tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17370629854266398272024-02-07T20:05:40.458-08:00Life and Times in KoreaMatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-39280962315392287632012-07-31T01:27:00.000-07:002012-07-31T01:46:23.739-07:00Stepping Into the Rearview Mirror<br />
First of all, I'm plagued with a bit of sadness to know that this may be my final entry in this Korea blog. At the very least, almost certainly it will be the last one I write from this amazing place. Although really, similar notions have been considered several times before. And undoubtedly - once a writer, always one. Probably. So fear not, dear Reader! You can't get rid of me that easily..<br />
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Anecdotally: <br />
Upon my return to Asia, the first question on everyone's minds was a take on "so after living over here for 2+ years, what has recently been the biggest shock/difference/coolest/most interesting thing about home?". And my answer to any version of that inquiry, in order of degree, was: 1) operating vehicles and other machinery, 2) the prevalence of weapons, and 3) food and beverage options. And of course, incidentally, family and dogs, gun-related crimes and homicides, and the <i>global </i>obesity <i>epidemic</i>.
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You see, I had finally left Korea 6 months ago for what was to be... well, forever. But since that departure, I have been constantly nagged by a reminder to make good on a promise to myself and friends to return to this side of the world someday soon.<br />
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I can't seem to shake the idea that there is something insanely innocent and pleasingly magical in a place where the number of cornerstore coffee shops is greater than the combined square footage of all the McDonald's restaurants, inhabitants wear scripted tshirts while having no clue (or obvious care) the meaning of its words, a medical exam - including diagnosis and treatment - costs a mere $9 for an uninsured ear, and the general population is unable to ascertain the difference between a 30-something average American guy and the - nearly decade his senior - British heartthrob, Jude Law.<br />
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Back to the task at hand:<br />
It's a unique and indescribable feeling to know that an incredible era of life has come to an end. It's weird to look back on it. And the strangeness is all the more intense when you reenter that space after a time - and feel that same place, smell its smells, observe the familiarity and the unquestionable novelty. And most of all, you confirm the reality that things will never be what they were during the glory days that you so admire. I imagine that the emotions involved in this process are equal, regardless of the particular circumstances - whether that period for you was positive or negative, unbearable or fun, easy or forgettable, worthwhile or difficult, draining or fulfilling. Personally, the two years that I spent in Korea provided a brief glance into all of those things.<br />
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Analyzing the mirror and its reflection is always just as much scary or unsettling as it is exciting or englightening. And a basic understanding of the human mind shows us why this is so. It doesn't take a doctorate in psychology to see that we are all VERY good at dissecting the past and even inevitably second-guessing ourselves.<br />
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Through this experience, I'm reminded of at least two self-created traps that we set for ourselves: regret and the longing for permanence. Relating to the former, I believe that there are very few things in our individual histories that we should feel sorry for either doing or passing up. In fact, guilt stemming from either scenario can be equally useless or damaging. Sure, in hindsight there will always be missed opportunities or chances neglected. But try to imagine how skewed the present would be, had even one small decision been made differently or an entire course if action been steered another way. Further, there fails to be an accurate value measurement for anything imaginary or nonexistent! So how could we ever make a comparison, when only one occurrence exists? Armed with this knowledge and being confident that we lived fully and to the best of our abilities, why then should we ever be less than satisfied with our current reality or the person we have become? Under this prism, regretfulness becomes a tremendous waste of time and energy.<br />
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As for the unchanging nature of people, places, and situations...guess what? Don't believe it for a second, because the prospect is an utter falsehood. In this sense, clinging to an outdated ideal of what something WAS won't get you very far. Permanence is reserved for the past and above all, things are what they are moment by moment. And undeniably, people will change, acquire new commitments and interests, and/or move entirely. Thus, places evolve and landscapes morph.<br />
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In this way, the same circumstances, variables, and their combinations will never meet in the exact way they have more than once. Let's even say that we should meet with the same exact group, in precisely the same setting, all the extras and situations are the exact same, and the surroundings oddly haven't changed a bit. Even then, something has - without a doubt - grown or shifted or been altered. As you can surely guess, that is the most important person, and coincidentally, the only one we have the ability of controlling: OURSELVES! And so it becomes quite apparent that lightning will never strike in the same place, with the same strength, in the same manner twice. In actuality, it was quite unlikely that it actually ever happened at all. So be glad for the thunderstorm; that the skies somehow, someway, and for some reason chose your feet as a target; and that you obviously had the wherewithal to survive, possibly even thrive, through it all. In spite of all of these storms, or perhaps ultimately essentially because of them, we transform into the people who we are today. And I hope that's never regrettable.<br />
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The King of Pop put it best when he recommended <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9Nh84lfvW0">where to start improving the world</a>. And no message could have been any clearer.<br />
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<br />Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-11367701300599864482012-04-21T12:11:00.000-07:002012-07-25T21:29:36.878-07:00Templestays: More Than You Might Anticipate<br />
The following was originally an article written for a Korean website:<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Peace. Relaxation. Excellent
food and the creation of it. Observation and appreciation of natural beauty.
Unique and stimulating activities. Cultural, social, and religious education.
Opportunities to learn new things and to exercise that knowledge.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBapE7otG6FJioiaLK_EU_UKfZvOoKHxgMRWYIk3xS_j3wQF00QucYQu7-liurVvrJYE152DKrEKK_uh00-jII4vQOKuIDGCNUUNNz47kaYNCWdacYrymOyjjDafZmJsi6bsd2R_-q15g/s1600/1.2+Making+food.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBapE7otG6FJioiaLK_EU_UKfZvOoKHxgMRWYIk3xS_j3wQF00QucYQu7-liurVvrJYE152DKrEKK_uh00-jII4vQOKuIDGCNUUNNz47kaYNCWdacYrymOyjjDafZmJsi6bsd2R_-q15g/s200/1.2+Making+food.JPG" title="Making Food" width="150" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxzaNUOzX62EPcsNkWhhqu-Xn1MGuv1u6Nble-lrekILS4gZi_EWhJaiOSLX93Qgz4-QWfU6jQ4yub_NaeVQMy6q1ixJQkF9F5WLDgca5isiZw_ckHEdb2Dj8Bc9qDHdxOr42s-x98EKi4/s1600/1.1+Temple+Yard.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxzaNUOzX62EPcsNkWhhqu-Xn1MGuv1u6Nble-lrekILS4gZi_EWhJaiOSLX93Qgz4-QWfU6jQ4yub_NaeVQMy6q1ixJQkF9F5WLDgca5isiZw_ckHEdb2Dj8Bc9qDHdxOr42s-x98EKi4/s200/1.1+Temple+Yard.JPG" title="Temple Yard" width="200" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBapE7otG6FJioiaLK_EU_UKfZvOoKHxgMRWYIk3xS_j3wQF00QucYQu7-liurVvrJYE152DKrEKK_uh00-jII4vQOKuIDGCNUUNNz47kaYNCWdacYrymOyjjDafZmJsi6bsd2R_-q15g/s1600/1.2+Making+food.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Malgun Gothic', sans-serif;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f">
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</o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype></span>Yes indeed, there are
countless reasons for attending a weekend (or even longer, if desired)
templestay - and if you visit or live in Korea, you’ve come to the right place.
This richly beautiful country has been considerably influenced by Buddhist
culture (which was originally introduced by the Chinese nearly 2400 years ago),
and hence, temples and templestay programs abound.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Throughout its significant
history, Korean Buddhism has always been slightly unlike other forms of
the religion. Not unexpectedly, the beliefs and practices here have been a combination of Korean culture’s own
specific history and related philosophies with a newly introduced belief
system. This blending resulted in a distinct variation in what is now called <span lang="AR-SA">통불교</span> (<i>tongbulgyo</i>).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fortunately, you needn’t be
an expert in either theology or cosmology to appreciate the true value of a
templestay (although a basic understanding can never hurt). Buddhists are notorious
for their friendly and welcoming demeanors, and this reality provides for a fantastically
open and inclusive environment on a templestay. Perhaps, it might very likely
be preferred that a visitor be mostly uninformed of Buddhism and their
traditions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also,
rather honestly, a lack of familiarity
promotes a sense of curiosity that will allow for a more inquisitive spirit on your stay at a temple. A
newcomer will constantly be filled with questions about the foreign sights and
goings-on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV_Fx-2YI88AknaXWAKQwXQAyOVP1Hb9z9HDdJyQU0VAYTa_HNh0LldvJUAq7UOOVjC-SnwofrgjWwdYVlHljgrn56ZNap-zGc6s5sBL-z_N6TvqnJ_x5ERvwiWeYTo-hLMc6nVEpzsbZE/s1600/1.3+Good+Eats.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV_Fx-2YI88AknaXWAKQwXQAyOVP1Hb9z9HDdJyQU0VAYTa_HNh0LldvJUAq7UOOVjC-SnwofrgjWwdYVlHljgrn56ZNap-zGc6s5sBL-z_N6TvqnJ_x5ERvwiWeYTo-hLMc6nVEpzsbZE/s200/1.3+Good+Eats.JPG" title="Good Eats" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Malgun Gothic', sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each individual templestay is incomparable and every
program offers different activities. However, some common themes are pervasive:
gorgeous architecture and scenery, ample meditation time, various arts and
crafts – most certainly including prayer bead (mala) making, and food
preparation and consumption.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Malgun Gothic', sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a turn of irony, while one main aspect of a temple
seems to be relaxation, to accommodate for the many activities of a templestay,
the schedule can be quite rigorous. One certainty, following any (possibly a
little bit <em>uncomfortable</em>) evening of sleeping on the floor, expect a very early
wake-up call to greet the dawn. Keep in mind that Buddha waits for no one:</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwBqnHMO2zZKHqEjmJab0sFQ6e_gqX9avxUNxkgj15An_UqDVuHY5MAaQjnbbd4cRZIOGitgiNJEcD3tgTaOtlyN_hzFNvhGwkpMb8Hynga6jm4U7CcK0vSfgK0psBltBcsvQNGx4_gV5C/s1600/2.+Buddha+rises+early+in+the+AM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwBqnHMO2zZKHqEjmJab0sFQ6e_gqX9avxUNxkgj15An_UqDVuHY5MAaQjnbbd4cRZIOGitgiNJEcD3tgTaOtlyN_hzFNvhGwkpMb8Hynga6jm4U7CcK0vSfgK0psBltBcsvQNGx4_gV5C/s1600/2.+Buddha+rises+early+in+the+AM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwBqnHMO2zZKHqEjmJab0sFQ6e_gqX9avxUNxkgj15An_UqDVuHY5MAaQjnbbd4cRZIOGitgiNJEcD3tgTaOtlyN_hzFNvhGwkpMb8Hynga6jm4U7CcK0vSfgK0psBltBcsvQNGx4_gV5C/s320/2.+Buddha+rises+early+in+the+AM.JPG" title="Buddha rises early in the AM" width="320" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Malgun Gothic', sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You will frequently be tired and groggy. You will
repeatedly sit in the cross-legged lotus position until your knees ache. You
will hike for hours and perform dozens of full prostration bows until your back
feels like it can’t take any more. You will be asked to remain silent for the probably the
longest you’ve done so in a very long time. You will very possibly get annoyed when
your art project doesn’t come out the way you envisioned it. But don’t give up -
it will make that last tea ceremony feel all the more earned..<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FRzl9srea6IdBooUj1DWuNwJTbX_9_lh6SX3nK9SHi5UvfIUjyK8pz502LGSRtpctXaMTjXYtrUN8LUduDS7nO0ztOGVgt6Gj1bpOp0DOqEoFxSzhyvoNpOHxINjpcvezmrCbA0bQ6ZO/s1600/3.+Tea+Ceremony.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FRzl9srea6IdBooUj1DWuNwJTbX_9_lh6SX3nK9SHi5UvfIUjyK8pz502LGSRtpctXaMTjXYtrUN8LUduDS7nO0ztOGVgt6Gj1bpOp0DOqEoFxSzhyvoNpOHxINjpcvezmrCbA0bQ6ZO/s320/3.+Tea+Ceremony.JPG" title="Tea Ceremony" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Malgun Gothic', sans-serif;">While a bit of frustration and/or confusion are natural reactions when
confronted with new challenges, an attitude of openness and willingness will
greatly improve your experience. Remember that you will be a guest of the
temple in which you’re visiting, and so it’s highly recommended that you
approach your stay in a way that recognizes the generosity of your hosts.
Afterall, many people throughout the world contend that a temple’s primary
objective is to teach us tolerance and acceptance.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Malgun Gothic', sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You should definitely feel exhausted at the end of
your adventure, but most of all, overcome with a great sense of accomplishment and
enrichment. Though you may initially set out with a simple goal of exploring
the unknown in an unfamiliar setting, without a doubt, the templestay
experience will leave you with a greater understanding of something. Quite possibly yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-52036290375110849222012-02-12T01:34:00.006-08:002012-03-19T23:52:01.008-07:00Expat-turned-Backpacker's Lessons LearnedI'm aware that writings in list form are often overdone, but the following are <span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-size: 100%; ">a few important expressions/quotes/mottoes that I think are worthy of remembrance. I've gathered most of these previous to recent adventures, but namely my stints in the education field have taught me that any lesson must be learned several, if not many, times before it becomes memorable and/or eventually useful. Some of these are literal, some figurative, some tongue-in-cheek or purely joking, others dead serious, or any various combinations. A few of them are my words, many I've given credit to a more appropriate source, but very few are original thoughts or ideas. In fact, I'm sure none of them are...</span><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><div>___________________________________________________</div><div><br /></div><div>1. Never forget who you are, where you've been, and at least a rough idea of where you're going.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. No matter how seemingly genuinely nice and helpful a tour guide appears, don't forget to keep their potential motives in mind.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. Although, sometimes ignorance is bliss.</div></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">4. Anyone and everyone is a tour guide.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">5. Transportation legroom is inversely proportional to tiredness.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">6. "I need you to hurry up now, 'cause I can't wait much longer." -<a href="http://www.lyrics007.com/Kanye%20West%20Lyrics/Stronger%20Lyrics.html">Kanye West</a></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">7. 900+ year old <a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&biw=1600&bih=799&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=gb1ViMVOCeEZmM:&imgrefurl=http://eng.archinform.net/projekte/3853.htm&docid=_mI_ohBPzF4c0M&imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Angkor_Wat_W-Seite.jpg&w=900&h=627&ei=iVRmT-vmDujNsgKAhNW2Dw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=186&vpy=174&dur=1894&hovh=187&hovw=269&tx=111&ty=107&sig=107436008122162097481&page=1&tbnh=130&tbnw=200&start=0&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:0">ruins</a> are pretty cool.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">8. It's always a good idea to settle expectations upfront to avoid feeling let down afterwards.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">9. Always know your expectations.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">10. 1 USD is always more valuable, anywhere, than its equivalent in another currency.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">11. Initial price is relative to the concerned parties, their relationship up to that point, and their individual moods precisely at the time of transaction.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">12. Never forget what you learned from homework.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">13. Make sure you got the correct assignment and completely finish your homework. It'll only benefit you. Just when you need it.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">14. Everyone's a student. </div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">15. A smile isn't always friendly & doesn't necessarily entail caring. </div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">16. Never underestimate the value of a trustworthy local.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">17. Learn, and always REMEMBER, to say <i>hello</i>.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">18. Don't let the past ruin the future for you. Learn the lessons you need and move forward.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">19. "Don't look back in anger." -<a href="http://www.lyricsfreak.com/o/oasis/dont+look+back+in+anger_20102304.html">Oasis</a></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">20. Always remember the contents of your pockets. You know, the walls have eyes.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">21. Tonal languages are really difficult.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">22. Take care of yourself. You're the person in the best position do it.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">23. Facebook is awesome everywhere in the world.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">24. Don't let one good experience hold you back from another opportunity. Afterall, you may enjoy the other thing even more.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">25. There aren't ever enough seconds in a minute, minutes in an hour, hours in the day, days in the week, weeks in the month, or months in the year.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">26. Sometimes air-conditioning is invaluable.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">27. The required amount of water for the human body is directly correlated to the number of degrees above 29C.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">28. While there, remember the reasons that you went to that place.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">29. You will always be as happy, or otherwise, as you think you will be.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">30. Not all hotels are created equal.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">31. When riding on the back of a motorcycle: the more free hands, the better.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">32. Even when creating and receiving familiar sounds or symbols, your conversation partner is not always speaking the same language.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">33. The fun factor of being sick isn't positive anywhere you go.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">34. Rivers are <span style="font-size: 100%; ">elementally</span><span style="font-size: 100%; "> </span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">interesting places.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">35. You never end up exactly where you expect, and that's usually a good thing.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">36. Comfort is subject to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy's_law">Murphy's Law</a>.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">37. Don't judge a book by its cover.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">38. Discomfort builds character. So they say.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">39. The design, engineering, and manufacturing of fans are truly impressive.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">40. Technology works as well as, and in the manner that, you think it does.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">41.<i> Alright </i>functions as <i>hello </i>anywhere in the United Kingdom.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">42. It's astonishingly easy to fake a landmine injury.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">43. Independent consultants are always more interesting than the alternatives. But they aren't necessarily better.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">44. Strike while the iron is hot.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">45. People on vacation, especially in coastal areas, are inherently laid-back.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">46. Too much relaxation isn't always a good thing.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">47. Everything has it's time or season.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">48. Being able to perform basic math calculations (quickly) is preferred. And either doing so or not doing so is equally frustrating.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">49. The night time is the right time. But circumstances also dictate appropriateness and suitability.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">50. Everyone's exotic to someone. Somewhere.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">51. Fishing is what it's cracked up to be.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">52. Gambling isn't.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">53. The milkshake machine isn't necessarily broken, and the 'mix' isn't necessarily 'out'.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">54. Sometimes, people are just nice for no reason at all.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">55. Seafood in a land-locked region is weird.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">56. Injuries always take longer to heal than you imagine.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">57. Hindsight is earned, and is a valuable trait.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">58. Volunteers might say or appear so, but probably aren't lacking in resources.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">59. The simplest way to make money is to keep what you already have.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">60. Those actually in need probably can't tell you.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">61. 'Native experiences' are nice, but usually overrated.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">62. The most effective tools are usually the ones easiest to find.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">63. You can exercise anywhere. But you don't have to.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">64. People are people. For the most part.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">65. Don't expect too much out of yourself or others - and that way you'll always be pleasantly surprised with whatever happens.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">66. 97% of the time, water and/or sleep are the best medicine for anything that ails you.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">67. An object in motion remains in motion, and similarly, an object at rest remains at rest, until an outside force is applied. -originally Galileo's concept of inertia, and eventually <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton">Newton</a>'s First Law of Motion</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">68. You can do whatever you want to do. But you should also understand the potential consequences ahead of time.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">69. Across the board, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam's_razor">Occam's Razor</a> applies and things typically are the way they seem.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">70. When in doubt, animals will always bring a smile to a child's face.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">71. Physics 101: That which goes up must come down, and consequently, that which goes down must come up.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">72.<i> Thank you</i><span style="font-style: normal; "> is appreciated in any language.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">73. Zippered pockets are usually the most effective first line of defense.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">74. Go out of your way to meet locals wherever you go - you'll never be disappointed.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">75. Don't take anything, especially yourself, too seriously.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">76. Batteries reach full discharge mode at the most inopportune times.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">77. Even if someone may be small and poor, they can have an amazingly high tolerance for alcohol.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">78. That which should be universal is usually the first thing not to be so.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">79. Vocabulary isn't required to be persuasive.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">80. Con artists come in all shapes, sizes, genders, and ages.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">81. "We have no reason to mistrust our world, for it is not against us. Has it terrors, they are our terrors.." -<a href="http://www.poemhunter.com/rainer-maria-rilke/">Rainer Maria Rilke</a></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">82. Cambodian children only own one set of pants and underwear, and no shirts. And of the former, both are perpetually in the wash.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">83. Left to their own devices, trees get very old.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-style: normal; ">84. '</span><i>What's your name?</i>' is always a simple way to begin a conversation.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">85. The romanized '<i>Th-</i>' spelling in <a href="http://everything2.com/title/Thailand+is+not+pronounced+Thighland">THailand</a> wasn't a mistake.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">86. Pol Pot <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=Mq8sAcvg-AgC&pg=PR29&lpg=PR29&dq=pol+pot+targets&source=bl&ots=a8h_8cLsEl&sig=upSXOV8BqV6BNDlGhfvgWGax3Ac&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RlhmT77tM4rQgAeUyKyCCg&sqi=2&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=pol%20pot%20targets&f=false">targeted</a> people just like himself: idiots.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">87. Americans are rich.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">88. Everyone is well-endowed in some way(s).</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">89.<i> Taxi </i>is understood everywhere.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">90. Don't fear giving or generosity. Many more people need resources much more than you do & will put them to better use than you ever could.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">91. Once in a while, you need to be taken for a ride.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">92. Young animals of any type are invariably cute.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">93. Be slow to anger. But in some cases, remember that eventually getting there is important.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">94. Watching sunrises and sunsets is good for the soul.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">95. Robbery is the oldest and highest art form.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">96. "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." -<a href="http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/f/franklin_d_roosevelt.html">Franklin D. Roosevelt</a></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">97. Mosquitoes suck.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">98. Travel guidebooks are useful, but are neither the only nor the best source of information.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">99. All people enjoy some or all of the following: shirts, books, postcards, and magnets.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">100. A proper hat is just what you need.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">101. A group's picture-taking capacity is endless.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">102. If time travel existed, we probably wouldn't even know about it.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">103. Accents are intriguing, frustrating or not, and deceiving.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">104. There's a huge variety of jobs out there.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">105. Wondering '<i>what if..</i>' might be a natural thing to do, and may or may not be useful.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">106. Most Europeans enjoy wearing swim suits everywhere they go. Small ones. And no one knows why - even them.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">107. Generally, people want to find out what they don't know.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">108. Gem sales is always a scam of some kind.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">109. Pretty much anything can be converted to sweat.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">110. Electricity is more straightforward than you imagine. But knowing its dangers is important.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">111. Facts and sayings about <a href="http://thechive.com/2010/05/07/real-life-curious-george-is-a-thief-13-photos/">monkeys</a> are typically true.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">112. Something led to the past that you may have forgotten.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">113. In past lives, we were most likely all at crocodiles at some point.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">114. Being exploited never hurts as much as you expect.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">115. Everything is negotiable.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">116. "Whether you think you can, or you can't, you're right." -<a href="http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/h/henry_ford.html">Henry Ford</a></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">117. If you squint your eyes and tilt your head to one side, a 2 looks remarkably like a 5.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">118. Friendship, regardless of recency or duration, is priceless.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">119. <i>Irregardless </i>is a nonstandard word.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">120. Convenience comes at a premium. Its worth is another, ad hoc issue.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">121. "Just do it." -<a href="http://www.nike.com/nikeos/p/nike/en_US/?ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D1%26ved%3D0CEUQFjAA%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.nike.com%252F%26ei%3DI1pmT6C_J-aMsAKe4-C3Dw%26usg%3DAFQjCNFfu6fEgeWQlHU5XPqvVX1nIV4b6w%26sig2%3DbxEz0at0qA0yH6L2TT4r9w">Nike</a></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">122. <span style="font-size: 100%; ">Traffic accidents hurt and, if possible, should be avoided.</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">123. Fine dust isn't attractive.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">124. Any type of music affects your mood.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; ">125. <span style="font-size: 100%; ">"The first cut is the deepest." -<a href="http://www.lyricsfreak.com/c/cat+stevens/the+first+cut+is+the+deepest_20028169.html">Cat Stevens</a></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-style: normal; ">126. '</span><i>OK</i>' might simply entail acknowledgment, possible acceptance, maybe tolerance, or even something completely else.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">127. Same same, but different. -<a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=same%20same%20but%20different">Thai cultural slogan</a></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">128. Sunk costs are unrecoverable.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">129. Honesty is the best policy. But not the only policy.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">130. Eating usually makes you feel better.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">131. The customer isn't always right.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">132. '<i>Never</i>' and '<i>always</i>' are difficult words to use.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">133. Definitions are important, but keep in mind that most things have more than one.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">134. Even bad jokes are funny.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">135. "Never stop exploring." -<a href="http://www.thenorthface.com/en_US/index.html?cm_mmc=Google-_-Brand+Terms-_-Brand+Terms_Exact-_-The+North+Face">The North Face</a></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">136. Stop to smell the roses. Or at least, stop and smell the roses.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">137. You hesitate, you die.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">138. Shopping around never hurts.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">139. Learn when to keep playing and when to stop and cut your losses.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">140. <span style="font-size: 100%; ">The first step is the hardest and most intimidating, but muster the courage to take it & you will never regret the path that follows.</span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">141. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpe_diem">Carpe Diem</a>.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">142. Pay attention to your instincts. Tremendous knowledge can exist in the midst of lacking full comprehension.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">143. Zombies are usually hokey, but always creepy.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">144. There's strength in numbers.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">145. Compared to its equivalent nearly anywhere else, Korean beer is terrible.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">146. The need for applying sunscreen increases as you get closer to the equator.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">147. For better or worse, police officers are human.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">148. Learn to tell the difference between those who are & those who aren't your friends. And remember that the former are few & far between.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">149. Words are both meaningful and meaningless at the same time.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">150. "Silence is golden." -<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z77n50nbOfY">AMC Theatres</a></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">151. Be careful with whom you associate.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">152. "True love is fleeting, but herpes lasts a lifetime." -Anonymous</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">153. Your mother was right: no one likes a freeloader.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">154. Singing is never a bad decision.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">155. Parting is such sweet sorrow.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">156. It takes quite awhile to come up with a positive outcome that resulted from regret.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">157. "The world is not enough." -<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0701031/">Neal Purvis</a></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">158. You can buy anything - but don't neglect your duty to be a smart shopper.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">159. Money is a powerful thing & its pursuit leads to some strange circumstances.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">160. We're all in this together.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">161. Rain might be uncomfortable, but it isn't painful.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">162. Materialism should never be an ultimate goal - but there's nothing wrong with it when it serves as a means to achieve or is a byproduct of achieving a more noble purpose.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">163. If you want or expect to always be happy, you're in for a surprise.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">164. "Tourists don't know where they've been. Travelers don't know where they're going." -<a href="http://www.paultheroux.com/">Paul Theroux</a></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">165. You get out of it what you put into it.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">166. Understanding what someone needs without needing to ask them is an admirable skill.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; "><br /></span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-size: 100%; ">167. "Grammar: The difference between knowing your shit and knowing you're shit." -</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/absolutelymadness.tumblr.com" style="font-size: 100%; "><span><span><span>absolutelymadness.tumblr.com</span></span></span></a></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">168. Adventures find some people more easily than others & the reason is one of the great mysteries of the universe.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">169. "Good judgment can come from bad experiences; good experiences can come from bad judgment." -<a href="http://www.rolfpotts.com/">Rolf Potts</a></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">170. "Don't ever look back." -<a href="http://www.directlyrics.com/katy-perry-teenage-dream-lyrics.html">Katy Perry</a></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">171. The city of Pattaya is 60% Thai, 30% Russian, 0.4% North American, 74% beaches, 55% bikinis, 63% nightlife, 39% prostitution, 22% criminal, and 96% awesome.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">172. "Love the skin that you're in." -<a href="http://www.olay.com/pages/DefaultFlash.aspx?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Branded-Awareness-General+11&utm_term=%2Boil%20%2Bof%20%2Bolay&utm_content=sjm72tUDK_%2Boil%20%2Bof%20%2Bolay_b_8667669734">Oil of Olay</a></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">173. The beach has no place for protection.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">174. Air dry in front of a fan on a hot day, but don't forget to wear a helmet. It'll blow your mind.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">175. "You've come a long way, baby." -<a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&biw=1600&bih=799&tbm=isch&prmd=imvnsl&tbnid=Ry1D8h8r84rpfM:&imgrefurl=http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2008/02/21/virginia-slims-ads-commodifying-freedom/&docid=DxBnzxY5DG9ziM&imgurl=http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/files/blogger2wp/32VSlims.jpg&w=1600&h=1133&ei=14ZnT4_-OpKDsgL4ruG2Dw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=796&vpy=411&dur=2148&hovh=189&hovw=267&tx=97&ty=127&sig=107436008122162097481&page=2&tbnh=145&tbnw=205&start=44&ndsp=47&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:44">Virginia Slims</a></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">176. Realistically, only one person cares about your intentions. And you don't have to look very far to find them.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">177. If you're a creature of comfort or especially risk averse, you might want to reconsider hopping on the back of a motorcycle before complete inspection and consideration.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">178. "...But the vagrant owns the whole vast earth that ends only at the nonexistent horizon." -<a href="http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/e/eberhardt.shtml">Isabelle Eberhardt</a></div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">179. Removing words is a surefire path to honest communication.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">180. Don't worry too much about the future. It'll all work out how you want it to.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">181. People don't like having their identity questioned.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">182. You can find 'America's Best _____' anywhere in the world. And that product may very possibly be better than the original.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">183. Keep your eye on the ball.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; ">184. The world needs more - and better - repackagers than Taco Bell.</div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-30413355814016422472012-01-04T17:23:00.000-08:002012-01-06T07:59:38.454-08:00Chivalry in the Dark Ages<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">There once lived a knight named Sir Matalot who hailed from a sophisticated land known as the Unified Provincial Republic (the UPR). The title of <i>knight </i>is somewhat of a misnomer, because Matalot was never recognized as much of an exceptional warrior. He was a relatively young, quiet & unassuming man who wasn't the most highly educated or experienced in the culture and customs of UPR, but he was moderately bright and got along decently well in his homeland and was able to manage a simple, honest lifestyle for himself.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Since Sir Matalot's native UPR had always been his only home, he was incapable of noticing anything peculiar about the ways of his land, for he had a rather slight basis of comparison to anywhere else. He was a naturally inquisitive man, but wasn't especially skilled in the arts - especially in navigation or voyaging, although he was quite interested in these sorts of things; and deep in the recesses of his being, he knew that lands terrifically different than his own existed somewhere out in the unknown. Such places he longed to see, and in them resided people he wanted to meet.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 굴림;font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" lang="EN-US" >Upon his completion of the formal required training period in the UPR, Sir Matalot took a moment to analyze his life station. For ages, he had frequently dreamt tales of faraway times and places commonly recounted by a lifetime's worth of companions. For multitudes of those who came before Matalot told grand anecdotes of courage, adventure, heroism, and fortitude - and Sir Matalot wished to generate his own stories like the ones he heard.<br /><br />Heeding the universe's call, our intrepid wannabe explorer then set out on a course to learn anything & everything he possibly could about other lands he might be able to visit. He directed more specific questions to acquaintances who had traveled before him by various methods to all manner of places. Matalot was most interested in the stories involving traveling to bizarre places of other eras, and so decided he would embark on a similar journey. He compiled a sizable list of potential sites and finally made up his mind: he would spend two years exploring an ancient land called the Perublic of Rokea (or shorthandedly, simply <i>Rokea</i>). Rokea was a charming place full of traditions unlike his own, and in it, housed countless locations & people which Matalot immensely wished to greet. Throughout his great excitement and anticipation, he maintained a sharp awareness that he would forever remain a Provincian, and as such, endlessly be seen as an outsider in the land of Rokea, and he must <em>never </em>forget his</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 굴림" lang="EN-US"> people or his birthplace.<br /></span><br /></span></span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 굴림" lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">During his stay in Rokea, Sir Matalot never abandoned his curious nature and tremendously enjoyed learning about the interesting thoughts of Rokeans and their unusual ways of completing tasks. He came to realize that these people were fundamentally much similar to the Provincians he knew, but they constantly demonstrated new and fascinating sides of humanity - which left a lasting impression on Matalot. In spite of this huge positivism, Sir Matalot oftentimes became frustrated in his new home since the culture to which he was accustomed and their related worldviews were vastly different than the ones in this new place. It took a considerable length of time, but the constant barrage of odd </span><a href="http://eactefl.blogspot.com/2009/09/crazy-hierarchy-of-korea.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;color:blue;">instances</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> in Rokea eventually caused our hero to deeply miss his homeland. Perhaps he just wasn't habituated to Rokea's ways. Or maybe it was because he didn't fully understand the Rokean philosophies behind their foreign practices, which subsequently required the apparent peculiar hierarchies of this civilization - other things that Matalot was unable to comprehend.<br /><br />Nonetheless, examples like </span><a href="http://www.viralviralvideos.com/2010/10/04/old-korean-woman-attacks-teenage-girl-on-korean-subway/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;color:blue;">http://www.viralviralvideos.com/2010/10/04/old-korean-woman-attacks-teenage-girl-on-korean-subway/</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> became a daily unavoidable occurrence to Sir Matalot in the land of Rokea. These types of actions never took place in the UPR, and Matalot tried and tried, but he kept falling short of a complete understanding.<br /><br />Several aspects of our hero's UPR quickly became evident to Sir Matalot. For one, Matalot came to appreciate that he had generally taken for granted his familiarity with his homeland, and he now became certain that Provincian ways were comparably more advanced than those of Rokea. You see, the relatively longer existence of UPR culture allowed the civilization to experience shifts in its collective identity. These changes were the product of realizations of wrongs innately created by humanity. The corporate shifts began in the form of movements, gained widespread acceptance in the land's citizenship, and ultimately led to amendments in the civilization's laws. Rokea's shorter cultural history hadn't provided it with the opportunities to yet accomplish these kinds of things.<br /></span></span><br /><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 굴림;font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" lang="EN-US" >There was also the universally relevant topic of personal defense. People in every time and every place have realized that not all people's interests always agree with each other. And when disagreements occur, opposing parties occasionally get angry and conflicts (along with the occasional violence) ensue. So people began forming tools in order to protect themselves and their interests. However upsetting as the fighting might be, violence and weaponry have become inextricably linked with all civilizations. In their daily lives, Rokeans still relied on primitive tools.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 굴림;font-size:85%;" lang="EN-US" ></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFDNkJWcttwW7CrtnYBQGj-3b8psZHh4kEqs6Al2tXuAhxyvFn3cyGzl_imWDYj2npnDK9K0J-0_wWbii1BS7GU51BwqXc_2_4iRc2k0pyTvUfNchs6MIm1laXy4l9dIzEYsittOeiqQ4T/s1600/Battleaxe.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 163px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 163px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694436075187652450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFDNkJWcttwW7CrtnYBQGj-3b8psZHh4kEqs6Al2tXuAhxyvFn3cyGzl_imWDYj2npnDK9K0J-0_wWbii1BS7GU51BwqXc_2_4iRc2k0pyTvUfNchs6MIm1laXy4l9dIzEYsittOeiqQ4T/s320/Battleaxe.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtESAmmZizkltm1a88UhoRynHzqGYgdQLS22l2dDz0XOnbppUXfYTEwAMvhNixVlV-_9olYcp3UQ-zceIypzgu-BAnfPd4gWsheYY-Glr-pOlPeGUMlXG3OP6hgN5q3UtoqqcQNNX6l8q8/s1600/Mace.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 146px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 146px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694436079273379586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtESAmmZizkltm1a88UhoRynHzqGYgdQLS22l2dDz0XOnbppUXfYTEwAMvhNixVlV-_9olYcp3UQ-zceIypzgu-BAnfPd4gWsheYY-Glr-pOlPeGUMlXG3OP6hgN5q3UtoqqcQNNX6l8q8/s320/Mace.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Some examples of Rokean devices:<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">In the more advanced UPR civilization, personal defense was still a concern for residents, but they faced different circumstances that, in turn, called for unique weaponry and related uses. Following completion of training, each citizen was issued an individualized self defense item. These items came in many forms: some were bigger than others or more powerful or more or less accurate than others. They were all specialized for particular situations and reflected each citizen's unique style of training and level of skill. Sir Matalot was equipped with a common Provincian device - that is, commonly used in his native land, but quite unlike anything seen in Rokea.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCgaLxlUCWA2Elb8Ks_Jr6OgfH0rv85qRViwpPGBSCi87ERWmnDVp6IdT-UT9mCcd41d-YeBoJftYe-OybWfxM42Y-AKcunxfKDXgZ1CH5ppnq1breDkgYbbw2Q5H5LuduQCSomtyluJ69/s1600/Laser+Gun.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 201px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 195px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694436079497480658" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCgaLxlUCWA2Elb8Ks_Jr6OgfH0rv85qRViwpPGBSCi87ERWmnDVp6IdT-UT9mCcd41d-YeBoJftYe-OybWfxM42Y-AKcunxfKDXgZ1CH5ppnq1breDkgYbbw2Q5H5LuduQCSomtyluJ69/s320/Laser+Gun.jpg" /></span></a></span><br /><br /><br /><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="left"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Sir Matalot carried a UPR-issued directed energy weapon:</span></p><br /><p><br /></p><br /><p><br /><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 굴림;font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" lang="EN-US" >This isn't to say that Rokean and UPR's social and moral structures were completely opposite, but the lands' systems were greatly different. Rokean culture wasn't better or worse than any other. And similarly, Rokean personal defense capabilities were far from non-existent, but not on par with those of UPR. They were just perfectly dissimilar.</span></p><br /><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="left"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 굴림;font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" lang="EN-US" >Sir Matalot befriended many fellow travelers in his new temporary home. Some of these new acquaintances came from other distant advanced societies, ones that also held the resource capabilities that allowed for time travel from their homes to places like Rokea. Most of these people were also equipped with devices strange to Rokea, and they all met comparable struggles as Sir Matalot. One such difficulty was that Matalot's UPR-issued self defense weapon didn't operate properly in Rokea. Apparently, Provincian devices needed a constant supply of UPR energy to remain useful, and so they only maintained their maximum effectiveness when kept and used within UPR boundaries.</span></p><br /><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="left"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">A Provincian with an inoperable weapon, and hence unable to protect himself, would naturally feel exposed. Thus, as was the case with Sir Matalot in the Perublic of Rokea. In addition to feelings of vulnerability, Matalot was also often bothered when he had to stand idly by whenever one Rokean took advantage of another Rokean. He didn't understand why someone would do this to a fellow citizen. But nevertheless, he was helpless in these kinds of situations - for his UPR device was useless and, even when occasionally partially effective, had no success when it met Rokean defenses.</span></p><br /><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="left"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></p><br /><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="left"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">One particular day as Sir Matalot boarded the local transportation carriage, he witnessed an especially remarkable event. When stepping into the coach, he was pleased to come face to face with a beautiful young Rokean woman. They briefly acknowledged each other, then carried on with their preoccupations. Directly behind Matalot, a nobleman entered the carriage. Likewise to Matalot, the nobleman was comparably smitten by the young woman. And being in a position of authority and - as such - enjoying an air of entitlement, the nobleman began to make a series of advancements toward the young woman. She made attempts to tell the nobleman that she was not interested in his urges, but he continued to press forward and became increasingly aggressive - for, afterall, his status was superior to hers, and Rokean custom called for a lesser person's compliance with any demands of a superior. Unless a person of higher rank overrules.</span></p><br /><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="left"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Once again, Sir Matalot was forced to sit back, watch, and remain powerless throughout the entire situation. For this was the way of the Rokean people, and they could handle their business internally. And even if he wanted to intervene, he knew that his weapon would be ineffective and he would be effortlessly dispatched. But, just then, another nobleman bravely came to the rescue! He had overheard the commotion and promptly ran to the damsel's aid. Brandishing his weapon, the lady's savior chased off the offender and saved the day.</span></p><br /><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" class="MsoNormal" align="left"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Meanwhile in his role as the quiet observer, Sir Matalot was overcome with a sense that justice had been upheld that day. Although he wasn't the hero in this story, he didn't seem to care. For what he saw that day shined a light on the goodness of the Rokean people and filled him with a peace of mind that he had never felt about the Rokean way of life. Furthermore, he now felt a confidence that everything was the way it should be and that everyone, everywhere would be just fine. He also knew that if decency existed where he never expected it to be, things would surely be as peaceful as ever back in the UPR.</span></p>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-63716845398817072862011-12-21T16:30:00.000-08:002011-12-23T21:49:27.217-08:00My Ship has ArrivedYes indeed, my friends. And it is called the <span style="font-weight: bold;">R.O.K. <span style="font-style: italic;">Movie Star.</span></span><br /><br />(Note: Korean ships are much like their Western counterparts. Except they are smaller and lighter, with more efficient power systems & engines - therefore making them faster and more maneuverable. On the other hand, their designs and floorplans are sometimes quite confusing, and there are also quite a few typos on essential safety equipment. Moreover, all purchases while on board are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty-free_shop">tax free</a>.)<br /><br />After spending nearly 2 years in Asia, I have finally reached the celebrity status that I've been striving toward since Day 1... I am featured in the currently-airing Korean blockbuster <a href="http://asianmediawiki.com/Perfect_Game"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Perfect Game</span></a>!<br /><br />Well, not exactly <span style="font-style: italic;">featured</span>, per se, but I did participate in some of the filming, was compensated for my time, and can very probably be seen on screen. And several of my cohorts <span style="font-weight: bold;">positively </span>made an appearance either on camera or were named in the credits.<br /><br />Nonetheless, it's an excellent film. In true fashion of 'based on true events' stories - it does not disappoint & certainly tells a story as only nonfiction can. I highly recommend seeing it - although be prepared if you're a fellow non-Korean speaker - for, excluding the opening scenes, not a word of English is spoken.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Perfect Game</span> recounts a tale of two ultra-competitive professional athletes of differing generations who struggle to discover in themselves the ability to find common ground in the midst of a time and place that tells them that they shouldn't. The movie's basic plot is: "Choi Dong-Won of the Lotte Giants and Sun Dong-Ryul of the Haitai Tigers are rival baseball pitchers. In an epic showdown these two pitchers faceoff in a 15 inning marathon game."<br /><br />The final game is, of course, the culmination of the story. But there are many great subplots leading up to the showdown that add so much to the finale. It's ultimate moral is told through the lens of a 'never say die' baseball analogy. The background of its competitive setting wonderfully displays the unifying nature of sports to all of the players, teams, and fans involved. Professional respect & admiration shine through the fierce tension between the opposing teams and individuals. The movie also does a great job of describing the inner conflicts of many characters, and in some cases, shows the resulting unbreakable bonds. Additionally, there are touching family matters, heartbreaking endings of lifelong relationships, and personal (social, financial, and otherwise) struggles of many characters. During all of this, attention is also drawn to attempts by government officials to reduce the event so that it can be used as a political tool. But unfortunately for the concerned parties, the game refuses to be simplified and an authentic human spirit transcends.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-14847051542053076822011-12-19T20:09:00.000-08:002011-12-22T16:21:59.856-08:00End of an Era?<a href="http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/12/116_101137.html">With yesterday's news regarding the passing of Kim Jong-il</a>, there has been quite the range of emotions here in Korea: shock, but also an understanding of his advanced age; jubilation regarding an anticipation for the ending of an oppressive regime; widespread confusion; sorrow for the death of a countryman; hopefulness of positive changes down the road (including higher than average mentions to <u><i>possible </i></u><i><u>reunification</u></i>); wonder of how this might affect the average person; a bit of anxiety and nervousness due to the nature of circumstances, but peace of mind brought on by years of military readiness; sadness for the loss of a life; concerns that conditions (both domestically and internationally) may become even worse under a young and inexperienced heir; and to a lesser extent, surprising indifference to the entire situation.<br /><br />Working from personal experience, most people's initial reactions are ones of happiness. This is an easy conclusion at which to arrive after watching decades of persisting crimes against humanity, mounds of unequivocal evidence that North Korea has been unmistakably evil to its own, and how the country has been <i>extremel<span>y </span></i>unstable in the global arena. Feeling justified by their country's foreign policy, many Americans seem to appreciate this year's news in a specific fashion. Most auspiciously, we're making considerable gains on that <span style="font-weight: bold;">axis of evil</span>! And some of the world's most heinous leaders have perished. First it was Hussein, then this year we get 3 big ones: Bin Laden, Gaddafi, and now finally the Jonger. Happy Days!! Now, we can get down to work on that pesky <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Leader_of_Iran">Khamenei</a>..<br /><br />In my opinion, these kinds of reactions are unsettling for two major reasons - since they display: 1) an utter disregard for human life, and 2) social/political shortsightedness for the future and ignorance of potential repercussions this event may create.<br /><br />First (and most simply), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_stance">I believe</a> that reveling in the aftermath of another human's expiration, regardless of that person's actions while alive, is just plain sick. One can easily, and not at all inaccurately, argue that Mr. Kim was a horrible person who carried out unspeakable wrongs against his own people and whose erratic behavior unnecessarily kept the entire world on edge. But I would respond to that person by reminding them of the terms with which they began that rant: <span style="font-style: italic;">Mr</span>. and <span style="font-style: italic;">person</span>.<br /><br />Secondly, there's a greater issue at stake that shouldn't be neglected - and that's the significant power vacuum now presented. Undoubtedly, these events most certainly beg a wait-and-see attitude. Although, one also freely wonders if this leads to yet another "strike while the iron is hot" moment.<div><br /><span id="font">The hierarchy is less straightforward than ever.</span><span> Increasingly, talk is made of a </span><span id="font">great successor in Jong-il's youngest son - the 28 year-old </span><span id="font">Kim Jong-un - who is arguably less crazy (but also more eager to prove himself) than his old man. Also d</span><span id="font">isconcerting are formal quotes made by the official DPRK news agency, such as:</span></div><div><span id="font"><br />“[</span><span id="font">Jong-un stands] a</span><span id="font">t the vanguard of the Korean revolution... to the revolutionary cause of juche [self reliance] and the outstanding leader of our party, military, and people. [His] leadership will guarantee the completion of the revolutionary cause of juche through the generations, after it was started by Kim Il-sung and led to victory by Kim Jong-il.”</span><br /><br />On a brighter note, the seeming consensus among Koreans who are old enough to recall the 1994 death of Jong-il's father, Il-sung, is that the change of power this time causes less worry. Recollections of those days are commonly made of ransacking stores for all the available water and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Ramyun">ramyun noodles</a>. At the time, a possible outbreak of war was a very real concern, due to the historical knowledge of North Korea's unpredictable behavior, coupled with a robust military. Today, 17 years later, the military and economic power disparities are notably much different. But we all know what happens when a weakened opponent is on the ropes and starts to feel helpless..</div><div><br />Another very likely outcome to all of this is that now politicians around the world are provided with an excellent platform. A platform for exactly what..? Furthermore, the world is obviously scarier and a tenser place when nuclear capabilities exist. I, for one, am trying to remain optimistic.<br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-36194963293829135192011-11-29T20:13:00.000-08:002011-12-01T22:51:52.664-08:00Let The Truth Be Told...<div>I am tired of living a life based on hiding from true reality and one founded on the spreading of lies and mistruths. For most of my life, and especially since coming to Korea, I have led one campaign of coverup after another. I have finally come to a place where I'm prepared to tell my deepest and darkest secrets - things unknown to even my family and closest friends. For so long, I haven't allowed myself the utter relief that this revealing process will certainly deliver, by constantly repressing the desire to disclose the actual facts and own my mistakes. In hindsight, my failure to uncover these truths has only furthered the concealment of the monkeys on my back, and served to increase their weight. I am aware that my inaction has been attributed to a fear of possible judgment or lack of acceptance, and I have finally resigned myself to accept the power of healing as well as any potential consequences this may cause.<br /><br />So where to start? Well, as they typically do, things began rather innocently. Out of a need to maintain a sense of normalcy and holding onto routine in the only way I knew, I joined a local <em>**sigh**</em> <strong>gym</strong> in the early part of last year. As events progressed and life unfolded, I started paying more and more frequent visits. First, it was the lure of the treadmill. Then, it was the bench press. And eventually, I even gave in to the, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">dare I say it</span>, the kettle bells. Yes... I am, without a doubt, as disgusted as you surely also must be right now and no acceptable excuse legitimizes my despicable actions.<br /><br />The hardest part of revealing this shameful habit is reminding myself of all the ways I have caused irreparable harm to so many people. The countless nights that I selfishly left barstools vacant, incalculable numbers of kegs untapped and cigarette packages unopened.. Oh god, the damage that I have caused! Will I ever be forgiven?<br /><br />In my defense, this inclination originally struck me after I fell victim to an insidious scheme perpetuated by many so-called <em>experts. </em>I ignorantly believed <em>doctors and exercise specialists</em> as they spouted hair-brained theories; hackneyed dogma which said things such as how physical exercise promotes self-improvement and -satisfaction, when this shameful practice is, in reality, really only one performed out of arrogance and an unnaturally false conception of independence. Others told me that exercise would provide a relief from stress. Pfsssh!! I've never heard a belief organized around such an unproven and inadequately tested concept! They also duped me into believing that exercise would allow me to remain mentally stable and motivated. What insane notions!<br /><br />To boot, my addiction to exercise hasn't been my sole vice during these trying times. There has been a more sinister, more pernicious demon lurking beneath my seemingly fanciful expressions and accepting eyes. I hate to admit it, but I'm a recovering <span style="font-weight: bold;">norebanger</span>. You may not be aware of this debilitating <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84H1vBi8HnI">condition</a>, so let me describe the practice and hopefully bring awareness to this oft-overlooked subject.<br /><br /><a href="http://thedailykimchi.blogspot.com/2006/07/nore-bang-aka-karoake-korean-style.html">Norebang</a>, or what some may slyly refer to as 노래방, was originally a victimless Korean pastime breaking from the traditional, conservative ways of Japanese-style karaoke. In the abundant 'singing room' establishments throughout the country, patrons are assigned to individual rooms for them and any number of guests, and given the minimum of an hour to make song selections, all while gleefully playing tambourines and drumming on any object in sight. The practice of norebang boasts modest beginnings - whose only purpose was to offer stressed Koreans an opportunity of amusement and expression.<br /><br />However, norebang later adopted an evil side and has now led to a huge number of interrupted lives and fractured homes throughout the continent. This insidious monster has brought with it just enough comfort to gain entrance into people's hearts & minds, slowly destroyed the trust that it built, and left a trail of withered souls in its path. I advise everyone with whom I come into contact to never even consider 'trying' it out, for it is the quintessential wolf in sheep's clothing. And furthermore, anyone who asks you to give it a shot is not your friend and cannot be trusted.<br /><br />Some might tell you that norebang is an excellent outlet for creativity. Don't believe them; and remember that you could just as easily take part in an alternate & less dehumanizing form of entertainment. These same people may attempt to mislead you by saying norebang affords you a chance to see friends in new & exciting settings (when any moron knows that you should easily remain content by just visiting people in the <span style="font-weight: bold;">usual </span>establishments). Other snake oil they might try to sell is that norebang provides momentary sensations of ecstasy - when it is essential to remember that however real these feelings might appear, they are artificial. You must simply become adept at creating happiness out of any routine, however tedious or boring it may seem.<br /><br />Earlier, attention was drawn to the fact that I am indeed a recuperating norebanger, intending to someday reclaim a normal life for myself. Personally, American karaoke became a gateway activity that led to my ultimate downfall. Not many people know this: but in a former life, I was a contentedly ordinary guy. It wasn't until moving to Asia when I realized that I had a serious problem. After the chronic late nights and constant reminders of smelling to high heaven of microphones, I knew something had to be done. Friday, September 23rd was the last day that I partook, when I was met with an especially irritated vision in my dreams that night. The next morning, I posthaste enrolled in the local community center's NA (Norebangers Anonymous) chapter and began attending the weekly meetings.<br /><br />I am pleased to announce that last week I was awarded the coveted Ruby Hiker's Pole, signifying completion of the 11th out of 12 stages in the program. Tonight, I will attempt the final stage of the program, whose goal is to reintroduce a sustainable form of norebang into a person's life. It will be a grand event where I hope to prove to myself and the world that I am able to cope with this struggle and maintain a sense of composure through our dealings. Please pray for me as I venture into uncharted territory, for I know not what the future holds...<br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-6731046582207748902011-11-21T20:24:00.000-08:002011-11-23T23:00:45.746-08:00Cultural Foundations and/or Manifestations<div>Recently, I've become particularly interested in attempting to identify behaviors and related actions for their true nature, considering why they are the way that they are, and wondering what might lead to the mentalities that contribute to the formed behaviors. Given my current residence, I've chosen to generalize South Korean culture through making it a target of this analysis. Specifically, the following are three aspects of this culture that have been of unique interest to me:<br /><br />1) <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Testing as a way of life</span><br />I feel that this topic requires a bit of technicality, so pardon the statistics. But I believe that the figures help to clearly illuminate a point.</div><br /><div>Thursday, Nov 10 for the country was this year's national <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/10/world/asia/south-korea-exams/index.html?iref=allsearch">CSAT</a> (College Scholastic Ability Test) -ing Day for high school seniors and it was astonishing to watch the entire country turn out with tremendous uncompromising support for the students. This one day serves as the culmination of years of studying and sleepless nights, and the highest degree of relief for thousands of anxious parents. Every year on this single testing day, the stock market opening is delayed, transportation (not excluding air traffic) is re-routed and schedules are adjusted, even police escorts can be hailed by time-pressed test takers. And, to borrow a term, testers' friends <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">tailgate </span>before, throughout, and after the 8-hour testing period to cheer on their brothers and sisters in arms. The encouragement and collective solidarity is unquestionably amazing. </div><br /><div>On a personal note, my current employer (<a href="http://www.dymk.co.kr/main/intro_2011.html">등용문</a>) is a CSAT preparation school, which means that its sole purpose of existence is to prepare students for this test. The annual student body consists of more than 600 post-high school students who mostly have already taken the test at least once, and so are referred to as <em>retesters</em>. Enrollment for the term occurs in December, students settle into the dormitories in mid-January, and classes commence a week later. The coed students then spend the following nearly 10 months digesting mathematics, science, Korean & English language, psychology, and a sprinkle of athletics. Finality of the semester is grandly celebrated with massive festivities and outpourings of emotion.</div><div><br />CNN put it best when they commented that "this one test...will determine which university [the students] enter. It is considered the chance to make or break one's future." I think this concept well shows the excellent notion that hard work and persistence can produce all of the benefits and advantages sought after. But there are of course significant downsides to years of sole focus on academics, identification that results of this one test are the only means of finding one's place in society, and the obvious inordinate stress that these pressures put on a teenager. Perhaps on an unrelated note, or maybe not, Korea experiences 100+ cases of adolescent and young adult <a href="http://voicesofyouth.org/posts/student-suicides-in-south-korea">suicide</a> every year; and suicide has been named the leading cause of death for the Korean 15-24 age group.<br /><br />Here's a funny <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks2QWSPe6Vk">video</a> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>commentary on the daily life of a Korean student.<br /></div><br />In an effort to quantify education beyond high school, I have turned to the <a href="http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/61/2/48631582.pdf">2011 OECD Education at a Glance report</a>. According to the most recently available statistics in Table A3.3 (pg 70), the graduation rate for Korean tertiary type-A programmes (university/college) was 44.5%, well above the OECD average of 37.8%. Fantastic. The same report also points out some additional interesting figures on Table C5.1a (pg 373). Astoundingly, average annual hours worked per worker for Korea were 2,243, compared to an OECD average of only 1,710. This quite possibly has largely contributed to the South Korean <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_South_Korea">economy</a>'s ranking (according to the IMF - International Monetary Fund - and the CIA World Factbook) as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29">12th</a> in the world, in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP)<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchasing_power_parity" title="Purchasing power parity"></a>. But discouragingly, the same chart on page 373 also shows that in the Job-related non-formal continuing education category, the participation rate of Korean workers was a mere 11%, compared to an OECD average of 28%. Although I believe the term <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">non-</span>formal may pose a hangup to the Korean education system (where formality is the path to properness), this certain piece of data is nonetheless dramatic.<br /><div><br />2) <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">빨리, 빨리!!</span><br />This repetitive and familiar phrase is pronounced <span style="font-style: italic;">bbahlli</span>, and basically translates to the adverb part of speech meaning fast/quickly/rapidly. Other common and widely used phrases are: </div><ul><li>빨리<span style="font-weight: bold;">해</span>: which literally means <em>to do [something] quickly</em> and conjugates the verb form of the word to suggest the imperative form of 'hurry up'.</li></ul><ul><li>빨리<span style="font-weight: bold;">와</span>: which advises the listener to immediately <span style="font-style: italic;">hurry over here</span>. This verbal argument is also usually complemented by a waving gesture or an arm grab.</li></ul>To many Koreans and visitors alike, compliance with the above requests is met out of a sense of duty. If someone emphatically asks you to join them, the only correct action is to acquiesce, right? But frustratingly, upon the meeting, it frequently becomes apparent that there is no fire that requires immediate extinguishing or, furthermore, any need to have dropped the task that you were prematurely abandoning. The intention of the behest, more accurately, seems to be one born out of an understanding of the human need for forming & maintaining social connections.<br /><br />There are also many more pragmatic applications for the notion of <span style="font-style: italic;">bbahlli </span>in a crowded country such as Korea and a hectic city such as Seoul. For many tasks and activities, if they aren't met with a sense of urgency, they will fail or an opportunity will be missed. Take precise bus and subway schedules and any deadline or time-sensitive task for instance where initial punctuality is a directly conditional event for any result to occur. Without this promptness, the entire system of precision is worthless. Therefore, the actions are necessary for the resulting effects and then, the resulting effects are essential for similar processes to repeat; otherwise, the entire order crumbles.<br /><br /><div>3) <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Military conscription</span><br />As per the country's established Conscription Law, all able-bodied Korean males are required to serve in either the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces">ROK military</a> for 21-26 months (depending on the branch) or satisfy a civil service requirement for 25-36 months. This reality and the volume of manpower it creates contributes to one of the largest standing armed forces in the world, with a reported personnel strength of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_active_troops#endnote_ROK">more than 8.6 million</a> troops in 2010, dwarfing countries such the US - who maintains slightly over 3 million.<br /><br />The need for a mass of troops, and so a relevant mandatory conscription are <a href="http://www.historyguy.com/korean_border_conflicts.htm">obvious</a>. Since the aftermath of World War II and especially throughout the 1950's, the peninsula has experienced constant tension which has created the never-ending obligation of readiness. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Demilitarized_Zone">demilitarized zone</a> (DMZ) alone requires constant manning by many of these 8.6 million troops.<br /><br />Having also served in the military - with a fundamental culture all of its own, I feel that I am now in a unique informed position as an objective cultural observer. Simplistically, much of the time spent in the military can be reduced to the maxim <span style="font-style: italic;">hurry up and wait</span>. Another commonly heard - and mirrored counterpart of the previous - phrase to describe military service is that it is composed of <span style="font-style: italic;">hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror</span>. Both of these ideas relate to the nature of intense preparation for the event of a future critical job, followed by subsequent long periods of vigilance.<br /></div><br /><div></div><div><strong>What might all of this mean?</strong></div>Now, with these specific three examples, by what symbols might they be represented? Are they correlated or does one even lead to another? If so, which logically compel another/the others - and are we looking at maybe a chicken, a white egg, and a brown egg? Or should we consider these aspects as completely independent issues? Then, maybe they should more likely be a chicken, a kumquat, and a hammer..<br /><br />I imagine all these aspects of Korean culture to be interrelated somehow, seemingly all sharing some of the same qualities. Are not preparation/promptness/readiness all much the same concepts, or at least, originate in the same place(s) and able to realize similar desired benefits? As for correlation and causation, that topic still seems to be up in the air.<br /><div></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-32235118084349578102011-10-18T22:37:00.000-07:002011-10-25T23:18:23.130-07:00Introduction to the World of Competitive Eating<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjzg-7MddVPcGbgMZw3T_7mr0rq33o0FlIyEGU_o3kgJuu38LMzvdXe2qAOIyQXYrRSZddOOIZgsniZBqYEAZeMlixOsYcIygGB8s44kDvGK7Bs3lAfLBClafIjS5TnjVCJABeqhXgtQYQ/s1600/matt_eating+hotdog8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 278px; float: left; height: 199px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665434691443774162" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjzg-7MddVPcGbgMZw3T_7mr0rq33o0FlIyEGU_o3kgJuu38LMzvdXe2qAOIyQXYrRSZddOOIZgsniZBqYEAZeMlixOsYcIygGB8s44kDvGK7Bs3lAfLBClafIjS5TnjVCJABeqhXgtQYQ/s320/matt_eating+hotdog8.jpg" border="0" /></a>About a month ago, I was informed that Seoul would be hosting an amateur, confirmedly American-style gluttony festival (i.e., a 'competitive eating competition') hosted by the Korean corporation, <a href="http://www.nyhotdog.co.kr/">NY Hot Dog & Coffee</a>. Given my citizenship, proclivity to revel in overeating, and a lack of aversion to stomach pains, I was truly amazed that I'd never participated in one of these kinds of events. Guess that I'd never been presented with a comfortable place to publicly display food binging. Nothing could keep me from embracing this golden chance. Further, as if there was any need for additional encouragement, the presenting company would be offering prizes for the <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">best </span>eaters AND the event would be highly publicized afterwards. You're telling me there's a free lunch? And I'll be famous for it?! And I also might win stuff!?<div><div><br />Well, I'll prematurely let the cat out of the bag, but I didn't <a href="http://n.newswave.kr/sub_read.html?uid=163953">win </a>any TV sets or iPads. However, there was sooo much more to gain & let me share...<br /><br />Preparing to stuff our faces with carcinogenic meat products:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1gctE7LOYFkzuHrrq6jkcXyTno7F5j1HjpBnOaH7l28kUmQuPdYz1BRS76wCyO4HABhdMGXTkx7c3gASwn78v2DLFXA2XyXkOmuTJA9gTW-V920fpwvpM0gchleKWZb9LVv6mXggI4luk/s1600/matt_eating+hotdog9.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665434858332803634" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1gctE7LOYFkzuHrrq6jkcXyTno7F5j1HjpBnOaH7l28kUmQuPdYz1BRS76wCyO4HABhdMGXTkx7c3gASwn78v2DLFXA2XyXkOmuTJA9gTW-V920fpwvpM0gchleKWZb9LVv6mXggI4luk/s320/matt_eating+hotdog9.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div>In addition to the free meal and notoriety, it was fantastic to learn about a new sport. I use the word <span style="font-style: italic;">sport</span>, because if ice fishing (to which I can't see the lure), cricket (whose attraction is insectuously pathetic), and <a href="http://www.bestweekever.tv/2011-06-28/toe-wrestling/">toe wrestling</a> (which needs no pun, as it stands on its own) qualify, then eating <span style="font-weight: bold;">certainly </span>does. What better way to overcome nature and push the limits of human achievement than shoving processed deceased animal trimmings down one's gullet?<br /><br />One minute into the competition, I was still a bit hungry. That feeling would be nonexistent for the next 48 hours.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxcLuAn-HgTNvvVRwp9haOsJP2X87Exsyoip25nInkli1Gq0Sh9D_n7QXR2zNFjKKt9kqC9hP7fr0KhCj23hfncCBUTIfliAKaPaur9rc4xKHc8S8KwBiikE2xfk25pZ2ou_dtaAu_2Opr/s1600/matt_eating+hotdog6.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665434859705920866" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxcLuAn-HgTNvvVRwp9haOsJP2X87Exsyoip25nInkli1Gq0Sh9D_n7QXR2zNFjKKt9kqC9hP7fr0KhCj23hfncCBUTIfliAKaPaur9rc4xKHc8S8KwBiikE2xfk25pZ2ou_dtaAu_2Opr/s320/matt_eating+hotdog6.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOrU-QSF6hPXVY-InJbDZ7B5SuFmw5xUvAIttQo-jZxOehhRHkT-jMoADi7Hyq2SzEhdNk9RnRVy3Y7RTP4gKPuVWAS2TjgEyfAAyvSL-HCpwUfGjYlBNkXIofoKHAfm0qPhaIOXYXG5p1/s1600/Super-Size-Me.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 289px; height: 164px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOrU-QSF6hPXVY-InJbDZ7B5SuFmw5xUvAIttQo-jZxOehhRHkT-jMoADi7Hyq2SzEhdNk9RnRVy3Y7RTP4gKPuVWAS2TjgEyfAAyvSL-HCpwUfGjYlBNkXIofoKHAfm0qPhaIOXYXG5p1/s320/Super-Size-Me.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667676668734597554" border="0" /></a>For another oddity, this company that hawks an unambiguously <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">American</span> cuisine (well, as close as possible), is <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#%21/NYhotdog">Korean</a>. Throughout my time abroad, I've constantly come across this US-centric phenomenon. This usually produces good results (case in point), but never ceases to feel unsettling each time a McDonald's moves into a new location.<br /><br />It appears that everywhere on this planet, one constantly sees similar examples of this: Turkish food in China, Malaysian clothing in Alaska, Hungarian kaleidoscopes in South Africa. So come to think of it, I guess that a New York sausage product in Korea isn't that odd. I reckon that almost anyone can get their hands (or mouths) on anything manufactured and promoted by other humans. Cheers to a smaller planet!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs7J0adqOoX44I6jxejaNY8PUrNfMdTSk4ndH65UanonAY3kbqpkq67KZUAmyWyxoOrhYQTdJ1QF09oZYNfMFYopJBYiYH2hyUE85uKXxny7VWUPj3zvDEfxLqGIyiTzi9pcYBhb6cbo51/s1600/304074_10100435071380363_10213388_55367277_334041932_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 277px; float: right; height: 208px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667063096186515106" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs7J0adqOoX44I6jxejaNY8PUrNfMdTSk4ndH65UanonAY3kbqpkq67KZUAmyWyxoOrhYQTdJ1QF09oZYNfMFYopJBYiYH2hyUE85uKXxny7VWUPj3zvDEfxLqGIyiTzi9pcYBhb6cbo51/s320/304074_10100435071380363_10213388_55367277_334041932_n.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> We are truly in the presence of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj0CXP_xSL4">greatness</a>:<br /><br /><div> 1st place finisher!</div><br /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-24590708787643805502011-10-09T03:50:00.000-07:002011-12-27T05:17:38.771-08:00A Tale of HeroismThis story begins with an extensive journey beginning with a Saturday afternoon search for Halloween costumes throughout the metropolis that is Seoul proper (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seoul">the largest city in the OECD developed world</a>). After all, my favorite holiday is only a few short weeks away, and I still have no idea of whom I should dress up. Considerations have been Gandhi, Jesus, or a 'Father' Teresa character. I'm still trying to pin down an idea, and will hopefully have something before this weekend. But I digress. The point being, I spent the better part of the day traveling around the city, scouring every costume and uniform shop that I can find.<br /><br />I then meet up with a group of friends to attend the annual <a href="http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=121269&code=Ne2&category=2">Seoul Fireworks Festival</a>. The festival takes place on a small island in the middle of the Han river, in an area known as Yeoido. The location is not a convenient one, so it took a considerable length of time to finally get there. So after several hours of traveling, we eventually arrive at a large intersection which has been cordoned off for us spectators. Our longer than expected journey caused us to miss the beginning of the show, but our struggles proved worth the humungous hassle, as the firework displays were perhaps the finest ones I've ever witnessed. And to think that during the week I wasn't even convinced the show was worth seeing.<br /><br />Here's a taste of what some spectators were able to see:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn9NElLIt_QytmzhAar89TmG6i8L4tpmnMZzoJBTpINHrOOhuAln6phPGQqqrXq3M0LpJHKIisSJmf0DGOjc7fA84gM3rL7W3qwyu4xAkwZ9zt4Bv9aXbrnZpAl5zE2eHsVCDUrV0UZytL/s1600/Firework+Festival+Daniel.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 165px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 221px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5661742598718189538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn9NElLIt_QytmzhAar89TmG6i8L4tpmnMZzoJBTpINHrOOhuAln6phPGQqqrXq3M0LpJHKIisSJmf0DGOjc7fA84gM3rL7W3qwyu4xAkwZ9zt4Bv9aXbrnZpAl5zE2eHsVCDUrV0UZytL/s320/Firework+Festival+Daniel.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Nd8LiDp0sc5r3uiVxZoIu9u3rzPhhFkMY3K9dLzTKsQ9qUE5zNtODicF7oQXXualZ0Xv_-7rogEbDcXRVNH22qr_ObhXnLxcMDhJbI_Ad7oQX6Y0EnKvdzLI74GMAKQT5du_fzR1YE1K/s1600/Firework+Festival+Daniel+2.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 241px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 181px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5661743154025457698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Nd8LiDp0sc5r3uiVxZoIu9u3rzPhhFkMY3K9dLzTKsQ9qUE5zNtODicF7oQXXualZ0Xv_-7rogEbDcXRVNH22qr_ObhXnLxcMDhJbI_Ad7oQX6Y0EnKvdzLI74GMAKQT5du_fzR1YE1K/s320/Firework+Festival+Daniel+2.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Seoul had been expecting a huge turnout for this show, which was well founded, as it seemed like the entire city was crammed onto this tiny island. Our group was crammed into an insignificant patch of real estate among the throng of humanity. We were standing on the edge of a sizable highway, behind a guardrail which prevented cars & us from falling over the steep edge, directly in front of the launch pad. To our backs was a large grassy hill, about 30 feet high, and on top of that was row of small apartment complexes. Most people were also standing in the street, but there was a small group sitting at the bottom of the hill & an even smaller group, likely the homeowners, watching the show from the roofs of the apartments. The small hill became gradually steeper as it ascended, with roughly a 50 degree incline at the top, near the buildings.<br /><br />As we and the crowd were enjoying the display, suddenly a dull voice rang out. It was a man mumbling something, which everyone initially ignored. The noises continued for several moments, and the crowd's attention was eventually drawn to the shrill screams of a woman. At first, the rushed & frantic Korean language was completely indecipherable to us. But after a moment of continued yelling, we all picked up on an unmistakable repeated string of exclamations, 'Ah-gi! Ah-gi!', one vocabulary word I correctly recalled to be <em>baby</em>.<br /><br />Apparently, a stray spark from one of the fireworks landed on the upper part of the hill, in a pile of debris & a large growth of weeds. The weather has been especially devoid of rain lately, which has contributed to dry plants and much dead plant material - creating many areas ripe for quick ignition. All of these factors came together in a perfect storm to form to a small, but rapidly growing, brush fire. To make things worse, the nearest apartment building had a wooden patio in the rear, hanging over the very place where the brush fire was quickly spreading.<br /><br />In the moments as everyone became aware of the pending disaster, the crowd was silent & there was an air of disbelief. Just then, we were all horrified as the brush fire began to spread up one of the wooden posts, directly below what appeared to be a small plastic carrier of some sort. Perhaps it was indifference, but I am guessing that everyone was paralyzed by their fear & no one quite knew what to do. So, relying on years of volunteer fire fighting training & an uncanny lack of regard for my personal safety, I spring into action & do what no one else was able to do. I shove my way through the crowd, leap over a short fence at the bottom of the hill, and sprint up the hill towards the apartment buildings. Within seconds, my face can feel the heat of the blaze that is quickly beginning to engulf the rear corner of the porch.<br /><br />Now standing underneath the overhanging patio, I can distinctly hear the screams of a distraught mother and the faint whispers of a young child. Realizing the urgency of the situation, I scan the area for a ladder or staircase. Of course, there is nothing, so I quickly grab onto the only unconsumed post and begin to shimmy myself up to the porch - a climb of about 5 meters, or roughly 15 feet. In less than 5 seconds, I reach the top and haul myself onto the floor of the porch. The nearly inaudible cries of the infant child are now echoing in my ears as I reach for the tiny basket. Then, with the treasure safely in my hands, I raise him up to the outstretched arms of his crying mother.<br /><br />Finding an inability to climb above to safety, I then turn around to find myself surrounded by the blaze. Realizing that the fire has spread to the side of the porch from where I came, essentially cutting off my only option of getting back down, my only course of action for escape is to jump from my current position. Again, a significant drop existed between the porch and the hill below, which would create a scary sight for most people. But with time not being on my side, I do the only thing that I can, secure my footing to the ledge, and jump towards the only grassy area beneath.<br /><br />In order to break a large fall such as this, one must roll to distribute the shock from such a sudden cessation of motion. The sole option was to land on the steep part of the hill, so the roll didn't stop exactly where I was planning. I tumble head over heels down this huge hill, with my momentum finally being arrested by the fence at the bottom of the slope. And in true Murphy's Law fashion, the full brunt of the impact is absorbed by my face.<br /><br />With the adrenaline still surging through my body, I am feebly able to get back on my feet, only to collapse into unconsciousness. The remaining details were hazy, at best, but involved being taken to the hospital to repair my wounds. The following is the aftermath, but was a small price to pay for the satisfaction of saving the life of a precious toddler:<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 236px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 183px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5661495609412083058" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_7rHN_XuZpXSoEE6QmQGs6xYYSys8_VUhtFb-pBjk0cgOuDa-EAJz1C1xsQaNSN0YL50Aw1GM1gXAEKW-PwKCJ1cquUFiEdpjRUFffQ7P3wB2lwjJ92OwCnEuoKq9opwQsRkHJW59Lwwl/s320/DSCN3977.JPG" />These were the details and the order of events as I recall them. Any eyewitnesses to the scene are kindly invited to add their remembrances of the story.<br /><br />Thanks to everyone, especially the kind men and women of the Seoul Firefighters Association, who have been so kind as to nominate me for the 2011 Civilian Rescue Awards.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-61259633433464549322011-08-18T06:01:00.000-07:002011-10-19T22:14:07.746-07:00Unlikely RemembrancesYesterday was my final day of employment after working for the preceding 7 months at the easiest, most comfortable, and most convenient office that I’ve yet experienced (nay, ever HEARD OF). It began as a typical Thursday morning, with the customary 3 hours spent studying email and researching Facebook. We then had lunch, followed by the (<u>only</u> one of the day, and) final class with this month's studious and perfectly well-mannered trifecta of clients. They brought us snacks and cupcakes, we spent the next hour playing our favorite vocabulary game, and they fawned over and reminded us what great teachers we were before they left. A generally spectacular income method.<br /><br /><br /><div>Before close of business, along with my colleagues, I spent the afternoon packing boxes in preparation for the movers’ arrival the following morning. One after another, there became bare shelves and bottoms of drawers that I didn’t even know existed. We then went all throughout the office taping little pink sheets to all of the necessary items that we would need for our new location. Upon closing the doors, the space looked so clean and empty, as if not a soul had ever spent a day within those walls.<br /><br /><br />Over the course of the kilometer walk back to my fantastic apartment, which felt like the longest time this trip had ever taken, I started to wonder what I will miss most about this work location. Maybe the ability to roll out of bed 30 minutes before clocking in for work.. Maybe the immediate proximity to the restaurants and establishments that I’ve loved for the past year.. Maybe being able to walk home for lunch to raid my fridge’s free leftovers; all while listening to a perfect musical selection for that particular day, creating the leftovers for the next day, and getting all of the daily chores done..<br /></div><br /><br /><div>As I’m pondering the amazing life that I’ve been leading, a shadow shoves itself into the corner of my eye. Not surprisingly, it’s the regular gaggle of local mall employees that I see everyday, also leaving from their respective stores and kiosks. I hesitate for a second to let them pass, when at the end of the line, I experience yet another almost daily confrontation. It’s a man (who I have suitability begun calling ‘Kim Min Soo’), walking towards me in that distinctive unsteady gait. Originally, the path-crossings with Kim were merely annoyances, a 15-second waste of time that I was routinely forced to bear. Put in Western terms, Kim is just another irritating homeless drunk that reeks of soju and stale cigarettes. And if he were a fellow Westerner capable of speaking my language, I would probably despise him until the day I die due to his endless practice of pan handling. But he is not, and cannot. And so oddly, I do not. Consequently, since Kim is unable to ask me for my spare Won, all he can do is stare at me through his one good eye, put his hands above his head to form the shape of a heart, and flash me a toothless grin.<br /></div><br /><br /><div>Mr. Kim’s been performing this strange behavior each time we’ve made eye contact for the past several months, which initially struck me as if he were searching for some universal nonverbal sign that he could display for me so that I would pity him & empty my pockets to fund his ethanol consumption habit (which is, by the way, <u>literally</u> what soju <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soju#Soju_in_Korea">is</a>). To which I mentally replied, “Hey Kim, how about a tip? Try getting a job, starting with cleaning that garbage you call a house.” So, needless to say, I’ve never shown him a penny. But he’s still continued to smile at me and sign his gigantic over-the-head heart, a service that I never once commissioned, or even acknowledged.<br /></div><br /><br /><div>Obviously, I’ve given some thought to Mr. Kim lately, as he continues to confound me with each consecutive encounter. Possibly, he actually has been attempting to present me with some sort of kind gesture. Or maybe it really should confirm my original suspicions: that he’s just asking for money in the only way he knows how. But I’ve decided that his intention doesn’t even matter, and I’m best off by sticking with the former reasoning. So yesterday when Min Soo gave me the signal, I reached MY hands skyward, formed the heart-shaped gesture, and smiled back at him.</div><br /><br /><div align="center">Here's an image of a much younger, cleaner version of Mr. Kim:</div><br /><div align="center"></div><div><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 161px; display: block; height: 213px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5642416238901254306" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ZrPx0QAluQmh3hEz4MQpTY1hZYdZ7MRTpki_OP0rVSYqRlVegFsrCtGJv6Sr1S_QVY-9PelxP9tX0KbQaAUPHqululitAKKJ7B3heFMPO7jDMmR7fVfiwlMmMF4SedPt7qKmKJ_5YJRx/s320/heart" border="0" /></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-18865413685444685812011-04-27T18:13:00.000-07:002011-04-28T01:51:49.358-07:00Easter Weekend at Temple<div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600547756968675794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNkuMMeL74RkUK_KXW8VtWlGP0LwDRs4-BtR6B9D_dkYFGyztUyfGuFb-9D_aSn_M084F79to69jKwd3ic2H5ICoce-y8HoQoPbTyn1LTVrZTFPtqeoLYFQ5OR8iT0f0IlE_yoXYVQPBaw/s320/DSCN3024.JPG" /> <br /><div><br /><div>The events of this past weekend surprised and impressed me on multiple levels. First, there was the irony of this southeastern-US, Bible-Belt raised, former regular Christian church goer American spending one of the most significant foundational religious holidays at a temple of another religion. (Looking back, I believe this was my first ever Easter Sunday that I failed to spend several morning hours parked in a church pew. In fact, even last year, I still spent the holiday at a Korean church, even when I couldn't understand more than two spoken words of the entire service!) And then, taking the quirk of fate one step further, was that I completely forgot it was the Christian holiday until the day prior to our departure.</div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div>Joined by a group of friends, we were all exceptionally interested in learning about monk-life, and seeing (or being reminded) of what this practice was all about. So we did our research and scoured through books, picked a suitable temple to visit, and made preparations to take a spring weekend retreat. The weekend's activities also reinforced my fondness for templestays. This was my third similar Korean weekend stay, although the first time without a massive foreigner-heavy gaggle. The other two weekends were definitely enjoyable and relaxing. But now equipped with the abilities of hindsight and comparison, the previous stays felt very commercial and tourist-y. This time around, I was very much looking forward to an 'authentic' temple experience where I would be a big <em>exotic </em>(?, at least, according to Koreans) fish out of the collective small pond - to borrow from, and in an attempt to combine, two cliches.</div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div>Last week, the excitement of our pending trip was also combined with a fundamental apprehension that our group of non-Korean speaking foreigners were potentially entering into a world devoid of our native tongues. So this risk motivated me to brush up on some essential phrases and questions (although, there was a 93.8% probability that I wouldn't even slightly understand the given response to any of these questions!). Fortunately, our group was met by several other English speakers who happened to be living at the temple, and we were also enthusiastically (although, possibly begrudgingly) helped by several fellow group members who willingly provided translation services for us the entire weekend. So all that language concern was unneccessary, other than to motivate us to increase our cultural understandings (which, I guess, is a good result in and of itself).</div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div>Overall, the weekend was tremendously relaxing and refreshing, and all of the required efforts to make it happen were greatly successful. Everyone had an enjoyable time, hopefully feels even vaguely more comfortable with this country and culture, is a little more confident in the art of travel, and we left with many nice souvenirs and memories of our stay. I, for one, definitely have a new respect and appreciation for monks and monkhood, because lemme tell you friends, they are professional relaxers, but they surely earn it. For an outsider, the act of slowing the mind and taking a breather is rather easy (nay, enjoyable) to do for a short weekend. But the fortitude of the monks that do this for a living, day after day, is amazing. Their daily schedule includes a morning alarm before 4AM; strict, disciplined regiments of hundreds of full-prostration bows; and days on end of meditating, eating, and sleeping in contorted body positions on hard, wooden floors. And then there's the whole Buddhist precept thing: (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Precepts">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Precepts</a>). Stronger people than me.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Anyway, Happy Easter!</div></div><br /><div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBn1_0CExTVAZg2dsPn-R-cQnrujEztBoW8k-S2oFJrjYIdPVqNaw7k9LTQRAvnUOrUXdaJiqi_sIgzPU0L36pkY1EC0zWW1g60ADjqdIHB-qj0FQyLN2G4sWXh5cU7S-Gwtzdc-wCZR13/s1600/Temple+Group.bmp"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 257px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600546627026544050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBn1_0CExTVAZg2dsPn-R-cQnrujEztBoW8k-S2oFJrjYIdPVqNaw7k9LTQRAvnUOrUXdaJiqi_sIgzPU0L36pkY1EC0zWW1g60ADjqdIHB-qj0FQyLN2G4sWXh5cU7S-Gwtzdc-wCZR13/s320/Temple+Group.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrR8jPaHmxXr65jldYtIcUj-peTPfdVTO4BBe0v7K8zDgWznzmAQb78lTh8_dZ_Xp20H0hkAmmjvIeWWGPkyuPYT79ayfe5oVKoJSzWtKiOW_8POaF63d8eUJRxRuzPtFRp8keju1DlZ-N/s1600/DSCN2999.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 277px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 215px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600547896210154178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrR8jPaHmxXr65jldYtIcUj-peTPfdVTO4BBe0v7K8zDgWznzmAQb78lTh8_dZ_Xp20H0hkAmmjvIeWWGPkyuPYT79ayfe5oVKoJSzWtKiOW_8POaF63d8eUJRxRuzPtFRp8keju1DlZ-N/s320/DSCN2999.JPG" /></a></div></div></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-49358682164644125882011-03-04T05:44:00.000-08:002011-10-19T22:10:46.148-07:00A Traveler's Lesson: Relational Revolving Doors<span style="font-family: arial;font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" >I'll preface these next few entries by telling you that I've lately been in particular reflective and introspective moods. I feel to be changing as an explorer of this world so that my thoughts and outlooks sometimes don't even feel like my own, but that of a different person – sometimes even someone unknown and unrecognizable. Perhaps I'm gradually losing my mind by living for an extended time in a place where even going to the local <a href="http://www.publix.com/about/PublixHistory.do">Publix</a> (wait, <a href="http://www.lottemart.com/lim/handler/Index">Lotte Mart</a>) to say 'hello' (wait, '</span><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;" >안녕하세요<span lang="EN-US">') and to buy a gallon (wait, liter) of milk (wait, </span>우유<span lang="EN-US">) might feel like an insurmountable challenge. Or maybe I'm getting a healthy dose of perspective through this traveling experience. Or mayb</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;">e it’s just a result of general life experience (which is, in fact, the same thing when I'm concerned). Quite possibly, I'm actually becoming wiser through </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.fourthturning.com/html/phases_of_life.htm">phase of life</a><span style="font-family:arial;">. People told me this would happen.</span><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family:arial;" align="left"><span style="font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;"><span lang="EN-US">Installment #1 of <i>Matt's Life Lessons</i> ®:<br /><br />With each Korean sunset, and subsequently as the length of my <i>Matt the Expat</i> status grows, I seem to be more frequently reminded of memorable (yet previously personally insignificant) nuggets of wisdom to which I've been exposed throughout this thing called life. And in turn, the meanings of these quotes, anecdotes, and memories are constantly becoming more pronounced and morphing. One such line and one of the most indelible that I've heard too many times to count over here </span></span><span style="mso-bidi-mso-font-kerning:0pt;font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;" ><span lang="EN-US">is a common phrase shared between us Korean expats (and, I imagine, between expats in general) is that 'everyone comes with an expiration date'.</span></span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family:arial;" align="left"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-font-kerning:0pt;font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" > </span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family:arial;" align="left"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;">At first glance or turn of ear, this remark essentially, and quite succinctly, states the basic fact that 100% of fellow foreigners will eventually be gone from this place and your period of shared lives will come to an end. Pretty straightforward, right? But over time, the saying takes on a never-ending number of meanings, applications, and usages. And the beauty lies in the saying’s simplicity; it is an easily recallable analogy (e.g., comparing humans to perishable items). It might become a relationship warning (as in, 'you shouldn't get too attached to your newfound acquaintances, because you're bound to one day become unattached'). It can imply that each individual is predetermined with a date of expiry, as in their time stamp 'comes equipped' with the person even before their actual arrival. It could be a euphemism used for the purpose of describing the fleeti</span><span style="mso-bidi- mso-font-kerning:0pt;font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" >ng nature of expat-hood (watch for the preceding word in Webster's next year, and I want <span style="font-style: italic;">credit</span>). It might become a personal warning (reminding the displaced person that he/she must create an exit strategy and decide on an end date for this dance, for fear that he/she will surely become 'forever lost in this foreign land', lest they forget these words of wisdom). And the list goes on...</span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family:arial;" align="left"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-font-kerning:0pt;font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" > </span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family:arial;" align="left"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-font-kerning:0pt;font-family:굴림;" lang="EN-US">Personal intrusion: </span></i></b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I’ve arrived at my fifth month anniversary of my second year in Korea, and recently celebrated the end of my first semester teaching adult students. So after almost 17 months over here, I believe now is the appropriate time to start pondering the next chapter of my life (which I feel, in my case, is a natural and beneficial set of actions to take). My new place of employment is undoubtedly enjoyable and fulfilling for the time being, but I can't see myself doing this ESL thing for any lo</span><span style="mso-bidi-mso-font-kerning: 0pt;font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" >nger than two years. I have accepted the fact that I could be a competent teacher/instructor, but I lack the skills (and honestly, the willpower to gain them!) to ever become great, or even fully commit to this line of work. So you have an idea of where I stand on the topic of discussion...</span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family:arial;" align="left"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-font-kerning:0pt;font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" > </span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family:arial;" align="left"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;">Meanwhile back at the ranch, the</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;"> <i>everyone</i> to whom the saying evokes has also taken on endlessly more applications. Initially, <i>everyone</i> seemed to refer to a much smaller group of people. <i>Everyone </i>equaled only other fellow expats (and by the way, I wasn't yet included in that group either). Traveling is said to be fatal to small-mindedness (come to think of it, I could probably even write an entry about that saying, too!). Along these lines: now <i>everyone</i> has expanded into: foreigners (which is really all-inclusive); friends; students; staff members; co-workers; nice restaurant owners whom I meet once on a given Tuesday; annoying store clerks who don't provide adequate service but I can't properly disa</span><span style="mso-bidi- mso-font-kerning:0pt;font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" >gree with them because we don't share a common language; etc.</span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: left; font-family:arial;" align="left"><span style=" mso-bidi-mso-font-kerning:0pt;font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" > </span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family:arial;" align="left"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;">Throughout this time abroad, I've made so many great friends and met even more people that I'll never forget (both positively and negatively). It seems to me that forcing yourself to live outside of your comfort zone and sharing this experience with so many other members of humanity hastens the relationship lifecycle. Perhaps through this experience, I am now able to more quickly, accurately, & easily see people’s true qualities, reflect on my past relationships and their results, and consequently become more adept at meaningful human bonding skills. But that's just a guess.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family:arial;" align="left"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" face="arial" style="text-align: center; "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3EZ5r-AZ822K3-Oq5g9STKnsoEh9ckneH6CYE4J1b8J97yGiFZPdEXLGRVeExBrfqTD4jhUrYPBXur9qaB_vANwJ2C9p5GtIcTTrfCZzWEiiCWuxJC2lKp363c6T36agwD9alj5FZ5IUT/s1600/product-life-cycle.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3EZ5r-AZ822K3-Oq5g9STKnsoEh9ckneH6CYE4J1b8J97yGiFZPdEXLGRVeExBrfqTD4jhUrYPBXur9qaB_vANwJ2C9p5GtIcTTrfCZzWEiiCWuxJC2lKp363c6T36agwD9alj5FZ5IUT/s320/product-life-cycle.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5619104385438037378" border="0" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;">Product life cycle diagram, but you get the picture.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-font-kerning:0pt;font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" ><br /></span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: left; font-family:arial;" align="left"><span style=" mso-bidi-mso-font-kerning:0pt;font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" > </span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family:arial;" align="left"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;">For an example (and likely what got this whole reflection ball rolling), remember my student John (who I introduced back in</span><span style="mso-bidi- mso-font-kerning:0pt;font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" > the <a href="http://matt-lifeinkorea.blogspot.com/2011/02/beginnings-of-second-year-in-korea.html">February post</a>)? Well, I regret to announce that he is one of these people who are no longer with us. (Hold on, don't jump to any conclusions - he hasn't died or anything extreme like that. He is just no longer my student). He's actually been gone for some time now, so not to worry, I've worked through the whole grieving process. His absence truly saddened me for a variety of reasons. So let me take a moment to describe the kind of person John was to me:</span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: left; font-family:arial;" align="left"><span style=" mso-bidi-mso-font-kerning:0pt;font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family:arial;" align="left"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-font-kerning:0pt;font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" >John embodied exactly what I wished and hoped for in a mature, adult student (a group which I have longingly wanted to direct my instruction). He was a perfect model for the kind of person whom I have always wanted as a recipient of my attempts at teaching. He's a dedicated and motivated young man who was astoundingly serious in his studies. He was always attentive, engaged, and participatory in classes. He was constantly challenging me and always made me feel like I was benefiting from our relationship much more than him. I saw several factors that led to his wonderful qualities. Namely, he <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic">was</span></b> older and more mature than most of the other students in class. You see, South Korea maintains compulsory armed service for all its males, and John was the only student in the class who was old enough and had already fulfilled this requirement for his life. (Which served at least two purposes: developing his individual maturity and bringing the two of us together in a unique way that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-cultural_communication">transcended our very different cultures</a>.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family:arial;" align="left"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-font-kerning:0pt;font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family:arial;" align="left"><span style="mso-bidi- mso-font-kerning:0pt;font-family:굴림;font-size:100%;" lang="EN-US" >I could go on and on with countless cases like this, but further description is unnecessary as they share all similar traits. Our lives are filled with intersecting paths. Some of these exchanges endure for years. Some are simply a brief glance or shared word. Some of them create joy, happiness, and even elation. Some cause strife, pain, and suffering. But all of these experiences are equally significant and capable of creating lasting impacts. And I believe these processes and their results are what make us human.</span></p>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-63929628190791622942011-02-01T02:21:00.000-08:002011-10-27T21:19:21.381-07:00Beginnings of a Second Year in KoreaHi. Shalom. Aloha. Hola. Hallo. Bonjour. Hafa Adai. 안녕하세요 ('an yeong ha say yo' - remember that from the first post last year?). <div><br /><div>So I've decided that I love being an expat so much that I'm sticking around over here for another year of this ESL teaching deal. Life over here has been exactly what I forsaw and hoped that it would be. I learned so much last year from this experience of living abroad that I can't even fully explain it. So many great experiences had, people met, challenges faced and overcome, etc. I'll try to give you my Cliff Notes version of what is possible to learn while living among a completely different culture.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>If you have a chance, read through (or even re-read) some of this blog to get an idea of my past year's experience over here. I've been doing a bit of reflection lately & even I'm amazed at some of the things that I saw, did, and went through during this past year. I met so many great new life-long friends; saw some unforgettable sights; ate both odd and delicious foods (which, I found, are <em>not</em> mutually exclusive things); learned so much about different cultures, languages, and customs; and basically lived a once-in-a-lifetime year. Although, there's definitely been constant hardships, too. When getting directions to a bathroom and ordering food at a restaurant are examples of daily struggles, it really helps put your life in perspective.<br /><br /></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>Professionally (and I'm taking quite a bit of liberty in using that word), I spent last year teaching children how to communicate in English. And, at times, it was tough (actually, in terms of work, it was <em>always</em> tough!). I had never been (and, frankly, had never even been slightly comfortable) around small humans. And that's precisely how I viewed them - as lesser human beings. Underdeveloped bodies. Underdeveloped motor skills. Underdeveloped brains. I'm sure that I was a horrible teacher for most of the year. Actually, I'm pretty sure that I still am. But now that I'm separated from these annoying sound- and snot-producing machines, I do appreciate all that they taught and did for me. </div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><br /></div><div>Needless to say, I had been looking for University teaching jobs for quite some time, but to no avail. So as of a month ago, I was making preparations for a Korean departure - either permanently, or possibly just as a short vacation back down to Southeast Asia, followed by a return to Korea in a continued search for meaningful work. But then during the final weeks, as I was starting to make travel plans, I landed some more interviews & finally had a tough decision to make between several options! I decided on my current job, teaching adults at an ESL pseudo community college. My first few weeks of classes have been amazing & the students are great! I'm living in one of my favorite areas - a place that I spent many weekends last year. It feels like I've moved from Paducah, Kentucky to Las Vegas. My new apartment is amazing. Moving was a chore (as it always is), but I had some great friends to alleviate the suffering with a helping hand.</div><div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div><br />My new address is:</div><div>276-1 Hanrasigma Park #419</div><div>Seohyeon-dong, Bundang-gu</div><div>Seongnam-si, Gyonggi-do</div><div>South Korea 463-824</div><div><br />And, in an effort to showoff my Korean literacy, here is the same address written in Hangul:</div><div>경기도 성넘시 분당구 서현동 276-1</div><div>한라시그마파크 #419</div><div><br /></div><div>So, for those visual learners out there, here's a pictorial highlight show.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's the outside and lobby areas of my former apartment, and the corresponding pictures of my new place:<br /><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 204px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 145px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577053105107865346" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtDgbIOoptDtdJyJVwiyDAKTNvORUE5NHOhgPGvwmkHmTjKc7fPXSo83JK3vqbObfnd3j5Fbq_LWeZ8c9Zvw_ThLqNBFy-gjHzFjJMXpSqr7kwzBeUg19kQ7XYe_mda2Nh2PxxUuSPs1pF/s320/Hosu+lobby.bmp" border="0" /><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 197px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 144px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577053101372874194" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUcpWbbsYO0Urj3z7C7z_XU1KHAuT5rz169vrQnkh9qV9cjpzwulYVmXJyOg3UuHz9SFj4X2MQaKT0KKG0M-D4OXYy83HvmbBf6lpCXTIERWXgj1nBGhsLrrmWSRpe-h2wJdt36nnL9TbD/s320/Hosu+outside+apt.bmp" border="0" /><br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /><br /><br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 244px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 243px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577149363468403426" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70ECkF6cQZuPDpB7xKA3KerJU2Gs1G-7GycrZMjhlmWFmPsdSF2biwfMQgW0I05sS6cEnrab6f1yCauta5DWzsPuau4dR4I4f6trbHLLBSl3WG0jUEP7699k_8nhUO685M0m1tuiF9Usr/s200/Down+arrow.png" border="0" /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNHMThcqzQN97gSXxkTxHi9Isjp_1IzoJFkvdW9DREED4h65QdSd5rojeocay8XpJyLVdRQuOaCYhrW_nNhGF9KrqKWxO4pdpZosHR60VVIJlTovJaUClnKIow84ClzvOski4tI1WtgMJR/s1600/SP+Lobby.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 196px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 161px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577053109462396738" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNHMThcqzQN97gSXxkTxHi9Isjp_1IzoJFkvdW9DREED4h65QdSd5rojeocay8XpJyLVdRQuOaCYhrW_nNhGF9KrqKWxO4pdpZosHR60VVIJlTovJaUClnKIow84ClzvOski4tI1WtgMJR/s320/SP+Lobby.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2RJ9BsC58ozR10aLPC8ApbiePhynBCSCgLFwFVClEQBFCHfYJ3BttcpCr5xIrRfNg0-QNjIAwztJhBmOnbr4F4V_YO6DaOOm-eTbNBPU8c5dM6OYTOnbojMBfdEcl47tv22De7v_yJ8O/s1600/SP+Outside.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 201px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 160px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577053110364025106" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2RJ9BsC58ozR10aLPC8ApbiePhynBCSCgLFwFVClEQBFCHfYJ3BttcpCr5xIrRfNg0-QNjIAwztJhBmOnbr4F4V_YO6DaOOm-eTbNBPU8c5dM6OYTOnbojMBfdEcl47tv22De7v_yJ8O/s320/SP+Outside.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div><br /><br /><div> </div><div> </div><div>(Much improvement, huh?). And here's the change in my students and the actual inside of my apartment.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br />First, meet Johnny:</div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 244px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 212px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577149357213648050" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkj0RzMaekj0e84DF79zA_mHgSOYFNVfox-2raxC1mCqmR64b2E5cyWAOIwVatfMHMTDt5LgrD4NN4y9p0LbSbcixrNi3jxLHryrwpqvOFzCGpIc0mIg1Gl2ZU0N_MR3cD5WZwbqwtHfFp/s200/SLP+student.bmp" border="0" /></div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 194px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577157514318034002" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQZWCb3vRkyXREVnTdq3rH4a3X6T9xknixPQXRgY7xpMdA8tbEjN9ruCha5cYQNqRk9M7K4i10AMw5B_t0aoZnMpwOBoCMGfVQVrKELnjak_3tSZdZMJDcS9wefwQ3n9Ajcr_0mGZVUFuM/s200/Down+arrow.png" border="0" />Now, here's John:<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 235px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 223px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577149369968689458" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_8SFpdlLlac8FjxoC5PYzWYfUEGVwYMU0mODAI1JzxJwkyNXL-7woUA9HpXqlxqWLiFkwyGmjd8eS1hRQQsk_nY-un4qu7KG4g3REE-y2b6jPAg9xtIvJsGGWPecOhPeUlYI7v-_wv3CG/s200/John.bmp" border="0" /></div><div>Here's last year's apartment:<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 235px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 181px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577149360150589666" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-XaT3ol9WjeBePKyZcOdxCX90NtMjqP0q__8RFYZ9PTY2DDPpolH6ww-pnMoIfVIdfjYe2QcNhCu25xhC6htHJ4Ei4a0CMkj3JIixuFNVqYlF0pN5l-wI46oSYnCLAJ9xniWaagbN6_y2/s200/Hosu+apt.bmp" border="0" /></div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 194px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577150352552753234" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_394PQBq6ag_ALtrLXqehBMluoH-cQ1RZrK1-wg4iwkaT_HpV0IGbxi58BJ5MZT-Jwf1laIMBHCk_rNSGCuMc4b4lKn91Cb3Aimaz3H6YZHmyrCJuz3TW823-ar4nbrV5dbWUKk0vw4CQ/s200/Down+arrow.png" border="0" />And the new pad:</div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 232px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 171px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577149373037655714" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0jlmJ8qT-TpavHwzpQJIHgC_W8OQT_RpkLOV7XJpAfwWGKGdrpoM2aSY0tGgSjDWPJDofKNYyvcZOF8IuI70o-nULEncCAN59nQXkSTsl6WL4VQ17cHjIOcGAKKsw4q3bX6wYSc4jkK8J/s200/SP+Apt.bmp" border="0" /></div><div>(Note: notice how last year's 'lobby area' looks oddly similar to the <em>inside</em> of the apartment? That's not an optical illusion.)</div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br />And, for my favorite comparison... Check out last year's bathroom:</div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 150px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577157509796724850" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeNmdq_ee2_0TUynwjfi3SwSEfxU4lLAGHSAcSVGMC2LQCr06IjThiMCfo1JVSdY0wHpYxDSBJa_glcM3rdC8-zL3uPjRhS3ao2gTXzpj1DpgTxQks7_FuRSjqc4I7HbWCh7MkzFIfnity/s200/Hosu+bathroom.jpg" border="0" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 194px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577150352465085554" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif81dL_upLxuxsWx8aKJvi3YGxG-7voxr5blAPKbISBcJn42eMnPdTdvQGrxa1-YLX4isxOHniSF75IB13MCmx_S2HvCnQ0uP-2PtvS9x1heW1g4a3ZEP9m1FVPyMT2eZJH3g3O6As9PfD/s200/Down+arrow.png" border="0" />And the one this year:<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 150px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577157517885109714" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqEXrFcI7Ewl-WPRhNjBPE4zPXPdlg420-_4S7Dg2VW37706Nd31wa_1Vadz_OmOrhTQFCoYsM1OYPs5eWYtAXFsNXIl3AxtlQFDPzxtBmHUrlRYASG12gbuA3TrrePFjP8Wd_r6skWXGK/s200/SP+Shower.jpg" border="0" /> <div></div><div></div><div><br />So basically, I'm extremely happy. I'm fulfilled with my new job, coworkers & staff, students, neighborhood, and this country! If things continue for me like they did this past year, I may never leave Asia. But all good things must come to an end, right? Or do they? I'm also sure that I'll get to a point where I miss home. But not quite yet!</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Until next time, I'll be watching you from my CCTV..</div><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdoVXd_jlmWkL6rTuln4p0TUE-CdJYDHoxI4ouU2JBJFzgt-CJOtAss09GCuOjhfaskDHVivcULAZMqR0HN-eyopIbj9q969syznFeQKbDNbtPJCUHskeDkM_UXcHK10sOCHjAV1cLKSM0/s1600/SP+CCTV.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577161535890427522" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdoVXd_jlmWkL6rTuln4p0TUE-CdJYDHoxI4ouU2JBJFzgt-CJOtAss09GCuOjhfaskDHVivcULAZMqR0HN-eyopIbj9q969syznFeQKbDNbtPJCUHskeDkM_UXcHK10sOCHjAV1cLKSM0/s320/SP+CCTV.jpg" border="0" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-35955946752019073922010-12-01T08:59:00.000-08:002010-12-01T21:54:34.635-08:00Twas’ the night before CureesumaseuSorry for the hackneyed style. The terrorists made me do it. Here goes:<br /><br />Twas’ the night before Cureesumaseu, when all throughout the Korean hills,<br />Not a creature was stirring, not even the Sun of the Communist Future Kim Jong-Il.<br />The intercontinental ballistic missiles were stored inconspicuously by the DMZ with care,<br />In hopes that competent UN weapons inspectors soon wouldn’t show up there.<br /><br />Lee Myung-bak was nestled all snug in his bed,<br />While visions of a reunified republic danced in his head.<br />And ajuma Kim in her hanbok, and I in my hilarious Babo t-shirt,<br />Had just settled our minds that this season we would not get hurt.<br /><br />When from across the neighboring norebang there arose such a fuss,<br />I sprang from my ondol mat to see if it was the regular used electronics’ bus.<br />Away to the window I ran like a kindergartener with a belly full of candy,<br />Flew open the glass and thought, ‘well this is just dandy’.<br /><br />When, what to my unbelieving eyes should come into view,<br />But a cute little jeep, joined by lilliputan DPRK soldiers. But only a few.<br />Apparently, this was the mightiest military division they could spare,<br />And left me with a sense of confusion where all I could do was stare.<br /><br />With the grotesquely obese senior officer, fat, yet quick like a steed,<br />I thought, this must be the only countryman they can afford to feed.<br />Slower than a waygook using chopsticks his entourage came,<br />And he barked and he hollered target locations by name!<br /><br />“To Hongdae! And Sinchon! Then Myeongdong and Yongsan!<br />Onto Insadong! And Gangnam! To Jongno and Bundang!<br />To the top of Namsan Tower! Jump over the fence!<br />Now hurry and charge! Race, race away hence!"<br /><br />His eyes were so dim. His face full of fear!<br />He was terrified, for just word, the allies would soon be here.<br />His original intention shrank like samgipsal on a hotplate,<br />And he realized their invasion attempt would just have to wait.<br /><br />He sprang into his jeep, to his team gave a command,<br />And away they all sauntered like a paresthetic right hand.<br />I heard him announce in broken English they would be leaving,<br />"Melly Culeesumaseu to arr, and to arr a good evening!"Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-15220754128646043172010-10-09T01:56:00.000-07:002010-12-01T08:58:54.917-08:00I Survived The Most Terrifying Experiece Ever<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEl7Ojh0Kjg5rY4YaF0QFLLBydGkCVfOMtMlNK-KQhjc2n4dh6_nG9aJoFsWgT7esUiscEF6IVBNSktiWDrvuBMgOqa5txagN-QAera1fKo4h1wJlkPqY2iXvEJS9LK7XyYKhjWtdPGlw/s1600/DSCN2473.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526731961248176914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEl7Ojh0Kjg5rY4YaF0QFLLBydGkCVfOMtMlNK-KQhjc2n4dh6_nG9aJoFsWgT7esUiscEF6IVBNSktiWDrvuBMgOqa5txagN-QAera1fKo4h1wJlkPqY2iXvEJS9LK7XyYKhjWtdPGlw/s320/DSCN2473.JPG" /></a> I might be a little strange, but I've always been a pretty huge fan of laughing. Over the years, I've also come to enjoy public speaking. So guess what I did this past Thursday? Yep, combined the two passions and jumped feet first into performing some standup comedy. I was joined by two buddies in attacking the stage, and we organized quite the group of friends to come cheer us and and provide some much needed moral support.<br /><br />It was quite the experience standing up in front of 100+ wall-to-wall people armed only with my self-manufactured weapons of humor (I'll call my creations WMDs - Weapons of Mediocre Destruction). Now that I can say that I'm somewhat 'experienced', it is an excellent feeling to know that I took on the challenge. I guess there could be multitudes of reasons for doing something like this (and voluntarily exposing any vulnerability you may have to a group of complete strangers). Maybe people do it for a shot at fame? Just the rush of doing something crazy? A chance to pickup some comedy groupies? Winning cash and/or prizes? I guess my decision was influenced by a bit of all of it, and maybe even some other reasons.<br /><br />What did I learn? Well, to be cliché, like anything, you can't really relate unless you have also done it. This was perhaps the first time in my life that I've even performed <em>anything</em> in front of strangers. So if you've at least done that, maybe you can relate to the feeling that there is none, and never will be, any kind of concrete consensus or absolute critique of your performance. Maybe you thought that it sucked. Maybe half of the crowd thought the same thing. Surely at least your friends will give you some sympathetic compliments. But, just maybe, some people actually genuinely enjoyed part of it. I've also come to a point in my life that I generally don't get anxious or nervous beforehand when giving a speech or taking part in some activity. Of course, you should always be prepared, but what purpose is served by getting worked up before you even start something? True, maybe you will die while participating in this activity. Maybe you will suffer a stroke and end up having to feed yourself through a tube for the rest of your life. But guess what, most likely, none of this will happen. And even if it does, why should you worry about it before it may even happen? Now you're stressed out, <strong>and</strong> you have a busted brain.<br /><br />All of this is to say that we humans can control our emotions and even our states of mind prior to stepping out of our comfort zone, but we definitely can't always manage the after effects. It was a very strange feeling after delivering the set. I've always heard musicians say things like how they feel that with each live performance they give, they leave behind a bit of their soul. I always thought that must be some artist-load-of-BS, but maybe there's something to it. I felt as though I had just taken a huge mind dump on the stage, so of course you feel a little bit empty afterwards.<br /><br />And another point - I have an even greater respect for professional comedians now. That's hard work! There are so many different aspects that you must consider - the preparation, delivery, strategy, timing, crowd management, human psychology, and the list goes on.. As I found, the venue and mood of the crowd are also so very key. And that's another thing that we can't manage. With my particular venue (i.e., a foreigner bar in Seoul, Korea) it seemed a bit like the crowd wasn't even really there to listen to comedy! It was just more like a typical night at the bar, temporarily interrupted by some assholes who wanted to grab a mic and hear themselves talk.<br /><br />So that's it in a nutshell. Frustrating. Exhausting. Nerve wracking. Ambiguous. So much doubt, uncertainty, and so many opportunities to second-guess yourself. But, overall I'm glad to say that I've actually had the experience. I have tried several dozen times to upload a video of the performance, but the digital gods are not smiling on the practice. But if you're interested, and we're Facebook friends, check out the video there.<br /><p><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526731965934662866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNTRQ1BJPqfCEeTkjhsfAD2d704_f64B-wvfX4KvzlwdI5CO6O9-uYqo4kFsp82jSLxRmypEUlKqTQBVr8X9B80bH9yV3CrZGcqvrWedHp_9Cq9RBrjoigYIAj08Tave033m_xjVpXTK4a/s320/DSCN2474.JPG" /></p><p></p><p></p><p>To keep the train rolling, shortly after that first time (exactly 3 nights later), my other buddy also wanted to give some standup a shot. A local bar holds an open mic for acoustic music on Sunday nights. I was doubtful that the owner would even allow a couple guys get up on the stage just to yammer. But we finally got the go ahead, and we opened up for the real talent. It actually did feel a little bit easier that second time, so maybe I'll keep trying this stuff..</p>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-40721261091032809812010-08-07T03:21:00.001-07:002010-08-07T21:59:30.001-07:00Great Southeast Asian Tour<div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihruSh-9VqO-zXzW-6fpTOT5fqToUaarrpn3rkan49u0i9W58on9jW5XRdETiWlTYA1bxO9Eq2DDuFNP8mr6M8YP7WoP88aquMEDxOn9MZMiIshOjtuMggD5KeadZMl-sNwV2qymDNctVU/s1600/DSCN2002.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502680558794453890" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 250px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 170px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihruSh-9VqO-zXzW-6fpTOT5fqToUaarrpn3rkan49u0i9W58on9jW5XRdETiWlTYA1bxO9Eq2DDuFNP8mr6M8YP7WoP88aquMEDxOn9MZMiIshOjtuMggD5KeadZMl-sNwV2qymDNctVU/s320/DSCN2002.JPG" border="0" /></a>Hi everyone! It's been far too long since I've written anything on this, and I'm afraid that I've forgotten how to type. I've had so many interesting events and weekends to write about, but have been so busy with all of them, that I haven't found the time to actually put them down on paper (or, for that matter, computer screen). But I've finally had such a monumental week worthy of telling about, and if I don't spill the beans soon, all the details will be lost forever. Last week was our summer vacation, and I knew that I had to do something big or go home. Part of me just wanted a relaxing week of sleeping, watching TV, and destroying my liver in peace and quiet. But since I am living in Asia, and fearing that I will never get this chance again, I decided to book so many flights around the continent that it would make my head spin. And spin it did. In the 9 days I had, I stepped foot in 5 Asian countries (which is kind of misleading, because I'm counting my current home and an airport layover). The first stop was Cambodia, then Thailand, and wrapping it all up was the Philippines. So without further ado, here is a short recount of the week:<br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><br /><div><strong>Cambodia</strong><br /></div><br /><div>I caught my first flight from Seoul on Saturday, the 24th and made my way towards Phnom Penh: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phnom_Penh">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phnom_Penh</a>. After a few hours and a layover in China, we arrived in Cambodia's capital. If you were like me, you don't know much about this little country. Cambodia was the first time I've been in a third world country. The conditions are quite shocking to someone from the Western world. Apart from what many Westerners would call uncomfortable or even scary, the economy definitely has its advantages for a tourist. Ever paid $.25 for a delicious Asian meal? How about $1 for a sackful of souvenirs? I have.</div><div><br /> </div><div>Another bonus on this leg of my trip was the great travel companions. The flight to Cambodia was full of other foreign teachers from Korea (since we all share the same week of school closing). I left for this week with essentially no plans, and was going it alone with absolutely no hotel reservations, itineraries, or schedules. Very different from all of my other vacations, because I am, at heart, a planner down to the last detail.<br /></div><br /><div>So during the flight from Korea, I met some really cool folks. The first was another solo guy from the States. The others were a couple from Australia and Ireland. Motley crew, huh? Well luckily for us, we had one prepared person in our newly formed group. Jo, the Irish girl, had done her homework and already had a hostel in mind. She had friends who had previously visited Cambodia, so we had inside information.</div><div><br /></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhySRHxHMoeMr9SKcXyTVZR5HhG61WtT-g8G9eYryNmjJdyn1avdqODRjHa217RzC_ydvMbOQQwABUhU4_wpgYGbD2hkG_MKqwssHa_O1vqf1B61fR2veOT4GCutvQ8bqEzEY6myVjGhRil/s1600/DSCN1846.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502652515886848754" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 224px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 164px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhySRHxHMoeMr9SKcXyTVZR5HhG61WtT-g8G9eYryNmjJdyn1avdqODRjHa217RzC_ydvMbOQQwABUhU4_wpgYGbD2hkG_MKqwssHa_O1vqf1B61fR2veOT4GCutvQ8bqEzEY6myVjGhRil/s320/DSCN1846.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div>On Sunday, our plan was to see all of the notable attractions the capital has to offer. I had heard of most of them, as the city only has a small few. And two-thirds of them are pretty depressing. Our first destination was to the S21 museum (see picture for a glimpse at the makeshift jail). S21, also known as Tuol Sleng, was Kampuchea's most famous (or infamous) stop on the genocide circuit. It operated from 1975-1979 (yes folks, that recent. It mostly flew under the radar because a good portion of the world was busy with another political snafu in a neighboring country), and saw an estimated 17,000 prisoners. Prior to torturing and eventually expiring doomed souls, Tuol Sleng was just a normal high school. Imagine. Basically, the Khmer Rouge targeted in this genocide all educated Cambodians, for fear that they would see the error in the communist thinking and incite a revolution. For more information on S21, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuol_Sleng_Genocide_Museum">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuol_Sleng_Genocide_Museum</a>.<br /></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4DpvXJ-5LTjTYu5nPr39h_Diu8h-QnvLTzN3tDhgvOTsx1ODQiRCTuWlh7Dqdab0zhK0NhJNZpGvfzvFanP-EHS__ipokyNA6eZ-1EHvzrYK3GdwMWTKbGGtrhG04KL6a0M4e8ZxN8YES/s1600/DSCN1869.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502652523232191490" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 146px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 211px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4DpvXJ-5LTjTYu5nPr39h_Diu8h-QnvLTzN3tDhgvOTsx1ODQiRCTuWlh7Dqdab0zhK0NhJNZpGvfzvFanP-EHS__ipokyNA6eZ-1EHvzrYK3GdwMWTKbGGtrhG04KL6a0M4e8ZxN8YES/s320/DSCN1869.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwzjsi-xa_5bzuZ8GAUkKZW20cg4ZILYXOvkyVbWhUitxXnhei7j4jUWqrBOzGNcAPBDIsLX3lZyYmKVZGpgF3AnPkCFj0G6OKFFI8HoQrxkOAO4HKJU05xSrpGNrEoyDFxHFTqEqx15ZQ/s1600/DSCN1881.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502652532996982034" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 205px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 162px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwzjsi-xa_5bzuZ8GAUkKZW20cg4ZILYXOvkyVbWhUitxXnhei7j4jUWqrBOzGNcAPBDIsLX3lZyYmKVZGpgF3AnPkCFj0G6OKFFI8HoQrxkOAO4HKJU05xSrpGNrEoyDFxHFTqEqx15ZQ/s320/DSCN1881.JPG" border="0" /></a>After educating ourselves on the beginnings and details of the genocide, we hopped in a tuk-tuk and made our way outside of town to one of the 'killing fields'. There are dozens of killing fields one can see, and this one has been designed with tourists in mind. It is called Cheoung Ek, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choeung_Ek">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choeung_Ek</a>, and was host to a mass excavation in the 80's that uncovered nearly 9,000 bodies buried in the area. My first picture shows the stupa (in beautiful Khmer architecture) that holds remains found in the fields. And the other shows one of many shelves inside the huge structure. Obviously pretty disturbing. Luckily for us, we tagged along with another group on a guided tour of the grounds, which provided a lot of extra information. We spent several hours walking through the massive pits that served as graves and learning about the methods used there. One of the most indelible parts of the tour was when our guide repeatedly pointed out areas where debris has still recently come to the surface. I say debris to include bone, teeth, clothing, shackles, rope, etc. Gross.<br /></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLzPVSLJ7B6raI0nPcVduIHQZRqpI6v-dLKXCkGnlrqIBtxOHrAl3hWARQYTCC0H09VWGOoatrH_8ux8-IoJR8HlGwS11mpCobTAbNWChdTMlLG-11IxbuRl5Q9BkxEBXaioOdyIqcua5C/s1600/DSCN1932.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502652546725154674" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 218px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 146px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLzPVSLJ7B6raI0nPcVduIHQZRqpI6v-dLKXCkGnlrqIBtxOHrAl3hWARQYTCC0H09VWGOoatrH_8ux8-IoJR8HlGwS11mpCobTAbNWChdTMlLG-11IxbuRl5Q9BkxEBXaioOdyIqcua5C/s320/DSCN1932.JPG" border="0" /></a>So after seeing enough death to last a lifetime, we made the best decision of the week. Following a very quiet tuk-tuk ride back into the city, we arrived at a beautiful site: the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda. The complex includes dozens of specimens of gorgeous Cambodian architecture, which is very unique due to the blending of French colonial influence, Buddhism, and Khmer style. The picture will show you a little bit of what I'm talking about. The Royal Palace was definitely the best place to end our day, as I'm sure it prevented a week of nightmares.</div><div><br /></div><br /><div>I had a brief day in Cambodia on Monday, so after some discount shopping and eating of tasty vittles, I hopped on the next plane bound for Bangkok. I definitely hope to return to this beautiful country someday, hopefully this time to see some more uplifting sites, like some temples, including the famous Angkor Wat. But enough future talk, it's time to enjoy the present. Onward to the Land of Smiles!<br /><br /></div><div><strong>Thailand</strong><br /></div></div><br /><div>I'm aware that I didn't get nearly a full experience of the country, as I only had one night to spend in the capital city: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangkok">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangkok</a>. I knew beforehand that I wouldn't have time to see much of anything (it was a quick one night, an in and out deal). But after so much talk about the notorious 'One Night in Bangkok', I knew that I had to do it.<br /></div><br /><div>I stayed on Khao Sarn Road, which you know if you've ever visited Thailand, or even know someone who has. It's the Bangkok tourist trap, and houses a smattering of shops, restaurants, and massage parlors to attract Westerners. It does boast cheap hotels and many street vendors where you can buy goods and/or food. And if you're colorblind, let me help you out - all of the lights are red.<br /></div><br /><div>So after officially spending my one night, I spent Tuesday wandering around the city in search of the hidden gems - temples, buddhas, and food. Indeed I saw some nice sites, although the one place I really hoped to see was closed on my only day in the city (just my luck!) - the Grand Palace. But apparently, it was a special day in the city because all of the other temples were packed, and during the afternoon the roads were briefly closed for a presidential motorcade. </div><div> </div><div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502680584935796338" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 237px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 151px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPm3GMqwJVio8B7eX1l0iFTbseAw4SsrLtzYFeYAVN39YuRX0LKUAPagS5dLq8jKFSjf38_F6eoZIeVPnLHFNmZZ9XLq6aOouu5DaC04ryaoTtY52f8zo8gWMefa2wBi83YRq3UFV-hND4/s320/DSCN2096.JPG" border="0" /></div><div>I came upon several nice old temples, and my favorite was Wat Pho: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Pho">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Pho</a>. I wasn't able to get a Thai massage in the temple, something for which it is famous. The temple is basically a small city, without restaurants (there's plenty of those outside the walls). I went inside a few of the buildings to pay my respects to The Enlightened One and take in the tranquility of it all.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><div><br /> </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502727149402939554" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 181px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 201px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Govl3hpZk6v2ZeY11WmIDsnOeObii0oOmOvqArXyWwqHxs1smQ5hTe3-CtbUjeBtHrKuU2NJ3DDJ871Ovvc4rN4kRHYDNRdU9aIc_Qxu8VmSumlev9c4jxh8SBeIfB_JNsa0ykBjpz87/s320/DSCN2070.JPG" border="0" /></div><div>Speaking of tranquility, if you've never taken a nap in a 3,000 year old Thai temple, I highly recommend it. Once you get past the heat and humidity, it will be by far the best rest you've ever had.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502680574610334962" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 247px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 146px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8a2uTc1btdNDnRVDMoaodIQFfp0PHlL87iYBK1F4nGKPTl7x5773rP9tt5Gu3UXelwfkihVM3Hp1pXn5MeAd9Ty3dR4rBXx35LePtSyWEmYYBoLTcislEQ3nAXfDHpEFPjfOSHwreoJO1/s320/DSCN2071.JPG" border="0" /><br /></div><div><br />I still haven't finished that book, but it's a good read.</div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><br /> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsFKFLNZgCJFDKUCFADNVmeCVQ9bE2aKcGvdGw6EsrqFVCMzfeSeFaEjBXgb1sXS93dU73Ym-3DxHl0SU5cUafGfMWMmZw5Mb2d34tEx0EtERjs13Loa7OwG6OJIJlZp1fvEYYoCEqc30A/s1600/DSCN2106.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502680593728856642" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 243px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 154px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsFKFLNZgCJFDKUCFADNVmeCVQ9bE2aKcGvdGw6EsrqFVCMzfeSeFaEjBXgb1sXS93dU73Ym-3DxHl0SU5cUafGfMWMmZw5Mb2d34tEx0EtERjs13Loa7OwG6OJIJlZp1fvEYYoCEqc30A/s320/DSCN2106.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><div>Back to the important details. Here's a plate of curry I bought from a nearby street vendor. For $2, I got the best dish that money can buy.</div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><div> </div><div>That's about all of my visit to Thailand. I saw the gritty side, and I now definitely need to visit the rest of the country and take the ubiquitous ride on an elephant and sit on a Thai beach somewhere. This now brings us to my third and final stop of the week:<br /><br /></div><div><strong>The Philippines</strong><br /></div><br /><div><br />After a long and restless redeye flight, I arrived in Manila at 5AM on Wedn<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgspwEvPKiaOoHeORjsk2Xfe6k4-ChDm9AGnAJbmtAYztw_SI2pKcEfQOO3MkNmjT74vQNlcO4y3aGH_COFWrv6K-L8OLZbAbG55l2iksoU3QeOtdYC2ORbUXkCtI5f9QW-tJ0K_0IKCnWH/s1600/DSCN2146.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502724516474026066" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 139px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgspwEvPKiaOoHeORjsk2Xfe6k4-ChDm9AGnAJbmtAYztw_SI2pKcEfQOO3MkNmjT74vQNlcO4y3aGH_COFWrv6K-L8OLZbAbG55l2iksoU3QeOtdYC2ORbUXkCtI5f9QW-tJ0K_0IKCnWH/s320/DSCN2146.JPG" border="0" /></a>esday. Back in January, during my first week in Korea, and in the midst of reeling from culture shock, I met a great guy from the Philippines who was also on vacation. He graciously invited me to come visit his country someday. So come 6 months later, I did. I spent a total of 4.5 days in the Philippines, and was very fortunate to know a local. He was a great help in showing me around Manila where he lives, and we also took a relaxing 2-day trip down south to a beach for some great fun in the sun and scuba diving. I was particularly interested in the jeepneys throughout the country, (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeepney">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeepney</a>), which are the unofficial symbol of the island nation.</div><br /><div><br /> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_XBNJaekRkj8uiWp09kONsA2NXWJnrJu6_odpO46xHKzuMP7814tWF8dD1_3n2qslxNeJEE1T8maGhRA4HqEFvTadxgzh36bPgd4cpEui3QpMDpagEIoGv745-_R9avTq6maobS10JF8Y/s1600/DSCN2445.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502736316423779250" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 131px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_XBNJaekRkj8uiWp09kONsA2NXWJnrJu6_odpO46xHKzuMP7814tWF8dD1_3n2qslxNeJEE1T8maGhRA4HqEFvTadxgzh36bPgd4cpEui3QpMDpagEIoGv745-_R9avTq6maobS10JF8Y/s320/DSCN2445.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div> </div><div>Manila isn't the optimal tourist destination. I had been adequately warned of this by my buddy. But despite the horrible poverty, there were some very cool encounters. One morning while walking down the street, I shot some hoops with this little fella:</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVQbJ9RpKrbKkFXIEDvi3f2ZB6YAvfuIQOdUq-2qg2l-S8ah2e15Gw-5f4fDTcqs0F-qSYHFeVyiBFabUiSzUwPI9jChqhuocNwATRXIeDoAQ3oaMnMlETOexEWXpYageezfDgUVoNSrTE/s1600/DSCN2165.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502724528352435506" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 215px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 136px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVQbJ9RpKrbKkFXIEDvi3f2ZB6YAvfuIQOdUq-2qg2l-S8ah2e15Gw-5f4fDTcqs0F-qSYHFeVyiBFabUiSzUwPI9jChqhuocNwATRXIeDoAQ3oaMnMlETOexEWXpYageezfDgUVoNSrTE/s320/DSCN2165.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div> </div><div>My time in Manila was heavily imprinted with a constant and strong desire of constant motion. This was to escape the hoards of homeless and prostitutes that are, in a word, relentless. But there were also many good things about being in the city, one of them being the gorgeous sunsets. For a glimpse, check this out:<br /></div><br /><div><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502724545052869394" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 216px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 144px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjsZF56DZCyTYli4HogtveS6fEALsFZlsCyCua1or_yGe1L3ot2u5FwCljRISbd5UiVPsp3ACFoS1P-xEveGB4ek4jX1wGfTZGSFU_Vsm_lFAgmvj9qzmk6z5tiE0dwgx_ZYZfrSRdPZJ2/s320/DSCN2340.JPG" border="0" /> My favorite part of the trip to the Philippines was definitely the beach. On Thursday, we drove down to the Batangas province(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batangas">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batangas</a>) for a most relaxing two days. We stayed at a nice diving resort along the water, and were the only guests in the entire place! This was the general theme in the area, as July is smack in the middle of the rainy season. This made for no crowds with which to compete and cheaper prices. And the cherry on top was that it never even rained! The diving was also some of the best I've ever done. The water is so unbelievably clear, and we saw tons of coral and colorful fish.<br /></div><div> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMqmqZwyPLmf1MxjcvbcmMv7cOpe1wLx19N6GEVsLTysiXx8ohoNvw9Ncnu16ViosgwrJfQUbfhsbewiw9r6EqQKj7G_6pV4EXxAG-UibynhWSC1q_H6HCbtJqFi6Wzen8Tfwoeygj4FYI/s1600/DSCN2398.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502724558909093330" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 210px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 124px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMqmqZwyPLmf1MxjcvbcmMv7cOpe1wLx19N6GEVsLTysiXx8ohoNvw9Ncnu16ViosgwrJfQUbfhsbewiw9r6EqQKj7G_6pV4EXxAG-UibynhWSC1q_H6HCbtJqFi6Wzen8Tfwoeygj4FYI/s320/DSCN2398.JPG" border="0" /></a>I would consider myself an experienced eater, even a true connoisseur. I've dabbled in many different country's cuisines and put a lot of 'strange' things down my gullet. But I obviously wasn't fully briefed on Filippino food. Two firsts for me were 1) a native dish called sisig. Sisig is pork meat (well, kind of): (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisig">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisig</a>). A look at the picture will give you an idea of where they get this meat from. And 2) is known as balut (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut_(egg">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut_(egg</a>)). <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_71t0rH0aoGWWvuTdvA9uk9RNloLDUZulpLkYkVT-RE8LSE7oupwdUIrDGXWMMB3kGNcd4gBf2Z25JC-Uw3FOhJKDtgYvMGAojmW2K2S4rgIVz9q1ZaYMfBw9obZ4h-kHunDiqee6UQv/s1600/DSCN2439.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502736325360170098" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 210px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 136px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_71t0rH0aoGWWvuTdvA9uk9RNloLDUZulpLkYkVT-RE8LSE7oupwdUIrDGXWMMB3kGNcd4gBf2Z25JC-Uw3FOhJKDtgYvMGAojmW2K2S4rgIVz9q1ZaYMfBw9obZ4h-kHunDiqee6UQv/s320/DSCN2439.JPG" border="0" /></a>Balut is a boiled fertilized (to various stages of development) duck egg. Yes, fertilized. The one I ate was a fully formed fetus, with distinguishable appendages. Sounded pretty gross, but was actually quite tasty. And when you close your eyes, it isn't weird at all. At least, that's what my friend Bear Grylls tells me.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Finally, Sunday came and ended my time in paradise. Time to return to the real world of stress and screaming children. After buying some postcards and wandering around the slums one last time, I boarded my plane back for Seoul. Oh God, I want to retire and move to Cambodia.</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-91021559633689909442010-05-02T08:25:00.000-07:002010-06-13T09:18:40.775-07:00Gluttony, Swimming & Friends with cars, Suwon Fortress, Children's DayHi again from Asia!<br /><br /><br />My first love is and will forever be: eating. I have always been a 'big' eater, and have also fortunately been involved in many sports and exercise activities over the years. Good thing, or I'd probably weigh well over 300 lbs by now. Well, I have finally found a place where eating like a pig is smiled upon, praised even - and that place is where I now call home. This could likely be my heaven. Let me explain: Whenever I eat anywhere here in Korea, I always receive compliments for being a 'healthy' eater. I have gotten this from my boss at school (where daily I eat heaps of rice and whatever is offered), from friends' mothers who invite me to come back after I eat their monthly grocery allotment, from restaurant owners (who of course have a vested interest, since I probably pay for the first year of their kids college education).<br /><br /><br />If I had to compile a list of my favorite Korean foods, the top of that list would say dalk galbi. Galbi is to us Westerners is 'Korean barbeque', and galbi usually consists of either beef or pork. If you ask me, you can't go wrong with either of these two, but 'dalk' (chicken) is even more delicious! There's a great local dalk galbi restaurant owned by a very nice gentleman. I'm sure he makes dishes other than dalk galbi, but I have no idea what those are (and probably never will - I have no need for them). Another favorite Korean food has become 'gop chang', which is ox stomach. Yes, sounds a little unappetizing at first, and the texture is a little, how should I say - chewy. But it is mighty tasty from the restaurants I frequent. What else you ask? Well there's dankas (breaded pork cutlets), bibimbap (bowls full of rice, meats/seafood, eggs, etc), cold buckwheat noodles (which are really tasty, and I had just thought the name was a character from the Little Rascals), and ttoekboki (rice cakes) just to name a few. Korean food in general is very different than other Asian foods, and is a bit of an acquired taste, but I am now a convert.<br /><br /><br />I have also mentioned that we foreigners get together every so often to indulge our 'western food' cravings. We've had a few potluck dinners (which seem to be becoming a montly tradition), and American-style barbeques. The hosts of the barbeques say that they only had one of these last fall, but have already held two in the past month, since the weather has warmed up again.<br /><br /><br />Our school recently had a farewell party for one of the supervisors. This was another opportunity for our boss to show us how great he is. We went to a local buffet, and food and drinks aplenty were paid for by Mr. Yoon. It was essentially a company sponsored food festival.<br /><br /><br />A group of friends usually goes to the local swimming pool on Saturday mornings. The pool is attached to our City Hall complex, which is about 20 minutes away by bus. Another bonus is the free shuttle provided to the city hall area. So I joined the group a few weeks ago and it was a great time. It had been many months, maybe even years, since I'd swam for the purpose of exercise. I forgot what a good workout it is, and that afterwards I should have an entire slaughtered animal on hand. But the greatest revelation that came from our swimming trip, was realizing how nice it is to have a car again. Since I've been here in Korea, I've never especially had a need for my own auto. Public transportation is quick and accessible, and the cold weather put a damper on a lot of excursions. All this has changed now that Mother Nature's mood has changed. So now I am super glad to have made some Korean friends with their own wheels. My Korean buddy Johgwha joined us on my first swimming trip (and he has a car, so was able to give us a ride). It was excellent not having to rely on the bus - which meant no waiting at the bus stop, and a much quicker commute time. We went swimming a second week, but this time Jongwha wasn't able to join us. So we had to catch the bus to get to the pool, but fortunately met a nice guy while there named John. Well, after we had know John and his dad for about 20 minutes, they offer to give us a ride back (ah, Korean hospitality)! My friends Travis and Megan also last month bought a car. They have a dog, who is not allowed on public buses. So, of course, the obvious choice was to find a cheap used Kia that they can use as a knockaround car. The past month they've been taking weekend trips all over Korea (for a camping trip, to beaches, to visit friends, etc). I'm pretty jealous of their newfound freedom. It recalls the days when I was a freshman in high school and only a handful of the cool kids had their licenses so could actually drive.<br /><br /><br />I visited a local fortress here in Yongin. It's called Hwaseong, and is in the town of Suwon (about 30 mins away by bus). Us foreigners usually simply refer to it as 'Suwon fortress'. It's a very old guard post, and was also used basically as a vacation palace for the royal family. I guess Yongin was a nice place to relax and get away from the rat race in Seoul. Like it still is today!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0zdyACRpDCZ8uXFvRuNbb-ByN4o97fvdESkM9E5tRZa24fKUscPr4a99pu2SR_b3iPJxe9lLqBlu-HsCXHMxTr8WhoTEJhGSjp1QHN4NimjrIgN_sUOP9xS8LxL2irjoQL6dLg7RSy5O7/s1600/DSCN0992.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482286920129881922" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 197px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 149px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0zdyACRpDCZ8uXFvRuNbb-ByN4o97fvdESkM9E5tRZa24fKUscPr4a99pu2SR_b3iPJxe9lLqBlu-HsCXHMxTr8WhoTEJhGSjp1QHN4NimjrIgN_sUOP9xS8LxL2irjoQL6dLg7RSy5O7/s320/DSCN0992.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbUADuNgmac2XHsFI7_JbchRNYDnCRoTLNHTSGWQ2UoEMEdVBXrwZ4-vOeB4_9GX4kYE3mR52zwfRLa5GdBwf2g7DGG1I73Qsw7ebxtbnjHe8H0qTbVfrTiE9XL6-Hhp1CGHb6bgsz961N/s1600/DSCN0981.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482286927479881250" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 211px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 148px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbUADuNgmac2XHsFI7_JbchRNYDnCRoTLNHTSGWQ2UoEMEdVBXrwZ4-vOeB4_9GX4kYE3mR52zwfRLa5GdBwf2g7DGG1I73Qsw7ebxtbnjHe8H0qTbVfrTiE9XL6-Hhp1CGHb6bgsz961N/s320/DSCN0981.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvIE_c2T7gAkvb5RTm2DYKfAaGVbrgRM5wTb7hNEy_SZtGmtbCbBWjRafwq7uv9tkhF7759sU4tm6RtmEDQrPhTED_WO10oPUQ5x4pY0V7VEpy4jfl4JYUTA22yLirsh3GCZ6erITIR7Fm/s1600/DSCN0996.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482286938165422290" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 210px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 149px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvIE_c2T7gAkvb5RTm2DYKfAaGVbrgRM5wTb7hNEy_SZtGmtbCbBWjRafwq7uv9tkhF7759sU4tm6RtmEDQrPhTED_WO10oPUQ5x4pY0V7VEpy4jfl4JYUTA22yLirsh3GCZ6erITIR7Fm/s320/DSCN0996.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />May 5th was another great holiday over here - Children's Day. It's a magical day for everyone to celebrate skinned knees, colds, and Korean kids studying until their noses bleed (I'm told this is a real and common occurance). And it provided an extra day off for us teachers! It unfortunately fell on a Wednesday, so we weren't able to make many real plans, but it was still a nice mid-week vacation. And we all know what else falls on May 5! (Hint, it rhymes with Sinco de Mayo). So a bunch of us foreigners had a Mexican-style party! It was held over at our friends' Travis and Megan's (and Megan did the majority of the excellent cooking - complete with tacos, burritos, and guacamole).<br /><br /><br /><br />Our week vacation from school will be the last week in July. Originally, we had planned for my family to come out and visit. But alas, airline prices and some health problems have reared their ugly two heads. So, I have 9 days to see as much of Asia that I can! I've booked my flights to see 3 countries during the time. I'll be spending 2 nights and days in Cambodia, the same amount of time in Bangkok, and my last leg is a 4 day visit to the Philippines. It'll be a whirlwind tour! I'll plan to devote a post entirely to that week. Stay tuned.<br /><br /><br /><br />That's all for now. Talk to you again soon!<br /><br /><br /><br />MattMatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-44314178470466795802010-04-24T02:00:00.000-07:002010-05-06T19:01:45.514-07:00Movies, US Taxes, 10K, Return of Godzeera, and a BBQ<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBrY3wwzNOW_LCSzdyMJmK7r6_j9UdM86DYDGaOFnFgXOtEFtflZFK4Z6zlOsROmOIZwx28UpJ5IdNMau6UBqjfQ95z9AQNaZ2MKc2wllvAgw62yf0BxTGMX6oaBSGw9U4oMyQ6cHPHgSW/s1600/images.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468178941334859506" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 146px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 102px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBrY3wwzNOW_LCSzdyMJmK7r6_j9UdM86DYDGaOFnFgXOtEFtflZFK4Z6zlOsROmOIZwx28UpJ5IdNMau6UBqjfQ95z9AQNaZ2MKc2wllvAgw62yf0BxTGMX6oaBSGw9U4oMyQ6cHPHgSW/s320/images.jpg" border="0" /></a> Hey again. It's hard to believe, but I've already celebrated my 3 month anniversary in Korea. That means I'm already a quarter of the way through my stint here! Feels like I just got here. I feel like I've finally gotten over the learning phase, and I'm starting to fall into a comfortable rhythm (i.e., grit my way through teaching kids all week, have a glorious weekend, rinse, & repeat). Speaking of good times, I've had some pretty eventful times since the last post:<br /><br /><br />In my last note, I forgot to mention that I had finally filed my US taxes. My taxes are pretty straightforward every year, but I still procrastinate as long as possible because I dread it! I really don't know why though - you would think that I wouldn't mind the process after doing accounting for all these years. On a side note, I have an accountant friend who prepares his taxes by hand every year (he manually prints in ink on the hardcopy IRS forms. Kind of archaic, huh?). He believes that a 'true' accountant should do so, because he's experienced in the <em>mystical</em> ways of numbers. I don't think so - I rather agree with my other friend who compared this as follows: 'I have a pair of legs, therefore I should run a marathon'. Think about it. So I guess the tax process is just another thing that I'll never get accustomed to - just like the summer heat in the southeastern United States. So anyway, I finished the chore, and was even rewarded by Uncle Sam with a nice return!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />In April, I joined the Kindergarten classes on another one of their monthly field trips. This one was a visit to a nearby energy plant. We visited the educational area, where they talk to the kids about energy generation, distribution, conservation, etc. Since my last job was at an energy company, I figured that I might be able to lend some knowledge, or perhaps another perspective. It basically was just another babysitting session, and everything was spoken and written in Korean, so I didn't get much out of it. But parts of the visit were enjoyable, so I wouldn't call it a total failure.<br /><br /><br /><br />I saw the new movie, Clash of the Titans, at the local theatre. I remember watching and enjoying the 1981 Laurence Olivier version, but this modern version is even better. I've always really enjoyed Greek mythological stories, and this one definitely does not disappoint. The guy from Avatar plays a good part in this one too. I didn't get to see it in 3D, which may make the movie even better. Check it out if you get the chance.<br /><br /><br />A couple Fridays ago, we held our first monthly Movie Night at SLP. I'm saying 'monthly' because we're hoping to make this a habit. It was organized by one of the supervisors, and the director even supplied beverages. About 15 of us stayed after work, and a few other friends joined us too. We have an auditorium classroom complete with a projector and a big screen, so it's a perfect place to watch. Everyone chipped in for some pizza and food, and we watched 'Yes, Man' with Jim Carey. I had seen the movie before, but forgot how funny it is. Kind of the familiar Jim Carey schtick (if you ask me, this one is very reminiscent of 'Liar, Liar'), but still very funny. There's even a plotline in the movie where Jim takes Korean language lessons. At one point in the show, he speaks Korean to a woman, which was very amusing to our group of Koreans and Korean novices.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Last Saturday, my city held the Yongin Marathon. Me and a couple fellow foreigners signed up for the 10K about a month ago, and the three of us had a great time (Travis is fellow Yankee, and Toby is a Kiwi). I believe Toby is the first person that I have even known from New Zealand. Sounds like a really nice place. Have added it to my 'to-visit' list.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ncx0CbtkQc2MWu7TffRiiirYCqh-eWFwcFNIjc-kgNaVcATbtuosGBKI4YvKMQNFF798Aq3EWCICNe0_JlHG2UYbhY8Hj6sUbJ31qgjBYFcYE18QMXBvvV3ihL6asvMQFXWTszBeM4DI/s1600/Finished+Yongin+Marathon_April+%2710.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468178908958684162" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 153px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 216px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ncx0CbtkQc2MWu7TffRiiirYCqh-eWFwcFNIjc-kgNaVcATbtuosGBKI4YvKMQNFF798Aq3EWCICNe0_JlHG2UYbhY8Hj6sUbJ31qgjBYFcYE18QMXBvvV3ihL6asvMQFXWTszBeM4DI/s320/Finished+Yongin+Marathon_April+%2710.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468178920175238130" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 221px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 162px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMBhlPGBImiQyA8UHCgik1Eweie7qL6Jib-K9i8iiZTfj18BfVv2nGM5UTNwgHOrDCzH72kb_x7wH-a3kAXEC0mqq6W5NkcdiMLOEVxgojnQPUnoY3TgN-ax6PD8yeYBBXxZqk5g_3_rPJ/s320/Yongin+Marathon_April+10.jpg" border="0" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGR_xH7oYszRzbO5eYvca-49iTiDUDAyNecFRN5fBbv6_KCYdHuhDb6cxskIYyEMer3w9JfGotn_8waNeNbFfNwRcN-opNU1QsFzlR96FiL-paYK1DfitPamxzyNZaVcBOpAoNWPlH0Ay4/s1600/Yongin+Marathon_April+%2710.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468178928498990386" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 204px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 162px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGR_xH7oYszRzbO5eYvca-49iTiDUDAyNecFRN5fBbv6_KCYdHuhDb6cxskIYyEMer3w9JfGotn_8waNeNbFfNwRcN-opNU1QsFzlR96FiL-paYK1DfitPamxzyNZaVcBOpAoNWPlH0Ay4/s320/Yongin+Marathon_April+%2710.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Here's our gold medal ceremony after finishing the race. (Yes, they really did give us medals for finishing! Will be a nice addition to the trophy room.)<br /><br /><br /><br />Last weekend was also the official Cherry Blossom festival in my city. The trees have been gorgeous around here lately. They say this year's fluctuations in temperature was especially erratic, so I'm sure that has affected the blooming. So maybe I didn't get to experience the optimal cherry blossom season. I guess this will give me an excuse to visit Asia again in the future.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468184265075850050" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 202px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw6EX8S_fLybSdol-IQJq0XarzekWwRqlr5W6odtJhzdiw9HbXu8SlJPng4OMFSHqMnu_PEsL0WtDwhyM6DnecP7VwQSvUAvE9kaZmyET_oo-w5Vq1UjHg4EY1PGxRrshjHnnAp40LUUOj/s320/DSCN0950.JPG" border="0" /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5NPtz5pS6yHImkdQ68RHimDEAdZWh6lUZ0Q5U8cn_OauUZCx9A70cu3B8ftnIg4LtJPZ_TA8I448lsXN7ASqAKrN5FyWcZjoWHbaN3Q7LCuVMRoy5CNhzvc_aqikZVoTNdfJoIvR_xT_P/s1600/DSCN0949.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468199974107849922" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 207px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5NPtz5pS6yHImkdQ68RHimDEAdZWh6lUZ0Q5U8cn_OauUZCx9A70cu3B8ftnIg4LtJPZ_TA8I448lsXN7ASqAKrN5FyWcZjoWHbaN3Q7LCuVMRoy5CNhzvc_aqikZVoTNdfJoIvR_xT_P/s320/DSCN0949.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div><br /> </div><div><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>The night after the race, my race buddy Travis (the fellow Yankee), and his wife had a bunch of us over for a barbeque. It was exquisite. You can imagine how much you can come to miss the comforts of 'home' when living abroad. Even when this comes in the form of hot dogs, hamburgers, and beer. We had a big crowd of mostly other teachers, but we always have the few token Koreans around too.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_8pd1NR8hw4-Ct5sJVob_UMuh3G1Nnunfg_6ycPgAviIUmtvF-5slbUHvO4BBvCZ1WyNdLfITqr669tkI95UUpTz6FWSDu05OMZkONe1h8AgYkbsDT4PNIdlYPV46boq3GZXrD3C8mGi/s1600/Yocum's+BBQ.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468184281002022818" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 194px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 143px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_8pd1NR8hw4-Ct5sJVob_UMuh3G1Nnunfg_6ycPgAviIUmtvF-5slbUHvO4BBvCZ1WyNdLfITqr669tkI95UUpTz6FWSDu05OMZkONe1h8AgYkbsDT4PNIdlYPV46boq3GZXrD3C8mGi/s320/Yocum's+BBQ.bmp" border="0" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div>Here's most of the gang from the BBQ:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ksuIdQj7ugX5sJvRRLXihIRhMAYlQzk-reCwnzBxtvn4UnNjzkRWnthcb0cbAqVnf6-EGU2Qnzrgspsclz8P0ekICaSIBB_OdMB2s9AxsQ0aRhWZjVsMo14w3z7onsm96Jq5UQxIGJXI/s1600/Travis+and+Otis+Yocum.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468184285229744626" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 187px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 142px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ksuIdQj7ugX5sJvRRLXihIRhMAYlQzk-reCwnzBxtvn4UnNjzkRWnthcb0cbAqVnf6-EGU2Qnzrgspsclz8P0ekICaSIBB_OdMB2s9AxsQ0aRhWZjVsMo14w3z7onsm96Jq5UQxIGJXI/s320/Travis+and+Otis+Yocum.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div>And Travis with his puppy, Otis. Great dog. He's a boxer, so is about 10X the size of all these little Korean apartment dogs.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div>Monday morning we were greeted by the return of our favorite supervisor, Susan. Susan is genuinely one of the best bosses I've worked for. She's very competent in her job, handles things in a timely manner, is constantly busy, but never appears flustered. As alluded to in the title (and mentioned in a previous blog), the students have what I will call a 'healthy fear' of Susan. That makes her a great asset when trying to handle rambuncious groups of kids. All of the kids seem to have great respect for her, and even some appear to be deathly afraid of her. That first week of her return, cries of child terror could be heard throughout our school of 'Susan Teachaa'.</div><div></div><div></div><div><br /> </div><div>And on a completely unrelated note, (I took this video and want to share it). As a general rule, Koreans are always in a hurry. All ages, genders, walks of life, anywhere, and at anytime. It's sometimes quite amusing to watch people run around like beheaded chickens. The various modes of transportation are the best way of seeing what I'm talking about. One great example is the buses. The drivers all must be mentally ill. I've learned through experience that prior to stepping onto any bus, you must mentally and physically prepare yourself. It's kind of like psyching yourself up before going, say, skydiving. Case in point, check out this video I took last week on one of these busrides. Notice how the driver rarely stays in one lane, he frequently speeds up and proceeds to cut off other cars, and it looks as though a cameraman from the show COPS took this video. Enjoy:<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyP0LIXnMEtLwU4mgLOhUe7aivMclK3W2f-eSB_mOfrACs5sSX8fhOnuF-OcxZKByi9eKQ2Do-Xm07L8LYyiQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-336880275762310682010-04-04T07:22:00.000-07:002010-04-18T08:31:38.044-07:00Monkies, Easter Eggs, Bombs, and Swing Dancing<div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjOWc2nC36uk57GpaTG48ecSlClCwpJ2swAP3IqHbTQupurU3lYU-SxJn8F82O5ivPThS1nNsk7yICHKDqFxrL9C-C2jAiwEDnctkRdWYggspBrafdBWSbDUUgEnFC0aWa1SWi9Z40wRC/s1600/DSCN0784.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461474877855461634" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 176px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjOWc2nC36uk57GpaTG48ecSlClCwpJ2swAP3IqHbTQupurU3lYU-SxJn8F82O5ivPThS1nNsk7yICHKDqFxrL9C-C2jAiwEDnctkRdWYggspBrafdBWSbDUUgEnFC0aWa1SWi9Z40wRC/s320/DSCN0784.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div>Happy belated Easter!<br /><br />Earlier this month, being a major Christian holiday, I felt the need to go to church. And you can imagine the rarity of English-speaking churches around here. Well a Korean friend, Jongwha, invited me to come to his church - it's about 25 minutes by bus, and called Antioch Methodist Church. Rumor has it that I'm the very first foreigner to attend! Obviously, my buddy speaks English, and there were two other congregants that I could talk to (one man, and a young 3rd grader). Apart from not understanding 95% of the verbal portion of the service, it was very nice. The music and the choir were really good, they fed us lunch, and even sent us home with food and easter eggs. So overall it was a worthwhile trip. The people were all very nice to me, and of course, they all want me to come back every Sunday.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNaYiE2nZRVI7RYAEB2mZT-x79JkwZzIV61wn4TmMwJ29EyvmG2e-tf1IxjhAnjLs4ERbGdzKLCi0JCNi9yA6_SBQ1iN5jHN3ZzxMrQG0GLmn8c8Q6Pgwoyaz4AOffispvuypM_mbZrxe9/s1600/Photo100404_000.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456301923518500194" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 167px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 183px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNaYiE2nZRVI7RYAEB2mZT-x79JkwZzIV61wn4TmMwJ29EyvmG2e-tf1IxjhAnjLs4ERbGdzKLCi0JCNi9yA6_SBQ1iN5jHN3ZzxMrQG0GLmn8c8Q6Pgwoyaz4AOffispvuypM_mbZrxe9/s320/Photo100404_000.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /> </div><div>The choir, including my friend Jongwha:</div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP3IAL_q8B3CsWnsM_jSCNHEc-rvHENCeaSOGcWNg0U_-AZPa94J9O_8PEbjVtBk34QL3zW5U-jIVwy7lm87ucyqSBz_BAN4ymoSIVUuD_HCMbBy0NN1vTeOp8i5k7CXiSoBGIeh7-WvnI/s1600/Photo100404_001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456301940360309922" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 166px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 181px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP3IAL_q8B3CsWnsM_jSCNHEc-rvHENCeaSOGcWNg0U_-AZPa94J9O_8PEbjVtBk34QL3zW5U-jIVwy7lm87ucyqSBz_BAN4ymoSIVUuD_HCMbBy0NN1vTeOp8i5k7CXiSoBGIeh7-WvnI/s320/Photo100404_001.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div>And the ubiquitous Easter baptism - he was a cute little tyke!</div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div> </div><div><br />After church, I went shopping at the local department store (and if you know me, this is a rare feat, as I hate shopping!). Although, I actually found buying clothes in Korea to be somewhat more enjoyable than back home - the sizes actually fit my slim frame! And fortunately for me, my buddy works at the store, and he let me in on the employee discount! I bought a pair of pants, but still need a few shirts. I'll have to break down and go back for some more clothes another time.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjckfKUbkbkhT1ACQZ2xU-ftnNHuD5pvVVFR8WkU4sE8L_CI9MYp_TpzVBpJgx_bsvag0S_AZLg6tGpbo_puboeRKZbINeuaXJtNN1S3tW6Rpg0oGEaJjAutkFlmzwQTZpnkZPV-8rTMp3l/s1600/SLP+Teacher%27s+Lounge1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461474869477699298" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 184px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjckfKUbkbkhT1ACQZ2xU-ftnNHuD5pvVVFR8WkU4sE8L_CI9MYp_TpzVBpJgx_bsvag0S_AZLg6tGpbo_puboeRKZbINeuaXJtNN1S3tW6Rpg0oGEaJjAutkFlmzwQTZpnkZPV-8rTMp3l/s320/SLP+Teacher%27s+Lounge1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Some new threads:<br /></div><div><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /> </div><div> </div><div>On the Saturday of Easter weekend, I went to the Seoul Zoo. It was really interesting to see a different perspective on animals. Most of the animals in the zoo were ones I was familiar with - elephants, giraffes, lions, many birds, cats, etc. A few were different species than I knew - for instance, the dolp<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC7xpKiL2_7_jstjBBil9NHc7DiwtJ7YLNSREn0oN1i1hqHh_tJXfoOtshwAO4mm5B61ju9RiKh0AgJmSyK1wmYbvdjyf5aAYFKvE7dIcaDTsiFWsbIMrjA91To-PMxM5IXhGDa-vjZWit/s1600/DSCN0789.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461474887026728274" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 180px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 128px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC7xpKiL2_7_jstjBBil9NHc7DiwtJ7YLNSREn0oN1i1hqHh_tJXfoOtshwAO4mm5B61ju9RiKh0AgJmSyK1wmYbvdjyf5aAYFKvE7dIcaDTsiFWsbIMrjA91To-PMxM5IXhGDa-vjZWit/s320/DSCN0789.JPG" border="0" /></a>hins were all the Pacific kind, unlike the Atlantic ones that I've usually seen.</div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnyxulaW2u_BsdYjuHHh1kzzUkrksVLvkw_KFEpeI9yVoqqOSNuhyomJusbe8Sa_v1b8cU-Bnw6xceVhG7RbK9aUlHbqrrLLOR8eiOmFaDhWxYnytEy3ILZzfqNa-FkujUS6G25BwOhoQK/s1600/DSCN0803.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461474903047861890" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 178px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 129px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnyxulaW2u_BsdYjuHHh1kzzUkrksVLvkw_KFEpeI9yVoqqOSNuhyomJusbe8Sa_v1b8cU-Bnw6xceVhG7RbK9aUlHbqrrLLOR8eiOmFaDhWxYnytEy3ILZzfqNa-FkujUS6G25BwOhoQK/s320/DSCN0803.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib8db8joNtwZ2f46xDzNuoqJkBmoVHNqcakYftBVShc3KKGUYPk8mXMAFmStiWshUKxPKEce3is19WZ7rcuOUG6lAWmYab3X-07pZjCHaN3bJTCydEfDg-sFqriZv1MQbgD3W_6DaK062e/s1600/DSCN0828.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461474897639227298" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 172px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 128px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib8db8joNtwZ2f46xDzNuoqJkBmoVHNqcakYftBVShc3KKGUYPk8mXMAFmStiWshUKxPKEce3is19WZ7rcuOUG6lAWmYab3X-07pZjCHaN3bJTCydEfDg-sFqriZv1MQbgD3W_6DaK062e/s320/DSCN0828.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div><br /><br /><br /></div><div>Some familiar critters</div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAnoAU81XbYivIvNk7rQAZ9SjlyRTqDOSZI3GYE_pBm1VGxaTfXO4KqqbMgPmYTuuR1C5v1Q3tSgTJIAr5I5icbJiQ8O7Vp3CqQrfTLnRA_J8iudBlKa5iZdDfevnLDUNM13N6w9SU3xf/s1600/DSCN0834.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461479195243998162" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 181px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 141px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAnoAU81XbYivIvNk7rQAZ9SjlyRTqDOSZI3GYE_pBm1VGxaTfXO4KqqbMgPmYTuuR1C5v1Q3tSgTJIAr5I5icbJiQ8O7Vp3CqQrfTLnRA_J8iudBlKa5iZdDfevnLDUNM13N6w9SU3xf/s320/DSCN0834.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /></div><div>I promised some monkies :)</div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><br /><br /> </div><div>Last weekend, I visited the Korean War Museum in Seoul. It was a really nice museum - very thorough and seemed to be an accurate portrayal of history. It's a very large place - with huge outdoor displays of planes, tanks, trucks, etc, and the building itself is 3 floors full of stuff from ancient Korean warfare up through modern war. The outside especially took me back to my previous life as a member of the military. The third floor inside showed us a 'War Experience' room which was a presentation where you walk into a dark room, and the walkway looks very much like a WWII foxhole. You stand in the room, looking out onto a battlefield reconstruction, and there are sounds of explosions, gunfire, and your (Korean, of course) compatriots yelling behind you. The room fills with smoke and lights, and it felt quite realistic. Pretty cool, but quite frightening at the same time.</div><div><br /> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVp7u4UeAhKOzn-2eDI6j34lDwKBdK0DFA5bRovNTlG-8yVp_kbOLImC-wdEhTSHVXL3YqPw74i8pQo4r9HlQsZI2iey_s48X2HH2lBzMmQfxLEeFusAyRdMTQbBitbDZ533byRKJblNK/s1600/DSCN0858.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461479217793471586" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 184px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 146px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVp7u4UeAhKOzn-2eDI6j34lDwKBdK0DFA5bRovNTlG-8yVp_kbOLImC-wdEhTSHVXL3YqPw74i8pQo4r9HlQsZI2iey_s48X2HH2lBzMmQfxLEeFusAyRdMTQbBitbDZ533byRKJblNK/s320/DSCN0858.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div><br /> </div><div>The statue of Two Brothers at the entrance of the museum</div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><br /><br /><br /> </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461479223080680978" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 177px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 145px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0WWO4H0ntEy527po_hIBjJdePTZwi5FS1ooN5uyf6mhS9V_25erG7TlYUDNg8HXo9_g9fo9g23IEcgr4A8k_scvqZrh-liq6ucW3mtqCL93_j7XTW0hORE0NUUbNDqypbhb0XquPPi3P4/s320/DSCN0873.JPG" border="0" /></div><div><br /><br /> </div><div>Another monument. These men were 2 stories tall!</div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><br /> </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461479202651665698" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 183px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 133px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihNSBEUnjuOpKRVaOmxWL3YbXEagsKJfV7zqt9jCBV3iwOqQRxkrjrlTD6uzn4OItK_Nl8diM6EpqdZGONQmYoxwf4geiXkhcyfXjxPaf3JO5SyD32GgiStbOyKMhxKjfQRtlK0xkSYN7Z/s320/DSCN0865.JPG" border="0" /></div><div><br /><br /></div><div>A Soviet tank out in the Yard</div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNySqLw1rFajKjnqGuAzrXzxzB0Jib8LgwPaL7rV0pchpGGt05W0TdEA0A5K4yl0TQf8euSr5l2zebS0zBDqT5dYCnDWugfVXrcTuuqpKWomNEuwMf9_F5y7ImKI4Ghzc_L5RNmw-SAMU7/s1600/DSCN0885.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461487332546937266" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 180px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 130px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNySqLw1rFajKjnqGuAzrXzxzB0Jib8LgwPaL7rV0pchpGGt05W0TdEA0A5K4yl0TQf8euSr5l2zebS0zBDqT5dYCnDWugfVXrcTuuqpKWomNEuwMf9_F5y7ImKI4Ghzc_L5RNmw-SAMU7/s320/DSCN0885.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div><div>A centerpiece outside. For those AF folks out there, a B-52 BUFF ('Big Ugly Fat ..er.. Fellow')<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461487335310521330" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 179px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 153px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvspCYfVrpChriTUM8sRifO7jPySQrVZiLF-re5jDJgbADFeRYTAKpxThsY2obg3T4qOkJoogfNBxW7DQZ9zfd9US_pWiFKNOGGYk7Dmg7yFsAIV06LF64aGae_ISG2OvnrQ_ZkR0w1lRf/s320/DSCN0886.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /></div><div></div><div>This Tweet was my biggest reminder.<br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><br /> </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461479230198771506" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 181px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 142px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV9BtFgzJ78r5O1O9kpqmv5vOxkyOJlxAe1Aa9c2NxPV-5_DRyofrGHqQT77lSJuJDVEW0bWaCCucRc57xdfDKHQqzDCk1QuwNhL_H07VuJlABEH7fumYBTxhcXkBiPoRb52FHRGxeLh64/s320/DSCN0883.JPG" border="0" /></div><div><br /> </div><div>And a gorgeous blooming magnolia tree outside. It's almost Cherry Blossom time here!</div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>After the afternoon at the museum, we ran into one of the coolest things I've come across so far in Korea. Walking on the streets of Seoul on any given weekend, you're bound to come across some type of outdoor performance. So far, I've seen several traditional music and dance shows. The latest was a 1950's-esque swing dance performance. It must have been some local dance group, because there must have been over 100 people. Everyone was dressed in retro clothing, and there was even a band that seemed to be channeling Buddy Holly!<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461487342973073442" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 180px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 130px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoGgZw3-lzay-n8VfFJARaEaNyRrQ0etTkbwh9w11tZIo_OMgI1FSJGoyU2VIv0dPN0iabiXUo208QxWQF8VSTuy23Pcoiyc6WbhNYLwskprRNBd5tx2yuC6S55ChcRkoBZ8fzvYkXIi9m/s320/DSCN0906.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br />Here's some of the dancers decked out in their bowties and rockabilly dresses:</div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>This past weekend, several local teachers got together for a potluck dinner. One of my co-teachers, Jackie, has held one of these for the past couple months. Last month was to celebrate her birthday, but it looks as though this may become a monthly affair. It's so good to all get together, and everyone (mostly other foreign teachers like me) cooks some really good dishes. We have some Korean food, but mostly Western-style food that we all crave so much! Here's a picture of our pre-feast:</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGJs53IgguC-UVuXiKmC4PdgfFO64TtTTWRO0bmo-NkdzeHYi0mFLXQzQzlWOY-PU6Nbjn8GIHROWEUUJ8ydEdiyjAZ8RVnoSmHiOVXKxr-fJkYz56WdJgV7Rfwlry8NZMvWIYWNJDrA4/s1600/4.17+Potluck+%40+Jackie%27s.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461487350919858882" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 178px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 148px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGJs53IgguC-UVuXiKmC4PdgfFO64TtTTWRO0bmo-NkdzeHYi0mFLXQzQzlWOY-PU6Nbjn8GIHROWEUUJ8ydEdiyjAZ8RVnoSmHiOVXKxr-fJkYz56WdJgV7Rfwlry8NZMvWIYWNJDrA4/s320/4.17+Potluck+%40+Jackie%27s.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>I'll keep you updated when some more interesting things happen out here, as I'm sure they will. Hope you're well & bye for now..</div><div> </div><div>Matt</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-17335800058832617782010-03-21T03:22:00.000-07:002010-04-04T08:48:38.551-07:002 Months down!<span style="font-family:georgia;">Hey everyone, long time no talk. Entirely my fault - sorry for the delay since my last post. Here's some highlights from my past couple weeks:
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<br />Last weekend, I saw Alice in Wonderland (for the second time). But this time we watched it in 3D & it was very cool. I highly recommend it if you haven't been to a 3D movie.. The closest and best movie theater is about a 40 minute busride from my town. It's a CGV, which is a huge media company based in Seoul. They also have an English TV channel that I sometimes watch. They always play NCIS/CSI/Bones (i.e., forensic crime shows - they love them!). There is a closer movie theater in the local EMart complex, but the movies are unfortunately mostly in Korean.
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<br />I've discovered the magical world known as torrent downloading! I had heard about it before while in the States, but never tried it because of the slow connection speeds. The awesome technology here makes it so quick to download music and movie files. I've already nearly filled my hard drives now, I'm thinking about buying a new terabyte drive (1000 gigabytes!). These are also very cheap here. A terabyte drive will hold more than 1000 movies!
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<br />I had some more interesting new food last weekend. I was a little put off at first by the menu: ox stomach! But once you get past the chewy texture, the taste is surprisingly good! They say it's also a very healthy food - it must at least have some sort of minerals that I don't normally get. I went to this restaurant with a group of Koreans that I (again) met at the gym. The gym has turned out to be a great place for making new friends :)
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<br />Thursday morning of last week, I joined the Kindergarten classes on their monthly field trip - this month was a musical. It was the Korean version of 'Everybody Poops', and although it was entirely in Korean, I thoroughly enjoyed it! I had the fortune of sitting next to a fellow Korean teacher, so she was able to translate for me occasionally during the show. Here's the Readers' Digest version: The hero character (henceforth referred to as Good Poo) visits a racoon character, and they embark on a journey of discovery for how to defeat the 'evil poos' (played in the musical by bad poos of 3 kinds - with one carrying a devil's pitchfork, one a plunger, and one a toilet brush). Good Poo carries a magical rock that allows the Good Duo to travel searching for the 3 things that must be obtained to defeat the Evil Poos. They visit a variety of people and places - including the birthplace of all poos, a wise old frog, and a fun-loving skateboarding turtle. In the end, the 3 tokens turn out to be: 1) exercise, 2) vegetables, and 3) love. The Good Duo collects all 3 and unlocks the portal that sends the Evil Poos to their final resting place - that Big Toiletbowl in the Sky. So I saw a good show, learned a little more about Korean culture, and possibly learned something new about my GI health!
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<br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi93ifynPdP2RTlxBInI2NPULFz566xSNTDnR8p3HzTCSqvPiODOtRwMPSi7aZTOcXOT4FwaamiPOj3vuninU-6zaGPtf1Hk1cFKRjI_ZmLcEwPJgjSR7glu6KwtcJktHj3Mr2vdCgtpvjF/s1600/Photo100325_003.jpg"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453655201549916626" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 222px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 151px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi93ifynPdP2RTlxBInI2NPULFz566xSNTDnR8p3HzTCSqvPiODOtRwMPSi7aZTOcXOT4FwaamiPOj3vuninU-6zaGPtf1Hk1cFKRjI_ZmLcEwPJgjSR7glu6KwtcJktHj3Mr2vdCgtpvjF/s320/Photo100325_003.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">
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<br />The Good Duo is here on the left, facing two of the Evil Poos.
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<br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Another new experience last weekend was finding a weather phenomenon worse than the pollen season in the Southeastern US. Until now, I didn't think I would ever come across another yellow coating that covers absolutely EVERYTHING outside. Well guess what they have here in Korea in the spring? It's called Yellow Dust (brought by 'the yellow winds'), and is said to be sand and pollution blown to the Korean peninsula from China. Many people wear face masks during storms like these, for great reason. Accompanying the Yellow Dust are winds that I have never experienced - it feels like being in a tornado. And not being able to see anything because of everything in the air makes it feel like you're in a whiteout. They advise people to stay indoors on days like this, for obvious health reasons. On a personal note, I had a sore throat and felt sick for over a week afterwards. I should really invest in a good facemask. Read more about Asian Dust here: </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Dust"><span style="font-family:georgia;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Dust</span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">.
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<br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNtsJmTJ-O3KdqgBWrXdFVw6nYNVxNgAttzDlAeNFtkqkvLV_fnufUGjVC71ZouP-l9BmcLvXn9d1AM6AwwDldQIKkl8MIzVReUH_NmBDyO0SzpxD-0I9PCT0QCHJNw8-zFGErZyMCEbfZ/s1600/DSCN0700.JPG"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453685176435279682" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 215px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 133px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNtsJmTJ-O3KdqgBWrXdFVw6nYNVxNgAttzDlAeNFtkqkvLV_fnufUGjVC71ZouP-l9BmcLvXn9d1AM6AwwDldQIKkl8MIzVReUH_NmBDyO0SzpxD-0I9PCT0QCHJNw8-zFGErZyMCEbfZ/s320/DSCN0700.JPG" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">
<br />The crazy weather hasn't been limited to only the disgusting dust, either. For weeks now, Mother Nature has played cruel temperature games with us. It has warmed up on several occasions to near T-shirt weather. But just when we're convinced that warmer weather is here to stay, a cold spell will snap again! Last Monday snowed hard all day long, but it only stayed for a few days before completely melting. It must have been right on the edge of freezing temperatures, because the snow was very wet and slushy. This weekend was rather chilly too. Hopefully warm temperatures will be coming soon..
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<br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsEj4EODzOlEIKAWK4DBa-W9iR2D1EIDh7w2klNDgI4czS0MtQdjCCxWzM_YzHLS-yg2wCEjEXQe5lgOB-phk-qoQPLenMp53i2e7DMRoC-9yh-YEi1Ox9iMaqxrRbM8CLyaU6NKPGuGZN/s1600/1239788-Nanta-Seoul.jpg"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453670797677027250" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 212px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 149px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsEj4EODzOlEIKAWK4DBa-W9iR2D1EIDh7w2klNDgI4czS0MtQdjCCxWzM_YzHLS-yg2wCEjEXQe5lgOB-phk-qoQPLenMp53i2e7DMRoC-9yh-YEi1Ox9iMaqxrRbM8CLyaU6NKPGuGZN/s320/1239788-Nanta-Seoul.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">On Saturday a group of us went to see the Korean show Nanta. Nanta is at the core a traditional drum performance, but it has also modernized the performance and added some comedy - it's very good. The show has toured all around the globe, and has even appeared on Broadway in the US. The show mostly takes place in a restaurant kitchen, and follows a day in the life of 5 characters. They have a lot of fun drumming on every imaginable surface and object - and the show even being largely unspoken, is very funny. I've definitely learned that comedy is universal. For more information on the show: </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanta_(musical"><span style="font-family:georgia;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanta_(musical</span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">) or </span><a href="http://nanta.i-pmc.co.kr/en/about/nanta_01.asp"><span style="font-family:georgia;">http://nanta.i-pmc.co.kr/en/about/nanta_01.asp</span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">.
<br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMLb6liGuFBnRreMEWGgAZl3w501yzrx1z8h6wNP_KXgbZSEhxbRsoDrslVIgddDtBJ_Q8zk83-rmlYlBguYZ2Y6e_9cxPBjZGB0W3QBaODDX5-npeJD7pMXaOromJwxaY1pO_8K_wHIt/s1600/Nanta.jpg"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453685166583814002" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 211px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 131px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMLb6liGuFBnRreMEWGgAZl3w501yzrx1z8h6wNP_KXgbZSEhxbRsoDrslVIgddDtBJ_Q8zk83-rmlYlBguYZ2Y6e_9cxPBjZGB0W3QBaODDX5-npeJD7pMXaOromJwxaY1pO_8K_wHIt/s320/Nanta.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">
<br />We went for a special promo for Nanta too - it was a half price performance, plus they included a small brunch for us prior to the show. The brunch was quite unsatisfying though - I was expecting a giant spread like our American buffets, but all we got was some coffee and juice, a tiny sandwich, and a cupcake. But after the show, my buddy won a nice door prize - a Polaroid camera!
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<br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Also this past weekend, I went to my second FC Seoul soccer game. They play in the World Cup Stadium in Seoul, where the home team is obviously FC Seoul. They play other football clubs throughout the country - this last time the visiting team was Pohang. I've never been much of a soccer fan, but it's pretty huge here, apparently also in the entire world..! :) The fans get very into the games - lots of cheering. Here's a few pics:</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij9DKrzsirEsXKmabOfz3RZHG9rvy6KVjd6pTa5xa4eVdOHaxftbTxttUYPed_v1JIZTevPXrrUNgVHRyHetwZtFjxTGN1jWJ57ZFW2B9p8TBfd0LZEJJ1AG1v0tNdWHD38JjcQ4_PvFvv/s1600/Photo100327_002.jpg"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456295877188308386" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 167px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 183px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij9DKrzsirEsXKmabOfz3RZHG9rvy6KVjd6pTa5xa4eVdOHaxftbTxttUYPed_v1JIZTevPXrrUNgVHRyHetwZtFjxTGN1jWJ57ZFW2B9p8TBfd0LZEJJ1AG1v0tNdWHD38JjcQ4_PvFvv/s320/Photo100327_002.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">
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<br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Fireworks before (and all throughout) the game:
<br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQx5LFiY3uCwXSNKx7CcOQ86L_X2lYnepG8qC7Wg7J1zuvQDx3MdBspTx8XdWpqs_wmeN8iQba_rPWkkhSqMuPCmAF4inyEYrLc-dgTrA8doYSnje9ev31T69BS5EWbkeIVkUEdTvmHHbP/s1600/Photo100327_004.jpg"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456295888244765026" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 168px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 181px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQx5LFiY3uCwXSNKx7CcOQ86L_X2lYnepG8qC7Wg7J1zuvQDx3MdBspTx8XdWpqs_wmeN8iQba_rPWkkhSqMuPCmAF4inyEYrLc-dgTrA8doYSnje9ev31T69BS5EWbkeIVkUEdTvmHHbP/s320/Photo100327_004.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">
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<br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Wild crowd cheering, chanting, and waving flags:
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKcLNijsWAhXIhCE15Q-lU6WdCsLIH0_MmIw6YhcSMcCQN4bCBjFewbH4uZvWzSEoiv2khH7u7Xon8sJLbNj4Pbds371lJ1sydtKPr-1WrBcb9w6rzWzWeNgw4qRTtHhRj9d1n6YgQozRb/s1600/DSCN0769.JPG"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453690871376495810" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 206px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 131px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKcLNijsWAhXIhCE15Q-lU6WdCsLIH0_MmIw6YhcSMcCQN4bCBjFewbH4uZvWzSEoiv2khH7u7Xon8sJLbNj4Pbds371lJ1sydtKPr-1WrBcb9w6rzWzWeNgw4qRTtHhRj9d1n6YgQozRb/s320/DSCN0769.JPG" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;"> </span>
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<br />Our team
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<br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGlPoZjoMzoFUoIUFLW6ohxoEnAWvfgWnjMIQbZXCbjlYHEw5oko0pRSU6oBotCdHttWJc9kNwCsjt4ogin9Ff0InBswtKgzeb9FVjpBBBhaZkVvOxsUUdFkAbe0SVwXjt08gZZDPnQ8kt/s1600/DSCN0719.JPG"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453685193871240434" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 208px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 133px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGlPoZjoMzoFUoIUFLW6ohxoEnAWvfgWnjMIQbZXCbjlYHEw5oko0pRSU6oBotCdHttWJc9kNwCsjt4ogin9Ff0InBswtKgzeb9FVjpBBBhaZkVvOxsUUdFkAbe0SVwXjt08gZZDPnQ8kt/s320/DSCN0719.JPG" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;">Sunday I made the trip to the nearby Korean Folk Village. I had heard about it even prior to arriving, as it's very nearby in our city. Although, unlike most places, it isn't very easy accessible by public transit. So a taxi is a must-do, but taxis are also so very cheap around here. The village is very cool - it has recreations of all types of traditional houses - from slave quarters to yangban (the Korean aristocracy). My favorite part of the village was definitely the performances. They have all kinds of things ranging from mus</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">ic and d</span><span style="font-family:georgia;">ancing to tightrope and equestrian acrobatics.</span>
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_kWvTdgKpL_yAtTYaPZ_CP4P8DeiBAyOI40TEqjrVIhlRspDwiwg0mH_O-ZGMA6bbOoYNoZul8J_ClQffSAYrl7DXFzrDyS8vTtW3vIbQ3XYyfYNCpMzgotLpjw5-2kUP5ek6hVp8I7_/s1600/DSCN0724.JPG"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453685201113168466" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 143px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_kWvTdgKpL_yAtTYaPZ_CP4P8DeiBAyOI40TEqjrVIhlRspDwiwg0mH_O-ZGMA6bbOoYNoZul8J_ClQffSAYrl7DXFzrDyS8vTtW3vIbQ3XYyfYNCpMzgotLpjw5-2kUP5ek6hVp8I7_/s320/DSCN0724.JPG" border="0" /></span></a>
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<br />Hoping all is well with you, and I'll update you again in the near future!
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<br />Take care,
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<br />Matt</span></p>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-32102688547065111722010-02-24T05:53:00.000-08:002010-03-06T10:40:11.139-08:00I'm an alien. I'm a legal alien.This news is about a week old now, but I am now finally an official Korean alien! The immigration office has finished processing my paperwork, and here is my new ID:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk589Xe0MBaGF2yzkAFAS4leLYG2TGsZMwBvUcjI1vBSOiGM5e-dUUAa7jSLgxVP-6H3lBMz_Lq102aJgPLtmHjjOizFBhCDPrXLWxRmhnTBQ-GNve_Uiqh95r0V4_-y81TyY5nRKUMd7I/s1600-h/DSCN0698.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445542848875600818" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 207px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 146px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk589Xe0MBaGF2yzkAFAS4leLYG2TGsZMwBvUcjI1vBSOiGM5e-dUUAa7jSLgxVP-6H3lBMz_Lq102aJgPLtmHjjOizFBhCDPrXLWxRmhnTBQ-GNve_Uiqh95r0V4_-y81TyY5nRKUMd7I/s320/DSCN0698.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />This ID gives me my equivalent of a Social Security number, so I'm now able to conduct business here. The hospital has also finished processing my health insurance, so now I can be as dangerous and reckless as I want! :)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I also have opened up my Korean bank account:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELq0TLMKHHHH2hqOJxijIxms08jLSA8fRM-mSc-pc8rzbPxBnc3AhwEe5GKDs993GySjO13roWxOVWIfluq7POBIolSaHohYFY_Jrn7cfNA6HS3BVbcS7auGUxa1q3d7tPLIFAfPfBtHL/s1600-h/DSCN0699.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445542858740161074" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 207px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 145px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELq0TLMKHHHH2hqOJxijIxms08jLSA8fRM-mSc-pc8rzbPxBnc3AhwEe5GKDs993GySjO13roWxOVWIfluq7POBIolSaHohYFY_Jrn7cfNA6HS3BVbcS7auGUxa1q3d7tPLIFAfPfBtHL/s320/DSCN0699.JPG" border="0" /></a>I'm using Worri Bank, which seems easy to use (and convenient -as they have branches everywhere, including in our office building). Our manager Eddie helped me out on the first visit, and hopefully I can manage from here.<br /><br />One cool thing I've seen is scanners next to the ATM machines in the bank. Apparently, you just scan your utility bills, and the bank pays the companies electronically. Takes e-billing a step further!<br /><br /><br />Here's a few pictures of my gym that I told you about. It's called New Wind:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxrPapu63zpvuAs3XnXRik4RW8QaODn95gX6KVku8tb3zoSxzwKTzEdKKha7ZqqpWdBUds_obZGl4l2b83lFR6oZiAIJs8S2jFJcXBuC-V48__4dMZA5Tahyphenhyphen87aJd0hBC4Nj35DlMJmjVK/s1600-h/DSCN0693.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445542825388543186" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 207px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 136px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxrPapu63zpvuAs3XnXRik4RW8QaODn95gX6KVku8tb3zoSxzwKTzEdKKha7ZqqpWdBUds_obZGl4l2b83lFR6oZiAIJs8S2jFJcXBuC-V48__4dMZA5Tahyphenhyphen87aJd0hBC4Nj35DlMJmjVK/s320/DSCN0693.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Here's the main area with plenty of new, modern machines, free weights, and cardio equipment.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizdiDMJp7yJ4-0LSljDPLCWK5oF13ltYP6A9PeaQRsITtY83-4UQym4uEmpaPs50-fS-YIeP_IO1ktGcFpAz9WnWQ_pp5ZyHhFpqIvvmGzhHM-yufDfLK1dOksJN6hqty_k33iHa8R6oJq/s1600-h/DSCN0696.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445542836091919362" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 207px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 138px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizdiDMJp7yJ4-0LSljDPLCWK5oF13ltYP6A9PeaQRsITtY83-4UQym4uEmpaPs50-fS-YIeP_IO1ktGcFpAz9WnWQ_pp5ZyHhFpqIvvmGzhHM-yufDfLK1dOksJN6hqty_k33iHa8R6oJq/s320/DSCN0696.JPG" border="0" /></a>And here's the stretching area. Behind that standing sign are 3 'shake machines'. I've looked them up, and they've been on the market several years now, including in the States. They are essentially a large vibrating platform that you stand on, and manufacturers try to market them as a way to tone muscle in shorter time and with less sweating than the traditional way. The jury's still out, but of course nothing is better than old-fashioned sweat. Although, they do seem to be more scientific-based than the older vibrating belt machines. Here's an article:<br /><a href="http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1531693,00.html">http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1531693,00.html</a><br /><br />I haven't found a website for New Wind, but it's a chain here (like many gyms back in the States). It's interesting - they seem to love foreigners, as evidenced by many of the workout posters (mostly all pictures of caucasian people), and they give us a sizeable discount when joining (I believe it was 20%). But the majority of the staff and other patrons also don't seem to know much English. Another funny sidenote is New Wind's motto written on all signs: 'New Wind Total Fitness Center: The Best Your Partner'. Although I've found that as a general trend, most Koreans can communicate in English better than they give themselves credit. Guess they're just afraid of butchering the language, much like how us foreigners feel about speaking Korean I guess!<br /><br /><br />The gym has what we would call a sauna room. It's a dry heat room usually at 86-88 deg C. They refer to this as a 'jim jil bong' room. I haven't been, but apparently their steam rooms (what are truly refered to as 'saunas') are quite common, and are everywhere. The sauna/jim jil bong facilities have many rooms of varying temperatures and steam contents (and I've heard some even have other aromatic additives in the air).<br /><br /><br />Another thing that I've found different about the gym is the public showers in the locker room. None of the men wear flip flops! I thought this was a little strange, as I've always been warned to be very cautious of foot health in public shower areas. I looked this up too and found that athlete's foot is easily prevented by a healthy immune system, and another thing - that fermented foods are a great source of immuno-boosting compounds. I'm sure you know how kimchi is made, and how much of the stuff Koreans eat. Nevertheless, I still wear shoes in the shower, even if I may look like the crazy foreigner.<br /><br /><br />For more news on the food front, I've had several more new dishes since we last talked. One is a soup called 'shabu shabu', and is pretty good. Although, the soup is mainly broth and vegetables, so it doesn't quite satisfy my protien cravings. But I'm sure it's healthy. My second time having shabu shabu, we went to a buffet which was excellent. And it had chicken and pork dishes, so I left that time full. I went to a 'pan-fried food' restaurant and had an oyster pancake that was very good. I went here with my new Korean friend, Revan. He also introduced me to a Korean rice wine drink called 'makgelry', which is quite good and is drunk from a small bowl - very interesting. And another new food was a pork stew, called 'kam-je-tong'. The pork is actually spine meat, so removing the meat from the bone/vertebrae is a little challenging, but well worth the effort.<br /><br /><br />I'll be sure to update you again soon & hope you're doing well. Take care,<br /><br /><br />MattMatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-65105022072260241372010-02-18T09:07:00.000-08:002010-03-06T09:12:49.393-08:00One month down, 11 to go..<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizdiDMJp7yJ4-0LSljDPLCWK5oF13ltYP6A9PeaQRsITtY83-4UQym4uEmpaPs50-fS-YIeP_IO1ktGcFpAz9WnWQ_pp5ZyHhFpqIvvmGzhHM-yufDfLK1dOksJN6hqty_k33iHa8R6oJq/s1600-h/DSCN0696.JPG"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizdiDMJp7yJ4-0LSljDPLCWK5oF13ltYP6A9PeaQRsITtY83-4UQym4uEmpaPs50-fS-YIeP_IO1ktGcFpAz9WnWQ_pp5ZyHhFpqIvvmGzhHM-yufDfLK1dOksJN6hqty_k33iHa8R6oJq/s1600-h/DSCN0696.JPG"></a>Hi again. This past Wednesday marked my one month anniversary in my new homecountry! At times, it feels like it's been forever since I got here, but there's also so many things that I've yet to do and see. I've learned countless things and have had so many new experiences. But I have plenty more to look forward to..<br /><br />So here's my apartment building from the doorstep: On the corner there is a restaurant that I haven't visited yet, so that's another item on the to-do list..<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDjFKbkzh0AABrmyWiDTOJ2BC1CZ6jlYNnrYZqjdozh6KMZgX3NUtDmTBNuHrR555zUN9_9ksA-lqewggP1oA8prtARJl4OKjoKgsCn-S7fPTpHYNp_MJWkLZyhO6wmnQCoX9_QbOnBL_y/s1600-h/DSCN0640.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441091897316131842" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDjFKbkzh0AABrmyWiDTOJ2BC1CZ6jlYNnrYZqjdozh6KMZgX3NUtDmTBNuHrR555zUN9_9ksA-lqewggP1oA8prtARJl4OKjoKgsCn-S7fPTpHYNp_MJWkLZyhO6wmnQCoX9_QbOnBL_y/s320/DSCN0640.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div>This is a city marker for Yongin in the nearby park:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbLVaqkNQPnRy9_6X08jKW0yYiAYzAhCcmHOjCdA3wWU1jj0jpHnOYvS7Lonc4bBINN9ihO1yFZXPrnXyA5ce-RvhQB601iAgCj2GaXYPWOBVkDvrmxY2pNCWz_n30cqfPBcvGfXEg5ADo/s1600-h/DSCN0668.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441091910247572994" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 131px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbLVaqkNQPnRy9_6X08jKW0yYiAYzAhCcmHOjCdA3wWU1jj0jpHnOYvS7Lonc4bBINN9ihO1yFZXPrnXyA5ce-RvhQB601iAgCj2GaXYPWOBVkDvrmxY2pNCWz_n30cqfPBcvGfXEg5ADo/s320/DSCN0668.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /><br /> </div><div><br /><br /> </div><div></div><div>And here's the E-Mart complex that I've talked so much about:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2_ZXck0IQEe_7oEodABEeYSAA8BRufFV0G71HTpX-TLgAv1_OHKq0Ye-htaokhVX-oBiee4mR2aDIrSb_SVO3KwcNEPDVv0snkjxwN6z-6X2Z7L6lrR2ROQJyJ-akFn-esUEr8NkR264U/s1600-h/DSCN0670.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441091936195342178" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 222px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 131px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2_ZXck0IQEe_7oEodABEeYSAA8BRufFV0G71HTpX-TLgAv1_OHKq0Ye-htaokhVX-oBiee4mR2aDIrSb_SVO3KwcNEPDVv0snkjxwN6z-6X2Z7L6lrR2ROQJyJ-akFn-esUEr8NkR264U/s320/DSCN0670.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><br /><div><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div>And a window sign at a local chicken restaurant (see previous post to read about my chicken foot experience). This picture gives you a clue into what part of the chicken they actually serve here. Unfortunately, our chicken foot restaurant didn't have a warning picture like this:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqS5oNdgZ_0wyiFD5TMNkfha2fXtul_ULie2mRiUBkXD55ABVE1rSi2g1sR1qwr5c4jJdQ71N4jpgJQ4JVUKj118RytUdVBD5Q-WZ7KJbHx0LbAUiwMmQq91fAQiMCM5LCidJW_-zTIxYP/s1600-h/DSCN0669.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441091940205976626" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 226px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 148px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqS5oNdgZ_0wyiFD5TMNkfha2fXtul_ULie2mRiUBkXD55ABVE1rSi2g1sR1qwr5c4jJdQ71N4jpgJQ4JVUKj118RytUdVBD5Q-WZ7KJbHx0LbAUiwMmQq91fAQiMCM5LCidJW_-zTIxYP/s320/DSCN0669.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>Here's a picture of the back window of a car in my neighborhood. I've actually seen several of this same advertisement for the car customizers. This is a great example of how things are presented in English in Korea. Count the translation errors, and check out the way it's written compared to how a native speaker would write this: (Oh, and another note on this picture, notice the mirror. A lot of the larger cars here have these 'back mirrors', and it's a pretty ingenious idea considering how often they have to back into parking spaces here due to limited space)</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglyAqzFtnNGidtlEYZp50O0lrwElLHapDmYGn0wwDLzcOB8zt3SGoUpvbp4_3aFvGQAIsEtMoKYeARTleMHitvoAQDlQq5oV7nxfvqtMhosOm9uSM3Ey3maW-MyKPfGDLOUKrPVcValmWe/s1600-h/DSCN0659.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441091925171663666" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 224px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 142px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglyAqzFtnNGidtlEYZp50O0lrwElLHapDmYGn0wwDLzcOB8zt3SGoUpvbp4_3aFvGQAIsEtMoKYeARTleMHitvoAQDlQq5oV7nxfvqtMhosOm9uSM3Ey3maW-MyKPfGDLOUKrPVcValmWe/s320/DSCN0659.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>Last week, I mentioned a ginseng set of tea and candies that I received from a student. You may be familiar with herbs - before leaving my dad had mentioned Korean ginseng several times. Supposedly, it's pretty effective at increasing overall health and immunity. And it comes at a price, even here in the country where it's from. I visited a local ginseng store this week, where they sell ginseng in 100+ forms. A set like the one I got is rather pricey - so I hope it works! I also found out from the kid that gave it to me, his mother is a dentist. And I'm sure dad also works - so I'm sure the family is well to do..</div><div> </div><div></div><div><br /></div><div>I haven't mentioned this before: There's an aging system they use here that is different than ours back home, and they call it 'Korean age'. A person when born is already a year old, so what we would consider our first birthday, they turn 2. Furthermore, your age advances at the start of the Julian calendar year to the age that you will turn that year. So for example, my birthday is in July, but on Jan 1, I turn a year older. So in the US, now I would be considered 28 until July when I become 29, I am already 30 here in Korea! And before my year is over here, I will turn 31. So guess I got 1.5 years older when I came to Korea, but luckily will also get just as much younger when I come home!</div><div><br /> </div><div>My most eventful day last week was definitely Thursday, and I'll tell you about a few of the events. The day was for the most part a normal Thursday, until my last class period. It's only a class of 3 kids, but they are a handful! (At that rebellious-don't-wanna-listen-to-authority age). I've struggled with behavior problems from them during these few weeks, and have talked to their former teacher, whose advice was essentially that 'it takes time to build a rapport with this group of kids' and also tells me that it was her least favorite bunch of kids to teach. Well I had already tried several approaches with them during past classes, and nothing has seemed to work. So finally on Thurs, during a particular episode of bad-behavior, I had the head Korean teacher, Susan, pay a visit to the three of them. Susan is a great supervisor, and is extremely nice and cordial with us teachers. But heaven help you if you're on the receiving end of one of her Korean tirades! So after yelling for 5+ minutes, I come back to the class where Susan has the 3 kids apologize to me for their behavior. And for the remainder of class, they were quite the angels! I sort of felt like I used Susan as an immediate crutch, but also definitely think they needed to get smacked in line. We'll see if this better behavior is sustainable..</div><div></div><div><br /> </div><div>I came home that evening obiously a little out of sorts. I turned on the TV to a Korean channel, and found a travel program. The show was run by a Korean woman who travels all over the globe in search of interesting places. Guess where she was during this episode? I turned on the show as she was riding the gondola car up Stone Mountain, Georgia! What a strange coincidence to see my hometown on TV from so far away, huh? She went on to visit the Martin Luther King Center and other attractions around Atlanta, and then went on to other states and areas of the Southeast US. The show and her narration were of course in Korean, but she did also conduct several interviews in English. She was a pretty good musician too - she carried a guitar around, and several times sang/played American folk songs. She sang Ray Charles' 'Georgia on My Mind' while on Tybee Island, GA and later played 'Country Roads' while in the Smoky Mtns. In all, I only saw about 25 minutes of the show, but it was a nice reminder of home.</div><div></div><div><br /> </div><div>I then went to the gym that night to try out another group exercise class. It was called 'ABT', and I still have no idea what it stands for. The class consisted of about 20 members, and I counted as the second man, and the one and only non-Korean. It was quite the experience and I'm glad I tried it out, but doubt I'll be attending the class again. Another good thing that came out of the evening at the gym was meeting a nice Korean man named Patrick who studied in Toronto. He was very personable and fluent in English, which is not very common to find here. Most people can speak some English, but there are definitely varying degrees of fluency. I could speak very comfortably with Patrick. It turns out he is a minister here, and not sure if I'll ever attend his church, but he should be a good contact nonetheless. I have even run into him again on Sunday in E-Mart. The gym has been a great place to build my network - another good friend I've made is a trainer named Revan. He's from Korea, never been to the US or Canada, but his English is also very good. He's my age, and we've gone out for dinner and drinks a few times.</div><div> </div><div><br />Speaking of Sunday night, when I ran into Patrick, I was on my way to see the movie Avatar. I did already see this in Atlanta before leaving (and saw it in 3-D, which is very cool). The theater is also in the E-Mart building, and has 8 screens. All the movies are in English, and have Korean subtitles. I've a feeling that I'll see quite a few movies here.</div><div> </div><div><br />I've found a new food addiction. I was already hooked on several Korean dishes, especially one being the barbeque (called Galbi). It is so good and cheap too! I went to several Korean BBQ restaurants in Atlanta, and was lucky to leave a meal with a bill under $20 a head. The galbi restaurants here all charge 8,000 won or less (less than $8)! So I've happened on these waffles that they sell (also in, of course, the E-Mart building). They're just plain waffles, but covered in cream and honey. My theory is that they also put some drug in the batter. These are huge waffles, and cost 1,000 won (about $.85).</div><div><br /> </div><div>So that's all for now, but I'll be in touch! We have another 3-day weekend coming up too, so I hope to have some good stories for you.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div></div><div>Take care!</div><div> </div><div> </div><div></div><div>Matt</div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-41028413591003479402010-02-13T04:37:00.000-08:002010-03-28T09:19:04.460-07:00Week 3Hi again and Happy New Year!<br /><br /><br />It feels like I've finally fallen into a rhythm here with the job. It's definitely been easier this week, which has let me enjoy things a bit more. And on an even better note - this weekend was a 3 day break! Offices are closed on Monday for Lunar New Year. This is apparently a pretty big holiday here, as most Koreans go home to visit family, and everyone has been exchanging gifts. I got a very nice Korean wine set from the boss, Mr. Yoon, and another 2 very good gifts from students. It was much more common for us teachers to get gifts from the younger students (you were kinda SOL if you only teach the older kids!). The 2 I got were from my younger class - 9 year olds. Here's a picture of the gifts (set of ginseng tea and candies, the wine set, and a couple of really good cake loaves):<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5J2trH0xOLuAtYwbfbaEafmc4g_sNyaw3MGGVNb55VBOJQ402EW3kpiDyMCqSXKYrKwhULxm1ytf5nYD6ZsOL_CGKtMawXToHzoKZ-AwtIqxGvBRBp_aXlHRWA1nSdrGIfWXuUnmMRImh/s1600-h/DSCN0638.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438478582181268162" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 224px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 155px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5J2trH0xOLuAtYwbfbaEafmc4g_sNyaw3MGGVNb55VBOJQ402EW3kpiDyMCqSXKYrKwhULxm1ytf5nYD6ZsOL_CGKtMawXToHzoKZ-AwtIqxGvBRBp_aXlHRWA1nSdrGIfWXuUnmMRImh/s320/DSCN0638.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcg-XefIZrkDy3F9dss3l6A67VSCWy0abK0wCdImNU9HB5KjDeWtJlpTktQTz45wdJL2YtlhMff3OF-0XsWTXYIFl0UtVPPHOQJCxvGBG4hyVnh1gxdmTOPuOdvL7xgd-ElneTGY7CPhCq/s1600-h/DSCN0639.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438478588311504738" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 170px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 233px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcg-XefIZrkDy3F9dss3l6A67VSCWy0abK0wCdImNU9HB5KjDeWtJlpTktQTz45wdJL2YtlhMff3OF-0XsWTXYIFl0UtVPPHOQJCxvGBG4hyVnh1gxdmTOPuOdvL7xgd-ElneTGY7CPhCq/s320/DSCN0639.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />A group of teachers hold a weekly discussion meeting where we get together to talk about all kinds of interesting topics (culture, politics, business, etc). We had our last meeting on Wed night. It meets at 9:30, so to kill some time after work and before the meeting, a coworker, Stephanie, and I went to grab some food. Stephanie is quite good with Korean - can read it well and talks a good bit with Koreans. Well, we found the 'chicken' section on the menu and found a picture that looked good. It looked spicy, like maybe buffalo wings, and was topped with cheese. Sounds good, right? So the dish comes and my reaction was that it looked pretty good, but the meat didn't look like chicken. I said to Stephanie, 'looks like squid'. So we go about eating, and the flavor was very good, but the meat was a little crunchy. So several minutes go by, and we've eaten about half of the dish, when Stephanie remembers that Koreans eat some parts of chicken that we may consider unappetizing - such as appendages, like feet. Quite suddenly, we were full. After we paid and were leaving, Stephanie rereads the menu to check on our dinner. Sure enough, there was the Korean word for 'foot'. Well, at least now I can cross 'eat chicken feet' from my bucket list.<br /><br /><br />Here's several pictures of my neighborhood and apartment, which isn't huge, but is very adequate for my needs:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Sx_r0iuLfaIiIXVkvDfQMf-DbhWrE9ekIeVuWTF2s4mhPoryGBirdLbCleyAS1ZXpfuFj3fD6862X8bM2a1dsgOI3ISVie9DW2A5LHZ9peORcYRxXWjniKd_M43jFnj38KQSQlsdOiMb/s1600-h/DSCN0694.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445567645951495426" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 229px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 164px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Sx_r0iuLfaIiIXVkvDfQMf-DbhWrE9ekIeVuWTF2s4mhPoryGBirdLbCleyAS1ZXpfuFj3fD6862X8bM2a1dsgOI3ISVie9DW2A5LHZ9peORcYRxXWjniKd_M43jFnj38KQSQlsdOiMb/s320/DSCN0694.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPlUTXmwsWQLzE26c1m8LQXcZ_jYxW1JbdAg1ZtWHI-Of9sjE3E-FquB_c_XLR827LPy8yhPrdElI3u5yCgkyZxzWjgCiShsrMpozbF3ES-l0Ybtr4MAbLTM9nkDvj1MH4XjViR2zF6su/s1600-h/DSCN0633.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438475070758717362" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 228px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 164px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPlUTXmwsWQLzE26c1m8LQXcZ_jYxW1JbdAg1ZtWHI-Of9sjE3E-FquB_c_XLR827LPy8yhPrdElI3u5yCgkyZxzWjgCiShsrMpozbF3ES-l0Ybtr4MAbLTM9nkDvj1MH4XjViR2zF6su/s320/DSCN0633.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3sEalElMloG1qCaXNC2kfUXoeEI3nyb4xnJZZc499azh51p4jUgjQe4acJTu2BvI941ZC2AMpcHTZb97KIzsuX_a6E5c0d7yDe88NcPkCuqFaTDl6uNV6EbycuD3JIa6yEdenVQH8t0cD/s1600-h/DSCN0631.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438478562153371458" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 230px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 144px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3sEalElMloG1qCaXNC2kfUXoeEI3nyb4xnJZZc499azh51p4jUgjQe4acJTu2BvI941ZC2AMpcHTZb97KIzsuX_a6E5c0d7yDe88NcPkCuqFaTDl6uNV6EbycuD3JIa6yEdenVQH8t0cD/s320/DSCN0631.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOXJBEvJ9yqdmm7VlY3HVGE75cLFQdIb6pzqnCUejdqbDNU1s03f32MyD8baEkQB26CRfMsCQ7dXTDMY8GQ5eQ-ggd7wbOVBytJj-8LgwyWi0pC4GsXD4fF5LFLPz_K_ycQ6-gKeSVFnTU/s1600-h/DSCN0632.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438475063936307314" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 228px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 148px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOXJBEvJ9yqdmm7VlY3HVGE75cLFQdIb6pzqnCUejdqbDNU1s03f32MyD8baEkQB26CRfMsCQ7dXTDMY8GQ5eQ-ggd7wbOVBytJj-8LgwyWi0pC4GsXD4fF5LFLPz_K_ycQ6-gKeSVFnTU/s320/DSCN0632.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6s4D3f1yAvV1arzrkkha71JeMr6NQo5WBbXZdDqwbhDKCtAB9LPtjULTky4EiEhyphenhyphenIClhLzYnUNS_Mnjczk6TRkQJYLUKbp8sN739zh6cvxg3OSJ-wGibGNu6HXrdEcdXLnWoAS2fuIIXE/s1600-h/DSCN0629.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438475042963683410" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 228px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 143px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6s4D3f1yAvV1arzrkkha71JeMr6NQo5WBbXZdDqwbhDKCtAB9LPtjULTky4EiEhyphenhyphenIClhLzYnUNS_Mnjczk6TRkQJYLUKbp8sN739zh6cvxg3OSJ-wGibGNu6HXrdEcdXLnWoAS2fuIIXE/s320/DSCN0629.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLXZymxq3IM77V3QCsV3YDbbFeDpowydzZOdFQluRViHCPs6xas85k1530Q5oH6JK74fvRn47vyG3QnyHpCx01-IkxADLhv_35_8SPaW2QT4rSjGI5Hf0UY3b8utei0IEOcwVbD4x8G4AA/s1600-h/DSCN0637.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438478572846534066" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 230px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 151px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLXZymxq3IM77V3QCsV3YDbbFeDpowydzZOdFQluRViHCPs6xas85k1530Q5oH6JK74fvRn47vyG3QnyHpCx01-IkxADLhv_35_8SPaW2QT4rSjGI5Hf0UY3b8utei0IEOcwVbD4x8G4AA/s320/DSCN0637.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />When home, I usually keep the thermostat at 24C (approx 75F), which is very cozy. The heating is done through a process called ondol floors - which is heating the floor, and thereby warming the air in the entire room. Very efficient, and very nice to have warm toes too.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1xf2kdGIhGDCDGcmPdpvlXUz12GPm-fv_PRULIvG_wuxHhuaLbA7VV5aev2wmbTHi2mj8gQkeKFYTtUfbQ4c3qA6mFRAyXqObpUAEGfww5bw8S5Frx0_jG9-EMT0JBt8YjQCPrdhWhcml/s1600-h/DSCN0630.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438475051885195218" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 199px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 263px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1xf2kdGIhGDCDGcmPdpvlXUz12GPm-fv_PRULIvG_wuxHhuaLbA7VV5aev2wmbTHi2mj8gQkeKFYTtUfbQ4c3qA6mFRAyXqObpUAEGfww5bw8S5Frx0_jG9-EMT0JBt8YjQCPrdhWhcml/s320/DSCN0630.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />And here's the bathroom. It's a common Korean design that the shower is not separated from the sink and toilet, so as you can guess, everything gets soaked when the shower head is turned on!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />If you were wondering, it's still frigid cold most days here. It did warm up for a day or two, but was snowing several days later in the week, and into the weekend. The heat in my apartment is very good though. I turn it down during the days when I'm gone, but usually the temperature only falls 2 or 3 degrees. The heat systems here are very nice - they heat the floors, and the warm air fills the room. We also take off shoes inside, so the floors are extra nice. The insulation isn't great, but doesn't need to be since the floors are very good at retaining their heat.<br /><br /><br /><br />I've discovered a new reason to love the E-Mart. They have a food court outside of the lower floor, and the food is very good and inexpensive. There are 6 vendors in the court, and it did take a little effort to figure out how to order. You place your order at a register near the entrance of the court, and of course none of the writing is English. But luckily, several meals on the menu have numbers beside them (and they all have pictures), so I was able to find something and type the number in my phone and show that to the cashier. Then you get a ticket with a number on it, and wait for a place to cook the food, and your number flashes up on a screen. Kind of like a huge deli.<br /><br /><br />As for nightlife: I ventured outside of our town, Dongbaek, for my first 'long-distance' night on the town. Friday night went to a nearby town, Bundang, with 2 coworkers. Bundang is about a 50 minute trip from Dongbaek - you take a bus, then transfer to a subway. But since there were 3 of us, we just shared a taxi, and got there in about 15 minutes! They have a big shopping plaza there, and tons of restaurants and bars. We went to an English pub that had some great nachos, and was definitely the first time I've been the whitest person in a place like that.. We later ended up at a dance club advertised as a 'clubby bar', and was exactly how I had imagined an Asian dance club. Wall to wall people, bone-jarring rythmic music, and lights and lasers galore. Oh, and was of course filled with smoke, like most places here. It was really cool. I was also hoping to make a second visit to the local norebang room, but it was closed this weekend. Norebang is awesome - karaoke in private rooms. This one has very nice rooms, like your own personal luxury box seats. There was a fun place in Atlanta like this on, appropriately, Buford Highway.<br /><br /><br /><br />Also this weekend, I did some exploring and picture-taking around Yongin, but I'll save those pictures for the next post. I'll also try to take in my camera one day to school this week to take pictures of some of my students.<br /><br /><br />Until later - take care..<br /><br /><br />MattMatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737062985426639827.post-6969272745390761982010-02-01T08:29:00.000-08:002010-03-06T09:01:15.257-08:00Week 2<div>Aneyo-haseo ('hello' in Korean, a more accurate translation would be 'well doing?')<br /><br /><br />Well my first full week as an official English teacher is over. I'm teaching 13 classes throughout the week & it wasn't easy the first few days, but they say the first week is the toughest - now it should get easier now that I'm familiar with the material and all the students.<br /><br /><br />I lost my voice on the first day! I went to the doctor in our building between classes, and it was quite an experience. He diagnosed it as just a common cold (certainly due to new weather & conditions, being around kids, and stress never helps either). It was very interesting to see Korean medical care firsthand - say what you want about socialized medicine, but this was very efficient, effective, and also very inexpensive. The doctor cleaned me out and gave me some medication for the week. Not exactly sure what everything was (I've been taking 14 pills a day), but it definitely worked well, and I'm feeling much better now. So also on Monday, a co-teacher had a burst appendix! I was there at the hospital as she got rolled into surgery. She ended up staying there 6 nights. Her medical care was quick & cheap. The stay was only about $16 US per night! And the procedure was probably 1/10th of what it would cost back home..<br /><br />Taken last week, here some other of my favorite pictures from Seoul:<br /><br />Palaces:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2ooR27yw8mbbxCD3RelTJPuuyZ957AmtJWaFuv-J5le0YVhT7C0TB-roaayhPTZ7JNsNfSOC0oIr8guAJUzrfdvkP97F4hK92npaJMBlXufgCGf84pp0K8bTbK1ILYOuWHwjTDY-Iv0l/s1600-h/DSCN0423.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435529957516942066" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 208px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 130px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2ooR27yw8mbbxCD3RelTJPuuyZ957AmtJWaFuv-J5le0YVhT7C0TB-roaayhPTZ7JNsNfSOC0oIr8guAJUzrfdvkP97F4hK92npaJMBlXufgCGf84pp0K8bTbK1ILYOuWHwjTDY-Iv0l/s320/DSCN0423.JPG" border="0" /></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435532466257297426" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 212px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 131px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9mt4KGqS5d3CI7C8d6LivZIrm1i-DqXTiBvr6EYfpOZRicMflonEJea2iPbSAZ1aUzKjhyBjXFzAXYWzMFq6ps3VafqJNE14I9odCsG3ASyw92BCqSERKeyTzJoe5ahvPtnV14Tv_llTj/s320/DSCN0472.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6hhcrkexsi6XKkKyyuaAFbyAmaicXgmIOkEnlE71IYRx3Cha4qQ4D75hFGTINc7ZAG-eXhyphenhyphenBWtlvHQmFrKCBJMtA3bIBgHvmp4OVXXvQ9054d-3adsh4p63x3oU6FG0RtWqW18zEVzQ2W/s1600-h/DSCN0505.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435529967898735378" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 209px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 130px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6hhcrkexsi6XKkKyyuaAFbyAmaicXgmIOkEnlE71IYRx3Cha4qQ4D75hFGTINc7ZAG-eXhyphenhyphenBWtlvHQmFrKCBJMtA3bIBgHvmp4OVXXvQ9054d-3adsh4p63x3oU6FG0RtWqW18zEVzQ2W/s320/DSCN0505.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj03P3vPr-0GyoaV7can2y8Fgydvng9xCHG6qS9SNR8iO3cNmADVkdaqurxTb5DJGQ5lmxE2L_Dz9IWeqqjq9emSByPWOvaycIedPZ2pIoHOZn9PKdKeKywTDtrNq_fL4aIv2NOlUPC6ue4/s1600-h/DSCN0417.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435529941388249890" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 215px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 132px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj03P3vPr-0GyoaV7can2y8Fgydvng9xCHG6qS9SNR8iO3cNmADVkdaqurxTb5DJGQ5lmxE2L_Dz9IWeqqjq9emSByPWOvaycIedPZ2pIoHOZn9PKdKeKywTDtrNq_fL4aIv2NOlUPC6ue4/s320/DSCN0417.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Seoul Tower:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixx0aq-iuIk7isNg95_QTb3kfrHXHbbjTIYZLote4-9rLWWwdUJMllf3oM_WiH4i-LhUxpqn2edF8V3IXR1eRb7F2wwTI9x20efY7ax_NM53oDJzHKSPMaGGHxd9MwTBpeS4ukE2dKoiYe/s1600-h/DSCN0533.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435532473686776610" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 210px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 143px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixx0aq-iuIk7isNg95_QTb3kfrHXHbbjTIYZLote4-9rLWWwdUJMllf3oM_WiH4i-LhUxpqn2edF8V3IXR1eRb7F2wwTI9x20efY7ax_NM53oDJzHKSPMaGGHxd9MwTBpeS4ukE2dKoiYe/s320/DSCN0533.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAnKnYXQ2pC1HIZ-R75O5W86UYEJq6Ik-6fH2parqaGzFIqEQeTcYKwHK7gTBTWZ1vrmgvHVPL_zIZsJ3Mt78xWWCWl0XlXb9hCibBYhRoqKfvP0nwht4GV7Uyb1-rZhLr9_uolYJangpg/s1600-h/DSCN0538.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435532486847546306" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 210px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 142px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAnKnYXQ2pC1HIZ-R75O5W86UYEJq6Ik-6fH2parqaGzFIqEQeTcYKwHK7gTBTWZ1vrmgvHVPL_zIZsJ3Mt78xWWCWl0XlXb9hCibBYhRoqKfvP0nwht4GV7Uyb1-rZhLr9_uolYJangpg/s320/DSCN0538.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6hhcrkexsi6XKkKyyuaAFbyAmaicXgmIOkEnlE71IYRx3Cha4qQ4D75hFGTINc7ZAG-eXhyphenhyphenBWtlvHQmFrKCBJMtA3bIBgHvmp4OVXXvQ9054d-3adsh4p63x3oU6FG0RtWqW18zEVzQ2W/s1600-h/DSCN0505.JPG"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Street vendors and restaurants:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLk6IWU8-pgcZWy__UTRmBYoJ7rrK9wKKT_-T0P86PavWLGK1pyTydvrRTEK6DwMk2WrPayuipmgRqmTrlKEgNTw2i_fMvjUa-8_XJrEiVpPuOXHzSxlHd5vRxzaG5bK7VPIGJKiRX13h/s1600-h/DSCN0441.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435529964604799874" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 212px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 130px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLk6IWU8-pgcZWy__UTRmBYoJ7rrK9wKKT_-T0P86PavWLGK1pyTydvrRTEK6DwMk2WrPayuipmgRqmTrlKEgNTw2i_fMvjUa-8_XJrEiVpPuOXHzSxlHd5vRxzaG5bK7VPIGJKiRX13h/s320/DSCN0441.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><p></p><div><br /></div><p></p><div><br /></div><p>And here's a picture of my first authentic Korean meal on my first day here:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9sSGFPr2yuQwlvMt84dmHL4uithYfZop6EICHahEeDDuZIyLgz_gYK8zQC00zei19Su6EU6EvjSU4vvtgksE9lYN_-VAIWXtQrv9uqZB0JwttbiryuTbEnOABb9OaFtr2kHJXJZzp3__/s1600-h/DSCN0412.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435529948927705362" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 211px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 137px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9sSGFPr2yuQwlvMt84dmHL4uithYfZop6EICHahEeDDuZIyLgz_gYK8zQC00zei19Su6EU6EvjSU4vvtgksE9lYN_-VAIWXtQrv9uqZB0JwttbiryuTbEnOABb9OaFtr2kHJXJZzp3__/s320/DSCN0412.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />You see many street performances over here. It's very interesting to see how modern most things are - architecture, new development, etc. But also, all throughout the streets and public areas, they have performances that highlight Korean tradition (drummers, military ceremonies, etc). Here's one of them, which appeared to be some sort of changing of the guard:<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435532491880284082" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 227px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 146px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRxdTf0fSqzz6ulDmushEuiPWouz5iR7eFjnRsU0bIOvdAL3y2fUQPHqp4MN0XBG5wZJE8Zv7o8Fx72GEJiB5JFHzdt_-JH8i4KWPds5EB4Xx0udSQN0urBcVqrxrBEeoqk72V78oB8-sq/s320/DSCN0542.JPG" border="0" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIzB4-AiC-poYsOcEgiok68WMSLXaK3yoj1YH2lyUsCC1oUigZaylN0LWvb0S9PYYSLfKW8yYrelbCL1lDxyCyuOoXDet-O_wTH7VR9rr0Rb2YmrcWERsB6eDlxNjhEt-Lz-p8YfTmsHmZ/s1600-h/DSCN0545.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435532499054506258" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 217px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 145px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIzB4-AiC-poYsOcEgiok68WMSLXaK3yoj1YH2lyUsCC1oUigZaylN0LWvb0S9PYYSLfKW8yYrelbCL1lDxyCyuOoXDet-O_wTH7VR9rr0Rb2YmrcWERsB6eDlxNjhEt-Lz-p8YfTmsHmZ/s320/DSCN0545.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><p></p><div><br /></div><p></p><div>I also saw my first Korean cultural performance last weekend. Yeah, I work with more than a dozen women, so we saw a ballet - Cinderella. One of the other foreign teachers, Stephanie, had gotten the tickets for a group of us. It was at the Seoul Art Center, which is about a 45 minute busride from where I am in Yongin. The ballet was very interesting & was similar to our version, but wasn't the American Cinderella (there were several differences in plot, characters, etc). And of course, the supertitle translation was pretty amusing sometimes. You would have to see it to understand, but trust me, it was funny. One good example was the storyline about one foreign land when the prince was travelling to look for Cinderella. The land was inhabited by 'pleasure superintendents' (not exactly sure what this meant, but it sounds dirty!).<br /><br /><br />The tap water here tastes horrible - everyone drinks bottled water. They advise against drinking the water, for fear of contamination. But I know several people that do drink it, and they've been fine. The tap water I have drank, I boiled it first, but the taste is still very there. I've found that tea somewhat hides it, but still not entirely. So I've stocked up on water from the local grocery store (E-Mart), and it is very inexpensive - less than 3,000 won (about $2 US) for a six pack of 2 liter bottles.<br /><br /><br />I've fallen in love with E-Mart. As a matter of fact, I have seen several E-Marts in metro Atlanta, and it must be the same company, because these stores are also Korean. Or maybe it's another company started in the US by Korean immigrants who wanted to keep some familiarity from home.. So E-Mart is awesome - it's like a Super Wal-Mart or Super Target, just much better. This one is just across the street from my apartment, and is in a 10 story building. E-Mart occupies 2 of the floors, and has anything you could ever want or need - full grocery store, electronics dept, home furnishings, clothing, media.. When shopping, I can usually get by with 'hello' (see above), and 'Cahm Sahm Ni Da', which is thank you.<br /></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2kgOmqYaNgSrL6Ckm5sCgH2gghM9yaR_yNmbP1HsuU7R5RRM4EjtZpLFRgCY47HBVQaW1thVu4HkR0-f_x8H2TvQ_Q5XKaUCYaCbdxnBjdmNPrGTR43nEgLwOHjJcaziYz-ipj15I-eMJ/s1600-h/DSCN0692.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445566618888367522" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 223px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 136px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2kgOmqYaNgSrL6Ckm5sCgH2gghM9yaR_yNmbP1HsuU7R5RRM4EjtZpLFRgCY47HBVQaW1thVu4HkR0-f_x8H2TvQ_Q5XKaUCYaCbdxnBjdmNPrGTR43nEgLwOHjJcaziYz-ipj15I-eMJ/s320/DSCN0692.JPG" border="0" /></a>I finally joined the local gym on Sunday. It's in the same building as E-Mart, and is a really nice facility with lots of new equipment. They even give a really nice discount to us foreigners! The gym manager speaks English, but he's the only one I've met so far. They offer many exercise classes everyday during the week - yoga, aerobics, abs, spinning, etc. Eddie, our school manager, also mentioned that he has a bicycle at school that he doesn't use. I'm looking forward to start biking again once it warms up in the next few months. It should also be a great way to explore the local area.<br /></div><div><br />So in these few entries, I've given you a really brief overview of my experiences here. I have a few more ideas for future posts, but let me know if you'd like to hear more about something, or maybe something I haven't talked about.<br /><br /><br /><br />Hope you enjoyed it and talk to you soon!<br /><br /><br /><br />Anyongi-kseo (Goodbye, or 'Go in Peace')<br /><br /><br /><br />Matt</div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05856629475003824375noreply@blogger.com5