Seoul Trippin - Getting There

Having been in Korea for nearly six months & I've yet to visit Seoul aside from the few hours of sleep I'd gotten at the guesthouse near the Incheon Int'l Airport the night I arrived before catching a bus the next day for Gumi. I was genuinely excited to visit the second largest metropolitan city in the world & have the opportunity to take in a few of the numerous sites within the vast expanse of humanity that constitutes Seoul. It was certain to be a memorable experience and an opportunity to catch up with Tonya Ruddick, who has been in Korea nearly two years.

We'd both spent our formative years in little old Huxley, Iowa, living only a few hundred yards from one another, attended the same church & high school (given the town consists of roughly 3,000 people, this was a very high probability) yet never really knew each. She is, however, a few years younger than I am, which could explain some of this lack of interaction. Oddly enough, our mom's know each other & tend to communicate w/some consistency; more so since I decided to tramp half way across the world to teach English.

Catching the train north was going to be a bit tricky for a couple reasons. First, it was Memorial Day weekend in Korea, which meant most everyone had Monday off & thus, would likely be traveling, so getting a ticket could be difficult unless I booked it online early. This depended, however, on ensuring I could catch the 9.36 pm train, otherwise I'd have to wait until nearly midnight.

The early train meant leaving work exactly at nine, catching a cab & hoping Friday traffic was still light enough to get to the station with enough time to get the ticket verified & printed out by the ticket agent & get to the platform before it pulled out of the station.

After letting James know my intentions & getting approval (there's usually 20 or 30 minutes of work after classes end at nine), I booked the ticket, printed out a copy & things fell into place fairly smoothly. Knowing the bus would take 40 minutes to get to the station, that wasn't an option, so I rolled the dice hoping to find a cabbie who was available to get me where I needed to be quickly. It seemed like things were looking good as Cherry (a nursing student in Toronto who is back in Gumi for the summer to earn money for school next year) lives near the station & thought we could share a cab. The price is basically the same no matter how many people are riding, although I think there is an charge per person initially but otherwise a good deal & she was going to call ahead & have one waiting exactly when we'd need it.

Outwardly, I really appreciated the gesture but was internally dreading the ride as she is the tremendously devout sort of Christian who is more than happy to let anyone around her know of her deep faith. The first time I met her she passionately explained how much she 'absolutely loves Jesus Christ, lives every day for him & can't imagine anyone ever not wanting to following the teaching of her lord and savior Jesus Christ.'

I won't get into my specific thoughts on religion (at least not this time) but needless to say, I kept my mouth shut & do my best to not have many one on one, non school related conversations w/her as I'm sure she'd be more than happy to 'witness' to me. I think she's a part of the Latter Day Saints group but I'm definitely not gonna ask as I can already visualize the whole scene transpiring into something I would absolutely much rather avoid.

At about 8:15 she informed me she hadn't called a cab yet but would do so soon. A couple minutes later she reported the bad news that 'all the cabs were busy & we'd really have a hard time finding one since they couldn't send one our way.' Great, not only does she wait until it's almost to late to call, she completely kicks me when I'm down. The little mouse on the wheel in my brain was, at this point, running crazy coming up with a plan of attack (for the cab, not Cherry). As usually seems to be the best option for me, I choose to take my chances & see if I might be lucky enough to catch one. James said he could drop me off but he had to drop two students off first and it would take at least 45 minutes, which did me no good.

Maybe I'm just lucky or perhaps Cherry said a little prayer for me. Either way, I walked out of the school, took about 7 steps down the sidewalk, turned in time to see an available cab tearing up the pavement. I hailed, he pulled over, I spoke a little Korean, he said OK & we were off. Wow, that was super easy, so much for being too busy!

The cab driver didn't speak much English but he said he'd been learning the language on his own for about 7 or 8 years. He was certainly not fluent but knew enough to keep the ride interesting. He politely tuned the radio to an English speaking station assuming that's what I wanted to hear (it wasn't) but the gesture didn't go unnoticed, even though he was frustrated at the poor reception, I think he was afraid it would ruin my impression of him. On the contrary, we were able to get a few new words written in his notebook for future reference - one being 'static' as that seemed to be a majority of the sounds coming from the station & the other was 'crappy' as in the terrible pop music I caught a bit of when the 'static' wasn't as atrocious as the music. As a service I like to provide all learners of this fair language, I wrote the words in English, in Hangul characters & then the pronunciation of the characters in English. 

He was appropriately rewarded for his musical & English efforts as well as the swift precision in which he delivered me to Gumi station....I told him to keep the change of the 10,000 won bill I'd given him, which was basically about a $4 tip. It's uncommon to tip the cabbies as most are salaried employees of the city. Needless to say, he was very appreciative, thanked me a few times & even went out of his way to honk & wave as he drove away - this, in turn frightened the various bystanders waiting near the crosswalk who thought there might be something serious happening rather than a giddy cab driver.

Dutifully awaiting the signal to make my way through the crosswalk, anticipation was building & the expectation of a glorious weekend was nearly bubbling over. I couldn't get up the immense flight of stairs fast enough in order to have my actual ticket in hand to ensure my seat. After patiently standing in line, eye-balling both the clock on the far wall of the waiting room and the digital clock behind the counter, I finally found myself facing the ticket agent. It couldn't have gone more smoothly; presented her w/my printout, signed a receipt verifying my previous online purchase, courteously accepted my ticket & rapidly made my way back down to the train platform. All said & done, I had about 4 minutes to spare before the train was scheduled to arrive. Not surprisingly, though, it was a few minutes behind schedule but I knew if I had been late, it would have absolutely been on time & I'd have likely missed it, thus leading to the purchase of another ticket on the train nearly a few hours later.

The train wasn't nearly as full as I'd expected but as we continued towards north, it began filling up & I was more than happy to have paid a few extra bucks for the privileged of having a seat for the three hour trip rather than being relegated to a 'standing class' ticket, which is quite common. They are cheaper but can make for a completely miserable trip if you can't find a comfortable place to hunker down for the duration.

I had no idea how late the subway ran in Seoul & wasn't sure exactly where Tonya's boyfriend's place was located aside from the neighborhood & I wasn't really looking forward to wandering aimlessly in the middle of the night, meandering my way through the maze-like streets of Itaewon. My contingency plan if I couldn't get ahold of Tonya, would be to bed down in one of the seedy hotels that were bound to be strewn about the area surrounding the train station. I had texted Tonya a couple times on the train but heard nothing back, so I was playing the odds on spending $40 on a very crappy hotel room & starting over the next day if it came to that.

When we finally pulled into the station, it was about 12:45. I had pretty much written off hearing back from Tonya & Mark as I was pretty sure they weren't the 'night owl' types, I made my way through the train station I was anxious to catch a glimpse of some of the beggars I'd been warned about. A slight breeze had whipped up, there was chill in the air & light rain was falling, this happened to be enough to drive a majority of the vagrants into the public restrooms, where they had locked themselves in the toilets. Apparently they smoke a few cigarettes & work themselves into a relatively peaceful slumber for a few hours. It became glaringly obvious most of these guys were probably more passed out than sleeping, which likely led to the tremendous snores I was hearing as I went about my business at nearly 1 a.m. in a new & foreign city.

By the time I found the entrance to the subway, they were closing the gates & I realized I should have spent less time wandering around the station & just headed straight for the subway from the get go but nothing devastating as I still had no idea where exactly I'd be headed. With that opportunity nullified, I worked my way up & down the street for a few minutes getting a layout of the area & looking to find the least sketchy hotel to call home for the night.

Eventually, I had made my way to the second floor of what could certainly be described as low-end accommodations & I'd finally gotten a text asking if I'd made it, although it was a number I didn't have saved in my phone. Remembering Tonya had sent an email a few months prior saying she switched phone numbers, I was assuming it was her (questioning myself as to why I hadn't switched the number in my phone). Waiting my turn behind a couple of mid 20's Korean guys, I decided to give the number a call & see what might be waiting on the other end. The guys paid, received their room key & the nice middle aged lady patiently waited for me to step forward & follow suit. I held up my pointer finger (what I hoped was a universal sign for 'just a minute,' or we're number one, depending on what the situation might call for), hit send on the phone & hoped to hear a friendly Midwestern voice. After a few rings, Tonya answered & we devised a plan to get me w/in the general vicinity of where her & Mark were at & she'd meet me on the street.

I hopped in a cab, called Tonya so she could explain where the cabbie needed to go & we were on our way. The wound up and down some fairly empty roads towards Itaewon. This is where the main U.S. military based is located, offering this part of the city an even more International feel. Storefronts, bars & restaurants with English names was certainly a welcome sight but really having no idea where exactly I needed to go or what to look out for, I got to use my favorite Korean phrase, mo-lae-yo (I don't know), quite a bit when the cabbie looked to me for directions or some semblance of instruction on where he should be headed.

Needless to say, we called Tonya at least a dozen times as she explained where to let me out. Unfortunately, the name of the 'quickie mart' I was to be looking for had changed, which kinda made things more interesting. Eventually, the cabbie stopped and we waited for a few minutes. Him pestering me all the while that I should keep calling Tonya to make sure this was the right area. I think he was also both genuinely enamored w/my company & a concerned w/dropping me off in the middle of Seoul, knowing I obviously had no idea where I was. He also kept the meter running, of course.

When I finally decided to hand him money & get out, he kind of put his hand on my arm as if to say, wait until your friend is here but I was ready to get going & w/in a couple minutes, Tonya showed up & it was all good.  It's nice to know people are concerned enough about other human beings to make sure friends arrive, which keeps my faith in humanity strong. I have noticed most Koreans are generally polite & helpful if the situation arises; which is always a welcome quality for a non-native like myself.

Anyway, that's pretty much the extent of actually getting to Seoul. I've got a few stories regarding the rest of the trip but this edition of the blog is long enough, so I suppose I can do a three part series for the weekend excursion.

Nerds or Trendsetters?

I'm quite certain this is probably more common than I realize in the States but it's glaringly obvious over here that young couples go to great lengths to either A) show their supreme devotion to their current mate or B) are simply enamored w/the hokey designs of American companies or C) lack a certain creative element when it comes to shopping for/picking out their wardrobes on a daily basis.

So, basically, as I've been wandering around various cities in Korea, I've come across couples, usually in their early to mid 20's, strolling down the sidewalk & often times in some sort of 'romantic embrace' (basically holding hands or the guy has his arm wrapped around the girl's waist/shoulder signifying that she is, indeed, w/him).

The blatantly obvious part, however is more often than not they are wearing the exact same shirt. I'm not just talking about them both wearing a New Balance shirt but the exact same style, color, pattern, etc. Most often it's been New Balance, Jeep, RL Polo or some other highly recognizable American brand name; possibly done in order to signify, yes, they can afford a more expensive article of clothing from the US. It has become quite apparent, most Koreans really love American labels, no matter what it might be!

The first few times I noticed it but didn't pay much attention to the rest of their wardrobe. As I've noticed a serious trend here, I've become more savvy in regards to properly evaluating the rest of their outifts, from top to bottom. In my scrupulous eye balling, I've noticed an odd amount of similarities. Some keep it simple w/maybe matching shirts & shoes. Others, however, have really gone all out - shirt, shoes/sandals, light jackets, belts, hats (Major League Baseball especially) AND pants...obviously I couldn't get the skivvy on, well, their skivvies but I wouldn't be at all surprised if there were consistencies there as well, however uncomfortably disturbing the thought might be.

One couple at the train station in Daegu (about 30 minutes south of me) were literally decked out in New Balance from top to bottom. They both donned black NB T-shirts w/red lettering and collars/sleeve bands, some overly fancy black NB warmup type pants w/a red pinstripe down the outside of each leg and for effect, no doubt, the left leg of each person had been pulled up to about mid calf so everyone was able to see they were also sporting the matching black sock set. Finally & certainly for good measure as an homage to yesteryear - some retro 80's looking (very popular over here for some reason), you guessed it, black NB shoes w/red shoe strings and just enough red in the overall design to really maintain the motif.

The only thing holding them back from some seriously lucrative 'walking billboard' royalties was the fact they apparently couldn't find NB hats they felt were suitable w/the rest of the wardrobe. Instead, a couple of black Yankee caps w/the NY embroidered in a nice, complimenting red, of course, to really tie the ensemble together nicely.

I just don't get it. Maybe the lack of television & immersion in mass consumerism these past seven years have made me less 'hip' than I'm sure I once was but, seriously, you guys look like complete nerds! To some extent, I can understand the shirts, if it's a rarity but I have a sneaking suspicion these couples rarely leave the house w/out matching in some capacity.

I've even seen couples dressed in super fruity (yes, extraordinarily colorful, usually pastels) polo shirts - more often than not they've been actual Ralph Lauren but also seen a few Arnold Palmer or and a couple Jack Nicklaus (I have been surprised at how wildly popular these two legendary golfers are over here) dress shirts, too.

Some of the best, however, might be the ones apparently looking to up their 'street cred' (mom & dad, that basically means they are tough & have real credibility on the mean streets of Korean cities, hence they should not be messed with) by throwing on spectacular yet subtle FUBU outfits. I can't say they bring the same panache as the NB couple but they certainly know how to represent the black American community from an obvious Korean.

Maybe I'm the only one who sees it but the matching couples crack me up. Unfortunately, I've failed capture any quality pictures these obvious trendsetters but I will definitely be working diligently in the coming weeks to get a few shots w/out either completely offending them or, worse, having the FUBU crew get tough w/me!

My advice for the day: if you have a partner or significant other & you both leave the house knowingly wearing matching articles of clothing/outfits - IT IS NOT AS AWESOME LOOKING AS YOU MIGHT THINK! Although, I may be completely out of the fashion loop on this one and I have never claimed to be much of a fashionista but regardless, I'll be snickering on the sidelines as you stroll past!

Broadening The Palate

Just a quick update on the culinary front....in recent weeks I've been fortunate (or ignorant) enough to ingest a variety of foods I hadn't even considered a possibility 6 months ago. I know a few of you have been/were curious as to what sort of food I'd be eating (Hope) and although much of what I've eaten over my lifetime has been a far cry from the basic delicacies served up on the farm - your basic meat & potatoes diet, it's been rather intriguing to immerse myself into another culture & not only dabble in their food consumption process but gain a better understanding & perspective of why people eat what they do around the world.

     The normal set up for Korean meals at a restaurant.


In reality, most of it boils down to the simple desire to survive & usually it means eating whatever is immediately available to a person (or society). There was a time when very little was wasted, especially with regard to animals & the various 'edible' parts which could offer the necessary sustenance & fuel to get a person through a hard day of laboring.

Unlike in the States, where food options are not only plentiful but we seem to have become rather lethargic in our desire to stray from the staple food (i.e. pasta, pizza, various meats, fast food/restaurant fare, tex-mex, etc). My experience in other parts of the world boils down to people eating what is readily available & not lethal....although it has been pointed out to me that during some of the very lean years throughout the Korean peninsula people would make their way to the mountains in search of anything sufficient in order to fill their bellies.

At times, Koreans would devour grasses, weeds, roots, tree bark and the like. Most of it was adequate enough to stave off the 'spring hunger;' a result of fairly brutal winters leading to a significant reduction in available rice & pork during the spring months before food supplies increased. Basically, two meals/day consisting of the various wild roots, grasses & tree bark. Surprisingly, death from starvation has remained relatively low over the history of the Korean people. Yet, for the unfortunate few who were so hungry they would eat wild vegetation which ultimately killed them in.

Fortunately, things have improved tremendously over the past few decades & it doesn't appear I'll have to forage for my dinner any time soon. However, the Korean people still seem to stick w/the same diet they've enjoyed for centuries while also delving into some of the more Western delicacies we've come to take for granted in the States - however, it's usually a special treat, as the cost is inordinately higher over here than back home. I make the comparison to the handful of times, as a child, we were provided the opportunity to eat out....usually on a vacation or road trip somewhere, after we'd exhausted our stash of sandwiches, fruits & veggies mom had packed away for the journey.

Aside from the prevalent options we've become accustomed to in the States, Koreans maintain a very healthy perspective on exactly what they are ingesting. There is a certain diligence in their food selection. They point out how good some Western foods are but quickly point out just how unhealthy the processed food is, as well as the high calorie counts, ridiculous amounts of MSG and so on. Their awareness of precisely what they put into their bodies is pretty amazing & even though they do exist, I rarely see any significant number of overweight Koreans of any age. For one, I don't see people gorging themselves until they are so full they have trouble getting up from the table. Their digestion processes are much quicker due to the evolutionary development of a shorter intestine based on centuries of consuming vegetables rather than meats. For instance, I was quite excited when I was told we were going to have pizza. I should have been more keen to the idea of what pizza in Korea might be - it's really a kind of pancake made from dough, eggs & spring onions (the long extension coming up from the bulb).

   Traditional Korean 'pizza' - spring onions, dough & eggs.


So much of the diet consists of rice in some capacity, which is definitely doable. The various roots, most of which I'm not even sure what they are, also offer a change of pace, especially depending on how they've been prepared & seasoned.

I've come to realize rice serves an extraordinarily valuable purpose when it comes to getting drunk, too. It seems I've had sojo, makju, makkli, kuemju & I'm sure a few other "-ju's" but it all appears to be the same basic recipe of fermented & distilled rice with the consistency of super skim milk & some rice floaties for good measure. It's really not bad but some of it is much more potent than other batches so ya gotta be careful on consumption.

          Makju - a rice based liquor that's pretty tasty

    Kettles like this is how Makju is customarily served.


Probably one of the most unique things are the actual innards of the cow & pig that are gobbled up like it's no big deal. Truthfully, there isn't much of a disgusting taste to any of the innards but it's more getting over the consistency of what you're chomping on....most of it is extremely rubbery & has plenty of texture to it. I liken it to being able to feel taste buds, it's that kind of bumpy & when attempting to swallow it down, all you think of is how 'out of the ordinary' this kind of food is opposed to good old steaks, burgers, pasta, etc.

Intestine soup, obviously, the intestines are on the spoon.


Utilizing all parts of the animal is commonplace and even parts they don't consider worth eating are simply made into a 'soup.' This seems to be rather customary throughout the world where food isn't necessarily prevalent. I use the term soup rather loosely as it often times tastes much more like dirty dish water or just plain dirty water in general but is piping hot & has some veggies & seasoning (usually onions & hot green peppers) stirred in to try and give it a little more flavor. But quite honestly, there's not a whole lot that can be done to intestine or foot 'soup' to make it a highly desirable offering for a guy like me. Being the good sport, though, I usually always go a round or two with whatever is offered up & I always look at it as having the knowledge & practical experience to be able to eat about anything if I were ever faced w/a truly life & death situation.

I'd have to say the intestines, silk worms, boiled/pressed pig skin, seaweed & various sea life not normally desirable (eyes for instance) have been some of the most bizarre items but there are some really funky plants & roots I've called dinner once or twice, having no idea what they were but enjoying their uniqueness. It's been nice to go through a bit of a whole body cleansing in terms of what I'm actually ingesting but I am so looking forward to wolfing down plenty of mom's strawberry pie, a wide array of corn fed beef, pork & lamb as well as simply kicking back and chomping on a few burrito's or chimichanga's. Were it not closed, I could see myself posted up for a few sessions at O'Malley & McGee's in Ames!

Subjecting oneself to a diet like this for a year is obviously not for everyone but I'm certainly glad I've had the opportunity to immerse myself into something so obviously different than what I've known up to this point in my life! With that, I'm heading to bed, likely having wildly appetizing dreams of Western goodness!

You Guys Hangin Out?

Apologies for the lack of blogs recently. The weather has been nearly perfect every day & I've been traveling each weekend, so....hunker down for a short novel, kids....it's a good one but no pics, you'll understand why later!

The weekends continue to get better, the weather steadily climbs the thermometer & the sun's been nice enough to hang out in the Western sky just a tad bit longer, which is absolutely why I love the summer months - longer days of natural light in which to play outside & enjoy nature's goodness in all it's delightful little forms! Of course the high speed reality train always has to rear it's ugly head & knock things down a few pegs so as not to get us too comfortable w/the 'good life.' But relatively speaking, things have been cruising along quite nicely in recent weeks....aside from one little public dilemma here in Gumi.

So, it's been about a month ago now but things were motoring along like most other Saturday mornings; taking an hour or two in order to shake the sleep & weekend fog from the brain while contemplating how exactly I wanted to approach the gloriously warm & sunny day.

With the fog lifted & plans in order, I hopped in the shower to be welcomed to a refreshingly chilly cleansing & put the pieces together for the weekend. Having the ever keen senses of a sloth, I finally noticed the shower pressure considerably lower than normal but quickly wrote it off as merely a higher volume of usage or something of the like, nothing to concern myself with given the anticipation of another hike in the low elevation mountains of the Korean peninsula!

Upon returning from the hike & a having ingested a healthy dose of makkli, soju (both are Korean booze) & yet another form of mysteriously edible veggies & animal innards, I was ready for a cool down soak in the shower. This time, however, the pressure had worked itself into a persistent trickle at best but I was able to clean up relatively well given the circumstances.

Unfortunately, by Sunday, I'd have loved the trickle as no water flowed from any of the spigots in the place until maybe four in the after, at which time things seemed to be flowing normally again. I proceeded to throw a load of laundry in the wash & lost myself in lesson plans & grading papers (the weather was less cooperative than the previous day, so it seemed like a no brainer - just relax & be productive).

By seven o'clock, the little machine of convenience was doing it's best to get through the wash cycle & make a last ditch effort for the rinse & spin. Curiosity thoroughly peaked, I checked the water pressure again but things had slowed to a mere drip, drip pace once again.

After cruising down to the neighborhood family mart, picking up a few liters of water, emptying said liters into the wash & urging the modern convenience to make a final push at completion of cleanliness I was finally able to hang the presumably 'so fresh & so clean, clean' clothes randomly around the cavernous abode by about 11 that evening w/no chance of them being dry by work the next day. At that point, I was more curious about the impending shower the next day & the thought of bottle bathing.

In the event of no available water on Monday, I'd worked a contingency plan of getting the real Korean bathhouse experience & heading the couple blocks to what I hoped would be an opportunity to not only experience an interesting part of Korean culture but also get a good full body scrubbing. I can certainly say it was an interesting experience & apparently a very important aspect of life on the fair peninsula.

As fate would have it, I was relegated to walk the couple blocks down the street to the neighborhood bathhouse, paid my 4,000 won & made my way up the stairs, doing my best to decipher the writing on the doors & not burst into the women's area by accident. Finally making it to the third floor & seeing a couple guys walking out, my ability to surmise the situation was that this had to be the spot so I strolled in like I wasn't the only Anglo in the whole place (even though this remains the constant norm most of the time).

After removing my sandals & placing them in the shoe cubby like back in my formative years of early elementary, my little brain struggled to wrap itself around the image unfolding before my eyes....Korean dudes everywhere, just chilling in the buff. To my left there were three or four guys stark naked in front of their lockers looking none to hurried in whatever it was they were doing. Beside them were a couple guys kicked back on a leather couch keeping a close eye on some popular show on the monstrous TV hanging on the wall while debating the plot lines. Straight ahead, three guys standing by the door to the showers & hot tubs, likely discussing the rise in value of the won on the international markets, naked as can be w/no thought of this being out of the ordinary. To my right was a counter w/a crusty old attendant grinning like an idiot who knows a secret I'm not sure I want any part of. Just beyond him were a handful of guys shaving, brushing their teeth, throwing on some smell good & fixing their black locks of hair in the wall of mirrors. Aside from myself & the smiling dope behind the counter, there were nary an article of clothing or towel to be found.

In a most valiant & undeterred effort, I asked smiley for a towel, showed him my receipt & he pointed at a key sitting on the counter. I repeated the word towel (which is pretty much pronounced tawol, so I'm thinking there couldn't have been confusion in what I was asking), only to be directed, once again, toward the key on the counter. Alright, maybe the towel is folded neatly in locker number 83....nope.

By this point I was completely confused, there was a bin full of used towels near the door by the guys discussing Korean financials (at least that's what I'm gonna go with) but not a single one to be found. Upon another visual sweep of the locker room, I put my toiletries in number 83, motioned to the key master that I'd be right back, grabbed my sandals & made my was back down to the reception guy.

I asked the nice fellow for a towel & he pointed me toward the stairs & back to an another opportunity to interact w/dopey. I could clearly see a pile of clean folded towels in the corner of his little office....mind you, a Korean towel is basically a big, thin hand towel with about the same absorbancy of a paper towel; in my opinion relatively useless.

After some great internal jostling, I informed the reception guy I'd be right back, even though I'm assuming he had no idea what I was saying as he, too, smiled like an idiot, politely bowed his head and cordially offered me a 'gamsahabnida' (thank you). The decision had been made, so I strolled the two blocks home, grabbed my towel & walked back into the bath house like nothing had happened. Again, reception guy smiled, gestured toward the stairs & offered another 'gamsahabnida.'

Alright, back in business. Towel in hand, sandals back in their cubby & ready to get clean. Of course everyone was still hanging out like they're waiting for a tee time at the golf course, absolutely no immediacy in their action; spending the day naked at the bath house watching TV & joking about the silly foreigner who seems completely lost by the whole thing.

I made my way back to 83, grabbed the necessary cleansing supplies, disrobed & made my way to the showers, towel casually thrown over my shoulder - you know, just doing what I can to blend in w/the locals, well, except for the towel.

Upon entering the shower facilities, a multitude of options lay before me. I could hop into one of the hot tubs, a cold tub or pop a squat on a plastic stool that stood about eight inches off the ground and go about showering in a most peculiar manner. Now, I'm all for kicking back and relaxing but it was a bit awkward sitting there and lathering up, shampooing & brushing my teeth surrounded by the same scene on either side of me & a mirror mounted on a wall directly in front of me & not a bit of insecurity amongst the natives. It wasn't until I was finished w/the process that I got up, wandered over to a hot tub & slipped in to soak for a few minutes when I noticed, tucked away in the corner a few 'Western style' shower heads on the wall. Of course, wanting to get the most for my money, I proceeded to the normal showers for good measure & repeated the process....why not, it was certainly gonna be a bizarre day, just as well be extra clean!

Completely cleansed, I ventured back to the locker area (obviously greeted by the doling dope at the counter providing necessary provisions for the patrons, i.e. keys). The toweling process complete & adequately dressed in fresh clothes for the walk back to the apartment, I couldn't help but notice there were still a fair number of guys just hanging out, doing a whole lot of nothing but being naked & enjoying the masculine camaraderie of it all. For good measure & to at least be able to laugh at the situation, as I was leaving, I said to no one in particular, 'You guys hanging out? I'll hang out!' Of course, my genius & wit were lost on the lot of them but at least I was able to get a good chuckle as the eyes of a dozen naked Korean men & the elderly key master gazed back at me with confusion & probably a bit of disdain towards the bizarre Anglo who was finally taking his awkward bathing habits & leaving them to get back to being the good, unclothed Koreans they were before this experience.

As luck would have it, I was provided with the opportunity to revisit the bath house the following day as water stilled failed to make it's way to the common folk...although, I was told construction workers had busted the main water line on Saturday & pretty much the whole city of Gumi & it's neighboring villages were w/out running water. I found it interesting & nobody knew quite why the bath houses, restaurants & many of the important government buildings all had water but the rest of us were to go w/out.

Finally, after nearly a week of bottled water, witty comments lost on natives as I entered the locker rooms, honing my bath house etiquette & a seriously disgusting toilet situation, the fine people of Gumi were once again thrust into the 20th century - water once again flowing for the masses!

Since my initial experience & the subsequent days relegated to 'hanging out w/the guys,' I've had the opportunity to enjoy this culturally enriching, if not downright peculiar act of utilizing a public bath house in both Seoul (I was also able to use it as a place to sleep one night) & Busan, where I felt it should probably be done if for no other reason than the comparison factor & truly experiencing all Korea had to offer. Sure enough, they are very common throughout Korea & the scene is pretty much the same. Naked folks, going about their business like it's no big deal to parade around naked for long periods of time amongst complete strangers.

I guess it's all about the journey & getting a flavor for how the rest of the world lives. I am happy to report that in Busan & Seoul, towels were provided, although still rather inadequate....and now I've got a couple souvenirs in which to remind me of the great Korean bath house experience!

Holy Crap!

It's Wednesday, the sun struggles to play the dominate role in the skies above Gumi & we're experiencing intermittent thunderstorms....as of right now, however, the sun has poked back out, my short session workout is complete & I just killed a nice batch of scrambled eggs before getting ready to jump in the shower and head off to work.

It's another, mostly typical, day for me but my Wed's at school are def the longest & most exhausting as I call it my energizer days - my first three classes are really young, extraordinarily hyperactive & all together funny kids (24 boys in all) followed by the upper elementary & middle school versions of the little dudes but it makes for a long day going straight from 2 - 9 w/no real break to speak of.

Regardless, I was thinking as I scrambled up the eggy-goodness that it's June 1st, which basically means I'm nearly half way through this little adventure of teaching abroad for a year....having said that, I'm really having a good time & am certainly considering doing multiple years over here but am planning on heading stateside (after a nice 4 -6 week trek through SE Asia w/my good buddy Daniel) upon completion of my contract to take care of a few things & see some peeps I know I need to catch up with.

That is all....be well & hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day festivities. Over here, we will be celebrating in the same manner this weekend, which means my long awaited trip to Seoul is finally coming to fruition - three days in one of the largest & most culturally divers city on the globe should be awesome....can't wait!

In case anyone needs a smile or maybe contemplating all the hatred in this world, this should change that perspective a bit, just a simple but enlightening video reminding me that, for the most part, people across the world are genuinely good, fun loving folks who could care less about religion, war, money and the like:

Peeping Pongs

So I was getting ready to hit the sack last night & heading across the room to close the window so as not to be disrupted by late night train traffic that occasionally has interrupted some seriously quality slumbers over the past couple months. About then, I thought I heard some rustling around below my window, which seems pretty customary, especially on the weekends, for Korean men to relieve themselves just about anywhere they feel the urge as they stumble back to their abodes. As I looked around, I noticed a guy dressed in dark blue jeans and a black fleece making his was around the backside of the apartment next to mine.

Admittedly, curiosity got the best of me & I watched to see if he would go inside the building.....which I thought was peculiar he decided to pee that close to home but after walking about 10 feet, he crouched down & attempted some ridiculous little climbing maneuver like he was about to scale a sheer granite cliff; either that or he was getting into position for a superhero type leap over the building - regardless, I had to see how it played out.

As he grabbed onto the brick wall and tiny ledge directly under the bathroom window of the first floor apartment across the way, he prepared to hoist himself up in order to view what I can only assume was a late night shower by the occupant of said apartment (I could hear the water running so the conclusion seems pretty legit). Realizing what he was up to, I felt it my civic duty to give a pleasant little guttural throat clearing, just loud enough to be heard by the pervy peeper below.

Upon hearing the noise, he released his grip of the bricks, cautiously looked around to see where the noise came from & finally, his eyes locked on mine for a seconds or two. Having been found out, he abruptly hid his face, turned and hurried back the direction he'd come from, behind the building.

I pondered contacting the authorities but opted against it as my interactions w/the local johnny law's have been relatively fruitless in the conversation/understanding department & my description of the perp would have likely been pretty lousy....uh, yeah, hi, police - I just saw a shortish, maybe 5'7" or 5'8", middle aged Asian guy, black hair, dressed in dark colors & appeared to be peeking in a bathroom window & lurking around my apartment about 1 A.M. - that pretty much narrows it down, right guys? Oh, how tall was he in metric units, gimme a minute, I've gotta convert it. Where do I live? Sure, I'm in Sangmodong, near the train tracks (all of Sangmodong is near the train tracks)....oh, the street name, not really sure, sorry. What building? Uh, the three story brick one on the street full of three story brick ones....hmmm, want me to stand outside while you guys drive around trying to find me?

Anyway, thought it was pretty funny & who knows, he may have had plans to scale up to the second floor of my building & get a peek at the American goods next weekend & we certainly can't have that now, can we?

In A Daydream?

Ever have one of those days when maybe you don't get up as early as you'd like; you didn't get all the things done you were hoping before going to work (remember, I start at 1pm); there might not have been exactly what you had been craving for breakfast; it's also a Tuesday, which means the week is still on the uphill crawl but despite these insurmountable odds stacked against you, you're grinning like an idiot from ear to ear? Nothing can go wrong, it's destined to be a great day, regardless of what might be in store right around the corner!

Well, you can't quite put your finger on the reasoning for such karmic blessings but whatever it is, keep it coming. These are the days it's great to be alive & you can't really explain why - sometimes you just feel great & nothing can stop you. I'm still steadfast in my thought it's ALWAYS mind over matter. Sure, good things happen to good people but seriously, most of our happiness is a state of being, tucked somewhere deep in the recesses of our mind. Positive vibes, bra, it's that easy.

Alright, so enough quasi-philosophical mumbo jumbo, back to justifying the incessant ramblings; although I'm not 100% sure where I'm going w/this one. I do know it revolves around songs triggering memories & emotions, feel-good Tuesdays & the karmic universe deciding 'Yeah, you've been a pretty good dude, enjoy the day, buddy!'

I suppose it started off like most any other day for me here in Korea - contemplate rising early but default to the snooze button a couple times. The well laid plans of getting a good workout in, loading up on protein (eggs), doing a little reading, checking the state of things on the web, attempting some prep work for my classes, showering & finally meeting James so he could take me to the Otaedong school.

As is often the case, I turned on the laptop & surfed around a bit. Things seem to be going well, for the most part - the Rays are in first place in the AL East, Iowa State picked up commitments from a couple really quality recruits (one BB & one FB) & the war on terror seems to be motoring right along. Not to be outdone a good friend of mine had a birthday a few days ago & his wife posted an extraordinary video clip of the scavenger hunt his co-workers put together for him - priceless, Tyson!

So I  found myself upwards of 40 minutes into perusing the days latest offerings on the internet when I decided to head up to the roof of my apartment & do a little reading. The book of choice this week is called Teacher Man (picked it up in a used English language bookshop in Daegu), written by a cleverly amusing author most well known for Angela's Ashes. Clocking in another 40 minutes on the roof soaking up a gorgeous late spring day w/tremendous weather & a blue sky full of sunshine, I decided it was probably time to get back downstairs, grab a bite & get ready for school. Although, I did still have time for a quick jaunt on the bike with an eclectic mix of calisthenics thrown in for good measure. Hmm, decisions, decisions. Ultimately, I opted to keep my nose in the book for a while longer.

McCourt was born in New York, found himself shipped off to Ireland after his father deserted the family & then basically tells the story of how he wound up back in the states trudging through life and 30+ years as a High School English teacher. I find myself relating greatly to his experience in so many ways I'm really having trouble putting it down. Not because it's some sort of literary masterpiece but rather I just see so many parallels to my own teaching career in his words (aside from getting shipped to Ireland or joining the army).

Still overcome by this zesty feeling towards the day, I found myself in a great mood but wasn't sure if it was the pages I'd read, how gorgeous a day it was turning into or something else entirely but it started as one of those days when it would be impossible to knock me down from this pedestal of sheer exhilaration.

Breakfast was simple enough, a delightful bowl of cereal & some toast. Definitely not the protein load up I had planned but not working out probably helped the decision making.

Things just kept getting better. James & I had a nice conversation on the way to the other school, nothing mind blowing but there also weren't any warnings of treacherous dust particles or nuclear rain, so I was sitting pretty good. As I headed across the street I peered down toward where the street met the sidewalk & saw a Korean won tucked nicely b/w a board & the concrete. Looking around for someone running frantically for their lost loot & seeing none, I proceeded to bend over, retrieve said money & slide it in my pocket, no one the wiser. It wasn't much but, hey, when karma smiles, pick it up, stuff it in your pocket & roll w/it!

At school, Tuesdays can be a little annoying, if only for two students. One is in my very first class - a first grader that's simply put, an obnoxious little shit. The second is in my very last class - a middle school girl who, w/the exception of maybe a handful of days, is wanting nothing to do w/class, English, learning or even slightly paying attention - not to mention, she's always in a lousy mood. Start & end the day w/headaches!

As luck would have it, Terry was nowhere to be found. We had an absolute blast in class & the other kids not only learned something but seemed to make progress in their 45 minutes of Phonics adventures  w/me, which is always a good thing. To end the day, Linda, the terribly distraught middle schooler was, for reasons unknown, in a good mood - one might even say she seemed giddy. Either way, I'll chalk it up to more karmic goodness & leave it at that. 

It certainly feels much better leaving school w/a goofy grin from ear to ear & telling my fellow teachers to 'behave' themselves - they just learned what that meant a couple weeks ago, so throw that into the conversation from time to time. This usually leads to them giggling like a couple schoolgirls. 

They did mention, before I left, that the director who was supposedly getting fired is actually going to still work their. More good news, she's a really great lady, has been overly generous the whole time & seems to really like me. I realize this isn't always the case so I'm feeling fortunate to have great directors at both schools.

As if that weren't enough, the director treated us to a whole slew of yummy pork/veggie dumplings. Which happen to be one of my favorite Korean foods. As we all piled into the van for the scenic tour home, I realized the director was taking me home first, which has never happened but I'll take it. This means I'll be home w/daylight hovering on the horizon & I can spend a little more time soaking up the sunny goodness of a great day!

Making my way home, still grinning like an idiot, the ladies at the Sushi joint down the street saw me strolling along, poked their heads out & in their best English gave me a cheerful 'Hi Mark Teacher.' I returned the favor w/a cordial anyon-haseo, a wave & that damn cheesy grin. It was enough to arouse the suspicions of a few neighborhood kids running amok in the wild back alleys of Gumi. Their curiousity fully peeked, they fell in line behind me, giggling. Finally turning around, I surprised them a little & they anxiously said hello, asked my name, where I was from & continued w/the adorable giggling. Another block & I was home, w/the children back to their games of kick the can or chase the Asian, I was feeling more than ready to conquer the final hours of a simply awesome day. Oh, what else could go right? 

I'm becoming a creature of habit (possibly due to a ridiculously limited availability of habits), which means I come home, flip open the laptop & press play on ITunes as I head the seven steps across the living room/bedroom/office to the kitchen/laundry room to grab a little dinner. There's just something about music that makes me smile & remember why these songs remain important to me.

One of my priorities tonight, was to backtracking my steps over the past couple days in an effort to figure out where my phone could be hiding. I knew I may have to make my way to the store and see if I could figure out who & how to ask where the 'lost and found' would be located. 

About the same time I bent over to pick up something & put it in the trash, I noticed my phone sitting patiently on a shelf, awaiting my arrival. I suppose that tells you everything about how infrequently my phone rings if it hadn't made a single sound the last couple days.

It was then I noticed the song 'In A Daydream' playing in the background. This is probably one of my top-20 favorite songs of all time & it's likely most people out there have never heard of them unless you were lucky enough to roam around the Midwest in the mid-90's listening to college bands. There's just something about a 7+ minute live version of a spectacular song that keeps the grin going. I've heard the lyrics on countless occasions but I really started listening & found them to be eerily similar to the day I just had. 

         The Freddy Jones Band in '96 'In A Daydream'

Basically, everything makes this guy smile today, maybe it was all in a daydream, maybe not. Regardless, it's days like this when a guy can realize how great it is to be alive....and a Tuesday none the less.

Keep kickin ass & being awesome, people! <---- Daniel & Jackie P, that's for you guys!