The Hunt Is Over

In my seemingly endless search for a pair of trail running shoes to replace the oh-so trusty, durable & mind bogglingly lightweight New Balance MR790Z3's I've finally been fortunate enough to pick up an equally light yet sturdy pair of kicks. After wearing the MR790's on numerous adventures spanning multiple continents, they have finally worked themselves into a less formidable role as simple 'around town' shoes (I think they had a hand in my issues as they don't seem to offer much in the way of necessary support for the knees). Having spent a couple weeks scouring Gumi's finest retail outlets only to be disappointed by either lack of selection, style or appropriate size, I rolled the dice & made a quick Sunday trip to Daegu in search of some replacements.

After mildly 'mastering' the Gumi bus routes after valiantly huffing it to the train station on foot a couple weeks ago, I was able to figure out the train schedules & get a ticket on the 6:10 south to Daegu. It's definitely nice to be able to spend 7,200 Won (just over $5) in transportation cost b/w the bus & train - certainly a big fan of low cost, quality public transportation!

Anyway, I knew my time was fairly limited, seeing as I needed to catch a train back in order to snag a bus from the train station before the stopped running for the night. Otherwise I'd be huffing it back to my neighborhood at midnight. Fortunately, I was able to gather a little intel before I headed out & discovered there were a multitude of shops & shoes stores right outside the Daegu train station (much like in Gumi), which meant it should be a quick 'in & out' trip.  Especially considering there was a HUGE department store literally in the train station & they had tons of great options but they closed at 8.30 so I'd be pushing it to check out all the other stores & get back before they closed if I couldn't find what I was looking for.

Inevitably it seemed, however,  my efforts may be again fruitless as I was striking out w/proper sizes, styles, etc. Then I moseyed into the New Balance store & nearly struck gold! They had a couple pairs I'd been eyeing and the price was much better than I'd seen anywhere else over here. Although I liked the NB shoes, I was really in search of the adidas Kanadia 3TR's - a great shoe, very lightweight & versatile but seemed to offer more support which would go a long way in helping the old knees feel young again on the various upcoming hikes I've got penciled in for the coming months. 

adidas Kanadia 3TR

I opted to keep searching for the Kanadia's as I'd found a pair in Gumi that were perfect except the size - no matter what country I'm in, if all you have is a 7, we're definitely not doing business! The frustration mounted as I was able to find plenty of the Kanadia's but they were mostly all the same style/color, which weren't what I needed. The ones I was looking for were extremely breathable - the material offered great airflow throughout the shoe - & would dry quickly but all anybody had was the crappy leather version. They weren't terrible but I knew they'd never work for what I was planning on.

Nearly three hours had passed & I was still empty handed. I had, however, met a few extraordinarily helpful Koreans who enjoyed the challenge of assisting 'the American.' As it seemed all might be lost on this excursion, I decided to wander back to the NB store for one last look & try on a couple of the pairs I'd seen. It was ridiculously busy earlier & I couldn't even manage to get my hands on the shoes to test the weight, let alone get any help on sizes/colors or trying a pair on.  Upon my return, the crowd had dissipated tremendously, allowing me to get some help, try on a few pairs & ponder the options.

I weighed the options b/w a couple of great, higher end trail running shoes, sat back, relaxing as I figured I'd finally found a quality replacement, even though I was bummed about striking out on the Kandias. I was still pretty excited about getting a good pair after being so close in Gumi, just the wrong size. As I was churning the details of the decision in my head, I caught myself checking out some of the other shoes on the display wall & found a terribly gaughty pair of hiking boots done only the way New Balance can do them, especially here in Korea. The guy who was helping me noticed me eye-balling the kicks & asked if I wanted to try them on....oh, sure, why not!

To my surprise, they were unbelievably comfortable, extremely light weight & offered plenty of support w/out being to restrictive in terms of necessary mobility. I took a while to tread around the store w/the boots on & w/each step, I felt more & more confident these ridiculous looking things might just be the perfect replacement. I had two options for color, though & neither one really excited me all that much.

The first was a do-do brown looking thing that probably would be alright but I've never been a big fan of turdy looking earth-tones, especially not when it comes to footwear & these definitely fell into that category. Something just didn't jive w/the color scheme but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. The second option was almost worse than the first but on a completely opposite end of the spectrum....brutally obnoxious yet delightfully vibrant blaze orange.

I had a serious decision to make, as of this point I'd gone all in on the boots over the shoes & it came down to choosing the lesser of two less than appealing colors.  The employees were giving the clerk who was helping me a healthy dose of ribbing as he attempted to make a truly concerted effort in communicating, best he could, in broken Korenglish (needless to say, my attempts weren't any better).

I pretty much got the gist of what he was saying & apparently he was picking up a little bit of what I was laying down because I had come to a decision & he was in agreement that it was a good one. To show his gratitude for my patronage & witty banter, he threw in a pair of NB socks as a gesture of appreciation, I think - or he really felt like I needed some new socks. Either way, the decision was made, the transaction was completed & the boots were feeling more & more perfect.

New Balance MO625HOB

I had the opportunity to wear them out when I went to Geumosan last weekend & they performed better than expected. They were definitely light weight & sturdy. Overall, I had no issues w/my knee whatsoever, which was a welcome relief and they were comfortable & breathed well all day.

I had done a little research after the purchase & apparently this striking shoe is only available (at least for the time being) in Korea. NB offers similar styles back in the states but I wasn't able to find this model....might have to pick up another pair before I head back stateside or if anyone absolutely wants a pair for themselves, let me know, I'll gladly grab some more.

With a triumphant feeling bubbling inside me & a definitive glow of confidence & conquest showing on my face, I opted to celebrate this festive little occasion the best way I knew how....I dove face first into a delightfully scrumptious Whopper w/Cheese! I even opted to wash it down w/a good old Coca-Cola (I rarely eat fast food & it takes a very special occurrence for me to suck down a soda - needless to say, I was geek-ed out on sugar & tossed & turned till about 4am).

If this great find weren't enough, upon getting my return ticket at the train station, I stumbled upon an American serviceman, who'd been stationed at Waegwon (about half way b/w Gumi & Daegu) since October. He was just kicking it outside the ladies room w/a couple cold ones waiting for his fiance to finish her business. I asked about the North Korea threat & he said that's pretty much all they do is drill & practice for the worst case scenario. Part of their training is ensuring the safety of the numerous American civilians scattered throughout the country....nice to know we're a top priority if things do get hairy over here.

Anyway, he mentioned he was from Illinois & she lived in South Carolina, somewhere in the Western part of the state, near the Georgia border. Winds up they were headed to the US Embassy to get married the next day, how cool is that!

I'm not sure if it was a sugar rush, the giddiness of the new kicks or simply an opportunity to speak real English to a true blue American (most everyone I've met are either Canadian, British or South African) but it might possibly have been the most exciting 15 minutes of the entire weekend!

She had come over to visit him for 10 days & was heading home in a couple days. They wound up being a cordially polite couple but I'm sure I acted like a lovestruck schoolgirl the whole time.  And because of this simple conversation I realized how deprived I've been not interacting w/people I have something in common with - in this case, simply speaking English.

Interesting the things we take for granted, huh?  Be well, people!

Monkey Teacher

Small portion of a larger article on some of the things to expect when teaching in an Asian country:

Many Asian children find red and blonde hair and hairy arms and legs to be fascinating and can’t resist tugging on it or rubbing their hands on it....

I suppose it dawned on me but I never really grasped the inevitability of this until recently & it's quite ironic since the weather has warmed up, I've been able to shed some of the many layers I was donning on any given day in the classroom as a means of keeping my core temperature at a respectable level yet with this new found freedom, another, more interesting development has taken place - arm hair has become exposed in a slight capacity and this has turned into quite the fascination amongst the kids.

Now, I've always been a fan of having some scruff on the face as I just don't really like the clean shaven look & the ordeal of having to use a razor EVERY DAY is terrible (oh, how my life is such a struggle). The slight stubble has been a thing of curiosity amongst the kids & they'll occasionally sneak a rub of my face to really get a feel for the wonder of facial hair.  The fact that I also eat a few bananas every day, has helped to supplant in their little minds I most certainly must be sprung from some primal line of evolution but haven't fully shed the monkey side of things. Thus, the little ones have begun to call me monkey teacher.


As Spring has attempted to peek it's head around the corner, the temps were in the high 60's a couple weeks ago & I opted to remove my fleece to reveal a short sleeved polo but what really got the kids in a tizzy was the hair on my arms. They were absolutely enthralled w/it & would do anything in their power to find an excuse to stand near me & cop a feel. I decided to give the kids at the Sangmo school the opportunity the next day & the results remained the same....sheer infatuation!

At various points, at both schools, I had kids knowingly holding my arm/hand, rubbing the hair & attempting to twist it in their fingers or caressing my arm like a precious little puppy. The whole time, I'm thinking to myself....is today the day I'm fired? I mean, something like this in FL & I'm all over the news, tapped as some sort of creepy pedophile but Korea is certainly a different beast.  It's probably not a terrible thing but I suppose it could be deemed inappropriate; either way it's pretty funny how excited these kids get over something completely different than they're used to seeing! They've also taken a liking to my brownish blond hair, especially since it continues to get longer (last haircut was the day before I left Tampa, so maybe Dec 11th - I told Sarah, the girl who trims my locks, I wasn't going to get it cut until I was back) & even though it's not as 'spikey' as usual when it's much shorter, I can still usually get some great messiness going on & they often feel the need to touch, rub, mess it up or just try to get it to stand up straight, which it's usually able to do quite naturally.


So, I've made it a habit to wear long sleeves, which is justifiable as it's still only in the mid to high 60's over here. The real dilemma comes when the heat & humidity of summer set in & I'm forced to make some serious wardrobe decisions (they do have AC, though, so I'm sure I can get around it for the most part). Guess we'll just cross that bridge when we come to it.

I have found it quite interesting how they are so intrigued by my blue eyes, too. Some of them think it's some sort of crazy, demonic thing I've got going on but either way, it makes me chuckle. They're such curious little kids looking to figure out why I have such a peculiar look, so much different than themselves. The video below is from a day when they really took an interest in eyes, mine particularly....

Either way, still having a blast, learning plenty about Korea & it's unique culture....

So, with that - Monkey Teacher, out!

Festive Regardless

This one is long overdue....I start a few blogs, get carried away living, working, exploring or (most recently) recovering, then subsequently find pieces a few weeks expired but still feel compelled to finish them, regardless of the time that's passed since it's inception. I suppose this could be blamed partially on the improved weather - i.e. I can get out & play more frequently! 

Either way, here's one from nearly a month ago:

St. Paddy's Day has always been a rather lucrative day for me, given my chosen professional side job as a bartender, especially in recent years at MacDinton's Irish Pub in Tampa where the word insanity fails to adequately describe the severity of the debauchery amongst patrons or the sheer hours working behind the bar instigating said debauchery.

This year, however, was a far cry from the 18+ hour days of recent memory & was certainly a far less lucrative endeavor financially speaking. Rather than attempting to hunt down an order of corned beef & cabbage, I feasted on a couple very non-Irish meals.

Two of the girls from the Otae-dong school (Tues/Thurs) called me in the morning to see if I wanted to have lunch, as my social calendar was pretty wide open, they made their way to Sangmo (my neighborhood) and the hunt was on for a sufficient place to dine. Oddly enough, I'm literally surrounded by dozens of little restaurants but apparently nobody eats out for lunch. After wandering around for probably 30 minutes, we were finally able to find a place. Not surprising, it's menu consisted of traditionally Korean food w/pork & a various assortment of vegetables being the popular favorite, as expected.

I get a kick out of many of the restaurants, since many still 'allow' smoking in them. It's not especially common to have people lighting up regularly but regardless, it happens occasionally & seems to be no big deal, even though the girls did make a point that the culprits in this case were students (college) and simply didn't have much respect for the other patrons or the restauranteurs....wait till touchy, feely, PC really takes hold here, then they're in for it! Either way, the food was pretty good & something I've become more accustomed to consuming regularly.

James, had recommended we all have dinner together that night, so it seemed like another opportunity at fumbling through a chopstick endeavor but to my surprise, we wound up at a place downtown, near the train station that served pizza & pasta; a couple of my favorite entrees. There was a slight Korean influence to the food but overall a solid 'Western' meal. Most of their pizza's are either cheese or cheese and abstract veggies but they also have one with pepperoni's, so I was a pretty happy cat!

The pasta was, well, pasta. Spaghetti to be more specific. However, in both the pasta dishes, they had infused it w/clam shells & it wasn't bad but I don't see myself becoming a regular fan of taking my Italian favorites this way, it certainly offered a unique flavor, though! It's become customary, apparently, for the Director's to pick up the tab for these staff dinners but the restaurant had a wide array of delectably enticing desserts, so I grabbed a chocolate cake & brought it to school the next day for all to enjoy. It seemed to be a huge hit & it I've come to realize chocolate, in any capacity, is a favorite treat for Koreans any day!

As I have mostly forgotten my intended purpose of this blog from when I started it nearly a month ago, I do know that St. Patrick's Day isn't necessarily a world wide phenomenon yet but I did wear my green & threw out a few random Happy St. Paddy's Day to some confused natives who mostly nodded & smiled.

Who knows where & with whom I'll be celebrating next St. Paddy's day but I'm certain I'll enjoy it, as usual!