Dog Dinner

So I finally got my chance to enjoy a nice dog dinner. I didn't know I was going to eat dog meat that day till about an hour before lunch time. A teacher told me with a big smile, "We're leaving early today for lunch. Will you join us? We're having 'Mong! Mong! Mong!'" In the Western world, a dog says, "Woof! Woof!" In Korea, a dog says, "Mong! Mong!" I guess it's Korean dog language.

I had been anticipating this moment with a little anxiety. I have no problem with eating Fido, it's just the manner in which they kill him that has me concerned. Traditionally, the dogs are beaten and given a slow, excruciatingly painful death. This is done to raise the adrenaline in the animal before it dies. Supposedly, this gives the consumer a little high when the dog meat is eatin. I am not a vegetarian by any stretch of the imagination, but to beat an animal for pleasure is not something that I want to promote.

I was relieved to read in Wikipidia that in Korea they don't usually practice beating the dogs before death like they used to. There is mass concern with the treatment of the dogs though. They are kept in small kennels and live very poor lives before they are eaten. From what I've read, it seems worse than eating veal.
Dog meat is very expensive. My school breeds the type of dog used for human consumption. Many people raise dogs as an extra source of income. They call this type of dog 'dung kae.' Dung in Korean means 'shit,' and kaemeans dog. So the literal translation is 'shit dog.' They look like all white huskies. The puppies are very cute. They are also delicious! I wouldn't mind having one as a pet though. (I don't think I actually ate any puppies...)

The meal consisted of boiled dog meat on a platter, and boiled dog meat soup. This was garnished with ginger, parsley, and a delicious sauce. The side items included dog tongue and dog liver. The dog liver tasted similar to what dog food smells like. Not that great. As for the dog tongue, it was surprisingly tender! It didn't have much flavor to it unfortunately. As for the main coarse of dog, it was surprisingly delicious! It is a very fatty meat. Since it is boiled, it is quite tender. The taste is very similar to lamb!


Even at lunch time, some members of our party were partaking in massive consumptions of soju. (Korean alcohol.) I sat there on the floor, cross legged, with a blank look on my face for about two hours. My legs were falling asleep, and I had no clue what they were talking about. After attending similar meals like this for a year now, they are getting a little boring. I am sure happy I went though! Now I can always tell people that, yes, I did try dog while in Asia.

Korean Demilitarized Zone

The Korean Demilitarized Zone is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. The DMZ cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half, crossing the 38th parallel. At 160 miles long and approximately 2.5 miles wide, it is the most heavily militarized border in the world.

Upon the creation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, informally North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (ROK, informally South Korea) in 1948, it became a de facto international border and one of the most tense fronts in the Cold War.

South Koreans are not living in fear of their northern brothers. Through the media, Americans have more fear of North Korea than they do. Even though the North and South are still considered at war, North Korea is considered old news here. Neither side wants an all out war. This would create massive death. It would be a war between family members. Many South Koreans have long lost family that still live in the North with little hope of ever seeing them again.

Recently there was an attack on a South Korean navel ship by the North Koreans. Around 40 sailors died in the event. I was ready to run to the US military base! I was surprised to find the Koreans going about life as usual. My friend Cameron and I asked if we could change the channel to see the coverage of the event in a restaurant. We were surprised when the owner told us no! There was a popular television show on that the customers were watching instead.

If you’re visiting Korea, you have to go to the DMZ. We decided it was time. Our adventure started with taking the high-speed KTX train from Busan to Seoul. At 200 m.p.h, it is surprisingly quiet and smooth. It only takes three hours to get from one side of Korea to the other.

The city of Seoul is another matter… With a population of 10.5 million, it’s a crazy place. There are more people here in a smaller area than Tokyo. I usually spend half my time there lost and frustrated. Everywhere you go is lots of people all in a rush to get somewhere. It makes New York feel like the countryside.

This is the subway map for Seoul. It's ridiculous.

The majority of jobs for new graduates are in Seoul. Everyone my age in Korea has or wants to move to Seoul… not me!! Korea is a very conservative place, but you can see the influence of Western culture the most in this city. People are less shy here. It’s definitely a city for the young.

We stayed the night in Seoul at a hostel that took us a few hours to find… By the time we got there, we only had time to sleep for three hours. The next morning we headed to the bus station for the DMZ.

In all honesty, the DMZ is just a bunch of soldiers standing around with a big barbwire fence. You get to look out at North Korea. It’s just a bunch of grass and some mountains. Whoopee!

You do get to see the world’s tallest flagpole that sits in the middle of a fake city. The North Koreans want to give the impression that their country is doing great. They actually built a fake town to display their wealth. You can see it from South Korea with binoculars.

We also went into the Third Tunnel. The North Koreans have made many tunnels connecting their border with Seoul. It is not known how many of these tunnels exist. If there was ever an attack on South Korea, they might use these tunnels to bring in weaponry and soldiers. After touring this tunnel, I realized how serious these North Koreans really are.

The highlight for me was the chance to buy North Korean beer and soju! If you see me this summer, I will have plenty to share with everyone. The people that make these products live on the prison camps in the North. The condition of these camps is similar to Nazi Germany. People are tortured and killed on these camps.

Some people would argue that one should boycott these products made in such an evil manner. I disagree. According to defectors of these camps, the people working in the alcohol factories have the best jobs in the camps! They are the moneymakers. They find ways to steal the alcohol and trade it for food. This helps their families stay alive.

If you want to learn more about these prison camps, read this book: Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag

It is surprising to hear how cruel the government is to their people. There is one train that goes into North Korea each week. The South Koreans actually have factories that manufacture electronics in North Korea. They use the North Korean cheap labor. No train was coming on this day, so they let us hang out on the tracks...

Thailand!!

After spending the last few months freezing my ass off in Korea, there is nothing better than spending a couple weeks on beautiful beaches under the hot sun. It was a great vacation. The food is great, the locals are friendly, and the land and sea is beautiful.

I got to go SCUBA diving, snorkeling, kayaking, hiking, sleeping, swim with a whale shark, party, eat, drive a scooter, pet some tigers, ride an elephant, and meet people from around the world. They call Las Vegas “Sin City”… It’s child’s play compared to Thailand. You can get anything and everything in Thailand for a price. It is the playground of Europe. I hadn’t seen that many Westerners in 6 months!

People come to Thailand to use the land and it’s people for their own entertainment. At the same time, the Thai people use these rich foreigners to make some bahts! (Thai currency)

A typical day for a tourist in Thailand starts with getting lubed up and rubbed down by a Thai message therapist. This is followed by eating so much Thai food you could throw up… It’s so delicious! After one has recuperated from the food coma, they roll out of their hammock to spend hours shopping for pointless crap that they will probably throw away within a month.

Next comes drinking buckets of alcohol at one of the many bars and clubs through out the country and making a fool of yourself by being a drunken gluten. You literally buy 64 oz buckets! My favorite was a bucket of Red Bull and Vodka. I’m surprised there’s not more heart attacks.

The locals are more than willing to help you find ways to spend your money on whatever you want. They all know English, and are very good at bargaining your money away.

You have to watch out! They will try to take you on a taxi ride to nowhere and drop you off at shops with over priced trinkets. The taxi drivers get commissions on every tourist they get to go to these stores.

You can literally buy whatever you want. This includes the Thai people! Cameron and I were walking around one of the islands and found three full blocks of brothels. The girls come up to you, grab your God given jewels and ask you to take them with you for 1,000 baht. That’s about $30.

All over the tourist spots, you see old men with young Thai girls. They buy them to do whatever they desire at $30 for the next 24 hours. I guess if you need a tour guide, it’s a good deal! These tour guides show you more than the temples though…

As you might know, Thailand is filled with lady boys. They are men that want to be women, or have actually done the surgery to be changed into a woman. I found out through a great conversation with one of the locals that this is done with great sacrifice. Lady boys have a hard time finding work. People don’t want to hire them for fear that the tourists will be uncomfortable around them. Many men just naturally feel that they were born a woman in a man’s body. Hard to understand, but to each his/her own!

You have to watch out! Don’t let your wallet get stolen while getting a sneak attack hug by a hooker. If you find yourself attracted to a local, you might be surprised later to find out it’s a man as well.

While we were there, I heard of many stories of things getting stolen from the tourists…

Check out time was 10:30 a.m. at one of the hotels. I came running back to my hotel room and arrived at 10:40 to be surprised to see someone holding my passport and wallet. Cameron had gotten all of the luggage out of the room, but he didn’t see the wallet hiding in the bed sheets. They kindly handed it to me. Later on I counted the money and found that 5,000 baht was missing. That’s the equivalent of $75. I couldn’t argue, it would be their word against mine… I think of it as a donation to the poor of Thailand.

One of our friends’ camera was stolen as well… The worst story came from a Thai women. She is married to a French guy. When I saw her, I noticed that she was very upset. She explained that the night before, the mafia had taken her and locked her in a public bathroom. They wouldn’t let her out till her husband could get 20,000 baht out of the ATM. It’s not just tourists that have to worry for their safety.

Can you really blame them?? Every day the Thais see people come to use them and act like idiots. Spending 10 times more money in a day than they can earn from work. The tourist mistreat them and show off their wealth. If one has a chance to take a little piece of the wealth that they flaunt, why not.

I went on a date with Ms. Bikini Koh Samui 2007!! She was very nice to me. She showed me around the island and we spent the night talking about our different cultures and what it’s really like for the locals. She gave me a different perspective of the land. She works 11 hours a day, 6 days a week. She lives next to a beautiful beach, but only goes to the beach maybe three times a year. I just happened to meet her on her day off from work! She works in a hair salon. Through conversations like these while traveling, it really makes you appreciate what we have in our Western world.

If you’re looking for a great place to get away and relax, Thailand’s the place. It has something for everyone. Don’t be scared of the stories of violence and crime. Be smart and you’ll be completely fine. If you’re looking to find culture and a truly different society, go to Laos, Vietnam, or Cambodia as well. There are a lot of tourists in Thailand, and it’s making the Thai culture slowly deteriorate. Over all, it was a damn good time!

This girl had bug larva, grass hoppers, and beetles in a bag. I tried them all. Not bad. Very crunchy!

Jeju!!

So I got a free trip to the Hawaii of Korea! Jeju Island. Mr. Park, the coolest teacher ever, set it up. He wrote up a proposal to the head education department. He stated that the teachers needed to get some education on RFID technology. Google it if you really want to know what it’s about. Our school specializes in the teaching about this technology. It just happens that Halla University on the island specializes in this technology as well.

On the first day on the island, we took a bus to the college. I had no clue what we were doing. I didn’t have a clue as to what we were doing on most of the trip! You just learn to go with the flow and trust that they’ll make sure you don’t get lost.

We sat through a 30-minute lecture that was all in Korean. None of the teachers were paying attention, they didn’t really care. Next we all took some photos with the professors. The teachers had made a banner for the event. We all went outside and took a group photo. Then we left and went straight into vacation mode.

Mr. Park told me later on that the photos were taken to prove that we were in Jeju for educational reasons. He was going to write a report to the head department telling them how much we learned. He found a way to get a free trip for us all!

To the left is a picture of Mr. Park and I.

Next came some seafood lunch accompanied with soju of coarse. This was the start of three days touring the island in two buses.

These teachers are mostly male comrades. They have been working together in the same school for 5, 10, 15 years. They all know each other very well, like brothers. They all love to party too. I felt like I was on a bus full of old college buddies. They were handing me beers and oranges on the bus, getting the party started.

At night it was like the dorm rooms. Teachers were gathering in each others rooms for more talking and drinking. Some of them took me out to the bars and to noribong, the Korean karaoke. It was good times.

One night I ended up meeting up with the few women teachers at the school. They were partying just as hard in a noribong room. I was surprised to see my principal in there. She’s 70 years old, feared by everyone in the school, and yet here she was partying like she was my age. I showed her some of my dance moves, and to my surprise, she was able to dance better than a lot of the girls my age! She did the Tornado, it was great.

Mr. Park stayed up till about 5 a.m. each night. He’s in his late 40s and yet has more energy than most American teenagers. Good times. One teacher told me everyone loves their families, but it is so great to escape and party every once in a while. Koreans are very close to their families. I could see in their eyes that some were getting home sick. They kept asking me how I am able to be away like this for a whole year, it was only three days!

For those three days, I didn’t speak to anyone that knew English extremely well. I was surrounded by people talking and laughing, yet I felt all alone. Left with my mind and more time to think than I would ever want. Pat, if you’re reading this, I can’t believe you were able to live like this for a whole year in Russia. It would drive me crazy! I had no clue as to what was going on. I felt like a baby at the age of 26. They had to tell me where to go, when we were eating, where to sit. Half the time they wouldn’t tell me though, I had to be shown what to do. It was great to see all these cool places, but yet I was very happy to go home and be able to actually talk to someone.

Time goes extremely fast while traveling. Events happen fast and you learn fast. It has already been 5 months. I’ve broken two hearts, and gotten my heart broken. What’s the next 6 months going to be like!?

We were warned of the phenomenon called the honeymoon effect. When you come to a place like Korea for a long period of time, people go through a lot. When you first arrive, everything is new and exciting. You can be who ever you want to be! Everything that you experience is great, and even if it’s tough, it’s still exciting. You take pictures and laugh at how crazy things are.

After a while the honeymoon is over. You realize that there are some things about yourself that still hold true. Challenges that once were exciting and new become an every day routine. You start to make the place home and the routines of home come back.

Now you’re addicted to that thrill you had when you first got there. You want to chase it again! Now your addicted to traveling, chasing the dragon.

There is still plenty of drama between the foreigners, and so many things going on everywhere. It’s still never a dull moment unless you want it to be. It becomes overwhelming to people. They become hermits 6 months in, too overwhelmed. I’m not about to do that myself. I know some day I’ll be that guy talking about, “Well when I lived in Asia…” I’ve got to make the most of it. Appreciate the beauty of every moment. Easier said than done sometimes. What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger… and it makes a damn good story!

We stayed in a 4 star hotel while we were in Jeju. On the first night, I was supposed to sleep on this mat with one other teacher. This is common sometimes. I was fine with it, but when he saw me take a picture of the room, he decided that it wasn't suitable for me. I ended up getting a room with a normal bed.

The Koreans are very conservative, yet they are very open when it comes to the discussion of sex. Jeju Island is the place of honeymooners. Traditionally, many Koreans don't have sex till marriage. This sex park was made to lighten the mood for the newly weds. A way to take the tension off what they came here to do. Even the old tribal statues look like penises. Something to do with the fertility god or something.

My Apartment

I live in the middle of the city, about 40 minutes from the beach. I can ride my bike to the beach in 45. I live by a river in a 4 story apartment building. The area reminds me of downtown Denver and the Platte. I have one of the best subway systems in the world right outside my apartment. There is no need for a car, and taxis are extremely cheap.

My rent is taken care of by the school. My cable, internet, heat, electricity, etc. runs about 35 bucks a month. I have an extremely advanced phone with video calling technology that runs about 20 bucks a month. This leaves me with plenty of extra spending money.

My apartment is very small by Western standards, and yet very comfortable. It is heated by hot water going through the floors. You don’t wear your shoes inside, and when it’s cold out, your feet are always warm. Every type of food that I could want is right outside my apartment. My gym, bars, bank, department store, etc. are all within walking distance.

Most Koreans don’t have ovens! They don’t bake. I’ve got two burners, and a microwave. The fridge is small, yet it’s okay, I can’t eat enough food at home to fill it up usually.

There is a washing machine in my kitchen, but no dryer. Koreans don’t use dryers usually. You hang up your clothes on a fold up wrack in your house. Surprisingly, I don’t really miss the dryer!

Korea is a very compact country with a population of 48 million in the size of the state of Indiana. They have no space for trash, so waste is treated with great care. You buy government trash bags from the grocery store. They’re not too expensive, but you are expected to put as little of your waste in them as possible. They recycle everything. Every apartment building has recycling bins where you separate your trash. This even includes a container for compost. I end up with a lot less trash here than I did in the States.

The thing that aggravates most new comers is the shower. I have a showerhead over my sink. There is no shower curtin, the whole bathroom is my shower. This is quite common in Korea. The annoying part is that you get your socks wet each time you go to the bathroom. Every bathroom comes with shower shoes. You are supposed to put on the shower shoes to keep your socks from getting wet. This concept sure saves space, but it’s a little annoying.

Jan. 17^th I will be flying into Bangkok, Thailand. Cameron and I with a few other people will be spending two weeks in Thailand. This will surely bring about a good blog post, so stay tuned! Enjoy the winter cold!!

Texas Street

Go with the Flow

Some people have told me that I “go with the flow.” Being a laid back person is sometimes very necessary in a foreign country like Korea.

A Korean lady just rang my doorbell. She was wearing rubber gloves and an apron. She was about 5 foot nothing. She was talking away about something. No clue what about. She was looking at the inside of my apartment. I let her in just to see what the hell she was talking about. She continued talking away while she went and opened all my windows and turned on my two faucets. She then proceeded out the door and left. No clue what that was about. About 15 minutes later she came back and turned the water off. Whatever. Some people would freak out about a lady coming into their house. I’d rather see what the hell she wanted. Maybe she drained some poison out of the lines. Who knows.

Texas Street

Korea is known to be a very safe place. Well, South Korea at least. In Busan there is only one place that foreigners are warned about, Texas Street. I guess you could say it’s like the Wild West there.

It’s known for the amount of Chinese and Russians that live in the area. Cameron and I went in search of a good Chinese restaurant. We entered a run down Chinese restaurant. They gave us tea and appetizers before we even saw the menu. We were given the foreigner’s menu in English and we realized we were getting ripped off. They wanted to charge $50 for the two of us to eat crappy Chinese food. We decided to split a meal instead. They still were trying to charge us $50. The meal was actually worth about $12 at the most, we paid $25. It pissed us off, but we knew better than to make a scene in this neighborhood. At least they didn’t get away with $50!

We walked up and down the streets after dinner to get a feel for this mysterious area. The Koreans told us not to be there after 9:00. It was 9:30 by then, and the only people left on the streets were Russian hookers and their pimps. All the shops were quickly closing their doors, and the only thing left were the brothels and bars.

Cameron and I noticed two big Russian guys that walked up and down the main strip, keeping an eye on us and everyone else. I don’t think they were there to protect us.

I convinced Cameron to let me buy us a shot of Russian vodka at one of the bars. Two Filipino girls welcomed us at the door. They were extremely beautiful, and they obviously worked for the Russians.

We sat and drank our beers while they talked to us. They asked us to buy them a shot. This is customary for this type of bar. The girls are there to get you to spend money on alcohol.

We definitely got a wake up call that night. I complimented one of the girls on her ability to sing. She told me that she was sent to Korea on the promise that they would help her singing career. I quickly understood that I was talking to a sex slave.

She was not afraid to tell her story. There are 10 girls that live above the club, mostly from the Philippines. Some of the girls have lived in other places like Japan. She has lived in Pusan for 6 months. She didn’t know anything about the city. This is because she hasn’t been off of Texas Street since she has arrived. She hasn’t left the building.

A Russian lady watched us from across the room while we talked to the girls. This lady controlled them. She could not hear what we were talking about. The two girls asked us to get them out of there and back to the Philippines. What do you say to that?

My girl told me that they promised to let her return home in 9 more months. This is an empty promise that has been given to indentured servants throughout the ages. She told me how much she misses home, and how much she hates it at the club. It’s not something she would ever choose to do, and she feels there is nothing she can do.

We said our good byes, finished our beers, paid our bill, and walked up the stairs and out the door. We walked to the subway and sat in our seats. What would those girls give to be in our shoes, to be able to escape so easily from their hell on Earth.

All petty issues that I may have don’t seem of any importance now. Everyone complains about their annoyances in life, not realizing what someone would give to be in their position.

I feel angry. How can this be allowed to go on? Why?

It’s not always fun and games when you travel. I am glad I took the time to see the other side though.

Halloween: The first Halloween ever for the Germans. I was an Ajooma! (An old married Korean lady)

Koreans Are So Generous

As I spoke of before, Koreans like to touch each other. It's okay! They're pretty tough with each other too. You can think a serious fight is going on with hard hits. Next thing you see is the boys nuzzling with his head on his friends shoulder. Hard love.

Don't really make them angry though. They do know the national sport, Taekwondo. They have been know to put each other in the hospital. The police have to come to our school at least once a week for fights. The police come into our office, take their shoes off, and give the teachers a full bow. I think Denver Cops should do this, don't you?

Saturday, October 3^rd was Chusok, Korean Thanksgiving. It’s like Christmas here around that time. The malls are packed with people buying gifts for each other. You see people stressed out over the holidays just like back home. I got Friday and Monday off for the holiday. It was a much needed break. I got ginseng, onion juice, three loafs of bread, some pineapple, cake, and a laser pointer from teachers. I also got a few peanuts from a drunk guy in the subway for the holiday. Some old ladies by my house gave me some uncooked nuts too. It was gross.

Ginseng is huge here. A common gift to a boss is a bottle of ginseng extract. They run anywhere from 20 bucks to 100 bucks a bottle and more. The rare kinds are like gold.

It’s amazing how big health fads are in a country filled with drinking and smoking. I guess they counteract each other. I slammed my glass of onion juice with some teachers the other day for our health. Wow! Rather eat an onion, or slam cheap whiskey. Tasted pretty nasty.

In Colorado, when we think of raw fish, we think of little slices of sushi on a ball of rice. You don’t want to get too full unless you’re willing to spend over a hundred bucks. That’s not the case here! We had, “sliced fishy,” as they call it. All the English teachers went for some “sliced fishy.” We had an awesome view of the ocean. Plate after plate of raw fish sliced and piled high came out. We drank and ate for many hours. There was no need to even have rice. A sushi lovers’ heaven.

After a couple of hours of drinking, there was a big shouting match between some of the teachers. It sounded like a very passionate screaming match. It was okay I guess. We were eating in a private room at the restaurant. One teacher told me that this was needed as a way to get things out about work.

I think they were arguing over how they should go about punishing kids. There’s the old and new ways of doing things. To beat, or not to beat kids, that is the question. At one point, my boss told me, “Coming Monday, new responsibility for you. You will be in charge of punishment. Ok?” I agreed, but I’m sure glad that he forgot. A couple of students just went to the main office of education the other day to complain about the beatings. Now my school is in trouble, the English Department especially. Things are changing quickly here.

On a brighter note, I had a great celebration of my German heritage recently! Surprisingly to me, the Koreans have a great fascination with the German people. My boss told me that Germans are strong. I am German, so he believes I will do well at the school. Ok…

I recently met some German girls at Korean class. They were teaching me how to say my last name, Nebel, correctly. I still can’t say it like them. Pusan University actually holds classes in German. There are not too many Germans in South Korea, but there are a few Koreans looking to learn German. You can take a chemistry class in German here.

The girls informed me of a Korean Oktoberfest that they were invited to. The owner of the place found them at the university and asked them to join. I guess to make the whole Oktoberfest more authentic you need at least a few Germans.

We went to a huge German brewery bar. The place was packed with hundreds of Koreans on a Thursday night. We were seated up at the front for we were the only Westerners at the place. There was live music and lots of beer and German food. The place was not cheap. The owner let us eat and drink for free!

All of a sudden I felt a new sense of pride for my German heritage. Who would have thought it would bring me free food and drink! Many Koreans wanted to dance with us and get their pictures taken with us. They not only wanted pictures taken on their cameras, they wanted us to take pictures with them on our cameras. I was happy to do so.

Koreans like to provide entertainment while you drink. This night, we were only part of the festivities. There were dancing beer bottles as well as Koreans dressed like Germans. The band wasn’t that bad either.

I have had the chance to really get to know my new German friends in the last week. Last night was one of their friends’ birthdays. Here we are in South Korea, enjoying many beers with Russians, Germans, an Irishman, a Brit, some Americans, and of coarse some Koreans. After the bar, we headed to the norybong. This is Korean karaoke. We ended up singing the night away.

My Korean friend Jyoung is quite a character. A good man. I had class to teach at 7 in the morning, and he had to start his first day of Korean military boot camp at the same time. This is something that every Korean man has to do at a certain point in their lives. Like most Koreans, Jyoung has trouble knowing when it is time to go to bed. I myself am having trouble with this cultural problem. At 4:45 a.m. we realized that we could not try to go to bed. We would be in trouble if we did that. Here we are, German and English teachers and one Korean soldier, singing till the sun was up.

A Korean hangover potion is the only thing keeping me up long enough to write this right now. It’s called Morning Cure. I don’t believe there is any caffeine in this small drink. Actually I have no idea what is in it, but it works.

This morning I woke myself up to the sound of my own snoring at my desk. My co-teacher asked me to come with her. Of coarse my Western thought was that I was in trouble for sleeping. That was not the case. She showed me the sleeping room for the male teachers! It’s okay as a male to sleep at work if you need to. The room has a nice couch with comfortable pillows to take the edge off that morning hangover. I love Korea! They might not know when to sleep, but they do know how to take care of a hangover.

I can’t wait to sleep. Today I have no class, so I have lucked out. The students have tests to take. I have the whole day to prepare for classes. Of coarse, with this much free time there is always room for a nap or a little blogging.

Good times here in South Korea. I only hope I can go back to what is “normal” and not find life a bore. Every corner I turn is a new experience that I will never forget. Cheers from South Korea. Until next time, thanks for reading!

Some Things I Find Funny and Weird, and a Wedding

In Taiwan, they called Cameron a Submarine! (They meant to say he looked like a Marine, or that he can swim (he had flippers on his backpack.))

The trash trucks play Beethoven’s 5^th while they slowly go around Green Island. You think, “Ice cream is coming!” No, it’s just smelly Asian trash… Everyone knows to run out and throw their trash in the truck when they hear the beautiful music down the road. Good idea actually.

Taiwan and Korea love Beethoven! Taxies, trash trucks, door bells, and school bells; Beethoven.

Korea loves dogs, but they eat them too. “Delicious!” This is not a common thing. They don’t throw dog in to be cheap. Men usually eat dog. If someone eats dog, they might eat it on special occasions to gain power, and strength from the dog. Would I eat dog? I would if asked to. Why not? Just cause we love dogs, we can’t eat them too? One must let go of cultural fo-pas.

It’s okay to eat fast, stuff your face, and make lots of noise while eating, but God forbid you fill your own drink! Everyone fills each other’s drinks, and with two hands.

I watched my mentor teach an English class. He was speaking English to the class, and I thought it was Korean! They really do need native speakers.

Koreans love to spit! They’ll spit anywhere. In the subway, in the classroom, anywhere. I was checking out this girl in the subway and she turned around and hawked a lugee! Wow. At first I would tell my kids not to, but it’s a free spitting country. They can do what they want.

It’s so loud in the mornings! I wake up to a loud speaker every morning blaring, “I’ve got onions! I’ve got cabbage! I’ve got potatoes! I’ve got lettuce! Cucumbers, apples, fruit!” This is all in Korean of coarse. I thought it was communist propaganda or something at first. This is followed by the lady with her cart chanting something. I don’t know if she’s praying, selling nuts, or crazy!? There’s always the guy that wakes up like clockwork with a roar, a snort, and the hacking of the morning lugee as well.

Koreans make a hissing noise when they are thinking. A, “shhhhh, hmmm.” The men growl a lot. A big meal is always followed my many, “Hmmghghgh.” Hard to put on paper. Everything deserves a growl. Sitting, burping, satisfaction, and taking a shot to name a few. I will demonstrate sometime if you would like. I myself am becoming more vocal.

Koreans are not scared to touch each other. I told my boss he is a strong hiker, so he asked me to feel how strong his legs are. Yes, they were strong. When men are happy to be hanging out with each other, they hold hands. Women hold hands as well. I asked this Korean guy if he would like to meet some American girls. He was excited to do so. He grabbed my hand and we ran together to meet the girls.

After many drinks, a good friend is always a good crutch. The drunk guy puts his arms around his friend so that they can fall together, or hopefully stay on the feet. Western men freak out about this. There is no homophobia here. Why not bromance with your fellow brothers.

Koreans have names for their streets, but they don’t use them. If you need directions, you better have GPS, or a good map illustration.

The cops are so nice to me. Not sure if it’s the same for Koreans. I was asked to get my picture taken for my “Green Card,” Alien Registration Card. I said that I could find it by myself. Wow. Whoops. They drew me a map of roads to take by foot. It took a whole sheet of paper. Miraculously I found it. The picture was very nice. They took the time to air-brush me into Korean beauty. They made me whiter and with red lips. So nice. On the way back, I asked a cop, “Is Keum Jong High this way on the left?”

He replied, “Oooh, no, no, no! In!” Oh! My first ride in a foreign cop car. How nice. Now I didn’t have to walk. They did a U turn. They started driving for miles in the wrong direction.

I kept on saying, “Keum Jong High School. This way?”

“OK, OK, OK!” They dropped me off across town at some random other school I had never been to. I decided to not argue with the cops, it’s usually a good idea. Crap. I had class in 20 minutes. I didn’t have a phone, I didn’t bring the schools phone number with me. I had no idea where the hell I was. I walked for a good hour.

I’d ask people, “Keum Jong High School?” They kept directing me back to where the cops took me! I couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on. I decided to ask for the subway. I knew I could find my way back to school if I started by the train. Eventually I made it back. Come to find out, there are two schools with the same name. I had to learn to call my school, “Kum Jeung Jeon Ja Kong Go.” This means Kum Jeung Technical High School. They took me to the un-technical school I guess.

Korean weddings are awesome! My friend Diana took me to my first Korean wedding. It was her co-teacher’s friends wedding. We didn’t even know who they were. Someone told us it is important to bring a gift. We forgot. We put some money in an envelope and tried to give it to the wedding party. They refused to take it. I was going to write on the envelope, “To whom it may concern. From the foreigners.” Just kidding. The ceremony was 23 minutes. I timed it. They pump weddings through this hotel all day long. They even post the alloted time on the way in. There was no signs or mention of God. Considering the fact that we can not speak Korean, who really knows. Then, it was eat’n time! Everyone flocked to the buffet line. It was the best buffet line. It had four rows of food. This included, raw steak, cooked steak, shrimp, smoked salmon, sushi, etc. Salmon and steak are a delicacy here. There are no salmon in Korea, and not too many cows, if any. The quickest wedding ever. Some people were dressed up while others you could tell were there for the food. There were drinks there as well. Since it was Sunday morning, we didn’t hit the drinks hard. There’s no dancing or real partying that I am aware of at the weddings. After we ate, we left. If you get a chance in life, check out a Korean wedding.

Here is some Korean street art near my house: