Which way's home?

驛馬煞 YUKMASAL

2012-02-11T03:18:00.004Z

This week one of my students introduced me to the Korean word yukmasal (驛馬煞). My Korean English dictionary says it is "a person with itchy feet". However my students and Korean friends have several different opinions on the meaning.

The word comes from three Chinese characters. Yuk (驛) means station and ma (馬) is horse. Sal (煞) has been hard for me to understand and I've received different answers when asking the meaning. It seems to be similar to "destiny", and a bit like "aura", and most likely something in between. Although I've also heard it described as "bad spirit".

This history of yukmasal is very interesting. Many generations ago in Korea, before having such an awesome transportation system, horse and rider was the main method of delivering messages. Like many other countries, when the government had a new policy, or tax, or an order to send to another town, the message was delivered on horse back.

En route from the capital, and scattered around the country, were yukmal (驛馬) - literally horse stations. These were places where riders could turn in their tired horse for a fresh one before continuing on their journey. And interestingly enough, my closest subway station, Yanjaeyuk, used to be a yukma.

At that time in Korean history, being a messenger was considered unfortunate. There was a caste system, and only low-ranking citizens did this work. Thieves in the mountains made the job risky. And of course, Korea's extreme climate ensured a likelihood of becoming sick.

Korea was an agricultural society at that time, though not nomadic like Mongolia. So people settled in one place, and any digression from that life was frowned upon. Still today, there seems to be a strong mentality here that a settled job is a good job. But according to my student, Jin, the world, and Korea, is changing. Now a man will go abroad if he has the ability too. And because of this, the once very negative meaning of yukmasal, is becoming more positive. Often used in a joking manner, it can even be seen as a compliment in some cases to indicate a person has traveled a lot for enjoyment.

This word has really intrigued me and I enjoyed many a discussion with students and Korean friends about it. Some of the quotes that came out quite impressed me,

-"After leaving home, you will not come back".
-"It's your fate to be so active".
-"Just follow the wind".
-"You have lots of wind". (I had to correct my student on this one.)
-"It's an inherited illness".
'"If you meet a beautiful woman, you can't keep the relationship very long". (Damn!)

These talimans are typical charms for people with yukmasal. They are carried for protection against evil spirits, disease and accidents. They are also extremely expensive when bought from a temple. So feel free to print these off and tape to your arm before your next vacation.

THE IRONY OF LENT

2012-02-10T12:36:00.005Z

2012 brings with it my twelfth year of giving up booze for Lent. This horrendous forty-six day period gets harder and harder every year. Even more so in countries like Korea and Japan where so much of the socializing is done round a soju or sake bottle. Add singledom to the equation and you can imagine what a battle it is to avoid alcohol and alcohol-events for almost seven weeks.
Although my Catholic upbringing was the origin of this regular pre-Easter abstinence, I still continued this practice in my now Atheist life. There are four reasons I do this.

1. It's good for my body, especially my liver and beer belly. Oh wait, I guess strictly speaking, it's bad for my beer belly, right? Anyway, it's good for my liver!

2. It's damn tough. I find it really difficult. And therefore, it must be good for my willpower and mental strength and, uh, making a man of me.

3. To ensure I'm not becoming an alcoholic. I read somewhere that being born Irish is being born into alcoholism. Although my country ranked only 15th in recent world alcoholism statistics, I do tend to drink everyday at times and to often drink alone at home. My drinking is usually in moderation and never when I have to work. But surviving Lent each year reassures me that I don't have a drinking problem.

4. Appreciation of alcohol - before, during and after Lent i have a profound appreciation of booze. Beer tastes great, whisky warms my heart and Korean makoli brings me pure joy and satisfaction. I'm not exaggerating. Knowing I won't or didn't have it for a while makes me thankful when I can. As they say - absence makes the heart grow fonder. Or is it Absinthe?

The irony of Lent is that for the weeks preceding and following it, I drink like a fish. I drink everyday. If I don't drink, I feel I'm missing out on limited opportunities. I justify this over-consumption with excuses such as "I better stock up", or "I deserve this for what I'm about to do". So this year, as afternoon drinking becomes more common, I question whether the physical "benefits" of Lent actually exist. Is Lent actually good for me? Or do the pre and post-consumption nullify the benefits of the dry period?

Or perhaps this new questioning of my annual routine is my inner alcoholic trying to find a way out of doing Lent.

IT'S A SAXOPHONE

2012-02-07T22:14:00.004Z

I started a new private class last night. It's in one of the fanciest buildings in Seoul, the Gangnam Finance Center. My new student seems to have a status on par with the building in which he works. Mr Park oversees the construction of power plants. In March he'll move to India to build natural gas power plant. I was contacted to get his English ready for dealing with his Indian partners and staff.
Our first class was a little stiff, as it usually is when I'm attempting to teach business English to people who know much more about business, and often more about English, than me.
About thirty minutes into class I heard a loud beep. And then a boop. And then a bope. I ignored the beep and the boop, but the bope grabbed my attention. I looked at Mr Park inquisitively. "A trumpet", I think he said. "A what", I said. "Oh, no, not a trumpet," he said. I smiled. "It's a saxophone!", "My boss is learning".
And for the remaining thirty minutes of the class we both tried to keep serious faces. Discussing reverse discrimination and workplace glass ceilings as his boss slowly, methodically went up and down the saxophone scale, I had to bite my inside lip a few times to prevent an outburst of laughter.
Once in a while I accidentally smiled. Probably not very professional, but I think we broke the ice.

MAKING BEER

2012-01-15T04:35:00.009Z

This week my buddy Dave invited me to his home to make a batch of beer with him. A whole new experience for me, I took a lot of snaps at different stages. We started about 2pm and finished around 10pm. It's a full day's work, with lots of waiting for the right moment to add something or cool something, etc. But a lot of fun as my buddy Derek joined and Dave supplied us with plenty of homemade beers and ales as well great stories from his world travels. Cheers Dave.

Below are some snaps with a brief description of the process according to my blurry memory.

The first step is to get some yeast going. This is a yeast starter with dry malt extract.
Then heat water to 71 degrees. Dave always uses wired thermometers to accurated gauge and maintain correct temperature. Though I have doubts about his method of measuring water volume. Look at that handwritten scale!

The water is then added to this cooler which holds grains like wheat and roasted barley.

Then we wait and drink Dave's homebrew while the hot water converts the grain starches into sugars.

Dave sometimes referred to this website, hopsville.com, to calculate times needed use their free hoppiness indicator.

Next we slowly pour the solution into the bucket. Slow is important so it won't be cloudy from sediment and stuff.

And then slowly pour the solution back in along the sides of the cooler. This helps to settle the grainbed. It's called vorloffing.

Dave multitasking.

All the solution is then drained, new water heated to 80 degrees and the procedure repeated once.

When the second solution is ready, both are added together and brought to the boil. The hops are also added at different stages. Dave used three hops; Warrior, Amarillo and Centenial. He also addes Irish Moss, a type of seaweed, for flavour.

Dave's scales, which he insists are only for measuring hops and seaweed.

Dave calulating hop input times and weights. Uh, I'm no expert, but wouldn't it be best to do calculations before we try six types of homebrew?

Checking the density of the concoction.

When the 75 minute boil has finished, we use a Dave-designed cooler. Cold water is pumped through this copper piping to cool the liquid as quickly as possible.

The yeast is then added and the whole batch is sealed up in a sterile container with a gas release device on top.

It is definitely a lot of work. And the ingredients don't seem to be cheap. But it's also a really fun way to spend a day. And judging from the quality of Dave's homebrews, it's well worth the time, effort and money.

OUT THE WINDOW

2012-01-04T09:08:00.001Z

One of my students just told me a funny story. When he was a baby, he was in his pram/stroller at home. Held in by the straps, we was unhappy and tried to get out. Shaking back and forth, back and forth, the pram picked up speed and moved across the room to the open window. The window was big, but there was a plastic guard to protect "stuff" from falling out. The pram smashed the plastic guard, fell out through the open window, sailed two stories down to the ground and smashed. With my student still in it! He was totally fine and uninjured. Wow!

COOLEST AUTOREPLY EVER

2011-12-31T03:40:00.002Z

In Bali I met a cool Irish girl called Shelly. She approached Karol and me at a fire dancing party in Ubud’s Monkey Forest. Having not heard any Irish accents for a while, she was keen to chat to us. I hung out with her a few times in that town and she told me a lot about her meditation, yoga and sweat-house experiences. Following Bali she was to return to India for a meditation retreat in the mountains.
When I returned to Korea, I sent her an email to catch up. And I received the following auto-reply, which I think is pretty damn cool:

Thanks for your message, however I am currently undertaking a 4 month
course where I will have no access to the Internet. If you feel like
sending a letter, my address is:

Shelly
(Student of Yogic Studies)
{Address}
India

Otherwise I will respond to you next February.

Much Love,
Shelly

THANKS I THINK

2011-12-30T15:32:00.001Z

Tonight at the boxing gym I was in the ring stretching. There was only a handful of people training on this icy Friday night. The professional boxer, who doesn't speak English, seems (seemed) to like me a lot, came into the ring with me. He pointed at me sitting on the ring floor stretching and said "Ma-ku (Mark), you". He then pointed to his iPhone. The English dictionary was open and a bunch of results related to alone, lonesome, solitude, etc were shown. I must have looked confused because he pointed at one specific definition and then touched the audio icon. iPhone's robotic, but attractive female voice dictated, "LEADS A SOLITARY LIFE", as my coach pointed at me once again and said "Ma-ku". We both burst out laughing, though I'm not sure that I get it. He then climbed out of the ring, came back a minute later and give me a bottle of orange juice.
Thanks, I think.

PREP FOR NEXT TRIP

2011-12-30T15:25:00.001Z

Following each trip I take, I always make a few notes about mistakes I made or things that would've made the trip better so that I can use that on my next trip. Here's what I jotted down after Indonesia.

-Pack many business cards. Much easier and more reliable than scribbling email addresses on paper
-Bring my phone charger. I thought USB charger would be best, but was wrong. Checking the country's voltage and socket shape would be much more sensible. Finding computers and having enough time to fully charge my phone was a hassle.
-Have a phone that can be used with a local sim card. The 'getting away from it all' doesn't have to be so inconvenient I think. On a month trip I met a lot of people that I saw, or tried to see, regularly. Without phone contact it's much harder to arrange meet-ups, or very expensive to call from internet cafes/hotels.
-Keep a daily journal. The best and busiest days are those on which you forget to write.
-Prepare MUCH better. I've always been pro free-travel, but an itinerary would have helped maximise Ronan's short time there as well as keeping me busy enough to not get lonely.
-If possible, travel alone first and meet friends for second part of trip to prevent loneliness. Actually I knew this already, but because of climate I asked the lads to come out at the start of September. Next time I'll be more selfish.
-Learn some of the local language BEFORE going. Specifically: greetings, thanks, numbers and price negotiating, as well as one funny phrase like 'oh my god'.

LETTER TO MA

2011-12-30T02:30:00.003Z

At the end of my trip, I wrote a seven page letter to my mum summarising the last month. I’ve laboriously typed it out here and hope Ma doesn't mind me posting it.

26 September 2011
Dear mother,
How are you? Hopefully well and rested after your vacation. I’m currently at the end of my own vacation. Another four days in Bali and then I’ll fly to Hong Kong for one night before returning to busy, cold Seoul.
Right now I’m in the northeast of Bali in a village called Amed. It’s very beautiful, peaceful and has great scuba diving and snorkeling. But a bit lonesome for the solo traveler. I spent four days here. Did two dives at a shipwreck, which was amazing. I also rented a motorcycle and explored the coast. And I hiked to a temple which was on a mountain at 1400 metres. 1800 steps I’ve been told, so that was good for sweating out any Jameson whisky that was left in me from Karol and Ronan’s time here.
I’m at a little restaurant right now waiting for a shuttle bus to Ubud, a wonderful town in the middle of Bali. This restaurant is right on the water, as they all are here. In front of me is the beach with little fishing boats and then the blue sea. Over to the right about 150 metres is Jemeluk Bay where I went snorkeling early this morning and above that a ridge where people go to watch the sunset. I went there two nights ago. The sunset wasn’t amazing, but it’s cool because it sets behind Bali’s three volcanoes, which are directly west of here.
Snorkeling at the bay this morning was amazing. I got up at seven, had breakfast, and swam out there. It was a little cold and a bit scary since there were no other snorkelers out. But the tide was high so it was the perfect time to be out at the coral.
Out at the bay is a coral garden and snorkeling there was like being in a BBC documentary. Literaly thousands of fish and dozens and dozens of species. Whole schools of silver, fluorescent blue, yellow/black, and every other imaginable colour-combination of fish were swimming there. The coral was lovely too. Large, unusually shaped with various colours. Proabably the best snorking I’ve ever done, though seeing large turtles two weeks ago on the Gili Islands was also exceptional.
I’ve been on Bali island for the last two weeks. And before that when Ronan was here, we were on the next island east, Lombok. That’s the home to Rinjani mountain, Indonesias’s second largest volcano and supposedly most beautiful. The three-day hike we did there was the highlight of our trip. I’m glad we trained for it because it was no joke. Very difficult indeed.
There were seven in our hiking group; us three and four Germans. We camped in tents each night but meals were provided for us. There was a guide and porters to carry the food, tents, etc as there are no buildings on the route. We hiked about seven to nine hours each day except on the last day when we started at two thirty a.m. and didn't finish until late in the afternoon.
Only Karol, Ronan and myself made it to the summit as the last stretch was so tough. The air was a bit thin plus it was dark and cold and the last three or four hundred metres were volcanic rubble. Walking was tiring and frustrating, as it was one step up, half a step back. We made it to the top just in time for sunrise, which was nice and brought a great feeling of accomplishment.
Oh, and on the second day of hiking we stopped at the crater lake for lunch. But before eating, our guide took us further into the wild and off the path. There are natural hot springs in there, and even a hot spring waterfall where we soaked and swam with a view over a deep green valley.
I sat behind the waterfall, on warm moss, looking out over the valley. The noise of the water drowned out all other sounds. It was like one of those “happy places” you mentally visit during yoga or meditation, but even better because it was real.
After hiking, the three of us caught a boat to the Gili Islands for some rest and celebration. We spent five days there partying and snorkeling. And Karol and Ronan did some introduction scuba dives, which Ronan took to very naturally.
Then Ronan set off on his own to make his way back to Bali for the long flights home.
Karol and I headed south to a surfing/beach town but it was too quiet for us there, especially as the high season had ended. But it would be a lovely place for couples. Beautiful scenery, empty beaches, all that.
Anyway, my arm is nearly broken from all this writing, so I:ll finish up here.
Hope all is well at home.
Miss you all.

Love, Mark

p.s. I’ve included some handmade pineapple paper I bought in my favourite town in Bali; Ubud.

LOCAL SCHOOL

2011-12-29T16:33:00.003Z

Some of the students and our friendly guide.

On a day hike around the paddi fields outside Ubud in Bali I stopped to ask directions. While a young local lad helped me, Karol popped into an internet cafe for some seemingly urgent task. So I chatted with the local for a while and introduced him to the German girls we were with. Both the Germans are studying to be teachers and of course, I also 'work' in the education field. So of course that came up in our conversation. Learning of my interest in education and Balinese schools, the young guy told us his old elementary school was just a minute away and invited us to check it out.
Actually it was less than a minute away. We'd been unknowingly sitting right on the school's doorstep. Classes were in session when we popped in, but that didn't stop the teachers, principal and students from giving us a warm welcome and tour of the small and basic, but beautiful place. The principal told me that there used to be about twenty students in each class. But now, just six to eight. He said it's because tourism has brought more money to families so now they can send their kids to private schools instead of village public schools like this one. He said this is a good thing.
The kids were cute and friendly as all Asian kids seem to be. And the school seemed to be well harmonised with the tropical nature around it. One classroom, built separately from the others even was wall-less and surrounding rice fields and palm trees were visible just metres away. A wonderful environment to learn in (excuse the pun).

THE DOWNSIDE TO TRAVELING

2011-12-29T15:10:00.002Z

This is a video from the end of the trip. As you can see I’m pretty skinny and blue after a month on the road. Also I was feeling very lonely following the departure of Karol and Ronan and the end of my holiday romance. Travelling alone isn’t fun at times.
The last few days of the trip were pretty miserable. I was burnt out and the places I chose to go (for diving) were so quiet and boring and the other travellers all seemed to be couples.
So I became pretty emotional and even cried a couple of times like a little girl. I guess physical exhaustion and loneliness caught up with me, though I tried to moderate my drinking on this trip to prevent such a crash. But I guess it wasn’t to be.

ROMANCE AND LIFE IN UBUD

2011-12-29T15:03:00.002Z

I had to debate with myself about whether to post my holiday romance here. Fears of losing opportunities with perspective girlfriends down the line make me reluctant to talk of past encounters. And I'm aware that writing about such things may only give enjoyment to me, not to the readers, so I’m afraid I may just be indulging myself.
However, as I’m aiming for honesty and openness on this blog, and since this experience was such a big part of my trip, perhaps the best part of my trip, I’ll share my experience and some videos which don't really relate to what I've written, but give you a feel for the place.
A couple of nights before Karol was scheduled to return to London, he and I were having another of our fast-becoming famous "convenience store parties". Oh, and for your information, a convenience store party is one in which you simply buy your booze from the convenience store and hang around outside. Talking to any people that visit or pass the store is the goal. I play music from my smartphone, Karol does his funny dance, and we both use tons of Irish charm to get a fun party started with other fun people. Convenient store parties are great because
A. They're super cheap
B. It's much easier to talk to people because there's no loud pub music.
C. And, uh, they’re cheap.
Anyway I digress...
So, we were having a convenience store party in Ubud, Bali and the party was really happening. We’d a few people drinking cheap beers with us, mostly Europeans. The convenience store workers loved us (I think) because we were strongly promoting their special 2 Bintang Beers for 33,000 rupiah. We were also sharing our hip flasks of Jameson whisky, so the following meeting I describe is based on hearsay and flashbacks.
A young Asian girl walked past us with a yoga mat. I started chatting to her and found out that she, Sujin, lives just a few blocks from me in Seoul. Quite a coincidence considering the size of Seoul and that she was the only Korean I had met in Indonesia.
After seducing Sujin with my seven Korean phrases, including “you’re pretty” and “more rice please sir”, she joined our convenience store party. Success!
Actually Sujin turned out to be awesome. She had been studying art at Hongik University (Korea’s best), but got sick of it, dropped out (almost unheard of to do that in Korea) and moved to Bali. She was renting a beautiful bungalow just outside Ubud, spending her days studying yoga, painting, creating new types of art (using sea salt!) and hanging out with friends in funky cafes.
We all drunk together that night and although Karol seemed to hate her (I suspect jealousy), I really took a liking to her. By the time Karol left for London two days later, we’d become close and Sujin let me stay in her countryside bungalow for the next week. Following three weeks of cheap guesthouses, home-stays, Karol’s snoring and Ronan’s tickling, it was heaven to move in with a girl.
The next week was one of the best I’ve ever spent “on the road”. The place she lives is so peaceful and relaxing; with a natural green backdrop as you can see in the video.

It’s rare for me to feel relaxed in the company of a person or people without taking time to myself or finding “my space”. But with Sujin I was totally content without it. Even the simplest things like having a healthy, organic breakfast and Bali coffee on the veranda were so enjoyable. My usual attitude of eat quickly and “let’s do something!”, dissipated to the point where I might’ve even seemed lazy.
We had no routine to our days, but always managed to do something fun. Yoga class, meditation class, hiking in the rice fields, visiting the great cafes and restaurants she’d discovered in the last four months, or meeting her friends.
We often spent evenings alone on her veranda drinking hot whiskies made with lemon, sugar, cloves, cinnamon and the final bottle of the Jameson. Relaxing to chilled beats like The XX or Gotan Project, we watched fireflies dance around the palm trees below us.

I struck up a friendship with the owner of a new, but cheap arung (family-run restaurant) in ‘our’ neighborhood. A passionate artist, like many Balinese, he had decorated his restaurant so that it was like a living room and the atmosphere was very cozy and welcoming. We dined there several times and he always came to chat with us, showing genuine interested in both Ireland and Korea.
Despite being only twenty-three, Sujin was contemplating opening a Korean restaurant/bar. Her plan also includes making her own makgeolli (korean fermented rice wine). Anyone that knows about my life in Korea will know that I am absolutely crazy about makgeolli. I drink it almost every day. It’s so cheap and healthy and tastes great.
She had a meeting scheduled in the south of Bali with a Korean businessman to get some advice. Upon learning of my interest in makgeolli, she invited me to join. I gladly accepted and we took an overnight trip to Seminyak, a popular beach-town. The meeting was very interesting and I might write about it later.
Following that we walked along the beach and promenade keen to do the beach bungee jump. But at over one hundred dollars, we decided not to. We visited a trendy Spanish bar/restaurant on the beach, and I mean literally on the beach, with funky big cushion-chairs to sit/lie/melt on while drinking beers and eating tapas to house music and the sound of waves.
After a few beers we found a cheap and nasty room and then headed out in even more nasty Kuta, the famous beach and party place of Bali. I’d been here at the start of my trip, but hadn’t experienced the infamous nightlife. For all the beauty, tranquility and warmth Bali has to offer, Kuta has none of it. Drunken people everywhere, horrible-looking bar-girls (of the prostitute type), drugs sold openly and lots and lots of dodgy-looking characters walking up and down the strip, seemingly looking for prey. We hit a few clubs and Sujin enjoyed the dancing, but I found it hard to relax or drink in that atmosphere.
We spent the next afternoon haggling for cheap sandals, enjoying lunch beers on the beach and swimming in the big waves. And then shared a “transport”- private taxi with a German family, the father of which had envious haggling skills and got us all a great price.
The great thing about Sujin was that although we basically spent twenty-four hours a day together for that week, I never saw a bad side to her. She never got annoyed, and there are plenty of things to get annoyed at in Bali, not least the ogling eyes of locals and their comments. I never heard her complain, show any negativity or put anyone down. It was very refreshing and naturally had a similar effect on me.

And she was a wonderful, caring host. Always good beer in the fridge, nice organic food; plenty of cheese and vegetables. And generous too, often picking up the bill in restaurants, including in our most expensive eatery (the Korean restaurant in Seminyak).
And although Sujin will live her life in Bali and I in many other places, I’ll always keep those fond memories.

SOLO TRIP TO LEMPUYANG TEMPLE

2011-12-17T08:03:00.002Z

Here is a video I made of a day trip I took just outside Amed in northeast Bali. They video and audio quality are not great as I recorded it on my phone. But hopefully you can get a feel for the place and the experience.

GOOD TIMES WITH KAROL

2011-12-17T07:27:00.005Z

Karol, my best mate, is also my original travel partner. Our first trip together was twelve years ago on summer break from our first year at university. We worked all summer in part-time jobs and scraped enough money together to inter-rail around five countries in Europe. We were on such a tight budget we usually took night trains to save the price of hostels and lunch was often supermarket bread and canned tuna on a park-bench. But we’ve both been seriously bitten by the travel bug (and many other types of bugs) and have continuously and often independently traveled different parts of the globe.
It was great he flew all the way out to Indonesia from London to travel with me. Lots of good times, though Karol doesn’t show it on camera. And plenty more of trips together to come no doubt. Sorry future wives.
Here’s a couple of random vids from my phone. The first is me and Karol on a motorcycle getting a taxi ride to our home-stay. This was hilarious. We were both so hungover and exhausted that we couldn’t think. Some guy on a motorcycle kept bugging Karol to buy trinkets. He was so exhausted that he was in fits of laughter as this serious-looking peddler tried to sell his wares. But forever the wheeler-dealer himself, Karol managed his exhaustion and negotiated seriously with him. After twenty minutes or so of this, I started walking home. Another ten minutes later and I heard a little horn beeping. Then “Mark, Mark”. I could see a motorcycle with an helmeted Indonesian rider. And from behind that body I could see a big white arm flailling about in an attempted wave to get my attention.
Karol had not only got an amzing price on the hand carved whatevers he’d just bought, but also negotiated a taxi ride home for us. We all made it back in one piece, but the driver didn’t look one bit happy. Nor did the suspension on his bike when we got off.

The second vid is simply an empty beach in southern Lombok where we spent a couple of days. Pretty boring unless you’re a surfer. But we had one special experience when Karol called in a public taxi to take us to another town as all the private operators were rip-off artists. We learned the hard way why none of the local hospitality workers would call us a taxi or even give us the phone number. The whole system is run by gangsters. We had experienced this before on Lombok at the ports. Really dodgy places and even dodgier gangsters trying to scam travelers through monopolising the taxi system, lying about boat departure times and other petty, but effective methods.
Here however, it nearly got bloody as the local gangsters all ganged up on the one public taxi driver we had arranged to pick us up. Luckily Karol was able to sort it all out before it got violent. And I, even more luckily, enjoyed a long shower oblivious to the whole ordeal until it was over.

And this last video is self-explanatory. A cool cafe we found while hiking the rice fields around Ubud with the German girls from out Rinjani hike.

THE USS LIBERTY

2011-11-13T03:17:00.007Z

I did two scuba dives in northeast Bali at a place called Tulamben. There is an American shipwreck there. It was an army transport ship that was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in 1942 and now lies just 40 meters from the beach about 20 meters under water.
It was a spectacular dive, but unfortunately I don't have an underwater camera. However I made before and after videos.
The highlight of the dives was the huge school of jackfish, about 400 in number, swimming in a bright silver spiral next to the wreck. About 15 meters high, this huge living tornado was magnificent to see. Continuously circling together like in Finding Nemo and totally unafraid of us divers. My Dutch diving buddy and I even swam down under the school, turned on to our backs and looked up through them. Amazing! Literally tons of these big fish swimming right over and around us as we gazed up at the surface 20 meters away where the sunlight refracted as it hit the water. A very memorable experience.
The company I dove with was called Adventure Divers. It's run by and English-Dutch gentleman called Ian and I was very happy with their service and equipment. I've included one of their videos that show the wreck dive if you are interested. And you can see the silver jackfish I mentioned at the start of the vid.

Before

After

Adventure Divers Video

ACCOMODATION IN BALI

2011-11-10T03:09:00.003Z

I made a couple of videos in Bali to show the types of accommodation available and the cost. High season is July and August. I was there in September so the prices are lower then if you negotiate.

Homestay in Ubud

Bungalow in Amed

VOODOO IS ALIVE AND WELL

2011-10-30T02:17:00.005Z

We stayed at a friendly place called Bukit Bungalows on Gili Trawangan. As we were there for several days we got pretty chatty with the young guy running the place.
One day he and I were talking in the garden after the usual omelet and Lombok coffee breakfast. I had heard people in Indonesia get married quite young and asked about his situation. He got married in his early twenties. His wife was seventeen at that time. This was interesting, but not surprising. However, what he told me next was very surprising.
He used to be a rice farmer in his home town. He earned 25,000 Rupiah for 8 hours work. That's less than 3 US dollars. But when he came to Gili Island and started working in tourism his earnings greatly increased. He was able to pay off his small house in just a couple of years. And, according to him, this caused one of the other farmers in his hometown to become jealous and start using voodoo on his wife. His wife, who lives alone in their hometown is now having mental problems because of this voodoo. Sometimes she just starts screaming or freaking out for no apparent reason.
So every time he visits his hometown, he searches his land for voodoo related items. He told me in voodoo to make the spells stronger, the person who is cursing the other often hides a magical item close to the home of those he is attacking to increase the strength of the spell.
I asked about the possibility of visiting the village elder for help because I'd heard of that being done. But he seemed reluctant to do so and said he would just keep searching his land.
I'm not sure what I think about all this and I'd love to learn more about Indonesian believes, but I'm certainly flattered that he spoke to me so openly. And for the following weeks in Indonesia I experienced a lot of this openness and willingness to share personal stories with strangers from Indonesians.

GILI ISLANDS

2011-10-28T01:41:00.008+01:00

Following our tough hike at Rinjani, we all fancied a bit of R&R on the beach so we caught the boat over to the Gili Islands. Getting around Lombok is an absolute hassle despite the island being so small. There's no organized public transportation between towns and always people are trying to overcharge and rip off travelers to use the private means of transport. And of course it's never on time and often involves stops or changes that were unexpected. So the idea of being on an island small enough to walk around for five days really appealed. The Gili Islands are three and we stayed on the largest, Gili Trawangan, which has nice beaches and a decent nightlife.

It was a great place to chill. The beaches are nice and there are enough people to create a good vibe, but still with a peaceful atmosphere and not too many vendors hassling. The water was beautiful and clear with mediocre snorkeling right on the main beach. We had heard big sea turtles were often visible there, but didn't spot any when we rented gear and snorkeled by ourselves.
However a couple of days later we went on an organized snorkeling trip which stopped at three different sites for snorkeling. Despite major hangovers (obvious from the above video) and a shortage of sleep, we all enjoyed that. And at the second site we were lucky enough to see two huge turtles with shells as big as my torso. We even got within three feet of one of them.

Brothers forever. I think.
Best friends forever.Gay.
We like snorkeling. But the deep water is scary.

A REAL HAPPY PLACE

2011-10-26T12:16:00.003+01:00

If you do yoga or meditate or get tortured sometimes then you'll know what a 'happy place' is. It's a place you invent in your head. It doesn't have to be real. It's just somewhere that you feel very comfortable, safe and relaxed. And of course it's usually somewhere beautiful in nature.
Well for years my happy place has been behind a waterfall. I had never been to anywhere that resembled my mental happy place. I had just made it up from snippets of movies, things I'd read and my own imagination.
But, unbelievably, two days into our Rinjani hike I visited somewhere even better than my happy place. When we arrived at the crater lake of the volcano I told the lads I fancied a swim. But before we had a chance to jump in, one of the porters beckoned us to follow him.
About a twenty minute hike later we came across some natural,but mediocre undeveloped hot springs with a handful of other hikers sitting, looking at them or dipping their feet in.
"Not here", said the porter, "walk more", and he pointed further down a slope. We followed him and as we rounded a corner we could see a beautiful, green, steaming, hot waterfall. Lovely mossy rocks lined a natural bath at the base of the little waterfall. And just a handful of other bathers serenely basked in the perfect warm water. Following two days sweaty, dusty hiking and a night's cold camping, we were in dire need of any form of bath, so this was like heaven to us.
We all had big smiles as we scrambled over the slippy rocks into the liquid paradise in nothing but our underwear and layer of dirt/sweat. I'll always remember that feeling of being surrounded by warmth in a place of true beauty.
After bathing a while, I spotted a little cave behind the flowing water of the waterfall. Although it seemed a little dangerous because the rocks were slippy and water blocked visibility, I decided to try to climb up and into the cave in pursuit of a real happy place.
Wow! It was even better than I'd imagined. Once I got inside, I was wet and would have got cold quickly, but for the warmth of the water and rocks. It was also much more comfortable than I imagined because moss lined the rocks on which I was sitting. And because the waterfall was not too heavy or big, I could still see the view well and wasn't deafened by the roar of water. AND the view through the water was down to a deep, lush valley with not a single sign of development or even a hiking path to be seen. I wished I had a waterproof camera to capture that image. It was so much better than the happy place I'd been imagining for years. Added to the fact that this was a real place, with hardly anyone there and needing a two day tough hike to reach it, I was totally elated to be there.
I wish I had taken better pictures to capture the place, but I guess I was too busy enjoying it.

Ronan and Karol in the water. Happy place is top center.

RINJANI PHOTOS (DAY 3)

2011-10-26T11:59:00.004+01:00

RINJANI PHOTOS (DAY 2)

2011-10-26T11:58:00.005+01:00

Drinking tea and warming up after swimming in the hot springs.
View of our goal for the following morning; Rinjani's summit.
The porters carrying all the tents, food and water. 20kg each on bamboo poles.
The porters navigated even the trickiest parts in simple cheap flip-flops.
Ascending further above sea level.
We begin our descent to the lake.
To the right you can see a new cone of the volcano formed from a recent eruption.
Taking a welcome break for a photo and catching our breath.
Very fashionable locals fishing/hanging out at the lake.
Ditto.
Argument because Ronan thinks I like him more than Karol and vice versa. Calm down lads! I like you both.
Sunset dinner. My hair's not really that ginger; it's just the light.Sleeping in the tents was so cold even fully dressed and with two sleeping bags. But Ronan still wouldn't let me cuddle. Damn that stubbornness!

RINJANI PHOTOS (DAY 1)

2011-10-25T14:23:00.003+01:00

In the pickup truck on the way to the base of Rinjani. Happy and energetic.
Some porters cooking lunch. Food was always very good.
First part of the hike on Day 1 was through forest. Misty and lots of monkeys running around.
Little bro leading the way with a stick for ankle support and monkey defense.
My gaff.
Camping above the clouds.
Irish whisky nightcaps for everyone! Look at those German smiles.

RINJANI MOUNTAIN, LOMBOK

2011-10-25T08:58:00.007+01:00

I just spent a month in Indonesia. Well, actually just the islands of Lombok, Gili and Bali. It was my first time properly backpacking in three years. Little brother Ronan flew over for a couple of weeks and my mate Karol came for three.

The highlight of our trip was a three day hike to the summit of Rinjani Mountain. Rinjani, on the island of Lombok, is Indonesia’s second largest mountain and said to be the most beautiful in the country. It also happens to be an active volcano. But the last eruption was over a year ago, so things were pretty safe. The hike is notoriously difficult with reports of lots of people crying, puking and quitting. So of course, this is just the kind of “holiday” that calls out to me. The summit is just over 3700 meters and the volcano has a crater-lake on top as well as natural hot-springs. It’s a three-day hike with the goal being to reach the summit for sunrise on day three (which requires a 2:30am start).

I felt pretty confident about the hike to be honest because I’ve done longer and higher hikes before. But my confidence quickly dissipated after receiving a link to a tripadvisor page from Ronan. Reading the experiences/complaints of the other hikers, I reassessed the situation. I spent August hiking every weekend to get in decent shape, even hiking up to three times a week when possible. Unfortunately, most of the mountains around me in Seoul are about 600 or 700 meters high, so it certainly wasn’t perfect preparation.

The holiday plan was for us to climb the mountain as early into the trip as possible before the hedonism took tole on our bodies. But it took a couple of days to get orientated and travel from Kuta Bali, our meeting point, to Rinjani by public transport. And by the time we were ready to go, there was already a considerable dent in our four litres of duty-free Jameson whisky.

We intentionally didn’t book in advance as I’d learned from past experience that we could get it much cheaper if we haggled on arrival. It worked out perfectly well. We paid only 700,000 Indonesian Rupiah each. Much cheaper than anyone we met and half of the 1,400,000 the guidebook cited as the going rate.

Our group consisted of us three, four Germans, our guide and five porters. Everyone was real cool. The Germans were all university students and surprisingly well-traveled and worldly. The porters were nice, hardworking and friendly. And the guide, seemingly a teenager, was a cool kid, but appeared to be in the worst shape of the whole group. Perhaps due to his incessant cigarette smoking. In fact, we felt so bad for him on the first leg of the trip, Karol offered to carry his backpack for him.

I brought my phone on the hike and made a couple of short videos. It was my first time to ever try this so I apologise for both the video and narration quality.

And here in this second video you can see Ronan and me at the top of Rinjani, tired, but elated to have achieved our goal.

And this third video is kind of pointless I guess, but I hoped to show the view a little better from a different angle.

CULTURE SHOCK

2010-06-22T04:27:00.002+01:00

1. Koreans sometimes drink an energy drink made from human placenta. I have met one Korean who self-injects this concoction twice aweek for energy.
2. I know one Korean lady who, although living in this dynamic capital city, had a 9pm cufew until she turned twenty (which was just a few years ago.)
3. I've met one person who has been a teacher in Korea and described her experiences using corporal punishment on students. And this lady is a very nice lady.
4. During the economic crisis of 1997 many men in Korea lost their jobs. Some were to embarrassed to tell their families, so instead, put on their suits every day and "went to work". Actually they had nowhere to go, so went hiking in some of the many mountains in and around Seoul (in their business suits.) Apparanty this still goes on somewhat today and can be seen if you hike during weekdays.

NORTH ANTRIM COAST

2010-06-15T01:34:00.007+01:00

I took my Korean girlfriend to the North Antrim coast when she visited in May. Only two hours drive from my home, I've been there several times. But amazingly, I'd never taken the breathtaking coastal road there. We had wonderful weather and it was a great reminder of just how fantastically beautiful Ireland is.

Giant's Causeway; cool shaped rocks jutting out into the sea.

Beautiful blue water covering all of Ireland; spectacular on a sunny day.
My mysterious girlfriend checking out the view from the beach.
Me surrounded by the green, fertile farms in Antrim.

The quaint town of Cushendall; a lovely place to recharge the batteries.
The Burn Bed and Breakfast; own by my mom's cousin Nuala, I highly recommend it.
The view from our window at The Burn; doesn't get much better than this.

HIKING AT HOME

2010-06-15T00:15:00.005+01:00

Every time I go home, I like to climb the Slieve Donard, our town's highest mountain. This trip home was no different and we had the best weather ever for the hike giving beautiful, clear views from the top.
In the photos below; little brother Ronan and his Polish girlfriend Beata and there's also some tired, weak Korean girl being carried up the hardest part of the hike ;-)

REFRESHED

2010-05-31T23:06:00.002+01:00

The sun is shining, the park is green, the birds are chirping and I feel great.

Hello patient blog-readers. Apologies for the long absence. Nineteen months living in the financial district of one of the worlds mega-cities without a single noteworthy holiday sapped the life out of me. But I'm back! After a month-long holiday in the Emerald Isle (Ireland) I feel refreshed, rested, happy and ready for the next stage of my life.

I returned to Korea yesterday and awoke at 4am this morning. Since I'll be starting work on Thursday and must return to my 5am rises anyway, I decided to get up and make the most of this spectacular weather. A bit of planning, a cup of tea and phone-call home from the park. And then a run around my area as the sun rose.

It probably sounds terrible, but I've never really been excited to be in Korea. I arrived here in October, which is the start of a long cold winter. I was pretty broke when I arrived so didn't really explore much or do many fun things. And as good as my job is, there are usually no periods of holiday time. So I just got into a routine of working and saving and having a few beers now and again. And after a year and a half, the longest period I've stayed in one country BY FAR without a big trip abroad, I realised I really needed a holiday.

A month ago if you asked me my favorite place in Korea, or what there is to do here, I would've struggled to give you an answer. But now, returning in the blossoming spring, I feel much more positive about this place and my time here. In fact, I actually feel kind of excited to be back here. It was about this time seven years ago when I flew out to Thailand for my first experience living in Asia, and the air here right now is reminding me a lot of that and bringing back some of the nostalgic excitement.

So, the main focus for the next few months will be saving money. But I've a holiday to Taiwan already booked for September, which is great since I've a new country to look forward too. And I'll also take a few weekend trips and stay in touch with the great outdoors.

And I'll try to make a better effort with the blog too :-)

BEAUTIFUL BALLOONS IN THE BEAUTIFUL SKY ON THE BEAUTIFUL GROUND IN THE BEAUTIFUL SEA

2010-03-30T22:40:00.002+01:00

I went to the season opening game of the Korean baseball league last week. Exciting as always with the full stadium chanting and striking their thundersticks in unison. The home team, Doosan Bears, whose colour is white, released about a thousand white helium-filled balloons during the ceremony. Of course it looked very pretty against the overcast, yellow-dust* filled sky. But as they drifted away, I wondered what next? The balloons sink and land in the mountains or sea somewhere. And then? Just sit there for a thousand years? Or get eaten by a tortoise? Or what? On reflection it seems like a pretty horrible thing to do to the earth and nature for a couple of seconds of mild pleasure on our part, doesn't it? Or am I just thinking too much? And I was also wondering, if we have laws against littering and other types of pollution, and the Doosan Bears (as well as lots of other people like the organizers of the St Patricks Day parade recently) 'litter' live on national TV, shouldn't they be fined?

*yellow-dust (황사-hwangsa) is toxic sand that blows over from China and covers the sky and everything under it here in Korea at this time of year.

2010-03-03T00:57:00.001Z

The pitterpatter of an unexpected winter (?) rain
The pre-dawn walk to work greets me
With double streetlight-umbrella-shadows

The pitterpatter becomes a roar
And a taxi splashes me in the darkness
But it's ok , it's going to be a good day.

WINTER HIKING

2010-02-23T10:49:00.005Z

I went for my second winter hike last Sunday. Three Korean friend and I went to Cheongae Mountain. Although there was still a lot of snow, it was bright, warmish and breezeless so it felt more like spring that winter. Before this year I had never hiked in snow, but now am really starting to enjoy it. Though for safety, I must really get a pair of crampons soon if I don't want to continue bruising my bum.

[My hiking partners]
[Hyunjung's unique and energy-efficient method od descending the mountain.]
[Mijung, the weakest of the group, collapsed after only an hour.]
[Yours truly.]
[Hyunjung mixing it up with some freestyle sliding. Mijung and Jungoo laughed at her. Bad friends!]
[Two ladies and a wannabie gangster.]

LIFE'S 50 GREATEST PLEASURES

2010-01-21T10:59:00.002Z

These days I'm very interested in the 'science' of happiness. I've read some great books about it like The Happiness Hypothesis (Haidt) and The Geography of Bliss (Weiner). And today I was very pleased when one of my students brought in a related article for News Day.

Batchelors Cup-A-Soup recently did a survey of 3000 Brits to find out life's greatest pleasures. I can't find drinking, making or buying soup anywhere on the list but the results are interesting.

It seems that most things that make us happy are quite small, and usually free, like the first snowfall of the year or catching up with old friends.

I've copied the list below, but I don't know how to reverse the order. So if you want the best last, you should scroll to the bottom and read up from number 50.

Top 50 greatest little pleasures in life:

1. A good night’s sleep
2. Finding a forgotten tenner in your pocket
3. Cuddling up with a partner in bed
4. Crying with laughter
5. Having a lie-in
6. Sleeping in newly laundered bedding
7. Getting a bargain
8. Making someone smile
9. Catching up with an old friend
10. Laughing at things that have happened in the past
11. Eating a Sunday roast with your family
12. Someone saying you look nice
13. Curling up on the sofa with a good book and a hot drink or soup
14. Discovering you’ve lost a few pounds
15. Breakfast in bed
16. Waking up thinking it’s a work day and then realising it’s the weekend
17. A random person smiling at you in the street
18. Looking through old photo albums
19. Eating a takeaway
20. First snow fall of the year
21. Singing your heart out to your favourite song in car
22. Having lunch with friends
23. Listening to a baby laughing
24. Having a massage
25. Reading a book or listening to your iPod on holiday by the pool
26. Playing in snow
27. Finding a pair of jeans that fit perfectly
28. Being chatted up
29. A girly-night in
30. A pampering session at home
31. The smell of freshly cut grass
32. Sitting in the pub with your friends
33. Looking at a baby asleep in a cot
34. Waking up in a room with an amazing view
35. Clothes shopping
36. Receiving a letter from a friend
37. Fitting into an old pair of jeans again after losing some weight
38. Staying up all night getting to know someone special
39. Your mum’s cooking
40. Getting dressed up for a night out
41. Watching a live band
42. Drinking a cold beer after work
43. Browsing in a secondhand book shop
44. Going to the cinema
45. Getting a new hairstyle
46. Your queue being the quickest in the supermarket
47. The cold side of the pillow
48. Watching a DVD
49. Getting tipsy
50. Popping bubble wrap.

TOP TEN TOP TENS

2010-01-12T21:49:00.004Z

One of the topics we did this week in my adult general conversation class was Top Ten Lists. For homework I asked them to prepare their own top ten list of anything they want, preferably something interesting. There were the usual lists of favorite foods and places, but lots of original stuff too. Here's my top ten favorites of my student's top ten lists in no particular order:

TOP TEN...
1. situations I can't bear on public transport.
2. surprising things about mosquitos.
3. most beautiful English words.
4. longest bridges.
5. accidents I have witnessed.
6. lies men tell women.
7. things that surprised me in China.
8. world's healthiest foods.
9. Korean foods that Japanese people like.
10. times/places I'd go if I had a time machine.

RANDOM CAMERA SNAPS

2009-11-24T04:37:00.003Z

Here are some random photos that I snapped on my phone in the last few months. (Above are flowers on the Han River).
[Broken mirror in the street.][Bus driver watching TV on his mobile.][Coworker Faye and I in work.]
[Tyler checking the map on our east coast bike trip.][Rainy afternoon siesta.]
[Me and Jolie in work.][My friend HyonJong getting a facial.][A lady practising violin under a bridge at Yangjae stream.][A chipmunk or something at Soraksan.]

MY MOON

2009-11-03T12:54:00.003Z

I gave you my heart
My love and my soul
It wasn't enough
You still wanted more

So you tried to take
What's bigger than you
Despite all I gave
You wanted my moon

But I didn't share
Cuz inside I knew
You'd destroy it all
My night heaven too

And now we're alone
All is dark and blue
And as I look up
I don't think of you

NIGHT SNAPS

2009-10-27T23:06:00.006Z

I took some snaps last night around my neighbourhood just to have a play with the camera.

LOVE TEETH

2009-10-26T22:07:00.002Z

I've been complaining to my students about my coming wisdom teeth. I had the uppers removed in Japan and maybe I'll need the lowers taken out here. I haven't been to the dentist yet becuase I'm already suffering too much with a suspected broken rib (thanks awesome boxing master!) and stomach problems (though getting much better). So surgery in my mouth is not what I want right now. I'll wait a while and hope it just goes away.
Anyway, my students taught me that the Korean word for wisdom tooth is 사랑니-sarangni, which translates as 'love tooth'. It's a sign that real love is ready to come in to your life. Hearing that really cheered me up. And I'd much rather be in love than be wise :)

JEJU ISLAND

2009-10-21T01:25:00.007+01:00

This month when my brother was here we finally took my long awaited trip to Jeju island. I had been looking forward to this trip for over six months as I'd planned to do it with my best friend from Japan, Ryuta, when my contract finished. Although I extended my contract, I was able to get enough time off for a nine-day trip.
[Ryuta and Ronan: Enjoying the sunny "day"]Jeju is just south of peninsular Korea. It's the most famous and popular tourist destination for Koreans, especially in summer and for honeymoons. The climate at the start of October is supposed to be perfect; dry and not too hot. That suited us well since our trip was to be one of adventure and excercise. However, just before taking off, I heard there was typhoon warnings and lots of rain promised during our trip. 'Highly unusual for this time of year', I was told :(
Ronan and I flew down to Jeju on the Friday and Ryuta arrived from Japan on Saturday morning. We rented bicycles with a plan to cycle the 240km coastal path around the circumference of the island. We allocated four days to do the entire distance, with an extra day cyling and sightseeing on a smaller island called Udo.
[Out on the town, with no thoughts of tomorrow's hangover]The first day, amazingly we notched up 75km in the sunshine. No prob for Ronan, a fitness machine, and Ryuta had no problems. But I hadn't excercised in 7 weeks becuase of my hand and chest injury (at least that's my excuse). Man, I swear my thighs were in such agony for the last 15km I thought I wouldn't be able to walk the next day. But luckily we found a bathhouse near our guesthouse and could soak and stretch our muscles.
[Sibling rivalry. I won.]Day 2 and the weather was still holding up ok. Just fifty hungover km today, but it was even harder than day 1. But Ryuta and Ronan are great fun, never complain and regularly do dumb things on the bike to get a laugh, so it was always bearable.
Day three the rain came. It was definitely not fun then. Ronan and I had bought a couple of matching blue jackets last minute in Jeju city and we were sure glad of them when it started to pour. By this point we were on the southeastern part of the island and towns were few and far between, so we just had to keep going to our planned destination for the day. With everything wet and heavy, including our spirits, and the cumulative hangovers adding up, day 3 was pretty gruelling for us. But once shacked up in a cheap motel, we found another bathhouse and soaked ourselves as it continued to pour outside.
Jeju is an island and thus seafood is popular. We went to a fancyish seafood place one night, but most of the time we were so hungry from biking we just wanted meat and enjoyed BBQ with the local delicacy 'black pig'.
On day 4 we took a ferry out to Udo, a small, supposedly beautiful island nearby. It was pouring! But we got motivated, put on our damp clothes from the day before and headed out.
Bad idea really. It was just miserable. The island wasn't beautiful, nor was it different to the other places in Jeju that we'd seen. Well, at least not on grey day.
So our plan to cycle around the entire island was quickly aborted and we caught the first ferry back to watch movies in our room and eat cookies. My Canadian coworker, Tyler flew down from Seoul in the afternoon and seemingly brought some good weather with him. Because following another night's drinking of the infamous Jeju alcohol 'Halasan Soju' we had clear skies.With a new member in the group and only a few showers along the way, the energy levels were higher and we covered the last 60km or so to Jeju city in record time.
We spent two nights here drinking heavily to make up for our general disatisfaction of the beauty of Jeju. We also hiked Hala-san, Korea's highest mountain. Again, we were unimpressed, but it was nice to get into the mountains.[Me and little bro at Halasan]So in summary, the trip was pretty good. Great to hang out with the lads do something physical. But as for Jeju island; not beautiful and not really fun, especially in the rain. I'm glad I went, but I wouldn't go back. Or maybe I'm just spoilt from seeing too many pretty places.

[Ryuta taking a nap in the pub. Trying to keep up with two Irish and a Canadian isn't easy.]

BOXING: FIRST WEEK

2009-10-20T01:40:00.005+01:00

Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse.... My first boxing class was on Tuesday. Despite the leg pain, I went again on Thursday where I got my shoulders slapped, feet kicked, and my own fist pushed against my face whenever I dropped my guard.
Saturday however was the icing on the cake (I hope). Although our 'master' hasn't taught me to punch or even defend myself yet, he asked if I wanted to spar a couple of rounds with him in the ring. Of course I thought I'd look weak if I declined so I 'enthusiastically' agreed. I jokingly told my friend to tell him in Korean not to break my nose. To which my friend laughed and said not to worry, he's just going to slap me around a bit. HA! Thirty seconds later blood was running down my nose. He caught me with a straight across the bridge of my nose. After a bit of towel work from my corner I was good to go again and managed to finish the first round giving him a cut lip. Second round I took another hammering, but not too many to the nose (he focused on my beer belly this time). To be honest, by the end of the second round I could hardly breath or defend myself so was mostly just taking shots and trying not to whine too much. And as hard as it was, I took a lot of pleasure seeing the bllod on his teeth when he took out his mouth piece, though I have a feeling I might pay dearly for that next time :(

[Photo: Don't worry, I'm still pretty ;)]

DEAD DOG II

2009-10-19T02:31:00.005+01:00

When my little brother was here I took him to eat dog with a couple of Korean friends. I was very impressed that he was keen to try it. It was my second time and certainly easier than the first, but still not overly enjoyable.
Ronan ate three or four pieces. He didn't enjoy it, but tried his best, so I'm proud of him.

[Ronan with Korean friends Tina and Bria.]

BOXING: FIRST CLASS

2009-10-15T01:03:00.001+01:00

All I have to say is, 'boxing is painful, so painful'. And I haven't even been punched yet!
Yesterday, my Korean buddy David (see climbing photos) and I joined Seoul Boxing Gym. My health club gym membership ended a couple of weeks ago and I decided not to resign. I hate gyms, I've always hated gyms and two years ago told myself I'd never go one again. I've always figured if your life is active enough you won't need them. And if you have to exercise, you should find a fun way to do it. But big city life changed me so I ended up lifting weights and running a treadmill like a hamster for months just to stop the over indulgance of big city life from killing me. But I've now decided that getting punched in the face on a regular basis will be better for my health...
A former student told me about Seoul Boxing Gym a while back and I decided to join when my gym membership was up. He told me it was reasonably priced, but warned me that the 'master' was a bit of a loose cannon and hot tempered with a habit of telling students "You're rubbish, just go home" (in Korean of course). But somehow this attracted me to the place more than deterred me. Images of me proving myself to my 'master' masked the realistic images of me vomiting in the toilet or passing out from exhaustion, or memorizing Korean for "I want my Mommy", in case of emergencies. I envisoned facing my master and replying to his scornful comments that "I might be rubbish, but I will not go home", or something really cool along those lines, even as he jabs a finger into my little beer gut.
Unfortunately though on the first day he wasn't mean enough to me for me to make my point. So I'll have to wait.
He did however grab my beer gut. Early on, before warming up he took a look at my paunch and then grabbed it. Instinctively I tensed up, but quickly reconsidered in hope that he would go easy on me. He laughed and gave it a shake. To which I replied 'mekju mani'-a lot of beer. He said something in Korean about not drinking anymore which I couldn't understand even when David translated it. Anyway, probably not important.
Then we did some stretching and he got us started on the jump rope. We had to do five rounds of three minutes each with a thirty second break between. There's even a real bell that rings at these intervals. Skipping mightn't sound that difficult, but you'd be amazed. And we had to alternate from one foot to the other and then at different angles. David and I were saturated in sweat by the end of the third 'round'. And in the fourth and fifth we were delirious and swearing, but too afraid to quit despite the cramps.
Then we got a short break followed by more jumping. This time though it wasn't with a rope. Just posing in front of the mirror in a boxing stance. It took about five minutes for me to get the stance correct. I couldn't understand the coach and David was too tired to translate so the big meanie resorted to pushing me and kicking my feet until the position was right. I laughed at these actions, but I was crying on the inside. Thought I felt better when I saw him do the same things to David. Ha!
Anyway, we then had another three gruelling rounds of trying to maintain this position while hopping up and down (like boxers?).
Then three more rounds of skipping even though we could hardly stand. Then he let us go home telling us we need to know how to do our own taping my tomorrow and and that today was just a gentle warm-up. I made some excuse about having a date and said I'd come back 'another time'. He laughed, but I could see he wanted to slap me. He said something about needing to practice a lot and reiterated his earlier point about alcohol intake, which I still didn't understand.
Now, the morning after, my calfs are a little stiff, but otherwise I feel good. And since I've already paid a months fees I might actually go back again. Watch this space...

INDOOR CLIMBING KOREA

2009-10-12T23:59:00.002+01:00

When little brother was here he convinced me to take him an indoor climbing wall. Despite my passion for indoor climbing and bringing my equipment to Korea, I had yet to be to a wall. I had that one bad outdoor experience (see blog post), but apart from that, my shoes lay sleeping in the back of my closet.
But Ronan's enthusiasm was contagious and, along with a keen Korean buddy, we found a wall not too far from where I live.
It was a great way to spend the evening. Possibly the cleanest wall I've ever seen, well maintained and not too busy. And my coworker, David, despite it being his first time, was super enthusiastic and picked it up really quick. It was also awesome (and enfuriating) to see how much Ronan has progressed in the last year, while I've grown soft and weak :(
Hopefully we'll get back there again.

[Ronan; showing us how it's done.][David; already looking like a pro.]

DRAMA SET

2009-10-11T11:17:00.002+01:00

I headed out of Seoul a little while ago to a movie set. One of my friends wants to be a drama manager and the setting looked like a refreshing break from the gray concrete of the city so we took a day trip.
Although I'd seen several of the movies that were partially filmed out here (JSA and Oldboy), it really wasn't that impressive. However, it was lovely to be surrounded by green on a beautiful day and the company was good so I enjoyed it.

Nice scenery.I don't know what this room was meant to be, but it was fun.Miso; camera shy? Maybe not.North Korean border set used for the awesome movie JSA.

WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH ME?

2009-10-11T03:08:00.002+01:00

Hey blog readers. Or should I say 'Hey Mom'? :)
It's been a while, I'm sorry. Just one of those non-blogging phases I guess.

Anyway, here's an update on what's happening in my life, and a promise to blog more frequently this autumn.
-My first year in Korea has ended and I've started the six month extension of my contract. I still like my job and students a lot, so I feel I've made the right decision.
-My little brother and best friend from Japan, Ryuta, just visited Korea for an adventure and liver-damage holiday to Jeju Island (I'll put photos up later).
-I'm feeling positive and excited about my future. My thirtieth birthday is next year and as I always said, I will end this lifestyle then (see blog motto). So I'm thinking and planning what job to do and where to do it.
-I'm feeling pretty healthy. Despite being plagued this summer with acute bronchitis, and busted hand, and more recently gastritis, I feel good. And I've just bought a new JUICER to ensure I'm healthy and loaded up on fruit and veg all winter.
-I've just come out of a bad relationship. It was long and painful and my heart got broken. But I'm glad it's over as I can now go back to loving myself and also focus clearly on what I want next in my life.
-I'm finally reading lots of books again. I forgot how fun and beneficial reading could be. My bro brought me six books from home I'd ordered (cuz they're so expensive out here) including one on how to write poetry. So there might even be a few poems coming your way.
-My boss has asked me to work overtime this month and next. It's not confirmed, butI have agreed. It'll be tiring, but good to have a few more pennies in the back when I leave here in May.

Yeah, that's it I think. So stay posted and leave a comment once in a while to keep me motivated to write~

SUNSHINE RETREATS

2009-09-03T11:16:00.003+01:00

so soon did it come
so soon did it pass
the summer is gone
so short did it last

now a cool breeze blows
refreshing and light
but bringing vows of
darkness and long nights

melancholy's threat
as sunshine retreats
no person can have
their summer for keeps

THE NEWS

2009-09-03T10:56:00.002+01:00

I totally forgot to put my news on here.

Firstly, and most excitingly, my younger brother Ronan will visit me here in Korea this month. He's coming out for a couple of weeks for a vacation and to catch up. It's been a year already since we saw each other. At the same time, my best friend from Japan, Ryuta, will come and along with my Canadian buddy Tyler we will go to Jeju-island (Korea's honeymoon island) for a week of biking and hiking. I can't wait.

Secondly, although my contract was due to end this month, I have extended for a further six months (until the end of April). This was mostly a practical decision. Although after a year, I have finally adapted to city life and now enjoy it's benefits (though I still really miss decent nature and the overpopulation bugs me a bit). But my job is great, I have some good friends and this city is really nice, plus I'm earning better money here that I could elsewhere.

ASYAAF

2009-08-24T11:23:00.006+01:00

Couple of students took me to the Asian Students and Young Artists Art Festival last weekend. It was great. TONS of stuff ranging from oil on canvas to computer art to sculptures made from bike chains. Unfortunately, I couldn't take snaps with my busted arm, but it always feels good to see fresh, modern art. Thanks to Tiffany for the photos.

BUSTED ARM AND KIND FRIENDS

2009-08-24T10:48:00.002+01:00

My arm is in a semi-cast following my climbing accident. And I can't do much in the way of cooking or housework. But I gotta say, Korea is an awesome place to be injured. Everyone is so kind and helpful. Every morning my students help put on my cast on, write the new vocab on the board, and even put honey into my tea and stir it. The secretaries help button my shirts or cuff links and fold my trousers after work. One beautiful friend even came all the way to my apartment yesterday to cook me dinner for the next few days. She even did all the washing up and fed me (which wasn't necessary, but certainly fun ;))
Man I'm gonna wear this cast for much longer than needed.

[One kind student bandaging me up.]

HIKING/CLIMBING TRIP

2009-08-16T23:07:00.002+01:00

I went to Bukhansan last Saturday for a spot of hiking and climbing. What should've been a five hour, moderate hike with a little recreational climbing turned into a tough, ten-hour, bloody and dehydrated expedition.
I went with a group of people I met on a rafting trip the week before. They were nice people. But to be honest I felt their standard of safety could/should've been higher. Especially since I'm inexperienced at outdoor climbing I would've liked to feel more confidence in the people I was with. And how exactly they predicted it would only take five hours, I'll never know.I picked up one injury. As we were ascending a climber above me knocked down a rock. It hit my arm and cut me quite deep on the inside of my elbow, deep enough to see white (fatty tissue I think). It bled a lot and my arm was quickly covered in blood. But my attention was more focused on the climber below me whose face was covered in blood cuz the rock and hit his forehead after bouncing off my arm. But we were both ok and after five minutes and most of my water supply we were cleaned up and heading for the summit.
Despite the usual Seoul smog, the views were quite nice. Temperature was soaring though and as the long descent dragged on we all became pretty dehydrated. When we finally made it back to the forest the sun had set so we had to hike in the dark for about an hour. Luckily I'd the sense to pack my headlamp just in case.Then it was time for beer and Korean pancakes with tofu and kimchi and to forget about the sweat and blood. Although it all ended happily ever after I have a new respect for outdoor climbing. I always knew it was dangerous. But on our descent I saw just how easily it would be to die, from any careless mistake. But what bothered me most was how easily it would be to die because of some other idiot's careless mistake. So, to be honest, I don't think I'll be doing anymore outdoor stuff. The rewards (pretty views and stuff) are not worth the high risk (death or pissed off parents) when I can see pretty views just from hiking and get my adrenaline buzz from indoor climbing. And I certainly will not be doing anything else with that group of hikers.

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE

2009-08-04T03:39:00.006+01:00

When Tyler and I were in Sokcho, our awesome hostel manager recommended an awesome restaurant for dinner. It was a Korean BBQ style buffet five minutes from our hostel. And it was awesome. Basically all the pork, beef, chicken, fish, octopus and salad you could eat with no time limit (though it does close at midnight apparently). The price was 7000won (about 3pounds50) and the quality was great. We really couldn't believe it. Beer was normal price and no pressure to buy any, or anything extra for that matter. And there was even ice cream (in 3 different flavours!) included for desert.
We went there three nights in a row, stuffed out faces with meat, and rode back to Seoul on the fourth day, bellies jiggling and glad we didn't live within an hour of that place because we'd definitely both be obese within a year.

"WOOF WOOF!!" (silence...)

2009-07-27T01:35:00.002+01:00

Right now in Korea it's hot, it's humid, and everyone is getting sick. They says it's because of the air-conditioning and hot humid weather contrast. Traditionally here they have three 'hot' days per year. On these 'hot' days Koreans like to eat samgyatang (a soup containing a whole boiled chicken with ginseng and other healthy things) and kegogi (dog meat).Last Friday was one of the hot days and I was feeling pretty tired, achy and a bit sick. So I decided it was as good a time as any to try dog (I've eaten the samgyatang many times). Although I used to be very adventurous in what foods I would eat in the name of 'culture', my curiosity and courage have dulled in the last year or two. Regardless of my inhibitions I set out to try this medicine or 'stamina food' on Saturday. I went with three Korean women, two of whom had never tried dog and one who eats it twice a month and boosts of the benefits.
It was really difficult at first, and took a glass of beer and skipping breakfast to get motivated to gobble down some of man's best friend. The first bite was tough, but then it got easier. The meat was actually really tender and quite delicious. About 60% beef, 40% pork in my humble culinary novice opinion. However, there was a lot of fat in each of the pieces of meat, and apparently this is where much of the stamina-boosting goodness is found. As someone who rarely eats the fat even on chicken or beef, it was quite difficult eating all of this.All in all though it wasn't a terrible experience. I was glad to sample some Korean culture even if it will make my pet-loving friends hate me. And the best part is, that since Saturday (it's now Monday evening) I've been feeling fantastic; energetic, strong and full of 'stamina'. Maybe it's the placebo effect, maybe the other healthy ingredients that came with the dog meat, or, maybe it is actually true that dog meat provides stamina and helps battle the summer fatigue...

[My partners in crime; Tina and Clare]

EAST COAST ROAD TRIP

2009-07-20T02:15:00.004+01:00

I've just been on a four day road trip to the east coast of Korea. We had a long weekend off from work, and since I've no real summer vacation, my coworker Tyler and I decided to make the most of it.
Despite this being the middle of rainy season, we planned a motorcyle trip all the way over to Sokcho. Amazingly though, we fell lucky with the weather. Our two big riding days, Thursday and Sunday (yesterday) were dry, while it rained on the others (which didn't matter).
We stayed at an amazing hostel called The House Hostel, where the wonderful manager Yoo took awesome care of us. We ate like kings for the three nights at an all-you-can-eat buffet BBQ place and are now FAT!
We also hooked up with a bunch of English teachers that work over there and partied in the towns one happening pub on Friday and Saturday.
And when we weren't indulging ourselves with food and drink we visited some temples, pretty beaches, little harbours and of course the famous Soraksan (maybe Korea's prettiest mountain??)
It was a pretty intense trip squeezed into four days, but very enjoyable, great to be on the open road.

[Found a little harbour. It was overcast and the water looked like oil][Roadside scenery: Awesome! Nice mountains too.][Pretending to check my bike for the camera "Is this the engine?"][Well prepared for the weather, as always. My hair was SO frizzy after this!][Top of Soraksan (courtesy of cable car). Misty, but beautiful.][Into the abyss.]

[Thanks to Mr Tyler Durden for the photos.]

TEMPLE STAY

2009-07-14T02:14:00.002+01:00

I went on a temple stay last month. I'd been meaning to do one here for a while, but wanted to wait for warm weather as sleeping on a wooden floor in the cold didn't appeal to my sensitive nature.
I'd been on two temple stays before, one in Thailand with my elementary school students, and one in Japan with my parents. So this was my first solo retreat.
I had originally planned to go the a foreigner meditation centre, but through some unusual circumstances (and very poor planning) I ended up in an ancient temple famous for it's fighting monks (historically, not now).
It was just me and a Korean family of four there. There was no English program, but with the family's help plus my twenty words of Korean, I was able to get by.
I arrived late in the afternoon to the surprise and amusement of the monks who were not expecting me (because I wasn't even expecting to be there - long story...) But they quickly regained composure and donned me in temple attire then introduced me to the family.In the evening we got a tour of the temple grounds and learned about the interesting history (I guess), then rang the big temple bell while focusing on our wish (whatever we were hoping to achieve through the temple stay). Then we had to do some tedious tracing of Korean script and a picture of Buddha. Actually it wasn't as boring as it sounds, and probably serves some purpose, but it was a bit achey on the wrists.That evening we all had a temple dinner together consisting of very simple, but delicious and wholesome vegetables, rice and soup. The family were really warm and welcoming to me and I was glad they were there too.
After dinner we did some worship and meditation. I had always meditated with my eyes closed before, but this monk taught us to keep your eyes half open and focus on space one meter ahead, so as to not get sleepy. I tried, but actually found it really distracting and it hurt my eyes a little. So I certainly didn't reach an enlightened state.That night we were sent to bed at nine o'clock, just like the monks, in preparation for a four o'clock wake up call. But I usually finish teaching at nine, so there's no way I can go to sleep that early. I walked around the temple taking photos, but not for long. It was pretty dark and I was afraid I might be disturbing the sleeping monks if I wandered around too much.I tried going to sleep, but it was pointless. The floor was too hard. There weren't enough blankets for padding. It was too hot to get under my blanket, but I had to because of the mosquitoes. I tossed and turned most of the night and when I finally got sleepy I was so anxious about sleeping in for the morning worship, I couldn't sleep well anyway.I probably slept about an hour and then dragged myself out into the dark pre-dawn wondering what the hell I was doing there anyway. The family were still snoring in the room next to me so I went alone to one of the small halls where the monks where chanting in the candlelight. It was nice and kind of surreal. I preformed my 108 bows, which is actually kind of painful when your not used to it. You have to go from standing position right down onto your knees then prostrate yourself head to the floor.
Then, when the family finally got up, over an hour later, I did it all again with them. Exhausting! But it's meant to be good for you diet. Whatever the hell that means.
Next was the mandatory and tedious brushing of the yard with big dopey branches. I know that it's all part of the humbling procedure or whatever, but after nearly 250 bows I was knackered and really couldn't be bothered. And to make matters worse, after devising a super-efficient system of brushing whereby I started at one end, brushed a straight line towards the wall, and then at the end went the opposite way brushing along the same line, thus ensuring all the leaves and rocks where reaching the wall and no areas were being missed.
But just as I was making good progress, the youngest of the Korean sons came over and started brushing randomly on top of my hard work and on parts I hadn't touched yet. What a mess. I wanted to punch him in the head, but I knew that would be bad for my karma. I think I must've been tired.
Next was time for breakfast. We all fetched and served the food together and it was a long, slow and ceremonious procedure. Actually it was really nice to take so long over a meal, and it tasted so much better and fulfilling because of it. Thankfully after breakfast it rained and I got time for a twenty minute lie down. That made the hour hike in the mountain behind the temple much more enjoyable. And then for the most enjoyable part of the trip. The Korean family, monk and myself went down to a little cabin-style tea house built by a stream for some late morning green tea. It was so peaceful. The tea house was also a gift shop, but the early time and morning drizzle meant there were no tourists hanging about. There was wonderful traditional Korean music playing. Very meditative. And the green tea was served bitter, in tiny, delicate cups. As the monk and the family quietly talked, I sleepily drifted of in my own thoughts and felt, for the first time in a long time, at total peace with the world. And those few minutes feeling like that, made the whole, exhausting, painful experience worth while.
Then it was time to leave. The family kindly drove me all the way to Inchon where they treated me to lunch in a Chinese restaurant. And after our goodbyes I caught a bus home, exhausted and probably no closer to enlightenment, but with another new experience and interesting memory.

SLEEPING UNDER THE STARS

2009-07-05T07:06:00.001+01:00

Last night I was watching my favorite TV show, Northern Exposure. Hal and Maurice were outside camping and Maurice said something about how great it is to sleep under the stars. It made me think about sleeping outdoors and when was the last time I slept under the stars. After a little thought, I realized I've only slept under the stars three times in my entire life, and they were all in Australia.

The first time was in the Whitsunday Islands on a sailing trip. I slept on the deck of the boat under a million stars. The deck was rock hard and it was freezing during the night, so certainly not as romantic as one would imagine. But the experience was worth the discomfort especially since I was the only one on board brave/daft enough to do it. No other people, buildings, lights or anything else man made in sight.

The second time was a pear farm in Victoria. Me and an English friend thought it'd be awesome getting back to nature dragging our sleeping bags into the orchard. This bottle-of-vodka-inspired idea didn't seem so great when the farmer saw us the next morning and turned on the sprinklers. To the amusement of his family and our coworkers we were wriggling around like a couple of worms trying to get away from the water, but still too drunk to unzip our sleeping bags.

The third and last time was in the bush with three European friends. Miles from the nearest town and, again drunk, it seemed like a great idea to fall asleep by the campfire with my almost empty bottle of whisky. The others, a bit more savvy to the dangers of the Australian outback, went to the car and tents to sleep.

I grabbed the ground mat and sleeping bag out of my tent and settled down to sleep under the most star-filled sky ever. It was unbelievable. The stars completely surrounded me, all around, not just above. They came all the way down to the horizon and I could even see them between the trees. A truly amazing way to fall asleep.

However, the best way to fall asleep was soon followed by the worst way to wake up. About three hours later my heart was pounding, my senses sharp and I was very alert despite the early hour and whisky. I didn't know why I had woken up, but I knew something was very wrong. The sleeping bag was over my head and I kept my body perfectly still, even refusing to open my eyes. Listening. Listening. Listening...

And then I heard what my subconscious had sensed; footsteps. Small, but very near, and probably very dangerous, footsteps. One part of my brain said it's just a wallaby (small kangaroo-like animal). But another, smarter part of my brain said there's no way it's a wallaby because they don't take steps, they hop, and I already knew exactly what they sound like as I'd seen tons when I worked in Tasmania.

Then, as if to confirm my worst fears, I heard the thing sniff; "sniff, sniff". Oh crap, I thought, it's a dingo! [In case you don't know, dingos are Australia's version of coyotes or wolves.]

I could hear my heart pounding in my ears, but I was totally alert to everything and thinking very clearly. I knew the fire was out. I also knew I'd burnt every stick around me and thus had nothing for protection. I was lying on my back with my arms by my side so I knew I was very vulnerable, especially if the dingo went for my throat which they are known to do. I knew getting out of my sleeping bag would neither be quick nor easy, as I had learned back in the pear orchards. I knew exactly where the car and my tent where, but running barefoot mightn't be a great idea in this land of scorpions, snakes and killer spiders. I also knew my tent was zipped up and that would slow me down if the dingo chased me.

I could see no easy escape and my thinking time was cut short as I heard the dingo take three steps toward me and sniff again. Oh crap! And then two more steps. I guess it was less than six feet from me.

But just then something miraculous happened. Calvin, my big Bavarian travel partner who was sleep in the car coughed. He's been sick for week and when he coughed, he really coughed. I heard the dingo take a couple of steps back and realized this may be my only chance for a getaway. I got ready, praying for Calvin to cough again. Please cough. Please cough. The dingo took another FOUR steps toward me. Crap!!!

Then 'cough'. I joined the coughing noise with my own bizarre girlish yelp which was supposed to be a roar. Then as I heard the dingo back up I scrambled. Up and out of my sleeping back. Sliding out quite easily with the help of the cold sweat covering my body. Six of seven strides and I was at my tent, quick glance over the shoulder, zip down and dived in head first.

In that quick glance back, I saw him. Standing right by my sleeping bag and ground mat. Unphased, evil, ugly eyes glowing in the moonlight, looking right at me. Inside my tent, I shouted over to Deedee, my Austrian buddy in the tent by me. Trying to wake him up, but scared to even open my tent. No luck though so I just lay in my uncomfortable tent with nothing to lie on or keep me warm, hoping to fall asleep soon. After what seemed like forever I started to get sleepy. And just as I was about to drift off, all around me, as if they'd formed a perimeter around our camp, a pack of dingos started howling. The hairs on my whole body stood up, but I soon fell asleep with my Swiss army knife in hand.

Despite all this, I'm dying to get out under the stars again for a night or two. But maybe not in Australia this time.

NIGHT SNAP

2009-06-30T02:21:00.001+01:00

DOCTOR FISH

2009-06-28T05:01:00.001+01:00

[Mijong and Michelle getting a pre-fish-feeding-foot-wash (luckily for the fish)]

There's a little cafe near my work that I like to go sometimes. It's called the Tree Shade Cafe (sounds much cooler in Korean). It's nice and chilled; real laid back, which is an unusual find for this (financial) part of Seoul.They have 'doctor fish' there. I don't know if that's the real term for them, but it's what Koreans say. I heard that the real ones come from Europe, but that here in Korea they're 'fakes' from China, haha. Anyway, I've been a few times and it's always fun. [Me, the doctor fish expert, showing complete control and no fear (in this photo at least)]This time I went with two former students. It's much more fun having catching up while these fish eat the dead skin off your feel that just over coffee.
Both girls, Michelle and Mijong, put on brave faces, but inevitably ended up screaming the cafe down. I on the other hand, being the experienced one, only did one girly shriek right at the beginning, and then used my powers of meditation to overcome the strange ticklish-biting of the fish until eventually it became enjoyable, and later on, even relaxing.

[The girls putting on a brave face (which lasted less than one second!][The girls showing their true colors: fear and weakness!]

APARTMENT HAIKU

2009-06-26T00:32:00.006+01:00

Under bamboo plant
Look up, pretend that it's real-
But it doesn't work

[My new bamboo plant. Trying to escape the city.]

DMZ

2009-06-24T00:42:00.001+01:00

Demilitarized Zone of North Korea and South Korea.
[more to come later]

EAT YOUR GREENS

2009-06-23T09:02:00.004+01:00

Here's a great article from Time magazine. It's not too long and really informative so read it if you've time (that's a pun, haha).
---------------------------------------------------------------------
If you really want to go green, the conventional thinking goes, buy a hybrid. Practically speaking though, there is a faster and cheaper option: shift to a low-carbon diet. The meal plan of the average American family accounts for 2.8 tons of CO2 emitted annually, compared with 2.2 tons for driving. Worldwide agriculture contributes some 30% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, far more than transportation. So when it comes to cutting your carbon footprint today, the truth is that what you eat is as important as what you drive. "If you can't buy a Prius," says Jonathan Kaplan of the Natural Resources Defense Council, "you can certainly eat like one."

And here's better news: eating green is good for you. The very foods with a high carbon cost--red meat, pork, dairy products, processed snacks--also tend to be laden with fat and calories. A green diet would comprise mostly vegetables and fruits, whole grains, fish and lean meats like chicken--a diet that's eco- and waistline friendly. "[Eating green] can make a big difference for the climate and be more healthy," says Doug Gurian-Sherman, senior scientist for the food and environment program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

It may be hard to believe that a meal at McDonald's produces more carbon than your trip to the drive-through--until you consider just how vast and energy-intensive the global food system is. More than 37% of the world's land is used for agriculture, much of it ground that was once forested--and deforestation is a major source of carbon. The fertilizer and machinery needed on a modern farm also have a large carbon footprint, as does the network of ships and trucks that brings the food from the farm to your plate. On average, it takes seven to 10 times as much fossil-fuel energy to produce and ship food as we get from eating it.

The most efficient way to shrink the carbon footprint of your menu is to eat less meat, especially beef. Raising cattle takes a lot more energy than growing the equivalent amount of grains, fruits or vegetables: most produce requires about 2 calories of fossil-fuel energy to cultivate per 1 calorie of food energy; with beef, the ratio can be as high as 80 to 1. What's more, the majority of cattle in the U.S. are reared on grain and loads of it--670 million tons in 2002--and the fertilizer used to grow that feed creates separate environmental problems, including surface runoff that leads to dead zones in coastal waters like the Gulf of Mexico. Those grain-fed cattle then belch methane, a greenhouse gas that is 20 times as potent as CO2. "Reducing beef is the first step to a green diet," says Michael Jacobson of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

That one step can make an enormous impact on the atmosphere and your arteries. A 2005 study by the University of Chicago found that one person switching from a red-meat-based diet to vegetarianism could save about the same amount of CO2 as trading in a Toyota Camry for a Toyota Prius. There's no shortage of evidence that reducing red meat--Americans eat more than 60 lb. of dead cow annually--is also good for your health. CSPI estimates that replacing one 3.5-oz. serving of beef, one egg and a 1-oz. serving of cheese each day with an equivalent amount of fruits, vegetables and grains would cut your daily fat consumption and increase your fiber intake, all while conserving 1.8 acres of cropland and reducing animal waste by 11,400 lb. each year.

And while locally grown has become some eco-eaters' mantra, what you eat matters more than where it comes from. Our food travels from 1,500 to 2,500 miles on average from farm to supermarket, but that journey typically accounts for just 4% of a food's carbon footprint. "Focus on eating lower on the food chain, with more plants and fruits and less meat and dairy," says Kate Geagan, a dietitian and author of the forthcoming book Go Green Get Lean. "It's that simple." Installing solar panels or buying a hybrid may not be possible for many of us, but we can change today what goes into our bodies--and those decisions matter, for the health of our planet and ourselves.

INDIAN DINNER

2009-06-21T16:59:00.003+01:00

I recently had dinner with the students from one of my business classes. It was the first time hanging out with them and tons of fun. In class they're lovely, polite and deligent students, but outside I think they're a bit crazy. So we had a great laugh toghether, me being the craziest of all.Juri, one of the girls works at a very fancy Indian restaurant near our institute, so after class we all went there for a ridiculously good meal. I've been eating healthy Korean food and my own boring cooking for so long, I forgot how rich and delicious food can be.
We had five amazing curries, king prawn shish kebabs, awesome nan, and a bunch of sidedishes and salads. All followed by chai and an unusual, but yummy milk/yoghurt drink.The craic was ninety and I really enjoyed hanging out with my students in a relaxed atmosphere. And since Juri works there we got a discount and the staff and Indian chefs all came out to say hi and look at the strange Irish boy. Hopefully we'll hang out again some time.

[Juri, on the right]

JIRI-SAN

2009-06-08T01:32:00.012+01:00

My former student and good friend Mingu recently invited me to climb Jiri-san, peninsular Korea's highest mountain, with him and his coworkers. Mingu is a new intern at a large Korean company and this was to be an employee team building trip, so I felt flattered to have the opportunity to attend.
However, hiking Jiri-san in a day is no easy feat. It takes about five hours to get there by bus and our scheduled 'challenging' (AKA 'bloody hard') route was to take about nine hours and not even include reaching the summit. So I was a little anxious about my hiking abilities compared to the others going, and about the overnight bus.
The private bus that was hired for our group of twenty-one Koreans and one Irish departed from their office building where we had congregated. The journey itself was awful as the driver was a psycho; accelerate, brake, accelerate, brake, swerve, and repeat again. Actually maybe it wasn't that horrible since no one else seemed to mind. I was probably just grumpy becuase I can rarely sleep on buses and apprehensive about the doing the big hike exhausted. We arrived at the base of the mountain about five thirty and had breakfast in a traditional restaurant there. I'm sorry Korea, but it was horrible. Something I've never experienced before, a big terrible-smelling bowl of soup which contained fermented soybean (I believe) and turned my stomanch. There was no escaping the smell as the steam from twenty-two bowls wafted in my direction in the cool early morning air. And of course, being the only foreigner and guest, I felt obliged to be polite and try it eat as much as possible. After a few token mouthfuls and nearly gagging, I gave up. I tried to get as much rice and pickled vegatables into me as possible for energy, but that was hard with the smell. I would have to depend on my stash of peanuts and m and m's to for fuel.My grumpy start to the day however, took a 180 when the managers who were organizing everything started handing out tuna-filled rice balls. Upon receiving mine one of the managers smiled and asked 'room for beer'? I gladly accepted a cold can of Korean beer wrapped newspaper as did everyone else. And as we were lacing up our boots one of the kind interns, noting my suffering, brought me a hot, sweet cup of coffee. Realizing I was with a bunch of fun and generous people, my mood lifted with the rising sun and I prepared myself for a tough, but fun day ahead.
The initial stretch was really tough. In the first two hours we ascended about 900 metres over very rough, mostly unpathed terrain. Everyone seemed to find it tough which made me feel better, and they were a good group of people, likable and funny, cheering each other on and joking around. And of course it wasn't long until I'd found the weakest member in the group to tease and make myself look better.At eight o'clock we passed a man lying on a rock snoring. The interns told me he was probably already drunk. Haha. We stopped thirty minutes later for another breakfast and beer. And at nine we recommenced hiking. After five minutes I felt very weak and realized the beer was a terrible idea. By 09:30 my legs were telling me they couldn't take any more. I soon after realized that everyone was in the same position. Well, at least us young ones, the older guys seemed to be having no problems and were sipping from whisky flasks as they went. We took another break at about ten thirty and I kindly declined the offers of a shot of whisky. No thanks!By the time we finally stopped for lunch of hot noodles and more beer, I was feeling pretty weary and beat. But the forty minute break must've helped because when we started hiking again I was finally 'in the zone'. It was mostly downhill in the afternoon, again the 'path' was mostly huge, randomly situated rocks which we had to ramble over, battering our poor joints and threatening twisted ankles and knees. But nonetheless it was fun and the high sun was penetrating into the deep forest as we passed many rivers and small waterfalls.We stopped at one of the small waterfalls to wet our hair, and then later at an icy river to soak our feet (and watch one of the crazy managers jump in). This was really refreshing and afterwards I felt like I could hike all day.At two o'clock I got a second wind and broke ahead of the crowd to listen to some Christy Moore on my MP3 and appreciate nature. And as three o'clock hit our hike was over. We had completed the sixteen kilometre course. So in typical Korean style, it was time to get drunk.
Following some locally made tofu sidedishes we drunk a bellyfull of makoli, a Korean rice alcohol infamous for it's hangover and usually poured from a big cheap kettle or pot into little cheap plastic bowls. I'd drunk makoli before but was disgusted and opted to leave it for Korea's students and homeless people. But it was actually very delicious and enjoyable after such a grueling hike and now I see why Koreans love it so much.Of course being the only foreigner, I was treated like a guest of honor and sat at the management table and not with the interns. But of course this meant accepting all the toasts by the managers and acting as strong-drinking-ambassador for Ireland.
By the time we got on the bus I was pretty tipsy. And that's when the real drinking started. God, by the time we had our first toilet stop I could hardly walk, ha! What a day.
So in conclusion, it wasn't a very beautiful hike, we didn't summit, it was tiring before we even started and the route we took wasn't overly enjoyable. But I do understand the Korean company mentality of doing something difficult together to bond as a team. And I do appreciate the invitation I hospitality I received. And I did feel a sense of accomplishment for not dying en route. And I enjoyed pushing myself under those conditions. But, I will never do it again :)

DRUNKEN SALARY MEN IN SHINEY SUITS

2009-06-05T00:51:00.000+01:00

Gotta love Korea.

PRACTICE HIKE AND OLD BUNKERS

2009-06-03T01:57:00.002+01:00

In preparation for my big hike at Jiri-san, my buddy Mingoo and I went for a Sunday afternoon hike at Woomyon-san, in Yangjae, near where I live. It was just an easy two hour stroll with not much ascent, but pretty nonetheless and a good way to break in my new hiking boots.Along the way we discovered some bunkers right on the path that didn't look so old. There were quite a few and all of them open. Kind of weird to see actually, especially so near the city centre. And it made me realize how crappy it would be to die inside a small concrete hole in a mountain:(

COMPANY "WORKSHOP"

2009-05-29T03:41:00.002+01:00

Our new manager arranged a weekend workshop for us last weekend. But unlike typical Korean workshops, we didn't do any work, it was just a retreat. We went to a pension two hours outside Seoul. A nice location in a valley with a little river. And we basically just drunk a lot of alcohol and ate a ton of delicious barbequed meat. A great way to start a new working relationship :)

Me, impressing my Korean co-worker with ability to walk on water.Co-worker Stephanie catching fish with her bare hands.Co-worker Tyler catching fish by hitting them in the head with rocks. Psycho!

INCHON

2009-05-29T02:16:00.000+01:00

I visited Inchon, a small port city about an hour from Seoul. Although not a very beautiful place, it made a nice day trip out of the city. Gelato ice-cream by the water, watching old men fish, a visit to China town and a dander around the infamously dangerous amusement park.

SEOUL WORLD DJ FESTIVAL

2009-05-28T03:06:00.001+01:00

I went to the Seoul World DJ Festival with my good friend Narae. Promised to be a wonderfully exciting day and night of dance music right on the Han River. We had the perfect weather for it and the vibe was good. But for some unkwown reason most of the day Korean pop and Bon Jovi covers were being played on the main stage (much to my frustration). The smaller Jeigermeister stage was a bit more dance-orientated hosting DJ's playing progressive house and some ok trance, but nothing which lived up to the events title. Hitting the tequila at 4pm helped us get throught the day in a fun way, but the combination of crappy daytime music and heavy afternoon boozing inspired me to head back home on the last bus rather than 'rave' all night. So I can only hope the nightime was much better for those that stayed.

A DAY AT THE RACES

2009-05-18T03:23:00.003+01:00

Last week I vistited the horse racing course here in Seoul. Apart from the lottery, it is the only way Koreans can legally gamble.This was my first time to see horse racing anywhere in the world. And although I'm not interested in gambling at all, I heard it's a nice way to spend a sunny afternoon. And so it was. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon and the place was full of Korean men (and a few women) intensely filling out forms and smoking cigarettes. My Korean friend and I chose a horse each and made a 1000won bet for the winner before joining the crowds in the front row. We stayed there for the first few races, but were amazingly unlucky. The atmosphere was fun, but not as exciting as I'd imagined from movies (maybe Koreans are more reserved?).
Anyway, after a few races we decided to escape the throng of chain-smokers and headed for the foreigners lounge I'd heard about. This was much more luxurious. No smoking, air-conditioned, comfy chairs, panoramic view over the finish line and English information.Alcohol isn't allowed inside the course (to keep things civil), but we had some juice and snacks to mourne the progressive loss of our hard earned cash. For the last race of the day we upped our bets to 5000won. Though at the last minute I realized if neither of us won in the last race, we would be complete losers since we hadn't won a race all day. So I ran up and put 1000won each on another four horses, giving us a total of six horses with bets in the final race. We split up our bets and made another side wager to see who would buy dinner. Luckily one of my three horses came in first place pocketing me 3000won (about a pound fifty), but more importantly, a dinner of chicken and beer.ll in all, it was a fun day out and a nice new experience, but not something I would rush back to.

SEOUL NATIONAL CEMETARY

2009-05-17T03:13:00.000+01:00

IT'S THE PEOPLE YOU MEET

2009-04-20T01:27:00.004+01:00

When we were in Gyeongju for the long weekend we found a wonderful little cafe called Yan's (the owner's name). We stumbled across this little family-run place accidentally while looking for another cafe. With it's second-floor balcony catching the afternoon sun we nested there for a couple hours to drink hand-dripped coffee and plan our hiking route for the following day.
From the minute we entered the cafe, I loved it. None of the corporate franchise big chain regularity that Seoul offers on every street corner. Just a nice lady behind the wooden counter packing coffee beans, Eric Clapton on the stereo and no other customers.
After ordering a Guatemala and Costa Rica coffees (how cultured are we??) we basked in the afternoon sun appreciating our find. Soon after, the owner, who is also the husband of the lady who served us, came out to introduce himself. A "cool dude" in all senses. Long hair tied back in a pony tail, though a little thin on top, he had the charisma of an old rock star. He cheerfully chatted with us in broken English while his wife brought the coffee and a big plate of cookies.
An hour later they brought us come complimentary iced coffee to ease our growing sunburn. And we lounged there quite contentedly until dinner time.
A couple of days later we returned to spend a rainy afternoon there drinking hot coffee and relaxing before our long bus journey back to Seoul. However, when we arrived the cafe was closed and no signs were visable indicating opening hours. We were so disappointed that 'our' cafe was closed. But with three hours to kill until our bus and no energy to be tourists we needed to find a suitable alternative. Dunkin donuts looked uninviting, but after five minutes exploring we'd found nothing else. Just as despair was kicking in I heard a car slow down and Tyler started talking to someone. It was Yan, the cafe owner! Where are you going, he asked me. To your cafe, I said, but it's closed (and I did my "disappointment face" which is internationally understandable). He told us that they open at one on Sundays, but he'll take us there now (12:30). So we climbed aboard his cool red SUV and hit the cafe where is wife was just opening up. It felt like a home away from home climbing out of his car and up the steps to be greeted by his wife.We settled down for a couple of hours and drank more delicious and super strong coffee to keep the rainy day chills away. Again we were adorned with extra cups of coffee and plates of cokies. Both Yan and his wife took time to ask about us, our lives in Korea and out hoome countries. And they also told us about their cafe, and daughter, who joins them each weekend night to play live music with her dad for the customers. Aside from the big vinyl record collection there was an allocated space with a few guitars, keyboard, other bits and bobs and a tiny stage.
My two Korean class friends later joined us to escape the rain and also got a hearty warm welcome. I really enjoyed being there. It wasn't just the free extra coffee or special attention I liked. Rather I felt as though they were just really nice people who weren't in the business just for the money. I really enjoyed meeting Yan and his wife and hope their business is successful and they are always as happy as they seemed to me.

MAKING WISHES

2009-04-16T02:11:00.002+01:00

When I was a little boy, my Da always told me, "Don't wish your life away". I guess the meaning behind it (be happy with what you have) is a good one, but I took that proverb literally and haven't wished for anything in over fifteen years. I think we've all seen movies or heard childhood stories that highlight the tragedies that can come along with wishes being granted. So I ignored my opportunities; birthday parties, shooting stars, the 'wish-bone' from a roast chicken, etc.
But recently my philosophy changed and I decided it's ok to make wishes and to hope they come true. This change happened on Sunday when I was visiting Seoul's famous Cheonggechon for the first time. This stream is a popular place and has small bridges from where people toss coins whilst making a wish. So, shaking off my old sensibilities I prepared myself mentally and with a coin (borrowed from my good friend Hyangmi). The anticipation was actually kind of exciting in a childish way, as it I expected the outcome to happen immediately. I tossed the coin and made my wish "to fall in love". After making the wish, I actually felt kind of enlightened and light-hearted. This is surprising since usually any form of wasting money fills me with a heavy remorse :o(
This being Korea, there isn't the rule 'keep it secret or it won't come true', so I shared my wish with Hyangmi. Being the great friend she is, she also took a coin and wished for ME to fall in love. She also said she'd pray for me (though that just made me feel like a desperate case, haha) So let's see what happens...

BASEBALL AND LEARNING KOREAN

2009-04-06T03:21:00.003+01:00

A friend took me to a Korean league baseball game last week. It was great. Although the soccer game between North and South Korea was fun and the atmosphere was cool, this experience blew it out of the water. It was the opening weekend of the league and the atmosphere was electric. The stadium was jam-packed with fans even sitting on the steps. Luckily we got a couple of seats and had a good view of the game. I'd only been to one baseball game before and that was the Totonto Bluejays back in 1994, so I wasn't too knowlegable about the game. But my Korean buddy explained it pretty well without making me feel like too much of an idiot.
Each of the teams fans had a set of cheerleaders and a guy with a microphone leading chants. This, along with the thousands of 'thundersticks' (the yellow inflatable noisy things you see in the photo) ensured rapturous cheering all over the stadium.
Once I was familiar and confident with the rules and 'my team' and no longer afraid of booing or cheering at the wrong time (and getting lynched by the crowd), I tried to learn the chants. I first learned the most simple. It is the players name (eg: Ii-Yoo-Kyoo) followed by 'hit' (an-ta). But the chanting must be co-ordinated with certain clapping of the thundersticks and other movements, so it takes a while. And also you have to keep up with the changes in player because there's no point cheering for a guy who isn't up to bat. Oh, and you should also be careful not to get carried away with the mood of it all and start singing along when it's the other team up to bat, because you WILL find yourself being eyeballed by all those around you even though you are a foreigner who doesn't know any better.Anyway, I got all this figured out by the seventh (of nine) innings, but just when I was confident, they changed to a new song (probably because my team was losing) and I gave up. Though all in all, it was a great and sunny day at the ballpark.

NEW EXPERIENCES (AND BEING MANLY)

2009-04-05T03:01:00.003+01:00

Despite a lack of new experiences in my six months here in Seoul, I just had three this week. First was on Monday when I visited the ENT (Ears, Nose, Throat) doctor. Yellow dust has been causing me lots of problems with congestion and stuff. My new experience was a camera stuck up (way up) my nose with a live video feed to the big screen in the room. Although it was interesting from a biological point of view to see my inner nose, I did not enjoy the pain and vulnerable feeling. Actually it was kind of like torture, but I clenched my jaw and pretended I was in Vietnam (though I don't know why) and tried not to show my discomfort.
Second new experience was at the same doctors four days later when my condition had not improved. After spraying anesthetic up my notice (which apparently didn't work) he 'rammed' a little hoover waaaaaaaaay up there and sucked out mucus and stuff. This was deeper and much more uncomfortable than the camera. And didn't have the distraction of "look, it's your brain" on the live video feed. I didn't cry ('cuz I'm a man, right!) but my eyes streamed water and I was tempted to punch the kind doctor right in HIS nose. Admittedly, I did feel less congested afterward and he prescribed me some antibiotics (probably knowing if I had to come back again someone would get hurt).
And the third new experience was yesterday at a jimjilbang (kind of bathhouse/spa where Koreans hang out/pamper themselves). I've been to many before, but yesterday's place had a little pool full of those fish that eat the dead skin off your feet. Wow! What a bizarre sensation! Now, I've swum with piranhas in the Amazon (just reiterating how much of MAN I am), but when these things latched onto my toes and soles with the 'teeth'(?) I shrieked like a girl and nearly jumped ten feet high. It took a long time to get used to it and I can't say it was actually pleasant at any point, but certainly became bearable and I would do it again. A Canadian friend I was with didn't hold up so well and alternated between five seconds of girly giggling as his feet were submerged and several minutes of knees tucked up to his chest, feet out of water, saying 'I can't do it, I can't do it'. He says he's got super sensitive feet, but I say he's just not very MANLY.

SOUTH KOREA VS NORTH KOREA (FOOTBALL, NOT WAR)

2009-04-01T18:42:00.002+01:00

I went to see a football match tonight with some coworkers since we had a day off. It was good craic. North Korea vs South Korea at the World Cup Stadium here in Seoul. It was my first football match in a long time and the atmosphere was great. Lots of cheering, flags, Mexican waves, etc. And I got to see real North Koreans, though to be honest, they look very similar to South Koreans.
The match wasn't amazing, despite the presence of Manchester United's Ji-Sung Park. North Korea is infamous for using all their manpower on defense and the case was no different tonight. But in the eighty-seventh minute, South Korea scored an exciting goal to win 1-0. A nice experience for me and a wonderful way to spend my day off.

COOL CAMERA

2009-03-29T00:47:00.002Z

My coworker Tyler took this photo down in Gyeongju last week with his Canon Powershot. Although it's over three years old, it can take photos like this, black and white plus one colour of your choice. It also shoots in panoramic mode and can stitch multiple photos together. Cool!

MY FRIEND'S DAD SAID...

2009-03-29T00:29:00.003Z

My friend, Greg, lent me the book The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt. Greg majored in Psychology and his father also works in that field. When his da sent him the book he included a note saying this is the best psychology book in the last thirty years. To be absolutely honest, this is the only psychology book I've read in the last thirty years, but I agree anyway. It blew me away. Really, really interesting. I recommend to everyone, though if you have a strong religious faith, you may find this a little contradictory.

GYEONGJU TRIP

2009-03-27T13:45:00.003Z

I had a long weekend last week so my coworker, Tyler, and I took the opportunity to visit Gyeongju, a small city in the south. Gyeongju was Korea's capital during the Shilla Dynasty and is described as a 'museum without walls' as there are so many temples, tombs and relics scattered all over the city. We spent three days there biking, hiking, exploring the tombs and temples and eating traditional Korean food.
We stayed in a super cheap youth hostel and it felt like being on the road again. The first evening, after a days cycling, I met a cool Colombian man and cool Japanese student staying in our hostel. We all had dinner together and it was great to meet some 'real' travelers after so long. Hermano, from Colombia, has been on the road for 17 months, most of which was spent in India and Tiber doing volunteer work with kids who have behaviourial problems. And Mashi, from Tokyo, just came back from India where he was learing to play Satar for three months. These guys were interesting and passionate travelers and we had a good night together.
On our second day, we got up early (too early) for a big hike. Again, the weather was great and I developed my sunburn a bit more. The mountain, Namsan, was not spectacular, but fresh air and less than a thousand people blocking the paths made it a welcome respite from the mega city.
We actually got kind of lost on the descent and ended up on a road a long way from where we wanted to be. So we hitchhiked back to town, which turned out to be so much fun. We got picked up after about a minute by two old ladies and a grandfather who had us laughing all the way with their attempts at English and good nature.
A couple of girls from my Korean class, Rachel and Rebekah, also came to Gyeongju so we met up for dinner and nice coffee after out hike and a siesta.
ANd on the third day we rose early again to visit the famous Bulguksa Temple. It was grey and drizzly (thank god since my sunburn was killing) and Tyler and I were pretty beat. So we ditched the temple and decided to spend the afternoon in a wonderful cafe drinking hand-dripped coffee from the other side of the world.
All in all it was a great weekend. The city itself didn't amaze me, but that's probably just because I'm spoilt and desensitized after my two years in Japan. But we met some wonderful people there and had lots of small, but fun experiences. It was a refreshing and recharging break from city life and I'm glad we went.

Photos: 1.Tyler, Rachel and Rebekah posing at Bulguksa, 2.Tyler taking a rest enroute to the summit of Namsan, 3.Me chilling in our super cheap hostel, 4.Tyler at the river at sunset, 5.Our trusty steeds, amazing bikes for six dollars a day, 6.Magnolias in bloom, 7.Off-roading, 8.Tomb, 9/10.Showing off in a small bamboo forest.

GYEONGJU MARKET SNAPS

2009-03-23T11:52:00.003Z

HAIKU

2009-03-18T03:13:00.001Z

Long winter over
I can step outside again:
New buds start to grow

GOOD FOR THE 'S'

2009-03-12T23:56:00.003Z

To be honest, I don't believe in a 'soul'. I think it's a lovely concept and certainly aids in promoting moral behavior, but I just don't believe it actually exists. Maybe it's just a way of explaining to ourselves all the unexplainable thoughts and feelings we experience as a highly evolved and intelligent animal. Not to mention the strong influence of religious propaganda throughout the generations.
However, I do believe some things are good for and some bad for that unexplained 'part' inside us, the 'S'
Living in a big city, tall buildings, grey, lack of sunlight and overpopulation are all bad for the S I think.
Being surrounded with and/or interacting with nature, live music and dancing as well physically providing for yourself (fishing, building things, cooking) are all good for the S I think.
So here in the big city, the first big city I've lived in, I sometimes feel I feel my S is suffering. To counteract that, this week I went for a hike and to see some live jazz music (though, no jazz-dancing, I promise). A short hike on Sunday and an hours good jazz on Tuesday fully refreshed me for another week of congested subways and racing the other rats in this metropolis.

RANDOM ITAEWON SNAPS

2009-03-12T14:40:00.002Z

SEASON OVER

2009-03-09T08:53:00.003Z

Well, my snowboard season here in Korea is over. I quite enjoyed it, though I must admit, my two years in Japan and trips to the French Alps have kind of spoiled me. So although the resorts here are fun, they're really nothing to write home about (even though that's what I'm doing right now).
Anyway, it was nice to experience Korean ski resorts, and the lift attendants here are possibly the chirpiest and most energetic in the world.
Some snaps from my last trip to one of the newest resorts in Korea, called High One.
Simon and Narae trying to look gangster, but no one was scared

창경궁 - Changgyeong Palace and Seoul

2009-02-22T12:53:00.006Z

I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS YUMMY BREAD

2009-02-17T14:07:00.004Z

For a long time I thought Shilla Bakery, like all Korean bakeries, just provided a limited selection of delicious, but over-priced breads. However, upon close inspection I recently learned that they do much more than feed the hungry middle-class. Shilla Bakery is an integral part of Korean society and facilitates a nation-wide harmony, both at home and in public. Who would've known? I wish we also had bakeries in Ireland that "make your family happy" and "share pleasant conversations". Maybe one day...

LUCKY ME

2009-02-14T10:41:00.002Z

Above are all the chocolates I received for Valentine's Day this year. Unbelievable!! It's a big advantage being in Korea for this holiday because traditionally girls give to boys on Feb 14th. And then next month on Mar 14th, White Day, boys return the favour. Anyway, lots of the students at my institute gave us teachers chocolates and I just had to show off :o)

SOUTH KOREA MOUNTAIN

2009-02-12T08:30:00.003Z

남한산 = Namhansan {Translation: South(nam) Korea(han) Mountain(san)}

Work is always stressful for me in the first week of the month. Our courses change and we get new students so it's more tiring than usual. The weather forecast for Sunday was to be clear and a surprising 10 degrees. So I bypassed the usual Saturday night drunkenness in favour of a quiet and restful night in. I got up early Sunday and traveled southeast by subway. After only forty minutes I arrived at Namhansanseong Station. And from here it took only twenty minutes on foot to the mountain.I hiked alone for a couple of hours thinking and listening to my favourite music. Although the views weren't great as I was still on the outskirts of the city and visibility wasn't so clear, it still felt great to be outdoors. A welcome respite from the high rises and busy streets of the financial district where I live.
I found a sunny place for lunch and a siesta and then, batteries fully recharged and body refueled on vitamin D from the days sunshine, I returned to the subway and the city's madness.

Not quite Spring.A sunny spot for lunch.Rest spot pavillion.Piles of rocks; Korean's version of throwing coins in a wishing well (but cheaper).A riverless bridge waiting for Spring melt.

HERE WE GO AGAIN!

2009-02-11T07:53:00.003Z

I know it's still two weeks away, but already I'm dreading upcoming Lent. 2009 will be my eighth or ninth time giving up alcohol for this forty day period (well 39 days since I get St. Paddys off). I remember way back thinking that with each passing year it would get easier and easier. But I was sooooo wrong. It gets harder and harder. The big challenges are not alcoholic cravings or "I need it to sleep", it's more a problem of social retardation. Alcohol (and consuming it) is an integral part of socializing, especially here in Asia. And opportunities for relaxation and enjoyment are limited without it (at least in my social circles). Plus there's always the issue of explaining/justifying why you aren't drinking to people who ask. I can't really say 'becuase of my religion' because I don't consider myself a Catholic anymore. So it leads to a long-winded explanation of why I started doing it and why I continue to do it. Plus it's very hard for me to sit in a bar or go to a club sober. And even harder to tolerate drunk people becoming drunker.
But all the negative stuff aside, it should be good for my health and good for my bank account. Let's just hope my sanity stays intact.

WAR MUSEUM

2009-02-07T16:05:00.006Z

I visited Seoul's War Museum today with some friends. It was very impressive and grand. But, of course, the whole concept was very depressing :o(

LUNAR NEW YEAR

2009-02-04T06:14:00.003Z

We had a long weekend for Lunar New Year (AKA Chinese New Year) so I went snowboarding with some people. A bunch of us headed up to Yong Pyong, supposedly Korea's best resort, for a couple of days.It was great. Neither the resort or the snow lived up to Japan of France, but I had a good time anyway. And there was tons to do in the evening.
A bunch of us rented a condo together and the craic was good. We ordered pizza in the evening, then played drinking games, and when we were oiled up, went bowling (always a good idea).
I was supposed to ride for two or three days, but unfortunately a 180 that went wrong on day one left me with a bruised tailbone (at least I hope it's just bruised). So I split a day early for the comforts of home and so the others wouldn't have to tolerate my "poor me" complaints about always getting injured.

LIPSTICK INDEX

2009-01-20T14:21:00.004Z

Lipstick Index is a term they use out here when talking about the economic situation. Basically when the economy is suffering and consumer confidence is low, the sale of lipstick goes up as women still wish to shop and look good, but can't afford the usual clothes, handbags, accessories, etc. I thought that was kind of funny. But maybe it is also said in other countries and I've just never heard it.

INSADONG SNAPS

2009-01-18T14:12:00.008Z

FROZEN SPLASH

2009-01-14T01:58:00.002Z

It's cold here. Really cold. Even the Canadians I work with are complaining about "the cold". It regularly drops below -8 Celsius.
The other evening it was -8.5. I bundled up and went to the gym on my dinner break. On the way, I passed a frozen splash. I guess a car or something had driven through a puddle in the street, but before the water had time to flow from the street back into the pothole from which it had came, it froze solid. This glassy, frozen splash reflected the neon lights of the bars on the dark street and was quite mesmerizing. I've never seen anything like it before.

HAVE YOU SEEN GATTACA?

2009-01-13T07:06:00.003Z

Have you seen the movie Gattaca? It's an old (1997), but good movie about the future and which genetic direction we may be headed in. Judging from this BBC article it looks like this movie may have predicted things right.

2009-01-07T16:20:00.000Z

MIXED SALAD

2009-01-06T22:58:00.002Z

Last night in a bar along with our beer we were served a 'fruit salad'. It consisted of kiwi, watermelon and banana. And of course, tomatoes, peas and corn, all mixed together and covered in strawberry yoghurt. Delicious! Thanks Korea.

ORANGE

2009-01-04T11:03:00.001Z

MY BABY

2009-01-03T16:15:00.000Z

SEOUL TOWER

2009-01-03T09:30:00.005Z

I recently visited Seoul Tower, or Namsan Tower as it's also known, with some friends. This centrally located communication tower is a tourist attraction because of the great nighttime views of Seoul and also because of a recent fad for young couple. Following the actions of a celebrity couple, it has become trendy for couples to buy a lock, attach it to the tower's fence and then throw away the key as a symbol of their everlasting love. But as this Korea Times article highlights, this trend is causing some problems.
I have no one to share a lock with (ah, poor me :(), but visited for the views and to see what all the fuss was about. And it is a really nice place to visit hosting four observation decks, a revolving restaurant, some cool hanging art/scuptures and a teddy bear museum.

SNOWBOARDING IN KOREA

2008-12-31T05:33:00.004Z

Four of us went snowboarding for Christmas; two teachers from my work, Karol, my visiting friend and myself. We went to a resort called Hyundai Sangwoo (or something like that) for two days. It was really great. Despite the early start to catch the bus two hours out of Seoul we had a lot of fun. One of our students has membership there and hooked us up with a free condo for the night (thanks Sarah) plus tons of discounts on lifts passes, the spa and the restaurants.
Although the resort wasn't very big and not a lot of fresh powder, it was great craic. The weather was perfect, it wasn't too crowded and no one got injured, despite it being Karols first time ever and my first time in two years. All in all it was a wonderful way to spend the Christmas break.

Sunny days.

Fun for the whole family.
Karol, Tyler and Mike.
Sunburnt.
The mandatory poser shot.

GUN LAWS AND SCHOOL SHOOTINGS

2008-12-30T08:39:00.002Z

Today in my Current Issues Discussion class we were talking about gun laws, school shootings and violent video games. One of my young students spent most of her teenage years at school in teh U.S. She told me about shooting drills. As well as fire and earthquake drills the school regularly had them practice what to do if and when there was a shooting. Stackign desks against the door, zigzag running, etc, etc. It was scary to listen to.

CULTURE DAY

2008-12-28T13:55:00.003Z

My best mate from home, Karol, is now here in Korea visiting me for a couple of weeks. Last week a couple of Korean friends took us to a traditional village where we saw a lot of cultural stuff and partook in making traditional foods and drinking nasty traditional alcohol.

Karol impressing locals by cooking up Korean sugar candy like a pro.Hyang Mi and I being cheeky Emperor and Empress.Karol and I about to get very serious on a very dangerous see-saw game.Hyang Mi; one very lucky girl!Traditional Korean rucksacks.

2008-12-21T16:23:00.001Z