I go dancing here sometimes. I usually get up on a platform and then K-girls push their boyfriends at me to make them dance with me. There is also a whole wall covered with mirrors, and K-girls line up in front of them and stare at themselves while they are dancing.
There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good. Edwin Denby
Thursday, July 26, 2007
club bubi bubi
Idioteque - by the Cock Blockers
This is my favorite band in Korea, and some of my favorite guys. I've spent many a debaucherous night with them.
Danny- the drummer. He's from O'Fallon, MO and is engaged to one of my best K-girlfriends.
Curtis- vocals and jimbae. He's awesome, brought me Peanut Butter Cups the last time he went to America. His girlfriend did a belly dance at their last show. It was hot.
Chicago Dan- guitar. He moved to Busan but comes back for reunion shows. I miss him.
Paul- Bass. Nuff Said
Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. Berthold Auerbach
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Bow Down
In a hotel in Seoul...
Bow down before the one you serve. You're going to get what you deserve. Trent Reznor
Bow down before the one you serve. You're going to get what you deserve. Trent Reznor
Hannah's Horny Skin
My favorite Korean beauty product is Skin Food. They sell skin care and cosmetics made from the extracts of natural foods. Some of my favorites are the Lime Body Exfoliant, the Black Sugar Facial Scrub, Beer Shampoo, and Milk Hand Cream.
Hannah purchased some Grape Seed Oil Body Wash. The label says:
Body shower gel that contains jojoba (??) beans to control rough horny substances and nutrient rich grape seed oil to improve the smoothness of the skin.
Apparently in Korea, skin is considered a horny substance. Ha!!!!!
The earth has a skin and that skin has diseases, one of its diseases is called man. Friedrich Nietzche
Baseball Game
Tremendous took me to my first Korean baseball game a few months ago. It's only 6,000 won and there are no seat assignments. (Compared to a 7,000 won movie where you first have to get a line ticket to purchase the actual movie ticket, and then are assigned a seat in the theater!)
Our home team is the Daejeon Eagles. (Eag-ers! Eag-ers! Eag-ers!)
Our home team is the Daejeon Eagles. (Eag-ers! Eag-ers! Eag-ers!)
They had karaoke outside of the stadium,
and these teeny weeny kids were singing.
It was very cute.
Tremendous. What more can I say.
He's a rock star- a little girl kept running up to look at him
and then brought him an orange.
Look closely at this next picture. First, observe the gentleman wearing a sun visor made out of a box that is advertisting Hite beer. Very creative. Please also notice the man in the left corner reaching his arm out. The white item in his hand is ice cream. The ice cream is in some sort of plastic container thingy and you suck the ice cream out of a little hole in the top. It's hilarious to watch people eat these....and a little disturbing. The first time I saw someone eating a chocolate one, I swear for a brief second I thought they were eating poo.
A hot dog at the ballgame beats roast beef at the Ritz. Humphrey Bogart
Sunday, July 22, 2007
A new blog for a new year....
I have discontinued my blog from last year. Although there were moments of good cheer and considerable growth, it was the worst year of my life. I approach this year with a clean slate, and embark on the adventure with a clarity that was notably absent last year.
If you'd like to visit my old blog, http://www.koreasmiles.blogspot.com/, please feel free to send me an e-mail or leave a comment and I will be happy to provide you with the password.
It's been a few months since my last post, so following is a brief wrap-up of my last few months in Korea.
I somehow managed to accrue an amazingly supportive group of friends. Besides the mates that I originally journeyed with, I have developed intensly loyal friendships with a small group of Canadian girls. With this fellowship- Troy, Tremendous, Danger, Hannah, Charlotte, and Sarah- I endured and even thrived in my last few months. It is because of them that I am able to undertake this challenge again.
Saying goodbye to my students was upsetting. I become agitated just remembering it, so I'll bypass this topic.
Troy was genial enough to recommend me for a job at his school, and after meeting with his manager and directors, I signed a contract for a position beginning September 1. I'm excited (and somewhat nervous) to be working with Troy, and slightly apprehensive about moving to the outskirts of town. However, the positive aspects outweigh any hesistation that I have. I'm looking forward to teaching again and am relieved to have many rookie mistakes behind me.
The last few days in Korea were challenging, to say the least. My school didn't pay me until right before the bank closed on the last day that I was in the country, I tried to get travelers checks from two branches and ended up frustrated and in tears at both (resulting in my carrying around thousands of dollars in cash for several weeks), I had to be out of my apartment the day before I left which was somewhat of a logistical problem..... luckily the guy I was (am?) dating is very patient and pretty much carried me along.
Entertainment wise, it was, of course, the good life. I won a 20,000 won bar tab at a karaoke contest (I'm unsure if this was due to good singing or just because I'm so freaking hot) and came in 3rd in a cocktail making contest. There were only 4 entries, and the losing entry had every type of alcohol that Curt could find in it, but still, I didn't lose. It was a proud moment. I saw Transformers and it was so beautiful, I actually teared up several times. I of course spent some time at the nori-bong and went dancing a few times with Tanysha. Not to be forgotten were several girls nights involving varying amounts of alcohol, food, and nudity.
I've said it before and I'll say it again- Korea is extreme. Experiences and places are either supremely awesome or wholly abominable. People will either give you the shirt off of their back or they will cackle with glee while they twist the knife in your back. My feelings echo this- I was ecstatic to be returning to people that I had missed and certain comforts of my native land. However, I was distressed to be leaving my friends and students, and to know that I was returning to a new neighborhood and a new school.
Even given the misery and anguish of the past year, I would do it again in a heartbeat. Well, I'd skip a few parts. But the lessons learned and the friendships created are invaluable and besides, I do love the soju. Mmmm, soju.
If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them. Henry David Thoreau
If you'd like to visit my old blog, http://www.koreasmiles.blogspot.com/, please feel free to send me an e-mail or leave a comment and I will be happy to provide you with the password.
It's been a few months since my last post, so following is a brief wrap-up of my last few months in Korea.
I somehow managed to accrue an amazingly supportive group of friends. Besides the mates that I originally journeyed with, I have developed intensly loyal friendships with a small group of Canadian girls. With this fellowship- Troy, Tremendous, Danger, Hannah, Charlotte, and Sarah- I endured and even thrived in my last few months. It is because of them that I am able to undertake this challenge again.
Saying goodbye to my students was upsetting. I become agitated just remembering it, so I'll bypass this topic.
Troy was genial enough to recommend me for a job at his school, and after meeting with his manager and directors, I signed a contract for a position beginning September 1. I'm excited (and somewhat nervous) to be working with Troy, and slightly apprehensive about moving to the outskirts of town. However, the positive aspects outweigh any hesistation that I have. I'm looking forward to teaching again and am relieved to have many rookie mistakes behind me.
The last few days in Korea were challenging, to say the least. My school didn't pay me until right before the bank closed on the last day that I was in the country, I tried to get travelers checks from two branches and ended up frustrated and in tears at both (resulting in my carrying around thousands of dollars in cash for several weeks), I had to be out of my apartment the day before I left which was somewhat of a logistical problem..... luckily the guy I was (am?) dating is very patient and pretty much carried me along.
Entertainment wise, it was, of course, the good life. I won a 20,000 won bar tab at a karaoke contest (I'm unsure if this was due to good singing or just because I'm so freaking hot) and came in 3rd in a cocktail making contest. There were only 4 entries, and the losing entry had every type of alcohol that Curt could find in it, but still, I didn't lose. It was a proud moment. I saw Transformers and it was so beautiful, I actually teared up several times. I of course spent some time at the nori-bong and went dancing a few times with Tanysha. Not to be forgotten were several girls nights involving varying amounts of alcohol, food, and nudity.
I've said it before and I'll say it again- Korea is extreme. Experiences and places are either supremely awesome or wholly abominable. People will either give you the shirt off of their back or they will cackle with glee while they twist the knife in your back. My feelings echo this- I was ecstatic to be returning to people that I had missed and certain comforts of my native land. However, I was distressed to be leaving my friends and students, and to know that I was returning to a new neighborhood and a new school.
Even given the misery and anguish of the past year, I would do it again in a heartbeat. Well, I'd skip a few parts. But the lessons learned and the friendships created are invaluable and besides, I do love the soju. Mmmm, soju.
If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them. Henry David Thoreau
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