Easter Weekend at Temple

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.

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 exotic (?, at least, according to Koreans) fish out of the collective small pond - to borrow from, and in an attempt to combine, two cliches.

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).

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: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Precepts). Stronger people than me.

Anyway, Happy Easter!

A Traveler's Lesson: Relational Revolving Doors

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 Publix (wait, Lotte Mart) to say 'hello' (wait, '안녕하세요') and to buy a gallon (wait, liter) of milk (wait, 우유) might feel like an insurmountable challenge. Or maybe I'm getting a healthy dose of perspective through this traveling experience. Or maybe 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 phase of life. People told me this would happen.

Installment #1 of Matt's Life Lessons ®:

With each Korean sunset, and subsequently as the length of my Matt the Expat 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 is a common phrase shared between us Korean expats (and, I imagine, between expats in general) is that 'everyone comes with an expiration date'.

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 fleeting nature of expat-hood (watch for the preceding word in Webster's next year, and I want credit). 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...

Personal intrusion: 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 longer 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...

Meanwhile back at the ranch, the everyone to whom the saying evokes has also taken on endlessly more applications. Initially, everyone seemed to refer to a much smaller group of people. Everyone 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 everyone 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 disagree with them because we don't share a common language; etc.

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.

Product life cycle diagram, but you get the picture.

For an example (and likely what got this whole reflection ball rolling), remember my student John (who I introduced back in the February post)? 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:

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 was 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 transcended our very different cultures.

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.

Beginnings of a Second Year in Korea

Hi. Shalom. Aloha. Hola. Hallo. Bonjour. Hafa Adai. 안녕하세요 ('an yeong ha say yo' - remember that from the first post last year?).

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.

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 not 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.

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 always 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.

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.

My new address is:

276-1 Hanrasigma Park #419

Seohyeon-dong, Bundang-gu

Seongnam-si, Gyonggi-do

South Korea 463-824

And, in an effort to showoff my Korean literacy, here is the same address written in Hangul:

경기도 성넘시 분당구 서현동 276-1

한라시그마파크 #419

So, for those visual learners out there, here's a pictorial highlight show.

Here's the outside and lobby areas of my former apartment, and the corresponding pictures of my new place:

(Much improvement, huh?). And here's the change in my students and the actual inside of my apartment.

First, meet Johnny:

Now, here's John:

Here's last year's apartment:

And the new pad:

(Note: notice how last year's 'lobby area' looks oddly similar to the inside of the apartment? That's not an optical illusion.)

And, for my favorite comparison... Check out last year's bathroom:

And the one this year:

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!

Until next time, I'll be watching you from my CCTV..

Twas’ the night before Cureesumaseu

Sorry for the hackneyed style. The terrorists made me do it. Here goes:

Twas’ the night before Cureesumaseu, when all throughout the Korean hills,
Not a creature was stirring, not even the Sun of the Communist Future Kim Jong-Il.
The intercontinental ballistic missiles were stored inconspicuously by the DMZ with care,
In hopes that competent UN weapons inspectors soon wouldn’t show up there.

Lee Myung-bak was nestled all snug in his bed,
While visions of a reunified republic danced in his head.
And ajuma Kim in her hanbok, and I in my hilarious Babo t-shirt,
Had just settled our minds that this season we would not get hurt.

When from across the neighboring norebang there arose such a fuss,
I sprang from my ondol mat to see if it was the regular used electronics’ bus.
Away to the window I ran like a kindergartener with a belly full of candy,
Flew open the glass and thought, ‘well this is just dandy’.

When, what to my unbelieving eyes should come into view,
But a cute little jeep, joined by lilliputan DPRK soldiers. But only a few.
Apparently, this was the mightiest military division they could spare,
And left me with a sense of confusion where all I could do was stare.

With the grotesquely obese senior officer, fat, yet quick like a steed,
I thought, this must be the only countryman they can afford to feed.
Slower than a waygook using chopsticks his entourage came,
And he barked and he hollered target locations by name!

“To Hongdae! And Sinchon! Then Myeongdong and Yongsan!
Onto Insadong! And Gangnam! To Jongno and Bundang!
To the top of Namsan Tower! Jump over the fence!
Now hurry and charge! Race, race away hence!"

His eyes were so dim. His face full of fear!
He was terrified, for just word, the allies would soon be here.
His original intention shrank like samgipsal on a hotplate,
And he realized their invasion attempt would just have to wait.

He sprang into his jeep, to his team gave a command,
And away they all sauntered like a paresthetic right hand.
I heard him announce in broken English they would be leaving,
"Melly Culeesumaseu to arr, and to arr a good evening!"

I Survived The Most Terrifying Experiece Ever

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.

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.

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 anything 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, and you have a busted brain.

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.

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.

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.

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..

Great Southeast Asian Tour

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:

Cambodia

I caught my first flight from Seoul on Saturday, the 24th and made my way towards Phnom Penh: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phnom_Penh. 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.

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.

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.

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, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuol_Sleng_Genocide_Museum.

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, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choeung_Ek, 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.

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.

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!

Thailand

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: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangkok. 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.

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.

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.

I came upon several nice old temples, and my favorite was Wat Pho: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Pho. 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.

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.

I still haven't finished that book, but it's a good read.

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.

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:

The Philippines

After a long and restless redeye flight, I arrived in Manila at 5AM on Wednesday. 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, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeepney), which are the unofficial symbol of the island nation.

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:

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:

My favorite part of the trip to the Philippines was definitely the beach. On Thursday, we drove down to the Batangas province(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batangas) 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.

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): (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisig). A look at the picture will give you an idea of where they get this meat from. And 2) is known as balut (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut_(egg)). 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.

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.

Gluttony, Swimming & Friends with cars, Suwon Fortress, Children's Day

Hi again from Asia!


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).


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.


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.


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.


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.


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!













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).



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.



That's all for now. Talk to you again soon!



Matt