South Korea

So far, my get-everything-out-of-Korea-I-can attitude is off to a good start. For Chu Seok (Korean Thanksgiving) holiday this year, with only one day off of work, my friend Tina and I took a night bus to Korea's east coast. Our destination: Seoraksan, Korea's jewel of a mountain just outside of Sokcho, right on the Sea of Japan.

Sokcho is a sweet little town with beautiful clean beaches, reliable transportation (something very common here in Korea), and awesome seafood.

Our first destination was the Hwajinpo Aquarium, which the guidebook said was shaped like a whale. That is why we went...BUT! Unfortunately, the guidebook people can't tell the difference between a whale and a ship or they did a complete overhaul in the past two years. Both seem possible.

The first floor was full of dead things. Stuffed creepy seals that smelled awful, creepy mannequins with assorted limbs, and creepy stuffed and shellacked fish / aquatic life that had googly-eyes glued on in lieu of real ones. CREEPY.

Blowfish. That just ain't right.

When I said assorted limbs, I meant it.

We finally made it to the actual aquarium where there were fish that were...you know...ALIVE.

This fish was pretty cool. I can't remember the name of it though...

The boy wasn't part of the picture, but he was stunned at the sight of us, so he stayed. Yes, that is a fish tank. And yes...that is a dinner menu advertised right above it.

Some more Sokcho sights:

Hwajinpo (Hwajin Lake) from the beach.

Man fishing in the Sea of Japan.

A fish ...cannery? On the bus ride back to Sokcho proper.

Cute street lights!

Fresh fish market.

Dried...something-or-other. Some type of seafood.

There are eleventy billion kinds of kimchi. These are just some of them.

Making pajeon, Korean pancake.

Sang-tae chigae, fish stew. It was different...lots of bones, and not very filling.

Ojingeo sundae...squid stuffed with spices and other things that I don't really care to know about.

Saturday, Tina, Prut and I made it to Seoraksan for a day of hiking in the mountain air.

Jjambong, spicy seafood noodle soup. This was breakfast! (Note: it is as spicy as it looks.)

The marquee seemed out of place among the natural beauty.

The road to Biryeong Pokpo (Biryeong Waterfall), our first destination.

The natural springs are put to use to cool the canned and bottled drinks for sale.

We made it a bit too early for significant fall colors, but some of the trees were already starting to change.

It was an easy hike there. I look pretty pleased with myself.

We found a friend on the trail. One of my friends said it's like he was giving the typical Korean peace sign.

Gosh, it's beautiful here.

Truly.

I kind of knew there was a big giant Buddha somewhere in Seoraksan, but it was a real surprise when we came upon it.

This couple was posing in front of the statue.

I'm not sure what these tablets were on the left...I think it was some sort of donation system. If you gave some money, you got to write a message on them.

How is this rock stack still staying up? MAGIC!

The temple of Sinheungsa / Seoraksan in the background.

Reeeeally nice.

Some lanterns. You know...no biggie.

We saw some more foliage.

The second trek we took was to Heundalbalwi, a giant 16-ton boulder near a Buddhist hermitage.

This is the view when we finally reached it.

One of the little Buddha statues on a rock.

Inside one of its temples.

Supposedly, the way it's positioned, you only need a few people to rock it back and forth. We were not those people.

As we climbed back down, we stopped and saw this amazing view.

Our last day, Tina and I tried to soak up the beach as much as possible before our 12:00 bus left for Seoul.

Matching outfits!

There were fences with barbed wire all along the beaches to keep out North Korean spies.

It was really sad to leave Sokcho...the air, the friendly people...just like with most small towns, it was hard to return to the big city.

As you all know, I am back in Korea. I arrived about a month ago and have already started getting back into the swing of things. This trip will be different though...I plan on making my time here well-spent. A lot of the free time I have during the day has been devoted to fitness...I've started running again and some basic strength training, usually because I am bored. I have also been watching a lot of TV on the internet. Yikes.

I am also awaiting my first paycheck. I thought about it the other day, and I haven't gotten a paycheck in about 3 months! How is that possible? Lots of help from friends and family.

I'm planning on seeing more of Korea this time. I went to Busan once and Gangwon-do three times in the entire 2.5 years I was here before. Since I'm trying to save money this time, my travel bug will have to settle for domestic trips, which I am happy to take. Apparently there is some pretty amazing stuff here. Go figure.

Anyway, I have been doing things lately that I had forgotten about...unique experiences only in Korea. And since I already wrote a mass e-mail about most of these things, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Red peppers drying on a bridge overlooking the Tancheon.

This kimchi stew is in contention for my favorite Korean food EVER. The kimchi is buried in the ground in clay pots and ferments for 3 years. Sound disgusting? Makes for some amazing food.

I got to hang out with my friend Jay (who apparently loves Popeye) and his friends from high school.

Korean bar food is very different than American bar food. And you can get it at all hours of the night.

Like...barbecue squid.

...and seafood soup.

Maehwasu...Korean lady liquor. It's very dainty.

Cass lemon. Cass is terrible, Cass lemon is no exception.

Sam gyeop sal! YUM!

Kyelin chim...fluffy egg soup.

Kim McJong Il!

Here my friend Tina and I are having the dead skin on our feet and legs eaten by tiny little fish. It feels really crazy at first, but then you get used to it. Sometimes they even went in between toes.

At Castle Praha brewery in Gangnam, they had these decorative pigs for sale.

We went to Rainbow Hookah bar...one of my faves from before!

This was on the inside.

My dinner...Mr. Wow spicy sausage on a stick...with mustard! (Street food in Korea! AWESOME!)

There was a concert in Korea last night, called Global Gathering. I didn't really care about this concert, not a fan of electronic music, but my one of my favorite bands, Royksopp was in the lineup! Tina and I decided to...ahem...loiter outside of the grounds to hear the music. For free. We had to walk to Nanji park from World Cup Stadium and a nice Korean girl gave us directions...in Korean. If I had been able to understand, I think she was saying "But guys, you're going to have to walk for like...an hour." Here is the riverwalk by the Hapjeong River (which eventually...a long way down the road...flows into the Han River). It was a really pleasant night and we ended up making it for the last half hour of their set!

Character of a Japanese Izakaya in Hongdae.

There is a mini-bar called "Vinyl" that offers to-go cocktails in little plastic pouches.

I got a vodka lime!

Tina karaoke...with Tina!

Cute little owl bar.

Ok! That's it! My next post will most likely be after Chu Seok...we are planning on going to the East Coast, to Mt. Seoraksan for some hiking!

Well, folks.

It's been 2 and a half LONG years in Korea, but I've made it.
Korea has always been a temporary place, and it's been hard to see people come and go. It was easy to get settled in, but with the knowledge that it couldn't be forever.

I've taught lots of kids, made lots of friends, drank lots of soju, gone to lots of countries, read lots of books, eaten LOTS of kimchi, and taken TONS of photos.
Now comes the time to move on to the next place. It's time for a new adventure. I don't doubt that I'll be back in Korea...just hopefully not for a few years. This country can get to a person, if one really allows it to happen.

It's time to post some photos.

Things I will NOT miss:

Trudging to work via the subway EVERY MORNING during rush hour. It is so miserable.

Dodging cars on the sidewalks. There are technically traffic laws, but they seem to be more guidelines than anything.

The massive amounts of pollution; on the sidewalk, in the air...everywhere. It's especially bad during "Hwangsa" or the yellow dust storms that come from the Gobi desert, picking up heavy metals along the way.

Beondaegi. Silkworm pupa. I don't encounter it on a day-to-day basis, but come on. I've eaten centipede and I won't even CONSIDER this.

The same apartment buildings everywhere. And I do mean everywhere.

Traffic. Traffic. Always with the traffic.

Terrible fashion. But to be fair, I will also miss it. It's so absurd sometimes.

Being attacked by Christian propaganda. If a stranger approaches you on the street, in the gym, or on the subway, it is either to practice English or get you to come to church. Even if you have a constant scowl on your face and headphones on. Agh.

I will not miss being stared at, though I will find it odd that everyone ignores me back in America. I will not miss being pushed around by old women and men, I will not miss the whiny girls, the crowds, the trash, how it's ok to spit in public but not blow your nose, being told to go home, being discouraged from speaking the little Korean I know, the pushy mothers.

I really could go on. It IS time to go home. So just to prove that it hasn't been ALL bad, here are:

The things I WILL miss:

Insadong, where they have changing displays in the Andy Warhol factory. It's just a really nice area.

Bundang in the spring. Since Korea doesn't get a lot of snow, there's no slush. It's beautiful.

Even though they take it to the extreme sometimes, Koreans can unite like nobody's business.

Konglish. Engrish. Call it what you will...it's funny and it's everywhere.

Old fortresses everywhere.

Riding my bike into Seoul and aside from the wandering children / ajummas / couples, being completely safe.

Buddha's Birthday celebrations. We get a day off of work AND there's a really cool parade.

Drinking outside. Legally. At a convenience store.

Korean baseball games. Even though I really only went to one...

Dogs dressed up. Ok, most of me feels bad about having to see a dog suffer this. I love dogs. I do. This is just absurd.

Kimchi...kimchi mandu. Kimchi chigue. Kimchi fried rice. Kimchi, kimchi, kimchi.

When it does snow, it looks really nice.

Mandu ramen.

Sam gyeop sal and kalbi.

I will not miss the subway, but I will miss cheap access to reliable and efficient public transportation.

Rafting weekends in Gangwon-do.

Proximity to lots of OTHER really awesome countries:

Vietnam

Japan

Taiwan

Thailand

Singapore

Indonesia

China

And last, but certainly not least, my students:

John K

John C

Clara

Jennifer

Pisces

Kate

Esther-pants

Denny

Sean

I've taught them well.

I will of course miss my friends, but I know we'll meet again.
Don't know where, don't know when.
But I know we'll meet again some sunny day.
Keep smiling through
Just like you always do.

Compliments of the Man in Black himself, Johnny Cash.

I (We) made it!

Tune in next time for my 2-week vacation to Thailand! Woohoo!

Once a week, each class gets 30 minutes of outdoor time, making use of the front yard of our school.

And now I have pictoral proof of this.

Joseph.

Sean.

Sebin.

Cindy.

Smooshed on the slide.

The reason I get up in the morning, Esther-pants.

(*81 days left until I leave Korea! 12 days until I go to Singapore!)

Ok, loyal readers. I know that it's been approximately 10 years since I've posted anything. For this, I am only partially sorry. Most of the time, I feel that I am as comfortable in Seoul as I was in South Bend, meaning, of course, that nothing has really been too blog-worthy. But since I have not e-mailed anyone either, I feel it is time for a DOUBLE POST! That's right....two, two, TWO BLOGS IN ONE! Why all the caps? It's all very exciting, you see.

The first post will be about the first of many outings taken with my NEW class at the Daechi Worwick. (Sidenote: if you don't remember why I am not at the Bundang Worwick, backtrack to the post "Being Fired in Korea"...ring a bell? Ok, let's continue then.)
My NEW school is set in Daechi, in the greater Gangnam area, in Seoul. What this translates to is an hour commute via crowded, hot, smelly subway for 40 minutes one way. I didn't move because, well....I really hate moving. My entire community of friends and restaurants are set in Bundang, and I only have 112 days (not that I'm counting) left in Korea, so why move? To a smaller and dirtier apartment? Where I have to relearn local geography and infrastructure? No, thank you. The school itself is quite beautiful. It was the first of the series, and is a stand-alone building, two stories, with a FRONT YARD! It's not very healthy or particularly lush grass, but it serves its purpose. We also have a swingset, with a slide and seesaw and are alloted 30 minutes per week to go crazy in an outdoor setting. This part I like.

I will not go any further in depth into the parts I don't like. Not gon' do it. Wouldn't be prudent.

Anyway, the only thing keeping me sane amidst the regular insanity is, again, the kids. I have a class of 7 (slightly down from the 9 I started with) beautiful, silly, wonderful, bright students. I took over for a teacher that incorporated no discipline, who took over for a teacher that incorporated FAR less discipline. My kids have adapted well, speaking no Korean in class, and for the most part staying in their seats. I love them.

Because of our location in Seoul rather than the "suburbs", our outings seem to be limited. We had my first one at Olympic Park in the Jamsil area. It was a beautiful, mild day and the kids seemed to have fun, then be worn out and irritable. So it goes.

The conditions were favorable.

Grass is very sacred in Seoul. When we tried to let the kids run around all over it, we were promptly scolded by the ajassi landscapers.

My new babies, Libra class. 1st row, L-R: Denny, Kate, Sebin, Cindy, Esther. 2nd row: me, Daniel (who has left us for Korean kindergarten), Sean, and Jung Ook (our Korean teacher)

Chaos in a garden maze.

Clara, from Cassiopeia class, is by far one of my favorites.

I can't remember what they were pointing at....I believe one of the kids was using his taekwondo powers on a swarm of gnats....

Esther, on the left, is the new sunshine of my life. (Ignore the cocked fist...she usually just hugs or clings)

This is Sean, modeling one of the classic poses after an outing. The dismay. The horror. The exhaustion.

My kids are super-sweet, if not a little rambunctious. I have parent-teacher meetings coming up, an event that always makes me reach for the Tums, especially at the new place. Our punishment is to teach a full day of kindergarten, then have double elementary, then two hours (average) of meetings. I'm looking at a 12-hour sentence. Fun.

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Christina's Wedding

Recently, one of our ex-co-workers, Christina teacher, got married. Up until now, I have avoided Korean weddings like the plague.

So, imagine, if you will, a Korean wedding: they take place in a Wedding Hall, which is basically like a wedding factory. The ceremonies are about 30 minutes long and secular (I think). The halls are in a perpetual state of decoration, the same ones all the time. The couple comes in, gets married, there is generally a banquet somewhere on the premises, quickly, then the next one comes. Usually when the ceremony is taking place, the entire audience (because that is exactly what they are) is talking on their respective cell phones. Phones are ringing, people are elbowing each other to get the best seat/standing area. It's like the subway. It's hard to get a good picture because there is a crowd of photographers standing at the altar with the couple. They are omnipresent. Everything is in Korean, because, well....we're in Korea. So if you're a foreigner in the audience, it's pretty much guaranteed you won't understand a word. Two people sang songs, one in Korean and one in English, (I don't know if that's typical) the ceremony was over, then the whole family was herded like cattle to the front for pictures. Then the friends. Then the food. Then get out, get out, get out! because there's another couple coming in.

I went because it was our friend's wedding and I knew it was pretty much the only time I could reason going to one of these things. I managed to get a handful of good pictures in.

A picture of the formal picture of Christina and her new husband, Dong Hyun.

Wedding hall exterior.

Amy and I with Christina in the bride's room.

The interior of the wedding hall.

Christina and her dad going down the aisle.

Listening to one of the singers.

Bowing to Dong Hyun's parents (this is customary; the bride does a half bow, but the groom does a full-body bow)

Just married!

Christina and Dong Hyun's families.

And so a Korean wedding goes.

This post was incredibly long, but I'm making up for a lot of lost time. My next post will probably be from Singapore, where I am going for Christmas! Woohoo!

Disclaimer: I apologize if this post sounds bitter, or angry in any way. But, as in life, the good always comes with the bad. Also, this sad tale illustrates a big part of Korean culture in a work-related form.

Um, so yeah...as the title suggests, I've finally been had by the kids' moms, who don't want me as their kids' teacher, claiming that I don't like their kids and the feeling's mutual, never once bothering to actually talk to me, or even look at me.

As you probably know from previous posts here, my favorite class, my only class, was closed due to the higher-ups being cheap and making me take another class of higher-level kids, the ones who are full of themselves, yes, even at 7 years old. It was a rough first month because I didn't bend to this attitude and instituted my own classroom rules and began disciplining, which seemed to be the first time this ever happened to them. This happened in July.

Things changed, the kids got used to the rules, and suddenly, we all got along. The kids freaked out when they saw me in the hall...we joked with each other and I began to care about the little punks. Then one fateful day, we arrive at the "Peach Incident," as it has later been referred to.

One day, we had cut up peaches as a snack. Given no plates or forks, I put the peaches on a tissue on their desks.

And that was the peach incident.

The moms had the proverbial cow, taking this as a clear sign that I hated their children and severely insulted them, their kids, and by extension, all of Korea.

So they wanted me out...and since they are really just big bags of money who want their kids to be doctors at age 12, who don't want their kids to actually have fun, they will always get their way. So even though I loved their kids, and their kids loved me, I am no longer a teacher at my school's Bundang campus.

But wait...am I really fired? No. I am not. Unless you genuinely screw up (like set fire to a child), you will just be transferred. It's the Korean way. You could be lazy, incompetent, or in this case, just unpopular, but you will just be moved. So I am being transferred to the Daechi campus, near Gangnam.

I am heartbroken, more so than before when my other class was canceled in the first place. The directors of my school set a precedent when this same thing happened to a co-worker of mine. Our directors bow to the mothers, and I like to think they fight their hardest before they do so. They agreed with me that this was an absurd request, they know that I love my job and my kids, and that I try to be the best teacher I can. But still.

This is so very sad.

I will miss my babies.

As I might have mentioned before, living in Korea, you lose your sense of wonder about anything around you (as you do any place, I suspect). You become accustomed to not understanding anything anyone says, being pushed around in a huge crowd of people, and still being surprised every time you see "one of your own." Then again, sometimes events (or people, as in this case) push you to really see what's around you, to once again enjoy your surroundings and yes, even be pleasantly surprised.

Sini, my friend from Finland whom I met in Vietnam, has been here visiting for the past week. It's so strange: even walking through the streets that I see every day has become a new experience. I've learned to see things through new eyes, to taste food differently, and (holy crap) even be much more polite to people.

This weekend, we went on the KTX (Korea's super-fast train) 2.5 hours to Busan, way in the south of Korea.

Busan (often Romanized into Pusan) is right along the coast, with its own metro and everything. Sini and I found a really great hotel seaside with an amazing view for only $70 (normally $120). It was raining and we were nearly blown away by the hurricane-like winds. So we took a nap in our hotel room with only the sound of the waves.

After, we found a nice restaurant nearby with really great sashimi and about 100 side dishes.

Strong waves knocking kids over.

Haeundae beach.

Then we decided to try our hand at the sauna/jjimjilbang. I haven't been comfortable enough to walk around naked with perfect strangers, but Sini really wanted to go to compare it to the Finnish sauna, so I thought now was as good a time as ever.

We walked into the building and got off the elevator on the wrong floor. We started entering a room when there it was: a big tattoo on a Korean man's butt. Oh. This must be the MEN'S floor. Woops. So then we went down one more flight of stairs to the main counter to pay and go to the WOMEN'S sauna. We paid our $6 and were on our way.

The main problem we had was that there are no instructions for this sauna. We got our towels, took off our clothes and walked into a huge room with about 6 different pools and about 70-80 naked Korean women of all ages. Ok, now what? It's probably best that we take a shower. So we walked over to the showers where one of the scrubbing ajummas in a bra and panties (signaling they work there) came and handed us stools to sit on and bowls. We sat down and turned on the shower but...no soap. We tried to look as helpless as possible so someone would help us and sure enough, a really kind older women brought us her shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and loofah. We thanked her kindly and scrubbed away.

Then, in the center of the room were three huge hot baths with women lounging along the side and soaking. We learned the hard way that you're supposed to start in the coolest one and work your way up to the hottest. After the initial stares (I have 5 tattoos and I'm white), we all got used to each other and Sini and I could relax. Since I was a newbie, I couldn't go to any of the other hot baths. Then we went to a cooler bath on the side that has built-in chairs with really powerful jets of water (which are incredibly difficult to stay on). After a while, we went to the sauna rooms. My medical condition prevented me from the really hot ones and only allowed a 5-minute stay in the least hot one.

Then we decided we wanted to put the scrubbing ajummas to work. It was unfortunate that we couldn't understand each other. She thought we hadn't washed at all yet and was asking her what to do. We thought she was telling us to get out of there as soon as possible. We tried to explain that we had already washed and wanted only the scrubbing (oh yes. You can pay someone to actually scrub your entire body). A discussion ensued in which none of us understood anyone else. As you can imagine, this wasn't the quietest conversation so the entirety of the spa room stopped what they were doing and began staring with amused looks on their faces. A woman went and bought us all of the toiletries we needed, which was indeed very nice, but we left them and moved on.

After the naked part, you're given a nice loose shirt and shorts to wear to go to the 6th floor jjimjilbang, which is a communal area. We saw people sleeping, eating, taking sauna, and playing on computers. We opted for the DVD room, where we watched the new Die Hard movie on a sleeping mat on a heated floor.
We took a taxi back to the hotel and went to bed, satisfied with our first Korean sauna experience.

The next day was again overcast, but not as rainy, so we went to Beomeosa Temple on the complete opposite end of the metro. It was quite beautiful.

A street on our way.

A pillar with old Korean writing.

One of the guardians in the gate.

An old tree surrounded by bamboo.

Black and white makes everything look classier...even if it seems impossible.

Wall, Beomeosa.

Tile on the roof.

Stairs at Beomeosa.

Tower.

Temple buildings.

Beomeosa/mountains.

Some of the trees were really cool, with leaves that were shaped like fire.

The pictures pretty much say it all. Of course none of the Buddhist temples here are exactly the same, but they seem to run together. The best part, for me, was being where the air was so clean and getting away from the noise of Seoul. The temples are always so peaceful, usually with only the sounds of chanting around. Most of the buildings were quite old, though I tried to be respectful and not take pictures of the ones being worshipped in.

After, we had a very nice lunch near the subway station, then headed to Busan Station to catch our evening KTX. The view was quite beautiful on the ride back.

So if you read this, Sini, then thank you for helping me get my wonder back. And giving me the courage to go naked in front of 80 strangers.

The most stressful two weeks of teaching kindergarten is over!

Stressful? Kindergarten? Teaching in KOREA?!

Yes, I know. It's crazy. For the past two weeks we have lived in a hell reserved only for Worwick teachers. The hell that is (cue dramatic music) production week!
We had to make costumes and props and drill our students on a script, actions, songs, and movements. The kids hated it and so did we.

I was especially worried because my moms are very high-strung and uptight (more on that later), so if my kids didn't perform well not only would I incur the wrath, so would the kids. One student even said "My mommy gets angry if I make a mistake." What could I say? Only that I wouldn't.

The day went off without a hitch...my kids were GREAT and those uptight mothers even brought me flowers.

These aren't my kids, they're the 5-year-olds. They did a really great job too.

These are my kids, Aries class. L-R: Na Yeon (Bunny), So Yoon (Ella), David (Cro), Clara (Annie) and Jerry (Dibo the Gift Dragon). They did so great!

Libra, Delphinus and Aries class singing at the very end.

Our school also rented really big carnival-style character costumes to supplement our play. We got to wear them and come running in, much to the kids' surprise. Fun!

With Dibo feet.

Dibo (me) and Elo (Tina).

It was eleventy billion degrees in there and since I was too tall, it bruised my forehead. But other than that, it was actually fun.

We recently went to a baseball game at the stadium in Jamsil, Seoul.

The snacks were pretty god awful....dried squid anyone?

The fans for the Tigers are pretty much awesome...they never stopped cheering...well that is, until it started lightning and pouring rain.

And to think...this pretty little patch of sky started it all.

A note about Korean baseball: they don't have "regional" teams, like we do in the States. Instead, they are sponsored by corporations (I guess it's the same in America, but here, they don't even try to hide it), such as the LG Twins (LG), Doosan Bears (Doosan), Kia Tigers (Kia), Hyundai Unicorns (Hyundai), and Samsung Lions (Samsung). Do you see the trend here?
But beer is $3 a pop and there's all the pat bing soo you can handle!

I am utterly heartbroken.

My Johns might not come back from Canada/America.

My girls are moving up to a class that might be too difficult for them because of numbers.
This all starts next week, and I am worried/anxious/angry about all of this. Tough break, I guess.

Hopefully I can whip these new kids into shape. Their little brains have been programmed to brag, gloat, and toot their horns to how smart they are, usually at others' expense.
Ugh...I knew Pisces was too good to be true.

What a nice break to go on outings with my babies.
This is my last week as Pisces teacher; my boys are studying abroad (yes, even though they are technically 6) and my girls are being dispersed. I will be the new Aries teacher.

Anyhow.

Can't think of a better way to spend a hot day at the end of June than by walking around and going in and out of greenhouses.

There were a lot of cool things though.

Stacks of rocks.

Korean totem pole.

Lotus! A real one this time!

Lots of waterlilies.

Little guys.

Silkworm!

Greenery in one of the greenhouses.

Lilies.

Thank you, macro function on my camera!

Pretty stuff.

Everybody goes to the river to exercise, socialize, and alcoholize.
Good times.

Well, folks, I am officially 24 years old now. My birthday is over in all parts of the world, and yet....it seems to be the celebration that never ends.

Lo, though I am far from family and friends in Indiana, I have adopted new ones in Korea that are hell-bent on making sure that the birthday does not go unnoticed. And actually, that it doesn't last for fewer than 4 days.

First: the work birthday

My Pisces babies and I.

Jennifer's mom brought in a cake to share with the class.

Jennifer had two pieces.

Not a good idea.

Then, that night we had "Hobo Birthday" down by the Tancheon River. Tired of Carne Station (all you can eat and drink for $25), I decided I wanted a beer and pizza picnic by the river.

L-R: Robyn, Sarah and her folks, the Grants, Matt, Jen, Courtney, Rose, me, Sarah.

These were the festivities, including Korean high school students.

Cake #2: Baskin Robbins ice cream. Delicious.

Moving along to Saturday...

Chantal was unfortunately injured and couldn't make it out for Saturday night, so she bought me lunch at Wazwan #2, or Taj Palace. So delicious.

Last year, my birthday was themed "Sex Terrorists." In keeping with the spirit of themes, we went as "Failed Beauty Pageant Contestants." Ridiculous.

L-R: Mr. Sunnyvale Trailer Park (Mikey), Kyla, Miss Failed Sex Change (me), Mr. Mormon Pimp (Henry), and Miss Teen STD (Rebecca).

This particular celebration lasted until 6am.

Fast forward to Monday night with Sung Won and Hae Rim, former co-workers of mine. A bottle of Riesling, free champagne, and cake # 3.

How could this have been a better birthday? Well...that pony I've always wanted, and perhaps Javier Bardem. But other than that, it was great! So thanks to all who made sure that it was one for the books!

PS - I finally booked my flight to Taiwan for July vacation. Woohoo!

I went to take a picture of the beer in a bag on the side of the paving truck, and this delightful ajassi got in at the last moment.

To their credit, the street was paved in about 3 days.

Some pictures from my very first hike in Korea, climbing the treacherous Dobongsan ('san' means mountain).
These are borrowed from my friend, Sarah, who is now back in Canada.

This is Seoul from the top of Dobongsan.

One weekend, Sarah (again!) arranged for some of us to go hiking in the Dobong mountains, which are just north of Seoul. You can see them from the subway and they look pretty intimidating, but since we were all supposedly beginners, I didn't think that we would be climbing all the way to the top.

Boy, was I wrong. We all met at the subway station. It was Sarah, her Korean friend Sharon, Sharon's friend Kae Min, two guides (I didn't learn one of their names, but we called him "Mountain goat man" because he was literally leaping from rock to rock with no fear and no slipping...the other one told us to call him "Opa" which here means older brother, or boyfriend), and our friend that we met at Musangsa, Courtney, and her friend Mickey.

We were supposed to go from 8am to 12pm, and we were all thinking oh it will be a nice walk in the park (literally), on straight grounds and the fact that I didn't have hiking shoes and wore my crappy Nikes would be perfectly fine. WRONG! It started off easily enough, we were going at quite an incline and all huffing and panting and sweating, thinking that it would level off soon enough. Wrong again. Turns out we were going all the way to the top of the mountain, with stops in between to rest our beginner bones (and muscles, and joints, etc.). We had a nice break at one of the Buddhist temples up there and refilled our water bottles in a really clear and clean pond.

So then we kept going. At this point, Seoul was looking farther and farther away. It really is pretty huge. The view was rather incredible but we had to keep moving. Just when you thought you had completed the hardest part, you look ahead and see nothing but smooth rocks, usually at a 45-90 degree incline or decline and you have to try to either climb up them or scale down them using nothing but your wits and shakey legs. At every pass, I kept thinking, is he kidding me?, but then we would do it and get past it and it would be nothing but a memory and a sore spot on your body.

When we reached the first summit (yes, that's right, I reached a "SUMMIT!"), we were pretty proud of ourselves, thinking cool, we reached the absolute top, now let's go down. But then you'd look up and see more of these summits and Opa would tell us that we had about 3 more hours to go. So we just kept going. We met some really colorful characters on the way. One old Korean man with crazy socks was trying to take our picture and kept talking to us in English and giving us this hilarious laugh and making everyone on the summit shut up and look at us. He was very nice and very funny.

So we're leaping from rock to rock, sliding down others, and quite a few times we literally climbed a rock at a 90 degree angle. No joke. They had metal wires set up as ropes, so mostly we were using our arms and powers of estimation to find the next foothold.

...there was more, but these were just the highlights. Ah, yes. 2005. I remember it well.