Beijing February 2007

This was a fun trip. When I was working at Little Campus, everything was always done at the last minute. This time we found out we had a four day weekend not long before- we decided to go to Beijing, but everything was all booked up. We found out that we could only go as part of a tour, as they buy up all the seats, and still had some available. None of us were too thrilled about the idea- we all thought it would be better to wander around ourselves. But we did it and it worked out great. There were just the five of us and two other people on a big bus the whole time. It was great! They drove us everywhere- it would have been impossible for us to have seen as much as we did in such a short time without help. Plus the hotel was amazing.

We loved the acrobatic show, which we never would have gone to on our own- it would have seemed too touristy. It was an amazing show, despite the wild Korean tourists yelling the whole time. I don't want to sound like some xenophobic 1st year foreign teacher in Korea, but Korean tourists can be hilarious! Many bring cases of bottled water and soju with them on the plane when traveling to other countries. We ended up at the same tourist restaurants as them, which was fun too. All in all a great trip. I have about a million more pictures- maybe I'll put them up some time.

Above- Me about two years ago- I look much more respectable now, for better or for worse....


I finally imported a bunch of pictures from my old computer to this one, so I can make one million posts now. Most people keep blogs as they live. But I prefer to do it like I do everything else- quickly, and all at once. So by the end of the weekend, there should be a quick retrospective of my two years here. Or at least a bunch of pictures. It is difficult to pick out pictures from 2 years- I mean, what should I put up? So much to choose from.... So I picked a few random ones.

Below is a shot from my neighborhood. It makes it look more rural than it actually is. It is not.




Sometime this weekend I will get it together and put some pictures in groups and make a bunch of posts that actually tell a story. But for now, I have to sleep. Tomorrow is the first day of a month of working from 9 am to 9 pm. It is not fun at all, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I need a pair of...what are they called, blinders? The things they give you on airplanes to go over your eyes, so I can sleep during my break at work. It really does take it out of you trying to control a bunch of kids for an entire day. Oh well, wish me luck!

North Korea vs. South Korea

I was very excited to go to the North Korea vs. South Korea soccer (or football or whatever) game. So was every foreigner in Korea, or so it seemed. It was like Itaewon took a field trip to the game- so many light faces I couldn't believe it. But the game wasn't sold out like one back home would imagine it would be. I am sure that this was due largely to the fact that the outcome of the game didn't matter- both teams were guaranteed to advance regardless of the results. But still, you'd think the average citizen would be more interested in something like this game. Oh well, guess not.

I have been reading a great book about North Korea, Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader. I got really excited last week about visiting North Korea, which yes, you can do. You can go two places, Mount Geumgang, or Gaesong, an industrial and important historical city. The tours are mainly to historical landmarks and nature sites, but you do get to drive through the country and see a lot of people, and other cool stuff. So I booked the trip to Gaesong. Unfortunately, a South Korean tourist was shot by NK soldiers a few days ago on one of those trips, so now they are temporarily cancelled, and will probably remain so for a while. But I will be first in line to go when/if they start it up again. Probably will be easier to book a space, too.



The unified Korea flag. I want one (smaller, of course), but I have no idea where to get one.


Riot police. Not there because of the particular teams playing- they are always around. Some of them got to come in and watch the game- the rest had to stand outside like this the whole time. At least they got a chance to work a day without being beaten by anti-US (beef) protesters. These poor guys get a rough deal- they would be much safer in the army. I wonder if they have a choice, or if it is just by chance- every male has to do 2 years in the police or the army.

Dangerous Toys

These are some old pictures from Ulsan Grand Park. These things all looked a little dangerous and extremely fun. If only I was a kid.... That is one of my favorite things about Korea- there are so many cool things here that couldn't exist back home because of liability and lawsuits, and that sort of thing. I have a picture somewhere of the most dangerous amusement park ride- it spins you around and tries to shake you off of your seat- you really have to hold on or you could go flying into the middle, or right into somebody else. I will try to find that picture, but for now, enjoy these.

More Taipei Pictures

Above: Hualein, Taiwan. We rode scooters all around. It was awesome.






Above: Taroko gorge- one of about 1000 pictures. But apparently I can only upload 5 at a time, so here is one.


Food stalls somewhere in Taiwan, probably Taipei. I don't know why I always get a kick out of pictures like this- I mean, it really doesn't look all that different from Korean places. But this stuff always looks good to me.

I am still pretty excited most of the time about the fact that I live here. But maybe sometimes it helps to go to another Asian country to see it all with a different twist- It kind of helps remind me that living here is pretty amazing. I am very lucky to be doing this, and I still believe that it is the best decision that I have ever made. Now if only I could win the Korean lottery and open the first international New London Style Pizza, or Half Shell, or Nan Ling, or Ma Magoos.... That reminds me- I'll take more pictures of what I am eating these days to give a better picture of that. After all, eating and working are pretty much what one does with one's days.

Oh yeah, I just booked a day trip to Gaesong, North Korea for next weekend. If I can get any pictures out of there, that should be good too.

Taipei, Christmas, 2007

So here our some older pictures from our trip to Taiwan over Christmas, 2007. It was a lot of fun. Above is a temple with people doing temple things. As always, I was a wimp with the camera, but Ryan assured me it was ok.


Above- view from Taipei 101.



Above- me on top of Taipei 101. Very windy.



Protesters in Taipei. They were stomping on effigies. Appeared as though they were probably there every day.



Scooters!!!!

Above is an old picture- the view out my window in Ulsan. That is my old school, Little Campus.



This is the little tunnel that goes to my house. I like this picture, but most of the time I prefer to walk the other way around it.

Ok, I guess since I have the pictures on hand, I will post some of the weekend we spent on the island off Incheon last weekend. It was called Muuido (무의도). It was nice except there were too many foreigners there. That is the problem with Seoul (vs. Ulsan) as I see it. Too many foreigners! I can understand everything they say, and I don't want to hear any of it!!! But everything else about Seoul more than makes up for that.

There were a lot of seagulls on the 1 minute long ferry ride, and a lot of mud on the island. which you can see a map of.

I still don't know how to put pictures with the text, rather than before or after it, so it is hard for me to comment on each one. But you get the idea. It was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to go back!

Start

This is my first entry here. I am doing this not because I enjoy publishing personal things on the internet, but rather because I miss my family, and hope that by showing them some stuff about my life here, they will feel more in touch, and I, in turn, will also feel more in touch. So prepare to be dazzled by my amazing pictures of my time here! I suppose I will go back and put on old pictures to make up for the two years I have been over here without adequate documentation. But for now....here is this picture of the meal we ate on the beach on the island last weekend. It was not as good as it looks.

Hopefully this will get more interesting once I get the hang of it!