Party Time!

Here are some pictures of some of the nights out here in Jeonju:

The wine and cheese party (I opted for the beer instead). Lindsay, Youshin and Gratta having a great time.

Me and Jackie at the Soju Tent, one of our favourite night time destinations. They have cheap drinks and usually have soccer on the big screen. What more do you need?

Having some fun with sheesha and picture taking. Don't worry mom and dad, it's legal.

Uh oh.. that beer is on fire!

For Lindsay's going away party, it was decided that we dress in wigs and sunglasses. Here you see Matt, Jack and myself doing as was requested at the Soju tent.

This is at a dance club called the JukeBox. In Korea, nightclubs take "breaks" where everyone sits down and rests while the DJ plays music. Matt, Jack and I took this chance to head out the dance floor and show them our skills.

In other news, we finally had a new teacher join us in January, which effectively brought my overtime work to an end. Her name is Shauna and things seem to be working well with her. The kids seem to really like her. The Korean winter seems to be just about over as it's the end of February with temperatures in the high 50's. I can't complain about that. I am proud to say that I rode my motorcycle every single day during the winter, and there were some cold days!

Lately, I have felt that my English skills have gone downhill due to speaking simplified English most of the time. So I have decided to lift my banishment of any unnecessary reading as I bought the book 1984 by George Orwell. So far it goes well as I am relearning some big words. Hooray for reading!

My work schedule will change as of March 1st. I am really looking forward to it! I will work 80 minutes less a week than now for a total of 24 hours a week. The schedule is: Monday/Wednesday/Friday 3-8:50pm and Tuesday/Thursday 3-7:20pm. I am really happy with it. It should let me get out and do some fun things during the week. Time is ticking by now, and I have only a little more than 4 months left on my contract with my school. I am looking into a few different things at this point. As of now, my contract expires on July 11th, afterwhich I would like to go to Europe, specifically Spain to run with the bulls. I would like to stay there for a few weeks until the beginning of August when I return to Korea to teach for a one month summer camp before heading home for good at the beginning of September. But that is just what I am thinking and it is still a long way away.

I have been very busy the past few months so my Korean lessons have been intermitten and my marathon training has been less than dedicated. But with my new schedule, I hope to be able to get back into those things soon.

This last weekend was a long weekend (finally) for the Chinese New Year. We now welcome the year of the golden pig. For those you born in 1983, we too are pigs, but we are water pigs. That is still a good thing though! I spent a large part of this weekend relaxing with only 1 big night out. My friend Jay bought a motorcycle on Friday, so we have been riding around. I look forward to having a riding buddy for the spring as the nicer weather allows us to get out and explore the country. And of course, we played a little soccer this weekend as well. Back to work tomorrow, but well rested and ready to go!

Next up: I don't know... the blog is all caught up. Only time will tell.

All Things Soccer

These are just some pictures of soccer that I hadn't put up yet...

Jeonju World Cup Stadium. Home of the 2007 Asian Cup Champions: Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Football Club.

Ok.. they're good, but turnout isn't so great. But it's a really big stadium so it looks worse than it is. We get really good seats though.

A few more fans on the home side..

A big soccer ball and a big matching shoe!

Now for some foreigner soccer team action:

Before our first big game.

The game in progress. Spoiler: We win!

That was a long game.. time for some water!

Being good sportsman.

Those smiles are smiles of victory.

North/South Korean DMZ

A few weekends ago, I went up past Seoul to the DMZ (demilitarized zone) with some friends. We had to make it a quick journey.. leave Jeonju at 1030pm and be back by 6pm the next day. The name, DMZ, is ironic as it is actually one of the most highly militarized places in the region.


First, the night before:

We took a bus up to Seoul after work on Friday night as our tour began at 7:30am Saturday morning. We went to the foreigner district in Seoul, Itaewon as it was close to the military base where our tour would begin the next day. We decided to go to this bar named BricX, which has a very nice atmosphere inside!

BricX is also right beside this restaurant. Too bad it was late when we got there.. it was closed!

A good way to relax in Seoul... have a beer and smoke some sheesha. This was apple flavoured.

Hey, look at Jack! He can make rings! We ended up staying out until about 5am (not a good idea when the tour starts at 7:30) so instead of staying at a hotel, we decided to go to a Jinjilbong (a public sauna) where you can pay $7 and sleep on the floor with many other people. It was fun, they even had an ice room! But not a good idea for the kind of day that lay ahead...

This is the JSA sign, "Joint Security Area". The JSA is the South Korean side of the DMZ as many nations (most notably Korea and the USA) have troops deployed there.

This is a South Korean soldier. All Korean soldiers at the JSA stand in this tae-kwon-do stance in order to intimidate the enemy.

"Once you sign this paper, we will not be responsible if you get shot, killed, kidnapped, etc..." Hmm sounds reassuring.

This is the Bridge of No Return. It was made famous shortly after the Korean War ended as POW's and other prisoners were given a choice to go to either North or South Korea. However, once they entered either country, they could not go back to the other one. Hence the name, The Bridge of No Return. This picture was taken on the bus because on the other side of the bridge (it is difficult to see) there is North Korean army post (to the left side of the bridge) and it would be unpredicatable what they would do if we got off the bus.

Me and the Korean soldier. I think I could take him! The building that we are in was designed for diplomatic talks between the North and the South. It is situated half in the North and half in the South (I am standing in the North). There is a UN flag on the table in front of us and there are also microphones all over the room that record all sounds 24 hours a day, so be careful what you say!

Me, Korean soldier, Jason and Jack. Shortly after this picture was taken we beat up the soldier and took his helmet and sunglasses. Again we are standing in North Korea. This is the only place you can stand in North Korea without getting shot. If you cross the border on the other side of that window, you would be shot (by both the North and the South we were told).

These are the flags of the JSA nations. It is inside the T-2 building (for diplomatic talks half in the North and half in the South). There is also a camera in the lower right corner. That is because at one time there were actual flags on a table in the middle of the room, but North Korean soldiers broke into the building (since it's half on their territory, it is rather easy) and they used the American flag as a hankerchief. Ever since then, the flags have been behind glass so it wouldnt be as easy for the North Korean soliders to blow their noses with them.

This is me with the T-2 building behind me and even further behind is a large gray building. That is on the North Korean side and is full of soldiers. There was also a small window that we noticed was open in the building. The American soldiers told us that they were taking pictures of us...creepy.

Korean and American soldiers on the look out for invaders.

Looks like they are ready for a fight. Notice the soldier in blue on the far right. He is half behind a building. In the case that shots are fired across the border, he would be well protected.

This background of the picture you can see to the left, the North side (an army tower above the soldier's head) and to the right a big blue building on the South side. Ours is bigger, that makes me feel safer!

This is some sort of art piece representing the joining together of the two Koreas. It looks like circles to me, but it stands for reuniting the countries.

This is the observatory, which overlooks a North Korean city. You can look in the giant viewfinders and take a glimpse at the North Korean life, although there was not much to see. Pictures at this place were difficult to take as there were strict rules on where and when you can take pictures.

Not included in these pictures is the 3rd infiltration tunnel because of photograph restrictions. They call it the 3rd tunnel, because it is the third of 4 (that have been discovered, they believe there are more). This tunnel was discovered in 1978 and crossed about 1 km into South Korea from the North. It would have been capable of supplying 30,000 North Korean soldiers into the South within one hour. Luckily, it was never finished. But if it was, the tunnel would have been about 40km to Seoul, the capital of South Korea. That's a scary thought. It is almost a kilometer underground and very low ceilings. I had to duck for most of it. That really hurt my back!

Next up: Random pictures/writings...

Thailand.. a welcome break from Korea

On December 30, 2006 I boarded a plane to Bangkok, Thailand to have a break from the Korean winter in the tropical 90 degree climate of Thailand. It was a well deserved vacation. I think it was the longest stretch of time I had ever worked without a break since I usually only work for 4 months in the summer before returning to school. But this was a solid 5 months of work without a vacation! There were two places I had planned to visit in Thailand, the first stop was Bangkok, the capital.

Thailand is a very religious country, with the majority of its citizens prescribing to Budhism. Statues such as this one in front of my hotel are quite common and people walking by often turn and give a slight bow to the statue.

This is a famous weekend market in Bangkok. It is famous because they say you can find almost anything here. It covers the same ground as ten football fields. I was told that you could even buy monkeys at this market, but after a lengthy search, I was empty-handed and monkeyless. Maybe next time. Although, I still found some very good deals, such as t-shirts for $3.

I really like the picture. It reminds me of old meets new. A peddler trying to make a day's wage tries to dodge rush hour traffic in the middle of Bangkok.

A view of the market from one of the busier walkways. Looks like everyone in Bangkok is looking for a deal!

Lucky for me, I found a deal! This nice big coconut full of coconut juice to keep me cool during the hot day.

As it turned out, I would be spending New Year's Eve in Bangkok. Unfortunately, there were a series of carbombs during New Year's Eve day that disrupted many plans for that night, including Bangkok's equivalent to New York's Times Square party. It also made people a little edgy, but that quickly wore off after a couple drinks. This picture was taken on Khaosan Road, a haven for foreigners and the biggest street party in Bangkok on New Year's Eve.

I forget what they were doing, but I'm pretty sure it was funny at the time.

This is the local 7/11 On Khaosan Road. It is hard to discern, but there is a large mob of people waiting to get inside in order to purchase their drinks of choice to celebrate the new year.

I love Thailand! You can drink anywhere. Even when I was feeling hungry and went to the local Burger King I was able to enjoy a beer while waiting in line.

Some more people enjoying themselves on Khaosan Road. I mentioned that some people were a little edgy after the carbombs during the day. Shortly after this picture was taken, there was a loud noise similar to an explosion on the road. This sent even the drunkest people running for their lives in the opposite direction. It turned out to be a false alarm, but it shows how uptight people were on the drunkest day of the year because of the events earlier in the day.

The best way to recover from a New Year's Eve party is to take a relaxing boat tour through the city of Bangkok. This way you get to see many interesting sights without having to move much.

This boat looks like a building.. or does the building look like a boat?

Another one of those boat buildings. They can really cram the people on one of those things.

A nice looking building with some Chinese architecture. Please don't ask me what the building is or what it's for.. I have no idea, but it looks good!

This is the entrance to an old fort in Bangkok. It was the first line of defence in the case of an aquatic attack back in the day. It still has 5 or 6 cannons there if you look closely (though I doubt they are operational).

More strange buildings with the classic Thai design. They often have what looks like flames coming up from the roof at about a 45 degree angle.

I think contrast fascinates me because this building was mixed in among the other pictures seen above and I find it very interesting. While all the pictures of Bangkok have been of nice big buildings, it still has many people living in poverty as can be seen here. Whoever lives here can get flooded out of the first floor of their house if the water level rises another foot (and this picture was taken during the dry season).

Some sort of religiousless significant place. I don't know what purpose it serves but these types of places seem to be everywhere.

That is one tall statue!

A closer look of the statue. I'd guess it to be close to 5 or 6 stories tall. Notice the tiger in the middle of the picture. Don't worry, it was plastic!

Some more Thai buildings. Could the intended purpose of those flame-like spirals coming from the roof be coat hangers for giant statues like the one in the last 2 pictures? Think about it...

Crikey! It's a croc. Take a look at the teeth on this one. There was a crocodile farm on the boat tour.. the question you have to ask yourself is, why NOT stop?

Look carefully, there is another croc. Don't get too close, this one looks a little angry and he may feel the need to defend his territory.

Oh no! This man has foolishly walked into a pack of wild King Cobras. I hope he knows what to do!

He showed those snakes who the boss is. Who's draining who's venom now? The snakehandler was really good, but too many close calls!

Finally back on the boat with no snake bites to speak of. I'd consider this a lucky day.

Straight ahead and finally back on land after almost 3 hours in a boat!

If I wrote this blog early, I might have remembered the name of this place. But I do remember that it is one of the more famous places for tourists to visit and you will see why in a few pictures.

Hey Look! Something shiny! I think I will stand in front of it... these were my thoughts at the time.

Who looks tougher.. me or him? Be honest...

As it turns out, there were many of those spiral things. Many, many, many....

This is the head of Buddha. This is a famous statue of Buddha lying down. The height of his head alone is about 3 stories tall.

I felt like I just ran a marathon, but these are his feet about 100 feet away from his head at the other end of this enormous building.

The bottom of his feet are made from some rare material and so no one is allowed to touch it. IT certainly had an intricate design.

Oh yes, there was a recent military coup in November that overthrew the government. I had almost forgot. There is still a significant troop presense on the streets in Bangkok, but it was business as usual in most parts of the city.

The hotel room view from the 14th floor overlooking Bangkok.

Look down below, it's a pool. The bad news is that it was almost always shady due to the way the building was shaped. Oh well, it looks nice though!

One more picture of Bangkok and now that it's Tuesday, January 2nd I am flying further south to Phuket Island.

It's a whole different way of life in this part of the country! Time for some parasailing!

Getting higher... getting higher.. OK that's high enough!

Some views of the beach...

They never seemed to have cloudy days here.

Hmmm.. jetski.. ocean. That gives me an idea! It was a little overpriced, $30 for half an hour, but I've always wanted to try it!

Remember, whenever in Thailand, you have to ride a bull!

Some views of the beach from a little higher in the moutains at a restaurant overlooking the beach.

And another.

This is a hard picture to see, but there was a boxing stadium in Patong Beach, where I stayed. The guy on top of this truck is the current champion so he was driving around with his belt on advertising for the stadium.

Oh no. How did I get way up here? I want to get down!

I guess this is the only way!

Just follow the person bouncing on the giant elastic band.

Still bouncing...

Is it over yet?

Finally, solid ground again! This was called Jungle Bungy jump because it is set up in the jungle just outside Patong Beach. It was a decent price, for the jump, a t-shirt and pictures came to $60. Definately worth it for the experience. I even got a certificate of bravery!

I also did some other things that I wasn't able to catch on camera, such as going to a shooting range and finding some very good deals on t-shirts, sunglasses and I even picked up six seasons of the Sopranos for $45. All too quickly, the week was over and it's back to work for another 7 months before I have anything more than a long weekend off. I hope I can handle it!

Coming next: Getting back into the Korean life after vacation.