I crossed the two month mark last week, officially making this trip my longest outside the US. My previous Korea visit was a mere seven weeks, and I think I was only in Brazil six weeks. Anyhow, one of my coworkers had been warning me that I would feel some tremendous culture shock around this point, but I'm happy to report that none has occurred. If anything, the last few days were bland and busy. I had to work an extremely full day Friday followed by a half-day Saturday, so I was beat by the time my weekend officially rolled around. I also didn't have any class cancellations for the first time, so I worked the most hours yet.
After work on Saturday I joined a few friends to go to a food festival. Unfortunately we got a late start and didn't find the place quickly (traffic is killer here sometimes), so we got there near the end of the festival. We sampled some sweet-tasting spaghettie sauce, got some Korean pancakes for free (because of the presence of a 'foreigner'), and some Mountain Dew. I scored two cans because they had an alarming surplus at the end of the festival. Wish I could've carried more--it was some of the best MD I've ever had. We left the festival in search of a good duck restaurant, and sure enough found one. I can't remember if I ate duck before then (maybe in Vietnam?) but it was awesome. It tasted like well-seasoned beef; it was a little drier than beef but had a more flavorful taste. Also had a hard-boiled duck egg, green in color, which tasted almost the same as a regular hard-boiled egg. I went to Jason's house, watched some English Premier League, and called in a night.
Sunday I went to church with Jason. We attended the youth service, which was pretty similar to an American youth service but with a shorter sermon (at least it seemed short--I couldn't understand it so I read). After church we ate some cow bone soup with rice and some samgyupsal meat, then I went home to do laundry. Doug called me later that night so I went over to play 360 at his house. I guess there's some new Halo 3 campaign missions coming to 360, so if that happens, I'll be pretty excited. I also found out there's some new achievements, so I'd like to work on those. All in all, it was a normal weekend.
This week is going to be totally different. Friday is a holiday, and several coworkers are going to Japan for the three-day weekend. I had originally planned on joining, but I'd already made plans to go to a baseball game with some friends. I guess Japan can wait. =) Friday I plan to go to Gyeongju and ride bikes around the old city with some friends. There are lots of temples and historical palaces scattered there, so it should be interesting. Saturday I'll go to the baseball game, and Sunday I'll be back at Dongbu Church. I'm looking forward to enjoying the time with my pals outside of work, which bring me to my last mentionable point of interest--girls.
I planned on sharing something juicy about this here, but changed my mind. So, it should suffice for me to report that things are moving slowly forward here...just friends for now. We'll see what a weekend will do. I'm still reading Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, and am having trouble absorbing everything in there. Also, I haven't studied much Korean lately. I hope to get on that soon....
Monday, September 29, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Birthday
It was my birthday last week (Saturday), and all week I was treated like a king by everyone around me. Actually, most of it is just typical Korean hospitality, but some of it went above and beyond. So I thought I'd record some of what's happened lately.
I finally had some time this week after work to go shopping for some things for my house. I asked some students to go with me to help me pick out some stuff, so Wednesday night at around 10:30 the five of us piled in a car and drove to Home Plus, a 24-hour department-type place that's got everything you need. With the students' knowledge of the Korean labels and their plain good taste, I was able to get pots, pans, utensils, bowls, towels, spaghetti ingredients, and a hundred other smaller items to get my house in order. We finished around midnight, and instead of merely dropping me off at home, the students came in, helped unpack all the items, then carefully organized them in my no-longer-spartan kitchen. It was awesome. We played Egyptian rat slap (a fast-paced card game) and then we parted ways.
On Thursday, which was my last day of work for the week (I took Friday as my monthly personal day), I got pictures with many of my coworkers and received gifts from a number of students. They gave me a cake, a long-sleeve T-shirt, body wash, and some other items. My teacher buds generously gave me some Asian board games (Chinese chess and a Korean strategy game), a cross necklace from Jeju Island (special courtesy of Adam), and other small gifts. After work we all went out to celebrate. I played some of the best darts I've ever played (thanks, Uncle Tim!) and had a good time hanging out with everyone. Koon taught me to play Chinese chess, which I was horrible at, and then I went home.
Friday I had another English/Korean lesson with my friend Yoo Sun. Instead of just bringing study materials this time, though, she brought an awesome cheesecake, complete with candles, party favors, and utensils! So I ate most of the cake myself as we studied some dialogue in Korean and English. My Korean is improving, in that I can now distinguish words in speech, but this is only the first of thousands of steps. I'm working on numbers this week, and next week I'll try to get my colors down. In the meantime, I'm picking up new food vocab and some short phrases. After our meal, I went to rent a car with Jason, and we got a great deal with the help of another student. I missed out on playing soccer, but it was no big deal. Later that night, I was killing time browsing around the bookstore at my building when a student approached me to say hello. We made small talk, and then we got on the topic of soccer. He mentioned that his friends sometimes play futsol (soccer on a smaller field--6 vs. 6), and since it was the right time, we went by bus to this soccer field across town and played from 10-11pm. I hadn't played on small goals in awhile, but I loved it. I scored four goals, thanks to my new Copa Mundials, and my friend's mom met us and loaned us the car so I could be dropped off at home.
Saturday I took off to the mountains with Jason. We borrowed a navigation system and headed out to the countryside to visit Juwangsan, stopping by rice fields and apple orchards. I drove for the first time in Korea, and had a blast doing it. After nearing the mountain, though, we had a torrential downpour, so Jason and I went to a hotel (someone's house with spare rooms) we found and watched TV while waiting for the rain to stop (which it didn't). That night, Jason snored like a monster, so I had to take my bedding out into the main room of the hotel (which was really just the living room) and tried to snooze. But my mind was elsewhere, and I didn't sleep that well.
Sunday was the big day. We got up early and hit the mountain. It was gorgeous with the slight fog. We went by a lake, forded some streams in a valley, and hiked to the top of the mountain within a few hours. It was really fun getting some exercise and enjoying the countryside. I'd describe it more in detail, but I'm not feeling too descriptive right now. Sorry. Anyhow, we drove back just in time for me to meet up with Yoo Sun. We had dinner (bulgogi soup for me) and then went to see Mamma Mia! I didn't really want to see it, but it wasn't all that bad. Okay, it wasn't that great, but it could've been worse, so I can't complain. =) We went out for Baskins Robbins ice cream afterwards and walked around some, and before long we came across some celebrity downtown who owned a midnight black BMW. All the windows were tinted (including the windshield), and the license plate was taped over. I can't remember who the celeb was, but it must've been someone cool because lots of people were cooing over the guy. At this point I was pretty tired, so I went home and prepared for the week. All in all, it was a pretty great birthday.
I'm sure there's lots of things I left out, but they'll have to wait for a day when I'm feeling a but more bloggy. I didn't sleep well the last few nights, so I'm just moping a bit around the office while yawning. More news later, when there's actually news to write up.
I finally had some time this week after work to go shopping for some things for my house. I asked some students to go with me to help me pick out some stuff, so Wednesday night at around 10:30 the five of us piled in a car and drove to Home Plus, a 24-hour department-type place that's got everything you need. With the students' knowledge of the Korean labels and their plain good taste, I was able to get pots, pans, utensils, bowls, towels, spaghetti ingredients, and a hundred other smaller items to get my house in order. We finished around midnight, and instead of merely dropping me off at home, the students came in, helped unpack all the items, then carefully organized them in my no-longer-spartan kitchen. It was awesome. We played Egyptian rat slap (a fast-paced card game) and then we parted ways.
On Thursday, which was my last day of work for the week (I took Friday as my monthly personal day), I got pictures with many of my coworkers and received gifts from a number of students. They gave me a cake, a long-sleeve T-shirt, body wash, and some other items. My teacher buds generously gave me some Asian board games (Chinese chess and a Korean strategy game), a cross necklace from Jeju Island (special courtesy of Adam), and other small gifts. After work we all went out to celebrate. I played some of the best darts I've ever played (thanks, Uncle Tim!) and had a good time hanging out with everyone. Koon taught me to play Chinese chess, which I was horrible at, and then I went home.
Friday I had another English/Korean lesson with my friend Yoo Sun. Instead of just bringing study materials this time, though, she brought an awesome cheesecake, complete with candles, party favors, and utensils! So I ate most of the cake myself as we studied some dialogue in Korean and English. My Korean is improving, in that I can now distinguish words in speech, but this is only the first of thousands of steps. I'm working on numbers this week, and next week I'll try to get my colors down. In the meantime, I'm picking up new food vocab and some short phrases. After our meal, I went to rent a car with Jason, and we got a great deal with the help of another student. I missed out on playing soccer, but it was no big deal. Later that night, I was killing time browsing around the bookstore at my building when a student approached me to say hello. We made small talk, and then we got on the topic of soccer. He mentioned that his friends sometimes play futsol (soccer on a smaller field--6 vs. 6), and since it was the right time, we went by bus to this soccer field across town and played from 10-11pm. I hadn't played on small goals in awhile, but I loved it. I scored four goals, thanks to my new Copa Mundials, and my friend's mom met us and loaned us the car so I could be dropped off at home.
Saturday I took off to the mountains with Jason. We borrowed a navigation system and headed out to the countryside to visit Juwangsan, stopping by rice fields and apple orchards. I drove for the first time in Korea, and had a blast doing it. After nearing the mountain, though, we had a torrential downpour, so Jason and I went to a hotel (someone's house with spare rooms) we found and watched TV while waiting for the rain to stop (which it didn't). That night, Jason snored like a monster, so I had to take my bedding out into the main room of the hotel (which was really just the living room) and tried to snooze. But my mind was elsewhere, and I didn't sleep that well.
Sunday was the big day. We got up early and hit the mountain. It was gorgeous with the slight fog. We went by a lake, forded some streams in a valley, and hiked to the top of the mountain within a few hours. It was really fun getting some exercise and enjoying the countryside. I'd describe it more in detail, but I'm not feeling too descriptive right now. Sorry. Anyhow, we drove back just in time for me to meet up with Yoo Sun. We had dinner (bulgogi soup for me) and then went to see Mamma Mia! I didn't really want to see it, but it wasn't all that bad. Okay, it wasn't that great, but it could've been worse, so I can't complain. =) We went out for Baskins Robbins ice cream afterwards and walked around some, and before long we came across some celebrity downtown who owned a midnight black BMW. All the windows were tinted (including the windshield), and the license plate was taped over. I can't remember who the celeb was, but it must've been someone cool because lots of people were cooing over the guy. At this point I was pretty tired, so I went home and prepared for the week. All in all, it was a pretty great birthday.
I'm sure there's lots of things I left out, but they'll have to wait for a day when I'm feeling a but more bloggy. I didn't sleep well the last few nights, so I'm just moping a bit around the office while yawning. More news later, when there's actually news to write up.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving)!
The past week was nearly a blur, but a few highlights sparkle still. The work week was unusually slow, so that I ended up some days only having two or three classes. I spent the free time reading from my friend's Murakami short story book, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman. I'm now nearly finished with the twenty-four stories in the collection, just in time for the package that arrived from home loaded with some books for my birthday. Payday finally arrived, so I was able to use Korean funds for the first time instead of relying on VyStar, not that that was much of a problem. Actually, it'd be better for the time being to use dollars to pay for things, since the Korean won is at its lowest point versus the dollar in quite some time.
Anyhow, I went back to the eye doctor for a check, and we ended up chatting about his new webpage, soon to be published for all the Korean world to see. Or so I thought... In actuality, he does laser surgery for Koreans and foreigners, a point that he wants to make abundantly clear on his new site. As he has performed the operation more than 2,000 times, I thought he wouldn't much more advertising assistance, but he informed me that the recommendation of a few Westerners would go a long way towards helping his office gain further credibility among the nearby US military, foreign teachers, and Koreans. So I offered to write a letter for him to help him out, and then he offered me a scandalously large discount on laser surgery for the help. I told him I'd do it for free, but he insisted this was a two-way street. So, I might get laser surgery done in October or November for half price, or rather half price plus the few minutes it'll take to draft a recommendation letter. It was clearly a blessing from above to have such a discount offered to me, and I'm pretty excited about the opportunity.
The other highlight was the "first date" I had with a girl I met downtown a couple of weeks ago. I met her at the park while I was eating lunch and she was studying English, and we struck up a conversation. After talking for a while, I asked if she'd be interested in a language exchange, where she teaches me Korean for an hour, followed by an hour of my teaching English. This seemed like an ideal way to get to know someone and their language, and she felt the same way. So we met up at a coffee place Friday and had our first session. We talked and studied for about three hours and arranged weekly meetings on Friday afternoons. We'll see how things develop there.
The final news was the Chuseok holiday. Saturday-Monday was this year's celebration, in accordance with September's full moon. Many Koreans celebrate by going to the tombs of their ancestors and clearing the grass and weeds, which then leads to a ceremony in honor of deceased parents and grandparents. They also spend time together with distant relatives, who all converge at the house of the first-born son (patriarch) of the family. Owing to the fact that I don't have any dead ancestors in Korea (thankfully he survived the war, I might add), nor family to visit, I joined the other orphaned foreigners for a celebration on Sunday afternoon after church. Three of my coworkers live in the same apartment building that has a spectacular roof made for Chuseok barbecue parties, and we enjoyed a lovely bit of potato salad, grilled cheesburgers, and more. By far the best food was the pumpkin pie. I ate about half a dozen slices. I met some other foreigners that I'd seen around town, and we played some Xbox 360, so I can't complain. I forgot to mention Saturday. On that day I went to Alayna's house for a family meal, and we made ricecakes with sesame seed filling, then had a delicious bulgogi dinner. On Monday I met up with my soccer buddy Phillip for some lunch near his university, and he gave me a tour of the place and the "soccer room" that sits on the fifth floor of the club building. His soccer team has a pretty cool dorm-type setup where all the players can hang out in-between classes and studying. We went shoe-shopping, but didn't end up buying anything. That night I went over to Doug's to play some more Halo 3, that being my first time on Xbox Live in about two months. It was nice to be back, although it was just a few hours. I've left my 360 at Doug's so he can enjoy it for a while. It doesn't do me any good at my place anyway, since I've decided not to buy a TV. So I guess I play it about once a month now, which is far more healthier, I think. =)
This week holds promise--I only work three days (Tuesday-Thursday) because Friday is my personal day for the month! I will hopefully play soccer, have my language study, and hang out before going on a two-day trip to the mountains. Pictures and stories to follow next week, I hope.
Anyhow, I went back to the eye doctor for a check, and we ended up chatting about his new webpage, soon to be published for all the Korean world to see. Or so I thought... In actuality, he does laser surgery for Koreans and foreigners, a point that he wants to make abundantly clear on his new site. As he has performed the operation more than 2,000 times, I thought he wouldn't much more advertising assistance, but he informed me that the recommendation of a few Westerners would go a long way towards helping his office gain further credibility among the nearby US military, foreign teachers, and Koreans. So I offered to write a letter for him to help him out, and then he offered me a scandalously large discount on laser surgery for the help. I told him I'd do it for free, but he insisted this was a two-way street. So, I might get laser surgery done in October or November for half price, or rather half price plus the few minutes it'll take to draft a recommendation letter. It was clearly a blessing from above to have such a discount offered to me, and I'm pretty excited about the opportunity.
The other highlight was the "first date" I had with a girl I met downtown a couple of weeks ago. I met her at the park while I was eating lunch and she was studying English, and we struck up a conversation. After talking for a while, I asked if she'd be interested in a language exchange, where she teaches me Korean for an hour, followed by an hour of my teaching English. This seemed like an ideal way to get to know someone and their language, and she felt the same way. So we met up at a coffee place Friday and had our first session. We talked and studied for about three hours and arranged weekly meetings on Friday afternoons. We'll see how things develop there.
The final news was the Chuseok holiday. Saturday-Monday was this year's celebration, in accordance with September's full moon. Many Koreans celebrate by going to the tombs of their ancestors and clearing the grass and weeds, which then leads to a ceremony in honor of deceased parents and grandparents. They also spend time together with distant relatives, who all converge at the house of the first-born son (patriarch) of the family. Owing to the fact that I don't have any dead ancestors in Korea (thankfully he survived the war, I might add), nor family to visit, I joined the other orphaned foreigners for a celebration on Sunday afternoon after church. Three of my coworkers live in the same apartment building that has a spectacular roof made for Chuseok barbecue parties, and we enjoyed a lovely bit of potato salad, grilled cheesburgers, and more. By far the best food was the pumpkin pie. I ate about half a dozen slices. I met some other foreigners that I'd seen around town, and we played some Xbox 360, so I can't complain. I forgot to mention Saturday. On that day I went to Alayna's house for a family meal, and we made ricecakes with sesame seed filling, then had a delicious bulgogi dinner. On Monday I met up with my soccer buddy Phillip for some lunch near his university, and he gave me a tour of the place and the "soccer room" that sits on the fifth floor of the club building. His soccer team has a pretty cool dorm-type setup where all the players can hang out in-between classes and studying. We went shoe-shopping, but didn't end up buying anything. That night I went over to Doug's to play some more Halo 3, that being my first time on Xbox Live in about two months. It was nice to be back, although it was just a few hours. I've left my 360 at Doug's so he can enjoy it for a while. It doesn't do me any good at my place anyway, since I've decided not to buy a TV. So I guess I play it about once a month now, which is far more healthier, I think. =)
This week holds promise--I only work three days (Tuesday-Thursday) because Friday is my personal day for the month! I will hopefully play soccer, have my language study, and hang out before going on a two-day trip to the mountains. Pictures and stories to follow next week, I hope.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
September Begins...
The past week has been excellent, although it did start off a little poorly. I began to develop another corneal ulcer in my right eye (I had one back in March or so), from the lens getting too dry or something. Anyhow, my eye was killing me, so I went to a store on morning where it appeared glasses were on sale, and I was directed to the top floor of the building and was given a quick eye exam. I explained that I wanted some new contacts and some glasses, because at the time I thought I just needed a different contact prescription and wanted to give my eyes a break. Quite impressively, the contacts, frames, glasses lenses, and eye exam only cost $80, whereas in the States it would've been about $180 (or more). I was pleased with the service. However, my eyes were still hurting the next day, so I was compelled to see the eye doctor near my work. He gave me another brief exam, diagnosed my right eye with the early stages of an ulcer, and prescribed some eye drops. After the visit, I was charged $4. Yes, $4. And when I went to the pharmacy to get the drops and some extra eye salve, the total was again $4. In March, the ulcer had run me nearly $200 for the eye exam and prescription drops, and that was after haggling at the Publix pharmacy to get a no-name brand instead of the usual $150 drops. So I was very pleased and thankful for this excellent care and low cost, and reconsidered my position on national health care.
Other than that small issue, I visited my friend Jason's university one day when I didn't have my usual 1pm class. I looked into taking some beginning Korean course, and so I will probably enroll in November for a 10-week program. The university was quite impressive--it had an Ivy League feel to it that was pretty distinct from UNF.
I also read "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck, and found it to be engaging and quite excellent. I was drawn into the story in a way that doesn't usually happen for me, and though the plot was simple, it held a some powerful lessons. The prose was also quite fascinating, for even though it was on an almost elementary level, it was most profound.
On Saturday, I had a barbecue with some friends. We ate steaks and grilled pork, along with tons of fruit and veggies. The apartment was a two-story penthouse on the 21st and 22nd floor of the building that sported a vegetable garden where were grown pumpkins, tomatoes, peppers, and some smaller items. But over this garden stretched a sizeable vineyard that drooped stalactite pillars of grapes that could be eaten right off the vine. It was like I was in a waterfront mansion in Tuscany with a view of Daegu's not-so-distant mountains. We stayed eating and talking for a few hours, then played Wii and some board games for a while. It was probably the best Saturday night I've had in Korea. But the same night was my coworker's birthday party, and I was obliged to make an appearance, so I went to meet them for an hour. The birthday boy was severely drunk and didn't realize that I had greeted him and wished him well, and so it was easy to leave without staying long.
Sunday I went to church with Jason and heard a message about positive thinking from Numbers 14, based on the tale of the two "good spies." After this I went to meet Jason's parents, then went off to meet some friends downtown. It was a relaxing day with friends, and it made me wonder what I'd been doing with myself over the past year. There was so much available to do in Jacksonville, but I strangely insisted on staying home and secluding myself, whereas in Korea I'm out with people every day and don't begrudge the time spent this way at all. It's been a nice change to be an extremely social person here, and it helps that there are tons of places within walking distance to go. This week I've got more socializing planned, and then this weekend is the Korean Thanksgiving called Chuseok, so we'll be having some get-togethers at that time.
I also managed to get internet at my house, so I am more available for Skype than I previously was. Feel free to look me up (jprkorea) and call me sometime!
Other than that small issue, I visited my friend Jason's university one day when I didn't have my usual 1pm class. I looked into taking some beginning Korean course, and so I will probably enroll in November for a 10-week program. The university was quite impressive--it had an Ivy League feel to it that was pretty distinct from UNF.
I also read "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck, and found it to be engaging and quite excellent. I was drawn into the story in a way that doesn't usually happen for me, and though the plot was simple, it held a some powerful lessons. The prose was also quite fascinating, for even though it was on an almost elementary level, it was most profound.
On Saturday, I had a barbecue with some friends. We ate steaks and grilled pork, along with tons of fruit and veggies. The apartment was a two-story penthouse on the 21st and 22nd floor of the building that sported a vegetable garden where were grown pumpkins, tomatoes, peppers, and some smaller items. But over this garden stretched a sizeable vineyard that drooped stalactite pillars of grapes that could be eaten right off the vine. It was like I was in a waterfront mansion in Tuscany with a view of Daegu's not-so-distant mountains. We stayed eating and talking for a few hours, then played Wii and some board games for a while. It was probably the best Saturday night I've had in Korea. But the same night was my coworker's birthday party, and I was obliged to make an appearance, so I went to meet them for an hour. The birthday boy was severely drunk and didn't realize that I had greeted him and wished him well, and so it was easy to leave without staying long.
Sunday I went to church with Jason and heard a message about positive thinking from Numbers 14, based on the tale of the two "good spies." After this I went to meet Jason's parents, then went off to meet some friends downtown. It was a relaxing day with friends, and it made me wonder what I'd been doing with myself over the past year. There was so much available to do in Jacksonville, but I strangely insisted on staying home and secluding myself, whereas in Korea I'm out with people every day and don't begrudge the time spent this way at all. It's been a nice change to be an extremely social person here, and it helps that there are tons of places within walking distance to go. This week I've got more socializing planned, and then this weekend is the Korean Thanksgiving called Chuseok, so we'll be having some get-togethers at that time.
I also managed to get internet at my house, so I am more available for Skype than I previously was. Feel free to look me up (jprkorea) and call me sometime!
Monday, September 1, 2008
Weekend in Gyeongju
Last week was kind of a breeze for me. I only worked Tuesday-Friday because of my monthly vacation day, and on Saturday we went to Gyeongju for a staff retreat. The week itself was mostly uneventful, and as I think back on it I can only recall having done a good deal of reading, buying a 1000-piece jugsaw puzzle, and eating a big pizza lunch at Pizza Hut. I decided I wouldn't buy a TV because I didn't want to waste my time watching it (and there's really only two or three English channels anyhow), so I got (more) serious about reading. I usually read several books a month, but I think here I can double that and really read all the things I've always wanted (and I have a rather long list in the "want to read" category). The huge bookstore where I work just makes this proposition that much easier. This project may eventually lead to me writing my own stuff, but that's a distant prospect right now. As for the puzzle, I had visited a Bible study a week ago, and one of the main topics was the Tower of Babel. I strongly disagreed with the teacher leading the study, because he couldn't well-articulate the reason God stopped this project. The text itself is rather vague, and I believe it has led people to interpret this episode in a strongly negative way. In any case, I was thinking a good deal about this story and what happened in the days subsequent to the Bible study. During one of these periods I happened to wander down to the bookstore, and near the Starbuck's is a section devoted to jigsaw puzzles. At first I had a simple passing interest to see what artworks had been shattered into hundreds of pieces for eager enthusiasts to recreate, but when my eyes came across a Renaissance work of "The Tower of Babel" by Pieter Brueghel, I was compelled to make the purchase. Since then, I have spent a few hours a day working on this puzzle. I've never attempted such a large undertaking on my own, but I'm finding it to be an enjoyable challenge. I determined that puzzle-building is the adult version of building Legos, a childhood passion of mine. I have been taking pictures of my progress, and hopefully by week's end will be able to post them all. The pizza meal was also a good memory. My Korean friend Jason was given a 50% coupon from a deacon at his church, so we made plans to order as much pizza as we could to get our money's worth. We had the standard pepperoni, a sampler plate with ribs, chicken wings, and quesadillas, and finally a massive seafood pizza with a stuffed-cheese crust. It was my first time having seafood pizza, which was nothing more than Hawaiian-style with shrimp (but it did have an uncomfortable seafood smell). It was all good, and I left quite stuffed.
The weekend trip was also good. Our staff (four foreign teachers and fifteen-or-so Koreans) went to Gyeongju to have a "workshop." In reality, it was an all-expense paid getaway. We barbecued (Korean style, of course), played games, and socialized til 2 am in this awesome two-story house that reminded me of a place in "The Real World." I took my Xbox at the request of another teacher, and we played it a little. It was entertaining to watch the staff try to play Halo 3 against one another, having never had any experience with the controls or any kind of shooter. I also happened to have the movie "Atonement" on my 360, although I had downloaded it in July and it should have long expired. So we also watched that movie on the big screen of the house. As for the games, we played all kinds of crazy things. My team did well at the get-go, but lost steam after losing a tense arm-wrestling contest. And at 2 am, it's hard to regain steam. But we had a blast and came back Sunday afternoon. I took a nap, then went downtown for my favorite meal of pork cutlet and omurice, bought a Haruki Murakami collection of short stories, and went home for a rest.
The weekend trip was also good. Our staff (four foreign teachers and fifteen-or-so Koreans) went to Gyeongju to have a "workshop." In reality, it was an all-expense paid getaway. We barbecued (Korean style, of course), played games, and socialized til 2 am in this awesome two-story house that reminded me of a place in "The Real World." I took my Xbox at the request of another teacher, and we played it a little. It was entertaining to watch the staff try to play Halo 3 against one another, having never had any experience with the controls or any kind of shooter. I also happened to have the movie "Atonement" on my 360, although I had downloaded it in July and it should have long expired. So we also watched that movie on the big screen of the house. As for the games, we played all kinds of crazy things. My team did well at the get-go, but lost steam after losing a tense arm-wrestling contest. And at 2 am, it's hard to regain steam. But we had a blast and came back Sunday afternoon. I took a nap, then went downtown for my favorite meal of pork cutlet and omurice, bought a Haruki Murakami collection of short stories, and went home for a rest.
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