Update

Nothing too exciting this week, and no pictures, sorry. A rather immature highlight of this week is that Curtis and I bought 10$ air guns that shoot little plastic pellets that don't exactly tickle. But - it is all in self defense! Our buddy Roy (the one with the dog) has a gun and is always shooting us... never again will we tell people to come into our room before finding out who it is, especially if we are shirtless. Now we always make sure the guns are nearby and loaded. I even put it beside my bed before I go to sleep..I feel like an American! But in all honesty they are a lot of fun, and they don't take people's eyes out. We actually know someone that got one in the eye, and he's fine. And of course Curtis and I have our own house rules since it's too easy for us to get each other. No shooting in the morning, and pellets must bounce of the wall or ceiling before hitting the other person.

On Saturday night, Curtis, Drew, Roy, Shelly, and I went to a fundraiser for sick kids in Korea and kids in Africa. It was called Dating for dollars, Wooing for Won. There was speed dating, a charity casino, belly dancing, fire dancing, swing dancing, singing, magic show, Korean music performance, a buffet, and more! The fire dancing almost got a little out of control when fire spread to the floor, and someone almost threw a bunch of water on it- which would have splashed the accelerant (sp?) everywhere. The guy working the door convinced us to the speed dating, although we were not keen on it at all. The guy assured us it would be worth our while because he had inside information that a few beauties were going to do it..and plus..its for charity. However, Drew and I noticed his eyes were kind of funny, and he never looked at us when he talked, and we speculated that he might have been blind. I think our suspicions were confirmed when we did the speed dating, and we all looked at each other like "What have we gotten ourselves into!" We talked to some interesting people for sure..but no one I would classify as "beauties". After that disappointment we thought the night had to improve for sure... but it didn't. It was one of those nights where many small disappointments added up. For instance, it was like annoying people were following us everywhere, and Curtis and I missed our free sandwiches by 3 minutes.... that was the straw that broke the foreigners back for sure. Truthfully though, we were glad we went to the fundraiser...it was a good way to spend money and we did have some fun.

Sunday we celebrated American Thanksgiving with some American teachers..actually our second Thanksgiving dinner of the week. We had chicken, potatoes, a few veggies, it was a nice sort of American home cooked meal. It was a relaxing way to end the weekend.

Other info: Visa rules are changing here due to that pedophile caught in Thailand that worked in South Korea. We know someone that worked with him actually. To renew a Visa you have to return to your country, you cant go to Japan like people could before, and like Drew did when coming here. Kind of stupid because who wants to fly home to apply for a Visa just to come back..definitely a disincentive. Also, more hoops to jump through like background check etc etc. Some people think that people will instead choose to teach in China or Taiwan instead of dealing with the extra paperwork Korea with require. Also, our friend pointed out that Curtis's and my visas are single entry and exit visas meaning if we leave the country for a trip, we cant get back into the country! We can change it for like 50$, and we are definitely going to try and do that...especially before they start changing the laws.

Mt Apsan

New this week..we are approaching the two month mark being here in Korea. It has absolutely flown by, and I expect that to continue. We finally got cell phones this week, an absolute necessity..we had phone numbers written on all kinds of scraps of papers, some missing names, and it was impossible to find us once we left the house. If we got separated, that was it, you were on your own. The phones cost about 15$ and our monthly plan is about the same. Apparently the phones here are far superior to the phones back home, and I'll be able to bring this phone home with me and use it no problem. It has a built in camera, MP3 player, dictionary, alarm, all the bells and whistles. It has made a huge difference in meeting friends, and making plans etc. Although, now other people can get a hold of us easily as well, and sometimes it seems like we are supposed to be in 5 places at once. Not a bad problem..but it is an annoyance sometimes.

Even though this was a one day weekend for me, it felt like it was 3 days long. We packed it full of things..everything except sleep. Friday night we had a great night out with friends, saturday after work we had a dinner party where we cooked Dukbokki for a bunch of Korean friends of ours. It passed their quality inspections. After they left, we went downtown and had another good night out. The next day we got up early to go climb Mt. Apsan, a mountain outside of Daegu. Actually san means mountain, so you could translate it to be Mount Ap mountain. We went with our good Korean buddies Keun (Can) and Dr. Kim. He is actually a doctor, and hilarious...he is obsessed with meeting foreign girls. He wants to be a "pick up artist" hahaha..whatever that means. He reads books about meeting girls like he was studying for a class or something.

We had lunch at a family restaurant , the family lives in the next room , and cooks and serves in the other room essentially. This entire meal + rice cost 15$. Curtis horsing around with Dr. Kim.

We walked up this rocky path..if you can call it that. There was a paved path to the left, but that wouldn't be mountain climbing.

The top!

Daegu, home sweet home.We took the path down.

In this panoramic view you can see Daegu wrap around that mountain on both sides.

After exhausting ourselves on the mountain, Curt and I came back here where we wanted to just sleep, but of course we had already made plans to cook Dukbokki for another group of Koreans that we know. So we had to clean the room again (twice in two days is ridiculous), and get to cooking. Again it got heaps of praise, and then it was off to Drews place (Curts roommate from university) because he misses us and we had previously promised to visit his place. Seeing us twice a week is apparently not enough for him. All these plans is partly the cell phones fault. Finally, at like 3:00 A.M we were able to come home and get some much needed rest since we had to teach today. You can imagine that my Korean lesson tomorrow is going to go about as smooth as it did last week. BTW - all this standing at school, walking around, and climbing mountains is absolutely killing our legs. My ankles, feet, and knees are taking a beating.

Pay day and trip to Busan

This weekend was my first 3-day weekend..and it was much needed! Friday was the much awaited pay day, the first money we have seen in a month, and our first full pay check. After deductions for health care, pension, taxes, (some of which we get back later) it came to about 2,000,000 Won, paid in 10,000 bills. That works out to 200 bills, which is a thick stack of cash. Curt and I played with it like we were in a rap video or something. Half of it had a paper band around it..we felt like big shots. Obviously we went out and celebrated, but we have some connections and get a lot of free drinks and food, so we didn't really spend much money.
Speaking of the free food, the one place is a tiny take-out type place with maybe 6 seats, run by a slightly crazy Korean. His main food is a toasted sandwich with omelet and jam inside. Also dukbokki which is basically a rice based pasta in a spicy sauce. We are addicted to both and have only ever paid once. He always says: "Hello, you are very handsome, How many testicle do you have? Do you have girlfriend?.. and the conversation goes anywhere from there as you can imagine. He really cracks us up sometimes, and usually refuses our money.

On sunday night we took the KTX (bullet train) to Busan, a city on the southern coast with a gorgeous beach, and was the original place we wanted to live. We rode 1st class for only 15$, and the extra leg room and comfort is worth it. The train can go 300 km/h, although I don't know if we got going that fast. The first night we just looked for a hotel and dinner basically. There were a lot of sketchy hotels that we tried to avoid, but we also wanted cheap. We got talking to some guy and he told us that some family member of his ran a hotel and he would take us there. It was sketchy, but also cheap. Like all the other places we turned down, there were cards with ladies phone numbers and nude pictures taped to the front steps. Also, each room came with two complimentary toothbrushes (maybe you can guess why there are two), big bottles of various lotions, and a huge spray can of insecticide. I'm still not sure whether the insecticide was for the room or the companions, but it's there if needed. On the bright side, the rooms were spacious, had large comfy bed, and only 20$ for each room.

The next day (after spending the night alone) we did some birdwatching at an important bird reserve (or previously important since there is development in the area, among other issues affecting the Nakdong estuary). Curt was a trooper, and although I didn't see the target species, it gave me a much needed "fix" and I did see a lot of new and interesting birds. Next we headed across the city to Haeundae beach. It was gorgeous and reminded us of home. We played in the sand and water edge for a bit, and really really wished we had ended up in Busan. We would of been at the beach everyday for sure...sob..sob...

The timer on my camera is becoming very useful.This says my name in Korean. The O is silent, followed by an"a" sound. Top two symbols make "da", followed by m on the bottom. You read across, but also down.

This is us saying hello. In the sand is written hello, but in Korean. It is pronounced "ann-yeong-has- say-yo"

After that we walked around a cool little path through a coastal forested park, where we saw the rock after which the city is named. Haeundae is actually three separate words which mean: sea, clouds -and I think maybe rock. These 3 words were carved into the rock around 1300 AD.

Park on the left, Haeundae beach in the background. It is 1 of 4 built up areas. Its like Busan has four core areas.

Next we checked out the Busan Aquarium. There were tonnes of fish, sharks, everything you would expect to see at an Aquarium. It was really cool, and like many other places, it was located underground. After this busy day, we decided to head back to Daegu. Neither one of us had studied or previous Korean lesson that well, and my performance this morning was not that good. Actually, Curt got the new teacher, who is way more lenient than our original teacher - who I got. I was getting grilled while Curt was having what sounded like a pleasant chat a few seats over. Anyways, back to the grind now. Our next 3 day break is at Christmas..so I think this might be a long haul until then.

The seal on the left is just resting..its not dead.

Update

We didn't do anything that exciting this week, after our 13 days of work we used today as a rest day and thus didn't climb any mountains or go anywhere. Friday night we got together with a couple of Korean guys we met a few weeks and they showed us a great time. The one guy is an actual doctor who is hoping to go to the U.S. to specialize in some field. Saturday night we got together with a couple of Korean nurses we know, and they took us to this underground mall basically. We headed down what looked like a subway entrance, and then it was a whole underground world. Lots of people, escalators, stores. It went for as far as I could see, and is probably a good way to get around since you don't have to wait for cars etc like you would on the surface. The one girl is headed to Vancouver in a month or so to study English there, and I don't think they are impressed with the rising Canadian dollar. Today, we were going to go to a theme park in Daegu called Woobang tower land, but the plans fell through, and that was fine with us. We instead played some 3 on 3 basketball at the park with some Korean guys, which was awesome, although Curt did jam his knuckle and now has a split. Speaking of injuries / illnesses. A couple of us are battling colds or other ailments. The kids at school are always coughing and never cover their mouths, plus all the railings that we touch in the school, subways, and mountain trails doesn't help either. I'm sure I'll survive.

Another teacher here, Jerry (about 50), went in for surgery last week to get a vein removed from his leg. He woke up halfway through the surgery when they were in the process of yanking the sucker from his inner thigh area. He wasn't in any pain or anything, but was a bit aware of what was going on, and he heard the doctor say something along the lines of "That's never happened before, I don't know what to do". I guess they got the anesthesiologist back in there to give him some more drugs and the rest of the surgery went fine. Today we bumped into Graham (the guy who just gave his notice), and he mentioned that Jerry has some sort of infection where the surgery was done, and it's not clear to me how serious it might be...sounds a bit serious. Ill expect some extra hours this week if he's down and out.

Also this week, a teacher named Margaret at my school, and our neighbor in residence, gave her 6 week notice. She had had enough of Mrs. Kim and the way she runs things, and the way she treats her. So, since we have been here (6 weeks), 3 of 10 teachers have quit. I figure by January Curtis and I will have seniority! We got a new teacher (Gail) a week or two ago to replace the first guy that quit..and she has had an absolute nightmare so far! First, they forget to pick her up at the airport. Second, they cant find her room key, so she cant go into her room for an hour. Third, she loses her voice after one day of teaching..easy to do. Fourth, they replaced the door to her apartment without her knowledge and left the door wide open all day, and her cat that she brought from home ran away. It hasn't been eaten yet, as there have been several sightings in the area.

Market, Dog, Gatbawi, Halloween

Its time for another update..its about a bunch of random stuff. Firstly, Curtis and I went to one of the markets and put our Korean lessons to good use. Asking how much things cost, and saying numbers all in Korean..it was pretty fun. We definitely got great deals, and it sure beat the grocery store. We will buy as much as we can there from now on. However, we did finally find the live foods section..that is, everything is in cages waiting to be bought and butchered. Chickens, a few goats, fish, bags of frogs hopping around, turtles, eels, other interesting aquatic animals, and some dogs and kittens. The cats and dogs are for eating. The cats were kittens, and the dogs ranged from adult to puppy. We also some that already been barbecued. Don't worry, no pictures.. but the dogs were pretty sad looking. And also, apparently before they kill them, they get them all riled up and angry / scared to make them release adrenalin, thus dog meat is an aphrodisiac for men. On a positive note, our good friend Roy bought a puppy from this place a month ago and we have a pet dog (Bart) in the building that we play with all the time. Bart cost him like 10$, but it was really sick and it had a lot of problems so its a 4-500$ dog if you count the vet bills.

Bart's tongue couldn't quite reach the juice.

On Sunday, our supposed day off, Curtis and I went into work at Manchon as a favor to his boss, he said he was kinda in a jam, and we didn't really have anything planned. We only had to work for two hours, and he paid us in cash at the end of the day 60$ each..so 30$ an hour...a pretty sweet deal. But, it does mean that by this Saturday we will have worked 13 days in a row.

Yesterday, I was trying to check out a park in Daegu, so I boarded a bus and began the journey, not exactly knowing what stop to get off at... Eventually it was clear I missed it, so I decided to see where the bus went. Eventually I got to a point where everyone got off, so I thought this must be a cool place, I better get off too. It was at the base of the Mt. Palgongsan ridge. So I started to climb..and climb I did. I don't know if it was because I wasn't mentally prepared for the climb, but my lungs were on fire halfway up. It wasn't as long a hike as at Seoraksan (only 45 minutes) but it was fairly steep (see picture). At the top is a 4 metre tall Buddha that many people were praying to. It hears one sincere prayer from each person that visits the mountain, and thus is apparently popular around exam times! I understand that it hears the prayers, but nobody said anything about the Buddha being able to do anything about them, so I'm a bit skeptical about its powers.


Also this week, he had Halloween, twice actually, because not all the kids come on the 31st. We whipped threw the lessons at light speed so that we could play games and use face paint to decorate each other. Halloween is not celebrated here, at least not in a big way, but since it's an English school, we do. For the most part I just drew on the kids whatever they wanted; bats, pumpkins etc etc. But the kids sure went to town on me, I was covered in the stuff by the end of the day. Right now its actually Halloween night, and Curtis and I are being big nerds and staying in. I think I had had enough of it at school for the past two days.

FYI - Another awesome Korean lesson. She didn't want us to tell people because she stopped teaching another coworker of ours, and she just didn't want anyone to have issues with anybody else - if that makes sense. Also, another teacher we live with gave his 6 weeks notice. Thats like two people quitting within a week or two...and I have a feeling another one is going soon as well. Other than being disgruntled, he also has a girlfriend in Thailand, and I think that was a big factor. Too bad, he was a funny old man. And I'm staying put, I'm not remotely close to thinking about quiting, even if other people have sweeter deals. Its not as bad as other jobs most of us had had, and no boss is perfect, so we just keep rolling with the punches.