  We only get two weeks off a year so our holidays are really precious to us foreign teachers!  We only get a week off in July and a week off for Chritmas (other than a few other long weekends scattered here and there because of Korean national holidays) so you really gotta take advantage of that free time!  Pretty much all of my co-workers have booked trips for themselves and I didn't want to be left behind in Korea for a whole 9 days with all this free time and nothing to do and no one to hang out with!

Six of my coworkers are actually going to Thailand (the destination of choice for foreigners here) and a couple are going to China.  I thought that the Philippines would be really cool because unlike Thailand and China, it's not part of my Great Backpacking Trek that I have planned for myself next year when I finish my teaching contract.  I also have a few friends who've gone to the Philippines and absolutely loved it!  And hey who wouldn't want a whole nine days to lounge around on a beautiful tropical beach?  I sure would love it!!

I looked into going to Boracay which is a tiny island in the Philippines and has been voted by a number of travel magazines and experts as The World's Most Perfect Tropical Island.  It's only a few kilometres long and is virtually all white sand and palm trees, with turquoise waters and little beach huts to stay in.  No cars are allowed on the island, and there's supposed to be some great restaurants and bars there.  And the scuba diving/snorkelling is *legendary*!  God it totally sounds like paradise to me!! 

However, as cheap as travel is in Asia, it still would've cost more than I would've liked, mainly because I'd be booking it last minute.  So reason and sensibility won over adventure and wanderlust today, but I made a deal with myself.  No big trips this vacation (I have only just returned to work after being unemployed for a month) but instead I'm gonna look into going to Boracay for my Winter Break.  How awesome would it be to spend Christmas and New Year's on a spectacularly gorgeous little white-sand palm-tree aquamarine-waters tropical island!!!  Maybe I can even convince a few friends to come along with me...?

Consider this an open invite to all of my friends to come and join me this Holiday Season for a week in paradise!  Any takers???  :-)

Day 152: Ode To Kimchi

I have to say it, and I have to say it loud and clear!  I want the whole world to know that,

I LOVE KIMCHI!!!

Wow, never did I ever imagine the day that I'd say that would come!  When I first arrived in Korea I thought that kimchi was the most disgusting thing that I had ever seen!  For those of you who aren't familiar with it, kimchi is fermented cabbage (although it also comes in a variety of other vegetables too.)  It's soaked in spices and is fermented in giant jars FOREVER before it's taken out and eaten.  It's cold and wet and looks gross and soggy.  Red goopy sauce drips off of it and it has a smell that could knock a sailor to the floor!  And it's *definitely* an acquired taste!

I wouldn't touch the stuff for months when I first arrived.  I just looked at it and turned up my nose.  But then one day I was feeling brave and decided to taste a bit.  It certainly wasn't a love at first bite, but I was suprised that it didn't taste all that bad.  And somewhere inbetween then and now I've been transformed into a Kimchi-lovin' Canadian Boy in Korea!  I just can't get enough of the stuff!  And luckily for me kimchi is served with *every* Korean meal so I get to have it often.  Kimchi is Korea's most popular and most famous food (it's just a side-dish, not a meal in itself) and I'm head over heels! 

Not only that, I have to say that I think I've become a bit of a kimchi connosseur! (sp?)  I've had so much of it that I feel that I can now easily tell the difference between good, mediocre, and bad kimchi.  Texture, degree of spiciness, size of pieces, amount of sauce, how long it's been fermented, crispness...all are all various kimchi qualities that can make it or break it and I've gotten really good at judging all of them.  And trust me, there really are subtle but significant differences in the kind of kimchi that you get served when you're out and about in Korea!  I know my kimchi!  Yum yum yum!

God, what's gonna happen when I leave Korea?  I'm totally gonna go thru Kimchi Withdrawal!!!  Egad!  ;-) 

Day 151: Seeping In

Okay, you know you're a pre-school teacher when you find yourself singing kids songs when you're at home, on the bus, walking down the street, shopping....  And I can't help it!  I catch myself donig it *all the time!*  I just can't get the songs out of my head!  haha...

We listen to many kids songs during class time on a very regular basis.  I put the music on for the kids during activity time (the singing along while they work  helps to keep them behaving and focused on their schoolwork, I've found) and so I'm exposed to it on a regular basis.  On top of that, every Friday during fourth block all the pre-school kids gather together in the school library and we all sing songs together.  The teachers get up on stage and lead the kids in the sing/dance-along and I have to admit it's actually kinda fun.

Well now this exposure to all of this kid music has been overflowing into my 'non-work life!'  The music has totally seeped in and taken over my brain!  Like for example, this morning I was in the shower and wasn't just signing, but *totally rocking out* to 'Skip To My Lou'! 

"cat's in the cream again, what'll I do?  Skip to my lou my darling..."

"fly's in the buttermilk, shoo fly shoo!  Skip to my lou my darling..."

Oh dear!  ;-)

And the other day I was in the grocery store in the produce section browsing through the fruit stands.  I came across where the apples were and suddenly, blaring through my head, and then softly out of my mouth, (without realizing it at first) came the Apples & Bananas song.  You know the one, it's the song where you change the vowel sounds...

"I like to ate, ate, ate apples and bananas...

I like to eat, eat, eat eeples and benenes...

I like to ite, ite, ite ipples and bininis...

I like to ote, ote, ote opples and bononos...

I like to ute, ute, ute upples and bununus...!"

I CAN'T STOP!!  SOMEBODY HELP ME!! 

It's funny anyways.  Like I said, you know you work with children when....hahaha.  Maybe I should start up a local 'Kids Songs Addicts Annonymous' support group?  I could easily recruit all of my co-workers to join.  We could have weekly therapy sessions!  ...  LOL!

;-)

Day 150: Censorship

As some of you may have heard by now, I've been having a lot of problems with my blog over the last couple of weeks.  This started back when I was in Shihung and it wasn't until today that I found out what's been going on.  My problem is that I haven't been able to read my own blog!  I can access my blog via the blogger site, and I can write my entries, but I can't actually go to the site and view it like you can.  Every time I try the computer just waits and waits and eventually an error/time-out message pops up.  What the...???

When this first started happening I asked a few people around the world if they could still read my blog.  Everyone could - all across Canada and the US and even my buddy Ryan in Taiwan...but nobody I knew in Korea (incl. myself!) could read it!  Okay this sounds very suspicious...  Why would the rest of the world have no problem reading my blog, but nobody in Korea can?  What's up?

I had no idea what was going on until my co-worker Peter filled me in.  He has a blog on blogger.com as well and had been having the same problem as me.  Well he wrote blogger support and they emailed him back and filled him completely in.  Here's the scoop - (and I was quite shocked, but at the same time not really, when I first heard why...)

The Korean government has completely blocked all access/viewing privileges to the blogger site by anyone and everyone in the country.  Why you may ask?  This is all because of an event that took place in Iraq a few weeks ago that caused massive ripples across Korea in various ways...

A few weeks ago a Korean worker in Iraq was captured and threatened to be killed unless the Korean government pulled out all of its troops from Iraq.  The Korean government refused and as a result the man was beheaded on camera.  His death is just one of the many beheadings that have been taking place in Korea but it came as a horrific shock to the country.  All of Korea went into shock and mourning over the man's death (his name was Kim Sun-Il I believe) and the media jumped on top of it and ate it up like candy.  It was all over the news and everywhere you went it was all you heard about.

Well the video footage of his beheading obviously made it onto the internet and was soon being viewed by various individuals across Korea.  The Korean government had already banned this footage and photographs from being aired on TV/printed in the papers and did not want Koreans seeing it so they shut down every single website that tried to display it.  In the middle of this frenzy, there was someone who had a site on blogger who decided to post photos of the beheading on their blog, and this pissed off the Korean government.  In retaliation, they blocked all access to not just his but ALL blogs in the country to stop this. 

This totally fucking pisses me off!  And for several reasons!  Firstly, it's annoying that I can't even access my own damn blog.  I can write in it, but can't read my entries unless I go into 'edit' mode on the site from within the control panel.  This event took place over a month ago and the sensationalism that surrounded his beheading has come and gone already.  Why should the government still block it?  Exactly for how long are they planning on keeping the blockade up?  Will I not be able to read my own blog for the rest of the time I'm in Korea?

Secondly, what kind of so-called democracy goes to such lengths to censor the media, in all forms (television, newspapers, the internet, etc.) in order to prevent images which it deems not suitable for its citizens.  What happened to making up your own fucking mind about what's appropriate for one's own self to see?  I'm terribly sad to hear about this innocent man's death, and have no urge myself to view the footage, but I don't agree with the government deciding what I can and cannot view.  This censorship is something that I would expect in a country like China or Cuba, not in a nation that claims to be modern and cosmopoiltan and open to new ideas and influence from the outside world.  Is this disgusting behaviour just Korean's past as The Hermit Nation rearing its ugly head again?

And thirdly, I find it entirely hypocritical of the Korean government to do this.  Just a week or two before Kim Sun-Il's beheading, two Americans were beheaded and the footage of their deaths did not get censored at all.  In fact, they had the footage being aired on the 6 o'clock news for anyone and everyone to see!!!  So, in other words, it's completely okay and appropriate for anyone to see two Americans getting beheaded (including children who could be watching such regular evening programming) but not if its a Korean?  Why should those two Americans not be extended the same respect and dignity as Kim Sun-Il?  (Not that I support censorship at all, but their argument has no grounds at all if they pick and choose based on nationality like that.)

It's fucking stupid!

I'm trying not to be the judgemental foreigner here, but it's been a huge inconvenience for me and I'm finding it impossible to understand or respect this government decision.  Arghh!!!!  Anyway, at least now I know why I've been having so many problems with my blog!  But who's to say when it will actually end?  I just may have to get used to this situation - shitty!

 

Day 149: Rafting, Take Two

We woke up early this morning and us three boys drove on out to the Hantang River, the same river canyon that we had visited with Maeve about a month ago.  Because Korea has been in the full swing of Monsoon Season, the river should be much higher and therefore rafting should be much more fun!

And when I say Monsoon, I really mean it!  An insane amount of rain has fallen in Korea over the last few weeks!  I knew that summer was the Rainy Season but they should rename it The Great Annual Deluge cause I haven't seen this much rain in a long, long time!  And it ain't no constant drizzle - when it rains it POURS and there's often huge thunderstorms along with it.  The thunder and lightning are cool but not when enough water to fill the Great Lakes falls on Korea every single day...  The weird thing is that despite all of this rain we're still suffocating in humidity here!  It's very odd being outside and it's raining cats and dogs yet you're still sweating buckets because the humidity is like 96%!  Crazy country!  :-)

When we got up to the river we were not disappointed!  The river was ROARING through the canyon and we could actually see real white water where rocks and boulders had been before.  Awesome!  Accompanying this were literally *bus-loads* of of Koreans who were arriving to partake in the same activity as us!  Looks like the three of us aren't the only ones today who though it was a good day for rafting!

Our afternoon cruise down the river turned out to be a total blast!  We had lots of great rapids and it was a completely different experience from just a month ago!  Before we kept getting stuck on giant rocks and having to carry our raft through rapids, but certainly not today!  A few times we were totally slammed against the water and all had to hold on real tight!  AWESOME!
It was a beautiful warm day and we did some swimming in the quiet parts of the river too.  It only took about an hour and a half to do our rafting run today - exactly half the time it took the first time!  We all had a great time and plan on doing rafting at least once more this summer (but we'll probably choose a different river next time, just for the sake of variety.)

After that it was time to head back into Seoul again - just a short day trip out for us.  Naturally traffic was backed up coming into Seoul and so it took twice as long to get back into the city as it did to get out.  Ahhhh, the joys of weekend traffic while living in a megacity!  I had a splitting headache though and my ears thought they were going to explode....  I think I got a bunch of water in my ears when we were cliff-diving and it was like how it feels when you're in an airplane and you CAN'T clear the pressure in your head.  Seriously, I thought my ears were going to bleed!  Finally about 2 hours later they suddenly cleared and I felt SO RELIEVED to have my hearing back, and for losing the desire to want to have my head run over by a squid truck!  LOL!

By the time I got back into Ilsan it was quite late and I was ready for bed.  Back to work tomorrow for my first full five-day week of teaching!

Day 148: Goodbyes Suck!

Another busy day for me...  It was Saturday and I *so* wanted to sleep in but, alas, not today young, fair Scotty....  I had to get up at the crack of dawn (well, 8am, which is too damn early to be up on a Saturday!) so that I could be driven to the Immigration Office to get my new Alien Registration Card. 

My Director Chang picked me up at 9am along with Charles and Peter who also work at Poly and we made the big trek out to NE Seoul which is where the nearest Immigration Office is.  It was a quick and easy-breezy visit fortunately.  Right in, right out, and everything was a-ok.  All our paperwork was perfect and we could pick up our new cards next week.  Sweet - the final, last step for my new life in Korea is at last complete!

We then went back to Ilsan and I hung out with Steve while he packed up all his gear.  In only a few hours Steve was gonna get picked up and driven to the airport so he could start his next adventure.  Although I was totally excited for Steve and his trip (6+ months trekking across Central Asia!) I was really sad and depressed to see him go!  Steve has been a great friend to me since I met him through Brad a few months ago, and has become an even closer bud since Brad and Andrea departed in early June.  What was once The Core Four was whittled down to the Hotboyz and now I was going to be the only one left...  After today my three bestest buds would all be gone and who knows when I'll see them next.  Leaving your friends is really no fun at all, but being the one 'left behind' even more so.  I hate goodbyes - they totally suck!!!

The afternoon disappeared in an instant and it was time to bid my friend Bon Voyage.  Kelsey and I gave Steve a big hug and then he was gone... 

After that Kelsey and I decided to go and do a little shopping in Namdaemun Market in Seoul.  Kelsey's leaving in a few weeks herself to go on a 3-week African Safari with her father and needed to pick up a whole shitload of gear for the big trip.  We made our way to the insane and wonderful chaos that is Namdaemun and actually had a blast picking up all her items.  Kelsey and I are always ridiculously silly whenever we're together and we were having way too much fun with ourselves while shopping!  Good times!  She managed to get most of the gear she needed and then I had to head out to meet up with Michael and Eric.

Michael and Eric had invited me to go white-water rafting again tomorrow so we were going to have dinner together and then I'd crash at Michael's so that we could get up early to make the drive north.  I subwayed it to Itaewon and the three of us had a really lovely dinner at quiet and relaxing French restaurant.  After dinner we cabbed it over to our favourite board game cafe and played...you guessed it...Risk! 

The three of us are such huge geeks!  Here we are, on a perfect Saturday night, and we're *excited* to go and sit and play a silly board game for all hours into the night!  LOL!  But hey at least we're self-professed geeks, which makes it half cool!  hehe...  We had the biggest, bloodiest match of Risk yet and I ended up winning by a hair.  Yah, me!  It was a great night just chilling with friends and actually most of today was a good reminder that even though the Core Four are No More I still have a lot of great friends here in Korea!  Lucky me!  :-)

 

Day 147: The Gang's All Here

So I was totally excited all day today!  Today was Friday and the night of my big debut on television!  It was the night that my episode of The Contenders was going to be aired across Korea - *nation-wide!* and I was totally stoked about it!  How cool would it be to see yourself ON TV!!!???  haha!!

Because of this pivotal moment in my life, the exact moment when I instantly transform from humble English Teacher to international superstar extraordinaire, I naturally wanted to share it with absolutely everyone I knew in Korea!  Steve and I decided that a Viewing Party was in order and that we would gather up all our buddies to come out and watch our stellar performance on TV together.  None of our friends knew if we had lost or won cause Steve and I wanted to build up the anticipation and watch it all unfold on TV...it's gonna be a great night!!!

I don't even have the Arirang channel in my apartment, but Rick & Tracey who live below me kindly offered to host my little soiree.  I made a million phone calls and then waited and watched as the crowds rolled in...  There was Steve and myself, Kelsey, Ben, Pauline, Rick, Tracey, Michael and Eric drove in from Seoul, and even Mark and Ailish bussed in all the way from Shihung.  What a great turn-out!

With about twenty minutes or so left before the launch of my Career In Fame a TV commercial for the show came on that quickly caused me to have a short panic...  It was showing glimpses of the upcoming episode...and none of them had Steve or I in it!!  Uh-oh...  Could it be that tonight's episode is actually the one that was filmed on the same day as ours, just before we competed?  Nahhh....we were told by the Arirang staff that *tonight* was gonna be our night...

Oh boy...

11pm hit and we all crammed into Rick & Tracey's place and had our eyes glued to the tube.  The show rolled out, the music started up, the host walked out on stage and introduced....

...not Steve and I!

DOH!!!

Uhhhhh sorry guys...looks like Steve and I are actually gonna be on TV *next week!* 

(insert sheepish grin and nervous giggle here)

No worries, everyone was a good sport about it.  We all just laughed about the circumstances (Murphy's Law eh?) and enjoyed the show.  We had some beers and had a blast jeering the other contenders, knowing that whoever won that show would be our competition.  It was great fun and actually a really awesome impromptu party at Rick & Tracey's.  This was actually the first time ever that I've had all my various groups of friends here in Korea together in one room!

After the show we just hung out and chatted for quite a while, and then some of us went for drinks later on.  Steve and I were teased incessantly about the little 'schedule mix-up' tonight but it was all in good fun.  Looks like we'll have to reschedule the Viewing Party for next week!

 

Day 146: Life Is Now

I have a horrible habit that I've been trying to break for nearly 26 years now.  It takes constant effort and continual reminders, but I have greatly improved at it.  Still, I'm a long way from where I want to be.  It'll probably take the rest of my life to get to that ideal point, and even then maybe not.  The only comfort with this menace is that I know (or am just assuming/hoping) that I'm not alone in this condition.
 
My horrible habit is that I tend to live my life in the future, and not in the present time.
 
Let me explain...
 
For as long as I can remember, I have been a 'planner.'  No, I'm not talking in the urban/cityscape sense this time, I'm talking with just planning for where I want my life to go next.  I've always been busy with looking ahead and am constantly thinking of where I want to be and how I can get there.  Call it ambition, call it pro-activeness, call it avoiding the present, call it whatever you want.  But either way I've always had my eyes on the future - what I'll be doing tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, and sometimes even 3-5 or more years down the road of life. 
 
This, in many ways, has been a great blessing.  Ever since I can remember I've always known exactly what I've wanted to do in life, and pretty much every major goal I've ever set for myself I've been able to accomplish.  I'm proud to say that right now at this very moment I am living the life I had always dreamed about.  No wait, let me rephrase that...I am living a life that's *even better* than what I could have fathomed.  I truly am a very lucky guy in that respect.
 
On the other hand, this near obsessiveness with always calculating my next move in life comes with a heavy curse.  I find it difficult, at times, to just 'enjoy the moment' and feel that I spend far too much time planning for 'what happens next.'  Instead of just letting myself go by living completely in the present and enjoying all the fruits of my labour and just stopping to celebrate and just BREATHE, I refuse to let myself do so.  It's like I've crafted the art of planning out my life to such a degree that I've lost all ability to live in the now.  (Well maybe not *all* ability, my life *is* full of innumerable amazing moments that I truly do appreciate *at the time*, but not as many as I would like.)  What is it about me that just won't allow myself to let go, to relax, to take a break from this chess game of life philosophy, from this self-imposed addiction, from this all-consuming hypnotic trance of living life dans la future?  My feet may standly firmly and confidently and proudly in the present, but my head, way up in the clouds, lies in days yet to come.
 
It really bothers me, at times.  Again, I have to re-emphasize, it's not that I'm unhappy with the present, it's just that I can't seem to NOT be constantly looking ahead to what is yet to come, planning and preparing and getting ready for whatever goal or project or phase I've set for myself next.  For example, all the while in high school all I could think about was what life would be like when I got to BC and was in university.  My  high school days were awesome, really fun, care-free, adventurous, healthy and happy, yet all I could think about was SFU.  And then when I was in university, all I could think about was what kind of career/travelling I would be doing once I graduated.  My university days were the best days of my life, I loved my school, had more friends than I knew what to do with, and was living in the most beautiful city in all the world.  And yet then I was still always looking ahead.
 
And now here I am, in 2004 and nearly 26 years old, having the ultimate adventure of a lifetime in Korea, but yet it's a constant battle to not keep thinking 24/7 about my backpacking odyssey across Asia I'm planning once I finish teaching here, as well as my teaching adventures in Prague that I've got planned.  Ahhh, my curse keeps on going!  As long as I'm still alive will this always be how I am? 
 
And talk about presumptious!  How do I know I'm even going to get that far?  I could die tomorrow from an aneurism or from being run over by a car or from severe food poisoning by extremely bad kimchi!  Who's to say how long my life will be?  How egotistical and over-confident of me to feel so sure that I'll still be here tomorrow.  A long time ago I remember seeing a quotation on the bedroom door on my good friend Benoit.  I don't remember exactly how it went (and it was also in French) but it roughly said something like 'You are so confident and so sure of your life, you who cannot count on a single day.'  It really struck a chord with me then and it's another incentive and reminder now of why I need to work on living in the present.
 
Because it's so true!  *Now* really is *all* that we have.  The past doesn't actually exist anymore - it's just a collective memory in our complex, fragile brains.  And the future doesn't have any physical tangibility to it at all - it's merely just a hopeful concept.  This exact moment is all that I'll ever have and I really should do more to be thankful for it and to soak up every single microsecond of its infinite wonderfulness.
 
Is this complex of mine one that was genetically pre-determined, as in it's just 'who I am' and that I never really had a chance to fight it, or is there more to it?  Is it culturally and socially-instilled in me from birth?  Have I been programmed to live my life in tomorrow instead of today?  I did a paper once in university about the different ways that cultures 'deal with' time and it was quite fascinating.  I can't get into all the details now, but basically the conclusion was that cultures that don't take time so seriously (prime example - Latin cultures) live, on average, much happier and much more stress-free lives than cultures that obsess and agonize over the clock (prime example - Canadian/American culture.)  Every time I think about this issue I keep going back to the lessons learned in that paper.  It really does seem like our culture brain-washes us to live such lives.  Why do we do this to ourselves?  Is it really that important to be such obsessive organizers and planners, to have every minute of the day mapped out in our own little agendas?  To need to have everything happen exactly on time or heaven falls apart?  To be prisoners of our own clocks and alarms and schedules and wrist-watches?  Our timeliness and efficiency and organization may be spectacular, but at what cost to the rest of our lives?
 
But I'm not here to point fingers or to make up silly excuses.  I'm just trying to figure myself out.  Which, at times, can be the hardest thing in the world to do.  At least I've identified one of my own greatest personal challenges (that's half the struggle!) and am prepared and willing to take it on.  I don't exactly know what to do about it - it's like trying to rewire my brain, but I really do want to improve.  My life is too damn amazing to just ignore it as it flows right on by!  And who really knows when it'll be gone?  I'm blessed enough to have 26 years of wonderful and amazing memories.  It's time I switch from just relishing my precious memories and worshipping my (not-so) secret ambitions and start soaking up the today.  'Life is now', and that's gotta be my new everyday philosophy.
 
 

Day 145: Chicken Run

One of the coolest things about Seoul is that you can buy food just about anywhere, anytime from one of the city's many many streetside stalls.  The cityscape is covered in literally *thousands* of them and basically any street that has regular foot traffic will have at least one (but usually where there's one, there's a good 247!)  This means that at pretty much any given moment one is able to purchase a super-greasy snack wherever one feels like it!  This is something that apart from the odd hot dog stand, is completely non-existent back home.  To arrive and see all the major streets of Seoul turned into a giant food court is definitely one of the most noticable differences in life here in Korea.
 
The food is always inexpensive (never more than a couple dollars) and a whole lot of them seem like they never, ever close (well, all the ones near nightclubs anyway!)  I tell ya, there's nothing quite as satisfying/disgusting as coming out of a bar drunk at 3am, feeling an attack of the munchies, and then indulging in on a Heart Attack Special from one of these stands.  Mmmm....yummy!
 
To be honest, other than the occasional drunken visit, I don't visit these stands very often.  Their cleanliness leaves something to be desired, and most of the food is meat-oriented so I stay away from it.  But I still think it's really cool that I *could* buy some miscellaneous mystery meat on the street if I ever wanted to!  Here's a random sample of just some of the things that can be purchased from one of these little stands:
 
-roasted corn on the cob (Henry was especially thrilled with this when he was here visiting)
-grilled spicy chicken
-corn dogs (sometimes even with french fries glued to them!)
-giant sausages
-egg sandwiches
-fried squid (can be a couple inches or nearly two feet long)
-fried tenatacles from other unidentifiable sea things
-silkworm larvae (the smell of this is enough to make me gag pretty much every time I pass one!)
-various deep-fried pastry thingies (most are actually quite tasty)
-donuts
-some pasta-like noodlish things in spicy sauce (very chewy)
-potato pancakes (often comes mixed with seaweed, vegetables, or seafood)
 
And I can't forget the chicken trucks!  Technically they're not a roadside stand like all of the above, but they're SO WORTH a mention!  Chicken trucks are these little trucks that have a giant oven roaster filled with whole chickens on giant rotating skewers!  The trucks find some place to park (and usually in very strange locations, like right next to busy roads where no one would be able to stop without causing a major accident) and then sit there all day or night waiting for people to come and buy chicken on an impulse.  Again, they're especially amusing cause of their unexpected locations.  You'll be walking down some residential street and all of a sudden HELLO! there's a chicken truck right in front of you.  They have glass doors on the giant oven so you can actually see them cooking as you walk by.  (and if you're curious about how much it costs to purchase one of these little urban poultry specials, it's usually 1 for 6000 won or 2 for 10,000 won)  It's totally funny for us foreigners cause back home you'd NEVER see some dude selling roast chicken on a random street corner out of his truck/mobile oven!
 
Ahhh Korea, always full of entertaining and amusing things!  :-)

Day 144: Eugene

Today was my first full day of teaching all by myself.  I was totally excited for it, and also really nervous at the same time.  I wanted to do well and come across as cool and confident - and totally organized.  I must admit that I was still a bit frazzled with all the schedules.  All the classes have funny code numbers and the fact that I have alternating schedules every day adds to the whole confusion thing as well.  Anyway, I have pre-school in the morning and they've been a breeze so at least I'll start off on a good foot.
 
I have 12 pre-schooler kids - 6 boys and 6 girls.  They're adorable and cute and FULL OF ENERGY!  WOW!  You don't know tired until you've done four classes full of a dozen 4-year olds all on your own!  Each block is just 40 minutes and the fact that it's broken into 'subjects' makes things a little easier for me.  My day was going really well and I was actually enjoying myself quite a lot.  All the kids were behaving and everything was going as smooth as silk...
 
...until the last few minutes of the last block came 'round...
 
My last block of the AM with the pre-schoolers is 'Activity Time' which is a great way to end my morning with them.  Everyday they get a new little project to complete - something 'arts n crafts' related and it's really easy for me.  My Korean assistant teacher organizes it for me and I basically just have to sit and supervise while the kids keep themselves occupied colouring and cutting away.  Today we were making shark teeth necklaces out of clay and it was proving to be quite a tricky activity actually!  The clay kept falling apart and the kids were making teeth way too small to be hung on a piece of string.  The clock was ticking away while only a handful of kids had completed their necklaces...
 
Suddenly the block was over and time was up - all the kids now had to clean up and pack everything away to get ready to head home.  Again, most of the kids hadn't finished their necklaces, which certainly disappointed them, but they put their incomplete pieces of clay jewelry on the shelf and soon forgot about it.  Except for one.
 
I have one student who I had been warned about ahead of time and her name is Eugene.  Under normal, everyday conditions Eugene is quiet and shy but friendly and fairly obedient.  She gets along with her peers...most of the time...and is a pretty smart girl.  Her only vice is that she hates, and I mean H-AT-E-S hearing the word 'No.'  So when it was time to pack up the activity and head home, and she was standing their with her half-finished necklace, and I told her she had to put it away, well...that's when all hell broke loose.
 
Eugene started to put up a fuss insisting that she wanted to finish the necklace, but we were completely out of time and the kids can't miss their bus so their was no option to delay any further.  Suddenly she broke out into a full-fledged tamper-tantrum!  Over the last 5 months of teaching young children I've seen my fair share of fits, but nothing can compare to what Eugene can do!  When she blows, she becomes this screaming, kicking, yelling, sobbing, flailing, hysterical, out of control brat.  We're talking a full complete Mariah Carey of a breakdown here, with all systems shutting down, and everything logical grinding to a complete halt.  And absolutely nothing you can do can shut her up.  You can try and comfort her, yell at her, attempt to reason with her, remove her from the class, send her to the hall or bathroom, whatever.  There really is nothing you can say or do to make her stop.  And she'll go for a good 10, 15, more minutes straight without stopping for a breath.  As a teacher I've never felt so frustrated or helpless!
 
She actually frightens all the other kids in the class, and is SO LOUD all the other kids in all the other classes in the school can hear her.  IT'S CRAZY!  So on my first morning I got to be an unwilling participant in The Wrath Of Eugene and it was not a pretty sight.  God I only hope that she's not like this everyday!  My ears and wits just won't be able to take this on a daily basis!  I feel kinda guilty for thinking it, but I was SO GLAD to see her leave the school that day.  Here's hoping that tomorrow she doesn't prove to be a repeat offender!

Day 143: Training For Reality TV

I was up bright and early this morning - 6:30am!! My ride was coming to pick me up at 7:30am and I had to be ready for my busy (but short) excursion to Japan. It was great that my work paid for my flight and also arranged a ride for me out to the airport. Incheon International is kinda far from everything else (being built on an island off-shore) but is a really fabulous airport. All glass and steel, bright and shiny - it's a wonder of post-modern construction. A really spectacular gateway in and out of Korea.

Getting checked in was a bit tricky. I apparently needed a special stamp to leave the country since my old work visa didn't allow multiple entries. After being shuffled back and forth between several desks, with each employee looking more lost and confused than the one before, I was beginning to think I'd never get on that plane! Finally they just 'let me through' but told me I'd have to leave my alien identification card in the process. No worries there - I'll be getting a new one soon. Security and immigration were both crazy busy but finally I was through it all and it was time to board the plane.

My flight to Osaka on Asiana Airlines was a delight! The service was great, the flight really comfortable, the food quite yummy...I only wished it was longer! Just under an hour and a half later we were landing in Japan. Man, that was fast! Coming into Osaka by air was really cool! I had a window seat and was awarded with spectacular views of the city, harbour, and mountains below me. Osaka looked massive and modern and I could see many impressive buildings from the plane. We flew over this ENORMOUS bridge connecting two of Japan's largest islands and even over neighbouring Kobe. Kobe was severely damaged in a 1995 earthquake but there was no evidence of it now...

If I was impressed with Incheon Int'l, I was blown away by Osaka's Kansai Int'l Airport! Landing here was like stepping into the future! It's one of the biggest airports I've ever seen in my life and is built on an artificial island way out in the ocean, connected to the mainland by a super-long road/rail link. The terminal is UNBELIEVABLY LONG!! So long, that you actually have to board a small monorail train to take you from one end to the other! Riding a train *INSIDE* an airport??? How cool is that!!!

It was all smooth sailing until I reached Japanese Immigration...

Oh boy...

There was a MASSIVE line-up at Immigration! I guess several int'l flights just landed all at the same time? What else would explain the massive backlog? The line just crawled along at a snail's pace and I was getting a bit worried about the time. I had a mission to accomplish that day in Osaka but only a narrow window of time before I had to catch my return flight back to Korea. Massive line-ups are *not* part of the schedule!

Luckily I met two other guys in line who were doing the exact same visa run as I was and we decided to join forces and ban together. We shared each other's 'info sheets' that each of us were given about the visa run process and this is when slight panicking began...

According to Sean's info sheet, not only do all visa applications have to be at the consulate's office before 2pm in order to be processed that day (it was then 1pm and we were still way out at the airport!) but that the cost was $150 US!!! What the...!!??? Neither Greg nor I had brought enough Yen with us for that cost as we had both been told it was cheaper. We had no way to access our money in Korea and started to get worried that we had come all that way to Japan only to be short on dough for the application. Shit!

Finally we made it through Immigration and we immediately boarded the train that took us from Kansai into central Osaka. This proved to be quite a long ride as the station we needed to head to was the last stop. Murphy's Law! All three of us nervously glanced at our watches as our train stopped at every whistle stop along the way. We were really cutting it close for time!

We arrived at our station at 3 minutes before 2 o'clock - only 120 seconds to run and find that consulate's office and get our papers in! This is when the three of us stepped into "Amazing Race" mode and got all serious. It totally felt like we were on the show! We had just arrived in a foreign city none of us had ever been to with a mission to accomplish and the clock ticking! Would we make it?

We *BOLTED* out of the station and began running up the street, maps, directions, and papers in hand. The first thing I noticed was how INCREDIBLY HOT AND HUMID it was in Osaka. I mean Korea's humid all the time, but this was a different kind of humidity. A very, very WET kind. In about 10 seconds I was sweating like a racehorse but all I could think about was getting to that office in time. At first we couldn't find the consulate (in our mad running around the streets of Osaka, dodging speedy bicyclists, racing cars, and fashionable passerby that wasn't a surprise) and had to stop and ask for directions a few times. (Luckily Greg had a sheet that had, in Japanese, "Can you please tell me where to find the Korean Consulate? Thank you!")

RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN

Amazing Race, here I come! If I ever get the chance to go on that show (one of my Top Ten Missions In Life) I'm gonna be damn-well prepared after all my crazy travel experiences, that's for sure!! :-)

We found the Consulate and got our papers in just after 2pm. The lady behind the desk said there was no problem and that we could pick it up after 4pm. And also that the cost was only about $70 CDN. WHEW!!! SAVED!!

We then had 2 hours to kill so we decided to grab some lunch and walk around and try explore what we could in that short period of time. We wandered down some pedestrian streets and just tried to absorb it all.

AND OSAKA IS WAY COOL!!!

There were many similarities to Seoul, but it definitely had its own unique vibe. It was much cleaner and more modern than Seoul, and it was cool to see all the cars driving on the left-hand side. In terms of people, they also looked different too. The hairstyles and fashion seemed much hipper and much more international with a lot of Western influences. It just seemed like a more cosmopolitan city and it definitely seemed like a city I'd love to explore for a few days. Unfortunately all we had was 2 hours so we did a bit of shopping (picked up some cool T-shirts) and then went to find a place for lunch.

The only thing that I didn't like about Japan was the cost. OMG IT'S SO EXPENSIVE!!! We decided that since we were in Japan we may as well have Japanese food for lunch, so we wanted to find something casual and cheap. This proved to be near impossible!!! We went from restaurant to restaurant but COULD NOT find a lunch below $50 CDN!!! HOLY SHIT! Is this normal for Japan or are we just in a really expensive part of town? If these prices are average for here, how does anyone afford to live in that city!!!??? Finally we found a cheaper place (about $10 CDN for a very small lunch) and were pleased just to spend some time in a place that had air conditioning.

Thank God for Air Con!!!

After lunch we headed back to the Consulate and picked up our papers - everything went through and all three of us had bright shiny new Korean work visas. Yah!!! (a huge sigh of relief from me, considering everything I've gone through in the last couple of weeks!) And then it was time to head right back to the airport - no more time to hang out or wander the city.

This time when we got the station we noticed that there was an ExpressTrain option back to Kansai - way smarter! We bought tickets for this and were excited to see that this train was like a futuristic purple bullet train that looked like a giant submarine! So cool!! It brought us to Kansai in like half the time and we arrived at the airport around 5pm. Plenty of time to go through Immigration and catch our 7pm flight.

Leaving Japan proved to be a cinch and there weren't any line-ups at all. Next thing we knew we were back on the plane and cruising to Korea. Wow - less than 8 hours altogether in Japan and really only a mere two hours to actually see anything. It was a super short visit but a total blast and adventure. It definitely piqued (sp?) my interest with Japan and I'd LOVE to go back again sometime to explore more - if I can afford it!

I had a ride again waiting for me at the airport and was home in my apartment by 10:30pm at night. What a whirlwind day - but so much fun! This whole 'jet-set, lets visit a country for a day and run around the streets thing' was just the coolest adventure. And like I said, not having to pay for it was the icing on the cake! I was really tired for bed, and tomorrow was going to be my first day of teaching all by myself. Another big day on its way!

Day 142: Jump!

All I can say is, to everyone who's joined the dialogue and posted comments regarding the recent political discussion, you guys rock!!! I love all the wonderful dialogue and debates and heated (ranging in temperatures from luke warm to searing to Fahrenheit 911) comments! Who knew that just one blog entry of mine could provoke so much response! It's great! An especially big thank you to my pal Scott Erdman (yes, he has the same name as me, but that's another story) in Chicago who was brave enough to take the first plunge. My blog has never been this exciting and I owe it all to you! ;-)

Moving on, (and I need to cause I'm like a full week behind on my blog!!!) today was a pretty lazy day...for the first half anyways. This is probably cause I didn't even wake up until noon today!!! Last night, to celebrate Meighan's last weekend in town, a big gang of us went out clubbing in Hondai (sp?) which is a night club district in Sinchon area in Seoul. Hondai is legendary for all of its clubs and nightlife and nocturnal antics and I was anxious to check it out for the first time ever.

It was a total blast!

Despite the fact that monsoon season is in full effect here in Korea and it was P-O-U-R-I-N-G all night long, the area was still hoppin' with club-goers. We went to a place called HodgePodge which was like 2 clubs in one - techno and house on the bottom floor and Top40 on the top floor. We spent time on both floors but I had the most fun upstairs. We danced the night away and had a really amazing time! We got home around 4am or so and I was completely exhausted! (and drunk, I don't even remember the cab ride home!)

Half the day was already gone today when I woke up, and it was a completely unproductive afternoon. All my goals for the day of doing some house-cleaning, massive blog-writing, and phone call-making totally went down the toilet! Evening came round and I had done absolutely nothin' all day! Ugh...

I met up with Amy, Steve, and Kelsey later on and we headed into Seoul to watch a really cool performance. It was called 'Jump!' and it was a non-verbal martial arts show and it was amazing!!! It turned out to be a comedy show which I had not predicted at all, and was absolutley hilarious! All the actors performed completely silly skits while continually impressing us with their martial arts/gymnastics skills that were infused with the comedy. We all loved the show and I'd even go back to see it again!

I had a later dinner after that and then tried to go to bed somewhat early. I have to wake up tomorrow at 6:30am to head to Japan and I *KNOW* it's gonna be a busy day! I can't wait for it!!!

Day 141: Rebuttle

Alrighty. I don't usually respond to comments that people write me, even though I do read (and love!) each and every one, but I received one today that I just *HAD* to respond to. It was a response to my opinions regarding the TV commercials on AFN and my "American-bashing." Although I still stand behind my opinions regarding the subject matter of TV ads on the Armed Forces Network, I first off wish to apologize if I offended any of my friends/readers. As mentioned in my blog, all of my 'cons' listed in that entry are either exaggerated or mostly just written in jest/sarcasm. However, I again wish to apologize if my humour caused any offense amongst my loyal fans.

At the same time, however, I also feel strongly compelled to defend my opinions and return the criticism back to the source of the comment. For those who haven't read this comment below (under Day 139: Life In The Village), the author alludes (but does not outright say) that I'm hypocritic in my views regarding America and American culture. They strongly scold me for "American-bashing" while in my next breath I go on to write about many other American cultural products (ie: media, restaurants, etc.) that I enjoy.

I feel that this argument is ill-informed and incorrect in using this simple comparison, and that it also unfortunately narrows down the argument to a mere 'black-and white' scenario - posing/suggesting the thought that I have to either love everything about America or hate it all.

But sir/madam ~ I beg to differ! It doesn't have to be one way OR the other. Both viewpoints (and a million other variations inbetween) can *and should* coexist together in the same world.

Life is never black and white. Everything is in shades of grey.

Here's why:

I CAN hate American foreign policy and government leadership AND still admire America as a nation.

I CAN criticize and dennounce and strongly dislike certain specific Americans AND still love other Americans as individuals (most of my family, in fact, is American, and I have many very dear friends who are US citizens.)

I CAN critique the influence that American cultural biproducts have on mass globalization and the rapid extinction of foreign indigenous cultures AND still enjoy the very same American cultural biproducts myself.

I CAN voice my strong opinions about the current actions of the American military, both here in Korea and elsewhere abroad AND still be thankful for the historical role they have had in keeping South Korea safe.

I CAN hate the sin but still love the sinner (sorry to use a Catholic reference!)

I CAN strongly criticize America in terms of its cultural influence, global military role, mover-n-shaker position in the world AND not have an inferiority complex.

I CAN be displeased with the actions of the world's most powerful nation AND realize that my own nation Canada, much like every other single other nation on the planet, is also not perfect.

I CAN possess and formulate and voice my own opinions against political and cultural entities, such as the United States of America, AND still be a good guy (and *not* a 'basher.' Since when does having opinions that disagree with your own equate to "bashing"? What happened to 'agreeing to disagree' in this world?)

I CAN *NOT* be 'Either With You Or Against You'.


The world is a complex place filled with complicated people. Nothing is ever easy or simple or instantly clear or always agreeable or contintually fashionably neutral and pretty all the time. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a lot of very strong (and occasionally controversial) opinions regarding that nation south of the 49th Parallel.
It's just who I am, and I'm not going to apologize or feel guilty for possessing such thoughts. I never mean to cause personal offense, but I *strongly believe* that we need discontent and discussion and dialogue in this world in order to make it work. I'm proud of my own thoughts and ideas and opinions, and am not afraid to share them with the world via my blog. (Cause at the end of the day, it still is MY blog. I can write whatever the hell I feel like. Right?)

I would like to say, in final, that I was disappointed that the criticizer of my blog entry did not even leave their name so I would know the source. If you're going to fire a shot against me, at least have the balls to sign your name to your own work. I always encourage and appreciate everyone's thoughts and opinions, (yes, even when they greatly differ from my own) but prefer to know where they come from.

Don't I at least deserve that much respect?

Day 140: On Display

Poly phoned me yesterday to let me know that all my papers had gone through with Korean Immigration (now is the appropriate time to let out a huge YAHOO!!!) and that I can start work at Poly pretty much immediately. They wanted me to come in on Monday but since I had no plans for today I figured what the heck, why not start now?

Today was a really busy but fun day. Jeannette has been teaching all of my classes (both the pre-school ones and the afternoon elementary ones) and so the plan for today was to follow her around so that I can meet all of my future students and become familiar with the schedule. I also was to teach every second class so this would give me a feel for how it would all go. I was a little nervous to teach my first classes but it was really easy and fun and Jeannette was super helpful too. All my kids really seemed to like me and all in all the day was a big success I'd say!

I received some exciting news from Poly today also - I would be going to Japan for my Visa run on MONDAY!!! WOW!!! I'm totally stoked!!! I only get to spend an afternoon in Osaka and most of it will be running around doing Immigration stuff but I'm still really looking forward to it! I mean, how often do you get to go to fly to a foreign country (FOR FREE!) just for the day??? So cool!

After work tonight I went to hang out at Amy's with Kelsey and the three of us ordered some pizza and then just hung out and watched TV. After spending a few hours at Amy's we cabbed it on over to LaFesta where we were meeting up with a big gang for some drinks. It was both Amy and Meighan's last weekend in town and we wanted to celebrate their accomplishment of a year in Korea before they moved on to their next adventures. Everyone was there when we arrived - Meighan, her friend Jen visiting from Canada, Jess, Rick, Tracy, Steve, Ben, Brian, Pauline, Jeremy, and Sam! WOW WHAT A BIG GANG! We sat outside on some patio tables and chairs and had some beers that we had bought from the local convenience store (yes, alcohol is sold nearly everywhere in Korea!)

Seeing 15 foreigners sitting all together in one giant group proved to be a spectacle too exciting for many Korean passerby to simply pass up! Time and time again during the night random Korean pedestrians would just S-T-A-R-E at us while they walked by, and some would even stop and just stand and look at us for a while!! There was even one man who seemed so interested in our presence that he circled our group at least two or three times, completely transfixed by the sight of so many foreigners sitting outside!! As amusing as all of this was, it was a little uncomfortable at the same time. After a while you start to feel like you're animals in a zoo, or mannequins on display in a store window. I mean 'HELLO! We can see you staring at us! You're only 3 feet away!!!' LOL!

Ahhh well, it's good for a laugh and really just makes you feel popular! Haha! You get used to it but sometimes it's just so blatantly obvious and unabashed that it can make you feel a little uneasy. Oh well, it all comes with the territory, right? :-)

Day 139: Life In The Village

Here's a list of the pros, and the corresponding cons, of my new life here in 'The Village.'

PRO #1: The Village is really friendly and family-oriented. It's a safe, wholesome neighbourhood in a clean and green corner of Ilsan and is full of inquisitive kids who love to ask random questions in English to any passing foreigner. It's cute!

CON #1: Every frickin' weekend morning those damn kids are up and about on the streets, yelling their heads off! Doesn't any kid in Korea ever wanna sleep in? And what about Saturday morning cartoons? Maybe that's just a Western tradition, but then shouldn't there be a big pot of kimchee those kids should be stirring that morning? I don't care - I just don't wanna hear them yell at 7:12am on a Saturday morning!

PRO #2: The Village is really animal-friendly and tons of the local families have pet cats and dogs. I *NEVER* saw any animals in my old hood in Shihung (except for abused ones) and it's great to be able to walk down my street and find cute kitties and puppies begging to be petted!

CON #2: Cat fights! OMG, seriously, I hear *AT LEAST* three cat fights every single night at like 3am! Those little kitties may be all wide-eyed and cutesy in the day time, but as soon as the sun goes down they turn into deadly, vicious little savages who are just dying to rip each other to pieces! And that ain't a quiet exchange of meows, let me tell ya!

PRO #3: Almost all of my friends in Korea now live within a 2-minute walking distance from my house! I'm never all that far away from a buddy and it almost feels 'college dorm-like!' It's so much fun - and way more convenient for my social life!

CON #3: I never get anything done! Before when I lived way out in the boonies I had tons of free time to keep up with my email and blog, reading, watching my fave TV shows, and to chat on the phone with friends back home. Now I'm never home and so all that stuff gets neglected! My bad!

PRO #4: I have new channels in my new apartment, including AFN which is the Armed Forces Network. AFN is the all-English TV station for the American military in Korea and has TONS of great shows on all the time, plus lots of really fun movies. 90% of the TV I now watch is on AFN.

CON #4: I get exposed to all of AFN's uber-cheesy, low-budget, PRO-AMERICAN MILITARY propaganda TV commercials!!! If you thought that Thunder Bay TBT commercials were low-budget and cheesy, you ain't seen nothin' yet!! And worst of all, is that EVERY COMMERCIAL (and "news" broadcast) is so full of American imperialism, jingoism, pro-Bush, pro-military, pro-"We're American so we're great - read: FULL OF OURSELVES - and everyone loves us so bow down and kiss our asses" arrogance and egoism that some days I don't know whether to laugh, cry, or projectile vomit all over the TV! It honestly feels like I'm in George Orwell's 1984 and that 'Big Brother is watching me' or something. The AFN commercials really *are* that bad!

PRO #5: There is a Baskin-Robbins just down the street from my apartment! I get to have ice cream absolutley anytime I please! And with the hot weather we've been having it's sure been awfully yummy!

CON #5: Steve and I are totally addicted to ice cream now. We go there almost every single day and by the end of the summer I'm sure I'll weigh *at least* 300 pounds! Haha!

So there ya have it - just a little snapshot of my new life in The Village. I absolutely love where I live and pretty much all the cons I've listed here are either exaggerated or just for fun. I've no major complaints and am a happy boy these days in my new hood!