Sun, 29 Jan 2006

Well. Its been awhile since the last tales. Won’t even try to say it all. But a few notable paragraphs are a must.> Lets start last Saturday (21st,i think it was). Out to Anyang where my mom is teaching. Big sam kyup sal dinner (korean bbq pork). Very tasty. Met her fellow teachers...nice girls...some f/t teachers there...creepy/crazy/conceded characters. Her Korean TA's show up so we go to a diff. cheaper restaurant...same food though. Lots of beers and soju, as expected. Then off to a hiphop nightclub. Very few people, but when you show up with 10 or so it doesn’t really matter,. Good to hear some good ol rap and hip hop since I don’t have my Ipod with me. A little Dr.Dre, snoop, dmx, the regular new clubbin rubbish.

All in all good times...met this girly Sunny there...cute little thang, hopefully more stories bout here will be comin in the future. End the night off headin to a Jim Gil Bong...aka bathhouse. Very diff. than China though. Go in...off go the shoes and on go the sandals...headin into the change area and there are little Korean boys passed out all over the ground. Little odd I thought. Into the hottubs, saunas, showers...they were nice...similar to the rest of the world, ‘cept they also had a couple different kind of tea hot tubs. Smelled nice...whether it helped my health, that was doubtful after the beer and JD from prior in the night. Toweled off, on go the PJs they provide (very much like China) and down to the meeting room. I was with a very nice Korean guy my mom intro'd me too and the creepiest of the other two f/t teachers from her school. Down the stairs to a huge room of people passed out everywhere there is room on the floor. NO beds, just passed out anywhere they happen to fall on the wood floor...course they do provide wood blocks foryour head as a pillow to increase your comfort.

Had more saunas of all sorts down there and a TV room with more passed out Koreans filing it. As it was 5 in the morn after a long night I had no problem goin right to bed.

Lynne and two others weren’t as lucky...no sleep for them. Since I was teaching at 930 back 2 hours away in Seoul and Lynne and her teachers were heading to the DMZ, after a solid hour of sleep, wake up and time back to teaching. Maybe its cause everything is new and exciting but i has no problem teaching that day and that evening was still wanting to go out again. My college mentality is still holdin on strong. But yah, at home no way I could handle that...I would be passin’ out by mid afternoon and having a bad next few days. Didn’t even faze me here.

Next. This is getting longer than expected.> Head back out to anyang to say bye to mom again and grab some teaching materials. Dint make it out...but headed to another bathhouse right by the train station 9as once again I had wok in tha morn). Course it jut happens to be closed and I don’t wanna harass my mom at 3 in tha morn this time. Headed to a PC room and decided it would be safer to pass out her than on the corner of the street. So, after a couple of hours of msn and emails for more work...i have a little nap in the computer chair. Up again at 5 in the morn and back to Soul for work. Good style red, good style. Great food all week...good Korean foods as well as western...pizza, spaghetti, curry and they have all kinds of fried chicken places here. Mediocre first night of after work...got the run around by a cabbie that called himself Strong Dick. Funny guy but knew everything about the nightlife in Korea.

We said we wanted to go see the place called 'happy hill' which consists of girls in the window trying to lure you into their place and take your money. Against my religion to buy...but not to look. Cabbie took us to a diff. place...send us right into this place...couple girls come down with beers...aiiai time to get the hell out quick before my mind loses the decision making power. Meandered around...took it east for the rest of he night. Last night. To another Korean bbq with fellow teachers. Beef this time that tasted like steak...yummies. Off to Iteawon which is the foreigner capital of Korea. More foreigners than Koreans. Canadians, Americans, Europeans, Africans. Indians...pretty much everyone.

First a club where their buddy was dj'ing. Decent, I was beat so next thing I knew I was being woken up on the bar. Meh...outside for my second wind...we head to happy (hooker) hill' few guys try and get me into a place...we made it inside, but in my drunken red state of gibberish I managed to get across that the girl was ugly and I was the f#$# outta there. TO another bar....good tunes..closed that down at 4. To another bar...mediocre tunes...one guy picked yup a girl from vernon..as always the one girly that was a possibility there I didn’t manage to go talkto (some thing never change). Finally left at about 9 in tha morn and took the train back towards home. Not home no..as i managed to pass out on the way home and miss my stop by about 4 or 5 stations. Woops...jump heading back..same thing again..but his time only missed by 3 stations...figured I should really stand up and wait so I don’t do it again,. Walked in the door bout noonish. Woke up 3 hours later about 3. What to do tonight??? Korean new years but the guys from last night are chilin and the guy I live beside here doesn’t like to go out much...just study Koraen? Hellz no, I figure if nothing else ill take a train to the school district by myself...do some exploring. No rest for the wicked,. Now that the important things are known...ive got work fro the month of feb. starting in 3 days..got a place to live. All is well. Time to go exploring.

Peace love and cheese,

Colin

Pictures from the JilJilBang - Jan. 29th 2006.

Look at the sweet head towel. Very princess Leigh'ish.

Me and mom having a laugh.

Me and mom in black and white.

Me, mom and Sunny at dinner.

Wed, 18 Jan 2006

Well...the teaching is great...the food is better than expected (after i heard my moms emails and stories about a lot of fish and kimchi), the people match the kindness and helpfulness of he Chinese and speak much more and better English.

So last night after our dinner (which we go out with our 4 foreign teachers and 4 TA's who all have been overseas for at least a couple of years and speak pretty much perfect English… as well as some Spanish), I went out with 2 TA's and a New Yorker to find his bro who has been living here in Seoul for 3 months now. Got a hold of him, met him at the train station (maybe one of he biggest systems next to Tokyo in the world...the New Yorker was blown away by it and said it is maybe 4 or 5 times bigger than his)...was very fun too see their faces when they saw each other and how they could not believe they were ion Seoul together...which reminded me alot of my experiences in Harbin.

So..we saw their school, his place...got some new words and websites to check...then of in a cab to another uni. area. Hammered kids everywhere, busy...we g around this corner and boom. Nothing remotely comparable to Harbin....as high as you can see lights, streamers and shit hangin from the middle of the road...music...yada yada yada....you’ve seen the movies.

So had the first shots of Soju (like rice wine, but not too bad....i wont even compare it to bei-jiu) and some brews o go with our friend rice, cabbage and pork. Very laid back and fun compared to the food I’ve had so far with the Korean Ta's. The waiters joke with us and have fun and talk about shit they would never dare when other Koreans would be with us.

So...got home at 1. Woke up at 7 to start teaching...the New Yorker wasn’t used to that (I told him I had ALOT of practice in harbin) so he is just beat and slowed down today. But I’m ready to keep goin. A little about my fellow teaches...new Yorker, Mike...has his teaching cert. from NY and taught for 9 months in the ghetto of the bronx. Obviously u can imagine why he is here. Also fluent in Hindi and has traveled most of the middle east.

Eddie from Australia. Well...from Australia but spent the last 10 years teaching and traveling the world. 3 years in Dubai...a couple in the emerates...some in Indonesia...fluent in Spanish and able to grasp at least half a dozen others.

Shon-tyon from southern Louisiana. Spent last 3 years in southern China...6 years before in Guatemala...fluent in Spanish, mandarin, Cantonese, and semi fluent in at least half a dozen others. religious guy...but cares so much for all people pretty much...but not unwilling to listen even though he spends 3 hours in the morning very other day in devotion. All in all...amazing times been had, cant even imagine the future. Id imagine as planned...3 or 4 months here, then over to Harbin for the summer.

Keep me updated...u know ill do the same.

Redderick M.